We are wired for worship! Several years ago a businessman here in Brecksville said to me, “I don’t like that word ‘worship.’ Sounds soft. It’s not for me.”
Well, last week, we learned that worship is why we were created. It’s what gives us fulfillment. It satisfies. It gives us right priorities. More joy, peace, hope. If you want any of those blessings, then worship is for you. When your blessings go up to God, His blessings come down to you.
Blessing. I want the blessing of God. Right now, mom is in bad health; she just broke her hip. As a result, my brothers at odds on how to take care of her. I have a son launching a career. Another son is entering into college. Another son is entering into some tough times at middle school. My wife is fighting high blood pressure and arthritis attacks. The stakes are high with the choices our church is making right now. I need the blessing of God.
How about you? What whitewater are you trying to get through? What quicksand are you in? What mountain are you seeking to climb? I’m guessing you want God’s blessings, too.
Did you know that the worship of God is a key to unlock the blessing from God? When you worship, you win!
The win of worship
Text: II Samuel 6:1-9, p. 231
Last week, we talked about the 4 quadrants of worship.
Q1 worship… the wrong God, the wrong way.
Q2 worship… the wrong God, the right way.
Q3 worship… the right God, the wrong way.
Last week, we learned about a man named Uzzah. And we saw that every now and then, God displays His holy wrath against Q3 worship. Uzzah worshipped the right God the wrong way. And God in His justice, judged Uzzah. He died. There is danger in quadrant 3.
Q4 worship… the right God, the right way.
What quadrant are you in? Q3 worship is where most of us are. But we have to now that worshipping the right God the wrong way is not OK. Q3 worship gets justice. It’s dangerous!
II Samuel tells us about two men who had opposite experiences in worship. One man was a Q3 worshipper. The other was a Q4 worshipper. This series is designed to help us worship the right God the right way. See, Q4 worship gets blessings. Wrong way worship will hurt me. Right way worship will help me. It all depends on whether I am a Q4 worshipper or not.
Today, we’ll meet a man who was a Q4 worshipper who experienced God’s blessings in a powerful way. His name? Obed-edom. Ever heard of him? He’s not all that famous in the Bible. Want to make you son’s middle school experience a nightmare? Name him Obed-edom. I’ve read the Bible through many times. But this guy never really registered with me. He only appears in the Bible a few times. When you are reading, it’s easy to read right over his name.
(Get ready to hit “play” for the video interview.)
But one day, a friend named Nick Oleff said he was writing a book on Obed-edom. That really put Obed-edom on my radar screen.
(Play video interview here.)
Let me set the context for Obed-edom’s story. We’ve got to start with the ark of God. The ark was one of the most sacred symbols for the Jewish people. It symbolized the very presence and power of God. But when this story starts, it had not been the center of worship for many years. It had been kept in the house of a man named Abinadab for a long time. David, the great king of Israel, wanted to go get the ark to set up a worship center in Jerusalem. And the ark would be a symbol at the center of worship.
When David was bringing the ark to Jerusalem something went wrong. A man named Uzzah touched it to keep it from slipping off a cart.
God’s word clearly said that the ark was not supposed to be moved on a cart, but on the shoulders of priests by the use of long poles. Their shoulders could touch the end of the poles but not the ark itself. The ark of God was so holy that no human was supposed to touch it.
Uzzah touched it anyway. God is often patient and merciful in spite of our sin. But this time, He said, “Enough is enough.” Uzzah was struck dead by God for his irreverence. He had ignored God’s word which said, “Don’t carry the ark that way and don’t touch it.” Remember: there’s danger with Q3 worship.
So, instead of taking the ark into Jerusalem, David decided to take the ark to the house of this man named Obed-edom. Last week, we were warned from the life of Uzzah. This week, we can be encouraged from the life of Obed-edom. Let’s read…
9And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and he said, "How can the ark of the LORD come to me?"
David saw Uzzah struck dead for wrong way worship. David was afraid to move it further.
10So David was not willing to take the ark of the LORD into the city of Davisd. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.
Evidently, Obed-edom lived near the place where Uzzah died. David said, “You keep it, Obed-edom.” And Obed-edom opens his door to worship – to the presence and power of God. Yes, Obed-edom is a funny name, but we went online and saw that according to jewishencyclopedia,com, “Obed” means the servant who honors God in the right way. Right God right way worship. Q4 worship is what Obed-edom was all about.
11And the ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his household.
The same God that showed up with holy justice to Uzzah for his wrong way worship showed up with gracious blessing to Obed-edom for his right way worship.
12And it was told King David, "The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God."
He was blessed so greatly and so suddenly – within 3 months! – that there was a buzz. News about how much Obed-edom had been blessed had reached the King’s palace. There’s no natural explanation for what’s been happening to Obed-edom. God is at work in this man’s life. The blessing was because the presence and power of God was moving into his life in fresh ways.
Without the power and presence of God in our lives, we will be living under our own power. Worship brings into our lives the touch of the supernatural. When your blessings go up to God, His blessings come down to you.
Blessing –
the favor of God;
You bless the righteous, O LORD; You cover him with favor as with a shield.
Psalm 5:12 (ESV)
There’s a businessman here who keeps running into wall after wall at work. You need God’s favor. But worship is low priority for you. You need to know that when your blessing goes up, God’s blessings come down.
the touch of the supernatural;
The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26 (NKJV)
There’s a homemaker here whose kids are really struggling. You need the touch of the supernatural. But you can’t seem to find room in your day for worship. You need to know that when your blessing goes up, God’s blessings come down.
the goodness of God poured out in abundance.
Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
Psalm 128:1-2 (ESV)
There’s a young adult here who can’t seem to get going in a career. You need the goodness of God poured out in abundance in your life. But making one-on-one worship real rarely happens for you. You need to know that when your blessing goes up, God’s blessings come down.
We can’t manipulate God to get His blessings. “If I do ABC, God does XYZ.” No. We don’t ask God to bless our plans. We ask Him to plan our blessings.
Let’s look at Obed-edom’s blessings and see what God might just choose to give to us.
For our Q4 worship, the Lord blesses us…
… personally. v. 11b
… and the LORD blessed Obed-edom…
The Bible doesn’t spell uot what these personal blessings were. But the ancient Jewish historian, Josephus, wrote that Obed-edom was a poor man. But suddenly, during these three months on intense worship, his net worth shot up so much that his neighbors grew green with envy.
How might the Lord bless you personally if you were white-hot with worship?
For our Q4 worship, the Lord blesses us…
… relationally. v. 11c
Living in the presence and power of God changed Obed-Edom’s family. Look at verse 11.
… and the LORD blessed… all his household.
I’m sure his home life wasn’t perfect, but it was blessed. How? We don’t know for sure. Maybe he and his wife starting looking a little more attractive to each other. Not a bad blessing. Maybe his kids actually started listening to him.
Worship changed Obed-edom’s family. we read in I Chronicles 26:8 that he had 62 children and grandchildren who followed in his footsteps as rights way worshippers.
What did Obed-edom know that caused God to bless his family? He was not uncomfortable in the presence of God. He knew how to worship.
If you want God to bless your family, you need to learn to worship – to tap into the presence and power of God.
For our Q4 worship, the Lord blesses us….
… completely. v. 12b
The LORD has blessed… all that belongs to him…
His life was changing for the better. Maybe his car ran a little better. What would it be like if God blessed all that belonged to you?
Now, a word about blessings. They are not just physical and temporal. The most important blessings are spiritual blessings. More peace. More patience. More power. More joy. More satisfaction. More love.
I’ve often said, If you want to know how rich you really are, add up what you have that money can’t buy and death can’t take away… and that will tell you how rich you are.” Obed-edom was rich in intangible and spiritual blessings.
When our blessings go up to God, His blessings come down to us. We don’t lose when we sell out to serve God. We win when we worship.
For our Q4 worship, the Lord blesses us personally, relationally, and completely.
Bottom line, if I want these kinds of blessings, I need to connect the dots to worship! If God blessed Obed-edom for right way worship, then He will bless me, too, for right way worship. I see five lessons from this man’s life.
To be a Q4 worshipper, I must…
1. … learn how.
To get to know this man you’ve got to know a little about the Gitties, the Levites, the Kohathites, (and the mosquito bites).
Obed-edom was from a town named Gath-rimmon. That’s why he was called a Gittite. He was from Gath. Now, Gath-rimmon was a place where the Levites lived (Joshua 21:24-25). So, not only was he a Gittite, he was a Levite. The Jewish people were made up of 12 family lines or clans or tribes. They were named after their forefathers. One of those clans came from a man named Levi. And he was Obed-edom’s great great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather. In fact, he was in a certain branch of that family, the Kohathites, put in charge of moving the ark. (See Numbers 4:1-20.)
Why is that important? The Levites led… in worship. It’s very likely that Obed-edom had been trained in how to worship the right God the right way.
From ages 30-50, the Levites served to help the people worship. They took care of the most holy objects. These are the people who learned how to do Q4 worship. They passed along the “how to” from generation to generation.
So what? We have to learn how. We have to get some training about how to do Q4 worship.
Let me give you three little ideas today.
Take a walk.
Worship ought to happen as much on the outside of the church as on the inside. We are made in God’s image to give Him glory. We are wired for worship. But God knew we would have trouble. So, our great God has put around us tons of simple things that can point us toward worship.
You can take a nature walk and worship God.
Think birds. We love our feathered friends, don’t we? Especially when we see the evidence of birds on our cars. In the most important sermon in history, Jesus in Matthew 6 tells us not to worry. God takes care of the birds. And He will take care of us. When we see a bird, we can say, “God, I worship You as my Caretaker. I don’t have to worry.”
Think clouds. The Bible says that one day Jesus will come for us to take us to heaven. It’s called the “rapture.” We’ll meet the Lord in the clouds. He has a home for you and me in heaven. Here in NE Ohio, there are some pretty impressive homes. But they are dumps compared to what God has for us in heaven. When we see clouds, we can say, “God, I worship You as the great homemaker. I look forward to the day when You will come for me.”
Buy a book.
Several of us on staff have read a little book called, “The air I breathe” by Louis Giglio. It’s a quick read on how to do what you were created to do. My guess is that most of us didn’t have moms or dads that tough us much about how to worship. So, we’ve got to access resources that can help us learn how. Read a book.
Sing a song.
I have with me my prayer book. I take walks around the neighborhood and use this book as a worship guide. I’ve written tons of verses in here and reminders of what I want to pray about. I put prayer requests in here.
On one page, I’ve written the characteristics of God. His justice. His mercy. His love. His faithfulness. And beside soe of the characteristics, I’ve written the names of songs.
Great is Thy faithfulness.
Great is Thy faithfulness.
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand has provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.
Once I was stopped by a cop. Evidently, the neighbors were worried about a guy walking around the neighborhood with a black book at 6:30 AM singing songs. “what are you doing?” “Praying.” It’s hard to arrest a guy for praying!
I know that song didn’t sound so great. But I believe it sounded great to God. He loves it when we sing love songs to Him.
Will you learn how to worship? To be a Q4 worshipper, I must learn how.
2. … get guts.
I’ve always admired people who step up strong. Like those soldiers from Brookpark who were killed in Iraq. We need to pray for their families and those soldiers still serving there. They stepped up strong.
So did Obed-deom. Think about it. If you know the history of the ark, you’ll know that it was no small thing to say, “Yes. I’ll take this into my house.”
When the ark had been captured for a short time by an enemy nation, the Philistines, they suffered. Remember, Q1, Q2, Q3 worship is dangerous. The Bible says that these Philistines broke out with – are you ready for this? – hemorrhoids. They said, “enough of this. Get the ark out of here!” So, they sent it back on a cart into Israel. The ark stopped. And the people there were understandably curious. They did what God said not to do. More wrong way worship. They uncovered the ark and looked inside to see the 10 commandments, the manna, and the rod of Aaron. 70 died. Now, Obed-edom has just seen Uzzah die for touching the ark. And David says, “Hey, can I park this here for awhile?” What would you say?
Obed-edom showed courage. And so should we.
Some of us won’t even pray before our meals in a restaurant. Some of us don’t want to be seen at school or at work with a Bible. We won’t clap our hands even in church. We won’t riase our hands in surrender to God. We won’t lift our voices.
Will you get guts? Flex some worship muscle. Don’t let the world keep you from Q4 worship. Don’t let anything intimidate you from worship. To be a Q4 worshipper, I must gets guts.
3. … find room.
This couldn’t have been convenient for Obed-edom. One writer said that maybe the ark had a special "house" of its own while at Obed-edom’s house. He had to find room. He had to make a lifestyle adjustment.
Find room. Get rid of something so you can bring in the worship of God. Worship will require that you adjust your lifestyle. Turn off your TV. Get up early. Quit a hobby. Leave work earlier. Make room for the ark. You can’t say, “I have no time. I can find no room in my lifestyle for You, Lord.”
Find room in your family routine. Worship with your family. Serve God from your home. Pray and praise in your house. That is a way to bring a blessing to your family.
The ark stayed in the house of Abinadab for many years. But there is no record of a blessing to Abinadab because he kept the ark. It’s not keeping the ark as a good luck charm that brings a blessing. No. It’s Q4 worship that brings the blessing.
See, you can have the Bible in your house and not get a blessing. You can have pictures of Jesus on the walls in your house and still get no blessing. It’s when you find room in your day to worship from your heart that you get a blessing. To be a Q4 worshipper, I must find room.
4. … make noise.
Another way to say it? Raise the roof!
David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres, and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy. So, the Levites appointed… the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel.
I Chronicles 15:16-17a, 18b (ESV)
I love the phrases here. Play loudly! Raise sounds! On harps and cymbals and lyres. That’s a lyre. This man had a skill to sing and play an instrument. And he used those skills to worship.
How about you? Do you have a skill that can be you are hiding? That you should be using in worship, but you’re not? Sign up to make noise.
You say, “I’m not very good.” Play at home. Clap your hands during a service here. Take part in the choir – and, by that, I mean join in when the whole congregation is singing. The Bible says, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.” Show your passion. Use whatever skill set you have to worship. To be a Q4 worshipper, I must make noise.
5. … show up.
If you are going to be a worshipper, you have to keep on showing up.
Obed-edom and Jehiah were to be gatekeepers for the ark.
I Chronicles 15:24b (ESV)
Gatekeepers. Sometimes, it’s translated “doorkeepers.” Obed-edom didn’t only make noise, he was a kind of a guard at the worship center. Some gatekeepers were in charge of the furnishings. Others were in charge of the offerings. I Chronicles 9:27 tells us that gatekeepers would sometimes spend the night close by and would open up the tabernacle in the morning. (See I Chronicles 9:22-33). It doesn’t sound like a glamorous job.
Obed-edom could have said, “I kept the ark in my house. 3 months of worship? That’s enough. I have blessings enough. I’m not going to be a doorkeeper. I’m a musician. Let someone else do the grunt work at church.”
No. He showed up for service. He showed up for worship. Over and over again. And he did some of the dirty little jobs no one else would do. He made it possible for others to come. He opened up.
Lots of people do thankless jobs at church. Ushers. Greeters. Custodians. Window-washers. Painters. Bathroom cleaners. Grass-cutters. They make it possible for all of us to worship. God likes that!
Can’t sing on stage? Show up to do something else.
You don’t lose when you worship. No! It’s not a waste of time. You gain!
* * *
Listen, God knows when you are trying to manipulate Him. You can’t scam God. He just longs for you to want to be with Him.
I love it when my youngest son, Evan, sees me on the couch and just jumps on me. He’s not trying to get anything. He just wants to be close. Now, what do you think I’m thinking? “I wonder how I can keep blessings form this kid!” No! I’m thinking, “Wow. This feels good. What can I do to bless my son.”
God has feelings, too. He wants you to say, “The nearness to God… that’s my good. Just being close to You, Lord, is blessing enough to me. I want to sit with you awhile.”
A truth to take home: When my blessings go to God, His blessings come to me.
Obed-edom could have said, “No. You’re not bringing that ark into my house. I don’t want to worship that way. I don’t want to change my lifestyle that much.” He could have been a Q3 worshipper. But his blessings went up to God and God’s blessings came down to Him. That can happen for you, too.
A verse to take in: “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Oh magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together” (Psalm 34:1,3; ESV).
A change to take on: How will I make time to bless God this week?
You have a decision to make today. You can choose to become a Q4 worshipper and get al the blessings that will come with it. Or you could say, “I’ll just settle for Q3 worship” and miss the blessings of God. It’s up to you.
You will only make significant strides in your life as a result of the blessing of God. And we’ve learned to day that the only way to tap into those blessings is right God, right way worship.
