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Your Breakthrough Is Near · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: Beginning today and for the next number of Sundays until
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Speaker 1: we get into the Christmas season, we'll be engaged in
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Speaker 1: a series on our triune God. Doctrinal subject though it is,
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Speaker 1: and with our inability ever to get our arms around it,
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Speaker 1: my desire will be to show you the practical side
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Speaker 1: of the attributes of God. We'll choose four of them today.
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Speaker 1: His glory, next Sunday His holiness, We'll get to know
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Speaker 1: God our Father better in these four Sundays, followed by
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Speaker 1: an emphasis on the cross of Christ. That Christological study
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Speaker 1: will give our attention to the cross, what he accomplished
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Speaker 1: there and why it was necessary. And then we will
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Speaker 1: have time for a day of dedication on the 26th
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Speaker 1: of October, which will interrupt the series briefly for a
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Speaker 1: special time together And then we will conclude the series
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Speaker 1: with the power of the Holy Spirit. So today we'll
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Speaker 1: become better acquainted with our Heavenly Father and that will
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Speaker 1: be our journey for this month to begin with and
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Speaker 1: then we'll move to Christ and then the Spirit of God.
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Speaker 1: I've given you an outline for the message and if
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Speaker 1: you would place that at Exodus chapter 40, which is
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Speaker 1: the last chapter and put it right at the end
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Speaker 1: of the book, and then turn in your Bible to
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Speaker 1: a rather unknown section of Scripture, or at least unused,
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Speaker 1: 2 Chronicles chapter 26. It's always fun to see a
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Speaker 1: little dust come up from the pews when I ask
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Speaker 1: people to go to the obituary section of the Old Testament.
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Speaker 1: 2 Chronicles is a lot like walking through a cemetery,
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Speaker 1: where you read names you don't know about people who
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Speaker 1: lived and died, But every once in a while, the
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Speaker 1: Spirit of God hovers over a life for the purpose
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Speaker 1: of teaching us a lesson that ties in with truth
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Speaker 1: that is timeless and transcendent. Such it was in the
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Speaker 1: life of King Uzziah. May we stand together for the
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Speaker 1: reading of the scriptures, please. 2 Chronicles 26 begins... And
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Speaker 1: all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was 16
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Speaker 1: years old, and made him king in the place of
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Speaker 1: his father Amaziah. Verse 3. Uzziah was 16 years old
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Speaker 1: when he became king, and he reigned 52 years in Jerusalem,
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Speaker 1: and his mother's name was Jechaliah of Jerusalem. He did
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Speaker 1: right in the sight of the Lord. according to all
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Speaker 1: that his father Amaziah had done, he continued to seek
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Speaker 1: God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding through
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Speaker 1: the vision of God. And as long as he sought
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Speaker 1: the Lord, God prospered him. Verse 7. God helped him
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Speaker 1: against the Philistines, against the Arabians who lived in Gurbal,
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Speaker 1: and the Meunites. The Ammonites also gave tribute to Uzziah
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Speaker 1: and his fame extended to the border of Egypt. He
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Speaker 1: became very strong. Verse 15. In Jerusalem, he made engines
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Speaker 1: of war invented by skillful men to be on the
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Speaker 1: towers and on the corners for the purpose of shooting
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Speaker 1: arrows and great stones. Hence, His fame spread afar. For
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Speaker 1: he was marvelously helped until he was strong. But when
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Speaker 1: he became strong, his heart was so proud that he
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Speaker 1: acted corruptly. And he was unfaithful to the Lord his God.
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Speaker 1: For he entered the temple of the Lord to burn
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Speaker 1: incense on the altar of incense. Then Azariah the priest
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Speaker 1: entered after him and with him 80 priests of the Lord,
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Speaker 1: valiant men. And they opposed Uzziah the king and said
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Speaker 1: to him, It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn
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Speaker 1: incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons
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Speaker 1: of Aaron, who were consecrated to burn incense. Get out
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Speaker 1: of the sanctuaries. for you have been unfaithful and will
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Speaker 1: have no honor from the Lord God. But Uzziah, with
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Speaker 1: a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged.
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Speaker 1: And while he was enraged with the priests, leprosy broke
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Speaker 1: out on his forehead before the priests in the house
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Speaker 1: of the Lord beside the altar of incense. Verse 21,
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Speaker 1: King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death,
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Speaker 1: and he lived in a separate house, being a leper,
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Speaker 1: for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. 23,
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Speaker 1: so Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him
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Speaker 1: with his fathers in the field of the grave, which
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Speaker 1: belonged to the kings, for they said, He is a leper.
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Speaker 1: May God drive home to our hearts the truth of
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Speaker 1: what we have read in a way that we will
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Speaker 1: never forget it. You may be seated.
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Speaker 1: You alone, Father,
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Speaker 1: dwell in resplendent beauty and radiance. You alone are awesomely magnificent.
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Speaker 1: You alone are our God, and there is no other God.
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Speaker 1: You alone are worthy of worship. You alone are are
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Speaker 1: to be known as awesome. We submit ourselves to you.
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Speaker 1: We bow before you without one shred of pride. We
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Speaker 1: accept the gift of this building into which we will
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Speaker 1: enter this evening and worship next Lord's Day. And may
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Speaker 1: we never forget it has come from your hand. provided
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Speaker 1: through the faithful generosity of your people for the purpose
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Speaker 1: of making your name known here across the street, across
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Speaker 1: the states, and across the seas. Take from us every
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Speaker 1: ounce of conceit or desire for credit or even the
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Speaker 1: secret hope for applause. And may it all turn to
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Speaker 1: you as we acknowledge you, the giver of every good
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Speaker 1: and perfect gift. To you we offer a festive praise
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Speaker 1: this day, this evening, this week, and this time next
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Speaker 1: Lord's Day. We recognize, our Father, that you are the Lord.
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Speaker 1: And you give your glory to none other. And so
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Speaker 1: it's only appropriate, Lord, that we give you our gifts.
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Speaker 1: And we give them gratefully and humbly and joyfully. In
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Speaker 1: the name of the Savior, your Son, our Master, we
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Speaker 1: pray and we give. And everyone said, Amen. Amen. I
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Speaker 1: was a teenager when I asked my first serious theological question. Surprisingly,
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Speaker 1: it was about the glory of God. That deserves a
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Speaker 1: little explanation. I was raised in a musical family. We
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Speaker 1: listened to music. We mainly played and sang music throughout
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Speaker 1: my growing up years. We had an old upright piano
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Speaker 1: that sat in the living room and wasn't uncommon for
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Speaker 1: us to stand around it as either my mother or
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Speaker 1: my older brother played, both of whom played beautifully. And
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Speaker 1: we sang all kinds of songs, fun songs and patriotic
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Speaker 1: songs and folk songs, of course, and songs my brother
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Speaker 1: would write or my mother would arrange or my sister.
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Speaker 1: And we harmonized and had more fun. Mainly it was fun.
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Speaker 1: My mother sang soprano, Lucy sang alto, I sang tenor,
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Speaker 1: and my brother Orville sang bass. My dad played the
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Speaker 1: harmonica and the comb. That was his claim to fame.
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Speaker 1: And he'd tap his toe and put that harmonica in
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Speaker 1: his mouth, and one of the few guys I've ever
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Speaker 1: known that could put his hands behind his back and
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Speaker 1: play the harmonica. Never could figure that out. Anyway, one
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Speaker 1: occasion my mother noticed in the fall of the year
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Speaker 1: that the first music Church Houston was hearing auditions for
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Speaker 1: the singing of George Frederick Handel's masterwork, Messiah. And she
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Speaker 1: decided all of us were going to audition for I
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Speaker 1: said no. She said yes. I said yes. And then
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Speaker 1: we all agreed we would be a part of that.
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Speaker 1: And believe it or not, they accepted all four of us.
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Speaker 1: So my dad was a designated driver, since Handel didn't
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Speaker 1: write a part for the harmonica. And he would drive
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Speaker 1: us those four nights to the performance. And what an experience.
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Speaker 1: Walter Jenkins was our conductor, and he could conduct the
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Speaker 1: entire masterwork without the score. And that tells you a
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Speaker 1: little of his ability. We had a marvelous 200-voice choir. Well,
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Speaker 1: 199 voices were marvelous. And then we had an orchestra
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Speaker 1: of about 60 pieces. And we had a massive pipe
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Speaker 1: organ that accompanied this. And four rather famous soloists sang
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Speaker 1: the part. If you know the music, you know that
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Speaker 1: it is tied in directly with Scripture. Scripture. And it
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Speaker 1: begins directly out of Isaiah 40 as the tenor sings
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Speaker 1: the recitative, comfort ye, comfort ye my people, in this
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Speaker 1: lyrical tenor voice. And then he goes into the aria,
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Speaker 1: every valley shall be exalted, every mountain and hill made low,
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Speaker 1: and the crooked places straight and the rough places plain. Beautiful.
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Speaker 1: tenor piece, and as he finishes the aria, the chorale
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Speaker 1: stands to sing, the choir stands, and this first night
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Speaker 1: of our performance, we have everybody there, of course, and
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Speaker 1: all of the music around me, I'm surrounded by these
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Speaker 1: trained voices, and here I am, little 15, 16-year-old kid,
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Speaker 1: singing with them, and all of a sudden, with full volume,
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Speaker 1: And the glory, the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
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Speaker 1: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. Directly
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Speaker 1: out of Isaiah 40, verse 5. I remember caught up
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Speaker 1: in the ecstasy of the music around me, which I
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Speaker 1: had never been around before. Tears filled my eyes, and
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Speaker 1: I was caught off guard by that. It was a
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Speaker 1: magnificent moment. A little later in the piece, the choir sings,
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Speaker 1: worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power
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Speaker 1: and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory
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Speaker 1: and blessing. It rained that night as we were on
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Speaker 1: our way home. I was sitting in the back seat
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Speaker 1: of My dad's 41 Ford. Sister in the middle, brother
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Speaker 1: on the other side. And I was looking out the
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Speaker 1: window as the rain splashed against the glass. And I said, Daddy,
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Speaker 1: what is glory? What is glory? And in good fatherly fashion,
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Speaker 1: he answered, ask your mother. And so... Mom, what is
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Speaker 1: a glory? And she said, when we get home, check
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Speaker 1: the dictionary. Now, that's a smart answer, let me tell you.
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Speaker 1: You don't know the answer, but you give an answer.
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Speaker 1: And I did. What a wealth of information came from
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Speaker 1: that one search. Mainly synonyms. Listen to these. Great honor
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Speaker 1: and admiration. Fame. Renown. worshipful admiration, highest praise, splendor, radiant beauty, magnificence,
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Speaker 1: circle of light. Curious, isn't it? At the same time, awesome.
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Speaker 1: To God alone belongs the honor and the fame and
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Speaker 1: the admiration, and the praise, and the light. What a
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Speaker 1: grand gallery of word pictures hung there on that page
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Speaker 1: in the dictionary. How easy it is to toss around
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Speaker 1: lightly words heavy with meaning. Ah, heavy, heavy. That's important
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Speaker 1: to remember. The Hebrew term from which we get the
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Speaker 1: word glory is kavod. Sort of a C with a
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Speaker 1: little E, B-O-D, kavod. It means heavy. Interesting, isn't it?
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Speaker 1: Heavy in authority. Heavy in sovereignty. Heavy with power. Heavy
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Speaker 1: in wealth and riches. Heavy in prestige and heavy in prominence,
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Speaker 1: heavy in significance and influence. In the 40th chapter of Exodus,
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Speaker 1: we're reminded of that word as it appears, interestingly, at
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Speaker 1: the end of the building of the portable structure of
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Speaker 1: worship called the tabernacle. If you look at the last
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Speaker 1: sentence of the 33rd verse, You will read, as I do,
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Speaker 1: that Moses finished the work. What work? The work on
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Speaker 1: the tabernacle. It was as if all the workers, all
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Speaker 1: the seamstresses, all the sculptors, all the artists, clapped their
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Speaker 1: hands together, pulled off their aprons, walked away, and said,
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Speaker 1: as our workers have done in recent days in our
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Speaker 1: new sanctuary, done. But it wasn't done. Oh, the work
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Speaker 1: of human hands was done. The skill of the seamstress
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Speaker 1: and the touch of the artist and the beauty of
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Speaker 1: the sculptures, that was done. Much of it in gold.
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Speaker 1: That early ancient place of worship in the wilderness was
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Speaker 1: something to behold. Like no building on the planet and
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Speaker 1: all of it portable. Why wasn't it finished? Read on. Then. When?
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Speaker 1: When the work was finished that humans could do, then
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Speaker 1: the cloud covered the tent of meeting. You pause here
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Speaker 1: and let you picture it in your mind. Our imaginations
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Speaker 1: are better than words. Coming from the throne of God
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Speaker 1: was a cloud that descended, filled with light, laser-like in brilliance,
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Speaker 1: penetrating the atmosphere and plunging into this place of worship
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Speaker 1: behind the veil where there was the Ark of the
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Speaker 1: Covenant and the cherubim with their wings almost touching one
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Speaker 1: another and the presence of God came on the place,
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Speaker 1: and that finished it. Look. As the cloud covered the
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Speaker 1: tent of meeting, the kavod Yahweh filled the tabernacle. The
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Speaker 1: heavy presence of the living God filled it. And Moses
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Speaker 1: was not able to enter the tent of meeting because
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Speaker 1: the cloud had settled on it and the kavod Yahweh.
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Speaker 1: There it is again. This heavy, resplendent, glorious, admirable. I'm
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Speaker 1: running out of words. Radiance of God. Held him back. Today,
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Speaker 1: men and women, we walk into a space built for
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Speaker 1: worship that is only space. It's lovely. We're grateful for it.
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Speaker 1: It's beautiful on purpose. It's to reflect our Heavenly Father's name.
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Speaker 1: But it is not a house of worship without the church.
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Speaker 1: It's a building. And when we, in this era, this age,
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Speaker 1: when we enter that place, we bring the church with us.
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Speaker 1: What a great thought. I love it. Augustine came to
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Speaker 1: the realization as he was running away from temptation, and
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Speaker 1: he stopped and the Lord said to him, Oh, Augustine,
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Speaker 1: dost thou not know that thou art carrying God around
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Speaker 1: with thee? God's people... Carry the light. Speaking of that,
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Speaker 1: Isaiah writes of it in Isaiah chapter 42. So turn
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Speaker 1: from there, far ahead in your Bible, to the ancient
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Speaker 1: book of Isaiah 42nd chapter, where we will read again
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Speaker 1: of the light. 42 verse 5, Thus says God the Lord,
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Speaker 1: Who created the heavens and stretched them out. Who spread
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Speaker 1: out the earth and its offspring. Who gives breath to
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Speaker 1: the people on it. And spirit to those who walk
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Speaker 1: in it. This is all what God does. This is
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Speaker 1: all about who he is. And then he introduces himself
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Speaker 1: in no uncertain terms. I am the Lord. And look
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Speaker 1: closely at the verbs that follow. I have called you.
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Speaker 1: In righteousness. I will also hold you. By the hand.
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Speaker 1: And watch over you. These are words of presence. And protection.
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Speaker 1: And closeness. I will appoint you. As a covenant to
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Speaker 1: the people. Look closely. As a light. To the queen.
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Speaker 1: To the nations. Writing to Jews. Read by Jews. The
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Speaker 1: chosen people. You are not the single depository of the
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Speaker 1: truth to be kept to yourself. You are a channel.
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Speaker 1: Do not forget that. From you is to reflect the light.
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Speaker 1: You see, we are like the moon. God is like
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Speaker 1: the sun. The sun emanates like the effulgence of light.
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Speaker 1: Floods from the sun. But we as moons simply reflect it.
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Speaker 1: The moon has no light of its own. It's all
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Speaker 1: reflected light. So it is with us. By the way,
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Speaker 1: as a light to the nations, let's not forget our mission.
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Speaker 1: No matter our size, no matter the era, no matter
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Speaker 1: our strength or struggles, look closely. The light of the
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Speaker 1: nations to do what? To open blind eyes. Some of
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Speaker 1: them belong to your neighbors. Some of them are in
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Speaker 1: apartment buildings not that far from here. Some of them
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Speaker 1: you've never met. Most of them you don't know. But
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Speaker 1: their eyes are blind. And the light to the nations
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Speaker 1: is to include bringing prisoners from the dungeon. If that
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Speaker 1: doesn't provide you with the word picture, I don't know
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Speaker 1: what can. Think of the lost individual, and there are
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Speaker 1: many more of them than there are of us. Those
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Speaker 1: who have never once heard the name of Jesus. Never once.
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Speaker 1: I've spoken to people, I happen to have been in
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Speaker 1: the land of Turkey, where I brought up the subject
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Speaker 1: of Jesus, and the man looked at me as if
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Speaker 1: I had spoken of a ghost or an imaginary figure.
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Speaker 1: He said, who? Who? Here is a grown man running
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Speaker 1: a business who has never, for the first time in
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Speaker 1: his life, heard the name Jesus. But that's not just
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Speaker 1: in Turkey. You know that. It's the people with whom
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Speaker 1: you work, those with whom you school. Those who are
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Speaker 1: a part of our heart and never will leave that
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Speaker 1: part of our hearts because of the commission to bring
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Speaker 1: prisoners out of the dungeon and those who dwell in
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Speaker 1: darkness from that prison. And then as if we need
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Speaker 1: to hear it again, it's as though the Lord is saying,
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Speaker 1: I want to say this to you, and I don't
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Speaker 1: want you to forget it. I am the Lord, that
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Speaker 1: is my name. Look closely at what it says in following. Literally,
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Speaker 1: my glory to another I will not give. My light,
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Speaker 1: my splendor, the credit that belongs to me, The power
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Speaker 1: that is my name, the sovereignty that represents my choices,
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Speaker 1: my decisions, my directives, that's mine and mine alone. Give
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Speaker 1: it to no other. And do not dare attempt to
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Speaker 1: take it from me. It is glory only for me.
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Speaker 1: The Lord is my name. My glory is mine and
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Speaker 1: my praise is not to go to graven images. You
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Speaker 1: are the light and you reflect it. We sang of
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Speaker 1: it this morning. Walter Chalmers Smith wrote of it in
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Speaker 1: the last part of the 19th century. Immortal, invisible, God
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Speaker 1: only wise. In light, inaccessible. Did you hear the word?
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Speaker 1: In light, inaccessible, hid from our eyes. Most blessed, most glorious,
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Speaker 1: the ancient of days. Almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
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Speaker 1: To him belongs the glory. To him goes all the credit.
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Speaker 1: To him we give our applause. To him we stand
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Speaker 1: in awe before him. Isaiah stands as a marvelous reminder
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Speaker 1: that this is not to be forgotten. How easy to
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Speaker 1: mix up the special delight of being chosen by God
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Speaker 1: and then feeling a sort of a heightened sense of pride,
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Speaker 1: almost a smugness that I am among the elect, and
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Speaker 1: you're not. And therein lies so many of our struggles.
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Speaker 1: Os Guinness hits at this in his wonderful book, The Call.
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Speaker 1: I say it's wonderful because it is my favorite of
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Speaker 1: Os Guinness's books. It's the only one I understand, so
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Speaker 1: it's my favorite. And in it, he writes this that
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Speaker 1: is worth hearing. Listen closely. The reverse side of calling
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Speaker 1: is the temptation of conceit. All truth in a fallen
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Speaker 1: world is vulnerable to distortion. In fact, each truth has
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Speaker 1: its own foreseeable distortions that are its shadow side. I
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Speaker 1: like the way he puts that. Each truth has a
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Speaker 1: shadow side. He continues. The closeness between calling and conceit
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Speaker 1: is easy to see. After all, to be called is
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Speaker 1: to hear God whisper three things to you in a
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Speaker 1: hundred different intimate ways. You are chosen. You are gifted.
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Speaker 1: You are special. Let those three things sink in for
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Speaker 1: longer than the first precious moments of And you will
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Speaker 1: inevitably hear another voice, honeyed and smooth. Yes. You really
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Speaker 1: are chosen. Gifted. Special. All too soon, if you are
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Speaker 1: anything like most of us, you will find yourself saying
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Speaker 1: in response to the devil's echo of God to yourself,
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Speaker 1: of course, never out loud. I'm chosen. I'm gifted. I
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Speaker 1: really must be special. And before you know it, the
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Speaker 1: wonder of calling has grown into the horror of conceit.
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Speaker 1: With a touch of humor, Guinness continues, The temptation, however,
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Speaker 1: is inescapable for as much as the Jews as for us.
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Speaker 1: During World War II, Winston Churchill's governing coalition included as
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Speaker 1: president of the Board of Trade Sir Stafford Cripps, later
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Speaker 1: the socialist chancellor of the Exchequer. Cripps was a teetotaler
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Speaker 1: and a vegetarian, and in Churchill's eyes, somewhat crabbed. in personality.
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Speaker 1: I like that word, crabbed. Somewhat crabbed in personality. His
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Speaker 1: only concession to pleasure was smoking cigars. But Cripps renounced
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Speaker 1: that habit too, declaring to a wartime rally that he
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Speaker 1: was giving up cigars as an example of sacrifice for
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Speaker 1: the cause. Too bad, Churchill whispered to a colleague on
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Speaker 1: the same platform, it was his last contact with humanity.
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Speaker 1: Easy to feel a little smug toward the rest of
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Speaker 1: humanity who aren't chosen. Who aren't gifted. Who aren't special.
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Speaker 1: Let's never go there. Let's never let that happen. I
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Speaker 1: don't think you will, however, as a pastor of this
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Speaker 1: church and as a shepherd of this flock, it's incumbent
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Speaker 1: upon me to warn us. because funny things happen when
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Speaker 1: churches get big first of all we become in the
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Speaker 1: eyes of some a target of envy I just spent
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Speaker 1: the last four and a half days in another state
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Speaker 1: where church attendance is dwindling. I met with a few
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Speaker 1: fellow ministers whose hearts ache as they talk about their
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Speaker 1: ministry in parking lots not even half full and buildings
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Speaker 1: built for almost a thousand that are hardly filled with 150,
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Speaker 1: maybe on Easter 200. They can't imagine our kind of growth.
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Speaker 1: How gracious of God to do here what is rarely done.
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Speaker 1: How loosely we must hold it. How much glory must
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Speaker 1: continue to be turned vertically. May no one ever be
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Speaker 1: called to be a part of this staff who longs
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Speaker 1: to serve in a big church. May no leader ever
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Speaker 1: be among our leadership who ever sees a special touch
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Speaker 1: of being in a big place. May God guard all
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Speaker 1: of us, no matter how our classes may grow, all teachers,
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Speaker 1: all officers, all musicians, from even the touch of conceit.
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Speaker 1: May a chill run up our back when we even
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Speaker 1: come close to that temptation. And that's what I was
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Speaker 1: thinking about when God led me to the life of
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Speaker 1: a king whose biography appears in the second Chronicles book,
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Speaker 1: verse 26. What a study in contrast. He's not the
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Speaker 1: only one, but he is among the most eloquent examples
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Speaker 1: of a king everyone admired and then experienced a moment
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Speaker 1: when everything changed and ultimately became a man nobody respected.
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Speaker 1: You know about now because of the scripture reading that
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Speaker 1: his name is Uzziah. I don't know about you, but
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Speaker 1: I smiled when I returned to the story and found
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Speaker 1: that Verse 3 of 2 Chronicles 26, he was 16
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Speaker 1: years old when he became king. Remember when your son
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Speaker 1: was 16? Aren't you glad he wasn't appointed king of anything?
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Speaker 1: Aren't you glad you weren't? Uzziah, 16 years. And for
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Speaker 1: 52 years, until he turned 68, he is the king
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Speaker 1: of the land. And what a man he was. He
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Speaker 1: was a fixed star upon which many people navigated their lives.
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Speaker 1: I mean, look at his story. He did right in
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Speaker 1: the sight of the Lord, verse 4. You can't beat that.
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Speaker 1: He continued to seek God in the days of the
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Speaker 1: great prophet Zechariah, as he should have done. As long
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Speaker 1: as he sought the Lord, God prospered him. So wealth
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Speaker 1: came his way and prestige and prominence, fame surrounded the
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Speaker 1: throne of Uzziah. Don't stop there. He went out and
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Speaker 1: warred against the Philistines and he whipped them, the ancient
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Speaker 1: enemies of the Jews. And If that wasn't enough, verse 7,
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Speaker 1: God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians
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Speaker 1: who lived in Grabal and the Meunites and the Ammonites
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Speaker 1: and the Termites. All those people he fought against. God
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Speaker 1: gave tribute to Uzziah and his fame extended to the
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Speaker 1: border of Egypt. We're talking famous. His name was a
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Speaker 1: household word among the people of the land. And he
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Speaker 1: became very strong. You love Uzziah because of his inventive,
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Speaker 1: creative ability. Even applied to battle and warfare. Look at
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Speaker 1: verse 9. He built towers in Jerusalem at the corner
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Speaker 1: gate and the valley gate. He put corner buttresses there
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Speaker 1: and fortified them. He built towers in the wilderness and
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Speaker 1: hewed many cisterns where he had much livestock. Both in
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Speaker 1: the lowland and the plain he had plowmen and vinedressers
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Speaker 1: in the hill country. The fertile fields, he loved the soil.
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Speaker 1: I don't like guys like that. He's just a farmer
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Speaker 1: at heart. He liked to get his hands dirty. Just
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Speaker 1: one of us. You'd see him at times with a
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Speaker 1: livestock and looking over the fields. What a guy. He
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Speaker 1: protected us as a nation. And... Enemies cowered before him
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Speaker 1: and armies moved with his thumbs up and heads rolled
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Speaker 1: with his thumbs down. This man is powerful. Creative and inventive,
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Speaker 1: he continues to lead the army of over 307,000 men,
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Speaker 1: verse 13, and could wage war with great power. And
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Speaker 1: all of them helped the king. And verse 15 concludes.
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Speaker 1: His fame spread afar. He was marvelously helped. Until he
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Speaker 1: became strong. Every once in a while. It is appropriate
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Speaker 1: that you pause. And let the truth in. Mark that
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Speaker 1: in your Bible. Until. Something snapped. We're not told what
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Speaker 1: it was. I've had more than one this morning and
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Speaker 1: the services before this one ask me, what was it?
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Speaker 1: We're not told. It's hard to track the cause of carnality.
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Speaker 1: One of a dozen reasons. Something inside his head. Little
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Speaker 1: by little, the erosion took its toll. He turned more
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Speaker 1: of a deaf ear to those who would tell him
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Speaker 1: the truth. Little by little, he became his own man,
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Speaker 1: consumed with his own clippings. Not unlike the young athlete
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Speaker 1: who finds his way through junior and senior high school,
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Speaker 1: gifted with an ability to handle a football or shoot
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Speaker 1: a basketball. And by and by, the colleges want him.
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Speaker 1: And before you know it, the ranks of the professionals
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Speaker 1: are seeking him, even before he's out of college. Why?
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Speaker 1: By the time he's in his young 20s, he has
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Speaker 1: millions coming in. And something changes. He's no longer the
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Speaker 1: little boy from your neighborhood. The buddy your son ran
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Speaker 1: around with. He's now untouchable. That's Uzziah. Uzziah goes too far, however,
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Speaker 1: in his carnality. We read of it in verse 16.
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Speaker 1: When he became strong, his heart He was so proud
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Speaker 1: he acted corruptly and he was unfaithful to the Lord
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Speaker 1: his God. For he entered the temple of the Lord.
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Speaker 1: Wait a minute. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop. Priests enter temples,
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Speaker 1: not kings. Priests have the right being sons of Aaron,
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Speaker 1: but not kings. Except Uzziah. I'll go where I want
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Speaker 1: to go. I'll do what I wish to do. This
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Speaker 1: is all about me. And so he went into this
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Speaker 1: place of the altar in Azariah, verse 17. The priest
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Speaker 1: who had the right to be in there entered after him.
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Speaker 1: And in case you wonder if he needed help, he
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Speaker 1: brought with him 80 valiant men. They opposed Uzziah. Look
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Speaker 1: at that. 81 priests opposed one man. You've heard of
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Speaker 1: road rage? You're going to read temple rage right here.
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Speaker 1: How dare you stand against me? May every strong-hearted pastor
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Speaker 1: read these words again and let the chill run up
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Speaker 1: your back. May every ill-motived potential leader take heart, take notice,
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Speaker 1: take notice. Uzziah took the glory that belonged to God
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Speaker 1: and personified it. They opposed Uzziah the king and said
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Speaker 1: to him, it is not for you, Uzziah, to burn
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Speaker 1: incense to the Lord for the priests. The son of Aaron,
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Speaker 1: it's for us who have been consecrated to burn incense.
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Speaker 1: Get out of the sanctuary. You realize the guts it
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Speaker 1: took to tell Uzziah that? Get out. This is a
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Speaker 1: man who commands 307,000 in his army. This is a
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Speaker 1: man who has wealth that is not even described. Get out.
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Speaker 1: You've gone too far. You have been unfaithful and will
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Speaker 1: have no honor from the Lord God. But Uzziah, look
39:42
Speaker 1: at this. Talk about stubborn. with a censer in his
39:49
Speaker 1: hand for burning incense, was enraged. It means exactly what
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Speaker 1: it says. How dare you stand in my way? What
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Speaker 1: Uzziah didn't realize is that he wasn't calling his own shots,
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Speaker 1: but the very breath in his lungs came from the
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Speaker 1: Lord God of heaven, and his skin suddenly became splotched
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Speaker 1: with leprosy. He didn't know it at the moment because
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Speaker 1: it came on his forehead and they saw it. The
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Speaker 1: leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in
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Speaker 1: the house of the Lord beside the altar of incense.
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Speaker 1: Notice how the chronicler describes it. He is in the
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Speaker 1: house of the Lord. He is beside the altar of
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Speaker 1: incense where he had no business being. Azariah, the chief priest,
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Speaker 1: and all the priests looked at him and behold, he
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Speaker 1: was leprous. The dread disease among Jews, leprous leprosy. And
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Speaker 1: they hurried him out of there and he himself hastened
40:48
Speaker 1: to get out because the Lord had smitten him. And
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Speaker 1: he was a leper to the day of his death.
41:06
Speaker 1: I'm so grateful the Lord preserved the story. There are
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Speaker 1: other stories. Leighton Ford, in his book written in 1991, describing,
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Speaker 1: or titled, Transforming Leadership, describes an experience he had that's
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Speaker 1: worth mentioning, and I quote, Several years ago, Ford writes,
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Speaker 1: I had lunch with Richard Dortch, who had just been
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Speaker 1: chosen to become the executive vice president of the PTL Club,
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Speaker 1: a multimillion-dollar religious television televangelism network Dortch had headed his
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Speaker 1: denomination's work in Illinois and had an outstanding track record.
41:54
Speaker 1: I was frankly very impressed with what he had to
41:57
Speaker 1: say and with his seeming sincerity and competence. He planned
42:02
Speaker 1: to recruit a strong finance director and several MBAs to
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Speaker 1: establish some fiscal sanity. It's going to be like turning
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Speaker 1: the Queen Mary around with a teaspoon, he said. It
42:16
Speaker 1: won't be easy, but I plan to do it. I
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Speaker 1: wished him well and watched him from a distance. Eventually,
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Speaker 1: Jim Baker, the head of PTL, resigned in disgrace over
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Speaker 1: a sexual liaison and its cover-up. Both he and Dortch
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Speaker 1: were convicted for the misuse of funds. How, I wondered,
42:38
Speaker 1: could a man with such seemingly good intentions go so wrong?
42:44
Speaker 1: So I read with interest a later interview in which
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Speaker 1: he described how the managers of PTL came to define success.
42:52
Speaker 1: Please don't miss a word that follows. I quote, in
43:01
Speaker 1: the interview they said, it is all tied to how
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Speaker 1: many stations we have on our network or how big
43:07
Speaker 1: our building is. It is so easy to lose control,
43:12
Speaker 1: to compromise without recognizing it. At PTL, there was not
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Speaker 1: time taken for prayer or family because the show had
43:22
Speaker 1: to go on. We were so caught up in God's
43:27
Speaker 1: work that we forgot about God. He also talked about
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Speaker 1: the impact of television on preachers. And I quote again,
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Speaker 1: a television camera can change a preacher quicker than anything else.
43:41
Speaker 1: Those who sit on the sidelines can notice the changes
43:44
Speaker 1: in people once they get in front of a camera.
43:48
Speaker 1: It turns a good man into a potentate. It is
43:52
Speaker 1: so easy to get swept away by popularity. Everybody loves you.
43:57
Speaker 1: Cars are waiting for you and you go to the
44:00
Speaker 1: head of the line. That is the devastation of the camera.
44:07
Speaker 1: It has made us less than what God wants. has
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Speaker 1: wanted us to become. In PTL's case, the TV camera,
44:16
Speaker 1: the show, even the ministry itself had become ends in themselves.
44:21
Speaker 1: They were powers which could have been creative, but which
44:25
Speaker 1: in the end actually became destructive. For those of us
44:32
Speaker 1: not in the public eye, it is easy to point
44:34
Speaker 1: the finger at the Jim Joneses. and the Jim Bakers,
44:38
Speaker 1: but power can be just as seductive to the teacher
44:41
Speaker 1: in a classroom, the physician in an examining room, the
44:47
Speaker 1: boss in a union meeting, or the leader of an
44:52
Speaker 1: average church. Call me extreme if you wish, but that's
44:58
Speaker 1: part of the reason there will not be cameras in
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Speaker 1: the new building. There will not be a television broadcast.
45:06
Speaker 1: Of our worship. We are not here. For others. In
45:12
Speaker 1: our worship. We are here for our God. And as
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Speaker 1: the body. To grow and learn together. And then through
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Speaker 1: the week. We get the message out. We're not putting
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Speaker 1: on a show. We're expressing our praise. And worship. To God. Now.
45:32
Speaker 1: There are effective ministries. I understand that. So please don't
45:36
Speaker 1: write me. I know there are, but they are the exception, tragically,
45:41
Speaker 1: rather than the rule. I don't need the temptation of
45:45
Speaker 1: fawning before a camera. With a face like this, are
45:49
Speaker 1: you kidding? As many have told me, I have a
45:52
Speaker 1: face for radio, and indeed I do. So, it seemed
45:58
Speaker 1: appropriate before we're through that as your shepherd and friend
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Speaker 1: and fellow sheep, I offer these five warnings to all
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Speaker 1: of us. Things to beware. Please take out a pen.
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Speaker 1: Please look at the outline. Please write them down. Please
46:18
Speaker 1: put them in your Bible. And please never forget them.
46:25
Speaker 1: They all come from the life of Uzziah. And because
46:28
Speaker 1: the truths are transcendent, they apply to today just as
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Speaker 1: they did in his era. How do we know when
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Speaker 1: things are going in the wrong direction? When do we beware?
46:42
Speaker 1: First of five, beware when greater battles are fought within
46:47
Speaker 1: than without, you're heading for trouble. Battles behind the scenes,
46:55
Speaker 1: battles for power, battles based on pride, defensiveness, polishing an image,
47:03
Speaker 1: promoting an individual, fighting for authority, grabbing for the money,
47:11
Speaker 1: or a bigger section of the budget. When greater battles
47:15
Speaker 1: are fought within than without, a ministry is headed for trouble. Second,
47:24
Speaker 1: when more attention falls on one who is building his
47:29
Speaker 1: or her own kingdom instead of the Lord's, you're heading
47:33
Speaker 1: for trouble. When more attention falls on anyone who is
47:38
Speaker 1: interested in building his or her own kingdom, you're in
47:43
Speaker 1: for trouble. As in the case of Uzziah, it soon
47:47
Speaker 1: became all about him. Third, when the Lord's help is
47:52
Speaker 1: no longer considered essential, beware. When you can do worship
47:59
Speaker 1: services in a sort of perfunctory manner. Yeah, we've done
48:02
Speaker 1: these before for 10, 12, 15 years. Yeah, we can
48:04
Speaker 1: crank another one out. When you can do what you
48:08
Speaker 1: do without prayer, without dependence, without a deep sense of reliance,
48:14
Speaker 1: understanding that the very breath in your lungs comes from
48:18
Speaker 1: one who has created you, you're in trouble. When you
48:22
Speaker 1: forget that, when the Lord's help is no longer considered essential, Remember,
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Speaker 1: Uzziah was great until his heart became proud. Fourth, when
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Speaker 1: reproofs and warnings are resisted instead of respected. Let me
48:43
Speaker 1: pause here and clarify that. Not every criticism is an
48:47
Speaker 1: appropriate reproof or warning. Those in leadership must always discern
48:53
Speaker 1: where that reproof or warning is coming from. Is it
48:57
Speaker 1: from a spirit-filled individual? Is it from a person who
49:00
Speaker 1: himself or herself has a heart that's right before God?
49:04
Speaker 1: Is that individual mature, discerning, fair, balanced? A large ministry
49:15
Speaker 1: easily draws people who are looking for a place to shine. Please,
49:23
Speaker 1: please don't apply. When reproofs and warnings are resisted instead
49:31
Speaker 1: of respected, you're in trouble. Finally, beware when the consequences
49:38
Speaker 1: of sin no longer bring fear Although obviously out of
49:46
Speaker 1: bounds in the temple, even though the priest named Azariah
49:50
Speaker 1: confronted Uzziah appropriately and firmly, Uzziah wasn't afraid. And he
49:59
Speaker 1: should have fallen to his knees and said, I am
50:03
Speaker 1: the man. Just as David did when Nathan confronted him.
50:09
Speaker 1: Standing where we stand today, ladies and gentlemen, we need
50:12
Speaker 1: this reminder. We have been greatly blessed. We have grown.
50:19
Speaker 1: We have become known. Without any attempt to promote, we
50:23
Speaker 1: do not even advertise. But the word is out. And
50:30
Speaker 1: our best days are ahead of us by His grace.
50:35
Speaker 1: But as Alexander White writes in one of his fine
50:37
Speaker 1: books on Bible characters, we hang very heavy weights on
50:42
Speaker 1: very thin wires. May we never forget the source of
50:50
Speaker 1: our strength and the reason for our growth and the
50:55
Speaker 1: one who alone deserves the glory. Please, teach yourself to
51:03
Speaker 1: stop calling this Chuck's church that doesn't help it hurts
51:11
Speaker 1: it's the Lord's church it's a place I have the
51:15
Speaker 1: privilege of serving it has nothing to do with who
51:22
Speaker 1: I am as far as the work of God is
51:25
Speaker 1: concerned when I'm gone he will press right on without
51:29
Speaker 1: me and hardly miss a beat if God is in
51:33
Speaker 1: our midst Be sure you keep your eyes on him.
51:39
Speaker 1: On him. We are in for incredible years ahead by
51:45
Speaker 1: the grace of God. And he alone gets the glory. Amen? Amen? Amen!
51:54
Speaker 1: Let's pray. May we never forget this today, our Father.
52:00
Speaker 1: May it be a stinging and stunning reminder that this
52:03
Speaker 1: is all about you. This is all about your work.
52:06
Speaker 1: This is all about your songs. This is all about
52:09
Speaker 1: your word. This is all about your plan. This is
52:11
Speaker 1: all about your mission. This growth is all about your favor,
52:17
Speaker 1: your pleasure. This new place is all about your name.
52:24
Speaker 1: And may we forever and ever lift up that name
52:28
Speaker 1: that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus,
52:32
Speaker 1: every knee will ultimately bow. In the name of our
52:38
Speaker 1: Savior and Master, we pray. Everyone said, Amen. Everyone said, Amen.
52:45
Speaker 1: Everyone said, Amen! Alright, that's it. The preceding message, The
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Speaker 1: Glory of God, was copyrighted in 2008 and the sound
52:57
Speaker 1: recording was copyrighted in 2009 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.
53:01
Speaker 1: All rights are reserved worldwide.