1 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:10,400 A couple of housekeeping things before we move forward with the Word, which 2 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:13,760 I'm very excited about. We have an opportunity 3 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:17,920 today, if you have a 5th grade child going into the 6th 4 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:22,000 grade, moving up here in about a week, we have a 5 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:26,080 meet and greet for you, for your— the parents, for the child, 6 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:30,560 immediately following this gathering. If you will make your way upstairs 7 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:35,100 with the youth, We are going to just let you get to know 8 00:00:35,180 --> 00:00:38,940 us a little bit and introduce your child to that space, 9 00:00:39,340 --> 00:00:42,140 to some of the people. And we would love for you to join us. And 10 00:00:42,220 --> 00:00:45,820 if you do not know how to get up there, we will have somebody posted 11 00:00:46,140 --> 00:00:49,900 there, correct? We'll be yelling, hey you, over here! You 12 00:00:49,980 --> 00:00:53,340 know, just wave and we'll make it very obvious. But take your teen 13 00:00:54,060 --> 00:00:56,620 and let them be introduced to the youth department. 14 00:00:57,980 --> 00:01:00,540 Oh, ooh, it sounds ominous when you say it that way, huh? 15 00:01:01,980 --> 00:01:05,800 We're excited about that. Next week we begin the 16 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:08,920 service change, the time changes. So 17 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:13,560 if you come at 11, you will have missed worship, or at least part of 18 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:17,160 it, and you don't wanna do that. So it'll begin at 10:30 next 19 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:21,160 week. God is so faithful. I'm excited about that. And I'm excited about the 20 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:25,000 Wednesday night as we press into the Word on the following week as we 21 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,680 begin our midweek gatherings again, but we begin them on Wednesday night. 22 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,920 And the final thing I wanted to share with you, you know, I have been 23 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:37,170 in this house Since the 1900s. 24 00:01:39,010 --> 00:01:42,770 Wow. I know. Hey, you're on staff. You can't say that 25 00:01:42,930 --> 00:01:45,490 like that. You— 26 00:01:48,130 --> 00:01:49,570 ow, et tu, Brute? 27 00:01:53,250 --> 00:01:56,850 Since 1992. And what I have seen in these 28 00:01:57,090 --> 00:02:00,850 decades is the faithfulness of God in the ministries in this house. 29 00:02:01,570 --> 00:02:05,330 When I came here, we had Pastor Margaret for the longest time. What 30 00:02:05,410 --> 00:02:08,670 a blessing to our children. We had Pastor Kim, 31 00:02:09,310 --> 00:02:13,150 a blessing to our children's ministry. And we have had Pastor Shari 32 00:02:13,550 --> 00:02:16,670 O'Day, who has been a blessing to our children's ministry. 33 00:02:17,470 --> 00:02:21,150 And one of the things that Pastor Kevin and Pastor Shari have both done 34 00:02:21,870 --> 00:02:25,630 so amazingly is that they created teams in this house 35 00:02:25,870 --> 00:02:29,390 so that there was no lack. And so while many of us 36 00:02:30,110 --> 00:02:33,390 are not surprised, it is— Pastor Shari 37 00:02:33,950 --> 00:02:37,710 will be operating— ooh, that sounds ominous. Pastor Shari 38 00:02:37,950 --> 00:02:41,690 will be moving We're believing with Pastor Kevin as they sow into a season 39 00:02:42,970 --> 00:02:46,810 at LCA. Pastor Kevin and Pastor Shari, for as long as I 40 00:02:46,890 --> 00:02:50,730 have known them, have ministered as a team, and that's 41 00:02:50,730 --> 00:02:53,930 something that the Lord has anointed them to do. And so I'm excited 42 00:02:54,570 --> 00:02:58,250 for their opportunity in sowing into LCA. And with 43 00:02:58,490 --> 00:03:02,090 that, there has been no lack left in this house because you guys 44 00:03:02,330 --> 00:03:06,070 know, Christa— I mean, Come on, Krista. 45 00:03:06,470 --> 00:03:10,230 Amen. We have 46 00:03:10,470 --> 00:03:13,350 such a dynamic team, and if I do this, I'm gonna do what I did 47 00:03:13,430 --> 00:03:16,950 when I forgot to list all the pastors' names. But there are about 8 48 00:03:17,270 --> 00:03:21,030 of them that I could name, and every time I mentioned their names, you would 49 00:03:21,110 --> 00:03:24,870 go, oh, absolutely, absolutely. Because Pastor Kevin and Pastor 50 00:03:25,430 --> 00:03:29,110 Shari were so mindful in creating teams that could serve this 51 00:03:29,270 --> 00:03:32,750 house so that, like all of us, And I know that all of us, every 52 00:03:32,990 --> 00:03:35,710 single one of us, when the Lord says, now I want you to shift into 53 00:03:35,790 --> 00:03:39,470 something else, we leave no lack in the house. So I'm excited 54 00:03:39,870 --> 00:03:43,630 about what God has for children's ministry in this time. And I ask that you 55 00:03:43,790 --> 00:03:47,550 continue to pray for Pastor Kevin and Pastor Shari as they step 56 00:03:47,790 --> 00:03:51,470 into a new season in their lives. And now, as if he has 57 00:03:51,630 --> 00:03:55,150 not done enough this morning, we're gonna invite Pastor 58 00:03:55,470 --> 00:03:59,070 Jonathan back because he didn't sing and dance enough. And 59 00:03:59,150 --> 00:04:01,950 he's gonna bring the Word. So thank you, Pastor Jonathan. 60 00:04:03,150 --> 00:04:06,890 Thank you. Ah, this guy again, 61 00:04:08,250 --> 00:04:11,930 so soon. Thank 62 00:04:12,090 --> 00:04:12,170 you. 63 00:04:20,250 --> 00:04:23,930 Let's pray. Holy 64 00:04:24,330 --> 00:04:27,370 Spirit, would you help us to 65 00:04:28,730 --> 00:04:32,430 open our eyes, open our ears, open our hearts To your 66 00:04:32,510 --> 00:04:36,270 word, Lord. We 67 00:04:37,070 --> 00:04:40,430 exist as a fellowship that has come to hear from 68 00:04:40,510 --> 00:04:43,710 you, Lord, that has come to exalt 69 00:04:43,950 --> 00:04:47,790 you, Lord. I thank you that you've given 70 00:04:48,030 --> 00:04:51,870 us the calling and the gift to be 71 00:04:52,270 --> 00:04:55,830 image bearers of Christ to the world. 72 00:04:56,430 --> 00:05:00,190 And I pray, Lord, pray Holy Spirit, that you would help us to do so. 73 00:05:00,430 --> 00:05:03,990 Amen. joyfully, carefully, and 74 00:05:04,310 --> 00:05:08,110 compassionately. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 75 00:05:08,790 --> 00:05:12,470 So Pastor Barbie asked me if I would close our Worship Anyways series 76 00:05:13,190 --> 00:05:16,950 this week on the very well-known story of David dancing before 77 00:05:17,030 --> 00:05:20,310 the Ark of the Covenant and saying, I will become even more 78 00:05:20,550 --> 00:05:24,230 undignified than this. I will be humiliated or humble 79 00:05:24,470 --> 00:05:28,230 in my own eyes. And that verse sits near the very end of one of 80 00:05:28,230 --> 00:05:32,010 my all-time favorite passages or chapters in scripture, 81 00:05:32,090 --> 00:05:35,690 2 Samuel 6. So if you brought your Bible, go ahead and turn there 82 00:05:36,170 --> 00:05:39,770 today. We're going to spend a lot of time there. And getting 83 00:05:40,010 --> 00:05:43,850 to that verse of, I have become even, or will become even more 84 00:05:43,930 --> 00:05:47,610 undignified than this, is our destination. But every destination 85 00:05:47,930 --> 00:05:51,610 has a journey we must take to get there. And this journey for the people 86 00:05:51,770 --> 00:05:54,970 of God is exactly what makes this one of my all-time favorite 87 00:05:55,530 --> 00:05:59,150 stories. in scripture. It's important for them then, and 88 00:05:59,150 --> 00:06:02,750 it's important for us today. The context is that 89 00:06:03,390 --> 00:06:07,150 David has officially been appointed king of Israel. His 90 00:06:07,310 --> 00:06:11,070 first act as king was to take back the city of Jerusalem, which 91 00:06:11,150 --> 00:06:14,830 he does so successfully, and then it is renamed the City 92 00:06:14,910 --> 00:06:18,590 of David in his honor. Now, many powerful 93 00:06:19,070 --> 00:06:22,830 leaders all throughout time, all throughout history, even in modern day, 94 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:27,080 When they officially take that seat of power, that position 95 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:31,000 of power, they will begin often making changes that make sure, 96 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:35,080 to make sure that everybody knows exactly who is in charge. They 97 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:38,920 might put up monuments and memorials to themselves. 98 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:42,920 However, King David is very different in this 99 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:46,680 regard. 2 Samuel 5 tells us that although 100 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:50,200 David, by all external accounts, is becoming 101 00:06:50,840 --> 00:06:54,360 visibly greater and greater, the city was fortified and growing. 102 00:06:55,060 --> 00:06:58,820 An allied king sends these resources and these artisans to build 103 00:06:58,900 --> 00:07:02,660 him a house. There is a moment that happens in verses 11 and 104 00:07:02,820 --> 00:07:06,500 12 that paints a beautiful picture of David witnessing 105 00:07:06,820 --> 00:07:10,100 all this gain around him, and this is what it says. David realized 106 00:07:11,620 --> 00:07:14,980 that the Lord had established him as king 107 00:07:15,460 --> 00:07:19,300 over Israel, and that God had exalted his kingdom 108 00:07:19,700 --> 00:07:23,540 for the sake of his people Israel. That word realize is the 109 00:07:23,620 --> 00:07:27,200 word yada, which means to perceive or know in your mind, 110 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:31,680 in your heart, in a different way than you had, in a 111 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:35,200 way that you hadn't seen before. So this moment of appointment 112 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,680 for King David is nearly 20 years after he was 113 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:43,600 first anointed by Samuel to become king, and he is now 114 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:47,320 witnessing that word unfold in his life. 115 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,520 And we remember that David went through some really challenging 116 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:55,990 things in that period of time. We, of course, we remember Goliath, but he 117 00:07:56,070 --> 00:07:59,670 was also figuring out what it means to serve faithfully under this 118 00:07:59,910 --> 00:08:03,510 leader who is actively trying to hunt him down and have him killed 119 00:08:03,750 --> 00:08:07,110 at the same time. Um, all of that can be really 120 00:08:07,590 --> 00:08:11,430 crushing to a person, but we know through all of that, he had this 121 00:08:11,750 --> 00:08:15,030 relationship with the Lord. He is a man after God's own 122 00:08:15,270 --> 00:08:17,990 heart, but at this moment, he's perceiving something 123 00:08:18,390 --> 00:08:22,150 different. That God, through all of that, was actually leading him 124 00:08:23,030 --> 00:08:25,990 holding him and forming him through every 125 00:08:26,390 --> 00:08:29,190 trial, every suffering for a 126 00:08:29,270 --> 00:08:33,110 purpose. And I wonder, has anyone in here ever gone through 127 00:08:33,430 --> 00:08:37,270 something where the challenge surrounding it 128 00:08:37,350 --> 00:08:41,030 were so great, the sufferings that you went through were so great that when you 129 00:08:41,110 --> 00:08:44,870 got to the other side and you looked back in whatever, 130 00:08:45,350 --> 00:08:49,030 uh, uh, in whatever kind of fashion you were in, whether you were 131 00:08:49,190 --> 00:08:51,750 standing or you just made it through, you're crawling through, you look to the other 132 00:08:51,910 --> 00:08:55,410 side and you look back and you go, the only reason reason I'm here is 133 00:08:55,570 --> 00:08:59,410 because I was being held together by the grace of God. 134 00:09:01,410 --> 00:09:04,850 Amen. Something like that appears to be happening in King 135 00:09:05,010 --> 00:09:08,130 David's heart and mind at this moment. He's realizing 136 00:09:09,570 --> 00:09:13,090 all these blessings, all this gain, his home, his 137 00:09:13,330 --> 00:09:16,770 kingdom, his kingship, it's all been established 138 00:09:17,170 --> 00:09:20,850 not by him in his own strength, not by his own understanding, but by 139 00:09:21,090 --> 00:09:23,830 God alone. for the purposes of 140 00:09:23,990 --> 00:09:27,830 God. And that leads David into 141 00:09:28,070 --> 00:09:31,830 a lower place of humility, a deeper 142 00:09:32,310 --> 00:09:35,750 place of worship, and for the very 143 00:09:36,150 --> 00:09:39,830 important decision to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the City of David 144 00:09:40,150 --> 00:09:43,830 to be the spiritual center of the kingdom. And the Ark 145 00:09:43,910 --> 00:09:47,510 of the Covenant in the Old Testament represented the manifest presence 146 00:09:47,910 --> 00:09:51,660 and power of God dwelling among his people. It's where his people 147 00:09:51,900 --> 00:09:55,500 would go and receive mercy. For me, it is an Old 148 00:09:55,820 --> 00:09:58,540 Testament picture of he must 149 00:09:59,180 --> 00:10:03,020 increase, I must decrease. It's what David's 150 00:10:03,020 --> 00:10:06,220 doing here. David came to realize what Paul would later proclaim about 151 00:10:06,460 --> 00:10:09,740 Christ, that all things are from him, through 152 00:10:09,900 --> 00:10:13,420 him, and for him. Jesus is not only our source 153 00:10:13,820 --> 00:10:17,630 of power, Jesus is our life. 154 00:10:18,470 --> 00:10:21,910 Jesus is the reason we have life. And 155 00:10:22,150 --> 00:10:25,910 Jesus— exalting Jesus is the purpose of our life. Can 156 00:10:25,990 --> 00:10:29,670 you imagine what that would look like if the 157 00:10:29,830 --> 00:10:33,030 church, the believers, really took hold of that and we were 158 00:10:33,670 --> 00:10:37,510 so moved by God that we 159 00:10:37,670 --> 00:10:40,630 would be moved to just exalt him in everything, all of our 160 00:10:41,190 --> 00:10:44,910 conversations, Let's 161 00:10:44,910 --> 00:10:48,750 read what making that decision looks like for us. 2 Samuel 162 00:10:49,070 --> 00:10:52,750 6:1-5. David again gathered 163 00:10:52,990 --> 00:10:56,830 all the chosen men of Israel, 30,000. And David arose and went with all 164 00:10:56,910 --> 00:11:00,670 the people who were with him from Baale-Judah to bring up from 165 00:11:00,750 --> 00:11:03,710 there the Ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of 166 00:11:03,790 --> 00:11:06,950 hosts, who sits enthroned on the cherubim. 167 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:10,680 And they carried the Ark of God on a new cart. And I want you 168 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:14,520 to remember that, highlight it, circle it, underline it. On 169 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:17,720 a new cart, brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the 170 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:21,480 hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were 171 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:25,000 driving the new cart. There it is again with the Ark of God. And Ahio 172 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:28,520 went before the Ark, and David and all the house of Israel 173 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:33,080 were celebrating before the Lord with songs, lyres, harps, 174 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:36,760 tambourines, castanets, and cymbals. This was a rocking praise service. 175 00:11:38,070 --> 00:11:41,910 Yeah. This is a joyful moment for the people 176 00:11:42,070 --> 00:11:45,750 of God because this is a restoration of his presence among 177 00:11:45,830 --> 00:11:49,430 them. This is a restoration of the fullness of joy 178 00:11:49,670 --> 00:11:52,550 that's found in his presence. I say a restoration because 179 00:11:53,510 --> 00:11:56,630 1 Chronicles 13:3 says that before this 180 00:11:57,030 --> 00:12:00,870 moment, the Ark was not sought in the 181 00:12:00,950 --> 00:12:04,600 days of King Saul. who was David's predecessor. 182 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:08,880 Can we just stop and think about that for a 183 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:11,920 moment? The manifest presence of God 184 00:12:13,680 --> 00:12:16,720 in our midst, nearby, 185 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:21,280 within reach, but never sought 186 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:25,040 after. The people never moved to move in 187 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:26,280 closer. 188 00:12:29,130 --> 00:12:32,730 I hope that breaks our collective heart to the point where we 189 00:12:33,210 --> 00:12:36,890 are prompted to ask the same question: how 190 00:12:37,290 --> 00:12:40,490 did God's people get to the point of such 191 00:12:41,130 --> 00:12:43,770 irreverence and indifference to his 192 00:12:44,010 --> 00:12:47,850 presence? And I think we 193 00:12:48,010 --> 00:12:51,690 find that answer by understanding just how the 194 00:12:51,770 --> 00:12:55,130 ark wound up there in Abinadab's house in the first place. 1 Samuel 195 00:12:56,350 --> 00:12:59,950 details a battle between the Israelites and the Philistines where the Israelites 196 00:13:00,510 --> 00:13:04,270 just get demolished. They get their tails handed to them, 197 00:13:04,350 --> 00:13:08,030 and they go back, they regroup, they lick their wounds, and they try to figure 198 00:13:08,190 --> 00:13:11,950 out what, what went wrong here. And they're thinking about the stories of old, and 199 00:13:11,950 --> 00:13:15,550 they go, I got it. You know, the problem is, is we didn't have the 200 00:13:15,710 --> 00:13:18,590 presence, and where there is no presence, there is no 201 00:13:18,830 --> 00:13:22,350 power. So let's go get the Ark of the Covenant. 202 00:13:22,870 --> 00:13:26,390 and we'll bring it before us in battle and we'll show these guys 203 00:13:27,590 --> 00:13:31,190 who, who the boss is. And they go and do that and something 204 00:13:31,430 --> 00:13:35,190 miraculous happens. They go into battle and they get their tails 205 00:13:35,510 --> 00:13:39,110 handed to them again. God allows them 206 00:13:39,350 --> 00:13:43,030 to be defeated, and even worse, the Philistines take the Ark as 207 00:13:43,190 --> 00:13:46,870 their prize, but they start to pass 208 00:13:46,950 --> 00:13:50,700 it around among their villages, and everywhere 209 00:13:50,860 --> 00:13:53,820 the Ark goes, they wake up the next day and their idols are broken 210 00:13:54,700 --> 00:13:57,740 in the presence of the Ark. It's 211 00:13:57,900 --> 00:14:01,580 catastrophic, so catastrophic for the Philistines that they go, 212 00:14:01,820 --> 00:14:05,420 we gotta send it back. We can't deal 213 00:14:05,660 --> 00:14:09,420 with this. So they fashion a cart and they put 214 00:14:09,580 --> 00:14:13,420 the Ark of the Covenant on a cart, and they have the cart pulled by 215 00:14:13,820 --> 00:14:17,510 2 cows who have never been yoked before. And this was kind of a setup 216 00:14:18,070 --> 00:14:21,750 for the Lord, because cows that have not been yoked, not trained, would 217 00:14:21,910 --> 00:14:25,110 not be able to get that cart back to where it needed to be. But 218 00:14:25,270 --> 00:14:29,030 the Lord guides it exactly where it needs to be, and 219 00:14:29,030 --> 00:14:32,710 it's clear that the Lord has been involved in all of this 220 00:14:33,190 --> 00:14:36,710 the whole time. Based on those 221 00:14:37,030 --> 00:14:40,790 stories, one possible out— uh, answer to the 222 00:14:40,870 --> 00:14:44,550 question of how God's people find themselves in that place of 223 00:14:44,790 --> 00:14:48,230 indifference, for his presence is that they care more 224 00:14:48,710 --> 00:14:52,310 about the presence or the power of his presence than they do about 225 00:14:52,630 --> 00:14:56,390 cultivating real relationship with his presence. 226 00:14:56,550 --> 00:14:59,990 They care more about what they could get from God rather than what they could 227 00:15:00,150 --> 00:15:03,830 give of themselves to God. And that 228 00:15:03,990 --> 00:15:07,830 is a condition of the heart that I see 229 00:15:08,390 --> 00:15:10,950 in relationships all over society. 230 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:16,560 Spouses, children, friends, whatever it is. We enjoy 231 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:21,120 the fruit and the spoils of intimate relationship, 232 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:24,640 but we don't often love the responsibility of self-sacrifice 233 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:29,200 that comes along with it. The responsibility 234 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:33,280 of self-sacrifice that is required to be truly present, setting 235 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:37,520 aside my plan, setting aside my agenda, giving my full heart, 236 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:40,910 giving my attention. I love my 237 00:15:41,070 --> 00:15:44,830 kids. I want to be present for my kids. And when they ask 238 00:15:44,990 --> 00:15:46,030 me to play outside— 239 00:15:52,750 --> 00:15:56,430 I don't need to say anything else. Okay. They want 240 00:15:56,590 --> 00:16:00,270 me to get down in the dirt with them. They 241 00:16:00,430 --> 00:16:03,950 want me to see their faces and pretend with them. And my 242 00:16:04,110 --> 00:16:07,870 go-to is, why don't you guys go play outside? We'll, we'll keep the 243 00:16:08,110 --> 00:16:10,110 screen door open so that I can hear your voices. 244 00:16:13,130 --> 00:16:16,650 That's the illusion of presence. That is not being truly 245 00:16:17,050 --> 00:16:20,570 present. As Pastor Wayne would say, that is proximity, not 246 00:16:20,730 --> 00:16:24,330 intimacy. And when I'm in proximity 247 00:16:24,810 --> 00:16:27,690 to my children like that, something fascinating 248 00:16:28,250 --> 00:16:31,610 happens. I can hear that they are saying 249 00:16:32,010 --> 00:16:35,850 words. I can hear that they are speaking, but I'm 250 00:16:35,850 --> 00:16:38,930 not close enough to hear What they are 251 00:16:39,090 --> 00:16:42,930 saying. I can't hear the 252 00:16:43,090 --> 00:16:46,770 fine details of their voice. The same is true in our relationship 253 00:16:47,170 --> 00:16:51,010 with God and his word. If we love him and his word, but we spend 254 00:16:51,170 --> 00:16:54,850 no time with him or his word, then we can both know 255 00:16:55,250 --> 00:16:58,690 without a doubt that he has spoken, but we will have no idea what he 256 00:16:59,010 --> 00:17:02,530 has said. So David is 257 00:17:02,850 --> 00:17:06,609 declaring in this moment God's presence will no longer be 258 00:17:06,689 --> 00:17:10,529 an afterthought for his people. God's people will 259 00:17:10,689 --> 00:17:14,449 no longer be content with just knowing his presence is around if 260 00:17:14,529 --> 00:17:18,289 we ever need him. God will be the joy of his 261 00:17:18,449 --> 00:17:22,129 people, and his people will be diligent and purposeful to exalt 262 00:17:22,369 --> 00:17:26,209 him in everything that we do, because that is the glory and honor 263 00:17:26,769 --> 00:17:29,969 and praise that he deserves. Amen. 264 00:17:31,660 --> 00:17:34,900 Our undivided attention, our full worship. 265 00:17:35,340 --> 00:17:39,100 Let's continue to read, uh, verses 6 through 11. And 266 00:17:39,180 --> 00:17:43,020 when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah 267 00:17:43,100 --> 00:17:46,300 put out his hand to the Ark of God and took hold of it, for 268 00:17:46,380 --> 00:17:49,980 the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against 269 00:17:50,140 --> 00:17:53,980 Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there 270 00:17:54,300 --> 00:17:58,060 beside the Ark of God. And David was angry because the Lord had broken 271 00:17:58,380 --> 00:18:01,660 out against Uzzah, and that place is called Perez Uzzah to this day. 272 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:06,280 And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, how 273 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:10,360 can the ark of the Lord come to me? So David was not willing 274 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:14,440 to take the ark of the Lord into the City of David, but instead took 275 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:17,800 it aside to the house of Obed-Edom. And the ark of the Lord remained in 276 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:21,240 the house of Obed-Edom for 3 months, and the Lord blessed 277 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:24,840 Obed-Edom and all of his household. And I'm just blown away by 278 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:28,760 that, because as a father with 2 small children, if someone comes to 279 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:32,440 my house and dropped something off that just took out a man because he 280 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:36,440 touched it, I'd be like, get that thing out of here! 281 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:39,800 I, I won't be able to keep them alive in that instance. 282 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:44,280 Oh, but Edom has control of his household, let me tell you that. 283 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:49,480 Hello. And later on in scripture, he's actually elevated into full-time 284 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:52,440 Levitical ministry to minister to the Ark 285 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:56,470 there. So The start 286 00:18:56,630 --> 00:19:00,470 of the journey, joyful, celebratory. The Ark was at the top 287 00:19:00,550 --> 00:19:04,270 of the hill, and it's all gone downhill rather quickly. 288 00:19:04,630 --> 00:19:07,830 What happened? David gives us more detail in 1 Chronicles 289 00:19:08,150 --> 00:19:11,750 15:13, which is kind of a parallel telling of this 290 00:19:11,990 --> 00:19:14,950 story. It was because of you, the Levites, 291 00:19:15,830 --> 00:19:18,870 did not bring it up the first time that the Lord our God broke out 292 00:19:18,950 --> 00:19:22,630 in anger against us. We did not inquire of him 293 00:19:23,030 --> 00:19:26,530 about how to do it, in the prescribed way. 294 00:19:27,210 --> 00:19:30,730 They just didn't ask. Numbers 4:15 295 00:19:31,210 --> 00:19:34,970 says this. This is the prescribed way. When Aaron and his sons have 296 00:19:35,130 --> 00:19:38,970 finished covering the holy objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, 297 00:19:39,050 --> 00:19:42,890 when the camp is to set out, after the sons of Kohath 298 00:19:42,970 --> 00:19:46,650 shall come to carry them by the poles so that they 299 00:19:46,810 --> 00:19:50,660 will not touch the holy objects and die. These are 300 00:19:50,740 --> 00:19:53,700 the things in the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to 301 00:19:53,940 --> 00:19:57,700 carry. So we remember from earlier, the Philistines 302 00:19:57,940 --> 00:20:01,780 brought the Ark of the Covenant back on a cart, and David and the 303 00:20:01,940 --> 00:20:05,540 people are now attempting to move the Ark of the Covenant on 304 00:20:05,780 --> 00:20:09,540 a cart. How many of us know that the church is not 305 00:20:09,860 --> 00:20:13,700 called or created to carry presents using 306 00:20:14,020 --> 00:20:15,290 the methods of the world? Amen. Amen. 307 00:20:18,090 --> 00:20:20,970 And this tragedy happens at the threshing 308 00:20:21,210 --> 00:20:24,250 floor. This is a place where separation 309 00:20:24,650 --> 00:20:28,490 happens. Separation of the wheat from the chaff, 310 00:20:28,970 --> 00:20:32,810 separation of the fruitful from the unfruitful, the godly from 311 00:20:32,970 --> 00:20:36,730 the worldly. And this is, this is 312 00:20:36,810 --> 00:20:40,410 a hard lesson for King David. Of course, it's a hard lesson for 313 00:20:40,490 --> 00:20:44,300 us. The presence of God is not simply a privilege 314 00:20:44,700 --> 00:20:48,380 to enjoy, but it's also a 315 00:20:48,620 --> 00:20:51,540 holy responsibility to carry. 316 00:20:53,180 --> 00:20:56,820 And we should carry his presence carefully. 317 00:20:57,100 --> 00:21:00,940 We have been indwelled with the Holy Spirit. We have been given the gift and 318 00:21:01,260 --> 00:21:04,460 responsibility of reflecting Christ in the world 319 00:21:05,260 --> 00:21:08,860 in the way the word of God says. Not with our best 320 00:21:09,260 --> 00:21:12,300 ideas, not with the world's best ideas, but with 321 00:21:12,460 --> 00:21:16,300 his. Yet we see the church 322 00:21:17,500 --> 00:21:21,100 often attempting to carry his presence on these Philistine carts 323 00:21:22,220 --> 00:21:25,980 time and time again. It can look like clever marketing. 324 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:30,460 Uh-oh. It can look like catchy songs. It can look like softening 325 00:21:30,700 --> 00:21:33,820 truth. Why do we do 326 00:21:33,980 --> 00:21:36,560 this? I find that 327 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:41,360 we yield faster results. We can get there quicker, but 328 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:45,440 maybe in a superficial way. It requires less faith. 329 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:49,200 It requires less dependence on God. So the problem 330 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:53,120 is not the methods themselves, it's just the heart 331 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:57,120 posture behind them. Have we actually gone to God 332 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:01,760 to say, God, what do you want us to do in this? Have 333 00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:04,880 we gone to his word? It's not necessarily malicious. 334 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:10,480 We often have the best intentions of reaching people and exalting 335 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:14,320 Christ. That's what it's all about. When, uh, but our best intentions 336 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:18,320 do not replace God's instruction. Come on. They are 337 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:22,080 meant to form our best intentions. His ways 338 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:26,160 are not our ways, and his ways are better. And I'm 339 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:29,600 sure that this is personally humbling to David as a 340 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:32,320 leader, but he specifically says 341 00:22:33,530 --> 00:22:37,050 We did not inquire of him the prescribed way. 342 00:22:38,230 --> 00:22:41,530 Yeah. And there's something to be said about our collective responsibility 343 00:22:42,970 --> 00:22:46,410 as a fellowship, collective responsibility to 344 00:22:46,890 --> 00:22:50,410 carefully and be word-friendly 345 00:22:50,810 --> 00:22:54,410 carriers of God's presence. That's the idea of iron sharpening 346 00:22:54,570 --> 00:22:58,410 iron. So rather than place full blame on King David as a leader, I'm 347 00:22:58,410 --> 00:23:02,120 not gonna go there because he doesn't go there. He says we, so 348 00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:05,960 I'm gonna look at kind of all the characters involved in that, which I think 349 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:09,480 shows us something important. Uzzah, who touched the ark and died, 350 00:23:10,360 --> 00:23:14,200 was the son of Abinadab, where the presence— where 351 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:17,720 the ark, uh, was in his house all those years. He grew up 352 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:22,040 in this house. King 353 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:25,640 David is actually known as someone who has good 354 00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:29,870 communication with the Lord. He's not known as someone that doesn't talk to the 355 00:23:29,950 --> 00:23:33,790 Lord. So there is a sense here that they collectively 356 00:23:35,230 --> 00:23:38,270 represent seasoned believers who should know 357 00:23:38,430 --> 00:23:41,470 better, but just get a little careless 358 00:23:41,870 --> 00:23:45,470 here. And that perspective gives me some nuance that's very 359 00:23:45,870 --> 00:23:49,710 identifiable for me personally, and it's instructive for me. And 360 00:23:49,790 --> 00:23:53,310 I wanna show you this, uh, 2 Samuel 5:17-25. 361 00:23:54,100 --> 00:23:57,780 The Philistines come to fight David in the Valley of Rephaim 362 00:23:58,100 --> 00:24:01,780 twice, and each time David goes 363 00:24:01,940 --> 00:24:05,700 to the Lord and asks, should I go fight? And the Lord tells 364 00:24:05,860 --> 00:24:09,540 him yes each time, but he gives him different 365 00:24:10,340 --> 00:24:13,620 instructions both times. First time, go in 366 00:24:13,780 --> 00:24:16,780 head-on. Second time, go around the back. 367 00:24:18,900 --> 00:24:22,750 That speaks to me because I believe We are the most prone 368 00:24:22,830 --> 00:24:25,790 to ask God for help and direction when we are facing 369 00:24:26,110 --> 00:24:29,790 battles. Our natural instinct when there is uncertainty 370 00:24:30,430 --> 00:24:33,950 in front of us. However, we are usually the most likely 371 00:24:34,990 --> 00:24:38,750 to move forward in our own wisdom when we have this mix 372 00:24:38,990 --> 00:24:42,350 of good intention and this mix of experience of 373 00:24:42,510 --> 00:24:46,190 witnessing God moving in a certain way over a length of 374 00:24:46,270 --> 00:24:49,780 time, and we just get comfortable. It would be a 375 00:24:49,860 --> 00:24:53,300 disservice to you guys if we have an amazing worship service 376 00:24:54,420 --> 00:24:57,860 and I think, wow, those 5 songs really worked in that 377 00:24:58,020 --> 00:25:01,660 order. I don't do that. 378 00:25:03,300 --> 00:25:07,060 I have to go to the Lord and say, Lord, what this week? What 379 00:25:07,060 --> 00:25:10,900 do you have? And the Philistines getting 380 00:25:11,140 --> 00:25:14,740 the Ark of the Covenant back is enough to tell me that just because God 381 00:25:15,140 --> 00:25:18,260 allows something to happen doesn't mean his blessing is on it. 382 00:25:20,010 --> 00:25:23,850 Sometimes that's just his kindness, allowing his people another chance to seek 383 00:25:24,010 --> 00:25:27,690 him, another chance to depend on him, another chance to 384 00:25:27,850 --> 00:25:30,370 walk in his will for our lives. 385 00:25:33,610 --> 00:25:37,290 There were some first-time visitors who were visiting our church 386 00:25:37,450 --> 00:25:41,210 a couple of years ago. And anyone who knows me knows I have a 387 00:25:41,690 --> 00:25:45,210 terrible history with first-time visitors, because when I get in 388 00:25:45,610 --> 00:25:49,370 conversations with people for the first time, it's as if I've never spoken a 389 00:25:49,450 --> 00:25:53,030 day in my life. To a person. So, 390 00:25:53,350 --> 00:25:57,110 uh, and I think it was a setup because somebody very, uh, somebody wanted 391 00:25:57,350 --> 00:25:59,910 me to be the one that met them. So I go out into the foyer 392 00:26:00,790 --> 00:26:04,470 before service and we introduce ourselves to each other, and they tell me in 393 00:26:05,030 --> 00:26:08,790 transparency, they go, uh, it was a husband and wife and they 394 00:26:08,870 --> 00:26:12,630 had just gotten out of a recovery program. And they said what 395 00:26:12,710 --> 00:26:16,410 was very important to them was to find a church that had an 396 00:26:16,650 --> 00:26:20,250 altar time at the end where they could pray with elders. 397 00:26:20,570 --> 00:26:24,330 Springhouse has a rich history of doing that here. For 15 398 00:26:24,730 --> 00:26:27,370 years, it's happened quite a bit. That's how long I've been 399 00:26:28,090 --> 00:26:31,770 attending. So I'm thinking, okay, this is good. We keep talking, but 400 00:26:32,330 --> 00:26:36,170 they didn't know that we were at the tail end of a 4 401 00:26:36,250 --> 00:26:40,010 to 6 week series on the Holy Spirit. And each series 402 00:26:40,330 --> 00:26:43,930 was either like, uh, gifts of the Spirit or fruit of the Spirit. And every 403 00:26:44,570 --> 00:26:48,290 single week in this series, We had incredible altar 404 00:26:48,530 --> 00:26:52,370 times, not only during worship, but at the end of service, 405 00:26:52,610 --> 00:26:55,970 multiple times, both services. So I'm 406 00:26:55,970 --> 00:26:59,570 thinking, oh yeah, you want altar calls? 407 00:26:59,810 --> 00:27:02,770 We got them. We got 4 or 5 a day, you know. 408 00:27:03,730 --> 00:27:07,330 In my mind, I'm thinking this. Not only that, but this particular 409 00:27:07,970 --> 00:27:11,330 service was titled Holy Spirit. 410 00:27:12,770 --> 00:27:15,570 My expectations were at an all-time high. 411 00:27:16,690 --> 00:27:19,970 So now, have you ever said something and when it left your mouth you're like, 412 00:27:19,970 --> 00:27:23,090 I wish I could put that right back? This is what I 413 00:27:23,250 --> 00:27:26,290 said. I promise you 414 00:27:28,850 --> 00:27:31,810 there will be a time at the end of service for you to pray with 415 00:27:31,890 --> 00:27:35,570 somebody. Praise the 416 00:27:35,650 --> 00:27:38,610 Lord, I didn't actually have to come out for the last song. I was standing 417 00:27:38,930 --> 00:27:42,720 right back there behind that curtain when one of our pastors got 418 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:46,320 up to close the service, which would've been the altar time. And this 419 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:50,240 pastor, I'm not gonna name who they are, but they are known 420 00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:54,080 for having a prophetic gifting and hearing from the Lord with 421 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:56,960 accuracy. And she has the 422 00:27:57,120 --> 00:27:58,120 audacity. 423 00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:07,680 She has the audacity to get up here and 424 00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:11,460 say, the Lord's telling me We're gonna do something different today. And 425 00:28:11,540 --> 00:28:15,300 I was like, of course we are! You know? This is 426 00:28:15,540 --> 00:28:19,060 crazy! I'm back there, I'm just going, oh my gosh. 427 00:28:24,820 --> 00:28:28,500 Oh my gosh. She said, 428 00:28:28,660 --> 00:28:31,380 the Lord's showing me something different today. I feel like we should just sit in 429 00:28:31,460 --> 00:28:35,140 our seats instead of our prayer time and just 430 00:28:37,130 --> 00:28:40,970 Sit in the presence of the Holy Spirit. So that next week, 431 00:28:41,050 --> 00:28:44,890 miraculously, that couple is back at our church in 432 00:28:44,970 --> 00:28:48,330 a foyer. And as I'm walking up to them to apologize, 433 00:28:48,810 --> 00:28:50,810 they are literally laughing at me. 434 00:28:53,050 --> 00:28:56,890 Literally laughing at me. And they said, don't worry about it. 435 00:28:57,130 --> 00:29:00,890 The Lord really used that. We were in tears the whole time. 436 00:29:01,060 --> 00:29:04,820 And I said, well, I was too, but for a different reason. 437 00:29:11,540 --> 00:29:14,980 Only the Lord can use a situation or orchestrate a 438 00:29:15,380 --> 00:29:19,140 situation that can both heal somebody and correct a different person at 439 00:29:19,220 --> 00:29:20,020 the same time. 440 00:29:23,780 --> 00:29:27,510 That's why his ways are better. Amen. We have 441 00:29:27,670 --> 00:29:30,790 no chance to come up with something like that. 442 00:29:32,790 --> 00:29:36,630 I have been doing this long enough, and my theology was well-formed enough for 443 00:29:36,710 --> 00:29:40,390 me to know I cannot guarantee what 444 00:29:40,550 --> 00:29:43,310 is only for the Holy Spirit to offer. 445 00:29:44,790 --> 00:29:48,470 I had taken what God had been doing in previous weeks, mixed it 446 00:29:48,630 --> 00:29:52,190 with my good intentions that I wanted for these people. 447 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:56,280 Assumed he would do it in exactly the same way. 448 00:29:57,680 --> 00:30:00,320 And I say that to say it can happen that quickly 449 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:03,640 if we're not careful. 450 00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:10,800 Help me, Lord. Let's 451 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:14,160 see how David and the people put this into action. 452 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:18,080 We'll continue reading verses 12 through 15. And it was told 453 00:30:19,310 --> 00:30:22,670 King David that the Lord had blessed the household of Obed-Edom 454 00:30:23,150 --> 00:30:26,670 and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God. So David 455 00:30:26,990 --> 00:30:30,510 went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the 456 00:30:30,590 --> 00:30:34,430 City of David with rejoicing. And when those who bore the 457 00:30:34,510 --> 00:30:37,870 ark of the Lord had gone 6 steps, he 458 00:30:38,430 --> 00:30:41,870 sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal, and David danced before the Lord with all 459 00:30:41,950 --> 00:30:45,780 his might. So we can see now They're bearing 460 00:30:46,180 --> 00:30:49,940 the Ark of the Covenant on their shoulders. 1 Chronicles 15 461 00:30:50,260 --> 00:30:53,860 tells us that David had actually pulled together the correct, correct 462 00:30:54,100 --> 00:30:57,060 Levitical families to carry the Ark. So evidently 463 00:30:58,260 --> 00:31:01,780 they took that 3-month period to do a Bible study. 464 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:07,060 Hello. Before they made their decision, before they made their next 465 00:31:07,220 --> 00:31:11,060 steps. Can we just agree that it's a good thing 466 00:31:11,220 --> 00:31:14,770 to slow down? And do some Bible 467 00:31:15,170 --> 00:31:18,450 study. Yes. They are finally 468 00:31:19,250 --> 00:31:23,010 understanding the weight and 469 00:31:23,170 --> 00:31:26,730 the feeling of the weight of the calling they have been given. 470 00:31:27,170 --> 00:31:30,930 They're carrying his presence now, not only joyfully but 471 00:31:31,090 --> 00:31:34,690 carefully. And I love so much that it says 472 00:31:34,930 --> 00:31:37,730 they made sacrifices after 6 steps. 473 00:31:40,220 --> 00:31:44,060 That tells me we cannot allow ourselves to get too far along 474 00:31:44,220 --> 00:31:47,980 in our day, too far along in our decision-making, so focused 475 00:31:48,380 --> 00:31:51,500 on our goals that we forget the one whose presence 476 00:31:53,260 --> 00:31:55,540 empowers us to make them. 477 00:32:00,220 --> 00:32:03,740 As King David and the people are finally bringing the Ark into the city, 478 00:32:04,260 --> 00:32:08,100 David is dancing with all of his might. He's taken off his kingly garments. 479 00:32:08,100 --> 00:32:11,620 He's wearing a linen ephod with, um, that 480 00:32:12,100 --> 00:32:15,780 more closely resembles what a priest would wear. This is the Old Testament 481 00:32:16,260 --> 00:32:19,220 type and shadow of our High Priest and King 482 00:32:19,700 --> 00:32:23,220 Jesus, who would empty himself and humble 483 00:32:23,780 --> 00:32:27,260 himself in obedience to the point of death. 484 00:32:27,700 --> 00:32:31,380 And David begins blessing the people and distributing food to them because 485 00:32:32,130 --> 00:32:35,330 When we have truly tasted and seen the goodness of 486 00:32:35,490 --> 00:32:38,930 God, that is something that we are prompted to 487 00:32:39,090 --> 00:32:42,570 share. What a blessing. 488 00:32:43,010 --> 00:32:46,850 David was unaware that when he was coming into the city, his 489 00:32:47,010 --> 00:32:50,770 wife Michal was watching from a window, and it 490 00:32:50,850 --> 00:32:54,330 says that she despised him in her heart. 491 00:32:55,090 --> 00:32:58,130 Which brings us to this final exchange in our text today. 492 00:32:59,100 --> 00:33:02,860 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul 493 00:33:03,100 --> 00:33:06,860 came out to meet him and said, how the king of Israel 494 00:33:07,260 --> 00:33:11,020 has distinguished himself today, going around half naked 495 00:33:11,260 --> 00:33:15,020 in full view of the slave girls of his servants, as any vulgar 496 00:33:15,340 --> 00:33:18,060 fellow would. David said to 497 00:33:18,780 --> 00:33:22,620 Michal, it was before the Lord who chose me rather than 498 00:33:22,700 --> 00:33:26,470 your father. Or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler 499 00:33:26,710 --> 00:33:30,390 over the Lord's people Israel. I will celebrate before the Lord. I will 500 00:33:30,630 --> 00:33:34,390 become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in 501 00:33:34,470 --> 00:33:37,670 my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held 502 00:33:37,830 --> 00:33:41,590 in honor. And Michal, daughter of Saul, had no children 503 00:33:42,230 --> 00:33:44,110 to the day of her death. 504 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:54,160 It seems like there's bitterness there. I've heard 505 00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:57,920 some teachers simply say, simply describe her 506 00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:02,480 as a jealous woman, just unwilling to enter into 507 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:06,240 worship. Sometimes I'm prone to come to scripture 508 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:09,520 and go and just look for the black and white, the right and wrong, the 509 00:34:09,680 --> 00:34:13,200 good and bad, but that doesn't really do 510 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:17,279 justice to the nuance of life. To 511 00:34:17,359 --> 00:34:20,279 the nuance, nuance of the human heart. 512 00:34:21,839 --> 00:34:24,879 So I began to ask, like, what— is there more to that story 513 00:34:25,759 --> 00:34:28,639 there that reveal— that would reveal something a little bit 514 00:34:28,719 --> 00:34:32,559 deeper? And I kind of went back in the scriptures, 1 515 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:36,399 Samuel, just to see, you know, their life together. And this is 1 516 00:34:36,559 --> 00:34:40,399 Samuel 18. Listen to, uh, 20 through 23. Listen to how 517 00:34:40,639 --> 00:34:44,470 important these first words are. Now Michal, Saul's daughter, 518 00:34:45,270 --> 00:34:49,110 loved David. So something 519 00:34:50,470 --> 00:34:54,230 traumatic has happened there. How can she go 520 00:34:54,310 --> 00:34:57,630 from loving him to despising him? 521 00:35:00,150 --> 00:35:03,670 And it goes on to say, when they told Saul that she loved 522 00:35:03,830 --> 00:35:07,350 David, the thing was agreeable to him. Saul thought, I will give her to him 523 00:35:07,430 --> 00:35:11,030 that she may become a snare to him, and that by the hand of the 524 00:35:11,110 --> 00:35:14,910 Philistines And, and the hand of the Philistines will be against him. Therefore 525 00:35:15,310 --> 00:35:19,150 Saul said to David for a second time, you may be my son-in-law today. 526 00:35:19,230 --> 00:35:23,070 Then Saul commanded his servants, speak to David secretly, saying, 527 00:35:23,550 --> 00:35:27,070 behold, the king delights in you, and all the servants love you. Now therefore 528 00:35:28,030 --> 00:35:31,710 become the king's son-in-law. And David says, is it trivial in your 529 00:35:31,950 --> 00:35:35,790 sight to become the king's son-in-law? I am a poor man 530 00:35:36,350 --> 00:35:39,800 and lightly esteemed. So that word in the Hebrew, 531 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:43,200 lightly esteemed, is the same as undignified. 532 00:35:45,240 --> 00:35:48,760 So that means Michal once 533 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:52,680 loved David for the very thing she now despises him 534 00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:53,840 for. 535 00:35:59,240 --> 00:36:02,240 This is what I see through their story. 536 00:36:03,650 --> 00:36:07,490 Her dad Saul used her as a 537 00:36:07,650 --> 00:36:11,250 pawn in the game, in his game. 538 00:36:11,490 --> 00:36:15,330 That's hard stuff. Later on, scriptures 539 00:36:15,410 --> 00:36:19,250 tell us that when her dad was coming to have David killed, she helped him 540 00:36:19,650 --> 00:36:23,330 escape. And then her father married 541 00:36:23,570 --> 00:36:27,210 her off to another man. That's really difficult. 542 00:36:28,450 --> 00:36:32,180 And when David finally becomes king, he Demands that she be 543 00:36:32,340 --> 00:36:36,180 brought to him. And we learn as she's being brought, her husband is 544 00:36:36,340 --> 00:36:38,780 actually following her and crying. 545 00:36:41,700 --> 00:36:45,540 Worship team, you can come out. When I see all 546 00:36:45,700 --> 00:36:47,260 that context— 547 00:36:50,740 --> 00:36:53,960 let me say this about context. Context is so important for us. Yes. 548 00:36:57,230 --> 00:37:01,070 When there's a groove in a song, in a worship song that hits just 549 00:37:01,230 --> 00:37:05,030 right, it gets a little something going in me. 550 00:37:06,910 --> 00:37:10,110 And if you didn't know anything about me, you might look at me and go, 551 00:37:10,110 --> 00:37:13,710 that's really distracting that he's up there doing that, or trying to— 552 00:37:13,950 --> 00:37:16,910 what? It's not called dancing, I guess. 553 00:37:18,430 --> 00:37:22,190 Or it could be encouraging. Some of you might not know 554 00:37:22,350 --> 00:37:26,050 that I have a scar on the back of my neck. That's 555 00:37:26,130 --> 00:37:29,330 about this thick. Oh 556 00:37:29,330 --> 00:37:32,930 yeah. From a car accident. 557 00:37:35,650 --> 00:37:39,170 And the surgeon who went in said that I was 558 00:37:39,330 --> 00:37:42,330 centimeters from being paralyzed. 559 00:37:44,610 --> 00:37:47,130 So with that context, 560 00:37:49,010 --> 00:37:52,600 this becomes a miracle Yeah. Regardless 561 00:37:53,080 --> 00:37:56,920 of how it looks. Context 562 00:37:57,160 --> 00:38:00,840 is important here because I don't see her simply 563 00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:04,280 as a jealous woman that should just get over it 564 00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:09,480 and worship anyway. And 565 00:38:09,640 --> 00:38:13,400 that's not what we've said during this whole time. We're not saying worship anyway 566 00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:17,210 and be dismissive of anything. We're saying, 567 00:38:17,610 --> 00:38:20,570 see the greater glory, the bigger picture in 568 00:38:20,650 --> 00:38:24,410 Jesus. I see the heart of a person that has been 569 00:38:24,570 --> 00:38:28,090 dealt a very difficult hand, and when her suffering is brought 570 00:38:28,410 --> 00:38:32,170 into view, it allows me to have compassion that I 571 00:38:32,250 --> 00:38:35,610 didn't have before. And 572 00:38:36,170 --> 00:38:39,850 compassion is important for the image bearers of Christ 573 00:38:40,090 --> 00:38:43,610 to have, because it was compassion that moved 574 00:38:43,930 --> 00:38:47,650 Jesus To minister to those 5,000 hungry 575 00:38:47,970 --> 00:38:51,490 souls, and his compassion that will move us 576 00:38:52,370 --> 00:38:56,130 to minister to the lost, to minister to the brokenhearted. 577 00:38:57,170 --> 00:39:01,010 And I believe that is what moves and ministers to 578 00:39:01,090 --> 00:39:04,530 the heart of God and glorifies him, which is our goal. 579 00:39:09,890 --> 00:39:12,390 Could I have a few Would 2 people come up that would be willing to 580 00:39:12,470 --> 00:39:14,870 pray since I can make that decision today? 581 00:39:23,030 --> 00:39:26,870 Suffering and bitterness is not just something that we're going 582 00:39:26,870 --> 00:39:29,350 to help others get through. 583 00:39:30,950 --> 00:39:34,630 Suffering and bitterness was— will test us as believers as 584 00:39:34,790 --> 00:39:38,630 well. Suffering was in David's life, but it led 585 00:39:38,790 --> 00:39:42,400 him to humility. And the danger 586 00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:46,560 of bitterness that I see revealed in this text is this: when I see 587 00:39:46,640 --> 00:39:50,080 Michal despising David for the very thing she used to love 588 00:39:50,640 --> 00:39:54,240 and not even acknowledging the presence of God at all— she 589 00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:57,920 can't see it— that tells me that bitterness can cloud 590 00:39:58,240 --> 00:40:02,080 our vision from what is true and pull our focus 591 00:40:02,640 --> 00:40:06,000 away from Christ. When I see her hiding 592 00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:10,150 behind that window, I see A heart that has created 593 00:40:10,550 --> 00:40:13,910 a hardened but fragile wall of separation, 594 00:40:14,870 --> 00:40:18,710 an image of herself that must be maintained so that she does not 595 00:40:18,790 --> 00:40:22,470 have to be hurt again. And maintaining that 596 00:40:22,790 --> 00:40:26,470 image is exactly what is keeping her from 597 00:40:26,630 --> 00:40:29,950 the grace of God that's in her midst. 598 00:40:30,790 --> 00:40:34,550 So King David, in shedding of his kingly garments in 599 00:40:34,630 --> 00:40:37,780 this undignified way, is teaching us Any 600 00:40:38,500 --> 00:40:42,340 image that we have taken on that does not reflect Christ or 601 00:40:42,500 --> 00:40:46,260 pulls our focus from Christ or restricts our worship is not worth 602 00:40:46,900 --> 00:40:49,140 maintaining and must be surrendered. 603 00:40:51,300 --> 00:40:54,980 Ephesians 4:31-32. Let all bitterness 604 00:40:55,380 --> 00:40:59,140 and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from 605 00:40:59,220 --> 00:41:02,580 you, along with malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, 606 00:41:02,900 --> 00:41:06,570 forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. 607 00:41:10,250 --> 00:41:13,770 The way we come overcome the great 608 00:41:14,330 --> 00:41:17,930 trauma of suffering and bitterness is we look to the 609 00:41:18,170 --> 00:41:21,610 greater glory and forgiveness given in Christ. 610 00:41:22,490 --> 00:41:25,370 And I imagine during a service here on any given week, 611 00:41:26,810 --> 00:41:29,770 we have a picture, that same picture of hearts 612 00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:34,280 Here, hearts that are overflowing with praise like David, 613 00:41:35,240 --> 00:41:38,760 and hearts that are fighting to get there 614 00:41:39,400 --> 00:41:42,440 as well. There is room 615 00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:46,680 for both here to worship 616 00:41:47,800 --> 00:41:51,640 anyway, in any way you can, with all your might. 617 00:41:53,240 --> 00:41:55,800 Worshiping with all your might doesn't have to look 618 00:41:56,930 --> 00:41:59,410 externally the same as it did for David. 619 00:42:01,250 --> 00:42:04,930 It is not measured externally. It is measured through obedience and 620 00:42:05,090 --> 00:42:08,690 surrendering. For Jacob, who was at the end of his life, 621 00:42:08,930 --> 00:42:12,610 worshiping with all his might looked like bowing on his staff. 622 00:42:15,250 --> 00:42:19,010 For the woman who struggled with the issue of blood, worshiping with all of her 623 00:42:19,090 --> 00:42:22,060 might looked like fighting through the crowd just to To touch 624 00:42:23,100 --> 00:42:25,740 the garment of the one who could heal her. 625 00:42:27,100 --> 00:42:30,860 For the widow, worshiping with all of her might looked like bringing the last 2 626 00:42:31,180 --> 00:42:33,660 coins that she had as an offering. 627 00:42:35,900 --> 00:42:38,540 So this morning, if you need prayer, please come. 628 00:42:40,380 --> 00:42:44,220 If you want to take time to kneel in the altar and surrender to 629 00:42:44,300 --> 00:42:47,540 Jesus what has been restricting your worship, please come. Amen. Come on. 630 00:42:49,140 --> 00:42:52,500 Let's spend some time these last few moments 631 00:42:53,300 --> 00:42:56,580 just exalting Jesus, because Jesus 632 00:42:57,540 --> 00:43:00,820 is the only one with the power, power 633 00:43:01,380 --> 00:43:04,100 to make a sorrowful heart always rejoicing. 634 00:43:05,860 --> 00:43:07,860 Amen. Let's worship. Would you stand, please?