Text: 1 Chronicles 15

 

Eventually, I will get to the text but I would like to set the stage first. 

David has become king of all of Israel.  Samuel has passed away.  The spiritual condition in Israel was not very good.  So, David called all the leaders together and told them it has been a long time since the ark that housed God's presence was back where it belonged in Israel.  During the time that Saul was king he never once attempted to bring the ark back where it belonged.  So, for twenty years the ark was not where it belonged.  The ark represents the presence of the Lord.  So, David and the religious leaders determined it was time to get the ark back. 

 

It's time that we had the presence of the Lord!! 

 

In our society today, in the United States of America it is time that we got the presence of the Lord back!!! 

 

David then went to Kirjath Jearim and he took the leaders with him.  He assigned trumpeters and musicians and they placed the ark on a cart.  They then started a journey from Kirjath Jearim and as they came to Chidons threshing floor the cart jiggled a little and Uzza reached out to steady the ark and when he did the Lord smote him and he died.  David became angry with God, and decided to leave the ark in the house of Obed-Edom.  For three months the ark remained there at Obed-Edom's house.

 

Now, David gets a lot of blame for not handling the ark properly, but David consulted with the leader and not one of them instructed him on how to properly take care of the ark.  Not one of  those priests and 'so-called' spiritual leaders told him how to do things.  They just let David put the ark on the cart and away they went.  David was trying to do the right thing but he was doing it in the wrong way. Where did David get the idea of placing the ark on a cart, anyway??  That is how the Philistines sent the ark out of their country. 

 

There is a lot of 'Philistine stuff' going on in the name of the Lord in churches today.  A lot of the world has crept in.  God wants to do things the right way, with the right motivation, with doing it the way He asks us to do it in. 

 

Chidons threshing floor has been called a 'speed bump' or a 'pot hole'.  It was not by coincidence that it happened by the threshing floor.  The threshing floor was a place where they brought the product of the wheat and they put it on the floor and they would beat it, so that all wheat stayed and that which was not good to eat or nutritious --the chaff-- was put to the side.  God always creates that spot in our lives.  Even though we are doing things with the right motive, if we are doing it in the wrong way God will create a threshing floor there.  Because He wants to beat out all that stuff that is not Him. 

 

We come into church and we say, "Well, this is the way I like to have church."  Well, you know what, God doesn't really care how you want to have church!!  People gather together at a certain church because they like the way things are done.  Some people like a nice pipe organ, and I do, once in a while, but not all the time.  David didn't take a great big pipe organ with him.  He took trumpets, tambourines, and a bunch of singers and dancers.  And he went out there to bring the ark back. 

 

Some folks say that our service would disturb them, because people do stuff.  The worship leader is out there dancing around, people are jumping up and down.   People think when you get into the house of the Lord, church is suppose to be reverent.  Yes, it is, but you don't get to decide what is reverent!  What are people gathered together for church here for?  What is church all about?  GOD!!!  Church isn't here for us it is for God.  We've got it all backward, we come to church and make it all about us.  We've got our cart and here is the ark on it, and that's the way we want it.  God's saying, "No, no, no, you need to stop by the threshing floor, because we got some things that need to be straighted out in your lives."

 

There is only one person in the Bible that God called 'a man after His own heart,' and that was David.  Now David made some terrible mistakes, but the thing about David, he didn't blame it on everybody else.  He didn't say, "Well if Bathsheba hadn't been out there taking a bath, I would not have noticed here."  NO!!  That's how people are today.  It is always someone else's fault when they do things wrong.  Someone says, " Oh, I watched too many violent movies that is why I went out and killed 30 people, " come on!!!!  You did it!! You made a choice!! 

 

It's time to come back to doing things God's way.  We as Pentecostals like to emphasis the 'Spirit' but first of all He is the Holy Spirit, and we tend to forget that sometimes.  God doesn't mind the carrying on, He likes that.  David said in Psalm 51 that there are certain sacrifices that doesn't please God anymore, but what really pleases God for a sacrifice is a 'broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart.'  That is what God wants.  Do you think if we come together and say, "God, we're sorry; we've sinned; we haven't done things Your way but we want You to come and we want You to instruct us so that we'll do things Your way.  Do you think God's going to resist that?  No!!  He is going to show up.  We think if we run, jump, and shout God is going to show up, that's part of it, but sin puts off God.  When Jesus hung on the cross, God had to turn away because He took the sin of the whole world.  God couldn't look at His Son.  Why do you think it was dark for three hours? 

 

It's time that the threshing floor experience happened.  So we can get some of these things beat out of us.  So that all that is left is 'real wheat' (God).  Whether you call it a speed bump or a pothole or whatever you choose to call it, but it was no coincidence that it happened right by the threshing floor, because the threshing floor was for separation.   It's time that some of God's people had some things separated out of their lives, so that God could show up. 

 

We've got churches no standing up and saying that sin is good.  It's time that God allowed some threshing floor experience and beat some of that out of us, so all that is left is Him.  People don't like to hear that, they say, "who does he think he is telling me how to live."  Excuse me, I'm not the Editor, I'm just the reporter telling you what it says.  God is the One who wrote the story.  You can get mad at me all you want but eventually you are not going to stand before me, you are going to stand before God.  And let me tell you, you are not going to give Him a piece of your mind either.  He is a Holy God and every knee is going to bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  I'd rather bow now; I'd rather say, "Lord, take my heart and form it.  Man's heart is deceitful and desparately wicked.  We need a heart transplant.  That's what we need, but not on your terms, on His terms.

 

For three months, the ark is at the house of Obed-Edom and finally someone tells David that God is blessing him greatly.  Everything that Obed-Edom is doing is prospering.  So, David goes over to Obed-Edom's house, knocks on the door and says, "I want to ark back.  I want the presence of the Lord.  I want some blessing.  I want to be in God's presence."  Here comes Obed-Edom to the door singing, "I am blessed, I am blessed.  Everyday that I live I am blessed."  Yes, of course he was blessed, he had the presence of the Lord in his house. 

 

If we want to be blessed, it isn't because we are going to give to somebody's ministry, it is going to be because the presence of the Lord is in our midst.  That is why we are going to be blessed.  God's Word says, "If you abide in His Word day and night then thou shalt be prosperous.  Then thou shalt have good successes because the presence of the Lord is in your midst."  That is why you are going to be blessed. 

 

1 Chronicles 15:1-3  We pick the story up: "David built houses for himself in the City of David; and he prepared a place of the ark of God, and pitched a tent for it.  Then David said, 'No one may carry the ark of God but the Levites, for the Lord has chosen them to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever.'  And David gathered all Israel together at Jersalem, to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place,  which he had prepared for it."

 

There was a tabernacle that was already made, but David didn't want the ark to go there.  David pitched a tent.  When the ark finally arrived in Jerusalem it was put inside the tent where David had pitched for it.

 

Turn to Acts 15:15-17:  "And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:  'Afterthis I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up; So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does all these things.'"

 

What tabernacle is God going to rebuild in the last times?  It's not going to be Moses' tabernacle.  It is not going to be Solomon's temple.  It is not going to be Herod's temple.  He is going to restore again the tabernacle of David.  All David's tabernacle was, was a big tent.  Do you know what went on there?  24/7 worship and praise for Almighty God.  Musicians, singers, and dancers worshipping before the presence of God.  That is the kind of place God wants to restore.  Jesus said, "If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto me."  Church after church is trying to find some gimmick to entice people to come to their church.  Did Jesus need a gimmick?  No, everywhere Jesus went sinners thronged to where Jesus was.  He attracted sinners.  It was the religious people that didn't like Jesus a whole lot.  Now churches are filled with religious people and you can't get a sinner near the door.  What happened?  I'll tell you what happened.  We are not a whole lot like Jesus anymore.  We want to do things our own way.  We have a bunch of Philistine carts in our midst and that is what we are trying to run the program of God on.  We find some business technique that is doing real well for a business in the world and we want to bring that into the church and try to see if we can attract more people.  I'll tell you what attracts people, it is the presence of God.  It's Jesus in the midst.  This is what Jesus does:  Jesus looks at everybody and says come on in, it doesn't matter who you are, what you do, or what you have done in the past.  God wants you to come on in.  Why?  Because there is only one thing that can endear yourselves to God and that is you humbling yourself, bowing at the foot of the cross and saying, "All to Jesus, I surrender all to Him I freely give, I will ever love and trust Him in His presence freely live." 

 

Notice it says in His presence.  In His presence.  We need the presence of the Lord back where it belongs in the house of the Lord.  Not so that we can run, jump, and shout.  As you continue with the story you will find that is what they did.  David got out there and he took off the outer part of his royal robe so he could jump before the Lord.  Why was David so excited?  For 20 some years the presence of God had not been with His people.  Samuel had died and there wasn't any prophet anymore who could speak the Word of God.  The priests and the Levites didn't have a clue what was going on.  David wanted the presence of God!  So they went and did things properly.  This is the big procession that happened:  (vs 11 & 12) "And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites: for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.  He said to them, 'You are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your brethern, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.'"  What did David tell them they needed to do?  They needed to sanctify themselves.  And it is time God's people, when they come into the house of the Lord that they sanctify themselves; it's time they decided to make a choice that they are going to do things God's way; it's time that they allowed the threshing floor experience to beat off all of the root and all of the leaf and all the stuff, so that you only wind up with a pure kernel of wheat.  That is what God would have us to do.  Sanctify ourselves!!  As I said before the first word in Holy Spirit is Holy.  God is Holy.  The reason He doesn't spend a long time at our churches, is because we're too busy messing around with the world.  We're too busy cheating on Him.  We're too attracted to all these other things that the world has to offer, instead of wanting Him and Him alone.

 

I'll tell you what ladies, if we treated you like we treat Jesus, you would be throwing us out too!!!

Most people think that they are doing God a favor by showing up for an hour on Sunday morning, and it has to be when they want (9:30 - 10:30) so they can spend the rest of the day doing what they want.  We are given Sunday as a day that is suppose to be given unto the Lord.  Some start looking at their watch and see that it is almost 12:00, "it's time for Pastor to shut up and let us out of here."  We don't want to do what it takes to get the presence of the Lord anymore.  David went through some extravagant stuff, you'll see in the rest of chapter 15.

 

He started out with the priests picking up the ark like they were suppose to, they carried on their shoulders.  They took six steps.  Then you know what happened?  They made a sacrifice.  Then six more steps and they made another sacrifice.  Every six steps they made another sacrifice.  It as about 10 miles that they had to journey, but every six steps a sacrifice.  Talk about extravagant worship!!  People today would have said that we could have used some of that cattle to feed the poor. 

 

David was called a man after God's own heart, because he knew that God was after worshippers.  Jesus came to seek and to save that which is lost.  God came to seek true worshippers who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.  That means a broken spirit and a contrite heart.  That means doing things God's way.  That means determining that from now on whatever I do, I am going to do it to bring honor and glory unto God.  That means that a lot of the foolishness that goes on in the name of Christianity shouldn't be happening today.  People want their own way, they want to bring their own charts to church.  They want to do things their own way.  They don't want to look at the Word of God anymore.  'That's passe, its gone by.'  They want something that is up to date.  Something that is going to minister to us right where we are.  Well, if you want that you need the Word of God. 

 

Every six steps, all the way.  As it got near Jerusalem the trumpeters were playing, the singers were singing, and dancers were dancing.  And David took off his outer coat and he started to dance before the Lord.  David started to jump higher and spin around.  Here is his wife, Michal, up there and she is looking down at David and she is all disgusted.  There are a lot of people that are disgusted when people worship God.  Michal was so upset, telling David that he looked like a fool out there dancing half naked.  David said, "I rather have Deity than dignity.  And so should we.  Some of us are so dignified that god couldn't  get a hold of us as it is.  What God is looking for is a broken spirit and a contrite heart.  He is looking for someone that He can show Himself strong through.  Those that were in the manifest presence of God were on their face before God, they were as wheat, dead men.  Like Isaiah, Daniel, John on the Isle of Patmos. 

 

Yes, we come into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.  We ought to worship Him the way He wants to be worshipped, not how it makes us comfortable, not our preferences.  There are many people arguing over the form of worship today.  Churches can't get much done.  "Well, bless God brother if you don't sing hymns we are out of here."  I say there is the door.  Then you have the other people that say, "Bless God, unless you start singing choruses we're out of here."  (There is the door)  Because it isn't about you and about your form.  It isn't about how you want things done.  It's time we looked into God's Word and say, "God we are going to do things right."  David looked into the law of God to see how things should be done.  We want to look toward popular opinion where someone will agree with you.  Some of us are like the blind leading the blind.  No wonder we are in the ditch.  No wonder we are having a hard time.  We need to get all that isn't real wheat beat out of us, so we can get into real worship.  We can get into real praise, but worship just doesn't take place in the House of God.  You go outside those doors and that is when your body is suppose to be a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God!  What you do on the job, what you do when no one is looking, that is what is going to show what kind of person you really are.  If you are going to run and shout you better be holy.  Who is going to approach the hill of the Lord, him that has  clean hands and a pure heart.  God wants to beat some stuff out of us.  God wants to take care of that stuff that doesn't belong to Him and get rid of it out of our lives.  That is the acceptable kind of sacrifice.  That is what God is looking for.  That's what He is after.  Men and Women that are after His heart, that will do things His way that won't compromise, they are willing to stand up and say, "wait a minute, that isn't how God does things." 

 

Let's allow the Lord to take that instrument and beat out of us what is not Him.  Sing like you have been delivered.  Sing like we have been delivered from sin.  Let's do a little shouting and praising God.  It might offend some people, it won't offend God.  Singer, Musicians, Dancers that is the kind of worship God wants to restore, but He wants to do it on His terms not yours.   If we are to be lively stones built up of spiritual houses, David said, "we need to sanctify ourselves" and get ourselves ready.  Anytime the priest or the Levites went into the holy place before reached there, they washed themselves.  We need to be washed by the water of the Word of God. 

 

Do you want to please God?  If you please Him, you'll have His blessing.  You please Him, His presence will be there, but it is only going to come if you submit and bow your heart and knee to the Word of God at the foot of the cross and say, "I surrender all."