Proper checkup
2 Chronicles 26
* Were I to ask, “How many here desire to leave a lasting impact, a legacy-if you will, of making an eternal difference in your family, friends, and the like,” I believe that more than 90% of us would say, “I do.”
* Interestingly enough, God’s desire for all His children is that each one fulfill their mission and calling in this life and accomplish this very thing.
* So if we really want to and God really wants us to do this, where is the breakdown?
* Recently I heard Bro. Michael Catt say in a message, "When we put our fingerprint on something, God takes His hand off of it."
* I wonder if this is the reason so many believers walk in spiritual defeat & that so many churches have so little spiritual power & influence. Could this be the reason that over 1000 churches each year call it quits each year?
* Could it be why young people by the dozens leave the church when they leave home?
* Could it be why 50% of Bible College & Seminary graduates leave ministry in their first 5 years of vocational ministry?
* Could it be that we have got so caught up in putting our fingerprint on, developing our version around, and employing our beaurocacy in the church that Jehovah God has taken His hand off?
* Seems to me that the principles of scripture are pretty clear; ‘Whenever man takes over, God takes off.’
* Personally, I have long been ready for God to take over. But if this is going to happen, it is going to be a spiritual journey. Any time we take a trip, we check up on some things (I.E., oil, filter)
* Turn to 2 Chronicles 26:1-6. We will look at the entire chapter.
* Don’t you like the sound of the statement, “God gave him success?” It has a ring which we all love to hear. Wouldn’t you like to hear that God gave YOU or your church success?
* I submit to us this morning that one of the reasons that the church in America is in the distress she is in is because of her past success and her beginning to believe her own press.
* Asked about why D. L. Moody was so great, F. B. Myers said, “He hadn’t heard about himself.” Consider Uzziah today.
1. The Reason for his success – Let me say from the outset that the success of the church is NOT measured by the number of congregants or the size of the offering; it is measured in divine currency. That is, by the souls of men who are saved. The Bible tells us that Uzziah was successful. Why is this?
a. He was selected by God – When Amaziah died, God put it into the heart of the people to make Uzziah King. He was divinely selected to have the responsibility of leading the nation. By the way, he was selected when he was but 16, this should remind us of several things. First, God desires to use the younger generation. Next, our focus should be looking forward instead of backward.
b. He was a servant of God – Through Godly counsel, Uzziah immediately began to rebuild the country of Judah because he knew this was God’s plan for him. We never get to old for godly counselor. In fact, I am convinced that the reason many people get put on the shelf and never reach their goal in the Lord is because they get too old to receive counsel. A servant of God always has counselors & makes sure they are godly ones. We are told his are; his mom & Zechariah.
c. He was a seeker of God – The text tells us 2 times that he sought God. Life is different when you desire to know what God thinks about your every decision. That said, the secret is ‘godly counselors.’ When you ask your counselor, do they give you their thoughts or do they turn you toward HIM? Never forget this qualifier, “As long as he sought the Lord”.
* I submit to you that in long years past, people who made us the church ‘sought the Lord.’ Candidly, they did this during the depression & the war-time because outside of God’s touch, they had no assurance of anything. God gave success.
2. The Reach of his success – (Vs 6-15) Think about this; God does very few things in a small way. Perhaps the last small thing which turned out to be a huge thing was the cradle. In the life of Uzziah, God gave success upon success.
a. His Enemies were defeated – Read about his enemies and see that they all fell at his feet. The Philistines, the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod all fell in defeat. Even the Ammonites paid him MONEY. If with your mind’s eye you can see, this has been the Church in USA for years.
b. His Expansion proceeded – Verses 8-10 tells us how the fame of Uzziah spread everywhere and along with his fame came his expansion of the nation. It was almost like every where he set his foot, it became his. Look around at church property.
c. His Empowerment was completed – to read verse 11-15 is to sense that Uzziah had arrived. His massive army, ready for battle, was a formidable force to contend with. He was now in the driver’s seat, ready in an instance to handle whoever.
* The church in America has enjoyed the same success as did Uzziah. Our reaction has been very similar to his.
3. The Reaction over his success – This became the reason for his decline. Watch how this works; God gave him success & HE thought he MADE HIS OWN SUCCESS. (Verse 16)
a. Arrogant – His first reaction (just like ours) was to believe his own press clippings. His prayer might have been, “Lord, you are so fortunate to have me, look what I have done.” To read his actions, he took it a step further. Think about it, God has selected him to run the nation, but that wasn’t enough.
* He took on himself church responsibility which God never gave him or intended for him to have. This is the height of pride and arrogance. In fact, he was so full of himself that he basically took over the place of worship. It was then the bold Priests walked in and confronted him, the King, about his evil acts. Success has a way of destroying any man, even a King.
b. Angry – He became livid! He was too proud and arrogant to be ashamed. I remember a day when people could become ashamed of their actions. But most are like Uzziah & are so prideful that they have forgotten how to ashamed. What they do when their sin is exposed is become angry. Uzziah was like a raging storm. God responded.
c. Afflicted – A skin disease of some sort broke out on Uzziah. I wonder what it would be like if God responded to our pride today the way he did in scripture. What if His punishment were quick and sure today? Could it be that the local church today has become so prideful that she been afflicted with a fatal disease? For Uzziah, his affliction was so severe that he could not do the task which he has done for over 50 years.
4. The Results from his success – When past victories become the dominating influence in his life, his arrogance took over causing his demise. He couldn’t handle his success.
a. He was Removed – When God’s judgment came, it came in such a way that Uzziah was removed from the temple, from his work and even from the life that he had known. By the way, he didn’t leave on his own, he was forced out. I wonder if the average organized church today has been removed because of the greatest affliction of all; the withdrawal of the hand of God and the filling of the Holy Spirit of God.
b. He was Replaced – When Uzziah was removed from his position, God has someone else to replace him. It was his son. Years ago, I heard on TV or read in a book an exchange between two people who were in love. The words were, “You want to know if I can live without you? The answer is yes I can. But the truth is, I don’t want to.” God can do His work of redemption without us, but He really doesn’t want to. If we refuse to repent and surrender, He has someone to step in.
c. He was Rejected - Consider how complete the rejection of Uzziah was. This is a sobering truth that today we don’t like.
* Because of his sin, Uzziah was afflicted, removed, & replaced. Were this a modern-day, positive thinking, like we like it, feel-good story, we would read that Uzziah & God were restored. We would further read that Uzziah returned to God’s enjoying God’s favor and blessing. But this is not the case. Biblical historians tell us that Uzziah lived 10 years separated and afflicted. When he died, all of the good that he did early in life was eclipse by the sin in his life and judgment on his life. When he was buried with the Kings, people said, “Oh yeah, he was the one with a skin disease. He had the visible judgment of God on His life.”
* There is one more thing; God’s judgment was so profound on Uzziah that it wasn’t until King Uzziah died, that Isaiah “saw the Lord.” We need never forget that God judges in harshly.
* (Discovery) My personal word of testimony; I desire for God to do something extraordinary in this place.
* Remembering the statement of Michael Catt here’s the payoff question; what is it that you have your fingerprint on that God has taken His hand off? For God to bless, we must repent, release our grip, and renew our commitment. Will we?
