Skip to content The Warning Against Self Sufficiency Jul 17 · 43 min ...more
The Warning Against Self Sufficiency
July 17, 2025 · 43 min
Culture praises self-reliance, teaches us to depend on ourselves. But...what were Jesus' encouragements to us as His followers? Where does our hope, strength and future come from?
Series The Red Letter Warnings July 17, 2025 · 43 min · The Red Letter Warnings
Culture praises self-reliance, teaches us to depend on ourselves. But...what were Jesus' encouragements to us as His followers? Where does our hope, strength and future come from? ...more Show the full description Show less Culture praises self-reliance, teaches us to depend on ourselves. But...what were Jesus' encouragements to us as His followers? Where does our hope, strength and future come from?
Series The Red Letter Warnings Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Support this leader
Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Give
Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
56K followers
Since 2000 Every Man Ministries has been activating men worldwide to live out their truest identity in Christ through its discipleship resources, live events, and steaming platform.
56K followers
In this video 0:00 The Red Letter Warnings9:24 The Danger of Self-Sufficiency33:55 Embracing God Dependency
The Red Letter Warnings 0:00 Good morning, men. Good morning. If you have a Bible, you wanna mark a spot in Matthew chapter 7, we are starting a new series. It's called the red letter0:11 warnings. But I wanna start, talking about, 1 of the challenges on planet Earth that that men have been, trying to conquer, ever since they've seen it is Mount Everest.0:24 Alright? Anybody know the first person to summit Mount Everest? Edmund Hillary. Very good. Very good. Yeah. But what people don't know is that he would have never got there unless he had a0:35 guide. Alright? His guide was Tenzing Norgay. Yeah. And, and and when you when you think about Mount Everest, you think, okay. Let's see. That's a pretty dangerous thing to do. Since 190:47 24, 295 people have died attempting to summit, Mount Everest. 200 of those bodies are up there. So imagine you're you're thinking, hey, man. I wanna climb Mount0:58 Everest. But every modern climber, and every guide today, knows that there's some things that you need to know because on Mount Everest,1:11 there are avalanches. There are crevasses, right, that you can fall into, dehydration, exhaustion, oxygen, brain issues,1:24 wind freeze, frostbite, pneumonia, oxygen supply. And then here's another thing they warn you about. You might witness someone die. And what do you1:36 do? You know, how do you react? How how do you, respond? And, they've come up with a list of, of 6 warnings when you climb Mount Everest,
1:48 and here they are. The first 1 is it's wiser to fail than die. Climbers have turned around 3, 4, or 5 times after preparing for
2:00 an entire year. They turn around, and you gotta be ready to turn around. The other 1 the second 1 is respect the weather. Right? They can you can have hurricanes
2:11 on Mount Everest. It's its own weather ecosystem. Third, you might imagine this would be true. Use the ropes. Use the ropes. Don't don't free wheel. Hydrate. Number 4. Number
2:23 5, know your gear. And number 6, know the snow. Because you can stick a a a pickaxe or a pole into something and start an avalanche. So for this journey,
2:35 that's what you need to know before you go. And, on the I can just imagine sitting, you know, in an orientation, with a guide and him going over those things. And you
2:47 think we'd all be leaning in a little bit. Right? Especially based on the fact that there's there's some consequences if you don't listen. The reason why I shared that story is is that we can have,
2:59 just conversations like this, and we're sharing thoughts. Right? Then we can kick it up a notch, and I can make a recommendation, and I can say, well, how are you? You know, you might wanna consider
3:11 this. But then there's this kind of another level where I issue an a warning reality, that if you don't listen, it has
3:22 big, repercussions. And warnings use words that rise to an ultimate level. Everybody say ultimate level. Ultimate level. Ultimate level. Yeah. When you issue a warning, it's it's you're raising the
3:34 bar. It's not a conversation. We're not sharing thoughts. It's not a recommendation of, hey, you know, you should consider. You might wanna do this. No. A warning has unequivocal words in it like never and nothing
3:46 and never do this, that type of thing. And in this series, the red letter warnings, we're gonna look at some situations and issues where Jesus took words to an ultimate level.
3:59 Jesus gave sermons. Jesus told stories. Jesus gave us truths. Jesus gave us promises. Jesus gave us commands, and Jesus speaks in the language
4:11 of warnings many times. In fact, I have 1 right here to start off this new series from Matthew chapter 7, where he says this. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them
4:23 into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. Let's
4:34 finish it together. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came, the
4:46 streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a So those are words of warning.
5:02 Know, you you listen to what I say and you put into practice what I say. This is this is what's gonna happen. You don't listen to what I say. You don't put into practice what I say. This is what's gonna happen. And so
5:13 when strong words are used, write this down, strong consequences are at stake. And I'm just borrowing this little session with Jesus right here because the consequences
5:25 are your life's gonna fall apart or your life's gonna be solid. Fall apart or solid. Your choice. Alright. So those are the
5:37 strong consequences, at stake. When strong words are used, secondly, love is present. Care is present. Love is present. Right? Jesus,
5:50 loving you and having your best interest in mind, doesn't want your life to fall apart when the pressure comes. You know, what's great about this little vignette is that it tells us
6:02 that pressure is gonna be here. Pressure is gonna come. It's just how are you gonna handle the pressure? You can handle the pressure, independently, or you can handle the pressures of life with the wisdom of Jesus
6:14 and with his presence. And he shares that with you because he shares this warning because his love is present. Third, strong truth is known. Strong truth is known. You ever known
6:26 something to be a fact and before someone else gets into the sit same situation you're in, you go, hey. This is what you gotta know. Because you've been there or you have tribal knowledge. You have that
6:38 tribal knowledge. It's like, hey, don't do this. Do do this. The 1 who knows is the 1 who is confident. The 1 who is absolute. Right? Because they know the truth.
6:50 So Jesus knowing the truth about how to build your life. Right? Because in the bible, when it's talking about the house, it's talking about your life. Alright? And having a foundation.
7:02 And Jesus is saying, hear my words, put them into practice, solid foundation. Because the pressure is gonna come and press in on your house and on your life, and either
7:13 your house will collapse under that pressure and you'll hurt yourself and you'll hurt other people, or you'll stand and it will be solid. Lastly, when strong words are used, a
7:25 strong response is required. A strong response is required. I mean, you actually have to hear the words. You have to internalize the words, and then you have to
7:37 apply the words. Everybody say that with me. Hear the words. Hear the words. Internalize the words. Apply the words. Apply the words. That's what Jesus is saying. You
7:49 know, it's it's black and white on your notes, but in my Bible, the words are in red. Right? Now, the risk of giving a warning to someone warning will
8:02 go that's the risk of giving a warning. But you're giving it. Why? Because there's, there's a lot of you love that person. You know the truth. And you're hoping
8:15 that, that they'll respond. But the risk of giving a warning is that it'll go unheeded. Right? Look at what it says in Ecclesiastes 4 13. Let's read that together. Right? Better a poor but wise
8:27 youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning. Yeah. You see, hearing is a
8:38 start, but heeding brings the payoff. It's we call it an I told you so. Right? Just like,
8:50 hey, I gave you that warning, and then you decided to hear it, but not heed it. And then you bloodied your nose again. I told you so. Right? And so in this series, what we're gonna do
9:02 is we're gonna talk about kind of the value of of of of being warned, right, by god himself. And then we're gonna look at the warning. What what's he talking about here? What's the warning
9:14 about? And then we're gonna look at the why. So let's look at the first warning of Jesus as it relates to your walk with him, and it's the warning against self sufficiency. Right?
The Danger of Self-Sufficiency
9:26 And just to set this up, you know, when you know Jesus, you can live self sufficiently or God dependently. Right? I mean, that's how he sets it up. That's how he
9:38 positions himself. And he does it in John chapter 15. And let me just put a little context on this. This is like 2 minute warning. This is the last huddle. This is just like, alright guys. Come on in. John 15 16 17. It's
9:49 like, I'm going. You're staying. Here's what you need to know. Here's how this is gonna work when I'm when I'm not with you physically. Here's how it's gonna work spiritually. And so we can just kind of imagine everybody
10:00 coming in, you know, and Jesus saying these words, John 15 5. Let's read it together. I am the vine. You are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear
10:12 much fruit. Apart from me, you can do Nothing. What's the strong word there? Nothing. Nothing. Now, that's an ultimate word that rises
10:24 to an ultimate level. And it goes you know, when it comes down to your relationship with me, if you're cut off from me, you can do nothing.
10:37 The branch can't bear fruit unless it's abiding in the vine. Right? And that's a challenge, isn't it? Amen? It's a challenge to stay connected to God, especially in the pressure.
10:48 Right? And to not be self sufficient and prideful, but to be humble and God dependent. And really, that's the spiritual battle. That is the spiritual battle. Am I gonna
11:00 be prideful and self sufficient, or am I gonna be humble and God dependent? And the warning here with Jesus is, I'm the vine, you're the branch. All the power, all the life, all the
11:12 capacity comes from me. And if you abide in me, if you stay connected to me, you can do some things. But if you apart from me, you can do nothing. It's unequivocal. And every time I read
11:24 that verse, and I've read it hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times, Man, it's an ultimate it's an ultimate statement about how life with Christ works. So let's talk about self sufficiency for a
11:36 second. Why does Jesus say apart from me, you can do nothing? Alright. Number 1, self sufficiency is idolatry. That's a big word. Self sufficiency is idolatry.
11:48 It's like, what's idolatry, Kenny? It's when you make God out of someone or something else that's not God. We have a lot of idols in our
11:59 culture. Right? Money's an idol. We serve money. We think money's the answer. We look to money to give us things that only God can give us. Fulfillment, meaning, purpose, status,
12:11 position, power. That's just 1 example. Alright? Money can become an idol. You can make it an idol because your identity and
12:23 your energy and expression as a person is tied intimately to money. Alright? Self importance. Alright? Visibility, narcissism.
12:35 That's an idol. Alright? I'm here and you're here. It's power, control, those types of things. Alright? So in our culture, we make gods out of
12:47 things that aren't gods. And in the bible, 1 of my favorite pictures of this with related to a man is King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4. Right? I'll give you a little context before we
12:59 read the passage. So this guy is, you know, the king of Babylon. Okay? Got a lot of got a lot of power, got a lot of position, got a lot of possession. And he's taking
13:11 it into himself that he's the author of his own success. Right? And so he has this disturbing dream and he goes to his pagan musician, magicians. I don't know. Maybe he had some pagan musicians.
13:22 Pagan magicians, his his astrologers, his counselors, and he goes, man, I'm really disturbed. This is bugging me. I'm not sleeping. What does it mean? I had this dream. There's a big tree. It's cut down to a stump.
13:34 What's going on? And there's a man of God, Daniel, who's captive in Babylon, and they say, hey. We know a guy who can tell you the meaning of the dream. And Daniel says, you know, please be pleased, oh king,
13:46 to to hear my advice. That tree is you until you acknowledge the king of heaven. And your your tree, your life is gonna get cut down and the stumps gonna remain and the roots are gonna remain. You're gonna
13:58 remain until you acknowledge the king of heaven and that all power comes from him. And so we re pick up the story in Daniel 4 verse 28. It says, all this happened to
14:10 King Nebuchadnezzar. So 12 months later, after that conversation, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, is not this great is not this the great
14:22 Babylon I have built as the royal residence by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty? Even as the words were on his lips, a voice from a voice came from
14:34 heaven. This is what was is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar. Your royal authority has been taken from you. You will be driven away from people and will live in live with the wild animals. You will
14:46 eat grass like the ox. Until you acknowledge let's finish it together. Until you acknowledge that the most high is sovereign over all
14:57 kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes. This is this is a strong warning for anyone in a position of influence. You're in that position of
15:09 influence. You're in that job, whether it's you're the head of your family or you're the head of your company. If you have influence, power, resources, you need to know where that came from,
15:21 and and king Nebuchadnezzar forgot that. Right? And what's what we learned from this picture, is that Nebuchadnezzar was self sufficient. What does it look like?
15:33 He was prideful. Pride births self sufficiency, and pride exalts man above God. Or like I, I like to say, pride always gives birth to stupidity.
15:46 K? So self sufficiency is idolatry, and this is the message of scripture. It's always putting God in his rightful place. He's God, big g, and he's saying don't try,
15:58 you know, little g, God, yourself to act like big g. Here's 1 example in Isaiah 29 16. Let's read that together. You turn things upside down
16:10 as if the potter were thought to be like the clay. Shall what is form say to the 1 who formed it? You did not make me. Can the pot say to the potter, you know nothing. And isn't that the
16:22 message of pride? I know better. Yeah. God. I hear what you're saying. But I know better. Right? And then what do you do when you say that? You make yourself out to
16:34 be God. So anytime you give God the Heisman and just say, yeah, I hear what you're saying or, but, you know, on this 1, I know better or I know how to
16:46 meet my needs better. What you're saying is you can take the bench, god, because I'm taking your place. Self sufficiency is idolatry.
16:58 Secondly, self sufficiency self sufficiency reflects my maturity. In the Bible, especially in the book of Proverbs, it talks about the way of fools and the way of the wise.
17:10 Right? Look at what it says about the way of the fool. Proverbs 12 15. Let's read it together. Ready? The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise
17:21 listen to advice. Right? Fools are self sufficient when there's other people and ways to be wiser. Right? Their
17:33 reference point is their self. Circle seems right to them. You ever made a foolish decision where your way seemed right to you, and you didn't ask anybody for advice, you didn't talk to God,
17:45 You just plowed forward. You didn't wanna consult anybody. You were a single source non collaborative leader. Right? And you went ahead with
17:57 your decision, But it seems right to them. You know, in another proverb it says, you know, there is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death. So there's a lot of self
18:08 convincing that we do. Right? And isn't that the battle when it says the way of fools? Isn't the spiritual life a battle of ways? There's my way and there's God's way.
18:21 And when we're self sufficient, we bag God's way for my way. Right? And then we move forward, and then we act like a fool. Right? When God's smarter. Alright? God
18:33 loves me, and God has my best interest in mind. Alright? And we just say no to that, and we say yes to our way. Alright? In the Bible, it talks about, the source of our
18:45 immaturity. Alright? Let's read first Corinthians 3 1 and 2 together. Ready? Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the spirit, but as
18:56 people who are still worldly. Mere infants in Christ, I gave you milk, not solid food, for you are not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
19:08 Circle on the top line, live by the spirit. He's talking to believers and he's saying a believer is
19:20 dependent upon God. A believer depends on the spirit of Christ. But he's going, you know what? I can't talk to you that way because you're not living by the spirit.
19:32 You're not depending on God. And he says, but as people who are still what? Worldly. Right. They're worldly. Mere infants in Christ. You see how there's
19:44 a connection to when your God dependent and your maturity to when you're looking out in culture for your wisdom and
19:56 staying immature. So when I'm acting worldly, I'm acting immaturely. Well, what does the world put out there? You know, just turn on your TV. You know, indulge, impress, increase.
20:07 Say those together. Indulge, impress, increase. Right. It's hedonism. It's narcissism. It's materialism. Right? They're just telling you, you know, get more stuff, be more important, be more visible, be more
20:19 famous. Right? You know, and gratify yourself. Self importance, self gratification, self preservation. That's what culture is teaching you. Do you know that if you pay heed
20:31 to that call, you're gonna stay a boy because you're gonna love stuff more than people. Alright? You're gonna make it all about you and who everybody loves to be with someone
20:43 where it's all about them, don't they? No, they don't. Right? And then you're gonna be all about getting your own needs met. You're gonna be a self gratifier. Right? That takes no maturity
20:55 whatsoever, but it does take character and maturity. And you see, that's a spiritual battle. You see the spiritual battle? Like, Satan wants to keep you immature because you know who the author of indulge in press
21:06 increases? It's the devil. Alright? Anytime you see an ism philosophically, it's demonic because it's an identity and values and behaviors outside of God.
21:18 If I'm a materialist, I love stuff, right, more than anything. That's what I'm about, and that keeps me immature because then I don't know how to do relationships. Right? And then Satan can destroy my family or my
21:29 relationships. See how he's really invested in all that? But self sufficiency reflects my immaturity. Right? I mean, guys, any of you guys who are dads or parents or or even sons who, you
21:41 know, have parents when you're young, you know, and you try to be self sufficient. I mean, it starts early when they're toddlers and they try to let go of your hand. Right? They're walking with him. You're holding the
21:50 hand, and the dad has to squeeze the hand tight. And it's just like, well, if I let it go, it's like, hey, you're 2 years old. Okay, you can walk, but what's your plan? After you break away from me. Right? So it's in us
22:01 So it's in us because of the sin nature to be self sufficient, to have autonomy, to control our own destiny, but that reflects our our immaturity. Alright. Number
22:13 3, self sufficiency kills humility, and you might have guessed that already. Because if self sufficiency is birthed from pride, alright, then if you're acting self sufficient,
22:25 you're not acting humble. There's no such thing as a humble self sufficient man. Right? And in the Bible, it talks a lot about our relationship with God and
22:37 humility and God dependency or the alternative pride and self sufficiency. In Deuteronomy 8, it's a great passage of scripture because it talks about prospering when we prosper,
22:49 you know. And God's talking to his people, and he's saying, hey. I'm gonna bring you into a land where there's vineyards you didn't plant, houses you didn't build, and you're gonna step into this land and I've
23:01 provided it all for you and then he issues a warning. Says this, be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws, and his decrees that I'm giving you
23:13 this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase,
23:25 and all you have is multiplied, let's finish it together, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land
23:37 of slavery. What does self sufficiency look like? Just forget the Lord. You just forget him. He's out
23:46 of sight, out of mind. I got what I need. I got my supply. I got my stuff. I got my house. I got my gas in my car. I got my portfolio. I got I got food in
23:58 the fridge. I got you ever notice that when all of your needs are met? How that's a challenge to remember the Lord and in your comfort? But then in our
24:09 desperation, we're like, God help us. Right? And this is the spiritual battle. But what does self sufficiency look like? It it looks like forgetting the Lord. What does forgetting the Lord look like? Not
24:21 seeking his will, not seeking his wisdom, not seeking his power to make it through this day, not seeking his plan. Right? It looks like
24:33 pride and self sufficiency versus humility and God dependency. Right? If you flip your notes over in Zechariah 2 3, talks
24:45 about God dependency. Let's read that together. Ready? Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth who have carried out his ordinances. Seek righteousness.
24:56 Seek humility. Getting this connection. Right? There's pride and humility, and there's self sufficiency and God dependency. I
25:08 am the vine, and you're the branch. And apart from me, you can do nothing. Right? Let's look at the next consequence of self sufficiency. Self
25:20 sufficiency, next, limits my ability limits my ability. When we act self sufficiently apart from God, it's like kicking the best player off your team.
25:32 Right? It's like, you know, whoever. It's like it's like the Lakers, you know, showing up to play the Rockets and going, the coach just going, you know what? We don't need LeBron and Anthony
25:44 Davis to win this game. Alright? And that's literally I mean, we laugh at that. That would be that would be insane to do, But that's what we do with God. We're just like, you know what, God? I know you. You
25:55 know more than me, dude. I do. I know you're everywhere. I know you created me. I'm created by you for you. I'm coming to you. You have great advice. You show me how to do life. You're the but you know what? You're gonna
26:06 take a seat on this 1. Look at what Jesus says and this is the passage right before apart from me you can do nothing. And Jesus stresses this. Right? Let's read it together.
26:18 Ready? I am the true vine and my father is the gardener. Me that bears no fruit. While every branch that does bear fruit, he
26:30 prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me No branch can bear
26:42 fruit by itself. It must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. What's so interesting is that Jesus says, you can be connected and
26:53 unfruitful. You can be a branch that's connected and unfruitful. Like, I know Jesus, but I don't depend on Jesus.
27:05 I know God, but I don't depend on God. And you're not bearing fruit. And when the Bible talks about fruit, what what is it talking about? Fruit reflects the source. Right? Banana trees make
27:18 Bananas. K. Right. That's how we know it's a banana tree because the fruit reflects the source of the tree. Right? What's the fruit that God's looking for? Well, in the Bible, when you read the Bible, he's looking for
27:30 you to have the family resemblance. He's looking for righteousness. He's looking for compassion. He's looking for mercy. He's looking for justice. He's looking to see if you reflect the source, if you
27:42 reflect him. And there are people who say they're connected to God, but they bear no fruit. Why? Because they're self sufficient. Right? And they're limiting their abilities.
27:55 You know, and 1 of the best things that we can depend on in order to increase our abilities and increase the outcomes of our lives is God's word. Look at what God says to
28:07 Joshua in Joshua chapter 1. Let's read it together. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you.
28:22 Successful wherever you go. Keep this book of the law, always on your lips. Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.
28:34 Then you will be prosperous and successful. So if we were to take this spiritual MRI right here, and put ourselves underneath
28:46 it, and assess our assess our success relationally as a man in our character. Right? And we
28:58 tie it to what it says here, which is be careful to stay seriously connected to this book. Seriously connected. Be careful to obey all the law. Don't turn from it
29:10 to the right or the left. Don't make a decision, you know, and leave it there and then walk into a decision. Take it with you. Don't turn to the right or to the left. Right? Is this your GPS? Make this your GPS. Let
29:22 this be your guide. Let this be your direction. Let this book tell you what to do and where to go. And the bible says you'll be prosperous and successful. I know guys that have a ton of money, but they're poor.
29:35 They're truly poor. They're poor in God. They're poor in love. They're poor in relationship. They're poor in influence. They abuse their influence. The things God gives them,
29:47 they don't steward and manage well. And they become destroyers. You know? They're not prosperous. It's not about the money. It's not about what the car you drive. It's not about, you know, what
29:59 you're able to do or the office that you sit in. At the end of your life, what's important is your influence for God on earth and people. Amen? Trust me. I do funerals.
30:10 There's no 1 talking about their second home wherever. Alright? They're not going, you know, Kenny owned a really great car and, you know, and, you know, he had his investments,
30:23 you know, here here and here. And now am I saying that you shouldn't do that, or is that that's bad? No. I'm just saying that's not what people are gonna talk about. Why? Because those things aren't eternal. Right? Self
30:33 sufficiency limits my ability and my influence as a man. Next, self sufficiency invites calamity. Here oh, here we go. I mean, if you don't listen to any part of this message, listen to this 1
30:45 because you don't like pain, and neither do I. No 1 says, alright. I'm gonna listen to myself, and I'm gonna get I'm gonna experience a lot of pain. Alright. Look at what it says here in
30:57 Proverbs 16 18, very famous verse. It should be on you should memorize Proverbs 16 18. Let's read it with energy together. Ready? Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before stumbling.
31:09 You see, when you act self sufficiently, when you make yourself God, when you think you know it all, right, and you're like, okay, God, I know better or okay, God, I know my needs better and you act
31:21 pridefully and self sufficiently, say hello, destruction. Hello, destruction. Man, I should start asking for more up here.
31:33 No. But you could just go because it's Right. In Job 24, Job is is thinking through the pain that he's in. Because, you know,
31:45 calamity befalls the righteous and the wicked. Right? And here's a guy who didn't do anything wrong, but he's going through a time of pressure and difficulty and tribulation. And he says this, but God drags
31:57 away the mighty by his power. Though they become established, they have no assurance of life. He may let them rest in a feeling of security, but his eyes are on their ways.
32:09 For a little while, while they are exalted and then they are gone, they are brought low and gathered up like all others. They are cut off like heads of grain. Wow.
32:22 See, there's Nebuchadnezzar, our story to start the story. The guy who had everything, and then God had to put him in his place because he's not God. Once you start acting like God, acting self sufficiently, out of
32:34 love, he will allow things to come into your life. He will allow consequences to befall you just to remind you, hey, you know what the source of all this was? Your pride and your self sufficiency.
32:47 Let's get it straight. And the good news about Nebuchadnezzar is that he did get it straight after the 7 years passed. And it says and Nebuchadnezzar says, and then my sanity was restored and I looked up and I
32:59 acknowledged the god of heaven. So self sufficiency invites calamity. Lastly, and this is probably the most important point of today's message, is self sufficiency destroys intimacy with
33:10 God. Self sufficiency destroys intimacy with God. Let me ask you a question. When someone says to you, hey, you know what? I don't need you.
33:22 Do you feel close to that person? Yes or no? Absolutely not. When someone goes, hey, you know what? I don't need you. Do you feel close to that person? I wouldn't feel close to you.
33:34 Right? And so self sufficiency, especially when Jesus says, hey. I'm the vine and you're the branch and apart from me you can do nothing. And I loved you and I proved I loved you by dying for you and you can
33:46 depend on me and my commitment to you looks like me on that cross and you can trust me when I say stay connected to me. Depend on me.Show more
Comments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
Comments
Keep it kind. Comments are public.