Eccl 10:1
As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
Intro: A young woman asked for an appointment with her pastor to talk with him about a besetting sin about which she was worried. When she saw him, she said, "Pastor, I have become aware of a sin in my life which I cannot control. Every time I am at church I begin to look around at the other women, and I realize that I am the prettiest one in the whole congregation. None of the others can compare with my beauty. What can I do about this sin?"
The pastor replied, "Mary, that’s not a sin, why that’s just a mistake!"
Today in the Word, August 30, 1993.
V. 15 Since cities at this time were walled one of the most successful ways to attack a city was to bring it under siege and starve out the city. Sieges were very long and tedious. Sometimes a city would stay under siege for years, Troy sustained a siege of ten years. With these catapults Uzziah could destroy city walls from a distance and fight off besieging armies that surrounded his cities.
V. 16 Instead of having a thankful heart towards all God had done for him, he had a prideful and self exalted view of self. After gaining so many honors he began to thank there was no honor too great for him. But the question that comes to my mind is why this? Maybe he felt the priest where truly giving it 100%. Or it might have been that he desired to be like the pagan kings who approached their alters with freedom.
For Uzziah to burn incense before the Lord was against the Mosaic Law. Only the sons of Aaron where given this privilege. Uzziah could’ve blessed the people, lead them in prayer or preached to them.
V.19 What man couldn’t do with words, God did with action. The priest in no way could convince Uzziah to not to burn incense in the Temple but God not only stopped him cold in his tracks He sent Uzziah running out of the Temple.
Illust: During the Battle of the Wilderness in the Civil War, Union general John Sedgwick was inspecting his troops. At one point he came to a parapet, over which he gazed out in the direction of the enemy. His officers suggested that this was unwise and perhaps he ought to duck while passing the parapet. "Nonsense," snapped the general. "They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dist--." A moment later Sedgwick fell to the ground, fatally wounded.
Illust: God wisely designed the human body so that we can neither pat our own backs nor kick ourselves too easily.
Guideposts.
Illust: A recent news release told of a Charlotte, North Carolina, woman who set a world record while playing a convenience store video game. After standing in front of the game for fourteen hours and scoring an unprecedented seven and a half million points on the game called "Tapper," the woman was pleased to see a TV crew arriving to record her efforts for posterity. She continued to play while the crew, alerted by her fiancé, prepared to shoot. However, she was appalled to see the video screen suddenly go blank. While setting up their lights, the camera team had accidentally unplugged the game, thus bringing her bid for ten million points to an untimely end! The effort to publicize her achievement became the agent of her ultimate failure.
The fact that the king of all people was struck with leprosy was a powerful illustration of the Holiness of God and His Temple. This served as an example to those under the king that God is to be honored as holy.
(1.) Pride was at the bottom of his transgression, and thus God humbled him and put dishonor upon him.
(2.) He invaded the office of the priests in contempt of them, and God struck him with a disease which in a particular manner made him subject to the inspection and sentence of the priests; for to them pertained the judgment of the leprosy, Deut 24:8.
(3.) He invaded the dignity of the priesthood, which he had no right to, and for that he was deprived even of his royal dignity, which he had a right to. Those that covet forbidden honors forfeit allowed ones. Adam, by catching at the tree of knowledge of which he might not eat, debarred himself from the tree of life, of which he might have eaten. Let all that read it say, The Lord is righteous.
1. Sometimes God will send us into a storm with the purpose of breaking our pride.
Matt 14:22
22Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.
Note that Jesus made the disciples, not persuaded, or asked, or motivated, but made. All the while knowing He was sending them into a storm. Just prior to this Jesus had performed the miracle of feeding the five thousand, although it affected the disciples it was nothing compared to what they were about to experience.
When you recognize God as Creator you will admire Him.
When you recognize His wisdom you will learn from Him.
When you discover His strength you will rely on Him.
But only when He saves you, will you worship Him.
Matt 14:25-26
25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It’s a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.
Up until this point the disciples had never seen Jesus walk on water. He didn’t walk on water while they road in the boat, and say; "hey guys check this out". So it makes sense that when they saw Jesus "in the night" walking on water for the first time that they would mistakenly think it was a ghost.
We must be careful, if were not looking for God we will miss Him. Remember the promise He will never leave us, nor forsake us.
Matt 14:29-30
29"Come," he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
It’s so easy to criticize Peter for his mistakes, but how many other people do you know that have walked on water? When Peter was walking on the water what were the other eleven disciples doing? They were just sitting in boat watching. Watching Peter fail AGAIN. This seemed to be a reoccurring scene; Peter the leader of the disciples continually failing.
illustration: The #1 selling chair in America is "Lazy Boy". This is an icon of our culture we love to come home from a hard days work and just "veg-out" in front of the T.V. This is where our term couch potato came from; it means to do nothing. And that is exactly what the other eleven disciples were doing; they were "boat-potatoes". Could you imagine trying to market a chair called Risky Boy? Who would buy that? The point is that many times in our Christian life we must take risk for God to increase our faith.
Have you ever wondered why Peter asked Jesus if he could come out on the water with him? Some say this statement is a simple request for verification. Peter, they suggest, wants to prove that the one they see is Jesus and not just anyone who might be on a stroll across a storm-tossed sea in the middle of the night.
I don’t think Peter is seeking clarification; I think he’s trying to save his neck. He is aware of two facts; He’s going down, and Jesus is staying up. And it doesn’t take him too long to decide where he would rather be.
The first few steps go well. But a few strides out onto the water, and he forgets to look to the One who got him there in the first place, and down he plunges. In this situation Peter only has one place to look, Jesus. And since he would rather swallow pride than water he calls out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!”
Peter knew that if he was left to his own strength to swim these stormy waters he would surly drown. His self-sustaining pride was greatly overshadowed by his sheer will to survive. As long as Jesus is one of many options He is no option. As long as you can carry your burdens alone, you don’t need a burden bearer. As long as your situation brings you no grief, you will receive no comfort. And as long as you can take him or leave him, you might as well leave him, because He won’t be taken half-heartedly.
Yes, it was when Peter took his eyes off Jesus that he began to sink. But what did he take his eyes off Jesus to look at? His circumstances! Was the wind blowing when he got out of the boat? Is God only powerful enough to hold us up on calm water (circumstances)? God is more concerned with changing us not our circumstances. He intentionally put the disciples in these adverse circumstances to build their faith.
Matt 14:32-33
32And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
After Jesus feed the five thousand they didn’t worship Him, but after He rescued them they couldn’t keep from worshipping Him. Through the storm they came to know the power of Jesus and whole new way they had never experienced before.
A storm is a small price to pay to see God more clearly.
