pastor's letter • January 1, 2017

Isaiah 6:1 NIV - In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
 
Happy New Year, my dear friends.  As we approach this coming year with all of the uncertainties and challenges it will hold, may I ask you a rather simple, albeit metaphorical, question: What do you See?  In other words, What is your Perspective? 
 
DO YOU SEE A DEAD KING OR A LIVING GOD?!
 
“In the year that King Uzziah died” - King Uzziah of Judah had a long and distinguished reign, beginning when he was only 16 years of age, and for the most part, he ruled as a good king for 52 years (2 Kings 15:3; 2 Chronicles 28:5).  Uzziah was a strong monarch and military leader, an energetic builder and planner (2 Chronicles 26:8), whose life ended tragically (2 Chronicles 26:16) because he presumptuously entered the Temple of the Lord and burned incense on the altar.  Because of his sin, he was stricken with leprosy and lived in isolation until his death. 
 
So to say, “in the year King Uzziah died” is to say a lot.  It is to say, "In the year a great, powerful, and wise king died.”  It is to say, “In the year that all I knew changed.  In the year my world changed.”  But it is also to say, "In the year a great, powerful, and wise king who had a tragic end died."  Isaiah had great reason to be discouraged and disillusioned at the death of King Uzziah, because a great king had passed away, and because his life ended tragically.  Where was the LORD in all this? 
 
Isaiah is saying, “It was in this year, when everything changed, when my security was removed, when all I had known was taken away, it was then that I SAW THE LORD, AND HE WAS SEATED UPON A THRONE!”  Oh, Precious Ones, Atheists say there is No Throne.  Humanists say that Man is the governing authority; but the Word of God declares that THERE IS A THRONE AND THE LORD GOD IS SEATED UPON IT!  He is Sovereign, High and Lifted Up, and His Glory Fills Creation.  On this New Year’s Sunday morning, what do you see?
 

• Do you only see yourself?
• Do you only see the vanity of conceit and the selfishness of ambition?
• Do you only see the failures of Humanity?
• Do you only see the frailty of this Life?
• Do you only see the onslaught of Hell?
• Do you only see the problems clamoring at your door and the danger on the horizon?

 
If this is the case, then Beloved, may I encourage you to lift Your Eyes a little Higher, to SEE a little further, and to LOOK a little closer.  FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD IS HIGH AND LIFTED UP and is clothed in glory!  UZZIAH MAY BE GONE, BUT THE LORD IS SEATED UPON THE THRONE!! 
 
Psalm 121:1-2 NIV - I lift up my eyes to the mountains--where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
 
Happy New Year!
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