Episode 16: Pride vs. Humility: Why Living For Jesus Changes Everything

In a world that constantly pressures us to build our own "Babylon"—a life defined by personal success, self-reliance, and public status—how do we stay anchored in the truth of the Gospel? 

In this episode of Live It Out, Pastor Jason Lancaster and Adam Green dive into Isaiah 13–16. We explore the rise and fall of the ancient empires of Babylon and Moab to uncover a timeless warning about the danger of human pride.

When everything in our culture shouts at us to "make a name for ourselves," why is the biblical call to "seek first the Kingdom of God" the only path to true security? We discuss how to trade our fragile, culture-based identities for an unshakable identity in Jesus Christ!

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:06

Hey friends, welcome to this episode of Live It Out, a podcast where we talk about God's word and we encourage one another and our listeners to live it out for the glory of God and for the good of others. I'm Adam Green, and with me today is Pastor Jason Lancaster, and this is being recorded live right here at Village Bible Church in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. And if you are in the Hot Springs area, we want to encourage you to join us in person on Sundays right here at Village Bible Church at 9 15 a.m. Truly, this is the highlight of our week where we come together seeking the Lord all the while singing praises to him, praying to him, hearing the preaching of God's word, all the while being equipped and being encouraged to live it out throughout the week. Well, with that, let's jump into the podcast where we're talking about Isaiah chapter 13 through chapter 16. Maybe give a kind of an overview, quick overview of this um section of Isaiah, and maybe at least where we're going to start off.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

It's interesting that this section here, and it's it's a lot of Isaiah, is God's judgment on the nations. Yeah. Not just God's judgment on his own people, Israel and Judah, but also on the nations. And I think a very uh anchoring verse on that judgment is because of their pride. Yeah. And it says specifically as we started off today in Isaiah 13, verse 11, it says, Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. So it's targeting pride, proud, arrogant nations who can set their own rules, set their own morals, rely upon their military strength, and God says, I'm coming after you. You know, we talked about empires, you know, our graveyard. The world is full of a graveyard for empires, and we think that that empire will never die. You thought the Assyrian Empire never going to die.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

I think we're indestructible.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Gone. Babylon, gone, Rome, gone.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:11

You know, you just keep naming it and taking it off, and we hit America 250 today, and you think there is no way ever that we can envision, in whatever scenario, that America would ever go away. And yet, pride, arrogance, drifting from God. You never know what can happen.

SPEAKER_01 2:27

I think as I as I think through this, you know, obviously it's talking about the fall of these other big empires. I mean, oh I mean, ultimately, this is pointing to God's sovereignty. You know, God ultimately is at work. That we can as as a nation, we've got might, we've got, you know, military power, we've got wealth, we've got, you know, really, we we give care and aid through throughout the world, but really God is the king of kings. He is over all of this. Yeah. And um maybe can just kind of point out just that, you know, even in this passage, how he's using other nations to bring judgment upon these uh prideful nations.

SPEAKER_00 3:07

Isn't that crazy that he uses pagan nations to judge his people first, you know, through the Assyrians and then ultimately the Babylonians. But what's interesting, the Babylonians over overcame the Assyrians. And then you got the Medes and the Persians overcoming the Babylonians. It's like, wow, God is using almost arrogant, proud nations to judge other arrogant, proud nations, and then they'll be judged for their arrogance and pride. It's like a pattern repeated, and God is using a variety of instruments in his hands.

SPEAKER_01 3:38

This is this is righteous anger. Yeah. Right? You know, God ultimately, he is the standard for what is right and wrong, for what is holy and just and right.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

Yeah, because you'll find throughout even these chapters, there's the pauses where there's compassion for these nations, even these pagan nations being judged. There's this compassion that comes for the prophet, that comes from the Lord, that he's still like, ah, this is not ultimately what I want to do. I want to show mercy here, but they must be judged. And so it's not like God is just having a field day and having so much fun doing this. It's he's bringing judgment upon proud nations who have no acknowledgement of him, who were living in crazy ways of living, kind of similar to the way we are in America. I mean, and I'm not just trying to be this guy who says, Oh, America is so into sin, but I know we've always been. I know we've always been a sinful nation. But man, it seems like today we're kind of flaunting it, and technology has made it more in our face, whether it's pornography or pride parades or whatever. And so we get this arrogance about us that says, you know what? We're untouchable. We are untouchable. We're gonna do what we want to do. And we, in fact, we have a great military might to back it up, and we're untouchable.

SPEAKER_01 4:50

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Obviously, pride, you know, hits every single person. You know, what is what is one thing that we could practically do as individual believers to kind of knock down that pride in our life, maybe in it like a daily activity that we can then turn our eyes to the Lord?

SPEAKER_00 5:10

I mean, I think first and foremost, you can identify as a believer in Jesus and not as a I think you can be a patriot all day long, but being a Christian must be the highest identity. So I mean, really, you're going around town. Are you are you talking more about politics or more about Jesus? I mean, really, that just comes down to it right there. Are your conversations with other believers, your conversations online, your conversations with unbelievers more about politics or more about the Lord? I mean, that that right there is the most practical thing you can think of. And if Jesus and following the King and his kingdom and being a Christian is your highest identity and highest priority, you will have conversations that reflect that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

I think that was uh a key moment in in your message today. Just, yeah, I mean, really, our our identity, if someone were to describe you, we want them to say they are a follower of Jesus. Like Jesus is important for this person. It's not about, you know, wealth, it's not about whatever it is, you know, uh their possessions or their political views, but really they they love the Lord. And no matter what's going on in their life, they're putting the Lord first. Like there's crazy stuff going on in their life, but they their their joy and they have contentment in the Lord, that's not normal. And uh it's just it it should be something that like I want to be like that, you know.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

And you'll find the person who's claims to be a believer but talks more about politics and the Lord. You'll you'll notice there's a lot of probably a lot of pride there. Sure. Uh just a lot of pride and arrogance. It doesn't mean you can't talk about politics, talk about it all day long, but may your identity be about Jesus and you'll you will talk about it with humility.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

Right. Now, um uh shifting gears a little bit. Now the passage also brings a lot of hope and future light to something that's gonna happen in the future.

SPEAKER_00 7:01

Yeah, and I think I think it's interesting you go through all this judgment and then you pop in chapter 16 where there's this messianic verse that just kind of pops out where it says in Isaiah 16, 5, a throne will even be established in loving kindness, and a judge will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent of David. Moreover, he will seek justice and be prompt in righteousness. This is a reference to Jesus. This is this king that's going to come from the Davidic line. He's gonna rule in such a way where he is going to promote righteousness and justice. And that will happen in the future, of course, when he's reigning uh on this earth for a thousand years. But I would say, even now, he is reigning at the right hand of the Father. Right and those who are part of his family called the church, right now we seek we seek refuge in him. We can tell the nations there is a savior for you, we can tell individuals there is a redeemer for you. And at the same time, as we follow this exalted king, we can also advocate for that which is just, that which is righteous. And I think as believers, we got to be careful to say, let the world handle the world, and the Christians will just be over here off to the side. But you gotta understand, people are always promoting morals, people are always promoting doctrine, believers or not. And so if we're just gonna just hand over the world and politics and laws to unbelievers, just have a mess. So don't be sidelined as a believer just because someone is gonna call you a Christian nationalist or someone's gonna chant separation of church and state. I mean, you're if you're a believer, you want what you believe to permeate your life and culture as much as possible.

SPEAKER_01 8:33

Yeah, I mean, you want to stand up for those things where those things intersect. And so, I mean, I just love that passage that we have the hope of Jesus, that he is faithful, he is just, he has saved us and redeemed us, he's never gonna leave us or forsake us, given us an eternal hope. We have the best news to share. And when those things do uh intersect in our lives as Christian, we can't not just step back, but we need to press on, press into those issues with a biblical worldview of hope in Jesus. Amen. Amen. And do it humbly with grace and love. Uh well, any any any other thoughts you want to kind of bring uh to the attention of this podcast?

SPEAKER_00 9:17

Yeah, I think uh the important thing is is is is celebrate America 250, be a patriot. Nothing wrong with any of that. Just keep it all in perspective that you are a believer in Jesus. Yeah, walk with humility, don't look down on other nations, don't look down on other people, don't look down on people who are not as excited as you are. It's uh it's we don't check patriotic ID cards before we share the gospel, we don't check patriotic ID cards before we're full of compassion and mercy to those who are suffering. We can point all the evils out in the society, but continue to look in your own life and walk with humility.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

Yeah, and I think uh it was very fitting at the end of the service just to have that song change, I think, of just keeping Jesus as a vision first in our hearts all day, all night. Amen. Giving all glory to him as we live it out.

unknown 10:06

Amen. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 10:07

Thanks. Thanks so much for joining us for this episode of Live It Out. If you are encouraged or if you've been helped in any way, drop us a comment. Let us know how God is working in your life throughout this week. Also, if you have any topics or questions for future episodes, feel free to email us at live it out all one word, live it out at vbchsv.org. We hope you have a good week. Keep living it out for God's glory and for the good of others. God bless.