1. Title: Too Good for God
2. Text: 2 Chronicles 26 II Kings 15:1-7
3. Audience: Villa Heights Christian Church, AM crowd, 6-11-06, 4th in the series “The Kings and I”
4. Objectives:
-for the people to understand the dangers of success, its typical cycle, and how to break the cycle
-for the people to feel concerned for the need to keep success in perspective, determined to have God-centered goals, and to not forget what God has taught us through life and the examples of others
-for the people to look back on their own lives to see what God has taught them about success and to check their perspective on life and their goals against what God wants them to be doing
5. When I finish my sermon I want my audience to daily make choices of holiness over worldly success
6. Type: textual
7. Dominant Thought: God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble
8. Outline:
Intro: NBC has sunk into last place, so now they’re going to play the lottery. This past Thursday, they introduced a new summer series called “Windfall.” I didn’t get to see it, but the previews told a little of the story. 20 people share a winning lottery ticket of about $18 million apiece. The effects are quick and dramatic.
• One married couple is giddy with the new wealth, but one of the other winners is the wife’s ex-lover. So, his wife becomes suspicious.
• One teen watches painfully, as her estranged parents argue about the money.
You get the impression that there are going to be big life changes, and many of them aren’t good. Laurie McCarthy, who created the show, says the characters are "drunk with possibility.” That “a win like this that’s so sudden and so monumental might ripple out in different ways with different people."
Others say the show is more of a “losing ticket.” Time, and ratings, will tell.
One thing’s for sure: many people have at least some interest in what it’s like to have your ship come in.
The subject at hand this morning is what happens to people when they experience success in life. There’s a good study of it through the life of the 9th king of Judah, King Uzziah – also called Azariah, whose story is in 2 Chron 26. The short version of his 52 years reign is like the other kings we’ve been looking at, v.4: He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done. He ruled at a time when Judah was at its strongest, and the major part of ch. 26 is a detail listing of all the things he accomplished.
He warred against the Philistines – long-time enemies of the Jews, and took over several of their towns. Then, he rebuilt towns, and moved in people of Judah to live among them. God also helped him against other enemies, so that Judah became strong.
Uzziah forced the Ammonites to pay tribute to him – kind of an extortion thing – Just picture some Jewish guy named Guido telling the Ammonite ambassador: “You should pay the king some big bucks, because it would be very regrettable if some unfortunate happenings were to disrupt the security of your cities.”
Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem and the desert to post lookouts against attacks. He dug cisterns in the desert to provide for livestock. He had people working the vineyards and fields – he loved the soil, and we can assume that the nation’s agricultural output increased. Read the 26th chapter and you’ll also come to understand that he had a well-organized, well-equipped, well-trained army. He even built machines to shoot arrows and large stones – ballistas and catapults, like the Romans would develop and use a few centuries later. The writer of Chronicles paints the picture of a godly, successful, talented, blessed leader. He was greatly helped by God.
v. 5b: As long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success
You can almost hear how that’s an open-ended statement. “As long as he sought the LORD…” Sure enough, in v16, we read this:
v. 16a But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall.
Pride has led individuals into all kinds of behavior and downfalls through the centuries. We’ll look at a few this morning. There’s one that seems especially significant to me. It shouts to us just how serious an issue pride is, because it’s likely a passage that describes Satan’s transition from being a holy angel of heaven to the prince of darkness. It’s directed to the king of Babylon, and it may be the only information we have about where Satan came from.
Isaiah 14:12-15
How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.
The problem was pride – an all-too-common side effect of power or success. That’s what happened to King Uzziah by the time he had accomplished so much.
16 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the LORD followed him in. 18 They confronted him and said, "It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the LORD God."
3 cheers for Azariah and 80 other priests who had the backbone to confront an arrogant king. V.18 is a word that means they stood in his face; they got in his way. The most powerful ruler in the nation, and they told him, “No way.” Some fights are worth fighting. Some risks are worth taking. It doesn’t matter who you are. You really don’t want the king mad at you. But, maybe he’ll listen. Maybe he’ll have a change of heart. Maybe not.
19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. 20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the LORD had afflicted him. 21 King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house --leprous, and excluded from the temple of the LORD. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land. 22 The other events of Uzziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 23 Uzziah rested with his fathers and was buried near them in a field for burial that belonged to the kings, for people said, "He had leprosy." And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.
Just imagine – for the last 12 years he lived as an outcast with this disease that was so deplorable – it so much excluded you from the community – that when it came time to bury King Uzziah’s dead body, they didn’t put it in the regular tombs of the kings. Why not? For he had leprosy. The stigma, the exclusion went even beyond life! God had thoroughly blessed the man who was faithful to Him. But to a king who chose to be proud, this is God’s response.
Proverbs 6:16-17a - There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes…
Sure enough,
Psalm 101:5b …whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, him will I not endure.
Job 41:34 He looks down on all that are haughty; he is king over all that are proud.
Pride. Arrogance. It ruins an otherwise good and successful king in 727 BC. That’s not real close to today. But Uzziah’s life isn’t so far removed from our own life experiences. It happens at most all age levels. It happens in all kinds of cultures. It happens to entire nations.
• Life gets safe, so we let down our guard
• Life gets rewarding, so we get arrogant
• Life gets easier, so we get lazy
• Life gets prosperous, so we get selfish
In the church, we even manage to take God’s grace, given to us freely through Jesus, and make it a pride issue. We distort what it’s all about. Oh, we know can’t earn it, but somehow we must deserve it more than those other people – the ones outside the loop - especially the ones who make life more difficult.
Israel was getting ready to enter into the Promised Land. God would drive out the enemy before they even got to many of them. But God also knew that success and prosperity carries the danger of pride.
Deuteronomy 9:4-6
After the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, "The LORD has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness." No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.
Translation: you don’t have room to be proud. In fact, you have room to sing the first line of Amazing Grace over and over and over – that saved a wretch like you! God’s not blessing you with this because you deserve it. In fact, you’re a mess! Kind of hard to let it go to your head when He puts it that way!
Quote - (Charles R. Swindoll, The Finishing Touch, in a book he had read:)
“A time to be careful is when one reaches his goals. The easiest period in a crisis situation is actually the battle itself. The most difficult period is the period of indecision, whether to fight or run away. And the most dangerous period is the aftermath. It is then, with all his resources spent and his guard down, that an individual must watch out for dulled reactions and faulty judgment.” In other words, vulnerability accompanies achievement.
If you’re big goal in life is to be labeled “successful”; if you’re waiting for your ship to come in, take a few notes on the life of King Uzziah.
Really, that’s the material of this sermon. What follows is a long conclusion. In other words, I want to lean more heavily on the application side of this king’s story today, so if you haven’t taken any notes, start now.
King Uzziah? So what? Here’s what…
1. Keep a Balance in Life
-the balance of being blessed enough to be content but not having so much it rules you.
It’s the balance we read about in:
Proverbs 30:7-9
Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
Can you “amen” that today? See, most all us are right on with #2 – Lord, please, don’t let me be too poor – so poor that I steal. Don’t give me poverty. I mean, digging through dumpsters for pop cans, living at Soul’s Harbor, forced to take things that aren’t mine just to get by. I’d hate to do that to Your name, Lord.
But then there’s the other part: don’t give me wealth either. How many of you woke up and prayed that this morning? “Lord, please, please, please, don’t let me get much money today!” Do you see why, though? “Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?”
Here’s the danger when I do well. Here’s the problem when I can reflect on all my personal successes and victories in life – I might make the mistake of thinking I somehow did that on my own. Here’s the problem when not only do I know where my next meal’s coming from, but I’ve got a really nice nest egg all laid up for my whole life: if I have it all taken care of, Who needs the Lord? If I’m the King of my castle and lord of my stuff, there’s no need for another Lord here.
What, so we’re all supposed to be poor, underfed, underachievers? No! King Uzziah’s sin wasn’t all that he accomplished. Read it again. God was the One blessing him and helping him to do it. His sin was forgetting God’s role in his life and acting like he had done it on his own.
Our blessings, our successes, whatever they might be, need to be balanced with a proportionate amount of giving credit to the One Who blesses and allows us to succeed.
Ill – When someone compliments me on the way I’m dressed, I make it a habit to say, “Thanks. My wife dresses me nice.” I mean that, too. Most likely, she purchased the tie I’m wearing. And I didn’t design the tie or make the tie. What did I do? I probably reached onto my closet door and took it down and asked my wife if it matched. Then, I tied it. Now, if you want to compliment me on the way my tie is tied, I’ll be able to take credit for that! But everything else - I didn’t do it!
Ultimately, how is it that you’re blessed?
James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights…
2. Set God-centered Goals
The big problem with Uzziah’s arrogance is like any arrogance – it’s self-centered which means it doesn’t approach life with God as the center or with goals that are God-centered. To go into the temple and offer incense may not sound like a big deal at first, but that was something only certain priests were to do. In Egypt, in those days, it was a way the king exalted himself. But when someone, even someone important by worldly standards, is coming to stand before God in any kind of worship, it’s no place for self-exaltation.
Our goals for life – the ways that we measure success – have to be God-centered, or they’re a failure from the start.
Quote - Colonel Harlan Sanders – “There’s no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery. You can’t do any business from there.“
Ill - My family and I were watching America’s Funniest Videos Friday night. There’s clip of a bike race. A guy is approaching the finish line, way out in front. He pauses to raise his hands in victory, and as he does, he wipes out. As he gets back up, some 20 other bikes pass him and he creeps across the finish line. Somehow, I don’t think his goal was to make it within 50 feet of the finish line!
But that’s exactly how too many of us live. Got plans? Got a goal? What is it? To retire with so much to live off of? To finish college? High School? Those are great. But is that all the farther they go? How many of your goals are set to go only as far as the grave? Paul said,
Philippians 3:14
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Goals that are centered around God and His rightful place in our lives are a way to avoid getting taken down by success.
Here’s the 3rd “so what”:
3. Remember What God Has Taught You
Sometimes our detours into the land of pride could be stopped if we would just remember where we’re coming from and the lessons we were supposed to gather along the way. We’re supposed to be learning…
1. From the examples of others
Ill - 7th grade industrial arts class. Everyone had to watch an old shop safety movie affectionately known as “the eyeball movie.” It told the story of a guy named Barney who didn’t wear his safety glasses one day. A grinding wheel came apart, and fragments shot into his eye. So, as a part of this movie, designed to scare you into wearing safety goggles, you got to watch part of Barney’s eye surgery up close. So, we all sat there watching the eyeball movie and going, “Oooh, Gross!” Each year, there were at least a couple of kids who passed out during that thing. But you know what? I’d rather learn from Barney’s mistake than to lose my eyesight and actually be the one having the surgery. It’s a whole lot easier to learn from the mistakes of others.
If I could make my own eyeball movie to convince people to not be arrogant, I’d probably try the story of Herod in…
Acts 12:21-23
On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
Proverbs 16:18 - Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Herod became a believer!
Daniel records for us the story of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon – one of the most incredible cities of the ancient world. One day, he looked around at all he had accomplished and…
Daniel 4:30-33
he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" 31 The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, "This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. 32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes." 33 Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.
Ch 5 says “…his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.” Later, his reason returned, and God restored him to his place of leadership. Why? Why do we have that recorded for us? So we can learn from someone else’s mistakes and remember not to do that ourselves! Let the lives of some serve as a warning. Study them! Learn from them! Don’t repeat their mess-ups!
Another place to learn from and remember is…
2. From the experiences of life
They don’t have to be bad experiences. Look back. What has God done in your life that has helped teach you humility?
Deuteronomy 8:10-18
When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
A lot of you this morning can reflect back on some time in your life when God was teaching you. Some of those lessons were hard to sit through, but you learned some things. Remember. Don’t forget what He has done.
Conclusion:
1 Peter 5:5b-6 - All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
It’s no secret. Accepting Jesus means humbling yourself. But when you consider where pride will get you, humbling yourself doesn’t seem so bad. I believe God’s promise, that if you’ll humble yourself under his mighty hand, in due time, He’ll lift you up. Why not do that today?
