Hidden Treasure | Part 6 · Rewind

Hidden Treasure | Part 6 · Rewind

Pastor Bill Bush · Jul 7, 2019

Big Idea

Pride prevents connection with God and others, but humility provides the correction that leads to healing.

There is hope for every strained relationship and every stuck place in our walk with God: humility opens the door pride keeps shut. Jesus's parable of the great feast shows that those who think they're better miss the banquet, while those who humble themselves are welcomed in and restored.

Key points

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1Jesus tells the parable of the great feast to expose pride disguised as religious confidence.
Pastor Bill reads Luke 14:16-24 straight through, where invited guests make flimsy excuses and are replaced by the poor, crippled, and outsiders. He explains the original guests represent religious insiders who thought they were better than the host because of who Jesus chose to eat with, so they refused to come.
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2Jockeying for position at the table reveals hearts that miss the mission because of pride.
Working back into the context of Luke 14:7-11, Pastor Bill describes the guests scrambling for the seats of honor at the Pharisee's banquet while Jesus watches. He draws the principle that those who should know better but think they are better never actually get better, because overestimating yourself means undervaluing everyone else, including Jesus.
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3Pride prevents connection with God and with others.
He defines pride not as bragging but as trusting yourself more than you trust God, tracing it back to Satan's fall and the lie told to Adam and Eve. He applies this to marriage counseling, describing couples who hold up a mirror to each other's faces instead of turning it around on themselves.
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4Humility provides correction, like course-correcting a car drifting off the road.
Pastor Bill contrasts pride as a weed that grows without effort with humility as a lawn that must be cultivated. He connects this to why people can't repent or grow unless they first choose humility over defending themselves.
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5Naaman's healing shows pride almost cost him the very grace he was seeking.
Working through 2 Kings 5, he tells how Naaman, a leprous Aramean commander, expected Elisha to meet him personally and perform an impressive ritual, and stormed off angry when told simply to wash in the Jordan. Pastor Bill shows leprosy as a picture of sin, and Naaman's rage as pride resisting a simple answer of trust.
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6Naaman's officers talked him back from pride into obedience, and he was healed and found God.
His officers reasoned that he'd have obeyed a difficult command, so why not an easy one; Naaman humbled himself, washed seven times, and was healed, declaring there is no God except in Israel. Pastor Bill notes he didn't just get physical healing, he found a real relationship with God.
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7Jesus points back to Naaman's story to show that insiders who think they know better can miss the Messiah entirely.
In Luke 4, Jesus's hometown rejects Him because they think they know Him too well to accept Him as Messiah, and He references how only Naaman the Syrian, not any Israelite, was healed in Elisha's day. Pastor Bill applies this directly to churchgoers today who assume they're already secure in the kingdom because of religious performance rather than humble trust.

Application

Pastor Bill's charge is to choose to be humble now so you don't get humbled later.

Turn the mirror around on yourself
Instead of holding up a mirror to show others their faults, stop and ask what you personally need to work on in a struggling relationship or marriage.
Root out the weeds of pride weekly
Treat humility like a lawn that needs constant cultivation; regularly examine your heart for where pride has popped up rather than assuming it isn't you.
Share the last 10 percent
In hard conversations with a spouse, family member, or coworker, be willing to name the real source of the problem, not just the safer symptoms.
Invite people to call you out
Like Pastor Bill asked his lead team to be his 'Naaman's officers,' give someone permission to name it when they see your pride showing, and actually listen when they do.
Wash in the simple obedience God gives you
When God's answer feels too simple or not what you expected, choose to trust and obey anyway rather than demanding it happen your way.

Take it into your week

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7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

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Day 1

There is a moment at every dinner table, every meeting, every conversation where we quietly size up the room and decide where we belong. Jesus watched people doing exactly that — jockeying for the best seats — and He turned it into one of the most searching lessons He ever taught. The sermon pointed out that when we overestimate ourselves, we inevitably undervalue everyone around us, including Jesus Himself. That is a stunning thought. Pride is not just a social awkwardness; it is a posture of the heart that puts us at the center and nudges God toward the edges. Jesus does not simply say, 'Be polite and let others go first.' He is describing a whole orientation toward life — one in which we genuinely see others as more important than our own comfort, status, or reputation. The person who takes the lowest seat is not performing humility; they have actually stopped keeping score. That kind of heart does not develop overnight. It grows slowly, through honest reflection, through prayer, and through the willingness to let God's assessment of us carry more weight than our own. The good news embedded in this passage is that God is the one who calls us higher. The exaltation is real — it just comes from the right source.

For reflection

In what area of your life right now are you most tempted to take the seat of honor — to trust your own judgment about where you belong?

Pray

Pray for the honest awareness to see where pride is quietly shaping your posture toward others this week.

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

Pride is one of those things that's easier to spot in someone else than in ourselves — this message takes a close look at what pride actually is, and why humility might be the most important choice we make.

Discussion questions

1
In Luke 14:7-11, Jesus watches guests jockey for the seats of honor at a dinner and then tells a parable about it. What do you think He is getting at with that image — and why do you think He chose a dinner table to make the point?
2
The message defined pride not as bragging or arrogance but as trusting yourself more than you trust God. How does that definition change the way we might recognize pride in everyday life?
3
Naaman was a celebrated military commander who nearly walked away from his healing because the method felt beneath him. What do you think makes it so hard for people to accept help — especially when it comes in a form they didn't expect?
Related passage
4
The message drew a line between pride and broken connection — to God and to the people around us. Where do you see that dynamic play out in relationships generally?
5
The sermon compared humility to a healthy lawn that has to be deliberately cultivated, while pride grows like a weed on its own. What does it look like in practice for a community — a family, a friendship, a church — to actively cultivate humility together?
6
In Luke 4:27, Jesus points out that Naaman — a foreign outsider — received healing that Israel missed entirely. What does that suggest about the relationship between pride, expectation, and what God is able to do in someone's life?

Pray together

Ask God for the courage to choose humility before circumstances force it — and for eyes to see where pride may be quietly blocking connection with Him and with others.

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Topics

Breaking Relational Patterns Healing Through Obedience Naaman's Healing Pride and Humility Self-Trust vs. God's Trust

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