What Is Your Response To The King?
Isaiah 6:1-8 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a
throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. (2) Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. (3) And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (4) And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. (5) And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (6) Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. (7) And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” (8) And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
In the year that King Uzziah died, his reign as king came to an end. I am mindful that the following Presidential reigns of Harry S. Truman 1945-1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953-1961, John F. Kennedy 1961-1963, Lyndon B. Johnson 1963-1969, Richard M. Nixon 1969-1974, Gerald R. Ford 1974-1977, Jimmy Carter 1977-1981, Ronald Reagan 1981-1989, George Bush 1989-1993, Bill Clinton 1993-2001, and George W. Bush 2001-2008 came to an end during my lifetime. Now we have Barack Obama 2009- starting his.
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pare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 
Rarely is a leadership disaster rooted in a person’s incapacity to lead. It is most often an issue of failed followship. In fact, all of our failures can ultimately be traced to ceasing to follow Christ. Yet our twisted sense of values, exalting leading over following, independence over dependence, is evident in our whole attitude toward those whom we regard as qualified to lead and the qualifications we consider essential for the task. We are too easily seduced by the external qualities of charisma, competence, and credentials. This is not to say that these elements arn’t important. It is to underscore that these are not primary qualifiers. But American society refuses to accept the idea that character and submission to oral authority are important, particularly in the selection of leaders. – Joseph M Stowell “Following Christ”, Harper Collins Publishing, pg.37
Scripture alone is the inerrant rule of the church’s life, but the evangelical church today has separated Scripture from its authoritative function. In practice, the church is guided, far too often, by the culture. Therapeutic technique, marketing strategies, and the beat of the entertainment world often have far more to say about what the church wants, how it functions, and what it offers, than does the Word of God. Pastors have neglected their rightful oversight of worship, including the doctrinal content of the music. As Biblical authority has been abandoned in practice, as its truths have faded from Christian consciousness, and as its doctrines have lost their saliency, the church has been increasingly emptied of its integrity, moral authority, and direction.
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3 (ESV)
possibly the finest orator America ever produced, delivered a stirring speech at the completion of the Bunker Hill Monument. Refering to the Pilgrim Fathers and the Bible, he said, “They brought with them a full portion of the riches of the past, in science, art, morals, religion and literature. The Bible came with them. The Bible is a book of faith and a book of doctrine; it teaches man his own responsibility, his own dignity, and his equality with his fellow man… I believe that the Bible is to be understood and received in the plain obvious meaning of its pages, since I cannot persuade myself that a book intended for the instruction and conversion of the whole world should cover its meaning in any such mystery and doubt that none but its critics and philosophers can discover it.”
I would keep Your words.
A few days ago, I mentioned the often useless phrase; “so-and-so loves the Lord.” But what does it really mean to Love the Lord. OK, you say, “well you must be born again.” I’ll buy that, but is that a sufficient definition? It seems that our Lord felt that didn’t quite fit the definition.
Healthy churches are not byproducts of programs but instead are products of relationships found with God and within the church family. Please don’t misunderstand me and assume that I am anti-programs, I however must say that nobody should have time for programs if they don’t have time to read the bible.