GLORY NOT IN SELF: OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL,15TH NOVEMBER 2018

MEMORISE:
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. Matthew 23:12

READ: Isaiah 14:12-17, Luke 18:10-13

Isaiah 14:12-17
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

Luke 18:10-13

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

MESSAGE

To glory in self is to exalt one's own worth above what it really is. It is the act of perceiving yourself as overly important. A person who glories in self is a person who thinks he stands on his own merits and by his own power. 

This is the reason why the father of lies, Satan, was cast down from heaven. Indeed, Satan is a classic example of someone who gloried in self. He exalted himself above what he really was, and he started to think of himself as better than everyone else, including God. 

Glorying in self has its roots in self-deception; it starts when a man deceives himself into thinking and believing in a false idea of himself.

Glorying in self might not be obvious at first. It is a very dangerous character flaw that sometimes creep in on children of God until it leads them to doom. 

What then are the signs that a person glories in self? One indicator is when you feel the need to parade in public what should and can be done in private. This was one of the issues Jesus had with the Pharisees. 

They would rather pray in public than pray behind closed doors, and when they fasted, they ensure that it showed on their faces, just so that everyone knew they were fasting. Even today, some people ensure that every good thing they do is done from the rooftops, so that people will see and praise them. 

In addition, people who glory in self tend to talk about themselves a lot. This is majorly because they feel the need to constantly list out their accomplishments and achievements. 

They are always quick to say "I" even when "we" is the approximate thing to say. People who glory in self honestly feel that they are better than everyone else.

Luke 18:10-13 shows a clear difference between a self-glorying person and a humble person. When humble people see themselves as needing God's grace and mercy, self-glorying people think that their actions are perfect enough to dignify them before God and man.

A self-glorying person will never get anything from God. Only a person who recognises his or her need for God's help and asks for it will get it. 

Glorying in self is very dangerous because at the end if the day, every single thing that the person thinks he or she has accomplished will be taken away, and shame, disappointment and humiliation will be the portion of such a fellow.

PRAYER POINT:
Father, please remove every trace of self-glory in me.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Ezekiel 5-7, Luke 22:14-38

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 10: MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE

1. My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Saviour divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
Take all my guilt away,
Oh, let me from this day
Be wholly Thine!

2. May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me,
Oh, may my love to Thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!

3. While life’s dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside.

4. When ends life’s transient dream,
When death’s cold, sullen stream
Shall o’er me roll;
Blest Saviour, then in love,
Fear and distrust remove;
Oh, bear me safe above,
A ransomed soul!