Wednesday,
September 12, 2018
But when he became
strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful
to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on
the altar of incense. Then Azariah the priest entered after him and with him
eighty priests of the LORD, valiant men. They opposed Uzziah the king and said
to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for
the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of
the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the
LORD God." (2 Chronicles 26:16-18)
Seven
Steps in the Sin of Pride.
I. Don't ever forget that pride begins with
accomplishment, whether perceived or real.
God
had led him to all this success, but whenever you begin to succeed in life,
it's inevitable the devil will seek to make you proud of that blessing, even
though the blessing didn't originate in you.
II. Pride will take root when you forget where your
success came from.
You see that's the key. It takes root when you forget
where your success came from. Look back
at verse 5, "As
long as he sought the Lord, the God gave him success." Look at the last line in verse 15: "His fame
spread far and wide" … "for he was
greatly helped..."
Who greatly helped him? God
greatly helped him until he became powerful. But he forgot where his strength came from.
III. Pride will show itself first in your relationship with
God.
The one who will first notice the pride in your
heart, is God himself. God knew about
Uzziah's pride, even when the Egyptians were bragging about him.
IV. Pride will cause you to do things that are not right!
When “puffed up” you forget about the Word of the
Lord and do things your own way. You
presume upon God. Read verse 16, "...He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and
entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense." Uzziah had no
right to do that because he was not a priest. That was a responsibility that
only the priest could undertake.
V. Pride will cause confrontation.
A brave priest dares to confront the king. Verse 17 …
"Azariah
the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in.
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.'" If pride
begins to develop in your heart, some courageous godly person will confront you
about your pride. Sooner or later, it will manifest itself.
VI. When pride is confronted, it will be angry.
In verse 19,
"Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became
angry." You see pride doesn't think anybody has the
authority to confront it. Pride thinks
it has the ability and the authority to set all the rules. Pride will become angry when confronted.
VII. Pride leads to the fall.
…and while he was enraged with the priests, the leprosy broke
out on his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the
altar of incense. Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him,
and behold, he was leprous on his forehead; and they hurried him out of there,
and he himself also hastened to get out because the LORD had smitten him. (2
Chronicles 26:19-20)
The priest couldn't get him out of the temple, but
God could and the same Lord who had helped him and who had prospered him, that
same Lord smote him because Uzziah had gone too far.
Since the Garden of Eden the greatest enemy of man
has been the sin of pride. Be careful
when you succeed to give God the glory and remain humble before Him.
Scripture to Claim:
Pride goes before destruction, and a
haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18
