Slight technical glitch there. Okay, so 2 Kings chapter 20 and I want to look at from
verse 12 here, we'll just read over this little section again.
At that time, Berodach-Baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and
a present unto Hezekiah for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. And Hezekiah harkened
unto them and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver and the gold
and the spices and the precious ointment, with all the house of his armour and all that
was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house, not in all his dominion, that
Hezekiah showed them not. Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah and said unto
him, What said these men? And from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They
have come from a far country, even from Babylon. And he said, What have they seen in thine
house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen. There
is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah,
Hear the word of the Lord. Behold, the days come that all that is in thine house, that
which thy fathers laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon. Nothing
shall be left, saith the Lord. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou
shalt beget, shall they take away. And they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king
of Babylon. And the title of my sermon today is Don't be a Boaster. Don't be a Boaster.
Let's go to the Lord in the word of prayer. Father, thank you. Thank you for your word.
Thank you for this church. Thank you for you know, thank you for the many examples you
give us in the Bible, many just common things that we have to deal with, common sins that
we might find it hard to get rid of out of our lives. And on this particular sin, just
help everyone now to just just have attentive ears to want to want to, you know, want to
change. All of us are going to be affected by this at some point. Just help everyone
here to just take this as it should be taken and to put it into action in their life. And
in Jesus name we pray all of this. Amen. We're going to come back to Hezekiah. But first
turn to Esther chapter five. So turn over to the book of Esther and chapter five. Now
boasting is a common theme in the Bible. And no wonder is it's a common sin, isn't it?
It's a very common sin. We see it everywhere. We live in a world in fact where we're encouraged
to boast, aren't we? I was thinking about it just for example, with a CV, a curriculum
vitae, and you have the kids wondering what that is. Basically, when you try and tell
people why they should employ, you apply for a job. The first thing you're expected to
do is boast. You basically tell them how amazing you are, how great you are at everything,
why you're right for the job, why you're the man who should get the job. And whether or
not you're doing CVs or you're just in the sort of job where you go and do an interview,
it's the same thing, isn't it? You're basically meant to be sitting there and lifting yourself
up and showing those people, that employer, why you're so great, why you're so good and
everything else. So from the off, you want to work in this world, you're basically required
to boast, to even get the job in the first place. But it's not just obviously in employment.
We see it throughout the world. We see businesses throughout the world boasting about why you
should go to them. Sales a lot of the time is boasting, isn't it? Boasting about why
you should shop with them, boasting about why you should use their product, boasting
about all those sorts of things, how much better they are than the competition. It's
everywhere you look. Think about politicians boasting about why you should vote for them,
why they're the best politician, why their particular idea for government, whether it's
local or not local, is the best way it should be. We see boasting everywhere. We hear boasting
absolutely everywhere. It's all around us. It's everywhere we look, not just in business.
You see it in sports, don't you, as well? Obviously, anyone that's in the sports, sports
is big in the world, isn't it? Boasting everywhere. The best sports stars in general are going
to boast about the fact that they're the best sports stars. And that's same in a lot of
different types of entertainment as well. People are going to boast about why they're
the best, why they're the greatest. And a lot of the time, it's pretty shameless, isn't
it? It's pretty shameless. You get people who will just go, I am the greatest. You know?
I mean, look, who, is it Muhammad Ali? I am the greatest, yeah? People like that. And
you get that with a lot of boxes. He's not the only one. You get that in sports, in all
different sports, in all different areas of life. People tell you why they are the best.
They are the best. They will stand there and say to people's faces, they'll say to millions,
sometimes multiple millions of people worldwide, they will just shamelessly boast like it's
a good thing, like boasting isn't a problem. In fact, if you want to do well in sports,
all the time you'll be encouraged to boast to get your confidence up and everything else,
you know, let people know that you're the best and everything else. But it's not just
that. What about now in our world, social media as well? Social media is most of the
time one big boast, isn't it? One big boast. Some people are more subtle than others. Some
it's just, oh, well, I just thought you might like to see that picture of my perfect family
doing everything absolutely perfectly in an absolutely perfect living room without one
bit of mess anywhere. Who knows what's going on behind the camera. But in the view of the
camera, it looks great. But we sit and people are literally walking around taking selfies
of themselves to try and look as good as they can to boast. The whole world is just
one big boast, it seems, isn't it? Especially the kids growing up, you can see them in this
whole social media type world that we live in, it's basically all about boasting, isn't
it? And we have to be careful not to be pulled into that, don't we? Proverbs 27, 2 says,
let another man praise thee and not thine own mouth, a stranger and not thine own lips.
So it's pretty clear what God thinks about boasting, isn't it? It's pretty clear that
he doesn't want us to be boasting. What the world does and what we as Christians do often,
and in this case clearly is, complete opposites, isn't it? What the world does, what the world
encourages, what the world thinks is okay, and what God wants us to do, most of the time
opposites at the least, they're usually poles apart, aren't they? Now, today I want to look
at three examples of boasting in the Bible. And there are many, many, many examples of
boasting in the Bible because it is so common. It's not just, oh, well, not just one of these,
oh, well, it's because of the social media, it's because, look, people have been boasters
ever since the beginning of time, okay? But I want to look at three examples today. You're
in the book of Esther chapter 5, hopefully. We're going to look from verse 9. Now, in
Esther chapter 5, Haman is a bad guy in the book of Esther, okay? Because the Jew Mordecai
won't bow down to him and reverence him, he basically plans to kill all the Jews in what
is a vast kingdom, okay? So he's basically plotting mass genocide because one guy won't
bow to him, okay? Mass genocide. Now, for me, Haman is a reprobate, okay? When you look
through the book of Esther, he displays many characteristics of a psychopath reprobate.
This guy is a complete psychopath, okay? So this guy is an interesting example for me.
He's really wicked. And here in Esther chapter 5, he's basically just been told he's been
invited to a banquet with the king and queen, so he's actually pretty happy at this point.
And look at verse 9. It says, then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart,
but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up nor moved for him,
he was full of indignation against Mordecai. So Mordecai won't show him respect, okay?
So this guy, he's in a high up position in the kingdom as well, but Mordecai won't show
him respect. So how does he deal with his offended ego? Because a lot of the time, boasting
is people dealing with their offended ego. Well, it says here in verse 10, nevertheless,
Haman refrained himself, and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends and
Zerush his wife. So a bit of support from the friends and wife, maybe. That's a good
idea, isn't it? Let's see what he does. Verse 11, and Haman told them of the glory of his
riches and the multitude of his children and all the things wherein the king had promoted
him and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. So like
many people in the world, Haman's response to his insecurity is shameless boasting, absolutely
shameless. He actually calls for his wife and his children to basically boast to them,
to tell them about, it says here, the glory of his riches, a multitude of his children
and all the things wherein the king had promoted him and how he had advanced him above the
princes and servants of the king. So his money, his children, his job, how he's better than
others are X, Y, and Z. That's how he deals with his insecurities. Now, you could in this
day and age, you've probably seen many examples of this type of person on Facebook and other
places. I think that's probably old hat now. I'm showing my age there. What is it? Instagram,
TikTok, I don't know. Someone was telling me about TikTok earlier. I'm going to pretend
I know much about it. But yeah, you could see that example, couldn't you? People are
insecure in life, so then they just want to boast and show off and at least puff themselves
up to other people to make themselves feel happy. And this is what we see Haman doing
here. Now, it says in verse 12, Haman said, moreover, yea, Esther the queen did let no
man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared, but myself and tomorrow
am I invited unto her also with the king. Basically, I'm so much better than other people.
I'm so much better than everyone else. You know, that's how he cheers himself up. You'd
think he seems to be trying to cheer himself up. I would imagine this isn't the first time
he's tried this. This is the way he does it. He just starts telling everyone how great
he is and how much better he is than everyone else. But verse 13 says, yet all this availeth
mean nothing so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate. But regardless,
none of that pleases him because of Mordecai's existence. Because of Mordecai being in the
king's gate is quite a good place to be, but because of him being there, none of that cheers
him up at all. All those things he's telling them about, that bit of boasting just didn't
do it. Now, this is an extreme example. Haman's clearly an evil guy, but so is boasting, isn't
it? Boasting is evil. Boasting is wicked. Keep a finger there and turn to Psalm 94.
And we're not going to be coming back to 2 Kings for a little bit, so if you're running
out of fingers there, then don't worry. We're going to be coming back in a little while
now. Okay, so turn to Psalm 94. Now, interestingly, boasting is in both of the descriptive, the
clear descriptive lists of a reprobate. Okay, so Romans 1.30 says that they're backbiters,
haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents.
2 Timothy 3.2 says, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,
femurs, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. Now, obviously, boasting goes hand
in hand with pride, doesn't it? Okay, I don't think anyone here is wondering, oh, really?
Yeah, look, they go hand in hand together, don't they? And with many different types
of reprobate, you're going to see pride, and some of it's more cleverly hidden than others.
Boasting goes hand in hand with that. But, of course, this sin doesn't mean that you're
definitely some sort of God-hating reprobate. So if anyone's sitting here going, oh, yeah,
I do boast sometimes. Look, of course, we're not saying that, okay? Many things on that
list, you know, many people will be affected by. But it is, by the way, one of those on
both of that list. And that, to me, says it's something that we want to steer clear of,
doesn't it? That says to me that that's something you definitely don't want to be known for
being a boaster. You don't want to be someone in a church setting or in a work setting or
whatever other setting where everyone's going, yeah, right boaster, though, right boaster.
Because that's not a good look, is it? Not a good look. Okay, Psalm 94 and verse 1 says,
oh, Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth, oh, God, to whom vengeance belongeth, show
thyself, lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth, render a reward to the proud. And he's
not talking about the good kind of reward here. Verse 3, Lord, how long shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked triumph? And it can feel like that sometimes, can't it? Those
of you that have, you know, been living the Christian life for a while, you're looking
around, you're thinking, how long are they going to get away with this sort of stuff?
How long does this happen for? Well, verse 4 says, how long shall they utter and speak
hard things? And all the workers of iniquity boast themselves. So according to Psalm 94
here, all the works of iniquity are boasting themselves, aren't they here? Because it's
one of their characteristics. And like I said, it might be more subtle, it might not. A lot
of the time it's just open, blatant boasting like we see with Haman here, okay, just shameless
boasting. And all the works of iniquity boast themselves. Verse 5 says, they break in pieces
thy people, oh, Lord, and afflict thine heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger and murder
the fatherless, yet they say the Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard
it. But God does see, doesn't he? God sees everything. Look at the last verse in verse
23, and he shall bring upon them their own iniquity and shall cut them off in their own
wickedness. Yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off. And that's what happens to Haman
in the end. So if you go back to Esther chapter 5, go back to Esther chapter 5, verse 14 says,
Haman said Zerush, his wife, and all his friends unto him. Let her gallows be made of fifty
cubits high, and tomorrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon.
Then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman,
and he calls the gallows to be made. What a wicked witch his wife is to, isn't she? Which
shouldn't be a surprise, by the way. So if you're thinking, wow, out of that, I mean,
why isn't she just kind of, you know, just a nice lady who's got caught up with the wrong
guy? Because a lot of the time, those are fed the flock together. And if you think in
the Bible, think Herod and Herodias, think King Ahab and Jezebel, their daughter Athaliah
was married to the wicked King Jehoram. Okay, and they're just three that I thought of when
I was writing this out, and I'm sure there's probably more that we could we could put together
as well. But I mean, they're just great examples of just wicked people coming together. They
go hand in hand here in Esther, Haman's got a wicked wife, and he's also surrounded by
wicked friends, isn't he? Okay, surrounded by wicked friends because birds of a feather
flock together. And a lot of the time they'll attract each other, they'll end up around
each other. Well, their answer, his wicked friends, his wife, his wicked wife as well,
their answer is to make a huge gallows to hang Mordecai from to cheer up Haman. What
a great response to that, isn't it? Well, yeah, that guy is really, why don't you just
get him hanged? Yeah, just kill him, just murder him. In fact, get a really big gallows
and everyone can see him getting hanged as well. Well, if you know the story, he ends
up having to honor Haman and then gets hanged along with his sons who he's just been boasting
about in the gallows, which is interesting, isn't it? Because what was he boasting about?
So verse 11, and Haman told them of the glory of his riches. I'm going to go through these
quickly, we don't have to turn there yet. Esther 9.4, and we're seeing the results,
says, for Mordecai was great in the king's house, this is his enemy Mordecai, and his
fame went out throughout all the provinces for this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater.
Okay, so he's boasting and what ends up happening, it basically, Mordecai replaced him in that
respect. Now, he also, in verse 11 there, and the multitude of his children was what
he's boasting about. Well, Esther 9.14 says, and the king commanded it so to be done that
a decree was given at Shushan and they hanged Haman's 10 sons. So he's boasting about his
kids, they end up getting hanged. He was also boasting about, it says, and all the things
wherein the king had promoted him. Again, you have to turn there, Esther 8.2 says, and
the king took off his ring which he had taken from Haman and gave it unto Mordecai and Esther
sent Mordecai over the house of Haman. So he ends up basically taking his position
as well, his role there, and then the last bit on how he had advanced him above the princes
and servants of the king. So before he died, he basically had to parade Mordecai in front
of everyone. So just before he dies, one of the last things he ends up doing is having
to parade Mordecai which he thought was going to be himself. Esther 6.11 says, then took
Haman the apparel and the horse and arrayed Mordecai and brought him on horseback through
the street of the city and proclaimed before him, thus shall it be done unto the man whom
the king delighteth to honour. So what were the results of his boasting? It all went to
his enemy. It all went to his enemy. Everything he was boasting about, in fact, ends up going
to Mordecai apart from his kids that end up getting killed. Don't be a boaster. Don't
be a boaster. Look at the repercussions of his boasting. Now, of course, that's an extreme
example of what is a wicked reprobate, okay? That is an extreme example. But turn over
to Daniel 4 for another famous boast of Nebuchadnezzar. So go turn over to Daniel chapter 4. This
is example number 2. Now, he's the king of the world empire, Babylon, and he has this
weird dream that he gets Daniel to interpret. And Daniel 4, we're going to look at from
verse 24, Daniel 4.24, where it reads, This is the interpretation, O king, and this is
a decree of the most high, which is come upon my lord the king, that they shall drive thee
from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make
thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven
times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most high ruleth in the kingdom of
men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump
of the tree roots, thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee. After that thou shalt have known
that the heavens do rule. So basically, Daniel's telling here, the most powerful man in the
world, that he's going to be forced to live outdoor with animals and eat grass for seven
years. Okay, he's telling him that he's going to be forced to live outside and basically
behave and act and live like an animal. Okay, like an animal. Why? So that he knows that
God's in charge. So that he knows it's God in charge, not him. Then he'll get the kingdom
back after that. Verse 27 says, Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto
thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities, by showing mercy to
the poor, if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility. So Daniel's telling him to do
good so that he has more time before this happens. Okay, and maybe he did because we
see this a little while later. Verse 28 says, And this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. Okay, so
what sealed it for him though? And look at verse 30. The king spake and said, Is not
this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my
power and for the honour of my majesty? So Nebuchadnezzar is boasting about his kingdom
and I don't believe Nebuchadnezzar is a child of the devil like Haman, by the way. Perhaps
he gets saved at the end of this. It's up to, you know, different opinions on that.
I think he probably did. But either way, you could probably understand his boasting, couldn't
you? Now this is the most powerful man in the world. This man leads the kingdom of the
world. This is a world empire, Babylon. But does that excuse him with God? Does that excuse
him with God? Do any of our achievements in life excuse boasting? Okay, this is a guy
that's got to a pretty high up place in the world, isn't he? He's at the pinnacle in the
world. But does that excuse it? Does God go, Well, that's okay, because he's got to that
point. No, no, it doesn't matter what you think you've achieved in life, whatever you
think you've achieved, whether it is before salvation or after salvation, it's nothing.
Okay, it's nothing compared with Nebuchadnezzar and God ain't happy with Nebuchadnezzar boasting,
is he? Okay, it doesn't matter what how great you are, you know, how clever you think you
are, what school grades you got, what job you got, what qualifications you got, what
achievements you got in sports, in whatever it is you think you've done, even in your
Christian life, we'll get on to that in a minute. None of it justifies boasting, does
it? Absolutely none of it. Look at verse 31. While the word was in the king's mouth, there
fell a voice from heaven saying, O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken, the kingdom is departed
from thee, and they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts
of the field, they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass
over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it
to whomsoever he will. The same hour was a thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar, and
he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew
of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles feathers, and his nails like birds
claws. So the king of Babylon reduced to an animal, now he's even looking like an animal,
he's not just behaving like an animal, he's looking like an animal. That's a scary result
of boasting when God decides to abase us, because he has been seriously, dramatically
abased there hasn't he? Can God's abased him there? Matthew 23 12 says, and whosoever
shall exalt himself shall be abased, and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
And fortunately, eventually that's what Nebuchadnezzar does doesn't he? He ends up humbling himself.
Verse 34 says, and at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto
heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised
and honoured him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion in his
kingdom is from generation to generation, and all the inhabitants of the earth reputed
as nothing, and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven among the inhabitants
of the earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him what doest thou? At the same
time my reason returned unto me, and for the glory of my kingdom mine honour and brightness
returned unto me, and my counsellors and my Lord sought unto me, and I was established
in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now he's recognised it's not thanks
to him is it? I was established. Yeah, excellent majesty was added unto me. Yeah, see the difference
in the wording now. Verse 37, now I Nebuchadnezzar praised and extolled and honoured the King
of Heaven, all whose works are truth and his ways judgment, and those that walk in pride
he is able to abase. And how was he abased here? What was the result of his boasting?
Well he was humiliated for seven years. He was humiliated. Okay, don't forget that. He
would never be able to forget that, would he? Okay, he will never forget that. Imagine
like when he's talking to people kind of years down the line, yeah yeah I remember a few
years ago and then suddenly it's like yeah that's when I was eating grass like an oxen,
I remember that. That's when I looked like a literal animal, that's when I wasn't, that's
when I stunk like an animal, that's when I was hanging around with the oxen for seven
years. Yeah, oh yeah well in those, I remember like a few years, oh no let's not talk about
that in front of Nebuchadnezzar. He'll never live it down, he'll never forget it, he'll
always know that in front of his whole kingdom he was on all fours living like an animal.
Okay, that's summer basic isn't it? Summer basic. The kingdom though, think about it
as well, because what's the point in the kingdom continuing? The kingdom literally ran itself
for seven years. Okay, so basically God's just showing, look it had nothing to do with
you mate, because while you're an animal and eating grass and stinking and sleeping
with the oxen and you've got the dew on you and you've basically, you've got feathers
and claws, Babylon was fine, yeah? It was like, it basically had an animal in charge,
because it doesn't say oh like that was it, they just kicked him out and then someone
else stepped up, he was just, you know the kingdom just ran itself because God really
was the one that allowed it and God was the one that put him there and God was the one
ultimately that was running it through him. In one way, I'm not saying he was doing everything
they wanted to do there, but God basically, look, God set up that kingdom, it was God
that was able to keep that going for those seven years. Well he's scampering around
eating grass, okay? Well he's scampering around on all fours, don't be a boaster, don't
be a boaster, because God can do that to any one of us here can't he? God could abase us,
God could just make us just embarrass you, okay? If what you care about is how other
people see you, if what you care about is how you lift yourself up to others, look,
sooner rather than later God's probably going to abase you. Now, like I said, maybe Nebuchadnezzar
got saved around that time, maybe in the chapter before if you remember he sees this one like
the son of man, he says doesn't he, in the fiery furnace and with Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego and you know after that he kind of sets the rules which looks like he's at least
respected the God of heaven, but either way he's not necessarily a godly example though
is he, okay? He's a worldly example, but boasting is worldly, okay? But he is a worldly example,
he's an example that whatever you think you've achieved by world standards, yeah,
whatever you think you've done in the world, yeah, however much you think you've achieved
something, you've made it to whatever level you think that you needed to make it to, you don't
have a right to boast, okay? Whatever you think you've done, even Nebuchadnezzar couldn't boast,
whatever worldly heights you've reached, whatever qualifications, whatever respect,
whatever power, it still comes from God ultimately, doesn't it? That's why 2 Corinthians 10, 17 and
18 says, but he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord, for not he that commendeth himself
has approved, but whom the Lord commendeth, yeah? Don't be a boaster, but let's go back to where
we started in 2 Kings now, so you can get out of those, pull those fingers out, get to 2 Kings,
because Hezekiah was a great man of God, okay? Hezekiah was a great man of God and we're going
to go back to chapter 18 here quickly, because I hope everyone here is aspiring to be great men
and women of God, everyone here, that's what they're planning to be, they're not planning to
be the next Nebuchadnezzar, they're not planning world domination, they're not planning to be the
next Haman, I hope, but hopefully they would like to follow in at least some of Hezekiah's
footsteps. Now look at 2 Kings 18 and verse 1, just to get an idea of who Hezekiah was, and by the
way the 2 Chronicles, if you want to read like really about a lot of his exploits, go to 2 Chronicles
because this is a great guy and it really shows you how much he did, but just as a quick
introduction here, 2 Kings 18 it says, now it came to pass the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king
of Israel that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign, 25 years old was he when
he began to reign, he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem, his mother's name also has Abi the daughter of
Zachariah, and he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord according to all that David his
father did, he removed the high places and break the images and cut down the groves and break in
pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made, for under those days the children of Israel did burn
incense to it and he called it Nehushtan, he trusted in the Lord God of Israel so that after him was
none like him among all the kings of Judah nor any that were before him, now that's been
commended there isn't he, he's been commended by God here isn't he, okay that's pretty impressive
verse 6, for he claved to the Lord and departed not from following him but kept his commandments
which the Lord commanded Moses and the Lord was with him and he prospered whithersoever he went
forth and he rebelled against the king of Assyria and served him not, he smote the Philistines even
unto Gaza and the borders thereof from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city, now this is a
real man of God here isn't it and when trials and tribulations come his way in you know you see it
in second kings and second chronicles he really relies on God, he relies on God with the siege
from the Assyrian army if anyone remembers these stories and when he's about to die from sickness
God heals him and also puts the clocks back as well, maybe that was the first time they started
putting the clocks back I don't know but he puts the clocks back here so we see like an
amazing miracle in his life as well as a sign and after this you know things are going well
and this is often the case isn't it when things are going well in your life when you feel like
you got things sorted you feel like you're doing all right in this Christian walk you're doing
all right in this Christian life that's when you start getting cocky isn't it, that's when people
get cocky, now things are going well he's been promised another 15 years of life after he nearly
died yeah then he starts getting lifted up look at second kings chapter 20 and verse 12
at that time Barad-dac-Baladan the son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a present unto
Hezekiah for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick and Hezekiah hearkened unto them and showed
them all the house of his precious things the silver and the gold and the spices and the
precious ointment and all the house of his armour and all that was found in his treasures there was
nothing in his house not in all his dominion that Hezekiah showed them not and then came
Isaiah the prophet under king Hezekiah and said unto him what said these men and from whence came
they unto thee and Hezekiah said they come from a far country from Babylon and he said what have
they seen in thine house and Hezekiah answered all the things that are in mine house have they seen
there is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them so what's what's going on here
well basically he's boasting he's boasting about his precious things about the silver and the gold
and the spices and the precious ointment and all the house of his armour in fact he said there was
nothing that he didn't show them that must have been a long tour of his house I don't know how
long that was I'm sure they got a bit bored after a while so alright Hezekiah okay I've seen it all
now because I think he had a lot of stuff didn't he he had a lot of stuff did Hezekiah just brazenly
boast like the reprobate Haman or the worldly Nebuchadnezzar do you think do you think he was
just brazenly just like I'm so great look at this I did all this maybe it was subtle
don't you think it was probably subtle maybe just made it look like he thought that there'd
be interest in his precious things because there's a cultural differences there and I've got some
things that came from the oh you're a man who likes history you're a man that likes you know
blah blah blah I reckon maybe it was a bit more like that maybe he was just giving them a tour
to show them the differences between you know that his kingdom kingdom of you know of Judah and theirs
I don't know um maybe he said there'd be interest in his armor all the different armor we're talking
about expensive armor here gold and everything else maybe because you know they're interested
in the history of the battles I'll explain that maybe he did it in a subtle way like that
but God sees a heart doesn't he yeah God sees a heart God knows why God knows what he was doing
turn to second chronicles 32 because you might think that you're cleverer than everyone else
but God sees when you're trying to angle a conversation a certain direction yeah God sees
when you're trying to angle that conversation to go on to something that's going to lift you up yeah
yeah they might not see a lot of time they will see it by the way so a lot of people think that
I don't know if you ever notice this in life people think they're so clever that when they're trying
to boast and how they've managed to angle the conversation onto you know something that they
achieved in life oh it's so clever but sometimes you look back at their conversation you're like
man you know people do that don't they okay but God sees it God sees so whether or not you know
you think that yeah they won't they won't they won't catch me sometimes people just can't help
it okay we're going to talk about that in a minute but sometimes people can and they just they just
want to boast they want to lift themselves up but God sees the heart so whether or not that person
you talk to you think they can or can't see your heart God sees a heart he sees a real motivation
doesn't he for things while you're telling that soul-winning story about how you had to do this
exegesis of hebrews to get that ex-jehovah's witness muslim convert saved you know
and the other and they're 20 family members at the same time you know look you might want to it
might be just a cool story but he knows what the heart he knows your heart okay he knows why he
knows why you're telling things he knows where your heart is okay and that's who we should be
worried about shouldn't we because a lot of us we're worried about what other people might think
so much that we end up boasting about ourselves to try and lift ourselves up but God sees a heart
doesn't he and that should be the one that we're worrying about isn't it whether you slip in praise
God or not at the end by the way yeah oh i'm sorry i praise God you know second chronicle 32 in verse
25 says but hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him for his heart was
lifted up therefore there was wrath upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem so this is like another
angle just just showing us his story um from a from from from a different viewpoint you could
say and notwithstanding hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart both he and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem so that the wrath of the Lord came not upon them in the days of hezekiah
so there is clearly pride here it's clearly pride of his heart in case anyone's going oh well he's
just showing them around it was another reason why God punished no it was for the pride of his heart
because God sees the heart doesn't he verse 27 and hezekiah had exceeding much riches and honor
and he made himself treasuries for silver and for gold and for precious stones and for spices
and for shields and for all manner of pleasant jewels store houses also for the increase of
corn and wine and oil and stalls for all manner of beasts and coats for flocks moreover he provided
him cities and possession of flocks and herds abundance for God had given him substance very
much who gave him these things God verse 30 this same hezekiah also stopped the utter up the upper
water course of Gihon and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David and
hezekiah prospered in all his works how be it in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of
Babylon this is what we've just been reading about who sent unto him to inquire the wonder that was
done the land God left him to try him that he might know all that was in his heart God wanted
to see how he'd respond yeah God wants to see how we respond as well God wants to see how we respond
to trials to challenges to to the to the challenge of having some blessings in life how you're going
to respond to that because he might give you blessings in life and then have a little scene
how you're going to show off about those yeah are you going to be showing showing off to people
it's not oh i'm just oh i've been blessed with whatever it is i must be so great look maybe God
just wants to see how you're going to respond to that because he could quickly abase you can't he
can and does quickly abase people go back to second kings 20 what was the result of hezekiah's
boasting then it was a result well verse 16 says and isiah said unto hezekiah hear the word of the
lord behold the days come that all that is in thine house and that which thy fathers have laid
up in store and to this day shall be carried into babylon nothing shall be left saith the lord
all those things he was boasting about gone all those things he's boasting about what a waste
and you might think oh well it's further down the line look isn't that a shame isn't it a
shame when you look at the world and see people who are just scrambling for money they just want
to get as much money as they can to leave to their kids and what a waste so often because so often it
just gets wasted does it just gets wasted away and maybe it's by their kids or their kids and
it's just such a waste of life isn't it where people are just just trying to get as much money
as they can as much as they can leave as much as they can do as much as much like recognition as
many whatever it is look a lot of it's just going to be burnt up isn't it just going to be burnt up
and here it's just a waste and look he would have cared about that okay i'm sure he would have
cared but we see in a minute you know what he thinks in a second but what a way so all those
things all that is in thine house nothing shall be left said don't be a boaster okay because it
can easily go you can go in your lifetime as well if you think oh i don't care if afterwards
but hezekiah seems to think here verse 18 and of thy sons that shall issue from thee which thou
shalt beget shall they take away and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of babylon
so his sons here it's talking about his grandchildren and great great great grandchildren
are going to be taken away and become eunuchs it's basically castrated okay castrated and like i said
sons in the bible can refer to to grandsons and great-grandchildren great great grandchildren
etc and that's what it's talking about here so basically it's family line now verse 19 then said
hezekiah unto isaiah good is the word of the lord which thou has spoken and he said is it not good
if peace and truth be in my days that's a strange reply isn't it hezekiah he's like well that's okay
good luck to my relatives as long as i don't have to deal with it that's what he's saying isn't he
he's just going well as long as in my days i'm all right who cares what's going to happen to
my ancestors as long as i don't have to to you know deal with the with god's wrath here well
but maybe that's one of the reasons why one of his sons turns out the way he does
because look at verse 20 and the rest of the acts of hezekiah and all his might and how he made a
pool and a conduit and brought water into the city are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of judah and hezekiah slept with his fathers and menasseh his son
reigned in his stead now menasseh ends up being a wicked king and the opposite to his father for
the vast majority of his reign and maybe that was maybe that part that was a result of his
pride and boasting too don't you think now i just want to show you something here look at verse six
verse six it says talking to hezekiah and i will add unto thy days 15 years and i will deliver the
in the city out of the hand of the king of seir and i'll defend the city for mine own sake for my
servant david's sake okay so he's saying you'll have 15 years more to live now they talk about
the sign that he will show him that we talked about setting the clocks back and then verse 12
begins with at that time so this is pretty soon after isn't it barrow dak baladan the son of
baladan king of babylon sent let us in the present unto hezekiah for he'd heard that hezekiah had
been sick now the reason i say that is that menasseh must have been born after this point
because look at second kings chapter 21 and verse 1 which reads menasseh was 12 years old when he
began to reign so 15 years ago 15 years sorry at least 15 years before he dies and yeah it
seems that menasseh i think reigns straight after is when he's he's told this then they come
at that time at least the ambassador sends the letters i think he comes soon after
menasseh was 12 years old so it's after the pride after the boasting when he's basically got a bit
downhill now after having all these blessings and being a great man of god that and even after the
promise of his son is being taken into captivity i don't know if that had a bearing on that maybe
he's like oh it's a write-off anyway after that he ends up with this son menasseh and if you're
wondering well what am i talking about here how bad was menasseh well look at verse two
of second kings chapter 21 and he did that which was evil in the sight of the lord after
the abominations of the heathen whom the lord cast out before the children of israel for he
built up again the high places which hezekiah his father had destroyed and he reared up altars for
bale that's satan basically and made a grove as as did uh ahab king of israel and he worshipped
all the hosts of heaven that's basically devils and served them and he built altars in the house
of the lord of which the lord said in jerusalem will i put my name and he built altars for all
the hosts of heaven in the two courts of the house of the lord and he made his son pass through the
fire basically that's infanticide killing killing his child there and observed times and used
enchantments and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards he wrought much wickedness in the sight
of the lord to provoke him to anger and he said a graven image of the grove that he'd made in the
house of which the lord said to david and to solomon his son in this house in jerusalem which
i've chosen out of all the trials of israel will i put my name forever neither will i make the feet
of israel move any more out of the land which i gave their fathers only if they will observe to
do according to all that i've commanded them according to all the law that my servant moses
commanded them but they hearken not and manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations
whom the lord destroyed before the children of israel isn't that tragic absolutely tragic
hezekiah if you i mean hezekiah it's got a good few chats in the bar then there's a three or four
in second kings three or four in second chronicles you've got a chapter i think
at least rise i dedicated to him as well this wasn't just one of those oh yeah he did some
good stuff and move on yeah hezekiah like was a great man of god and look what happened to his son
what what a state isn't that tragic but maybe for those first 12 years of manasseh's life
hezekiah was too busy focusing on his own achievements and maybe trying to
raise his son properly but he's too busy you know boasting and and thinking how great he'd
done things than actually trying to raise his son don't be a boaster because that for me can
be a result of that as well and not with with wicked children now we've seen boasting yeah
we've seen boasting hayman lose almost everything to mordecai with his with himself and his sons too
we've seen boasting Nebuchadnezzar based in a big way yeah humiliated showing how the kingdom can
survive with an animal in charge boasting hezekiah leaving a terrible legacy losing it
all and raising a disaster of a son yeah so what can we do what can we do so if you're sitting here
and you're thinking yep i know i'm guilty of this i know i can boast quite a bit actually i've got
you know i'm i'm sitting here listening to this and in my mind it's like yeah i can be a bit of
a boaster because look anyone thinks thinks that they can't well you're in a bit of a dream world
because we all have the flesh okay you're not automatically no now you're fine because because
you're saved look a lot of people here are going to have problems with that at times in their life
okay and it might be like hayman it might be because of insecurity it might be because you
actually feel like you have achieved things like Nebuchadnezzar or it might be because of the
blessings and all the many things you've done for god like hezekiah there and it might be anywhere
in between all those as well what you do how do you stop boasting well turn to jeremiah 9
firstly you can remember these stories and remember god's chastisement yeah that's a that's
a good thing is it remember god's chastisement in life god chastises his children okay that's
a scary father and it's good that it's a scary father because i was uh recently i was um i was
at the park with my kids yesterday and and we all went as a little just family trip down to the park
and um and this uh this guy in fact there are two guys in a row the first guy his son his son just
starts shouting he's on the swing and he says something like push me push me and he's next to
uh jack my son who's trying to show this kid how to do it without being pushed yeah and he's like
well you can do it yourself like him push me now push me down he's like i'm just thinking like
really like you're gonna literally be told push me is that's literally how he shouted push me now
push me now daddy and he's like okay just so i wandered off and started pushing you thinking
what on earth yeah right what do you think's going to end up with that kid you think that
kid's gonna have respect for authority you think that kid's an absolute nightmare isn't he then
literally that guy's gone another guy turns up and this guy um and again i'm not trying to boast it
just happened the way the conversation when it got on to churches and stuff because it it was quite
it was me and my wife talking about after it's going what weird talkative afternoon like it kind
of went down the park suddenly everyone wanted to talk to us yeah so i'm talking to this guy and
the uh first he gets a call on his i've got to get this yeah it's a call on his phone it's one
i think older son because he's saying i'm just down the park with little eli and then in the
middle of the conversation eli just has a meltdown and storms off across the whole football pitch
yeah eli was four years old all right four years old so i'm kind of i'm trying to preach to this
guy yeah who seemed to be interested eli's just walked off across the cross the football pitch
and he shouts eli come back here just ignores him eli nothing literally just walks off like
100 meters into some hedges in some bushes where it's like some track four year old just gone no
respect nothing at all the guy ends up having to leave run off that was the end of it he actually
shouted his number as he left so at least got to send him something but but like literally hijacked
by unruly children yeah especially the second one okay and and but we don't have a father like that
do we yeah our father our heavenly father isn't going to be disrespected like that is he our
heavenly father when he calls to you you better stop in your tracks and turn around and go yes
father yes yeah our heavenly father we don't such a push me now but i want some fun no we we don't
we don't we don't treat our heavenly father like that and he ain't the sort of father to treat
like that is he and look if you're saved here and you're wondering well what's he talking about is it
god wear a dress and doesn't he just kind of you know put his arm around everyone and cuddle them
and say you do what you like and you just come into come into the cloudy sky daddy heaven thing
that's not the god of the bible okay the god of the bible is a scary father yeah the god of the
bible is a loving father amen to that hey but he's a scary father as well too right because if he
wasn't we would all be taking a lot of liberties wouldn't we we'd be saying more than just push me
we'd be just you know do whatever we'd just be we'd just be living this wicked simple life like
those boys sadly are probably gonna do aren't they okay because look dad's here your kids have to have
some respect don't they yeah they have to have some respect and wives as well here you need to
show that man some respect as well if you want your kids to have respect then then you need to
be showing that respect as well okay because otherwise you just end up with a mess of kids
that just tell their parents what to do oh well all the other kids did oh just go on your ipad
you know that'll sort about no they need to actually respect discipline they need to respect
the father the man of the house there and here anyway back to where we are back in here we you
know one of the things we need to remember those of you that think that that it's so you know well
yeah a bit of boasting look don't get a base by god okay because when he punishes you it's going
to be harsh okay when he pulls down your pants and spanks you it's going to hurt okay it's going to
hurt hard okay and he's going to be he has a super cane yeah he doesn't have some dodgy wooden spoon
that snaps after a couple of goes yeah he's got the suit he's got the super cane yeah it's got
some flex it doesn't snap fear the lord fear the lord for sure now jeremiah chapter nine
well basically look if you can't help but boast is what i'm saying make sure you boast about the
right person okay like i just was then i was mostly about god there okay mostly about god
and what what a what a great father he is yeah what was respected father is and
jeremiah 9 23 says 9 23 says thus saith the lord let not the wise man glory in his wisdom
neither let the mighty man glory in his might let not the rich man glory in his riches
so what you glory in first 24 but let him that glorieth glory in this that he understandeth and
knoweth me that i am the lord which exercise loving kindness judgment and righteousness in
the earth for in these things i delight saith the lord okay but that doesn't mean oh i'm so amazing
praise god yeah i'm such a good christian praise be to god okay don't be like the pharisee you
don't have to turn there just for for sake of time in luke 18 11 the pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself god i thank thee that i'm not as other men are extortioners unjust adulterers
or even as this publican i fast twice in the week i give tithes of all that i possess he's so humble
isn't he because he's thanking god for it yeah look god knows the heart god knows what you're
saying in fact there you don't have to know the heart do you yeah you can hear what he thinks
there glory or boast in the lord's loving kindness it said in jeremiah 9 24 his judgment and his
righteousness not your own yeah that's what we should be we should be glorying in the understanding
and knowing him it's not glorying that whole well i really understand him because i've read the
bible i'll just slip in yeah just on the 15th time uh i'm just saying you know i should have
done it 20 by now so does that sound humble yeah yeah don't be like that yeah don't be like that
you know because really the under here the glorying is understanding and knowing him is
basically because you know him it's it's you're glowing in him yeah you're glowing him how great
god is not in how great your understanding and knowledge is okay that i am the lord which
exercise loving kindness judgment of righteousness in the earth and these things i delight saith the
lord so glory or boast in the lord's the lord's qualities and here's the thing as well the more
you lift up god yeah the more you you do lift up god in life the more you lift him up to your kids
to your family to your friends the more ridiculous it feels to lift yourself up doesn't it yeah the
more you understand god the more you read the bible the more ridiculous it is to boast isn't it
in fact not only god the more you read about some of the men and women in the bible yeah the more
ridiculous it is to lift yourself up yeah how are you you are nothing i don't care yeah i don't care
if you you've been soul winning three times this week yeah you whatever it is you're nothing yeah
you're absolutely nothing compared with something compared with some of the lowest people in the
bible you're probably on a par yeah with some of the people of god let alone think of some of the
great men and women of the bible yeah how dare we let alone when you compare yourself to god okay
and how can you even you can't even compare yourself to god can you so how like the more
you talk about him the more you read about him the more you read the word of god you have absolutely
no right to boast do you no right and you shouldn't boast and a lot of the time when people are so
boastful you're basically saying like i really just don't get this book at all i don't get it
how can you read about the you know people like the great men like abraham read about paul read
about you know john the baptist read about all these people and then be like yeah well you know
i read the bible for the third time you know i really really really got it going on now you know
oh well i'm a really good father you know and it's just like a really good mother you know it's just
ridiculous isn't it yeah look at some of the women of old there look at some of the stuff they put
up with look at the the conditions they lived in there's some of the men there look at look at the
wars in the battle oh man you know i really took on that that reprobate on the door yeah i really
dealt with him slamming the door in my face there man i'm tough and it's like yeah how about taking
on a thousand men yeah how about taking on a man with a spear like a weaver's bean yeah how about
that yeah we're nothing you are nothing it's wicked isn't it yeah the more we read this the
more we should understand that there is no comparison turn to sum 34 isiah 10 15 though
especially when you think about really who does it all come from because isiah 10 15 says shall
the axe boast itself against him that heareth therewith or shall the saw magnify itself against
him that shaketh it as if the rod should shake itself against him that lift it up or as if the
staff should lift up itself as if it were no wood basically what's that saying magnified god yeah
boast him him and just remember remember you're just a tool of his you're a tool of his yeah
you're nothing you're just praise god if he can use you if he can use you to do anything yeah
so i was sinful wretches that we all are yeah praise god that he can still use us yeah
be like david in psalm 34 verse 1 where it reads i will bless the lord at all times his praise
shall continually be in my mouth my soul shall make a boast in the lord the humble shall hear
thereof and be glad i magnify the lord with me and let us exalt his name together now praise god
we got a church through that in but in verse one david said at all times didn't he said continually
i bless the lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth because i think when
you're doing that when you're praising god when you're praising someone else and really it should
be god shouldn't it and by the way just on that as well you know praising your husband your wife
whatever else oh well they're so amazing it's the same thing yeah you're just boasting okay
look have a much oh well this person my best friend is so look look you're still just boasting
because you're their best friend yeah you know like any of that sort of stuff it is just boasting
just in a roundabout way yeah okay it's wicked sort yourselves out and instead we should be
boasting of god shouldn't we his praise should continually be in our mouths yeah my soul shall
make a boast in the lord the humble shall hear thereof and be glad and that's a great goal yeah
one that will the one i hope that will help those that do have this problem and look it might be
something maybe don't deal with that much but it might rear its ugly head so for me look just just
just magnify god praise god continually in your mouth and and the rest of it will just seem like
nonsense don't be a boaster let's pray father thank you um thank you for for the great examples
in the word of god and not only boasting but the chastisement that comes from that the repercussions
of boasting and just just what you think of it where you just give a story after story in the
bible of people you know being severely punished and boasting being such a such a part of that as
well and and look just help us help us all here not to be like that help us here you know in a
church where look we're we're you know trying to follow you and doing things that sadly a lot of
churches aren't doing and help us not to let that go to our heads help us to understand that really
it's it all comes from you it's we're just tools of you thank you that you can use us and please
help us to um to be a tool of you this afternoon now to to go out and preach the gospel to get
people saved but to have the right heart with that not to be able to come back and you know so we can
boast about what we have or haven't done just just just to do it for you to do it to serve you to do
it for the rewards in heaven but not to do it for the rewards of men and help us to just just be like
that in all our lives you know in every aspect of our lives and um just help everyone here you know
to just be more like you want them to be and in jesus name we pray all of this amen