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Volume 24, Issue 6 Volume 25, Issue 10
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What Difference Does It Make? (Part 7) Self Indulgent Narcissism
By Ron Webster October 2023 By Pastor Butch Paugh March 2025 “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his After Cain slew Able, God raised up Seth (Genesis 4:25). Seth was the seed that would start the line descending from Eve to bring forth the One to destroy the power of Satan in Luke 3:23-38. Gene- sis 4:26 states when Seth’s son Enos was born: “then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.” When Noah was called to build the ark, own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (Luke
day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. (How can one not forgive as Christ hath forgiven us? (Eph- esians 4:32). “And he comforted them and spake kindly unto them” (Genesis 50:19-20). Our choices do make a difference to change the course of history! Most of us are too preoccupied with our own thoughts of our daily lives that we fail to see the hand of God in everything, preserving a faithful remnant. Left to ourselves when we turn our hearts away from our Lord God and Creator, we always degenerate to our lowest state, as the Apostle Paul describes in Romans 1:17-32 as “reprobate.” It came down to this when God took the lives of all living creatures save those on the Ark with Noah and his family. I don’t have. To sin has been in the basic nature of man ever since Eve was drawn into being a Self Indulgent Nar- cissist by her own lusts of the fruit Satan offered her in the garden. That original act of Self Indulgent Narcissism has destroyed the lives and souls of mil- lions! You Might say “well, preacher, a ‘little’ Self Indul- gent Narcissism can’t hurt anybody.” Really? Let’s see an example that will prove that to be a false con- cept. In the Book of Joshua, you will find the ex- ploits of Israel under Joshua the son of Nun as their leader. In Chapter 6, Joshua was instructed as to how to conquer and destroy Jericho! They were to leave nothing and no one alive! Man, woman, child or animal! They were strictly instructed to take or keep nothing from this “cursed” city except treas- ures that were to be consecrated unto the Lord or to the Lord’s treasury. When evil prospers, it is very easy to give up! But King David ex- presses his confidence in his Lord and Savior in Psalm chapter thirty seven with these words; “Fret not” but “trust in the Lord.” “Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.” “Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.” “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous (right thinkers) forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. He is merciful, and lendeth; and His seed is blessed. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.” He “forsaketh not His saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.” Read this entire chapter! Don’t be envious of the foolish when they prosper. After the sons of Israel were safely provided for in Egypt, they be- came complacent even in their misery, forgetting God’s promises to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3; 13:14-17; 15:13-21; 17:1-9. Did they also forget God’s faithfulness to Abraham in Genesis chapter twenty two where Abraham finally learned obedience by the things he suffered to trust God to fulfill what He promised, even if He had to raise his son from the dead? Abraham is praised for his faith in Hebrews 11:8-19. Even though he wavered at times, his faith persevered to the end! God always provides a way, just as the Apostle Paul states in I Corinthians 10:13, “There hath no temptation (or testing) taken you but such as is common to man: But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be (tested) above that which ye are able; but will with the (test- ing) also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Even with Job, who lived before Abraham, God had considered Job’s limits in Job 1:12 and again in Job 2:6. Paul additionally states in Ro- mans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His pur- pose.” His purpose has always been as stated in II Peter 3:9, “that none should perish, but all should come to repentance.” It has nothing to do with being chosen, but all to do with our choice to believe, trust, and obey His every Word! Now imagine, a city filled with thousands of people, animals and billions of dollars worth of merchan- dise! Who would ever know, or even care, if someone kept just a “little” of the wealth? Well, that seems to be just what Achan, the son of Carmi thought also. Out of all the wealth of this great city, Achan had just taken one suit of clothes, a little silver and a piece of gold. Surely no big deal! Right? Well, be- cause of this little bit of Self Indulgent Narcissism, The main purpose of a faithful remnant was to be a light of truth unto all the world, first commanded in Deuteronomy 4:1-9, not to “add unto the Word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it.” But they did evil in the sight of God. The Lord spoke to Isaiah in Isaiah 8:11-15 instructing him that he “should not walk in the way of this people, nor agree with those who want a compact with Assyria, so as not to fear their fear, nor be afraid. But, Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself (for He is your God); and let Him be your fear… And He shall be your sanctuary. But for a stone of stumbling and a rock
sibilities over to the world, and now we don’t like how they are taking care of them. Long ago we turned our children’s education over to the Government. Long ago we also turned our securities only found in our Creator over to corporate executives for insurances of all kinds — home, auto, health, and even retirement, all of which are very much government regulated, and now we do not like it! In our misery, we curse our government, and the evil ones using our tax dollars to man- date how we must think and live for the “good” of all. We have rejected our King of kings as Israel did in Judges 8:22-23, and I Samuel 8:5-8 for a man to rule and fight for them. Eventually crying out for His cru- cifixion in John 19:15, because He did not throw off the Roman rule by establishing His kingdom! As with all generations, if we don’t learn from history we are doomed to repeat it. How much more do we need to suffer before we learn obedience, and walk by every Word that has proceeded out of the mouth of God? But God in His compassion, is merciful “not willing that any should perish, but all come to repentance,” giving Israel hope of a future. Isaiah 9:2, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” That light was from the beginning (John 1:1- 10), for, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him: and without Him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:1-3 makes a clear statement that Jesus, the Son of God, created all things, for nothing was created that He did not create; being equal with the Father both as God; His words being the essence of truth by which we know both the Father and the Son. “In Him was life (for “the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed in his nostrils the breath of life: and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7; “and the Life (of the Spirit) was the Light of men. And the Light (since the knowledge of evil was brought into the world now) shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not, (could not even begin to understand it, let alone master it)… That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world (since creation) and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own (mankind), and His own received Him not.” Generally speaking, most of creation has not received Him, the Son of God as their Lord God and Creator, to walk in the light as He is in the Light, the light of life. Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is what we must live by (Matthew 4:4)! But man is continually adding to, or diminishing from His every Word. “But as many as receive Him (the Word, every word, that none per- ish, but all come to repentance,” II Peter 3:9), to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” (John 1:12). For His name represents everything He is, as described by His every word, for “the Word was God.” God has given every man plenty of good reasons to believe, trust, and obey Him since creation, “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them (the true Light which lighteth every man which cometh into the world, John 1:9); for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they (or we) are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19- 20). The children of Israel, “when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful: but became vain in their imaginations… changing the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man… and their foolish hearts was darkened.” (Romans 1:21-23). Likewise we today seem to be following the same path of destruction. If this isn’t enough to convince us, who name the Name of Christ, possibly even in vain, to repent and put our faith and hope in the promises of a faithful and loving Creator, instead of the world, then I don’t know what will! After the demise of the two houses of Israel, what now is God’s pur- pose for the Jewish people? First let me ask: Does God’s plan and purpose planned before creation center around the children of Israel, the Jewish people as a special chosen people, or all of mankind? God’s plan and purpose does not center on any group of people, ex- cept the saints, the faithful remnant, to be a light to the rest of the world! As I have stated many times previously, (II Peter 3:8-9) “The Lord is not slack concerning (all of His) promises, as some men count slackness!” This is not referring to creation or anything else that, “one day with the Lord as a thousand years as one day…” but is (specifi- cally referring to His) “longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” This is one blatant attempt at dismissing God’s very straight forward explanation of His creation, at the expense of His long suffering. Next time, more hope through the promises of the New Covenant, and the mysteries of the promises given to Eve in Genesis 3:15. Yes, God does know our choices do make all the difference and so should we! Kind of like King David’s “one night fling” or “extra marital affair” with Bathsheba caused him to commit murder and cursed his heirs forever. Or when Satan enticed David to do an ungodly census — seventy thousand innocents died because of this “little” misjudgment on David’s part. Or when Hezekiah indulged himself in a little Self Indulgent Narcissism in Isaiah 39 and cause his people to go into captivity in Babylon. Even after Isaiah told him about the consequences of his selfish, self-cen- tered, Self Indulgent Narcissism, his reply was he didn’t care! As long as there was peace and truth in his days. Hezekiah was truly a Self Indulgent Narcissist! Christ was tempted as we are all tempted, (He- brews 4:15) yet did not sin because He did not have the lust of the world in Him to conceive and bring forth S.I.N. as we do (James 1:14). A little Self In- dulgent Narcissism, or leaven as mentioned in I Corinthians 5:6 and Galatians 5:9 if not purged, will leaven, cause the whole lump (society) to be full of Self Indulgent Narcissism! America is full proof of that! And for a society to tolerate and compromise with evil is itself a Self Indulgent Narcissistic act that will destroy all of society! (Psalm 156:34-42). Let us all constantly purge ourselves of any un- clean thing (fleshly, worldly lust) that is contrary to God’s moral standards, so as not to curse ourselves and others! (I Corinthians 5:7). Let us strive to be holy as He is holy. (I Peter 1:15) — for without holi- ness no man shall see Him. (Hebrews 12:14). As Sir Thomas Browne observed, “As sins proceed, they ever multiply; and like figures in arithmetic, the last stands for more than they all that went before it.” www.CallToDecision.com God counted the sin against all of Israel and 36 men died! Just a little Self Indulgent Narcissism! No big deal.
1:14-15).
there were only two other godly men alive, Seth’s son Methuselah, Noah’s grandfather who died the year the flood came, and Lemech, Seth’s grandson, Noah’s father who died five years before the flood, to help and encourage Noah in the 120 years of building the ark. All the rest of the wicked world was taken by the flood except Noah and his family, the only ones left of the faithful remnant of which the Christ was to be born. Since the flood, Noah lived about two years short of Abram’s birth. Then about 100 years after the flood, to preserve a faithful remnant, God confounded the languages of men to slow down the spread of evil, in that He promised Noah never again destroy the world with a flood. Shem, the son of Noah, lived 148 years after Abraham was born, and died 48 years after Isaac was born. Isaac dies (Genesis 35:27-29) after the 12 sons of Jacob (Israel) were born. Since Noah died, there were still seven of the nine generations alive when Abram was a young man, as listed with those faithful (Luke 3:1-34), to en- courage Abram. Then about twenty years after Jacob was born, the last of the generations prior to Jacob except Isaac his father had all passed away. Sin is not just an ungodly act, but the results of being a Self Indulgent Narcis- sist. Sin is selfish, self-centered, self-indul- gent, self-motivated, self-gratifying, self- pitying and self destructive! Unfortunately, sin brought forth by a Self Indulgent Narcissist always hurts others who associate with them, and often the sin of a Self Indulgent Narcissist can destroy the lives of many, not only the narcis- sist. Remember the “me” generation sayings like “go ahead, you’re worth it,” “go for the gusto,” “if it feels good, do it,” “take care of number one,” “you can’t please everyone, so just please yourself” and “to thine own self be true?” Of course, in our society for several years now, nothing is ever really our own fault! It’s “the way our parents reared us,” “It’s be- cause of poverty,” “because my parents were drunk- ards” or perhaps “it’s because we were abused as a child,” or a real good one these days is “because my great, great, great grandparents were slaves,” and on and on it goes. Any excuse we can find to indulge in self-pity to, or in any other way to explain away our Self Indulgent Narcissism! I committed adultery because “my spouse doesn’t love me anymore, he/she is no longer romantically inclined toward me,” I commit fornication because “my parents don’t care,” or because “everybody else does it, so why can’t I?” I steal with a gun or with a “lying pen” for welfare cheats because I want things
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God is always faithful to make a way to pre- serve the faithful rem- nant. When only Isaac and Jacob were left to encourage the sons of Jacob, God had al- ready prepared a wide- spread famine where Jacob and his twelve sons ended up in Egypt, where there was food stored up for seven years by Joseph, the youngest son that was sold as a slave by his brothers. When Jacob died in Egypt, Joseph’s broth- ers began to fear him. But “Joseph said unto them, Fear not: For am I in the place of God (to seek revenge)? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass as it is this
of offence to both houses of Israel, for a gin (a net) and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be bro- ken, and be snared, and be taken.” They continued in their blindness, becoming reprobates, until both houses of Israel were carried into captivity. Even there, God provided hope and comfort to the faithful in their captivity. I will have more on this subject later. Are we also going down this same road to destruc- tion? God continues in Isaiah 8:16-22, “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples,” the faith- ful remnant that follows God’s every Word from a heart that is set apart, sanctified to be a light of truth unto the world. And the Son of God, who said “I will wait upon the Lord, (the Father) that hideth His face from the house of Jacob. And I will look for Him. Be- hold I (the Son) and the children (the true children, spoken of in John chapter 8, of which these Pharisees were not!) whom the Lord (the Father) hath given me (John 17:12 and John 18:9) are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion. And when they shall say unto you, ‘Seek unto them that have familiar spirits (mediums), and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter,’ Should not a people seek unto their God, (than) for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony if they speak not according to this word (by adding or dimin- ishing from it), it is because there is no light in them.” Are we any different today? “And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead (hard pressed) and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hun- gry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their King and their God, and look upward. And they shall look into the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dim- ness of anguish; and they shall be driven to dark- ness.” Are we going down this same road by not taking re- sponsibility for our bad choices, turning our hearts after the world? Having turned our God given respon-
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