Sermon Tone Analysis

Father,

You will fulfill Your purpose for us, and we praise You for that!

Your purpose is better, Your plans are better, and Your process is better!

We praise You for being righteous in all Your ways and we thank You for being so very kind to us in all Your ways.

Have mercy on me, a sinner.

We repent of our sins and turn to You and we ask You to make our hearts clean.

We confess our rebellion and thank You for not giving us what we deserve.

You are so much better than fair⁠—You even extend Your common grace and common mercy to those who don’t know or love You!

Give us eyes to see the kindness You’ve extended to us⁠ in ways big and small, in ways common and specific.

We get to breathe Your air and enjoy Your creation, we get to taste delicious food, we have access to tools and technology that helps us understand Your Word that didn’t exist for any prior generations.

You have done us SO MUCH GOOD.

We surrender our lives to You, Lord—every moment of our day, each decision we make, we yield our will and way to Your perfect will and way.

Amen.

Family Tree of Jesus Mathew 1:1-17

we are going to talk about a man with a legacy… King Uzziah had a legacy of royalty.

but like all families, things can get messy...

Uzziah became a mighty King.

Sometimes, independence, power, fame, entitlement, heritage... they can develop into pride.

2 Chronicles 26:16 (ESV)

But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction.

For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.

you do not often find the sin of adultery; in the pulpit.

you do not often find the sin of corruption; in the pulpit.

you do not often find the sin of addiction; in the pulpit.

you do not often find the sin of greed; in the pulpit.

These sins are not prevalent in high profile leadership roles.

What you will find behind the pulpit across the nation on a weekly basis;; is the Sin of Pride.

(of course not here)

Pride!!!

The invisible: yet highly destructive sin, is not only in the pulpit but also in the church pew!!!! Pride leads to destruction, it was the sin that cast Lucifer from Heaven!

It was the very sin that Satan used to temp Adam and Eve in the garden;;; LEADING to the fall of man.

Romans 3:23 For all have Sinned

Nobody sins in a vacuum!!!

Your sins affect those around you

Humility is the opposite of Pride.

Luke 18:9–14 (ESV)

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Matthew 23:12 (ESV)

12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

I love proverbs!!!

If you have a pen...

we can go on and on about the wise man and the foolish man.

But pride is the sin that blinds the fool and the wise!!!

Pride will build a pedestal...

it will make you feel wiser than anyone around you.

Uzziah was on a VERY high pedestal.

2 chronicles 26:16 “But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction.

For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.”

you see PRIDE is the sin that is normally hidden.

it is a sin of the heart.. the same sin that corrupted mankind in the beginning.

the sin that got Lucifer kicked out of heaven

Lucifer thought he was better than God.

Uzziah though he was better than the Law...

The LAW that GOD gave Moses.

Uzziah didn't physically sin.

His sin was of the heart.

Uzziah- angry- leprosy broke out in his forehead in the presence of the priests.

And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the LORD.

And Jotham his son was over the king’s household, governing the people of the land.

verse 21 chapter 26

I want to be more like Jesus and walk in humility.

A theme of both the OT and NT is God’s hatred of pride; therefore, he opposes the proud and gives attention and help to the humble

Pride causes God to turn from our prayers and withhold his grace.

To be exalted in our own minds or to pursue the honor and esteem from others in order to satisfy our pride is to cut ourselves off from God’s help.

But for those who humbly submit to God and pursue a deeper relationship with him, he gives generously of his grace, mercy and help in every situation of life

building a foundation in Christ, a lasting relationship with God.

what happens with a relationship that becomes complacent.

True humility starts with God.

Christ’s example of humility...

*Paul wrote to the church of Philippi* Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Philippians 2:1–11 (ESV)

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus in Gethsemane: Jesus did not approach his death as a superhero....

he prayed in the garden First… and asked for help.

wise man built his house on the rock

Identifying with the poor and needy.

“the broken hearted”

OUR prayer should be: God, Would You steer us toward hope and plant our feet firmly on YOU as our foundation so that fear doesn’t inform our decisions?

Remind us that we’re eternally safe and permanently secure in You.

Give us your peace when we’re filled with unrighteous anger.

Hold our tongues when we want to pick a fight.

We can’t do it, God, but Your Spirit in us can.

Paul, the example of humility.

when speaking to the church of Corinth.

(Divisions of the church) He Thanked God that he didn't baptize none of them except Crispus and Gaius

Paul said 1 cor 1:17

“For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”