Encountering God – Part 8 – Awe in Worship
Review
Last week we talked about why God’s glory or presence doesn’t show up in worship or in a gathering of His people. Some folks would notice if He wasn’t there, others would see no difference.
I talked a bit about three reasons why God’s glory departs, do you remember them? Do you still have your notes?
Lost their fear of God.
Tolerated sin.
Faked their spirituality.
Ever since then, the first point has been ringing in my ears. “They lost their fear of God.”
The “fear of God” I am talking about is the awestruck reverence that one has when they comprehend God as God.
I feel as if the Holy Spirit is saying to me, and I assume to our church, that we need to recapture and have a renewed understanding of the fear of God so that we might truly encounter the One who we seek in worship.
David learns to fear God:
Last week, we learned about the event where the Ark of God was captured by the Philistines.
The Ark of the Covenant was built by Moses to symbolize the presence of God in the middle of His people. It was a 4 x 2 x 2 box covered in gold, with seraphim angels on top and a gold seat between the seraphim which symbolized the meeting place between God and man. It was on this seat, called the “mercy seat” that the blood of the atoning sacrifices was applied, thereby making it possible for sinful man to approach God. (salvation)
The Ark was a sacred object for Israel. It represented God’s presence. Last week, we learned that the people of Eli’s day (approx. 1100 BC) were trusting in the object instead of God. And when they lost the Ark in a battle, they came to the realization that they had lost the presence and glory of God from their midst. It spent just a short time with the Philistines and after a number of plagues, the Philistines sent it away on a cart led by two cows and it arrived at the house of Abinadab in Judah. It stayed there for many years, during the entire reign of King Saul, until David became king.
I want to show you how this story ends.
2 Samuel 6:1-11 Then David mobilized thirty thousand special troops. 2He led them to Baalah of Judah to bring home the Ark of God, which bears the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. 3They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the hillside home of Abinadab. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab’s sons, were guiding the cart 4with the Ark of God on it, with Ahio walking in front. 5David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all their might, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments—lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals. 6But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah put out his hand to steady the Ark of God. 7Then the LORD’s anger blazed out against Uzzah for doing this, and God struck him dead beside the Ark of God. David was angry because the LORD’s anger had blazed out against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah (which means "outbreak against Uzzah"). It is still called that today. 9David was now afraid of the LORD and asked, "How can I ever bring the Ark of the LORD back into my care?" 10So David decided not to move the Ark of the LORD into the City of David. He took it instead to the home of Obed-edom of Gath. 11The Ark of the LORD remained there with the family of Obed-edom for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household.
Recap: David was moving the Ark to Jerusalem. They had loaded it on a new cart, just like their enemies, the Philistines had used to send the Ark back to Israel. They were celebrating, happy, excited and worshipping exuberantly. There was just one thing wrong. They did not have a proper awe or respect for God and the objects that God called holy.
Because they were ignorant of the fact that Moses had been told by God to transport the Ark with poles that went through the rings in the sides. It was designed for the priests to carry on their shoulders, so that they would not touch it (because it was too holy too touch).
But instead, they were acting irreverently, having it move on an oxcart instead of with poles as prescribed by God. They were moving it in an oxcart like a common piece of luggage instead of on poles on their shoulders in a manner that a King would be transported.
Folks, let me distinguish a point here: Do you understand what HOLY means?
It means like none other, completely separate, entirely different, uncommon, special, in the case of God, it means perfect, sinless and without flaw. Completely other.
Compare this definition to the way David and the Israelites were moving the ark like a “common piece of luggage” – that is, they were treating it as if it were important but not HOLY.
My hat isn’t reverently worn b/c I am not a fan of NE. I wear it for common usage, like ANY OTHER CAP. My OSU and Indians caps, I wear as special clothing.
While that is an insufficient example, it is vital to understand special vs. common.
As the story continues, the cart is making its way to Jerusalem. Everything is fine until the cart it a rough spot in the road.
How do you respond to God went you hit a rough spot in the road? Do you still honor God?
So the oxcart hits a bump and the Uzzah, in an innocent gesture, tries to keep the Ark from toppling over and touches the Ark, he is struck dead by God.
Who was Uzzah? (this is important!)
Uzzah and Ahio were Abinadab’s sons. They had the Ark in their home for some time now. They were used to being around it. They were around it 24/7. They had never seen any negative reaction from God from the care of the Ark before. Maybe that was part of the problem. Familiarity breeds contempt, or at least presumption towards that which one is familiar with.
Reverence leaks out of people who have gotten too comfortable with God.
Uzzah laid unholy hands on a holy thing. He trivialized God. In Numbers 4:15, God had given a solemn warning. He said, "If you touch any holy thing, you shall die."
Here is where God teaches the difference between common and holy, between Himself and us. (God and Man, sin problem, holy and common, we need Jesus to solve this dilemma!)
When God’s holiness (anger) blazed against the priest who touched the Ark, David was angry at God (a common reaction to disaster).
Also, it says in verse nine, 9David was now afraid of the LORD and asked, "How can I ever bring the Ark of the LORD back into my care?"
God had demonstrated His holiness, otherness, and untouchable nature and it led David, who had a pretty high regard for God, to FEAR God in a manner that he had not before.
As a result, God struck the people of Israel with a sense of n awe for His holiness and untouchable nature.
Notice that the people rejoiced before the Ark as it was being brought in.
But awe and reverence was missing.
For many Israelites, they likely had never seen or perhaps heard of the Ark.
It was an object from their past, a relic.
It was an important symbol, but it had lost its place of association with God’s Holiness.
David’s question was one of amazement, “How can I ever bring the Ark of the Lord back into my care?”
In other words, if God is this holy, how would I ever be able to retrieve His Ark, the symbol of His presence.
God is too holy to even move the symbol of His presence.
He is understanding God’s holy character and is despairing over what he is learning. God is so holy, He is truly unapproachable.
David, called the man after God’s own heart, is learning how entirely holy God truly is.
Last week, I shared an illustration about a young boy who had caught a praying mantis and kept it in a box in his bedroom. Praying Mantis are creepy bugs, almost alien like. (eat bugs, each other and even hummingbirds). You can guess, that evening when he went to look in the box at his new “pet” it was gone. He couldn’t sleep. He lay awake all night wondering, worrying that the freed creature would land on him and maybe even bit his ear or his nose. You see, in the box, you feel safe from it. Its under control. It is a pet, but once outside the box, it becomes unpredictable, fearful, awesome. God is the same way.
We don’t reverence God as we ought, when He is safely tucked inside the boxes of our understanding, our theology, our control, or in the box of our familiarity.
David suddenly had a new view of God who is holy, powerful and holds His people accountable. No longer can he take Him lightly. He must now reassess his situation.
God is holy and will hold every person accountable. Some earlier than others, but all will make an account for every word and deed they have done.
David refuses to take the Ark any further. He sees Obed-Edom’s house. The ark is taken to Obed-Edom’s house.
Obed-Edom has to decide what he is going to do with the Ark.
He is allowed to house the Ark because he is a Levite. They carry the Ark into the house of Obed-Edom.
The Bible states that God blessed Obed-Edom and everything that pertain unto his household because God was in their house. Mom and dad got along better. The family was happier. The money went further. The children got along with each better other and their parents. Revival came to their home. Do you revival in your home? Do you desire for it to be known in your neighborhood that God is visiting and blessing your home? In this revival God wants to bring miracles to marriages and change the very character of our lives.
Obed-edom knew what slaughter the ark had made among the Philistines that imprisoned it and the Bethshemites that looked into it some years before.
He saw Uzzah struck dead for touching it, and perceived that David himself was afraid of meddling with it; yet he cheerfully invites it to his own house, and opens his doors to it. Why? Because the King told him too? Or did he have such a humble and reverent regard for God that he understood every breath was a mercy from God anyway?
The same hand that punished Uzzah’s proud presumption rewarded Obed-edom’s humble boldness, and made the ark to him a blessing!
What was the difference? Awe and reverence!
God’s presence and glory, properly understood, brings blessings to all who revere Him.
David worships with all his heart.
2 Samuel 6:12-16 Then King David was told, "The LORD has blessed Obed-edom’s home and everything he has because of the Ark of God." So David went there and brought the Ark to the City of David with a great celebration. 13After the men who were carrying it had gone six steps, they stopped and waited so David could sacrifice an ox and a fattened calf. 14And David danced before the LORD with all his might, wearing a priestly tunic. 15So David and all Israel brought up the Ark of the LORD with much shouting and blowing of trumpets. 16But as the Ark of the LORD entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she was filled with contempt for him.
What a lot of folks miss when they read this account is WHY David brought back the Ark of God after the disaster three months before. The answer is found in V. 12: Then King David was told, "The LORD has blessed Obed-edom’s home and everything he has because of the Ark of God."
David is learning the character of God is not limited to His holiness. David now has to do another rethink of his theology. Ultimately, it takes David 3 months to sort out what He doesn’t know about God to lead him to take a step of faith and bring the Ark the rest of the way to Jerusalem.
This time they do it right. This time they carry the Ark on poles on the shoulders of the priests. This time they offer sacrifices…that is an act of worship, to the Lord. And David dances before the Lord boldly.
David is worshipping like he had never worshipped before. Sacrifices every 6 steps, disrobing and blissfully ignorant of what people thought of him.
What changed in David’s life?
I believe A renewed fear and awe of God changed David’s worship! It can change ours as well!
If you are taking God for granted, if you have Him in your pocket, or if you have just enough God to feel comfy and safe…then a dose of fear will reinvigorate your view of God and change your worship!
True worship comprehends the nature of the God whom it worships.
Holiness AND love are two of the prominent and defining characteristics of our God. .
When we grasp the holiness of God, and the punishment our sin deserves…THEN realize the great love that God showed by sending His Son to pay the price of our sin and to adopt us as His children, THEN WE begin to worship with more than our lips.
The fear of God leads us to much deeper, authentic worship.
1 Sam 12:14 “But be sure to fear the LORD and sincerely worship him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you.
God has not changed. He could still terrify us should he choose. If not for Jesus, we would have every reason to tremble.
Mike Yaconelli “The tame God of relevance (needs to) be replaced by the God whose very presence shatters our egos into dust, burns our sin into ashes, and strips us naked to reveal the real person within. The Church needs to become a gloriously dangerous place where nothing is safe in God’s presence except us. Nothing--including our plans, our agendas, our priorities, our politics, our money, our security, our comfort, our possessions, our needs.”
Fear leads to respect
When my dad introduced me to the riding lawn mower at the young age of 12, he had no doubts that I could operate that piece of equipment. But, before he was willing to turn control over to me, he gave me a safety lesson I shall never forget. With the mower running, he took a stick about the size of a young man’s finger and inserted it into the ejection chute. The blades instantly snapped the twig with a crack. At that moment I could feel a sympathetic crack in my own fingers. And, of course, that is exactly what my dad had in mind. Needless to say, I developed a very healthy but real fear of that power mower. And, I must admit, it was with some anxiety that I put my grip on those handle bars, vibrating with the power of those blades as they churned through the grass.
I feared the mower but I loved to mow the grass. That marriage of fear and love served me well throughout my lawn mowing days. The fear kept me from doing foolish things and the love enabled me to serve my father by cutting the grass. Finding a balance between the two is the critical issue.
Respect/awe, reverence leads to a desire to please.
God desires that we have enough respect and awe for who He is that it constrains our behavior and leads us to want to please Him in all we do.
Last Sunday night, during our study of the book of Revelation, we were discussing how God desires all His people to know that it is He who searches hearts and repays each according to their deeds. And the Holy Spirit pointed to me the book of Acts for an example of what that looks like. I would like you to join me there as we begin:
Acts 5:1-11
A couple named Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, had heard how a man named Joseph from Cyprus had sold some property he owned and gave it to the church. Presumably, he had received quite a bit of praise and honor for his generosity. So they hatched a scheme, they would sell some property too, and give part of the money to the church while keeping the rest, and thereby looking generous. But God, who knows and exposes hearts, exposed it by giving Peter a word of knowledge concerning them. Ananias, when confronted, falls over dead. His wife comes in awhile later, and is given a chance to come clean but she too lies to God and dies as well.
Verse 11 shows what happens when God gets out of our box. “Great fear gripped the entire church and all others who heard what had happened.”
The result of this is that there was a renewed sense of the fear of God among the church.
Why had their fear of God lost its edge? It happens to all of us over time.
We don’t stand in awe of God because we don’t always experience immediate consequences to our behavior.
In other words, God’s judgment and holiness are not always experienced, and because they are not, our reverence for who He is, is eroded.
To revere God as we ought, it is critical that we understand His nature. More than just know His nature, but experientially understand it.
True awe and peace with God comes to us when God says to us, “you are one ugly person. I can’t stand to look at you. Your breath stinks, you’re out of shape, and you aren’t worthy of me. Here, take this outfit of righteousness - put it on. Keep it on. Take these works of my Son. Take this holiness of Christ. Take this faith from the Holy Spirit. Take this love. Let me love you.”
When we realize that God’s love for us is a gift of mercy and accepts us based on Christ, it gives us true peace and awe. It’s kind of like when you get married. You both vow to stick together with one another for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, til death do you part. If you both take your vows seriously, there’s some permanence there. It means you can kind of let your hair down around one another and just relax. There’s something comforting about being able to be grumpy around my wife, or let my breath stink around my wife. We’re committed to each other, and we don’t sweat the small stuff.
Trusting Jesus Christ is a completely liberating experience. It’s as if all the pressure to be here in church - to die - to live - is lifted from us - when we’re saved by grace. If God married me by grace, then He’ll keep me by grace. Even though I’m still am a sinner, I don’t have to fear that God is going to reject me for one slip of the tongue or one evil thought that crosses my mind. He won’t reject me if I’m overweight, if I’m grumpy, or if I have an anger problem. He loves me if I’m divorced and He won’t reject me if I fail. If He married me because of Christ, He’ll keep me because of Christ. That’s what grace and forgiveness are for. That’s what peace is all about. Our God is a perfectionist – that is fearful, but He’s a gracious and forgiving perfectionist because of what Jesus did for us…that is awesome!!!
Do you see your need for a Savior today? How is your view of God? Is He in the box…if He is you can expect Him to break out! How will you respond to Him today?
In the weeks ahead, I will not be talking about worship as our subject, but instead, be focusing upon the act of Encountering God in daily life. We will look through the bible at the various people God met and encountered and how He did so, and how we might also do so.
