Self Centredness = Self Deception

Self Centredness = Self Deception
--SELF-ESTEEM!

Psalms 36:2-3, "… For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good…"

I want you to know that the man or woman who is truly in right relationship with Jesus Christ will not be full of self-pride. They won’t boast about their own accomplishments or try to show everyone else how wonderful they really are. People who have to boast about themselves often don’t really have much to brag about at all.

If you are truly on fire for God and your heart is right with Him, God will lift you up and people will see Jesus in you and give God the glory for all that is accomplished through your efforts. God doesn’t share His glory! The person that brags on their worthiness has already received their reward!
James 4:10, "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."
1 Peter 5:6, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:"
--SPIRITUAL BONDAGE!

Isaiah 44:19-20, "And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?"

It is as though there is a chain of spiritual bondage and blindness that is bound around the heart, ears and eyes so that the self-deceived man or woman cannot understand their predicament, hear the voice of the spirit or see the Holy Spirit moving to free them. They are so deceived that they believe they are the only ones right and everyone else is wrong.

I know that God will convict us of certain things on an individual level but the scriptures also say that the Word of God is not any “private interpretation”. That simply means that what God says for one, He says for all for He is no respecter of persons.
One who is caught up in self-deception can only see the faults of others but none of their own faults. They are quick to judge others but won’t judge their own hearts.

By dwelling on their own self esteem and lifting their own lives as shining examples for the rest of us to follow, it isn’t long until they have convinced themselves that they deserve some special treatment. It’s as though they worshipped the ground that they walked on and considered themselves as God’s gift to mankind and they are blinded by their own heart of pride.
--Conceit that is manifest in their lives!

Galatians 6:3, "For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself."

If there is one thing that is sickening to the ears of another person, its when we like to toot our own horn. When people start saying how good they are, how much experience they have and do so with an arrogant tone and a proud spirit, that’s when I am ready to stop listening.

When are we anything? Only when the Lord Jesus Christ places His anointing upon us and gives us the power to accomplish a work for Him! That work isn’t just work in the church or the ministry, its work anywhere that God places us.

Without the Lord we can’t do anything! I have no ability that is not given to me by God and neither do you! Let’s not get proud or high and mighty about what we think we know or what we think we can do! God knows



--Careless Hearing!

James 1:22, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers onlyow to bring you down off of your pedestal! deceiving your own selves."

Careless Hearing is when we come to the House of God and hear the message, but we don’t really hear what God is trying to say to us!

Another term that I have often heard is “Selective Hearing”. In other words, we hear only what we want to hear or what lines up with our already established beliefs. We don’t want to hear anything that might tell us that we are wrong. 1 Corinthians 14:38, "But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant."

A lot of people love to confess their ignorance. My opinion is that, “Its better to let people think that you are ignorant than to open your mouth and prove them right.”
--An Un-bridled Tongue!

James 1:26, "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain."
They love to talk about themselves. They love to talk about other people’s error. They love to talk about anything and everyone. I still believe that God have you 2 eyes, 2 ears and one mouth and that they should be used accordingly. Self-deceived people just love to hear the sound of their own voice.
-- Spiritual Poverty!

Revelation 3:17, "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:"

Jesus was speaking from the midst of the 7 Golden Candlesticks, representing the 7 churches in Asia of John’s day as well as the church of all the ages. He was also speaking to each of us individually because the descriptions and conditions of the churches can be found in all of us who are a part of the Body of Christ in the earth.

Jesus, from the candlestick, was speaking to the Church of Laodicea. This was a rich church, satisfied with its own sufficiency. There is where the Self-Deceived person lives. They think that they have it all together. They believe that they are right! They believe that no one can teach them anything!


Brothers and Sisters in Christ, let’s be on guard against becoming deceived by our own heart! We must stay in the Word of God and let it speak to us, cleansing us like water washing over a muddy path, washing away all the debris and cloudiness that separates us from God. We must not live a life of self-deception but we must make our salvation sure.
2 Peter 1:5-10, "… giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:"