Well, if you will take your Bibles and turn with me to 2 Kings chapter 20. Verse 12 begins, At that time, Chronology is sometimes difficult in the Kings, many times difficult in historic narratives. The authors are many times more concerned about getting certain points out rather than being absolutely concise in the chronology of the text. And so most likely, Chapter 20 takes place before chapter 19, that is, before the Assyrians invaded and before Hezekiah strips the gold from the temple, before Hezekiah pleads before God as the as Sennacherib and Rabshakeh are blaspheming God. Most likely this takes place. Chapter 20 takes place before that happened. But as we read in verse 12, at that time, I think the chronology is clear. So in the first part of chapter 20, Hezekiah is sick, sick unto death and he's healed. And so at that time, in other words, at the time of Hezekiah's healing and God extends his life by 15 years at that time. And I'll begin with verse 12 and read to the end of the chapter at that time. Baradak Baladan, the son of Baladan, the king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. Hezekiah listened to them, showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and the house of his armor 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. Then Isaiah the prophet judgment sometimes happens quickly in the Old Testament. Hezekiah sins, the sin of pride and the sin of receiving flattery and seeking the praise of men. So God sends his prophet Isaiah. Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, What did these men say? And from where have they come to you? Hezekiah said, well, they have come from a far country, from Babylon. And he said, that is Isaiah said, what have they seen in your house? So Hezekiah answered, they've seen all that is in my house. There's nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them. Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord, thus saith the Lord. Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house and all in your fathers, all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. Some of your sons who shall issue from you whom you will beget, will be taken away and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon. Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good. That's the heart of a believer. Sometimes difficult things can come and sometimes the word that we receive is a hard word, but it's always a good word. It's never bad. It's never that which is not designed for good. It's like Joseph telling his brothers, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. There's nothing upon this earth that God has not ordained, that his hand is not upon, and there's nothing evil that God does. So Hezekiah receives this hard word. God says, you know, you're going to be carried off captive into Babylon. Your sons will be carried off captive. And Isaiah says what the Lord has spoken is a good word. It's always a good word for for he thought it is it not so if there be peace and truth in my days. Now, the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and all his might. How he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city. Are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? So Hezekiah slept with his fathers and Manasseh, his son, became king in his place. Keep in mind, he's granted an additional 12 years of life. And, or an additional, is it 12 years or 15? Someone speak out. 15. So, you know, this is taking place. After Hezekiah has enjoyed the additional 15 years, Manasseh is born to him during this time. Hezekiah dies and Manasseh becomes king. Manasseh is probably the most wicked evil king in Judah. Israel, the northern kingdom, often had wicked kings. Jeroboam, the son of Nebad, who led Israel into sin. Ahab married the wicked Jezebel. He was a wicked king and on and on and on. But largely, the kings in Judah were not quite as wicked as the kings of the northern kingdom, except Manasseh. Manasseh, who causes his own children to walk through the fire as human sacrifices, wicked, wicked king. And of course, it was under the reign of Manasseh that Israel indeed, Judah indeed, is hauled off into captivity in Babylon. Well, the first part of chapter 20 covers the mortal illness of Hezekiah. Apparently, he had a boil, and we dealt with this last time. There were limited medical procedures at the time, no antibiotics, medical care was primitive. Something as simple as a boil could become infected and lead to death. And such was the situation with Hezekiah. It was a mortal situation, or terminal, and Hezekiah knew it. God sends Isaiah and says, verse 1, Thus says the Lord, set your house in order, for you shall not live, you shall die and not live. But Hezekiah humbles himself and prays. The Lord hears his prayer and grants him an additional 15 years of life. Verses five and six. I've heard your prayer. I've seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you on the third day. You shall go up to the house of the Lord. I will add 15 years to your life. So now the text continues. God did heal him. His 15 years of life have now begun, and apparently it became known far and wide that the king of Judah, he was a well-known king, and it became well known that he was sick unto death, It was surely a terminal illness and God healed him. So it came as far as Babylon and verse 12 says, and at that time, Baradak, Baladam, the son of Baladam, the king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift and a present. This is not insignificant. The distance between Jerusalem and Babylon is 1,600 miles. They sent messengers 1,600 miles carrying whatever this gift was in honor of Hezekiah who had been restored to life. It was a celebration, basically. They came bearing a gift to celebrate his healing. But keep in mind, and again, this most likely took place before chapter 19 or before chapter 18, because Hezekiah stripped the temple of the gold in order to satisfy the king of Assyria and perhaps turn him away from attack. And so Hezekiah has stripped the treasury But now in this text, his treasury is full and he's got much to show. So verse 13, he shows all the treasure house, silver and gold. If this took place after the stripping of the temple, makes you wonder why did he strip the temple? Why did he take the gold from the very door frames of the temple if he had all of this wealth? So again, it takes place most likely before. But Hezekiah, or the king of Babylon, hears of Hezekiah's sickness and recovery. And he sends this congratulations with a gift. But keep in mind, his motivation was most likely political and only political. It's not like he somehow had fond affections for Hezekiah. The Assyrians are under attack. I mean, the Assyrians are on the attack again. This probably takes place in the chapter 18-19 range and the Assyrians are marching through the realm and the king of Babylon is probably looking for the benefit of making allies, political allies. Let's send a gift to Hezekiah so that he will be on our side so as many nations as possible will stand as a single front to stand against the Assyrians. And keep in mind, too, in 745 B.C., Tiglath-Pileser conquered Babylon. So the king of Babylon is looking for allies, those who will team up with him as they stand against the Assyrians. So the king comes or sends his messengers to Hezekiah. And it says here that they send this gift, verse one, to Hezekiah. And then verse 13 says, and Hezekiah listened to them. In other words, he was flattered. They say, well, Hezekiah, we are surely pleased that you have been healed and you have not died. And then they probably said something perhaps offhandedly. What beautiful whatever you have. And Hezekiah, the text says, listen to them. You could almost hear him say, oh, the half has not been told. Let me show you this and this. And this, and this. And he basically went on a roll and before you know it, he has shown them everything. We do that. I mean, you know, how many times have you heard me say, need to know, you don't need to share everything you know, because what happens, you end up, you're on a roll. You share this, and then you share that, and you're seeing that they're really interested. They're hearing what you say, and so you share this, and you share that, and then you share something else, and before you know it, you have spilled your guts. You have shared everything you know, because it is a form of pride in which you are telling them what you know, so that by telling them what you know, They will be more and more pleased with you. So here's Hezekiah. And these these ambassadors from Babylon have most likely. And again, it probably started off minor. We like this. Hezekiah, this is really something. Oh, what a beautiful whatever. And Hezekiah listens to them and begins to show off. Shows them all of his treasure house, silver and gold, spices, precious oil, house of his armor 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. In other words, he was taken away by their flattery. He did everything in his power to impress these distinguished visitors. And Hezekiah probably was enamored by, I mean, the king of Babylon is paying attention to me? He's sending these ambassadors to me. He's sending a gift to me, simply congratulating me in my recovery. And so Hezekiah is most likely quite enamored by the whole situation. His problem was he had forgotten God. Who healed him? God. Who provided all of his wealth? God. And Hezekiah has forgotten God. Now, you've noticed as we've gone through the Kings, there are times that the Chronicles give greater detail than the Kings do. The Kings tend to be much more, pardon the word, flattering than the Chronicles. The Chronicles are more, you know, to the point. So here's what the Chronicles say, 2 Chronicles 32. In those days, so we're still at, you know, the at that time. In those days, Hezekiah became mortally ill and he prayed to the Lord and the Lord spoke to him and gave him a sign. Listen, 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." Hezekiah had a pride problem. Why did he show off all of this stuff? He was seeking the praise of men. He was seeking their praise, seeking to impress them, wanting to hear their praises. He was flattering them so that they might flatter him. So in showing off all of his treasuries, Hezekiah demonstrated vanity and pride. And Isaiah came to Hezekiah as a messenger from God and announced to him, was it from pride that you're doing this? What did you show them? And Hezekiah says, basically, I've shown them everything. He immediately humbles himself and he immediately confesses what he had done. But he didn't really comprehend the full weight of his sin at this time, which is often the case. There are many times that we don't appreciate the full weight of our sin until much later. And so Hezekiah says, well, yeah, I did show them everything. I did show them this. And Isaiah says, well, here's what's going to happen. And you do understand that Babylon has come to spy out the land. And Hezekiah showed them everything. And in the end, they will come upon Israel, Judah as enemies, defeat Jerusalem, strip Jerusalem, haul away the temple or everything of value. And Israel falls into captivity for 70 years. Babylon's not a friend. Babylon is a foe and Hezekiah received them as friends. But more seriously, he was seeking their praise. That was his sin. So we find the penalty, verse 17, Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house and all that is in your fathers, or all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day, will be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left. Did that happen? It did. Just as Isaiah said. And verse 18. And some of your sons and the sons had not even been born yet. Some of the Manasseh, who would be the king after the death of Hezekiah, he would become king when he is 12 years old. He's one of these child kings like Josiah. But Josiah was a godly king. Manasseh was not. So Manasseh is 12 years old when he comes to the throne, Hezekiah has died. So what we're finding here in verse 18, some of your sons who have not even been born yet, who shall issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon. Well, This was prophesied before Hezekiah had the children. But in verse 21, Hezekiah slept with his fathers. Manasseh, his son, became king in his place. Chapter 21, verse 1, Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king and he reigned 55 years. It was a long reign. evil, wicked reign, but he reigned 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. And then in verse 19, as I pointed out a moment ago, but Hezekiah's true heart is revealed when he says, the word of the Lord which you have spoken is good. He hears the bad news. He hears the terrible news, yet he received it as the good word of God. But here's the point and the focus of tonight's sermon, and I'm just going to be as brief as possible. I want to deal with the sin, and it is sin. The sin of flattery and something that we just overlook and dismiss. The sin of falling under the temptation to seek the praise of men. And it's all around us all the time. We can be guilty of seeking the praise of men or flattering others, and we can be guilty of receiving the flattery of others, and we can be guilty of seeking the flattery of others. And all of it is sin, and we must receive it as it is. It's a danger. What Hezekiah did here, I mean, his crime, his sin was flattery. And because of it, God says, everything you have, everything your fathers have and your children will all be carried off into Babylon because of your sin of pride and flattery. So we need to be aware of this. And I'm just going to put it in these categories that I just said before you. First of all, We must be aware of having a flattering tongue. Because the sin of flattery, and to not really demands some soul searching. Because the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. And it's difficult to discern this sin within our own bosom. Are you ever guilty of flattery? In other words, speaking good things to someone else not with sincerity, but in an effort to somehow sway them towards you. When you give someone a compliment, is it strictly because you are sincerely seeking to encourage them and compliment them, or is there an agenda? Are you doing it for some other reason? Flattery is deception. It is deceit. It is dishonest. It exposes a low view of your fellow man, because in essence, the flatterer is merely using other people for his own personal gain. You know, oh, what a nice dress that is. Oh, and you know, the danger is always there for pastors. What a wonderful sermon it may be. And that's where the discernment must be. It demands so much discernment. Is it a sincere compliment when we should compliment one another, and we should encourage one another, and we should speak to one another, and giving glory to whom glory is due, or praise and honor to whom honor is due? It's a good thing, and we should do that. But on the other hand, there's always the danger of empty flattery. Someone telling you what they think you want to hear for whatever reason. Empty flattery and to be able to discern the difference between the two. Well, we need to be very cautious about our own tongue and why we say the things that we say. Using sweet, flattering words, we're actually demonstrating contempt for the other person, and we're not truly looking out for their good. We only have an eye upon what they can do for us. And it's very subtle and very tempting. Proverbs 26 says, A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth works ruin. And it's really two-edged. Because if you're guilty of flattery, you really don't care about the individual. So you will flatter them to their face and then you will rip them behind their back. So the same tongue that's bringing a compliment to this person now, when they're around someone else, will just as quickly criticize them. And keep in mind, if you're around someone that's always criticizing other people, Just know that although they may be flattering you when they're around you, most likely they're criticizing you when away from you because they don't have any respect for you. And so they're always criticizing, condemning. But when they're with you, They're speaking all manner of niceties and flattering you with their tongue. We must be beware of flattering. And while I'm the subject, we're dealing with the danger of you flattering. You need to be on guard against flattering others, and then you need to be on guard against flattering yourself. How do you flatter yourself? Well, when you dismiss the things that you do. How many times have I said people always do what they want to do and that they justify themselves in doing it? It may be sin, but they convince themselves it is okay. It's okay for you but not for anyone else. So they will condemn other people for doing the very things that they allow in their lives. They're flattering themselves. They're saying, oh, somehow God looks upon me differently and overlooks my situation. Because, after all, my situation is different, my situation is unique, and God looks upon my situation and excuses my sin because of who I am and the situation I'm in. We sometimes refer to situational ethics. In other words, your particular situation will justify whatever you need to do. And what you're doing is you're flattering yourself. You're pretending that God overlooks your sin because you are so special. It's self-flattering. We compliment ourselves on some small deed while leaving a thousand others undone. And then we need to be on guard while on the subject of Us doing flattery? You need to be cautious against flattering God. You say, what? How can someone flatter God? By telling God what you think God wants to hear. By worshiping Him as you think that somehow if you do so, you will gain His pleasure. Doing things in order to gain from God, that's flattery. That's why you flatter other people. You're speaking good things to them and speaking kind words to them in an effort to gain something from them. That's what we do with God. We tell him whatever he wants to hear. We speak good things and make pledges and promises, promises we have no intention of keeping. But yet we think it's a good thing to flatter God in telling him the things that he wants to hear. It's the typical foxhole conversion. You know that term. Individuals that war in the foxhole, the bombs are falling all around them. And they say, God, if you save me now, I will spend the rest of my life serving you. But when the bombs quit falling and everything becomes peaceful again, they forget the pledge that they have made. One of the few cases when the individual actually kept his pledge, now that we're about to get to the end of October and the anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, we all know the story of Luther. And he's in a terrible, terrible lightning storm. And lightning's crashing all around him. And he says, oh, God, literally Saint Mary, God, if you save me, I'll become a monk. And he did. He kept his pledge. And he was great at his monkery. So at least one individual kept his pledge, but most do not. They make all kinds of boastful promises unto God. with no intention of keeping them, which is nothing more than empty flattery before God. So we need to be on guard against using flattery ourselves because that's evil. But second of all, we need to be careful against seeking flattery from others. Now, again, that's what Hezekiah is doing here. He listened to them and he's enjoying their praises and you can imagine he takes them into his treasure house. The silver and the gold. And they go, wow, silver and gold. Well, let me show you my spice room. So he shows him the spices and the precious oil. And now let me take you to my house of armor. And so he takes you to the house of armor and all that was found in his treasuries. And there was nothing in all of his house that he did not show them. He was proud to show off his possessions. And the more he showed them, the more compliments he received. And so he showed them more and more until there was nothing left to show. Well, he was seeking the flattery of others. And again, we do this in many subtle ways, seeking the praise and recognition of men. I mean, why do many people drive the model cars that they drive? Why Ferrari? Why? I mean, the purpose of a car, at the end of the day, is to get you from point A to point B, right? Point A to point B. And a A Honda can get you from point A to point B, or a Toyota can get you from point A to point B, or a Nissan can get you from point A to point B, just as well as a Beamer, or, and I'll stop there, because I'm not quite sure what everyone drives, and I don't want to needlessly attack someone's particular automobile of choice, You know, can a Christian own a Beamer? Yeah, he can. And by the way, it's my understanding that the term Beamer does not specifically apply to the car. It's my understanding that that is a term that's actually reserved for their motorcycle. Just a piece of trivia for you. But again, can a Christian drive a BMW or Mercedes or, you know, one of the German luxury cars? They can. But what is the point? It could be. that they just appreciate the craftsmanship, the styling. And if they were the only people upon the face of the earth, they'd be driving the same car. They're not seeking the recognition of men. They could care less about the praise of men. They simply appreciate the engineering, the craftsmanship that went into the automobile, the style that went into the design. They appreciate the artistic value And they get that car for that reason. They can afford it. It's a fraction of their net worth. And they're getting it. And they could really care less about what anyone else thinks. So can a Christian drive a German luxury car? They can. They can. We're not talking about legalism here. We're talking about the human heart and why we do the things that we do. brand name fashion clothes, and I don't even know what they are. You know, my wife and I watched an episode yesterday of Shark Tank. Anyone ever see Shark Tank? Yeah. And it is a clothing company. And, you know, I'm sitting there and, you know, typical Saturday afternoon, I'm working on looking over my sermons for the day. My laptop's in front of me. So really quickly, I googled the clothing company and you can get a pair of their jeans for $250. And I told my wife, my heavens, how many pair of my Wranglers can I get for $250? A whole lot. I can get a lifetime supply. So why don't we get the designer clothes? Why do we want that label? It could be because you appreciate the quality. And perhaps those jeans for $250, they're handmade, they're made in USA. My pants are made in Nicaragua. But maybe they appreciate the made in USA by actual hands-on craftsmanship, maybe. Maybe they don't care anything about what other people think. It's strictly because they appreciate the skill and the craftsmanship. That's okay. But, and this is where I have to stop because I don't know all the, all the current ladies fashions and this label or that label, this purse or that purse, this outfit or that outfit. And probably most of you don't know the current ones either, and that's okay. But, Why do they do it? Why do they have to have the latest design? Is it so they can receive the recognition of others? Let me step out one more. I'm out of the limb now, so let me go ahead and go to the very tip edge. We're talking in the new members class this evening, and I mentioned one of my one of my peeds, because it's so much a part of our culture, and I'm talking about tattoos, and it is a part of our culture. And why? Remember I said this morning we should do everything with intention, with purpose, with design, with a goal, and why do we do what we do? And my simple statement on tattoos is why? Why do you get, if you were the only person upon the face of the earth, would you be concerned about body art? Now, it's possible that you would. You only care about the artistic value, you don't care about whether or not anyone sees it at all. It is only because of your appreciation of But I say, if that's the case, get you a painting and hang on your wall. There are other ways to appreciate good art rather than having the art painted on you. But that said, I hope you get my point. Why do we do what we do? And it's always been a danger that we begin to seek the recognition of men. Paul tells a story. It's not really a story. It's simply he's giving an illustration of a reality. Here's what he says. 2 Timothy 4, verses 2 and 3. And by the way, this is the passage we begin to look at starting next week. Preach the word. Be ready, be instant, in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires." Well, there's two people involved here. There are the people. There are the teachers. There are the people. There are the pastors. What do the people get out of it? Well, they get their ears tickled. That's what they want. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they'll accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires. So what do they get out of it? They get their ears tickled. They find teachers that will tickle their itching ears to tell them what they want to hear. That's what they get out of it. What do the pastors get out of it? I mean, they're the ones that have to tickle their ears. What's in it for them? I'll tell you what's in it for them. They get the praise of men. So I think that's the only reason a pastor is going to do that. You know, preach the word, but they don't want to hear the word. They want to hear smooth words, kind words, sweet words. So you give them the sweet words, the kind words, so that you will hear. Well done, preacher. Good word this morning, preacher. We love what you have to say this morning. Oh, we love you, preacher. Oh, yes, we do. And they're all singing forth the praises of the individual saying, what a good sermon. That's what they get out of it, seeking the praise of men. The sin of desiring flattery is ultimately a dissatisfaction with God. God is enough. So for the true pastor, he comes to the pulpit with him with the attitude. Now, look, I mean, every pastor wants to preach a sermon that is understandable and clear and beneficial to the congregation. And for the body of Christ, there's a benefit to that. And the body of Christ may respond with appreciation. But ultimately, they go to the pulpit saying, I preach to the audience of one. God, you know, it's been said, you know, oh, what a hard job it is to be a preacher because you have X number of bosses. And it is true that, you know, you know, in Baptist polity, the the pastor is under the authority of the congregation, just as the congregation is under the authority of the pastors. But that said, You know, I do have, you know, as many bosses, if you will, as we have members. But then on the other hand, that's not true at all. I have one boss, the Lord Jesus Christ. And if the congregation of individuals become displeased with the word that I have to preach, You know, I say, well, fine, you know, my master will put me somewhere else. And but I'm not going to change the word in order to satisfy you. So the danger of seeking flattery is always a very, very dangerous, sinful position to be in. And then the third point. You might think, well, we've already covered everything there is to cover. The danger of seeking flattery. But there is one more slightly nuanced difference. We must not seek flattery, and we must be careful not to receive flattery. It's not enough just not to seek it, because there are going to be times that it's going to come regardless, because of the nature of human beings. Human beings often flatter. What do you do when you haven't sought the flattery? It's not something that you have looked for. You're not seeking the praise of men, but it comes. What do you do? Well, as I alluded to a few moments ago, there's a great difference between a compliment and empty flattery. And I hope you can discern the difference. And it's hard. The difference between a compliment and empty flattery. That's one of the values of marriage. Because my wife has nothing to gain by empty flattery. So, for better or worse, she tells it like it is. just simply tells me and she doesn't have to flatter me. And it's not like, you know, that she will gain something if she tells me what I want to hear. And so, you know, so in a marriage, in a good marriage, husband and wife tell each other the truth and neither one are seeking the flattery. They're not seeking flattery from others and they're not giving flattery. And they don't expect to receive flattery. But when you're out among other people, perhaps at work, perhaps at school, perhaps in a organization, perhaps, you know, all the various relationships we develop in life, there are times that someone wants to, just out of a sincere love for you, they're expressing appreciation. And, you know, you come home with a new lawnmower, And your neighbor comes over and goes, wow, that's really a that's a fantastic lawnmower. Can you start it for me? Oh, wow. Listen to it purr. Oh, can you show me how it comes? Look how good of a job it cuts. And he's just simply expressing this is a great lawnmower you have. Which is different from the neighbor that comes over and he doesn't care anything about a lawnmower at all. He is trying to tell you what you want to hear in order to encourage you onto his side because after all he may need you for something in the future. And he doesn't want to offend you. And that's what, you know, we have the whole concept of the term we put on it is networking, right? Networking in which you're building a certain network of individuals and you may not need them now. But you've got the network. And so you're building the network for some point in the future. And in order to have a sizable network, you've got to bring all these people to your position or to your side. And so the way you do that, I'm just talking about the worldly way, is you tell them what they want to hear. You encourage them. you build their esteem, or more importantly, their esteem for you. And that's the way the world works. But we need to be careful in, you know, we we can receive a compliment, you know, because a compliment is genuine, where flattery is empty of love and concern. Flattery is deceiving. bewitching, enchanting, captivating, entertaining, empty flattery, where a genuine compliment They love you. They care about you. You're important to them. And they simply are expressing their heart towards you, not trying to gain something from you, but just out of sincerity of heart, expressing a sincere appreciation for you. Simple appreciation, different from flattery. But here's the problem. Sometimes an innocent compliment can be received as flattery. So that's where your own heart comes in. You know, I'm not putting all the blame on the other person. They may be giving you a sincere compliment. Perhaps these individuals who have come with a gift in order to celebrate Hezekiah's healing and they say, Hezekiah, what? What a wonderful storehouse of spices you have. I can smell the aroma. Where do you get all these wonderful spices? The aroma is sweet. They must taste wonderful. And Hezekiah says, well, let me show you this. Let me show you that. So they may have simply given a compliment, a sincere compliment, Hezekiah received it as flattery and wanted more and more. So it's like you get a new lawnmower and your neighbor says, well, that's a really fantastic lawnmower. Where'd you get it? And you say, well, it's not just a lawnmower. Let me show you my weed eater. Let me show you my hedge trimmer. Let me show you my new shovel. Let me show you my hoe. And it just goes on and on and on as you are seeking flattery, and all he was doing is offering a sincere compliment. You see the danger? It's all about heart. It's all about what your heart's desire is. And Hezekiah's pride was stirred by their compliment, and he wanted more and more and more. Demands a sincere searching, the examination of your own motives. And it's particularly true with regard to Christian service. Why do you do what you do? You know, as pastor, I have a, I'm in a unique position to see more than what others may see. Because I see when people come to the church to do something and perhaps no one else sees. And they're not doing it to be seen by other people. They're doing it out of a sincere desire to serve. And you may see the result of what they do. But you may not know who did it, or perhaps you don't even notice what they did. You know, the very nature of things done, you know, you go into a bathroom and there's dirt and filth in the bathroom and you notice it. But if someone comes in and cleans it, you don't necessarily notice that it's been cleaned. It doesn't capture your attention. It's just done. And what I really want to do right now is to begin to give examples of things that you all do. But I'm not going to do that. But if you see something done, and you know who did it, compliment them. It's not empty flattery. And they have to guard their heart not to receive it as flattery, not to say, well, you like that? Let me show you what else I did. No, you know, a sincere compliment to be received as a sincere compliment. And your heart is pure in wanting to encourage them and express sincere appreciation. And their heart is pure by receiving it as a compliment, not seeking flattery, not seeking something more. But just the exchange of a brother and sister in Christ or two sisters in Christ or two brothers in Christ, just the things that we do. And so that's the nature of Christian service and the nature of our life. People do things, people express appreciation, they compliment you and you guard your heart not to receive it as flattery, wherein you seek more. but simply receive it as a compliment and move on. And they're giving it, not seeking to gain something from you, not putting a checkmark in their network so that maybe in the future they can cash in on what they've gained from you. No, there's no agenda. It's just simply expressions of love towards one another. Now, I'm not saying the Babylonians came with love towards Hezekiah, simply expressing a sincere, heartfelt celebration of his healing. No, it was all political. But yet, Hezekiah received their flattery and wanted more. And let me close with this. Who sent the Babylonians? Well, God did. God did. Now, God never tempts us. Ever. He never has. He never will. He never tempts us to sin. But He does put us in situations whereby we might be tempted. So, do you see the difference? He doesn't tempt us to sin. He's not trying to lure us into sin. But he does put us in situations to test us and to try us and prove our faith to be genuine. So Second Chronicles, here's the Chronicles again. Second Chronicles, chapter 32, verse 31. Even in the matter of the envoys, these people that were sent by the king of Babylon, even in the matter of the envoys of the rulers of Babylon, who sent him to inquire of the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him alone to test him that he might know all that was in his heart. You see, God always works by design. He always works with purpose. Nothing happens by accident. Nothing happens without purpose. So where the Babylonians might have thought, well, we're just going to send a gift that maybe we can use Hezekiah at some point, especially with the Assyrians on the march. And Hezekiah saying, oh, they've come to compliment me. Let me show them more so that I might receive greater compliment. And the scripture says, this was all of God's doing, that again, God left him alone only to test him that he might know all that was in his heart. That's why we pray, O God. You know the model prayer. The disciples say, Master, teach us to pray. And Jesus says, we'll pray like this. And then he gives certain categories that our prayers should include. And part of that is, and lead us not into temptation. And we scratch our head and ponder, what in the world does that mean? Did God tempt us? Are we praying, God don't tempt me? Not at all. God doesn't tempt us to sin. But He is Master, King, Potentate, exercising absolute sovereign dominion over all things, and every detail of your life has been ordained of God. And as we go through life, there will be countless times in which we have to make a decision. And as we read here regarding Hezekiah, God left him alone only to test him that he might know all that was in his heart. Well, it was simple, a simple compliment. What was in Hezekiah's heart? I want more. I want more. And he ends up showing everything that he has. Matthew Henry says this. If God loves us, he will humble us and we'll find some way or other to pull down our spirits when they are lifted up above measure. That's what happened with Hezekiah. He'd been puffed up with pride above measure and God knows just how to bring us down. What's the scripture say? God resisted the proud. that gives more grace to the humble. Humble yourself before God, therefore, that he might exalt you in due time." So, again, Matthew Henry says, he knows how to pull down our spirits when they're lifted up above measure. A mortifying message is sent to Hezekiah that he might be humbled for the pride of his heart and be convinced of the folly of it. For though God may suffer his people to fall into sin, as he did Hezekiah here, to prove him that he might know all that was in his heart, yet he will not suffer them to lie still in him." He doesn't allow us to continue in sin. That's the glory of the child of God. The Spirit of God dwells within us and he will allow us to fall into sin, but he will not allow us to continue in it. And at times when we are stiff-necked and stubborn, He may bring chastening. But the chastening is not punishment. It's instructive. It's discipling. It's teaching. And so, God's continuing to work within us. Here's Hezekiah. Hezekiah falls into the sin of pride and seeking flattery. And God judges him because He will not allow Hezekiah to continue in his sin. Check that and compare that with Hezekiah's son, Manasseh, that God allows to fall into absolute perdition. Hezekiah, a child of God. Manasseh, a child of the devil. And you can see how God dealt with each one accordingly. Well, God promises to judge the sin of flattery. He does. Those that give flattery, here's what he says, Psalm 12, verses 2 and 3, they speak falsehood one with another, with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. May the Lord cut off all flattering lips. and the tongue that speaks great things. So he judges those that give flattery and those that seek flattery. Jesus says in Matthew 6, beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. The indication is your reward is the pleasure that you're seeking from men. And that's all there is. The praise of men. What a sad trade to seek the praises of men so that that and that alone is your reward. May we be continually on guard to guard against this subtle sin. Because we naturally love to hear the praise of men. So pray that God would grant us that we would be on guard, that we would have the discernment to recognize the difference between a compliment and flattery, to receive the compliment as it is, as it's meant to be, as an expression of love and encouragement, but to reject the flattery as what it is, that which is designed to control us. To gain our allegiance and our affection. But it's not sincere. It's not meant as a compliment. It's simply meant to use us for their own benefit. It can be subtle, but as the body of Christ, we are able to discern the love of a brother or sister, as opposed to someone that's simply trying to use us. May God grant us discernment and continue to help to guard our own hearts against the sin of flattery. Let's pray. Father, would you continue to teach our hearts and guard us and protect us Father, do not leave us as you did Hezekiah, as you tested him to see if his faith was genuine and he failed. But yet, Father, his faith was genuine and you came to him, you dealt with him as a child, And you continue to build him as one of your own people. So, Father, thank you for the privilege of being the children of the Most High. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You're dismissed.