“God’s Power in our Lives”
1 Chronicles 13:14
INTRODUCTION:
David, the great king of Israel wanted to go and retrieve the Ark of the Covenant which represented the very presence and power of God.
The Ark had not been in the midst of the people for some time. It had been stolen by the Philistines, then moved to Beth Shemesh and finally ended up at Kirjath Jearim where it had been since the reign of Saul.
1 Chr. 13:5 says, “So David gathered all Israel together, from Shihor in Egypt to as far as the entrance of Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kirjath Jearim.”
On the way back one of the Israelite men, Uzzah, touched the Ark and died. So instead of taking the Ark into the City of David, the King decided to take the Ark to the house of a man called ‘Obed-Edom’
ILLUSTRATION: You can imagine the surprise of Obed-Edom. Here is the entire assembly of Israel outside his home. (knock, knock – act out coming to the door in surprise) The king of Israel is at his door and says, “Excuse me, Mr. Obed-Edom, we need to leave this Ark with you for a short time”. “Say what?” would have probably been the response of Obed-Edom.
But Obed-Edom allowed the Ark in his home, and that brings us to today’s text:
1st Chr. 13:14 “The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months. And the Lord blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that he had.”
QUESTION: What was so special about the Ark that when it was left at the home of Obed-Edom, that his entire house received a blessing?
The answer is the Ark contained the
very PRESENCE AND POWER OF GOD
I. The Presence and Power of God changed Obed-
Edom’s Home life
A. The Bible declares that his house and ALL that
was in it was blessed
1. Now I don’t think his life was perfect, but
it was blessed
2. He probably started noticing his life
changing [– His car ran a little better,
his wife looked a little more attractive
and his kids actually started listening
(smile)]
B. This blessing was in response to the presence
and power of God moving into his life
1. When we allow God to come in and start
blessing us, He will change our lives
C. Without the power and presence of God in our
lives, we will be living under our own power
1. How many of us are happy to live our lives
without the power of God?
2. How many of us are willing to have church
without the power of God? Just go through the
motions!
3. How many of us speak about worship, but
never experience the power of God?
II. The Presence and Power of God changed Obed-
Edom’s priorities
A. One day there came another knock on the door of
Obed-Edom’s house
1. It was David again, returning for the Ark
2. I can imagine that ol’ Obed-Edom didn’t want
to part with the presence of God
B. David began retrieving people for singing before
the Ark
1. 1st Chr 15:16 “Then David spoke to the leaders
of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be
the singers accompanied by instruments of
music, stringed instruments, harps, and
cymbals, by raising the voice with resounding
joy.”
2. A hand went up in the back – it was Obed-Edom
(15:18)The following men were chosen as their
assistants: Zechariah, Jaaziel,
Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab,
Benaiah, Maaseiah,Mattithiah,
Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom and
Jeiel, the doorkeepers.
3. He said to himself, “the Ark needs singers?
I’ll sing!”
c. David then looked for people to be doorkeepers
1. A hand went up again – it was Obed-Edom (15:23)
And Obed-edom and Jehiah guarded the Ark.
2. Here he is again saying, “the Ark needs a
doorkeeper – that’s me!”
d. Then David asked for people to be ministers before
the Ark when it was finally in place within the new
tabernacle David had built for it
(16:4)
4David appointed some Levites to serve in front of
the LORD’s ark by offering prayers, thanks, and
praise to the LORD God of Israel.5Asaph was the
head; Zechariah was second, then Jeiel,
Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah,
Obed Edom, and Jeiel with harps and lyres. Asaph
played the cymbals.
1. Again we find the name of Obed-Edom, now a
minister before the Ark
E. Finally David said, we need gatekeepers to minister before the ark regularly (16:37)
37David left Asaph and his relatives to serve
continually in front of the ark of the LORD’s
promise, as the daily work required. 38David
also left Obed Edom and 68 of his relatives
ëto serve thereû. Obed Edom (Jeduthun’s son) and
Hosah were to be gatekeepers.
1. Obed-Edom didn’t miss a beat, but became a
regular gatekeeper of the tabernacle
2. He totally allowed the power of God to change
him to the point that his priority was on the
worship of God and nothing else
3. He so experienced the power of God that there
was nothing asked of him, that he was unwilling
to do
III. The Presence and Power of God changed
Obed-Edom’s family
A. Not only did Obed-Edom become a gatekeeper for the
Ark of God – But we read in chapter 26 and verse 8
that he had 62 descendants that followed in his
footsteps
1. 1st Chr. 26:8 “All these were of the sons of
Obed-Edom, they and their sons and their
brethren, able men with strength for the work:
sixty-two of Obed-Edom.”
B. He not only allowed the power of God to work in his
life, but he was an example to his family of how
the presence and power of God changes lives
C. We can sometimes feel overwhelmed when our family
members are not Christians – but it is only by
allowing God’s power to flow through us that we
will ever be able to see a change in them
1. Obed-Edom allowed God to make a change in his
life, which in turn influenced his family
2. If you want to influence others for Christ, you
first have to allow God to take control and
empower your own life
CONCLUSION:
The Worship of Obed-Edom was in response to allowing the Power of God into his home
Obed-Edom could have chosen not to allow the Ark into his home – He could have responded negatively and never allowed God’s power to change his life
REMEMBER: Only under God’s power are we going to be able to make significant strides:
• In our families,
• In our worship,
• In our relationships
• In our lives
But it relies on our response to God. Is your response going to be negative? Or are you going to stand in the crowd with your hand raised and say, “God, pick me”?
