Posted on Sun, Nov 23, 2008
Highlights of Pastor Michael's Sermon on November 22, 2008, by Susan Bond
"In the year King Uzziah died...." These words from Isaiah 6:1 excite me because I know what comes next: an ethereal description of God's train filling the temple and the angels crying, "Holy." I hope you know the song with those words. I feel transported to that same place that Isaiah describes whenever I sing it. Today, however, my focus was first fixed on the King as Pastor Michael filled in the blanks for me on Uzziah's life.
Reading from 2 Chronicles 26, the pastor emphasized the fact that as long as Uzziah sought the LORD, he prospered. In fact, influenced by his godly mother and his teacher Zechariah, he reigned 52 years over Judah. This was the longest reign of any king from the line of David. Sadly, we learn in verse 16 that when he became strong, he also became proud and appointed himself his own high priest. Confronted by the true priests, Uzziah's anger was aroused. As a result, the LORD afflicted him with leprosy. How could 50 years of moral strength end up in an isolated leprous heap? What was Uzziah's sin? Making himself his own high priest, he by-passed the priesthood ordained by God.
Application for today? Hebrews 9 and 10 make it clear that Jesus Christ is our High Priest (co-signer, if you will) of the New Covenant. If we attempt to save ourselves with our own sacrifices, we insult Christ, counting his sacrifice unworthy. Covenants demand trustworthiness on both sides, but we know we are not, in and of ourselves, able to keep the covenant we have with God to remain holy. God's agent to keep us holy and true to our covenant is the Holy Spirit. It is Jesus Christ who is our intercessor, the one who knows what we are going through. He never holds back his forgiveness, mercy or grace; but HE's the High Priest, not us (See Psalm 86:5, 103:8, and 130:7).
When we try to use our good works as entrance to God, we will see, like Isaiah did, that they are filthy rags (64:6), leprous. Pastor Michael told us that lepers covered their unclean lips. We see in Isaiah 6 that Isaiah must have felt like a spiritual leper: "In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple....Then I said woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips....Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from off the altar: and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me."
Just as Isaiah humbly recognized his sinful nature and reliance on God's touch for cleanliness, so we must daily rely on the Holy Spirit as our Source of cleanliness and strength. God says, "I will cause you to do my good pleasure."
[Our special music today, sung by Pastor Michael, contained these words: "Were you there when they crucified my Lord... were you there when he rose up from the grave?" We may not have been there then, but we were on his mind at the time. What counts is whether we are with Him now.]
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