The Ten Plagues: The Plague of Locusts

The Ten Plagues: The Plague of Locusts

Introduction:

Good morning church family. We have been engaged in a sermon series for the past…well…now 8 weeks. The title of the series is “The Ten Plagues”. We have been looking carefully at the 10 plagues against Egypt found in the Old Testament book of Exodus. Today we are going to examine the eighth plague, the plague of locusts. This is a very interesting plague. Interesting in its application and interesting in how the Pharaoh reacts towards the plague. The last two weeks I have given you the story of Moses. I shared with you how Moses became the leader of the Hebrews. How he found himself standing before the Pharaoh. How he became the mouthpiece for God. I won’t go into all of that this morning but if this is your first time with us this morning and you would like to read that story for yourself, head to Exodus 1 and read through Exodus 7. That will give you the story of Moses, his birth, his salvation, his upbringing, the story of Moses murdering an Egyptian soldier, the story of Moses becoming a fugitive, how he encountered God in the burning bush, and his return back to Egypt to set God’s people free. Then from Exodus 7 to where we are this morning in Exodus 10, you have the story of the plagues.

Here is the pattern:

God speaks to Moses, “tell the Pharaoh to let me people go so that they may worship me”.

Moses obeys. He delivers the message to Pharaoh. Pharaoh says, “no”.

Plague.

Pharaoh relents under the duress caused by the catastrophe. He tells Moses that he will indeed let the people go. Plague ends. Pharaoh changes his mind. His heart hardens and his feet dig in even further.

Rinse and repeat folks. Rinse and repeat.

Thus far we have seen the plague of blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock, the plague of festering boils, the plague of hail and today we will see the plague of locusts.

So now you are all caught up. Still, why? What was the purpose? Why did God send plague after plague after plague upon the Egyptians?

Well, I think that there are roughly three answers to that question. Fill in your “Today’s Thought” blanks this morning. The plagues produced revelation, restoration and redemption. Over and over again in the Exodus narrative of the plagues, there is one things repeated over and over again.

Exodus 9:14 NLT

If you don't, I will send more plagues on you and your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth.

“Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth”. That phrase or a similar phrase is repeated over and over again. Remember friends, the Egyptians had a pantheon of gods and goddesses. Pharaoh himself fancied himself god incarnate. Sound familiar? He thought that he was the god of gods and the lord of lords. Yahweh, Jehovah God would not stand for that. He wanted to reveal that He was the One True God. The real God. The Creator. This message was not to just the Hebrews, not to just the Egyptians, but to the entire earth and all of its in habitants.

God also used the plagues to liberate and restore His people. God made a covenant with Abraham.

Genesis 12:1-3 NLT

The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the land that I will show you. [2] I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. [3] I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you."

This promise by God was not made lightly. The Hebrews, the Israelites were the children, the direct descendants of Abraham and it was God who would return them to their homeland and secure them their spot among the nations.

Redemption! That is not just the story of Exodus, it is the story of the Bible. God did not just want to set the Hebrews free, that was His plan for the entire human race. God redeemed Israel by setting them free from captivity and He wants to set you and I free today by defeating sin, death, and Satan.

Revelation.

Restoration.

Redemption.

Illustration:

The other day I was reading an article from the Wall Street Journal. It was really interesting. The article was about airline points. You know what I am talking about? Millions of Americans have credit cards. They use them every single day. With every expense, the user can earn points. These points can be used to buy all sorts of stuff. You can pay for hotel rooms with points. You can pay for rental cars with points. You can even use the points for airline seats. Do you know the term used when people cash in their points for tickets, cars, rides, or seats?

That’s right. You redeem the points. Redeem.

Redeeming points really is just a trade. You trade your points for something tangible. You trade these points that you cannot hold, you cannot see, you cannot feel, for something real. Something that you can hold. Something that you can experience.

Do you know what the Wall Street Journal found out? They found out that more than half of people that have points to redeem never ever redeem them. They just sit there. They are never traded. Isn’t that funny?

Redemption is really a spiritual term. You see God has been trying to redeem the world since Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden. Oh, and redeem the world He did. God was successful. He successfully redeemed His people from Egyptian bonding. He successfully redeemed mankind from sin through the death of Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross every single person who would ever live was instantly granted enough spiritual points to trade their sin for God’s salvation. Sadly there will be millions of people who will never trade in their points. Their spiritual redemption will go unused. Wasted. Friends that is a tragedy.

Today’s Thought:

The Plagues Produced Revelation, Restoration, and Redemption!

Point:

No so with the Hebrews. They were well on their way to redeeming their points to exit Egypt. Redemption was knocking on their door. One of the books that I have been reading in preparation for this series is by a fella by the name of Chris Wright. His book is called Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. Listen to what he says about God’s redemptive plan for the Hebrews and for all mankind.

“The Exodus points beyond itself to a greater need for deliverance from the totality of evil and restoration to relationship with God than it achieved by itself. Such a deliverance was accomplished by Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection.”

Today’s Quote:

-Christopher J.H. Wright

Knowing Jesus Through The Old Testament

Point:

Today we are going to be reading from Exodus 10:1-20. I am going to be reading from the New Living Translation this morning.

Statement of Belief:

We believe the Bible to be inspired, God breathed, infallible, and authoritative. We believe the Bible is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training believer’s in righteousness. God’s Word gives life. It provides peace in trouble and protection in tribulation. It is alive, active, and cuts to the core of the human soul. Since there is no other book like it, let us stand to show our reverence and respect.

Today’s Scripture:

Exodus 10:1-20 NLT

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Return to Pharaoh and make your demands again. I have made him and his officials stubborn so I can display my miraculous signs among them. [2] I've also done it so you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them-and so you will know that I am the LORD." [3] So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so they can worship me. [4] If you refuse, watch out! For tomorrow I will bring a swarm of locusts on your country. [5] They will cover the land so that you won't be able to see the ground. They will devour what little is left of your crops after the hailstorm, including all the trees growing in the fields. [6] They will overrun your palaces and the homes of your officials and all the houses in Egypt. Never in the history of Egypt have your ancestors seen a plague like this one!" And with that, Moses turned and left Pharaoh. [7] Pharaoh's officials now came to Pharaoh and appealed to him. "How long will you let this man hold us hostage? Let the men go to worship the LORD their God! Don't you realize that Egypt lies in ruins?" [8] So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. "All right," he told them, "go and worship the LORD your God. But who exactly will be going with you?" [9] Moses replied, "We will all go-young and old, our sons and daughters, and our flocks and herds. We must all join together in celebrating a festival to the LORD." [10] Pharaoh retorted, "The LORD will certainly need to be with you if I let you take your little ones! I can see through your evil plan. [11] Never! Only the men may go and worship the LORD, since that is what you requested." And Pharaoh threw them out of the palace. [12] Then the LORD said to Moses, "Raise your hand over the land of Egypt to bring on the locusts. Let them cover the land and devour every plant that survived the hailstorm." [13] So Moses raised his staff over Egypt, and the LORD caused an east wind to blow over the land all that day and through the night. When morning arrived, the east wind had brought the locusts. [14] And the locusts swarmed over the whole land of Egypt, settling in dense swarms from one end of the country to the other. It was the worst locust plague in Egyptian history, and there has never been another one like it. [15] For the locusts covered the whole country and darkened the land. They devoured every plant in the fields and all the fruit on the trees that had survived the hailstorm. Not a single leaf was left on the trees and plants throughout the land of Egypt. [16] Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. "I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you," he confessed. [17] "Forgive my sin, just this once, and plead with the LORD your God to take away this death from me." [18] So Moses left Pharaoh's court and pleaded with the LORD. [19] The LORD responded by shifting the wind, and the strong west wind blew the locusts into the Red Sea. Not a single locust remained in all the land of Egypt. [20] But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart again, so he refused to let the people go.

What Can We Learn From The Locusts?

Lesson One: There Is Security In The Sovereign God vs. 1-2

So, what lessons can we learn from the locusts this morning? Well, I do want you to know that we will indeed spend some time this morning on the plague itself. But before we turn our attention to the insects, let’s turn our attention to God’s instruction of Moses.

Fill in these blanks this morning, lesson one…there is security in the sovereign God.

Friends, have you ever known of a situation, a situation that involved you, that was going to turn contentious? You knew that conflict had been brewing between individuals, maybe even conflict between you and someone else. You knew that it was up to you to deal with the issue. You awoke on that day knowing that you were going to face a battle. Maybe it was an issue with a co-worker. Maybe it was an issue with a family member, perhaps revolving around money and finances, and you were dreading that meeting.

I’ll tell you a story. How many of you have heard of Dr. Charles Stanley? Dr. Stanley was the famed pastor at FBC Atlanta. Dr. Stanley led a very successful ministry for decades. His was a global ministry. Many of you have probably read his magazine and been greatly influenced by In Touch Ministries. You might think, with all of his success, that Dr. Stanley never faced any issues. You might think that Dr. Stanley’s ministry was always healthy, always growing, always taking the Gospel to the furthest reach of the globe.

Well, you’d be wrong. There as a time when Dr. Stanley’s ministry couldn’t get the Gospel down the street, much less the globe.

Dr. Stanley, in the 1960’s, had been called to serve as the Associate Pastor of FBC Atlanta. Not long after, the senior pastor stepped down. There were conversations about elevating Dr. Stanley to the role of Senior Pastor. I know that it is hard to believe but there was disagreement in the body. Some wanted Stanley, others didn’t.

So, what did the church do? They held a business meeting.

Anyone ever been to a bad business meeting? Boy I have and let me tell you folks, they are no fun.

Well the church has this business meeting. Members of the church stood up in favor of Dr. Stanley. Others stood up against Stanley. One of the men who directly opposed Dr. Stanley’s installation cursed. Dr. Stanley boldly rose and told the man that there would be no cursing in the meeting. The man told Stanley to sit down or he would punch him right in the jaw. Stanley stood stoic.

Do you know what happened? The man punch Dr. Charles Stanley right in the jaw. The church erupted.

With a 60% majority, Stanley was installed. His 3000 member congregation went to 300. His 300 member choir went to 13. Thankfully we know the rest of the story. The church rebounded. Grew. New heights were realized.

When I heard that story, that true story, I wondered what Dr. Stanley must have thought the day of that terrible business meeting. He must have known that he was going into a terrible situation. He must have known that things could have turned terrible.

Nevertheless, Stanley went, stood, and he was bold. How? He must have been afraid. He must be racked with fear. I bet every bone in his body was shaking.

Let’s bring this illustration home. Lets’ read about Moses once more.

Do you remember the first time Moses encounters God in the burning bush? Do you remember what Moses said to God when the Lord told him to return to Egypt with His message of liberation? Moses gave God 5 reasons he could not face the Pharaoh. His 5 excuses are the same excuses that we use when we are afraid. What were they?

Reason one, Im not good enough. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

Reason two, I don’t have all the answers. “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

Reason three, they won’t believe me. “Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’ ”

Reason 4, Im a terrible communicator. “Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

Reason 5, Im not good enough. Im not qualified. “But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”

Imagine what Moses thought the next day. The day after the burning bush. Imagine how afraid he must have felt. His knees must have been knocking. His hands trembling. He was obedient, that’s true. But if he was anything like me, he wasn’t happy about it. He didn’t want to show up at that meeting because he was scared.

He didn’t give a sixth reason but I will give you a number six for Moses. What if this God, this God that I don’t know, doesn’t come through for me?

Just about every single character in the Bible faced that sixth reason. What if God doesn’t come through in the end for me. I don’t want to face that firing squad alone. I don’t want to go into that situation by myself. I don’t want to fight that battle, face that disease, go to school representing Christ if God is not with me.

Well, the first lesson that we learn from the locusts is that there is security in the sovereign God. This is the 8th plague. 8 times Moses has seen God work. He has witnessed God’s glory first hand. All the excuses before Moses went back to Egypt are out the door. Moses is no longer afraid, he is audacious. Moses is no longer terrified, he is tenacious. The fear is gone and installed is a supernatural fearlessness. He went from panicked to powerful.

How? What changed? I will tell you how. I will tell you what changed. Moses started to believe with a capital “B”. He knew that his God was with him. That his God would not abandon him.

Deuteronomy 31:6 states, “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

What about Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Then there is Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

What about Hebrews 13:6, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

Oh friends I could go on and on. When you are in the center of God’s will, carefully obeying His truths, His word, then you need not fear. When fear washes over you, think back to all the times God held you in His hands. Think back to all the moments when you saw God move. Remember all of God’s promises.

If God can transform Moses from a coward to a man with courage, then imagine what He can do and will do through you. Remember, it is not about your power, your strength. Those things run out. It is all about God’s power, His strength.

1 Chronicles 29:11-12 NLT

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. [12] Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.

Lesson Two: There Is Strength In The Small vs. 4-6

So, the first lesson from locusts this morning, there is security in the sovereign Lord. Our second lesson is that there is strength in the small.

Strength in the small. In studying for this point, I ran across a very interesting article. Did you know that a single hair from your head, a hair by itself, not really very strong. In fact, you can twist a single hair around your finger tips and break it pretty easily. What about two hairs? What about three? What about a hundred or a thousand. Did you know that the average human has about 150,000 strands of hair on his or her head. Some more, some less. Im talking about the average person. 150,000 strands of hair.

Did you know that if you braided that single hair with other hairs, it becomes much much stronger. In fact, braided human hair has been known to support the weight of two full grown adult male elephants. Its true. Not one that, but braided human hair, pound for pound is as strong as Kevlar. Kevlar being the material strong enough to stop bullets.

Just goes to show that small things, added together, can make a mighty difference.

Boy do we ever see this example exposed in the pages of Exodus 10, specifcially in verses 4 through 6.

[4] If you refuse, watch out! For tomorrow I will bring a swarm of locusts on your country. [5] They will cover the land so that you won't be able to see the ground. They will devour what little is left of your crops after the hailstorm, including all the trees growing in the fields. [6] They will overrun your palaces and the homes of your officials and all the houses in Egypt. Never in the history of Egypt have your ancestors seen a plague like this one!" And with that, Moses turned and left Pharaoh.

So, what is a locust? What does a locust look like? Well on the screen this morning is an Egyptian locust. Check that out. Doesn’t look so bad. Looks like a grasshopper. Pretty tiny. Pretty insignificant. No big deal.

Let me tell you friends, it’s a big deal.

First off, locusts can eat their body weight, roughly 2 grams each day. Now that doesn’t sound like a big deal but when you understand that these creatures come in massive mighty swarms, the numbers begin to add up quickly. Normal swarms of non Biblical proportions have been known to cover upwards of 400 square miles. That comes out to as many as 100 million locusts per square mile.

So do the math. Imagine for sake of illustration, that locusts at people instead of vegetation. I know, gross but stick with me here. If locusts ate people instead of vegetation, they would consume 1.7 million people a day. Oh, locusts also cause other problems. Thankfully they don’t eat people but they certainly impact people. The leftovers of locusts, you know what I mean, their poop, is toxic and destroys whatever they don’t consume.

This is not the only time in the Bible where locusts are discussed. Look at Joel chapter 2 as the prophet talks about an oncoming wave of locusts.

Joel 2:1-5 NLT

Sound the trumpet in Jerusalem! Raise the alarm on my holy mountain! Let everyone tremble in fear because the day of the LORD is upon us. [2] It is a day of darkness and gloom, a day of thick clouds and deep blackness. Suddenly, like dawn spreading across the mountains, a great and mighty army appears. Nothing like it has been seen before or will ever be seen again. [3] Fire burns in front of them, and flames follow after them. Ahead of them the land lies as beautiful as the Garden of Eden. Behind them is nothing but desolation; not one thing escapes. [4] They look like horses; they charge forward like warhorses. [5] Look at them as they leap along the mountaintops. Listen to the noise they make-like the rumbling of chariots, like the roar of fire sweeping across a field of stubble, or like a mighty army moving into battle.

Locusts have continued to be a hardship for farmers and agriculture workers to this day. Did you know that in May of 2020, the World Bank approved a record $500 million dollars to help countries in Africa and the Middle East fight swarms of locusts that are destroying crops and rangelands. 500 million bucks for just one part of the world. The African country of Kenya in 2020 spent 480 million dollars on combating these tiny pests.

So, what is God doing here with these locusts? A couple of things actually. First, He is bringing the mightiest country on planet earth to its knees with the smallest of insects. The second thing that God is doing will come in the next point. Again, God is bringing the strongest nation on planet earth to its breaking point with bugs. God is showing that He does not need a mighty army fit with the latest weaponry to defeat His foes. He simply commands nature. He sets loose pestilences and plagues, unleashing the winds, the rains, the fires, upon humanity displaying His power over creation. God taking the small to shame the large. God taking the seemingly weak to embarrass the strong. This is not the last time God will do this. Turn in your Bible’s to Revelation. Revelation 16 starting in verse 15 to be exact. Let me set up the scene for you.

We are at the end of days. The end of all things. Satan has amassed his forces against God. While the Bible doesn’t capture the exact scene because the writer would not have fully understood what he was seeing, we know that Satan will use all the tricks and tools of modern warfare against God. He will bring to bear every vehicle, every form of ammunition, and every skilled solider to stand against our God. No doubt he will, if he can, unleash the worst of weaponry that our world has ever created from chemical to nuclear. Satan will have at his fingertips, at his disposal, every tool to destroy the world hundreds of times over.

This is the battle of Armageddon. One day, this will come to pass. A united world, under the banner of Satan and the antichrist, will come to directly oppose God. Does God bring His own weaponry? Does God has nukes of His own? What army will fight for God? Let’s see what happens?

Verse 15 is the words of our Savior, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Revelation 16:15 NLT

"Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed."

Now let’s look at the battle starting in verse 16.

Revelation 16:16-21 NLT

And the demonic spirits gathered all the rulers and their armies to a place with the Hebrew name Armageddon. [17] Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a mighty shout came from the throne in the Temple, saying, "It is finished!" [18] Then the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And a great earthquake struck-the worst since people were placed on the earth. [19] The great city of Babylon split into three sections, and the cities of many nations fell into heaps of rubble. So God remembered all of Babylon's sins, and he made her drink the cup that was filled with the wine of his fierce wrath. [20] And every island disappeared, and all the mountains were leveled. [21] There was a terrible hailstorm, and hailstones weighing as much as seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people below. They cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm.

So Satan brings everything he has against God and what does God do? He takes all the modern tools of warfare and destruction and obliterates them without a bullet being fired. Earthquakes that swallow entire cities and level mountains. Lighting and thunder rolling in. Hailstones falling faster than the speed of sound falling from the heights.

Satan doesn’t stand a chance.

Satan even knows the game plane. You don’t think that he has not read this portion of the Bible? Don’t you think that he is up to speed on God’s tactics? Still, he doesn’t have a prayer and he knows it.

You see friends, God can do mighty with minimum. Mighty with the miniscule. Mighty with the microscopic.

If God can do all this with bugs, imagine what He can do with me and you. Imagine how we might see our family changed, our neighborhoods reoriented, our city transformed, our nation radically altered by God using little ole me and little ole you. It can happen. It will happen…if you let Him.

There is indeed strength in the small, when God is in the small. Listen to I Corinthians 1:27.

I Corinthians 1:27 NLT

Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.

Lesson Three: There Is Punishment For The Prideful vs. 10-11

So, there is security in the sovereign. Next, there is strength in small things. Lastly, there is punishment for the prideful.

Let’s read verses 10 and 11 again this morning.

[10] Pharaoh retorted, "The LORD will certainly need to be with you if I let you take your little ones! I can see through your evil plan. [11] Never! Only the men may go and worship the LORD, since that is what you requested." And Pharaoh threw them out of the palace.

So Moses confronts Pharaoh about the decision to let his people go. Pharaoh relents…sort of. He tells Moses that the people can go, but only the men. The women and the children have to stay behind. Moses tells the Pharaoh that it is an all or nothing deal. Either everyone goes or no one goes. Pharaoh says that it’s nothing and the plague of locusts seeps over the entire land.

So thick was the locusts that the Scripture says that son was blotted out. Remember in the second point where I asked what God was doing with these locusts? I said that God was bringing the nation of Egypt to its knees with bugs. Remember that. There is one other thing that God was doing with the locusts. Let me explain.

Ramses II was considered to be the personification of the sun deity Ra. He was considered by his people the Egyptians god incarnate. Literally Rameses was Egypt’s version of Emmanuel “God with us”. There was a saying in Egypt at the time that the light of the Pharaoh would extend across Egypt and around the world. They would say that Pharaoh light could not be extinguished.

Yet, what does God do. He extinguishes the light of the Pharaoh.

When morning arrived, the east wind had brought the locusts. [14] And the locusts swarmed over the whole land of Egypt, settling in dense swarms from one end of the country to the other. It was the worst locust plague in Egyptian history, and there has never been another one like it. [15] For the locusts covered the whole country and darkened the land.

Just as the sun came up that morning, God causes a wind to blow and the locusts come. So great was the swarm that it blotted out the entire sun from the land of Egypt. In doing so, the Pharaoh’s light was extinguished. His pride was destroyed.

God showed Pharaoh yet again who the real God was and finally, Pharaoh abandoned his captivity, at leasts for a moment.

Friend’s this plague and all like them are a warning to our pride, our vanity. It is a warning to not believe so much in yourself, rather believe and trust in God. You know we are not so different than Pharaoh. We tend to worship ourselves in the same way that he did and we would all love it if others would worship us the way that the Egyptians worshipped him.

Pride is a dangerous dangerous thing. You know what they say about pride. It goes before a fall. Shoot, it paves the road before the fall. I read in a devotion from Our Daily Bread once a quote about pride, “Pride is the only disease known to man that makes everyone sick except the one who has it”. That is so true. Because of Pharaoh’s pride, his entire country and all her people were punished. Don’t think that your family, your husband, your wife, your children won’t suffer because of pride.

Pride convinces you that you don’t have a problem. Everyone else has a problem but not you.

Pride convinces you that you are strong enough, smart enough, able enough to go it all alone. Everyone else is weak, but not you. You have it all figured out.

Pride convinces you that your way is the only way. Your way is right. Everyone else is wrong.

Pride convinces you that you have all the wisdom, all the knowledge, and there is nothing left for you to learn. Everyone else needs your advice, but you take none from anyone else.

Pride convinces you that you are the most important. Your problems are the most important. Your successes are the greatest successes ever. Failures! What failures because you have never failed. Other people have failed you but you have never failed.

Pride convinces you that it’s not your fault. It’s their fault.

Pride convinces you that you are a gift that everyone else needs to receive.

Pride convinces you that you are an expert in fields that you have received no training. You are knowledgeable about things which you have received no education. What you say matters most and you have the right to be insulted when others do not listen to you.

Pride convinces you that you are being attacked when others point out what they perceive to be a flaw. Sure they spoke to you in love but that was really just jealously masquerading as love. If they really loved you they would realize that you are perfect in every way, lacking nothing.

Do you see what pride does to people? Do you see what it did to Pharaoh. Do you see what it can do to you?

If you are sitting here this morning saying to yourself, “Im sure glad that Stuart is pointing out all these examples of pride so these jokers can get their act together”, know this friend, im talking about you.

Have I struggled with pride? You bet your bottom dollar I have and I still do. If you cannot admit that you have struggled with pride in the past then you are in prides grips right now.

Make no mistake friend, pride is a sin and Jesus died for that pride on the cross.

If you are carrying the disease of pride around today, pray and seek forgiveness. Ask God to rid you of pride so that His presence can truly take hold of your life.

Remember, there is no room for God in your life when you are full of yourself.

Proverbs 16:5 NLT

The LORD detests the proud; they will surely be punished.

Let This Information Be Your Inspiration!

Bibliography

Websites:

https://www.reuters.com/article/world-bank-locusts-idINKBN22X1Y4

https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/19953/the-disease-of-pride-by-sermon-central

https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/uk4k7/til_that_a_head_of_human_hair_about_150000/?rdt=36394

https://www.voiceofprophecy.com/articles/blog/moses-five-excuses

https://dailycitizen.focusonthefamily.com/strange-but-true-dr-charles-stanley-was-punched-before-he-was-promoted-to-senior-pastor/

https://www.gotquestions.org/battle-Armageddon.html