Introduction
We continue our series, The Construction of a Kingdom. We have looked into the life of David, a shepherd boy, a king's servant, a giant slayer, a cave dweller, a leader - but ultimately, God's man chosen to occupy the throne. We have observed his character, his faith, his obedience, his teachability, yet, we have not looked in depth to the most telling virtue of this man after God's own heart; his worship. The most telling desire of David for worship is found in verse 9, How can the ark of the Lord come up to me?
Worship is an essential to kingdom construction - and most fail to conceive it's importance.
A rather large family living out in the country had never been a very religious sort; however the father and mother had recently trusted Christ and had become Christians. They were very excited to take their children to church and were just thrilled to get to know the congregation and the pastor of the local country church. The father had invited the pastor and his wife over for dinner, but prior to their coming, he warned his five kids to be on their best behavior. The large dinner table was set with turkey and dressing, green beans, rolls, gravy, corn, carrots, turnips, and pecan pie. The father directed everyone to sit at the table and before he could ask the pastor to pray and bless the meal, the 6 year old son, Billy, had stuffed a roll in his mouth and was reaching for the gravy. The oldest child, a 9 year old daughter, leaned to her brother and whispered, Billy, the preacher's here. We haven't bowed our heads and talked to the plates yet.
We laugh, but to some, worship is only a function and it's significance we fail comprehend. To some worship is merely being in the right place and saying the right words on a Sunday morning. Everyone here has been created to know the Lord's design and purpose for their lives; a purpose to worship and glorify God. Ephesians 1:11-12, In Christ we were chosen to be God's people. God had already chosen us to be his people, because that is what he wanted. And God is the One who makes everything agree with what he decides and wants. We are the first people who hoped in Christ. And we were chosen so that we would bring praise to God's glory (NCV).
Some here this morning may have been led to that they have no redeeming qualities and lack any reason to be accepted by anyone. But the truth declares, He has chosen us! We are created to glorify, to praise, to worship God! The events in 2 Samuel are carefully comprised to teach us very important truths about worship, namely that worship must be acceptable. It is a grand picture of acceptable worship.
We can answer David's question, How can the Ark of the Lord come to me? by answering, What is acceptable worship?
Theme: Acceptable worship transports the Lord's presence and power into our lives.
There are four issues for us to regard concerning acceptable worship...
1 The Heart of Acceptable Worship. Vv. 1-5
The events of 2 Samuel 6 describe an historic era for Israel. David the shepherd boy is now David the King of Israel. God has been with David from the time of his anointing by the prophet Samuel, in the valley fighting Goliath, on the run from the evil King Saul and his army, in the caves with other disenfranchised men. God has been preparing David for this moment - to inaugurate the kingdom with a call to the whole nation to worship God.
King Saul's leadership had been poor and he relaxed in spiritual conviction. Because of this failure in leadership, the spiritual convictions of the people became mediocre. Emphasis on worship in the tabernacle had drifted and a very sacred furnishing for the temple had been carted away by the Philistines. Verses 1 and 2 indicate that David planned to bring the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. There are some things we must understand about the Ark of the Covenant.
1.1 In the time of David, worship could only be performed in the tabernacle, a designated place of God's design and instruction. Worship involved incense, perfumes, sacrifices, altars and most importantly - the Ark of the Covenant. Nothing was more intimately connected with the presence and power of God than the Ark of the Covenant.
1.2 What did it look like? Ark means box or chest. It's exterior and interior were gold plated. Inside it contained articles from the time of Moses, most notably, the tablets on which the law was inscribed. On opposited ends of the lid weret two golden angels were mounted in a bowed position of worship. Between them was perhaps the most significant part - the "mercy seat" - a golden, grated, see-through covering.
1.3 Verse two signifies its importance. It was the symbollic representation of the very presence of God. It was the place where the glory of God's presence rested.
(1) 1 Samuel 4:21-22 Ichabod, the glory of God has departed Israel.
(2) It was a pledge of God's presence in holiness, power, majesty, and glory.
(3) The Ark is a parallel to the Holy Spirit in our lives. Ephesians 1:13-14 says, In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
The heart of David can be seen in the plan to bring the Ark back into the tabernacle in Jerusalem. He wants to restore proper worship among the nation that God might be glorified. Psalm 132 captures the heart of David... It was an embracing of the holy presence and rule of God for David's life and the kingdom. David would say, I may be on the throne of Israel, but I desire for God to properly be enthroned upon my life and the people of Israel.
That's the heart of acceptable worship. God, I only want to give you praise. I recognize all that I have is from you. I will not rest until I have known Your holy presence in my life, my family, my children. It is the heart of acceptable worship that acknowledges that God must occupy the central position of our lives. It is the heart of acceptable worship to render all glory and attention to the Lord. It's also the heart of the acceptable worshiper to bring the presence of God into their church, their home, their jobs...
Is your heart involved in acceptable worship this morning? Matthew 6:21 says, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Are you treasuring God with your heart this morning? When it comes time to give worship to God, do you give your best? Your all? Is your heart filled with wonder and amazement before the presence of God.
Psalm 138:1 I will praise You with my whole heart; before the gods I will sing praises to You.
Psalm 111:1 Praise the LORD! I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.
Psalm 119:10 With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
It's a matter of attitude. Complacency, apathy, indifference, disregard for worship is unacceptable. God is interested in whole heart worship, a heart undivided in its loyalties.
2 The Truth of Acceptable Worship. Vv. 6-8
Even while David's heart was right the next events taught him a valuable lesson about worship. After placing the Ark on a new cart, David instructed two men, Uzzah and Ahio, to transport it amid a grand display of music performed by David and all the house of Israel.
Uzziah and Ahio were Kohathites. The Kohathites had one task and that was to bear the Ark of the Covenant. One of the basic principles they learned was to never touch the Ark, because it was sacred. Number 4:15 warned about the proper proper porcedure for carrying the Ark by saying, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. Furthermore, the Ark was designed to be carried as poles were inserted through several golden rings fixed to its rim.
David, Ahio, and Uzzah, being disobedient to the divinely ordained method, allowed this representation of God's glory and presence to be carried on a cart. Along the way, it shifted and Uzzah reaches out to touch the Ark to stabilize it and he dies. It simply says, God struck him there for his error.
Why? God is infinitely holy and He will not compromise holiness in how He is worshiped. Be very careful of how you approach the presence of the Lord. Uzzah's response reflects a casual and sloppy view toward his responsibility toward the presence of the Lord. Verse 8 tells us the David became angry because of the Lord's judgment against Uzzah.
The point, though it is painful for David, is this, acceptable worship cannot be separated from worshiping God in truth. Their worship stood condemned because, even with the best intentions, God would not accept worship that deviated.
But wait a minute preacher, weren't they sincere. Sincere enthusiasm isn't enough in acceptable worship. Shiite Muslims will slit their scalps once a year and then beat the sores with the flat of their swords in worship to Allah. Many Buddhists in Thailand will pierce themselves with swords while induced in a demonized trance because of their sincere loyalty to their gods. They are sincere and yet, sincerly wrong.
In John 4:23-24, Jesus describes true worship, But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
Another word for true would be acceptable…
Once there was a small jazz club in New Orleans. In a corner of that club sat an old, dilapidated piano. All of the jazz artists complained about the piano because it was dreadfully out of tune and in terrible disrepair. The piano players in visiting bands dreaded playing it. The jazz singers loathed singing along with it. Every band that played the club along their circuit wished they could transport their own piano. After years of listening to hundreds of musicians complain, the owner of the club decided to do something about the broken down piano. He had the piano painted.
You can worship with tears, shouts, lifted hands, beautiful music. You can sing the right songs and feel emotionally moved. You can feel like you're really worshiping... and all the while, be painting a piano that needs desperately to be tuned.
God will only accept worship that is done in truth; worship that obeys God. Because He wasn't, the Ark moved no closer to Jerusalem.
3 The Obedience of Acceptable Worship. Vv. 9-13, 17-19
Worship is the right action of a right heart. Psalms 47:7-8 says, For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding. God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. Worship is not simply an ecstatic experience having no meaning or content. It recognizes, values, and practices truthful worship. It is obedience.
David's great question comes in verse 9, How can the Ark of the Lord come to me? It represents a point of learning in David. 2 Samuel 6 is a sparse account of the events, but 1 Chronicles 15 describes what happened next in greater detail... Vv. 13-16
The right carriers were in place, carrying the right way. Right sacrifices were being offered. Now, David's got it right. He realized the error and made the corrections. Expedience is never better than obedience. Acceptable worship demands obedience and David made shure that everyone followed through. Acceptable worship cannot exclude obedience. David's lesson is a lesson each of us must learn. Are we acceptable to God in our worship? The answer is obedience.
The key is God's Word... We have to allow God's Word saturate and dominate our lives that we may be filled with the truth.
3.1 Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
3.2 Psalm 119:34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
4 The Spirit of Acceptable Worship. Vv. 14-16
Upon the Arks arrival in Jerusalem, David and all of Israel complete the picture of acceptable worship for us: They worshiped in spirit. It was fervent, exhuberant, and free. Great joy was released in a proper display of worship.
What does it mean to worship in spirit? If obedience is the right act of worship, an acceptable spirit is the right attitude in worship. The two must go together. Did you come this morning in the right spirit of worship? Did you come in joyful freedom?
David could rejoice because he had accomplished what God had placed in his heart with obedience and vision. Because of it, he was free to dance, sing, and shout before the Lord's presence. The ark of God's powerful, majestic presence was in place and the people could worship God properly.
You will find that the closer you find yourself to the Lord in truth, obedience, and a heart toward Him, the freer you will find yourself in worship and faith.
What are we looking for at Christian Life Center? Not half-hearted lazy commitment, but whole-hearted worship. Not disregard for truth, but forthright obedience and lives filled with the Word of God. Not rigid, ritualistic worship, but an expression of free and joyous worship. When we gather here to worship we want freedom in spirit to respond in truth.
Conclusion
What does acceptable worship accomplish? At CLC, I am convinced, that if we will worship God acceptably, we will bring people who desperately need God into His powerful, life changing presence. As in David, God will transport His power and purpose into our lives when we worship Him acceptably. God will anoint us with the Holy Spirit to bring His presence to those who are in despair.
What does it take? It will take a wholehearted commitment, a love for the truth, forthright obedience, and the expression of our affection to the Lord in freedom.
An enemy of Napoleon was caught. He was an impressive soldier. Instead of executing him, Napoleon's man branded his right hand with an N. He asked what brand stood for and they said, You belong to Napoleon and you will serve him the rest of your life. The man laid his hand on a stump and with an axe, he cut off his right hand. They demanded to know why he would do such a thing and he responded, The hand belongs to Napoleon. I don't. I will never belong to Napoleon. By our worship, we pledge our allegiance to Jesus and cut our loyalties to everything else.
