Uzziah, Who Failed to Enjoy the Grace He Received

This passage covers the successful early years of the reign of Uzziah, king of the southern kingdom of Judah, when he sought and relied on God and led the nation to strength and prosperity, and how later, as he grew powerful, his heart became proud, he sinned against God, and he rushed toward ruin. Under the influence of his mother and his spiritual mentor Zechariah, he did what was right before God and received marvelous help, but his attitude degenerated into exalting himself, and he did not acknowledge his abilities and position as grace from God.

Through the incident in which Uzziah, as king, tried to burn incense himself, a task only priests could perform, and was struck with the curse of leprosy, the sermon points out that pride was the root reason he could no longer enjoy grace. It warns that treating the grace God has given in answer to prayer as a right we are owed, or being so absorbed in worldly success and comfort that we forget God, leads in the end to spiritual ruin. It also stresses that having many visible worldly possessions does not make a successful life, and that we can enjoy grace to the end only when we keep a humble heart that is thankful for it.

The sermon asks whether believers are now enjoying with thankfulness the grace they have received from God and using it as an instrument for God's kingdom, or treating it as a blessing they deserve and simply consuming it.