Those Who Cannot Even Enjoy the Grace They Have Received

This passage covers King Uzziah, to whom the almighty God gave wealth and power, but who was corrupted by pride, ignored the priests' counsel, tried to burn incense himself, was struck with leprosy, and came to a miserable end. It explains that God did not reject him from the start, but that his own choice broke the relationship and caused him to be stripped of every blessing.

The sermon points out the human weakness of abandoning God and going back to the world as soon as difficulties are resolved. When we are not poor in spirit and boast of our own ability and wisdom, that is evidence that we have become servants of Satan, and it leads in the end to the road of ruin. Believers must not make the world's recognition their measure of worth, but must be thankful for the grace given them and persevere.

The sermon warns that a life that does not hope for the eternal kingdom, and whose heart is captured by the lust of the flesh and the pride of life, ends in the end in emptiness. It asks whether we will choose true wisdom, a life of bearing the fruit of the Spirit and preparing as citizens of the kingdom of heaven, or the folly of losing our souls, swallowed up by worldly success.