How familiar are you with Lucifer or Satan? Do you know what his downfall was and why he was thrown out of Heaven? Isaiah 14:13–14 “You said in your heart, I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

The reason Satan was cast out of Heaven was because of his pride. Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.” Satan wanted to be above God.

Ezekiel 28:14–17 “You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.

In the early church there were a number of false teachers. Revelation 2:20 “ Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.”

In the church at Thyatira, THEY tolerated sin but had lots of love. The Ephesians church tolerated no sin but failed to love. As we find in a number of churches today, Jezebel was in the church leading others into sexual immorality and idolatry.

Revelation 2:21–22 “I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways.”

Satan tempts with sin but God does not forgive those who refuse to repent. If we are told by Scripture that immorality will take place in the church, do you think it is any better in politics? We also have schools that teach Jezebel’s morality. Christians, this is not something that we are to tolerate.

Proverbs 8:13 “To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.”

Proverbs 11:2 “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”

Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

II Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”

Pride can affect our Christian experience. Pride, for many is most difficult to overcome. We must realize that God does not love a person who is overly prideful. That could mean arrogantly self-righteous or overly legalistic.

Romans 9:13 “Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”