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What are we doing for Jesus Christ today?
Pride/Judgment

 January 17, 2007

Bob Bradley

 

Isaiah 6:1-8

 

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

 

Isaiah made this statement:  "In the year that king Uzziah died..."  He said that for a reason.  I probably read that for the last thirty years and didn't really think a whole lot about it until I was studying and preparing for the lesson.  As I read and thought about that, I thought "Why did Isaiah say that?"  There was a reason that Isaiah said that and it was a great reason.  There is a wonderful lesson here for us in seeing something that Isaiah saw. 

 

We want to talk about Uzziah.  Do you know anything about him at all?  He's someone that we don’t' talk about a whole lot.  He's not preached on much, but he's like a lot of us and a lot of folks that have come and gone in the church.  He's like a lot of us. 

 

When you read chapter twenty-six, you are going to find a story that starts very well, but ends very tragic.  We read about a young man named Uzziah.  When you read about the history of Judah during this time, you will know that the city of Jerusalem and the surrounding cities are just in shambles.  They have been invaded, overrun; the enemies have come in and tore down the walls.  I tried to imagine in my mind what this must have looked like.  It's hard to imagine until you really read and do some studying on what all happened. 

 

Uzziah's dad had been the king.  We know that he is no longer the king now we read and find out that Uzziah is sixteen years old and they make him king.

 

II Chronicles 26

 

The Bible says in verse one of chapter twenty-six in the book of II Chronicles:

 

1 Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah.

 

Sixteen years old; think for a moment the awesome responsibility that this young man was going to have.  This nation had been overrun, and their enemies were around them everywhere.  This was a nation where things were torn down and no doubt, the economy was shot.  It was just a mess at the very best.  Now here is a sixteen year old boy, which the people make king.  It's going to be his responsibility to rebuild this city, unite the people, and to lead people in the right direction that they should go.  This guy is sixteen years.

 

The Bible tells us in verse three:

 

3 Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.

 

He reigns for fifty-two years.  That's a long time to be king.  That's a long time for an individual to be king.  If you look down in the next verse, you will find in verse four that the Bible says here:

 

4 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did.

 

It tells us some things about him.  He was sixteen years old when he started his reign and reigned for fifty-two years.  The Bible says that he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. 

 

If you read about his dad and his grand-dad, you will find out that these guys did some things that weren’t right down towards the end of their life and they did some things that they shouldn't have ever done. 

 

In verse five:

 

5 And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper.

 

There is fellow by the name of Zechariah who is in touch with God, living in the Will of God, hears the voice of almighty God and here is a sixteen year old boy listening to the counsel of an individual that is in contact with God.  That's great isn't it? 

 

I wished from the leaders of our nations to the leaders in our congress and senate; from the white house to our local governments--I wish that they would listen to the voice of God.  I know that some of them are.  Some of them are great people.  However, with some of the positions that some of them take; they may say that they may be listening to God, they can't be listening to God and do what they do.

 

Here he is, this young fellow; he is listening to God.  He's listening to Zechariah.  Zechariah is teaching him and telling him how he needs to live and what he needs if he is going to lead this nation, Judah, the southern kingdom; back to where they can be rebuilt, back to where they can be somebody that God wants them to be.  Then he is going to have to follow the leadership of Almighty God.  That has not changed any. 

 

If you and I are ever going to do anything for God in our lives, were are going to have to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit of God.  We are going to have to follow Him.  We just can't do what we think that we want to do, or think that what we may feel like is right.  We just can't do things like that and expect God to bless it. 

 

I have dealt with people like that over the years many times.  They just think that they can do what they want to, or start whatever program they want and then God will add His blessing on it.  It doesn’t work that way.  Let’s let God lead us and let us be obedient to that and when we do that then God will bless us in what we are doing.  We get that all mixed up sometimes.  We want to pick the route and then we expect God to bless it; it doesn’t work that way.  It wasn't going to work that way for Uzziah, it's not going to work that way for me, you, or anybody else.  When we look at his testimony, it was very encouraging that he starts out seeking the Lord.  As long as he sought the Lord, the Lord made him to prosper. 

 

Every one of us that is saved knows that.  We know that if we will seek the Lord and search His paths and then when we find His paths and walk therein; we know that God will prosper us.  There is no other way to prosper.  We can't walk in our way.  We can't walk in the flesh.  We can't walk and do things as we would like to do and expect God to bless.  It doesn’t work that way in my own personal life.  It doesn’t work that way in a church.  It doesn’t work that way in anything.  Let's seek the Lord, let's search out His paths and when we find the path that God wants us to walk then let's walk in that path and then God will bless us.  God will prosper us in everything that we do.  The Bible teaches that and I know that in my own personal life.  When we do what God asks us to do, when we walk in the direction that God asks us to walk, God will bless His people.  We all know that.  Sometimes we forget that.  Something enters into life sometimes unexpectedly and we don't see it coming, maybe it slips up on us, maybe we close our mind to a lot of things; but it slips up on us sometimes.

 

He is sixteen years old and starting out young.  He's a great counselor that is in touch with God.  He is seeking the face of the Lord and God is prospering Him.  That's a wonderful way to live; to seek the face of God.  Listen to the voice of God and let God bless you and prosper you; when you live that way, you can't help but be blessed.  When you search the Lord, seek the Lord, and you find Him and find His will for you life; when you do that you cannot help but to be blessed.  If you are living that way, then God will bless you.  I know that because He said that He would.  When I live for Him and will follow His direction for my life; I can't help but be blessed.  When I'm not getting blessed it’s because I'm not walking in His ways.  I'm not doing the things that He is asking me to do.  I'm not searching His past.  I'm not seeking His face.  I'm not listening to His counsel. 

 

Great Start

 

Uzziah was a young man starting out a very encouraging start.  He had great help and great advisors.  He had a great God that He was seeking.  He had a great God that was prospering Him.  He had a great start, but I've said this many times that just because we have great starts doesn't mean that we are going to have a great ending. 

 

The Bible says that as long as he sought the Lord the Lord blessed him.  God made him to prosper. 

 

In verse fifteen:

 

15 And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.

 

Uzziah starts out great.  He's has some great advisors.  He's seeking the Lord.  The Lord was blessing him.  The Lord is going to do some great things for him.

 

When you read verse seven:

 

7 And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gurbaal, and the Mehunims.

 

The Philistines was then and has always been an enemy to the children of Israel.  The Bible says that God help Uzziah fight and be able to overcome and defeat the Philistines.

 

In my life and in your life; we have a got a lot of enemies that comes our way that I cannot defeat by myself, that I cannot win by myself. 

 

The Bible says that God blessed him.  He was marvelously blessed.  As long as he sought the Lord, the Lord did some great things for him; not only against the Philistines, but also against the Arabians as well.  God blessed him and gave him victory.   That was a blessing from God.  This young boy could not do what he was doing here had not the hand of God been upon him.  When God blesses us we need to be thankful for that.  When God blesses us, I have no right to get exalted in myself.  I have no right to glory in anything that may be accomplished.  I have no right to glory. 

 

If we could build a church at Campbell Chapel that holds five thousand people and we open the doors and fill them full; there's none that have a right to glory before God.  It will be Him that does it not us.  God is marvelously blessing him.  God is doing some great things and helping him defeat his enemies:  the Arabians and the Philistines.

 

If you read in verse ten, God helped him to build towers.  He helped him to rebuild the walls.  He built towers on the walls so that they could go up there to watch for, and see the enemy coming afar off.  God blessed him. 

 

Sometimes in our lives we have a great start.  We start out right.  God blesses us.  We listen to the counsel of Almighty God.  We seek the face of God.  We go to where God says go and we do what God says do and God blesses us. 

 

Verse ten says that He helped him build towers in the desert and dig many wells for his cattle.  God helped him do these things.  God prospered him.  God gave him wisdom.  God gave him the ability to be able to organize people and to get people to be able to follow him.  God blessed him in that way.  Why?  Because he sought the face of God and listened to the counsel of God and he followed the leadership of God.  That's why God blessed him.

 

When you read verse thirteen you will find out that he was able to put an army together of three hundred seven thousand, five hundred men.  That's a great big army even in today's standards.  As you read the scripture you will find that they were very well equipped.  They had what they needed to be able to fight and to be able to defend themselves.  The Bible tells us that they had everything that they needed to be able to fight and defend themselves.

 

Verse thirteen will tell us that:

 

13 And under their hand was an army, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.

 

Not only did God help him to build the walls, help him to build towers, to dig wells; not only did God help him to do all that and help him to raise up an army of over three hundred thousand, but God blessed him and gave him this army to be able to help the king fight his battles.

 

Loners

 

Sometimes we become loners in life.  Sometimes we want God to bless us.  Sometimes we think that we are all alone.  Sometimes we think that we are the only one in this battle.  When I choose that route, I shut out a lot of help that I could have and warriors that would stand with me and beside me to help me fight my battles.  Sometimes I shut them on the outside because I don't want to listen to counsel, I don't want to listen to the instruction of God, I won't seek the face of God, I want to do my own thing so therefore I just don't have people that will stand with me and stand beside of me to help me fight the battles that we need to fight.

 

Christian people can make it through life like that.  What happens is that we get beat up a lot.  We get whipped a lot.  We get overrun a lot.  We get chased a lot.  We have to go hide a lot.  You know why?  It's because we have no one, if I'm not seeking the voice of God, if I'm not listening to His voice, if I'm not following Him then I have no one to help us to fight the battles that we need to fight.

 

Uzziah was a young fellow.  He was able to do some great things because God was prospering him in an awesome way.

 

Do you remember when you first got saved? 

 

Do you remember how blessed that you use to be?  God use to do some great things for you.  You were praying like you have never prayed since.  You were reading your Bible like you have probably never read since.  We were being more faithful to the house of God and to prayer and home and things that God was asking us to do.  We were more faithful then than we ever have been.  We had a great start.  We were happy.  God was fighting our battles for us.  God was doing great things for us.  We were having victory after victory.  We were defeating our enemies.  The Philistines were following and the Arabians were following.  We were building walls, digging wells, we were building towers; we were doing a lot of great things because the hand of God was upon our lives.  Through all that sometimes, through victory after victory; sometimes we get tripped up.  There is something out there that we don't see and have no idea that it could ever possibly happen to us. 

 

Pride goeth before destruction

 

How many times have you said in your life that may happen to so and so, but that won't ever happen to me?  How many times have you said that so and so may say that or do that or participate in that but I would never do that?  When we make statements like that, we are getting ready to mess up.  The Bible tells us that we need to remember that we are just flesh.  We need to remember that when we quit seeking the Lord, we get in trouble.

 

The Bible says that he was marvelously helped in the last part of verse fifteen; until he was strong.  That means that God was blessing him all the days of this young boy's life and probably for several years in his late teens and early twenties.  Uzziah did some great things.  God blessed him in a great way.  God miraculously prospered and did for him that absolutely took miracles to get done.  He says here "until he was strong."  

 

Uzziah looks around one day and sees what all he has done.  He can remember back to when he was sixteen years and when he became king the place was a mess.  The place was all torn down.  The people were in disarray.  They had no army.  They had no defense.  They had nothing.  A few years have passed and he can look around now and see that all the rubbish was gone.  He could the walls were repaired.  He could see the towers built.  He could see the great herds of cattle that were there.  He could see this vast army that he had and well equipped and some of things that he had designed and used for military machine.  It was amazing what God blessed him to do.  He looked around one day and saw all this.  He look around one day and saw all these things.  He saw how things had changed.  He could think how it use to be and how it is now. 

 

Do you know what he did?  He got strong.  Do you know what that means?  That means that he got lifted up in pride.  He looked at everything that he had accomplished.  Do you know what he began to think?  He began to think, "Hey, I've done good.  I've done a lot here.  This place was a mess when I took it over.  When I first became king this place was just a dump.  We had no order.  We had no help.  We had nothing.”  Now he could stick his chest out and say, "Look what I've got now.  Look at the herds of cattle.  Look at the wealth that I've got.  Look at the security that the city of Jerusalem has now.  Look at the army that we have.  Look at the weapons that we have.  Look at all we've got and it's all because of me." 

 

He may have been the instrument that God used to lead these projects; but it was the power of God that brought all these things together.  Everything was fine as long as Uzziah was humble before Almighty God.  Everything was fine as long as he understood that it was God that was doing the blessing.  It was God that was filling the bank account.  It was God that was taking care of the family.  It was God that was giving him the job.  It was God that was making peace in the city.  It was fine as long as Uzziah understood that and practiced that and believed that.  But the day came when pride slipped in and he gets very strong.  He gets filled with pride.  He gets so arrogant that he thinks that he can do anything that he wants to do. 

 

When I get that way in my life, when God has blessed me...maybe some great things has happened in my life.  Maybe God has miraculously blessed me, I sought the face of God, and God is doing some great things with me and I've been a blessing to a lot of people.  A lot of people have just been blessed because of my ministry (whatever your ministry may be).  But when I get to the point in life to where I think that I am strong and I think that I can do whatever I want to do because God has blessed me back here, and all this has been accomplished back here---when I get to this point in my life; I think because of what I did here that I can do whatever I want to over here; I'm in very bad shape.  Do you know what's about to happen?  I'm about to come crashing down in a very big way.

 

Coming destruction

 

He had a great start. He had a great God.  He had a great man of God that was instructing him.  He had great people that were following him.  He had great laborers, workers, masons, and iron workers; he had everything that he needed.  He listened to the voice of God and God blessed him.  God lead the projects and he followed the leadership of God.  It all fell together piece by piece and it was perfect because God put it together.  There came a time that he got exalted in himself.  There came a time that he got lifted up in pride.  There came a time that he thought that he could do whatever he wanted to do because of all the things that he had accomplished and all the things that God had done for him.  There was about to be a terrible, terrible fall.  He was going to make a decision on this one day that would affect him for the rest of his life. 

 

We don't think sometimes that the one little decision that I make could adversely or directly affect me for the rest of my days, but it can and it does. 

 

Here's a guy that God has blessed.  He sought God and God marvelously blessed him.

 

Uzziah did a great job putting everything together because he was listening to the voice of God.  There came a time that he gets lifted up in pride.

 

Verse sixteen says:

 

16 But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.

 

Pride is a dangerous thing folks.  Pride is something that will destroy us.  We want to hang onto the blessings of yesterday and what we did today; that's great.  What decisions have we made today?  What are we really doing for Jesus Christ today? 

 

When I was on the job all the time a few years ago, I worked for a company and that's what they always said.  They wouldn't worry about what you did yesterday or last month, the question was, "What are you doing for me today?" 

 

The question that we need to ask ourselves today is, "What are we doing for Jesus Christ today?"

 

This young man is getting up older now.  The Bible says that "...when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his own destruction.."  Look what it says here:  "...for he transgressed against the Lord his God, and went in to the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense."

 

What was bad about that?

 

He was the king and you would think that God would overlook that.  He was the king if he wants to go into the temple and burn incense then no big deal. 

 

I have a lot of people (not as much as I use to) asking about getting this group or this preacher or this whatever; we just can't turn anybody loose in our church.  Do you know what can happen in our churches and right here at Campbell Chapel?  Someone could come in and in five minutes; destroy things.  The church of Jesus Christ and the temple here was a very holy place. 

 

When he goes into the temple to burn incense; the Bible says he transgressed.  He goes into an area that he should have never been.  He was going to an area that he had no right to be.  He was the king and God had blessed and prospered him, but even that being the case he had no right to be going into the temple of God to burn incense because God said that he was not to do that. 

 

If you go back and read you will find out that it was the priest that was the only one that was allowed to go in and burn the incense.  It wasn't the king's job.  God said it was going to be the Levites, the sons of Aaron, which had the responsibility and authority to go into the temple of God to burn incense.  It was not the king's job. 

 

Pride gets us to think that we can do whatever we want to do.  Pride gets us to think, look at my past accomplishments and what I have done in the past then I think that I can come over here do whatever I want to because of what I have done in the past.  That's what pride tells us.  That's what being overconfident will tell us. 

 

You’re not supposed to be there

 

He goes right into the temple of God planning on offering incense and the only person that was allowed to do that was the priest, the sons of Levi, they were Levites, and they were the only ones that had the right to go in there.  Do you see what he was doing?  He was going into an area that he had no business going.  He knew this.  He knew what he was doing. 

 

You will not read where Uzziah committed adultery, or murdered anyone or committed other horrible sins that others had committed.  You'll not read that.  But you'll read this one act where he transgressed, where he went into an area that he absolutely knew that he was not allowed to go.  Zechariah had told him that's the Levites job.  With all the counsel that Zechariah had told this young man, he knew what he was doing. 

 

Crossing the line

 

He knew what he had been and been told, but pride makes us think that we are a whole better off than we are sometimes.  Pride will blind us to the fact that God has drawn a line and God has told us not to cross it, and when we do cross it, then God is going to judge us.  Pride covers up the line.  God puts down the line and pride tries to cover it up.  Pride blinds our minds to the fact of what God said. 

 

We can get lifted up in pride if we want, we can cross that line, and we can trespass against God.  We can say look at what I've done for you Lord, I've preached for years, I've sung for years, I've been a deacon for years; Lord, I've done all these things for years; won't you let this one thing slide.  Friend, God doesn't let sin slide.  He doesn't do it for me.  He doesn't do it for you.  He will not do it for any of us.

 

“When he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction...”  He goes into the temple. 

 

The Bible says in verse seventeen:

 

17 And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men:

 

When Uzziah goes into the temple to burn the incense, the priest and eighty other strong fellows tough fellows went after him because they knew that what he was doing was wrong.  Even though he was the king, they knew what he was doing was wrong.

 

In verse eighteen:

 

18 And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God.

 

19 Then Uzziah was wroth, ...

 

Do you know what happens?  When the priest comes in and these the others and they say, "You cannot do that.  You cannot do what you are going to do.  It's not your responsibility.  You are not a Levite.  You are not a son of Aaron.  You are the king but you have no right to be in here doing what you are doing."  Do you know what the Bible says that Uzziah done?  He gets mad.  He goes into a rage.  This priest and these other men didn't care that he was king because they knew that he wrong. 

 

Leprosy

 

19 Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar.

 

As he is throwing his little fit, as he is saying all that he is saying; while he is still yet in the temple; God judges him.  God gives him leprosy right on his forehead while he is throwing a fit in the house of God because they are withstanding him and will not let him do what they know is wrong. 

 

Pride will make us think that we have more authority than we have.  Pride will make us do things and trespass into areas that we have no business being in.  A lot of times what happens is that we get leprosy.  Leprosy separates us.  As you read on down in verse twenty:

 

20 And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him.

 

He's smitten with leprosy.  They throw him out of the temple.  They get rid of him in a hurry because leprosy is a type of sin.  It makes people unclean.  It would defile the whole place.  The priest knew that they had to get it out of there.

 

Sin will defile you

 

Sin will separate you from friends, family, from people.  Sin will separate you. 

 

The Bible says: 

 

21 And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.

 

He made one decision, on one day, that separated him from everything that he loved, from everything that he had built, from everything that he had accomplished.  He allowed pride to lead him down a path that he thought that he could do whatever he wanted to because of who he was, but God showed him that he could not do that.  God showed him who that he really was. 

 

Do you know what happened to Uzziah?  He died a leper.  The rest of his life he was separated; he couldn't go to the temple no longer, he couldn't go around people and he could not do anything because of sin;  because of the decision that he made to do something that he had no right to be doing. 

 

Let's listen to the voice of God.  Let's seek the face of God.  Let's listen to the counsel of God.  Let's follow the leadership of God and let God marvelously bless us.  When God blesses us, let's don't glory in self, let's don't brag on self, let's don't pat self on the back, let's give all the praise and the honor and all the glory to God; God will continue to bless us.  Pride won't slip in and separate us from all the things and all the people that we love. 

 

Jesus loves us!

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