A Struggle With Pride

Earlier this week, I had a surprise visit from an old friend.

Pastor Chris Surber, who led this flock as pastor before me, was passing through the area on his way to drop his son, Ephram, at Liberty University, where Ephram has enrolled as a junior studying Biblical and Theological Studies.

Now, Pastor Chris and I were friends long before my family and I joined Liberty Spring Christian Church. He wrote a weekly column for the newspaper during his time in Suffolk, both when he pastored here and in his previous time at Cypress Chapel.

Annette and I were part of the first group that Chris and his wife, Christina, took to Haiti as they were trying to determine what to do with the calling they felt to that place and its people.

And when I felt the Lord calling me into ministry of some sort, Chris was instrumental in helping me to discern how that might take place.

He shepherded me through my search for a seminary that would accept a college dropout and then wrote a glowing recommendation for me when I chose to apply to Dallas Theological Seminary.

It had been a long time since Chris and I had had the time to catch up, and when you get two talkative pastors together, things are liable to stretch, anyway.

So, two hours after he arrived in my office, he looked at his watch and said, “Oh, gosh. I’ve got to go. We have an appointment in Lynchburg.”

And as he stood up, he glanced at the diploma from Dallas Seminary that hangs on my wall, pointed to it, and said, “I’m still amazed at how this happened.”

“Me, too,” I said. And I AM still amazed by it. A college dropout who’d spent a lifetime in journalism not only was accepted into one of the nation’s top seminaries, but was then called into the pastoral ministry.

This is categorically NOT where I expected to be or what I expected to be doing at this point in my life. And I told Chris what a marvel it is to me that God made this happen.

I couldn’t have made it happen, I said. Only God could’ve done it, and HE deserves all the glory for it.

And then, I started to say something else. I was going to point out the stamp on my diploma that marked me as having graduated with academic distinction. But then I realized that doing so would only glorify myself, and so, I shut up.

I tell you this today, not to satisfy my ego in some roundabout way, but to make the point that pride has a way of sneaking in when you least expect it, sometimes even in the midst of humility.

I struggle with this often, perhaps especially when I’m talking about this church. I’m so thankful for what the Lord has done to build a spirit of love, and compassion, and unity in this congregation during the seven years that I’ve been here.

And I often tell people that this is the most generous, loving group of Christ-followers I’ve ever been a part of. But each time I do so, I feel the temptation to phrase the statement in a way that gives ME some credit for what God has done. And that would be sin.

So, let me be clear as we continue our series, “Sin, According to the Experts”: Anything good that has taken place at Liberty Spring Christian Church during my time as pastor has been GOD’S work, and not mine.

He may USE me to do some of His work — to teach and preach and to love you all — but it has been the Spirit of God working in the hearts of you all that’s brought about the changes we’ve all seen here.

The fleshly part of me would like to take SOME credit for it. Maybe my teaching inspired a revival of hearts, for instance. But I’m just giving you God’s word, so what credit can I take for that?

Maybe the love that I’ve shown has inspired the love that YOU show. But I’m just showing you the love of God, so what credit can I take for THAT?

Like I said, pride sneaks up on you. Just when you think you have it under control, there it is again. And it’s dangerous, especially to followers of Christ.

The Old Testament, alone, talks about the dangers of pride in dozens of places. Here’s one of those warnings that you’ll probably recognize.

Proverbs 16:18 NASB95

18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.

And then, in the New Testament, we hear this, from the Apostle John:

1 John 2:16 NASB95

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

Pride is of the WORLD; it’s not of God. It’s fleshly, not spiritual. And it’s a sign of Satan’s influence on us. He is after, all the father of pride, having been cast out of heaven for his prideful plan to usurp God’s throne. We see this in Isaiah, chapter 14:

Isaiah 14:12–15 NASB95

12 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! 13 “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.

And because, in our sin in the Garden of Eden, we allowed Satan to take the place of God as our rightful king, we inherited from Satan this tendency toward pride.

And nobody’s immune to it. Not even those who love the Lord. Not even pastors.

Today, we’re going to look at the life of King Hezekiah, and we’ll see how this godly king battled with the sin of pride in his own life.

We’ll see that it sneaked up on him, catching him even in the midst of humility. And we’ll see how it contributed to the destruction of the kingdom of Judah, over which Hezekiah ruled. And then, finally, we’ll see God’s gracious answer to pride.

Now, Hezekiah was the 13th king of the southern kingdom of Judah after the nation of Israel split. He reigned from about 729 to 686 B.C., taking over the throne from Ahaz, his intensely evil father.

Compared to the accounts of the other kings of Judah and Israel, there’s quite a lot of material in the Old Testament about Hezekiah’s reign.

We see descriptions of his time on the throne in chapters 18-20 of 2 Kings, in chapters 29-32 of 2 Chronicles, and in chapters 36-39 of Isaiah. And we’ll look at pieces of all those accounts this morning.

But to understand Hezekiah, we must first understand his father, Ahaz. Listen to what the author of 2 Chronicles says about him in chapter 28 of that book:

2 Chronicles 28:1–4 NASB95

1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do right in the sight of the Lord as David his father had done. 2 But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; he also made molten images for the Baals. 3 Moreover, he burned incense in the valley of Ben-hinnom and burned his sons in fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel. 4 He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills and under every green tree.

He worshiped idols and false gods. He sacrificed his children to them. And he caused the people of Judah to follow him in his idolatry.

In fact, we see in verses 24 and 25 of that chapter that he even pillaged and closed the temple, so those who were faithful to God weren’t able to go there to worship Him.

And then, he died, and his son, Hezekiah, became king at the age of 25. And from the very beginning of his reign, Hezekiah showed a love for the Lord that hadn’t been seen since the time of David. Look at verse 2 of chapter 29:

2 Chronicles 29:2–3 NASB95

2 He did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done. 3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them.

And having opened the temple, he sent the priests into it to consecrate it, something that took them 16 days to accomplish because of the desecrations of Ahaz.

In the last half of this chapter, we read that thousands of animals that were sacrificed for sin and peace offerings to atone for Ahaz’s great sins against God.

And then in chapter 30, we read that Hezekiah restores the observance of Passover in Judah. We see that the altars to false gods are demolished and thousands more animals are sacrificed in thanksgiving to God for His mercy upon Judah.

And in all this, Hezekiah set an example for his people of trust in God that was the very opposite of the example set by his father. Look at verse 3 of chapter 31.

2 Chronicles 31:3 NASB95

3 He also appointed the king’s portion of his goods for the burnt offerings, namely, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths and for the new moons and for the fixed festivals, as it is written in the law of the Lord.

And as was the case throughout the history of Judah and Israel, the people followed the king’s example. Look at verse 4.

2 Chronicles 31:4–7 NASB95

4 Also he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to the law of the Lord. 5 As soon as the order spread, the sons of Israel provided in abundance the first fruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of all. 6 The sons of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of sacred gifts which were consecrated to the Lord their God, and placed them in heaps. 7 In the third month they began to make the heaps, and finished them by the seventh month.

The people responded to the king’s command with such zeal that their sacred gifts to God couldn’t be contained in the temple. They had to be heaped onto the ground outside the temple.

And God blessed the king and his people because of their obedience and faith. Look at verse 20 of this chapter:

2 Chronicles 31:20–21 NASB95

20 Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah; and he did what was good, right and true before the Lord his God. 21 Every work which he began in the service of the house of God in law and in commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered.

A spiritual revival was taking place in Judah, and it was centered on the king’s palace and at the temple in Jerusalem.

And this spiritual revival was right on time, because the nation was about to face a huge military threat from the nation of Assyria, which had already defeated the northern kingdom of Israel and was now coming to defeat Judah.

And in the parallel account from 2 Kings, chapter 18, we hear one of the messengers of King Sennacherib of Assyria taunting the people of Jerusalem. Look at verse 28:

2 Kings 18:28–30 NASB95

28 Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in Judean, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. 29 “Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you from my hand; 30 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”

And right there, in verse 30, we see the central issue. Would the people trust in God or not?

The Assyrians had a powerful army, and they were on a winning streak. None of the nations they’d attacked, including Israel, had been able to stand against them. How would the tiny nation of Judah overcome them?

But Hezekiah trusted God. He prayed that God would answer the Assyrians’ blasphemy by defeating them. And that’s just what God did, sending “the angel of the Lord” to strike down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers dead in one night.

And with that, King Sennacherib fled back home, where he was killed by his own sons while worshiping in the temple of one of his false gods.

Hezekiah surely seems to have had a special relationship with the Lord. And that’s confirmed in the following chapter, when he falls mortally ill and prays that God will heal him. God agrees to add 15 years to his life, and Hezekiah is miraculously healed.

Now, we might expect all of these blessings to have made Hezekiah a humble man. We might expect him to have sacrificed thousands more animals in thanksgiving for God’s deliverance from the Assyrians and from his mortal illness.

But instead, back in 2 Chronicles, chapter 32, we see a king struggling with pride. Look at verse 25:

2 Chronicles 32:25–26 NASB95

25 But Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud; therefore wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. 26 However, Hezekiah humbled the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah.

Right when he should have been most humble, Hezekiah became proud. And then, when things got hard for Judah again, he became humble. And then, here came pride again. Look at verse 27:

2 Chronicles 32:27–29 NASB95

27 Now Hezekiah had immense riches and honor; and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuable articles, 28 storehouses also for the produce of grain, wine and oil, pens for all kinds of cattle and sheepfolds for the flocks. 29 He made cities for himself and acquired flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him very great wealth.

Listen, folks, we can’t allow the blessings God heaps upon us to make us proud. We’ve done nothing to deserve them. What we deserve is judgment. Everything we get from Him that’s not judgment is only by His mercy and grace.

But in his pride, King Hezekiah forgot these things. After he’d recovered from his illness, the word got out about it and about the riches of his kingdom, and the king of Babylon sent emissaries to Judah to meet this king who’d been so richly blessed. Here, we’ll turn to the parallel account in Isaiah 39.

Isaiah 39:2 NASB95

2 Hezekiah was pleased, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and his whole armory and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

Hezekiah was PLEASED. He was eager to show the Babylonians his wealth. He was proud of it, and he was probably hoping to make an alliance with them against Assyria.

Where before he’d placed his trust completely in God, now Hezekiah was placing his trust in another kingdom, and it would have devastating consequences after he died. His nation would fall to the Babylonians exactly 100 years after his death.

Listen, pride turns our trust from God to ourselves. Pride makes us forget that HE is the giver of all good gifts. Pride makes us build cities for ourselves and make treasuries for ourselves.

Pride makes us try to engineer our OWN victories, instead of trusting in God. Pride makes us say we can deal with sin on our own, instead of turning to Him.

But in humility, there is true power. The Apostle Paul talks about this in 2 Corinthians, chapter 12 — the passage where he says he’s been given “a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan” to torment him and keep him humble.

He prayed three times that the thorn— whatever it was — might be taken away. And listen to what Paul says he learned from that time he spent talking to God about his problem.

2 Corinthians 12:9–10 NASB95

9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

As James puts it in his New Testament letter, “God opposes the proud” — that’s what Hezekiah should have learned — “but he gives grace to the humble.” And that’s what Paul DID learn.

Humility, not pride, should be the default position for a follower of Christ.

HE came to us in the most humble of circumstances. HE lived among us as a man without a place to lay HIs head. HE humbled Himself even to the cross, the most humiliating death He could have faced.

And HE never wavered in His humility, even though He is God in the flesh, even though He is King of kings and Lord of lords.

Listen, the world tells us there are all manner of things for us to be proud of. Wealth, power, influence, education, even our religious devotion. The list goes on and on.

And if nothing else, we face the same temptation as the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable in Luke, chapter 18, who said, “God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.”

But Jesus calls us to be like the tax collector that Pharisee was talking about. He was standing some distance away, unwilling to even lift his eyes to heaven, beating his own breast, and crying out, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!”

Unlike the Pharisee, this tax collector understood that it is the poor in spirit — those who recognize that they have nothing to put God in their debt, no good works to be proud of — that gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

Like him, they understand that it is the meek — the humble — who will inherit the earth.

“God, be merciful to me, the sinner.” That’s the first prayer of one who’s come to Jesus for salvation. And you can pray that prayer this morning if you’ve never turned to Jesus in faith.

You can pray this prayer of repentance, trusting that forgiveness and eternal life come ONLY through repentance and faith. And if you’ve never trusted in Him this way, I want to encourage you to come to the front this morning and do just that.

But “God be merciful to me, the sinner” is ALSO a prayer for we who’ve already followed Christ in faith. It should be the daily prayer of each one of us who sins against God in our pride, in our lust, in our coveting, in our anger, in our hatred, and in all the ways we sin against Him.

And this morning, I want to encourage you believers to pray this prayer, too. You can do this from your seats, but I’d like to encourage you to fill the space at these steps here.

I’d like to encourage you to come humbly before God and one another, confessing your sins to HIM, and watch HIM bring revival to your hearts and to this church.

Do you really want to see the power of God in your life and in this church? Then come to Him in humility.