“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.”
In Isaiah 14 we find the only place in the entire Bible that the name Lucifer is mentioned. Its hard to believe that Satan was once a righteous angel, but here in Isaiah we see the first sin ever committed. Adam and Eve did not commit the first sin believe it or not! It was Lucifer! He thought to much of himself. As the world still turns today we see this same sin of pride destroying the human race as we get closer to the end. What exactly are you trying to accomplish as a hunter? Every hunting video or social media post promotes nothing more than the hunter himself or herself. Its always painting the picture, “look at what I did.” If you are a believer in Jesus Christ we all need to realize that this life is not about “I”. Its about Him! When you kill an animal, why are you so quick to snap a picture of yourself with it and send it to everyone? Do you have the right intent or are you trying to prove to everyone how great of a hunter you are? In these verses of scripture we see where pride began, Vs 13 “For thou hast said in thine heart,” God has been so good to us by giving us the opportunity to chase wild animals, but our pride quickly arises after the kill takes place and we then begin to look like Lucifer himself. Five times we see the thoughts that arise in his heart; “I will ascend”, “I will exalt”, “I will sit”, “I will ascend”, “I will be like the most High”. Does this language remind you of anyone? There are many hunters out there that kill a world class buck and they think they were God’s gift from heaven. All they ever do is brag and boast about how great they are. Do you realize that even when you don’t speak with your mouth you can allow sin to destroy you by being lifted up in your heart?
You must realize their is a penalty for sin. After Lucifer commits this awful sin look at what the Bible says, “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” What would happen if you murdered someone? The penalty would possibly be life in prison or even death. There is a penalty for so many things in life; stealing, unfaithfulness, hunting without a license, over bagging, drinking and driving, not making your house payments, hunting without hunter orange, etc. When someone chooses to do wrong there will always be a penalty! Looking at the Bible you must realize that God’s penalty for sin is far worse than anything you could possibly face on earth. One day Lucifer will suffer for all of eternity because of the pride in his heart. Revelation 20:10 “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,…and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Revelation 20 doesn’t stop at verse 10, if you would continue reading, the Bible will show you that man will next be judged for their sin at the great white throne of judgement. Look at how the chapter ends in vs 15, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Have you ever been saved or has your pride kept you from the love of God? After Adam and Eve sinned the Bible says that man became separated from God and now every human soul is born into this world with a direction of eternal damnation. Though we deserve hell, God still made a way for us to overcome pride and the sins that destroy us; Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The Bible says that Jesus Christ was God and that He willingly suffered on the cross to pay for our sin. Don’t let your pride keep you out of heaven! The Bible says that salvation is by believing with your heart and confessing with your mouth that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again the third day to pay for our sins. We encourage you at this very moment to confess Jesus Christ to be your Saviour if you’ve never been saved. Can you answer this question? Are you a sinner? Look at what Romans 10:9, 10, and 13 says; “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Just take a moment and pray to the Lord in your own words and confess Jesus Christ to be your Saviour! So is pride really worth it? What is that big buck going to do for you? Will it help you draw closer to the Lord, or will it cause you to say “I will be like the most High”?
Memory Verse Week 12/16/19
Revelation 20:15
“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
