All across our land and around the world, thousands of worship services are taking place today. The purpose of these worship services is supposed to be to worship God in a way that honors and pleases Him. I wonder how many accomplished that purpose? Will we accomplish it today in our service?
I would like for us to consider a story today that has bearing on this question. Turn to 1 Chronicles 13:1-22...
This is the story of David attempting to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem. Let us begin by asking what was the ark of God, what was its purpose? It was to be a symbol of the presence of God in the midst of His people, Israel. It was also the place where God would meet with Moses and speak to him about the concerns of His people. But above all it was a symbol for the very presence of the Living God among His people.
It was made of acacia wood, a cubit and a half broad [a cubit was app. 18”] so the ark was 27” wide, 27”high and 45” long (Ex.25:10-22). It was overlaid with the purest gold. Its upper surface or lid, which was called the mercy-seat, was surrounded with a rim of gold; and on each of the ARK OF THE COVENANT 2 sides were 2 gold rings, in which were placed 2 gold-covered poles by which the ark could be carried (Numbers 7:9; 10:21; 4:5,19, 20; 1 Kings 8:3, 6). Over the ark, at the two extremities, were 2 cherubim, with their faces turned toward each other (Leviticus 16:2; Numbers 7:89). Their outspread wings over the top of the ark formed the throne of God, while the ark itself was his footstool (Exodus 25:10-22; 37:1-9).
I don’t know if you remember what was inside the ark. There were the stone tablets God gave to Moses containing the law, a jar of manna and Aaron’s rod which had budded.
But let me share with you what struck me about this story in 1 Chronicles 13. Usually when we read this passage and its parallel passage in 2 Samuel 6, we focus on Uzzah and the fact that they should not have been transporting the ark by a cart pulled by oxen. And 2 Samuel 6:7 says that when Uzzah put out his hand to steady the ark because he thought it might fall over that the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah “and God struck him down there for his irreverence.” Now there are a couple of issues we could get into at this point. We want to focus on other things today but let me just mention them to you and maybe stimulate you thinking a little.
1. One is this whole issue of blaming someone else for our actions – in other words we are not responsible for our choices and actions. But I notice in this story that David, the king is the one who ordered the ark to be brought up to Jerusalem. David was the one who gave approval for the plans and method of how to move the ark. Uzzah was simply following the orders given to him. But the Bible says that God struck him down for HIS irreverence. Now in our present society there would be a great outcry. People would say, “You can’t blame Uzzah. He was simply following orders. It’s David fault this was being done wrong, not Uzzah’s.” And in a sense you would be right. It was David’s responsibility and the priests’ responsibility to have made sure the ark was transported in the exact way God had commanded. And I’m sure we have some lawyers today who would want to sue God for his actions against Uzzah saying that God had no right to hold Uzzah accountable. Nevertheless, the Bible says God struck Uzzah down for his irreverence - for the choice he made in showing irreverence to God and that emblem which was a symbol of His presence. God held him accountable.
This is something you need to think over in light of the modern day thinking in our society.
2. Another issue we could get into here is this question: do you think Uzzah thought he was being irreverent? My guess is that he did not. But God did! This opens the door to a lot of things we could discuss. There is a lot happening in Christianity today from music styles to evangelistic methods, to how we dress everyday and when we come to church, to personal tastes, to how we do church today – many, many things. And people will say they do not see anything wrong in them - that you are just being old fashion and behind the times. We’ve got to reach people where they are today. And of course there is truth in that, but the question is not whether you or I or they think it is right or wrong but what does the Lord think. Would He say we are being irreverent towards Him even though it has a Christian stamp on it?
As I said, I am convinced Uzzah did not think he was being irreverent, but God said he was & struck him down. That ought to put some fear in us & cause us to do some serious examining our life.
As I said, these are other issues we could get into. If nothing else, I’ve given you plenty to talk about around your lunch table today. But let me go back to what I was struck with from this story.
-13:1-4 - Anything wrong so far? Not that I can detect. David started off right. God had apparently convicted David’s heart about the fact that Israel had been neglectful in their worship of God. And so David wanted to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem. Where was it now? It had been captured by the Philistines but they had had all sorts of problems and curses brought upon them because of it so they gave it back to Israel. And since that time it had been in the town of Kiriath-jearim (1 Sam.7).
David was now king and he was calling the people back to God. He was once again putting emphasis on spiritual matters. And because of this God had put the desire into David’s heart to bring the ark to Jerusalem.
Let me ask you a question: has God ever put a desire in your heart? A genuine desire, a good desire, one that would please Him? I am not talking about some worldly or fleshly or selfish desire but a genuine desire from God. He’s put it in your heart. Great - but do not stop there. Just because the desire is a godly one does not mean you can go off and do it and carry it out anyway you want. You must also seek the Lord for the specifics as well.
See, the Lord sometimes puts something in our hearts and we realize it is from Him and we rejoice. And because it is genuinely from Him, we think we should now go forth like gangbusters and carry out that desire. But we forget that we need to continually hear from Him as to how and as to the timing as we carry out what He has put in our hearts.
That was David’s problem. God had put a godly desire into his heart, something that would bring glory to the Lord. But then he went and carried out that desire without consulting the Lord, without reading what God has said. He carried it out in a way which seemed good to him.
I’ve see the same thing happen many times. God stirs someone’s heart concerning some thing. He gives them a burden about something. Maybe it has to do with starting a new ministry. But then they go forward and try to carry out and fulfill that desire according to their own wisdom, understanding and strength. Many times when God leads someone to start a new ministry it ends up falling apart because the person did not want to listen to godly advice or be accountable because, after all, this is their baby so to speak. God has told me to do this. And then they sit around trying to figure out what happen and why God did not bless their efforts even had supposedly abandoned them.
They say, “I was so sure it was of the Lord.” And many times it probably was in the beginning. Remember the Psalmist said that the Lord was lamp unto my feet and light unto my path. And you remember having explained to you that lamps back then could only light a couple of feet in front of you. We need to remember we need the Lord’s wisdom and guidance for each step we take including how to carry out a desire He has put in your heart.
But let me point something else out to you here in this story.
-13:8 - What do you have going on here? There is a tremendous celebration going on. Israel did this sort of thing. Go back and read about some of their celebrations, about their national feasts, times when they would come together as a nation. Usually it was a massive, elaborate affair.
And here they are again. They’re celebrating, they’re singing. They have brought out the musical instruments: lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets - instruments that were commonly used in their worship. I imagine they were rejoicing and praising God. This was a celebration where anyone would go home truly moved by this celebration. If you can picture it in your mind, it must have been a truly moving event.
But here is a question for you: what do you think the Lord thought of it? Now wait a minute, you might say. They were worshipping the Lord. This was not turning into something fleshly or sensual as sometimes had happened in the pass. There is nothing to indicate there was anything wrong going on in the sense of it being fleshy or sensual or was beginning to head in that direction. It appeared to be a real and genuine attempt to worship God, to offer thanksgiving to Him that the ark was returning to its proper place.
Now the point I’m trying to get at is this: you can celebrate and worship (or think that you are) and all the while be doing it in a way that is displeasing to God.
Do you think the Lord accepted their praise and worship that day? They were doing the right thing - worshipping God. They were doing it in the right way - the way they had done it numerous times before with God’s approval and acceptance. Everyone that day was probably deeply moved by the ceremony, everyone except the One person that mattered the most - The Lord Himself.
I remember reading of some great pianist, I believe it was. And after the concert everyone would be applauding, standing ovation, but I remember reading that this musician would totally ignore all the applause. Instead, his eyes were fixed on 1 individual - his teacher and mentor and if his teacher was clapping then he knew he had done a good job. But everyone in the concert hall was applauding except his teacher then he viewed his performance as a failure and unacceptable.
I think that is a picture of I Chronicles 13. Everyone was applauding, so to speak, except the one who mattered the most.
Let me share with you 2 thoughts that come to my mind from this story:
1. We can worship God in “the right way.” We can do the right things. We can do it in a worshipful way and it still not be acceptable to God because there is disobedience in our lives, as it was here with Israel. Please catch what I am saying here. Visitors can come to our services and leave thinking “wow, what a worshipful service.” You can sit there in your chairs look impressive in your worship. Tears can even come to your eyes. But it all can be worthless if He is not pleased, if our worship is not acceptable to Him. We have forgotten that in our day.
Our worship services today are geared around making them acceptable to the worshipper, were they pleased, were they moved. And what has happened in many services, if I could borrow some words from the Apostle Paul and use them in a little different context, is that we have begun to worship the creature instead of the creator in our emphasis.
The question as we leave today is not did I preach a good sermon, is not whether Joe picked good songs, is not did we have good and moving testimonies - all of which are important - but the question is was God pleased with your worship of Him this morning? And you want to know something? He can be pleased with your worship of Him even if I preach the worst sermon you have ever heard and we sing not a single song you know.
2. Here is another point I want to throw out to you. There is a great movement in Christianity today to worship God in more acceptable ways, more appealing ways, in ways that we like. Now let me say, I have no hidden agenda here, but in light of this story there are some things we need to be asking ourselves.
In the Book of Judges, toward the end of the book, chapters 17-18, there is a very poignant story. It revolves around a man by the name of Micah. Micah stole quite a bit of money from his mother. And then he went out and built his own personal mini temple. Then he hired someone to be his own personal priest. You see, he did not like the way it had been done in the past. He did not like having to go to the hill country of Ephraim, where the tent of meeting was, to make his sacrifices to God. He felt some things needed to be changed. He liked his way of worshipping God better than the old way.
The issue was - Micah was determined to worship God in the way he wanted to. If that does not describe our day I don’t know what does, from our churches to the people who do not go to church but claim to have a relationship with God. We have a country full of people, inside and outside of the church, who are determined to “worship” God the way they want to. But that is the 1 thing you cannot do if your god is greater than the worshipper. And if he is, then he dictates the terms not the worshipper. We are not free to worship God in any way we choose. And yet the move today is to make church and church services as user friendly as we can. We want them to enjoy their experience. Now maybe that can be done and it’s worthy of being talked about, but we must always keep first and foremost in our minds the question is God pleased. Is this acceptable to God?
Do you realize the primary purpose of worship is not to please the worshipper but the one who is worshipped? Do you realize that we could have a moving worship service, but the Lord not be pleased?
Maurice Irvine’s editorial–“One Overriding Passion”
In summing up let me leave you with these 2 thoughts:
-rejoice when God places a desire in your heart – just make sure you continue to go forth in carrying out that desire with His wisdom and guidance. Start right but also finish right. Do not just thing if you get the green light you can go blazing ahead? God gives the desire but God must also direct the carrying out of that desire.
-in thinking about our worship - if you had been present on this day when they brought up the ark of the Lord, you could not have helped but have been impressed an moved. But God was neither impressed nor moved. Let’s make sure our worship is acceptable to Him. Let’s make sure He is the focus and not ourselves.
I wonder of all the church services that have or will take place today - how many brought delight to the heart of God? Did ours? And the answer to that hinges more on us individually than on how well the preacher preached or the worship leader led.
