Let's turn our attention to the Lord in prayer once more, to distill our spirits and ask God to speak to us. There's power and life in His word; healings, miracles, and breakthroughs can happen as we sit and listen to His word. Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." As we hear the truth, we will be free. Dear God, we want to thank you for your presence among us this morning. As we look to your word, we pray for revelations. May your Holy Spirit work in us as your word comes to change us, transform us, and align us. There is life in your word; life will flow as we hear your word. Oh God, Spirit of God, take control of this time. In Jesus' mighty name, we pray. Amen. Hallelujah! Let's turn our Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 26, verse 1-5, for today's word. I'll read it for you, and I invite all of you to listen:

"All the people of Judah had crowned Amaziah's sixteen-year-old son, Uzziah, as King in place of his father. And after his father's death, Uzziah rebuilt the town of Elath and restored it to Judah. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. He did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight, just as his father Amaziah had done. Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who taught him to fear God. And as long as the king sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success."

How many of you want to experience success in your life? There are powerful keys in the scriptures that we just read from the life of Uzziah. Today, we're going to learn something about godly success in our lives. Many times, we have to redefine the word success itself. The way the world defines success is different. The world defines success by your degrees, titles, positions, possessions, the kind of car you drive, the kind of phone you carry, the dress you wear, and the branded items you have. But for us as children of God, what is success about? How does God see success? How should we define success in our lives? Are we defining success the same way the world does? True success, according to scripture, is knowing that we do the will of God, where God is the center of our lives, and He is glorified in everything we do and say. We can have good cars, houses, and possessions, as long as Jesus is the center, and we use everything for the glory of God.

That's the kind of success God wants for His people. Each one of you, carrying the seed of God's word, having the Spirit of God living in you, are designed for success, destined for success, and called for success. Let there be no doubt about it. However, how do we achieve this success? The way people achieve success in the world should be different from how we achieve success. How do people get successful in their world? By hook or by crook, through hard work, effort, self-ability, and intellectual wisdom. But should it be the same for us as children of God? That's something I want you all to think about.

Here we read a powerful phrase in verse five: "As long as the king sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success." Here's a truth God shares in His word: as long as we seek God, we will have success. So, how long will you seek? That's a question I'd like you all to consider. How do we find success in this world? Because I believe God has called each one of us to be successful. We're talking about King Uzziah today. His father was Amaziah, and his grandfather was Uzziah. Some of these names might not mean anything to us, but they all have wonderful meanings. Amaziah means "the Lord helps me," and Uzziah means "the Lord is my strength." One common thing we see in all three people is that they were all godly. They began the journey well, accomplished great things, but somewhere along the line, success got to their heads. They left seeking God, and their end was disastrous.

It's often said that it's not how well you begin that matters, but how well you end. Many believers begin their spiritual lives well, but somewhere down the line, due to various reasons—pride, struggles, crises—they give up on pursuing God. I'm reminded of a race; at the beginning and end, there's applause. But at the end, the applause is only for the winner. Similarly, in our spiritual journey, we may receive applause at the beginning, but will we receive the applause of heaven at the end? Will God be delighted with how we've finished our race?

Unfortunately, Uzziah, Amaziah, and Uzziah didn't finish well. But we can learn from King Uzziah: what led to his rise and what brought his downfall. First, let's look at what led to his rise. He pleased God, sought the Lord, and had a godly mentor. These were the reasons for his exceptional success. To achieve godly success, we need to make our aim to please God. Pleasing God isn't always easy; it often requires denying ourselves and obedience. Success in God's eyes means doing what is right in His sight, making God the center of our lives, using everything for His glory. We can't always rely on our own strength or wisdom to achieve success; we need to seek God continually.

Seeking God means recognizing His importance in our lives. We seek God when we realize what we've lost—intimacy, fellowship, passion, and the presence of God. We seek Him because He's important to us, more important than anything else. Seeking God requires humility and dependence on Him, especially during times of adversity and prosperity. Success can draw us away from God, making us self-reliant and proud. We need to be wary of this and continue seeking God throughout our lives.

Where do we seek God? In His word, in prayer, and in fellowship with other believers. We also need godly mentors to guide, instruct, and counsel us. We can't do everything on our own; we need spiritual leaders in our lives. Let's make seeking God our pursuit and recognize His importance in our lives. As long as we seek Him, we'll find Him, and in Him, we'll find everything we need for true success. Amen.

You will have to talk about your weaknesses, your lapses, your limitations; it's only then that they'll be able to talk. I believe true change can never happen unless you have somebody to speak over your life, unless you have somebody to bear your heart with. As much as there is a need for spiritual mentors in our lives, may I also tell you there's a need for us to become spiritual mentors. If you've been in the Lord for 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, are you mentoring somebody? Are you discipling somebody? Are you walking in the journey of helping somebody to understand God, to walk in the ways of God, to teach what is to pray, to teach what is to read the word of God, to teach what is pleasing unto God? Both ways, there's a depth in both the ways, as I see in the spiritual world. On one hand, there are people who are not open to mentoring, people who are not open to come under spiritual mentoring, people not open to go and bear the heart with. At the same time, people are not even willing to be spiritual mentors to somebody.

I would like to encourage all of us this morning who've been in the Lord for 5 years, 10 years, 15 years: it's time that you arise and take people under your wings, under your shelters, families under your shelter. Pour your experiences, pour what God has done in your life, encourage somebody, because all that God has done in your life is not only for you, but for the generations to come. You think all the miracles that we experience, you think all the success that God has granted you, you think all the wisdom that God has given you is for yourself? No, God did everything that He did in your life so that you can be a blessing to somebody. Hallelujah!

So, I want to encourage all of us this morning as a church. It's my desire to walk in the ways of God, and we will do both of these. We will have somebody to speak over our lives, we will have somebody to go and open up our lives with. It's only then true change can happen. As long as things are in the dark, nothing is going to change. It's only when you bring things to the light, things are going to change. It's like all those cockroaches in the darkness, they'll be running free everywhere. The moment you turn the light on, they all try to run to hide. So, as long as you hide all your problems, hide all your sins, hide all your situations, you cannot be free, no matter how long you come to church, no matter how long you pray, no matter how long you fast, unless you bring things to the light, you will not experience true and lasting change in your life. Amen.

So, God gave exceptional success to Uzziah because of these three things: number one, he pleased God; second, he sought God; third, he had a godly mentor who instructed him in the ways of God. And for those reasons, he experienced exceptional success. The first success, in 2 Chronicles 26:6-8, was in the area of wars. I just want to read that verse: "Uzziah declared war on the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath and Ashdod. Then he built new towns in the Ashdod area and in other parts of Philistia. God helped him in his wars against the Philistines, his battles with the Arabs of Gur, and his wars with the Meunites. The Meunites paid annual tribute to him, and his fame spread even to Egypt, for he had become very powerful." Amen. God helped him, God fought wars for him, God gave victories, and God made him powerful. Hallelujah!

What caught me here in this verse is Uzziah declared war on the Philistines, it's not the other way around. When you're pleasing God, when you're walking with God, when you're seeking God, you will not be afraid of the enemies. You will not always talk about how miserable your situation is, you don't gripe about your situation, you will not be fearful about your situation, complain about your situation, be anxious about your situation, murmur and grumble about your situation, feel pitiful about your situation. No, those are not the characteristic traits of people who please God, who seek God. People who seek God, people who trust God, people who depend upon God, they will declare war on their enemies. Hallelujah!

I want to challenge you. Enough of having the experience of the enemy coming after you, challenges coming after you, problems coming after you. I want to challenge you, you will declare war on the enemy, the enemy that is fighting against your family, the enemy that is fighting against your finances, the enemy that is fighting against your health, the enemy that's fighting against your prosperity, the enemy that is fighting against your business and finances, the enemy that's fighting against your advancement and progress and development. We should arise in faith and declare war on the enemy. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Not enough of the days that we keep thinking how fierce the battle is, how enemies are attacking us, how evil spirits are coming against us, how people are against us. Those will not be the language of the people who please God, those will not be the language of the people who trust God, those will not be the language of people who seek God. Our language is, we will rise up and declare war against the enemy, we will set the captives free, we will pray for the people, we will share the gospel with the people, we will draw people from darkness to light, we will set the captives free. Amen, amen, hallelujah. That's what we see in the life of Uzziah, that's what I believe the Lord is calling each one of us, this church, let's rise in faith, let's rise in courage, no, let's not be afraid of what we are going through, rise up, it is possible. As we please God, when we know God is on our side, when we know God's favor is on our side, we cannot succumb to the pressures and challenges, situations and crises of our life, we will face it with all boldness. Come what may, we will face it. Hallelujah. That happens when we are pleasing God, when we are seeking God, when we are trusting God, when we're fearing God, when we're walking in the ways of God, we will know God is on our side, and it doesn't matter who is against us, what situation is against us. Hallelujah.

Uzziah saw success in building agriculture in chapter 26:9-10, Uzziah's success in building a very powerful army, verses 11-15, the most advanced weaponry of their time. King Uzziah had formed and had equipped his army with those munitions, so Uzziah experienced such exceptional success. Amen, hallelujah. So, what am I saying this morning? The path to true success is pleasing God, seeking God, and having a godly mentor in our lives. And there's something that happened which we should be careful of. You know, when success comes into our lives, this 2 Chronicles 26:16, I'll just read probably verse 16: "But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the sanctuary of the Lord's temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar."

This is something we should be cautious about, as I already said. It's easy to trust God, pray, depend on our troubles, on our problems, all of that. But when God gives success, prosperity, victories, when you achieve a certain standard in our life, are we seeking the same way how we used to seek in our beginning days? From tomorrow, 21 days of fasting prayer, we're going to seek God. Hallelujah. What are we going to do? It's just about coming together and seeking God. It's not that we began this church with fasting prayers, seeking God. So now, are we going to stop because things are going fine, or at least we may think it is fine? I'm definitely not satisfied, nowhere close to what I believe God wants to do in our lives. But are we going to continue this journey of seeking God? I want to encourage all of us to take this season that's upon us as a church. It's a wonderful opportunity, and I'm glad that we have a church to look forward to for 21 days of fasting prayers. I don't have to challenge you, I don't have to motivate you, I don't have to inspire you, but I know you're all already looking forward to these 21 days of fasting prayers from tomorrow.

What are you going to do? We are going to seek God. If you're going to ask me what is the reason, you know, we'll share a lot of things as we go through these 21 days of fasting prayers, but if you ask me one word, what are we going to do? We're going to come and seek God together. Amen, and all that He has for us. I believe God has planned something powerful for each one of us, and as a church, we need to make the decision to be here, to seek God, and I'm sure God will move in our lives in a powerful way, more than ever in the past eight years. We're going to see God move in a very powerful way. How many of you believe that? Amen.

So, as long as Uzziah sought God, God granted him success. I pray that let none of us ever stop seeking God in our lives. Praise God for the accomplishments that we've experienced in our life, praise God for the success, praise God for the blessings, praise God for all that God has done in our lives for the last many years. You know, it is said of the great evangelist Billy Graham, he comes from a very poor background, from a place called North Carolina, and he grew up on a dairy farm. There were many successful men of God during his tenure, but many fell into moral scandals, financial scandals, ethical scandals, messed up their families, messed up their marriages, messed up their ministries, messed up their futures. But one thing that kept Billy Graham strong all through his life, even till his dying breath, was his humility. He always remembered about the places where he came from. He was always conscious, no matter how God was using him to touch millions of lives around the globe, such great success, he never lost sight of from where God had picked him up from his life. I want to encourage you today, this morning, let's not forget from where God has brought us to this day in our lives. He is credited with saying this conversation that a donkey had with another fellow donkey, the donkey that carried Jesus. It's very interesting the way he puts it across. I came across this story sometime back, but I just got it back again. You know, imagine about the donkey that carried Jesus into Jerusalem before He could be crucified. What happened on that day? People laid their clothes, and people shouted "Hosanna!" Praises, applauded, kind of praised all of that, and they even took these branches of palm trees, and they danced and, you know, so he was Billy Graham was talking about an fictional conversation or imaginary conversation what would have been between that donkey and his friend donkey on that evening. Now Jesus has gone to crucifixion, now donkey has gone back home to his neighborhood. There are so many of his friends, right? So imagine the donkey talking to another fellow donkey friend, "But you know what today as was walking in the streets of Jerusalem, you know what happened to me?" They all are curious, "Oh, what happened?" You know, people are laying their clothes before me, people are praising me, clapping for me, applauding for me, bowing before me, you know, other donkeys, "Hey, how could this be possible? We have walked down the street many times, and nothing of this happened. How this happened to you?" So, imagine this donkey telling, "You know, I maybe someday I'll become this great, I had this all along, I know my day will come, and everybody will recognize my worth." Imagine the donkey saying that. So, all that we have seen in our life is not because of who we are, what we are, it's because of Jesus in us, His wisdom flowing through us, His grace flowing through us, His strength and ability flowing through us. So, for no point let us ever get into this illusion that what we have done, what we have become, what we achieved is because of our ability, our intellect, our strength. Our marriage was supposed to be broken, God upheld it. Our future was supposed to be destroyed, God protected it. Our children were supposed to die, but God gave us life. Our business was supposed to collapse and be wiped away, but God has given a new beginning. Isn't that God? Hallelujah. So, let's always be careful to give glory unto God. Can you give a huge applause to Jesus? Amen.

So, the fatal mistake King Uzziah did was because when success came to him, he became proud. Pride is something that we all have to be very careful of. It's very subtle. Externally, what King Uzziah did might look very spiritual and religious, isn't it? What he went to do, even to burn incense, the problem was that was only reserved for the priests. So externally, he's going to worship the Lord, he's going to pray to the Lord, he's going to come before the Lord. Outwardly, it looks spiritual. But inwardly, he crossed the lines. Inwardly, he's doing out of pride. Any prayers done with pride is not acceptable unto God. Any worship, any ministry, anything that we do unto God done with pride in our hearts is not acceptable before God. If pride is in our heart, self is in our heart, we need to come before God, deny it, and always say

, "God, everything that I have is because of Your grace." There are so many people, they pray, they read the Word, they worship, they do ministry, but we don't see any change and transformation in their life. We don't see any difference in their life. It's because whatever they're doing is done with pride. I'm not saying anyone of you sitting in this place has that attitude, but we need to be cautious. Hallelujah.

So, this morning, what I'm saying from the life of Uzziah, this key verse that I want to talk about, is as long as Uzziah sought God, God granted him success. We have sought God thus far, all of you. You have sought God thus far, and you've experienced success thus far. Having experienced success thus far, I would like to caution you, let's not stop seeking God. Let's continue to seek God, all the journey that He has for us in our lives, in our marriages, in our businesses, in our careers, in our ministries. I would like to encourage you, keep seeking God. Let's always keep making God the most important person in our life. Let's come before Him. The next 21 days, let's come before God with one attitude, one desire: we come to seek You, Hallelujah, and there's no limit to what God can bless those people who seek Him. We can never imagine the heights that God is going to elevate us to when we're going to seek God with all our hearts. So, I would like to encourage you, as we start the 21 days of fasting prayers from tomorrow, let's come to seek God together. Every evening, we're meeting from 7 to 9. Every Saturday, Sunday, we are having from 5 to 7 in the evenings. Let's take this opportunity to seek God and see all the wonders that God is going to do in our life. Shall we arise in God's presence this morning? Let's respond to the word that God has spoken to us this morning. Has God spoken to you this morning? What is He saying to you? Are you hearing Him calling you to seek Him? Will you respond? Let's not seek the world and its pleasures. Let's not seek after vain things, for they can never satisfy us. They can never deliver what they guarantee. Let's not be deceived by all those things. Those things are not going to give us the satisfaction and fulfillment in our lives. No, friends, money, wealth, people, positions, they cannot give you what you're looking for. No, they might make you feel that way, but no, they cannot. It's only God who can satisfy us. It's only God who can deliver us. Let's make a choice this morning to seek God. Thank you, Lord.