Rick explores the consequences of rejecting divine wisdom, emphasizing the pitfalls of becoming wise in one’s own eyes. By recounting Jeremiah’s struggle with a similarly defiant society, he draws striking parallels to modern America’s spiritual challenges. Join Rick as he unravels the complexities of arrogance, its stages, and its intoxicating allure, urging listeners to choose faith over folly. This episode serves as a compelling reminder of the need to embrace humility, trust in God’s plan, and seek a life of purpose grounded in spiritual truth.
Welcome to the Flatline with your host, Rick Hughes. For the next 30 minutes, you’ll be inspired, motivated, educated, but never manipulated. Now, your host, Rick Hughes.
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Good morning and welcome to the Flatline. I’m your host, Rick Hughes, and for the next few minutes, I’d like to invite you to stick around. It’s just going to be a few minutes of motivation, some inspiration, some education, and we always do that without any type of manipulation. So hang around. This is the new year, 2020, the first show of the new year, and we need to make a few announcements before we get started today talking about the delusional daydreamer. That’s what we’re going to cover today. But I need to make an announcement that we’d like to dedicate this show to Rex Allison, our dear, wonderful friend, who has been our spot checker for the last few years. Rex has gone to be with the Lord, and he’s from Shreveport, Louisiana. And this is someone who every Sunday would make sure that every radio station played our shows. He would get on the Internet and listen on streaming audio to make sure that each of the 27 stations was, in fact, fulfilling their commitment to us to play the show. And if they didn’t play the show, if they only played part of the show or the show was distorted, then he would contact us and we would contact the station and try to get our money back for the shows that we paid for they didn’t play. It’s a shame that this has to be done, but we’ve learned the hard way that these stations that we broadcast on don’t always broadcast the show and they don’t actually call you and tell you they messed up. So if you don’t find out about it, you wind up paying for dead air space that they didn’t play. As we move into this new year again, recognize Rex and the wonderful job he did for us for so long and he’s now gone to be with the Lord and bless his heart. No more tears, no more pain, no more sorrow. The old things are passed away and all things are new. And I imagine he’s having a wonderful, glorious time face to face with his savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. So now I’d like to remind you that we’ve been on the air since 2005. That’s roughly 15 years of radio broadcasting Bible studies across America. 52 Sundays a year for 15 years adds up to well over 780 radio shows closing in on 800. Broadcast in many different radio markets from California to New York. Some of them we don’t broadcast in anymore. Some of them we still do. I think our longest two running shows are Jackson, Mississippi, and Grass Valley, California. But I would just like to say thank you to my Heavenly Father. Thank you to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who’s provided the means and the direction for me as we pursue this ministry. We do now have it on podcast. You can listen to the Flotline radio shows on your Apple iPod. or go to spotify the podcast network or anchor the podcast network and type in the flotline and you’ll see all of our shows are listed there and you can play them anytime you’d like to and you can cycle them through the bluetooth in your car if you’re traveling but i’d just like to say that’s available now also we are beginning to put into print The Flotline radio shows will be in print soon, and we’ll do three months at a time. And so we’ll start with January of 19, and we’ll print up January, February, and March, and these will be exactly as I spoke them. They’re not edited prints. They are dictated just like we spoke them, and if you’d like to read them, and they will be available to you. So this ministry is just a small part of what we do. If you’d like to see the rest of it, you can go to our Facebook page, Rick Hughes Ministries on the Facebook page. You can see the schools that we speak in, the churches that we speak in, the radio shows, the Wounded Warrior Projects, so many things we have going on. And so I’m so grateful for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ again for giving me this opportunity. I don’t know how long he’ll let me do it, but I’ll be here as long as he will. I promise you. Thank you for listening. Thank you for giving your time. Thank you for praying for me. And it’s always a delight to hear from you. So don’t hesitate to write if you’d like. Okay, we’re going to study the delusional daydreamer. This, in my way of thinking, is the dysfunctional Christian or the dysfunctional non-Christian. And that’s the person who’s not operating normally in life. The warning verse we find in Proverbs 3, 7, which we’ve mentioned lately, do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord, turn away from evil. Wise in your own eyes is a reference to arrogant, negative volition. arrogant, negative volition. And we find that arrogance has been committed before in the Bible. It actually started with Satan’s original sin. The original sin was the arrogance of Satan in eternity past. And I’ll read it to you out of Ezekiel 28. Verses 14 through 17, listen to his arrogance. This is what God the Father said to him. He said, you were the anointed cherub who guards the throne and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You were blameless in all of your ways from the day you were created until righteousness, excuse me, until unrighteousness was found in you. The unrighteousness is his arrogance. By the abundance of your slander, which is when he maligned God, they filled your inner life, his motivation and his thought pattern, with violence. And you sinned. Therefore I, that’s God the Father, have cast you out as defiled from the mountain of God. And I have excluded you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.” Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your glamour. And now I cast you to earth, and I place you before kings that they may see you. So this is his arrogance, thinking that he’s equal to God, that he can replace God. And arrogance is actually one of the leading sins in the whole Bible, beginning here with the fall of Satan. One of the leading sins in the whole Bible that leads to self-destruction. The plain truth is that an arrogant individual is his own worst enemy since he does not actually have a realistic image of self. That’s exactly what happened to Satan. He was blameless in all of his ways from the day you were created until the unrighteousness was found in you. Just to put it mildly, he looked in the mirror one too many times. and thought he was smarter than God. He was very glamorous. He had created quite a following. We’re told that one-third of the angels of heaven were cast out with him, that he had recruited that many people, and they are now fallen angels, and we know them as demons today. These are the fallen angels that came with Satan and were cast to the earth. So arrogance, a leading emotional number one sin. And an arrogant individual is his own worst enemy. As I said, he doesn’t actually have a realistic image of himself. He is the delusional, dysfunctional believer, wise in his own eyes. That’s what we’re calling this study, the delusional, dysfunctional believer who is wise in his own eyes. The delusional daydreamer is the word I was looking for. I had to back up a minute. So arrogance, let’s make a couple of points here for you. Arrogance is synonymous with vanity. And vanity is simply empty pride in regard to one person, one’s attainments or possessions. And you couple that with an excessive desire to be noticed, lust for attention or lust for approval or praise from other people. You can’t see arrogance, it’s invisible, it’s an attitude of the soul, but it’s actually a complete complex of sins, not just one sin, many sins. Put them together like jealousy and bitterness and competitiveness and being in inordinate competition with other people, that’s the indicator of arrogance. It’s a mental attitude thought pattern that overflows into the motivation and the decision-making process of your soul. And an arrogant person who rejects the Word of God, who rejects the plan of God, is a delusional daydreamer if he thinks that he has a better plan than what God has. you know arrogance comes in three stages and i’ve said this many times on the radio show it starts with self-justification this is where the arrogant person justifies why he’s right and other people are wrong and this is the way the arrogant dysfunctional believer does he justifies why it’s okay to sin why it’s okay to disobey God, or the arrogant, dysfunctional unbeliever who justifies why the Bible is wrong and he’s right, that maybe he heard some fellow that’s smarter than God and that fellow told him, don’t have to believe the Bible, listen to me, I’m smarter than God. And so people justify why they reject God’s word, they justify why they sin, It’s called self-justification. Maybe take a student that doesn’t do their homework, and then when the teacher gets on to them, then they say, well, you gave me too much homework, and I couldn’t do it, and I had basketball practice, and I had this, and I had that, and I couldn’t do my homework. Or maybe they cheat in a class and get caught, and they justify saying, well, it was too hard, and I wasn’t able to study. So people justify that. why they do what is right. Thieves justify why they steal. And two-timers justify why it’s okay to two-time on their spouse. It’s never okay, and that’s self-justification. That self-justification leads to the second stage of arrogance called self-deception. And this is where once you’ve lied to enough people, Then you begin to lie to yourself and actually believe the lie. And then it moves into self-absorption, the third stage of arrogance, self-justification, self-deception, self-absorption, totally wrapped up with self, totally involved with self, totally only wanting what self wants to the exclusion of God or God’s plan or anybody else. And this sort of attitude always, and I say always, leads to self-destruction if it’s unchecked. So if you have or anyone has an unrealistic self-image, it’s going to lead to unrealistic expectations. And this was Satan. He had an unrealistic self-image. He was as smart as God. He was handsome, beautiful, attractive, smart as God. So he had an unrealistic self-image and unrealistic expectations. That’s the downfall of the arrogant person. He or she justifies what they believe is true. And actually, they lie to themselves. They become self-deceived. Unrealistic expectations, unrealistic self-image. This in turn leads to self-deception, self-absorption, self-destruction. So when a person is wise in their own eyes, Proverbs warns in Proverbs 3 here, do not be wise in your own eyes. It’s the blindly arrogant person who completely rejects God’s plan and in fact substitutes his own plan. He or she may reject the Bible as divine truth or any insight from the Bible and seek only your approval and your acceptance of their earthly wisdom. And I can assure you that human viewpoint is no match for divine viewpoint, however people believe it is. People really do believe they’re smarter than God and they justify it by saying the Bible was written by men and you can’t trust it. You can’t depend on it and it’s not really true and Satan loves to hear that sort of stuff. Anything to get him out of the lake of fire where he’s headed. You know, unbelievers often convince themselves that the God thing is really just another crutch for weak-minded individuals like you and me. And we’re not as wise as they are, which means that those of us of faith are mental cripples. And we’re unreasonable. I think some politicians have even referred to us as that sort of person because we believe the Bible. We trust in the Bible. We trust in the wisdom of God over the wisdom of man. You know, the Bible clearly says, curse it as a man that trusteth in man. And if you believe some politician can solve the problems of America today, you’re dead wrong. I don’t care who you elect, no problem will be solved. It’s a spiritual problem in this country. And we’ll go on to show you that. Jeremiah had much the same thing going on after the Nebuchadnezzar captured him and took him back to Babylon. He kept warning the Jews in captivity to turn back to the Lord, turn back to the Lord, but they wouldn’t do it. Jeremiah 4.22 says, and this is a kind of a eerie comparison to us, my people are foolish, he said. They have not known me. They have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, but to do good? Well, they have no knowledge of that. You see, they don’t believe in heaven or hell. That’s in America today, this sort of person. Wise to do evil. What did the verse say? Don’t be wise in your own eyes. Wise to do evil, the schemer, the manipulator, the deceiver. Wise to do evil, but to do good, they have no knowledge. They don’t believe in heaven, they don’t believe in hell, nor do they even believe in the sovereignty of God. Some people like this are simply agnostics, some of them are atheists, some of them are just plain negative. Bad decisions limit future options and stupid decisions get people hurt, I’ve told you that. The worst decision you could ever make is to think you’re smarter than God and you can reject anything the Bible has to say. So rejecting any and all divine viewpoint found in the Bible is typical of many modern Americans today. Their arrogance and their prosperity have fueled this disrespect for God’s word. They have become delusional and dysfunctional, and they waste their lives chasing happiness that they can never catch. These verses I’m about to read to you indicate the negative attitude that Jeremiah faced while he proclaimed God’s word and is eerily a mirror of modern progressive humanistic America. Listen carefully. See if you see us in these verses. Jeremiah 6.10, to whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Indeed, their ear is uncircumcised and they cannot give heed. That’s a metaphor meaning they’re negative. They’re not going to listen. They don’t want to listen. I mean, they don’t care if Jesus Christ himself walked down and stood among them. They’re not going to listen. And that was proven when our Lord did that. Walked among men, demonstrated who he was, and they still hated him and despised him. You think it’s gonna be any different in this country today? When the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is mentioned, it is divisive. People don’t, they hate it or they love it. It’s no middle ground. Who can I speak wisdom to? Who can I give warning to? They’re not gonna listen. They won’t pay attention. And that’s going on today in this client nation called America. Behold, the word of the Lord, Jeremiah says, is a reproach to them, and they have no delight in it. It offends them. They don’t even want to hear it. They don’t like it. Haven’t we had to struggle for years about putting the Ten Commandments up at the courthouse? Get them down, get them down. We can’t have the Ten Commandments in the public arena. We can’t have a nativity scene in the public arena. Oh, it’s offensive. We have gone deep, deep, deep into national arrogance. Listen to Jeremiah 6, 13. Here’s the eerie part. Because from the least of them, even to the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness. That’s greed. And from the prophets, even to the priest, everyone lies. They deal falsely. And then Jeremiah goes on in 15 and 16 of chapter six to say, were they ashamed that When they committed these abominations, nope, nope, they were not ashamed at all. Nor did they even know how to blush. Therefore, they shall fall among those who fall. At the time, I’ll punish them. They’ll be cast down, says the Lord. Thus says the Lord, verse 16, Jeremiah 6, stand in the ways and watch. Ask for the old paths where the good way is and walk in it. And then you’ll find rest for your soul. But they said, nope, nope, nope. We will not walk in it. That is negative volition. You know, there are a lot of things that go on in America today that people are not ashamed of at all. Public displays, public marches, public things that, I mean, you can just, you know some of the things I’m talking about. I don’t have to bring them up by name, but my gosh, we are sick when people dress up like this and do some of the things they do in public. and demand to be respected because of their attitude and the rejection of God’s word. No wonder we are about to go under the fifth cycle of discipline. No wonder there’s a train wreck coming and you can hear the whistle blowing right now. You can see the light at the far end of the railroad track. I mean, the judgment of God is coming. It’s on the way. And we are in serious trouble today. So this is it. They won’t listen. They won’t walk in it. They won’t pay attention to it. The problem is this. Any individual must have a source of truth by which to base their decisions. Where does their truth come from? If it’s flying across the ocean, they use faith to trust the plane that’ll take them safely, don’t they? I mean, if they want to get on a plane and fly to Europe, they’re going to trust the pilot. They get in that plane, they trust the pilot whom they have never met. with their lives, their very lives. And this same person will not trust God since their own personal agenda does not line up with what the Bible teaches. For example, if the Bible teaches that marriage is between one man and one woman, and the arrogant person is a proclaimed homosexual, then in their opinion, God must be wrong. They are wise in their own eyes. He must be wrong since his word, the Bible, does not support their lifestyle. And so they become dysfunctional. They are delusional. illusions are a dime a dozen magicians use them on street corners in auditoriums but what we need to remember is that satan is the master illusionist he has the ability to convince you that the lie is actually real he himself is in fact a master liar according to jesus christ the anointed son of god In John 8, 44, the Bible says there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of all lies. And the bottom line is the deluded, dysfunctional daydreamer whose wise in his own eyes has bought into that lie. The lie is that his or her lifestyle is a better choice than what God offered in the Bible. Proverbs 14.9 said, fools make a mockery of sin, but among the righteous there is favor. In Lamentation 3.25, the Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. You know, the issue always has been the love of God for us. Always, always, always. John 3.16 tells us that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. So if God loves us, then would he try to keep us from following our desires and our dreams? Well, the answer is no, he won’t. He absolutely allows you to choose your own lifestyle, even though he may know the choice will lead to frustration and failure and maybe even an early death in your life. keep in mind he did preserve his word for all of us and in his word he did provide clear instructions on how we can have a full wonderful meaningful life but the liar of all lies convinces people that it’s not true or that god is actually being unreasonable So in Proverbs 3, 1 and 2, listen carefully. Do not forget, don’t put aside my teachings, but let your heart keep my mandates, and they will provide length of years to your life and peace they will add to you. Let me read that again. Don’t forget my teachings. Let your heart keep my mandates. That’s positive volition. And they will provide length of years to your life and peace they will add to you. I’m telling you, if you will learn the 10 problem-solving devices that make up the flat line on your soul, you can add length of years to your life and peace in your life and the happiness you’re looking for. if you will learn and use God’s plan for your life. But if you’re wise in your own eyes, if you reject the word of God, reject the plan of God, then you will have nothing but frustration and failure all of your life. Proverbs 3.7 says, fear the Lord. Turn away from evil and it will heal your body and refresh your bones. That’s a metaphor for having great health, good health. Fear means to respect, to have reverence of God. Reverencing God, putting aside your own thoughts, your own teaching, and obeying his mandates give years of life and peace and good health. I just read it to you. Now, either you believe that or you don’t believe that. I know most don’t believe it. They believe they’re smarter than God. They are wise in their own eyes. Thus, they are dysfunctional, delusional daydreamers. Here’s what God said, for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. There’s the great promise from God for your life, a wonderful life, a healthy life, a long life, if you learn and obey his word. But if you’re wise in your own eyes and you turn away from God’s word and you seek your own way through your own arrogance, intellectually arrogant, emotionally arrogant, then you are going to bomb out and frustrate yourself and have one miserable life. It all starts with trusting God, trusting his word, trusting his plan, and it starts with the eternal provision that God the Father made for you in eternity past. That’s where it starts. In 2 Peter 3, 9, the Bible says the Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some people count slowness, but he’s very patient towards you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Change their mind, repentance, change of mind. There are three different Greek words for repentance in the Bible. This is not an emotional being sorry. This is the word metanoia, means to change the way you’re thinking. You’ve been an unbeliever, you become a believer. How does a person get saved? The Bible says this, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. the bible says he that believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life the bible says these things are written so that you might know that you have eternal life it all starts with faith alone in jesus christ alone that’s how much god loves you his only begotten son came laid his life down on a cross to be judged in your place and my place and to pay the penalty for our sin that’s why the bible says he that knew no sin was made sin for us so that we could be made the righteousness of god through him that’s god’s love that’s god’s plan that’s god’s provision for you don’t be wise in your own eyes don’t think you don’t need this that you got a better deal or you’re going to wind up on the short end of the stick you’re going to wind up being very sorry that you were a delusional daydreamer you were wise in your own eyes you thought you were smarter than god you had it all figured out and in the end it all came crashing down i’ve seen it you’ve seen it we’ve seen people frustrated failures in their life because they were wise in their own eyes don’t fall into that pattern It takes humility, I promise you. That’s why the Bible says the Lord Jesus Christ humbled himself and made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant. That’s why the Bible says let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus. Be wise to God’s plan. Grow up, learn it, and live it, and have a wonderful life. Until next week, this is your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you for listening to The Flatline.
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Thank you for listening to The Floodline with your host, Rick Hughes. If you’d like to contact Rick, please write to him at P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama, 35054, or online at www.rickhughesministries.org.
