April 27, 2012

The Man-Eating Power of Pride

2 Chronicles 26 by Philip De Courcy
Series: Man-Eaters: Conquering the Stuff that Destroys
Men
The Man-Eating Power of Pride
Muhammed Ali had an ego like an elephant. "I should
have been a postage stamp, because that is the only way
I'm gonna get licked." "
Prov 16:18; 29:23
God and life have a way of beating out pride. Pride, by it's
very nature, separates man from man. But it also
separates man from God. It contests God's right to rule. It
has turned pastors into popes and angels into devils. It
has sent countries into war and souls into hell.
2Thess 2:3-12
Two things about pride:
1. Pride was the 1st sin. Ryle, "Sin is the oldest sin in
the world." It was pride that made the devil the devil.
It was pride that brought the fall. Gen 3:5. They
wanted to be like God. Pride was God's first enemy. It
is in category all its own. It's not just a sin. In some
sense, it is the very definition of sin. It is the
dethroning of God.
2. It is the 1st of many sins. It gives way to many other
sins. Pride leads to anger, envy, and many more.
This Friday night I want to remind you to fear it and to
fight it.

Martin Luther, "I am more afraid of Pope Self than the

Roman Pope and all his cardinals."
King Uzziah: His Rise and His Demise
His name appropriately means, "Yahweh is my strength."
God made him to prosper. You can see that in the first
part of the chapter. He began to reign in 791? B.C. His
reign, math tells us, overlaps his father's reign.
But then in verse 16 the text takes a turn for the worst.
2Chr. 26:16 But when he was strong, he grew proud, to
his destruction.
Uzziah becomes swollen with pride and haughtiness. He
saw things as gotten, not given.
Here's a man that started so well, and finished so badly.
"Lord, keep my alive until I'm dead."
Four things that contributed to Uzziah's fall:
1. There was a lack of separation towards God. He did
not set himself to seek God. Pride is trying to live
without God. It is us allowing others to substitute for
God, or self to substitute for God. Every day, we must
be "shipwrecked on God and stranded on
omnipotence." But Uzziah wasn't that. Notice verse
5, He set himself to seek God in the days of
Zechariah. The implication is that in the
days after Zechariah, Uzziah did not set himself to
seek God. Perhaps his dependence on this man was
too great. This reminds us that the true pastor leaves
people hanging on God. The real test of a man's
ministry is after he's gone.
2. The was a lack of supplication towards God. He was
prayer-less. Again in verse 5, as long as he sought
the LORD, God made him prosper. Pride isn't fostered
by prayer. Humility is fostered by prayer. The word

translated "seek" is used in the OT for one who seeks

God's blessing. Prayer is one of the best means to
show our dependence on God. It builds a fence
around our heart and protects us from pride. Prayer
puts God in His place and puts us in our place. Prayer
makes God big and our self small. We must master it,
because if we do not, we leave ourselves open to
pride and we send a message to God that we can
handle life on our own. That is not only ridiculous to
God, it is offensive. John 15:5 says, for apart from me
you can do nothing. Prayerlessness is the worst of all
since, because it shows our lack of dependence on
God and says, "I don't need You, God."
3. There is a lack of submission towards God. This is
taking us to the very root of the story and Uzziah's
heart. Verse 16, For he was unfaithful to the LORD
his God and entered the temple of the LORD to burn
incense on the altar of incense. This was a violation
of Numbers 18:7. He thinks he can come before God
on his own terms. He should have known better, from
Saul's life. When the priests confronted him, he came
to a point of boiling over, like a 2-year-old at Safeway.
"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Perhaps the
most dangerous moment when you sin is not when
you sin, but when you know you have sinned and you
don't do anything about it. Pride often steps in when
we overstep the bounds of what we are supposed to
do. There are divisions of authority, labor, service,
and God doesn't call us to fill every role. It is the
proud man that doesn't live within those limitations.
He exceeds those boundaries. Do you know what
your boundaries are? Where your spheres of service
are?

4. There is a lack of satisfaction towards God. Pride

always results in ingratitude and self-satisfaction.
Psalm 103, Bless the Lord or my soul. When we fail to
recognize God in our successes, they become no
better than our failures.
Alex Heely(sp?). Turtle on top of a fence post. When you
see a turtle on top of a fence post, you know you didn't
get there by itself. Standing behind every one of us is a
great and powerful God that upholds us and makes us
strong.