Praise That Brings The Presence

 

Psalm 22:3

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

 

Inside the ark were 3 things.

1. The 2 tablets that had the 10 commandments written on them.
2. A golden pot of manna.
3. Aaron’s rod that budded.

These were to Israel the evidence of God’s existence.

They were the testimonies of God’s willingness and desire to help His people.

The Ark of the Covenant was where Gods justice and judgment toward sin was satisfied. It is referred to almost 200 times in the Old Testament.

 

The ark was a rectangular wooden chest (acacia wood) overlaid with pure gold, inside and out. (3 3/4 feet long x 2 1/4 feet wide) it had a gold molding or crown around the top.

The ark rested on the dirt floor of the Holy of Holies with its four gold rings that the gold poles were inserted through and left permanently in position.

 

This was the Ark of the Covenant, which was mentioned first before all the other furniture in the tabernacle, and it was the most sacred. The lid on top of the ark was traditionally known as the Mercy Seat, which was considered a separate piece of furniture but one with the ark. The ark was right in the center of the camp and the glory cloud was seen above the mercy seat and above the back portion of the tabernacle.

 

The Ark of the Covenant was a picture of Jesus Christ. The Acacia wood speaks of the indestructible humanity of Jesus. He was 100% man. God Himself became flesh and suffered the agonies of the human experience. He was tempted, He was weary, He thirsted, and He had to learn the Scriptures and learn obedience and to hear God’s voice and be led by the Spirit as a man. Not only does the Acacia wood tell us that He was 100% man but the pure gold that overlaid the wood teaches us that He was 100% God.

 

 

 

The Ark of God represented the Presence of God.

It was to the nation of Israel what the Name of Jesus is to the Church today.

 

As long as Israel was in possession of the Ark of God, there was a blessing that came to the nation.

When they took the Ark into the battlefield, they were able to defeat their enemies.

When they set it in someone’s home, the home that it was set in was blessed.

 

There was something incredibly powerful about the Presence of the Ark; it represented the Very Presence and Power of Almighty God.

 

At one point in Israel’s history the Ark was taken by the enemy of Israel, the Philistines and for generations Israel struggled without the presence of God in their nation.

 

But something happened.  A young boy by the name of David was anointed King of Israel.  David was nothing more than a common shepherd boy.  Except for one thing…

 

David was a worshiper.  David loved to worship God.

 

In our reading we find him later in his life and established in his kingdom desiring to bring once again the Presence of God to the nation of Israel.

 

 

 

 

 

2 Sam 6:1 Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.

2 And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.

3 And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart.

4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark.

5 And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.

• Worship

6 And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it.

7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.

8 And David was displeased, because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perezuzzah to this day.

9 And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and said, How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?

• Reverence, honor, respect, not casual
• You cannot handle God any way you want to.  His presence can only be entered into one way – worship.

10 So David would not remove the ark of the Lord unto him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite.

11 And the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months: and the Lord blessed Obededom, and all his household.

There is a presence of God that will bless, encourage, heal, strengthen, Holy Spirit.

12 And it was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness.

13 And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.

14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.

15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.

• Sacrifices, worship, music, dancing, gladness, humility.

16 And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.

• She was humiliated.  How could the KING act in such a base-common way?

What she did not know was that David had found a secret for inviting the presence of God into his life.

Praising God was more important to David than the grandeur of his Kingship.

The kingdom was a bi-product of his worship to God and he above all people knew this.

David never forgot where he came from. – Shepherd boy singing on the hillside to God.

17 And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

18 And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.

19 And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house.

20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!

21 And David said unto Michal, It was before the Lord, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore will I play before the Lord.

22 And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.

There it is…

David lays it all on the line.

“I’m going to be a worshiper.”

David said, “You can laugh at me all you want!”

You can try to criticize me.

You can try to embarrass me.

But I’m going to be a worshipper!

23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.

 

 

 

But David knew the secret for handling the Presence of God.

He knew there was only one way you can move God.

There was only one way that you could put your hands on God. And that was with worship and praise.

 

Inviting God’s presence is not dependent on how good or bad a situation is.

It is no harder on the worst day of your life to invite His Presence than it is on the best day of your life.

 

Your circumstances do not dictate His availability.

But your praise and worship will invite His Powerful presence.

 

True praise and worship is not hard to do.

You do not have to be in the Church for decades to learn how to worship God.

The bible clearly explains to us how to worship Him.

I talked about this 2 weeks ago.

I even explained Jesus example of how we should pray and how Worship should both precede and conclude our prayers.

 

• If you want the kind of Presence of God that Blesses.
• If you want the kind of Presence that protects.
• If you want the kind of Presence that helps you fight your battles.

 

Then understand it all starts with Worship!

 

 

The very first thing that David and his men did was to worship.

 

5 And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.

13 And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.

14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.

15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.