2 SAMUEL 6 CONSULT GOD ON HOW TO PURSUE HIS HEART2018 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Samuel 6 Consult God On How To Pursue His Heart

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2018. We are here in 2 Samuel chapter 6.

Continuing to look at the life of David and this idea of pursuing God's heart. And David is that model and example for us and stirs us up to encourage us to follow his example. As God calls him a man after God's own heart, we desire to be men and women after God's heart in the same fashion. And so we get to see a good example of that here in chapter 6.

this evening as David seeks to bring the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, where now he is ruling in the city. We will begin this evening by looking at verses 1 through 7 here of 2 Samuel chapter 6. Let's read through this passage. 2 Samuel chapter 6 verses 1 through 7, starting in verse 1, here's what it says. Again, David gathered all the choice men of Israel, 30,000.

And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baal Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the name, the Lord of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. So they set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart.

And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark. Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.

Let's pray. Lord, this evening as we consider your word, I pray that you would stir up within our hearts, Lord,

an awareness of our need to seek after you and to pursue you with all of our hearts and our minds and our soul and our strength. God, I pray that you would draw us near to you as we look to you, that you, Lord, might be the center of our hearts and our lives, that we might experience your presence here in this place and everywhere we go. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Well, this evening I've titled the message, Consult God,

on how to pursue his heart. We need to consult God. We've been talking about pursuing God's heart. We've been seeing example after example of how to pursue God's heart or how David pursued God's heart. We've been looking at how not to pursue God's heart in the examples of Saul and others. And so we've talked a lot about this. But as we talk about it, as we desire to be men and women who pursue God's heart,

This evening, we are reminded that we don't just do that however we think is best, that we don't just pursue God's heart with our own ideas, with our own thoughts, with what we think is, you know, the right method or the best method. But as we talk about in pursuing God's heart, it's an important thing

But not just that we pursue God's heart, but how we pursue God's heart is important. And why we pursue God's heart is important. And what we see here, David is seeking to do something good. He's seeking to bring the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. But this fails, and it's a complete disaster here in these first few verses.

Now, David's going to discover why, and he'll go on towards the end of the chapter to be able to be victorious and bring in the Ark of the Covenant in the way that he wants to. But it's important to point out as we get started this evening, he wanted to do something good. He wanted the presence of the Lord to be in the center of his kingdom, of the people's lives. He wanted it to be right there that they would know God and walk with God.

I mean, all good stuff as far as David desiring to bring the Ark of the Covenant, but the way he went about accomplishing this was not right.

And he discovers this later on, and it's not revealed in 2 Samuel, but in 1 Chronicles, we have another account of this same event. And in 1 Chronicles 15, verse 13, David is instructing the Levites and the priests, and he's basically telling them why it was that this disaster happened. He says, because you did not do it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us because we did not consult him about the proper order.

David there is telling the priests and the Levites, he's saying, guys, we really messed up this first attempt to bring the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. We didn't consult with God about the right way to go about this. I mean, the end result of what we wanted, that was a good thing. The presence of the Lord to be there in Jerusalem, that's a good thing. Our hearts were right in the sense that we wanted God to be glorified. Everything was going well, but

Except for the way they went about it. And that's something important for us to note. That God cares about the way that we go about things. And in order for us to be men and women who pursue God's heart, it's not just enough to have the desire. It's not just enough to have good intentions. It's not just enough for us to put into motion things that are good plans. And for good reasons, right?

But we also need to connect with God about, well, what exactly do you want from us? We need to consult God.

on how he wants us individually and personally to pursue his heart. And so we're going to see that as we look at the example of David here in this chapter this evening, consulting God on pursuing his heart and how to pursue his heart. There's four points that we'll look at. The first one is found in these verses we read, and that is your best efforts will not bring you into God's presence.

You need to know and you need to accept the reality that you can try as hard as you can with the best intentions, with the best motivations. You can, you know, put all of your effort into it and miss out on the presence of God if you don't consult God on how to pursue his heart. Looking again at verse 1 and 2, it says, and David gathered all the choice men of Israel, 30,000.

Here we are clearly dealing with the Ark of the Covenant.

And it's been a while since we've talked about the Ark of the Covenant as we've gone through 1 and 2 Samuel. We saw it earlier in the life and ministry of Samuel the prophet as they were ministering there in the tabernacle. But since then, since the beginnings of 1 Samuel, the Philistines have conquered Jerusalem. You might remember the Ark

was captured in battle against the Philistines, and the Philistines took it, and then God caused a bunch of problems amongst the Philistines, so much so that they sent it back to Israel. And it's kind of just been in limbo ever since, back since 1 Samuel chapter 7, and it's just been hanging out in a couple different places for probably about...

50, 60, 70 years or so, it's not really had a place. It's not really been a public place for the people of Israel to come and to gather at and to worship God with and to connect, you know, with God at the Ark of the Covenant. And so David's desire here is to take this important element that God has given to them and bring it back to the center of the life of

of the people of Israel, to bring it to the capital of their kingdom, to bring it and make worshiping God a central part of their lives. And it's very clear here in verse 2, the thing that they're dealing with, the thing that they're looking for is the presence of God, because that's what the Ark of the Covenant promised. God said, it says there at the end of verse 2, it talks about the Lord who dwells between the cherubim. And God said that

that he would dwell between the cherubim, and there he would meet with the people. Now, we've just recently read, if you're going through the Bible in three years with us, in the book of Exodus, God's instruction on how to build the Ark of the Covenant. You could draw a picture like that to kind of get a picture of it. It was about two feet wide, two feet tall, and three feet long, thereabouts.

kind of like, you know, our little black folding tables. It's roughly those dimensions. And on top of that, it would basically just be this hollow box. And then there was this lid that went on top that had two cherubim, two angels that spread out their wings towards each other, kind of like that. And God said, right there, in between those two angels, right there between those two cherubim, that's where my presence is going to be.

And I'm going to meet with you there. I'm going to dwell with you there. And all throughout the wilderness, as they moved the tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant was with inside the tabernacle and God's presence was there. And as they would move from camp to camp and carry the Ark of the Covenant from place to place, God's presence would be there and lead them. And so this is...

the significance of the Ark of the Covenant. It was where God said, this is where my presence dwells. Check out Exodus chapter 25, verse 22. God says, and there I will meet you and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim, which are on the Ark of the testimony about everything I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.

God says, right there, from between those two wings, from right there, this is where I'm going to meet with you. This is the place for you to hear from me. This is where I will speak to you. And so David's looking to bring that instrument of the presence of God, of the voice of God, back into this central place for the nation of Israel. David's desire is right on.

to bring God's presence into the center of their lives. And as he goes about this, making this happen, he really doesn't hold back. He spares no expense in a sense that he is wanting to do this well. You can see that in verse one, as it says, David gathered all the choice men of Israel, 30,000. David gathers the choice men of Israel. He gathers 30,000.

The elders, the leaders, he gathers the best of his army, the warriors. He gathers the choice men. And it's a crowd of 30,000 men. I mean, this isn't just like, you know, a couple stragglers and, you know, he's like just hanging out with some buddies. And this is an organized event. He's put some thought into this. He has this massive gathering of men to go and bring the ark to Jerusalem.

And in order to transport it, it tells us in verse 3, they set the ark of God on a new cart. They brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart. So as David is working on bringing the ark from there to here, he gets a new cart. Brand new. It's never been used before. Undefiled, untouched. It's been built for the very purpose of

for a very special use of transporting the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. They didn't just, you know, go behind the shed and like, you know, is there a wheelbarrow around here that we can use? You know, like, okay, the tire's flat. Okay, well, maybe we can pump it up a little bit and, you know, like just try to like make something work of something that was just old and lying around. I mean, this was handled with the utmost honor and respect.

We can't just transport the ark of God with any old cart. We need something that's been used for nothing else. Something that is built for that purpose. That's dedicated to this particular function. It's, you might say, sanctified or holy. It's set apart for this very thing. And so he's got his choice men, a crowd of 30,000 guys. He's got a new cart to transport the ark of the covenant. And he gives the ark an armed escort.

Maybe they're not actually armed. But in verse 3, we see there's two guys, Uzzah and Ahio, who have been charged with making sure that everything goes smoothly as they transport the ark. They're driving the car. They're the ones in charge. They're the secret service of the Ark of the Covenant. They're right there on top of it to make sure everything goes smoothly and nothing happens. He's got people right there in charge of the efforts. And as they...

Put the Ark of the Covenant on this cart and begin to transport it from the house where it is to Jerusalem. David also has an incredible time of worship. Look again at verse 5. It says,

How many different kinds of instruments is that? Wood, hard string, tambourine, cisterns, and cymbals. It's an impressive orchestra that he has going on here. It describes all the house of Israel playing music before the Lord. This is not, you know, Ronnie just sitting by himself on a stool singing a song with a cracked voice. This is the best of the best.

This is worship that you and I, like, we would kind of, like, desire. Like, we wish we could hear what it is they sing and how they sing and how they came together. It would have been an impressive time of worship. And so you can look at these things and consider how David, he went about this task in a very serious manner. He was serious about doing this to the best of his ability.

He gathered his choice men. He had a new cart fashioned for this. He put two guys in charge of making sure that things went smoothly with the transportation. He had this awesome, huge worship choir and all of these instruments, this orchestra that went along with it. And there's this just massive worship and celebration as they are moving the ark towards Jerusalem. But then in verse six, it tells us, when they came to Nican's threshing floor,

Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error, and he died there by the ark of God. For all of David's efforts, for his, you know, best intentions, his great desires, his right-on motivations, suddenly there is a tragedy that takes place.

Because, well, the oxen stumbles as it's walking past the threshing floor. There's a little bit of unstable ground and the oxen stumbles and the cart tilts a little bit. And Uzzah, who wants to fulfill his role, making sure everything goes smoothly, he puts out his hand, he grabs hold of the ark to hold it steady so that it doesn't fall to the ground as the oxen stumbles.

And now the anger of the Lord is aroused against him. God had made it very clear when he gave instructions to Moses, when the elements of the tabernacle were constructed, and as they were carried about from place to place, God made it very clear, nobody is to touch these holy furnishings of the tabernacle, and specifically the Ark of the Covenant.

In Numbers chapter 4 verse 15, the Lord says, God made it very clear. These articles of the tabernacle, they're not to be messed with. They're not to be trifled with. Nobody is to touch them lest they die.

They're to be handled a certain way. They're to be wrapped and packaged a certain way when you move. He was very clear and specific in his word about how these elements were to be moved about. And what we find here is that

Although David's motivations were great, his heart was right, his, you know, what he wanted, his objective was right on track. And ultimately, it was what God wanted also for the presence of the Lord to be right there at the center and the heart of the nation and the center of the lives of the people. But even with all of that, with his best intentions, with great motivations, and with really admirable efforts being put into this whole process, all of that

did not prevent this tragedy from taking place. It's something important for us to consider. Again, your best efforts will not bring you into God's presence. If we want to be men and women who pursue God's heart, we can have great desires and we can have, you know, honorable, noble motivations and intentions. And we can set out to be men and women of God. But we need to make sure that we don't just try to do that

with our own plans. Well, this is what I think a man or woman of God is. This is how I think a man or woman of God becomes a man or woman of God, you know? And this is the path that I'm taking in order to become. And our hearts can be right on, and yet we can miss out on the presence of God. If we're trying to go about ways and using things and taking approaches that

that God has not called us to. And I would ask you to consider this, you know, for yourself personally. There are things that we know about walking with God and developing and growing in our relationship with God. And you know, there are a lot of people who are trying to draw near to God the wrong way. And if you would ask them, they would say that they love God. If you would ask them, you know, they would say that they want to know God. They want more of God's presence in their life. They

And they would be speaking honestly. They wouldn't be, you know, just trying to deceive you and say, no, I'm just trying to get away with sin. No, no, like for real, like they really do want to know God. But that doesn't mean that you just do whatever you think is best and then you have the presence of God and are walking with God or a man or a woman who pursues God's heart. In your personal life, in your devotional life, in your prayer life, as Harvey was sharing about, in your life, in your walk with God, in your

engagement in the things of God, God has some specific things that he wants for you. There's not one pattern, one formula, one thing that everybody just do exactly this. Or you just do whatever you feel like doing. Just do whatever you think is best. God does not present it that way. Instead, we need to consult with God. Lord, how do you want me to grow and develop in

and to a man or a woman who pursues your heart.

Because my best efforts and my best techniques and my best approaches and the things that I can come up with and the plans that I have. Well, okay, well, I read this guy, you know, Charles Spurgeon. He spent time with God this way. And so I'm going to go about this and I'm going to spend time with God that way. And I read G. Campbell Morgan. He spent time with God this way. And this is how he raised his kids. And so I'm going to raise my kids that way. And this is how, you know, and we can find other people who have come up with things

you know, great approaches and how they were blessed in their walk with God. We can come up with our own ideas and, you know, kind of tweak those plans or invent our own ways. But our personal relationship with God, it's not up to us to figure out, to plan out, to come up with the strategy for how God wants us to pursue his heart. It really, it comes back to pursuing God's heart about, Lord, how do you want me to pursue your heart?

And letting God direct us. And maybe the plan I come up with doesn't involve any fasting like Harvey's plan. You know, like, hey, I don't want to do that. That's not fun. But maybe that's what God has. And others might say, boy, yeah, I have to fast. Fasting is necessary. And the Lord might say, you know, that's not necessary for you. It's up to the Lord what's important for you and Him and your pursuit of God's heart. What does the Lord want for you?

There are some families, and so you could think about this for your personal relationship, but think about your family as well. Boy, we've seen it time and time again. You know, parents bring their kids to church because the kids are getting in trouble. And the parent's heart is, I want my kid to know the Lord. I want my kid to fear the Lord. I want my kid to walk with the Lord.

And sometimes, you know, it's like, I'll drop off the kids and leave, you know, parent leaves, because it's my kids that really need the Lord. I don't need the Lord, you know, but my kids need the Lord. And so they're off somewhere else. They're doing something else. They're bringing them with, I mean, great intentions. You want your kid to know the Lord. That's great. You want your kids to straighten up. And so you bring them to church. Okay, well, you know, maybe that'll help. But what does the Lord want for your family?

What does God want for your household to be a household that pursues the heart of God? I would encourage you who serve in ministry and serve in, you know, any type of capacity where you're planning events and functions. I mean, this applies directly to ministry events. You can gather the best team. You can have a dedicated, you know,

place and time and have, you know, a new cart constructed in that way. And you can have people assigned to make sure, man, everybody's going to be ministered to because your job is to pray for people as they come. And so we've got people assigned. We've got the best team. We've got this incredible worship lined up. And we can plan the best event that you could ever imagine. But if it's not something that the Lord has called us to and it's our best efforts, we can still miss out on the presence of God.

Your best efforts. That's not guaranteed to bring you into God's presence. Think about the New Testament church. The church of Corinth in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, Paul addresses their partaking of communion together. And Paul tells them in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 20, he says, when you come together in one place, it's not to eat the Lord's supper. You call it communion. It has the elements of communion. It has all of the, it's your best efforts perhaps,

But it's not actually communion, just because you call it communion and just because you're, you know, following these things and trying to do it in remembrance as Jesus told you to. I mean, you're giving your best effort, but it's not communion. And he gives the reasons, and you can check those out in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. But the point is, it's their efforts, but they're missing that connection with the Lord. And what is he instructing them in? Later on in 1 Corinthians chapter 14, Paul says, look, you're having church, but you're

It's not really church. It's a disorderly service. There's chaos going on. There's not real ministry happening. You're calling it ministry. There's the gifts of the Spirit, but there's not real ministry taking place because, well, it's not in the order that God has set. Think about the church of Ephesus that Jesus wrote to in the book of Revelation. All these good things you're doing, your best efforts. I mean, great job. You've got a good team, and you've got these things going for you, and you've got those things going for you, but you've left your first love.

You've missed out on the pursuit of God's heart. You're missing the presence of God because, well, you've got all your best efforts, but you've lost that connection with the Lord. We need to stop and consider our walk with God personally, our family life, our ministry life. Are we doing what we're doing in our best efforts?

Not that we shouldn't give effort, but is it just our best efforts or are we doing what we're doing because God has called us to these things and spoken to us about these things and instructed us in these ways? Why is it that we do what we do? Where do we get these ideas and how do we know that it's from the Lord? This is really important for us so that we get to experience the presence of God.

Pastor Dave Guzik puts it this way in regards to worship. He says, We can look at a worship service, a time of worship, a time of singing together and think, this was the best worship we've ever had. And God would be like, yeah, it's okay.

And we can also have times where, boy, I really wrecked that worship service. Man, my guitar was out of tune, and my voice was off key, and oh man, it was just horrible. And God says, that was the best worship service you have ever done in your life. Because God's looking at the heart. He's dealing with things in a different way, and it's not that we don't give our best to the Lord. We do, but our best efforts on their own, that's not what it's about.

That would be legalism. That would be approaching God on the basis of the law and our fulfilling of our rules and rituals and regulations. No, we come to God on the basis of who he is and what he's done for us and in response to what he speaks to us. That's why we call it a relationship and not a religion. We need to consult God on how to pursue his heart because it's not enough just to put forth our best efforts to

To do our best. I know, here's what you got to do. Read your Bible and pray every day and then you're set. That's it. If you read your Bible and pray every day, then you will automatically be in pursuit of God's heart and in His presence and have everything. Well, I would say that, yeah, reading your Bible and praying is important and every one of us needs to be doing that. But you can also read your Bible and pray every day and have no relationship with God at all. It comes back to you.

pursuing God's heart, consulting with him. Lord, how do you want me to spend time with you? Who is it? No, I'm just kidding. Moving on to verses 8 through 11, now we have point number two, and that is God's presence brings great blessing. Verse 8 says this,

And David became angry because of the Lord's outbreak against Uzzah. And he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah to this day. David was afraid of the Lord that day. And he said, how can the ark of the Lord come to me? So David would not move the ark of the Lord with him into the city of David. But David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom, the Gittite. The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom, the Gittite, for three months. And the Lord blessed Obed-Edom.

and all his household. Here in these couple of verses, it's kind of an interim between the first attempt, and then he's going to go on and try to bring the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem again. And in the midst of that time, there's a few things happening. First of all, David is experiencing a range of emotions. We see here in verse 8 that David is angry. He's experiencing anger because of the Lord's outbreak against Uzzah.

He's frustrated. He's upset. This has really affected him. He's angry. He doesn't understand. Why would God do this? Why would God allow this? Why would that? Lord, why? And he's wrestling with, he's dealing with, he's processing this emotion in response to what has taken place. But he's also experiencing fear. Fear.

You know, a lot of times we don't, we're not like binary. We experience one thing, you know, at one time. But we experience a collision of emotions when tragedies take place, when these kinds of things unfold. And so there can be that anger that takes place along with the fear. It says David was afraid of the Lord that day. Rightfully so, because here he is doing the best that he can,

And it seems that God has just completely rejected it and brought this swift and severe judgment upon Uzzah. And so David is afraid of the Lord. He's angry. He's fearful. But at the same time, he's disappointed. As he declares there in verse 9, how can the ark of the Lord come to me?

David is not angry or fearful in the sense that he is running from God and now rebelling against God. He's not rejecting God or abandoning God. He's holding on to the Lord while dealing with these kinds of emotions. It's really important for us to be able to hold on to the Lord while we deal with these kinds of emotions. This is part of life. And it's one of the things that David really demonstrates well throughout the book of Psalms.

That we are emotional beings and we go through these things that will cause us to experience anger or fear or a wide other range of emotions that we might experience and sometimes it's all of them at once.

And there is that disappointment sometimes that we experience that we were hoping for this, that something was going to take place and now it hasn't come to take place and we're wondering why, God? And there's this questions, there's this anger, there's this emotion that we face. And those kinds of emotions, those kinds of feelings could easily keep someone in a condition where they just give up. They say, well, that didn't work. I tried that.

failed miserably. And it can bring us to a place where we're reluctant to try again. But David here doesn't let go of God. He doesn't stop trying to pursue God's heart. He doesn't try to pretend that he doesn't have these emotions. He doesn't try to just like pretend like they're not there. But he also doesn't let them move him to the place where he stops pursuing God's heart. And we're going to see him try again.

In verse 10, it tells us, Now it appears that Obed-Edom was...

A man of Israel from the tribe of Levi who, well, they were in charge of the things pertaining to the tabernacle and later on the temple. And so now the ark is given a new home in really a rightful place in the home of a Levite who is now blessed because of the presence of the ark. And it's interesting that the blessings that are found here,

are going to be something that triggers David and stirs him up to move the ark to Jerusalem. Not to take away the blessings from Obed-Edom, but to bring those blessings to the nation to a greater degree. And so David here is sitting there watching. He's dealing with his own anger. He's dealing with his own disappointment. He's dealing with his confusion, but not giving up on God. And he's watching the

Look how God is blessing Uberita. Man, Lord, I want your presence. How can we do this? How can I pursue your heart, God? How can I get to know you? How can I really walk with you and have victory in my life? And instead of giving up, David is seeking the Lord.

And we find that out. I shared the scripture earlier from 1 Chronicles, because it's David who searches the scriptures. It's David who goes to the priests and Levites, and he says, guys, here's how we blew it before. We didn't follow what God said, but David's been searching the scriptures. David's been seeking the Lord and finding out, oh, wow, here's what we did wrong. We didn't consult God about the proper order. It's interesting that

We see David inquire of the Lord in so many different avenues and particularly surrounding battles, right? And he's used to that. He's accustomed to that. Hey, I'm going to go to battle. I better check in with the Lord, right? And here he forgets to check in with the Lord because he's not going to battle. He's going to do something good for God. So important for us. We can get into our routines. I mean, we trust the Lord and we're looking to the Lord. We're pursuing God's heart.

We want God to work in our lives. We want God's presence in our lives. And so there are certain things that, man, we really struggle with, we're challenged by, we've learned, you know, through experience, I got to seek the Lord on this. And then there's other things where it's just like, well, I guess I don't need to pray about that. I mean, I'm moving the ark to Jerusalem. I mean, I know God wants that. So like, that's what we need to do. Like, we just need to do it. And he forgot to check in with God and consult God on the order. Consult God on how God wanted it to take place. In a similar way, sometimes, yeah, we can pray together.

and seek the Lord about how we're going to deal with that person that bugs us, you know, that person, that difficult situation, or that thing that's unfolding. But it comes to our devotional life, and it's just like, well, you know, I just do what I do, you know. I don't need some divine insight or inspiration there. Like, I didn't really pray about that. I mean, I just did what I do. It comes to, you know, being a witness, and it's like, I just do what I do, you know. I just do what I thought was best. I gave it my best effort. Sometimes we forget, right?

We do call out to the Lord and consult God on other things, but then it comes back to pursuing God's heart, and we forget. We need to consult with God. How does He want you to walk with Him? How does God want to work in your life and develop you into the man or woman of God that He sees in you, that He knows you can be? Sometimes God will use a little bit of, you might say, sanctified jealousy, where there you are,

And you're watching the Lord bless other people. Verse 12. Now it was told King David saying, the Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God. And that's going to stir David up and say, we need to bring the ark to Jerusalem. It's like, well, look at what God is doing. Look at the blessings. I want those blessings in my life. It's going to cause him to seek the Lord, to find out the proper order. Maybe you've tried before.

seeking the Lord in some particular way. Maybe you've tried a devotional life and just, it just fell apart. It failed miserably. And like Uzzah, you know, it was just struck down and you're just like, oh man, that was really bad. Maybe you tried to include the worship of God within your family in some way and it just was like struck down and just like, I'm never doing that again.

Maybe you tried being a witness. Maybe you tried serving in some capacity. And there is that just like, oh man, it failed miserably. Don't give up, but consult God. And when you see other people, why can't that work in my family? You know what I mean? Like, why can't that work? How come I can't serve that way? How come I'm not gifted that way? How come I can't be part of the kingdom in that way? How come I can't know God like that or pray like that? And you see that in other people and there's this desire to

The Lord would use that to stir you up and say, yeah, you could experience that, but you need to consult me on the proper order. How do I want to do that in you? Not your plans, and you got to figure out a strategy, but your strategy needs to be consult with God. Lord, what do you want? How do you want to develop me? And I remember one of those times where going back in the day when

I had to walk around for a while because my vehicle had been impounded for, I don't know, the second or third time. I couldn't remember, but I was walking. I was walking from where I lived to the church, and I was walking down the sidewalk, and there was this little, tiny, little baby bird on the sidewalk. As I was walking by, I was like, oh, look at this little cute bird. And I looked up, and there was a nest up there, and the bird had fallen out of the nest. And I was like, cool, you know, cool bird, and kept walking.

The next day, I was walking the same way because I had to get to church again, and so I'm walking down the sidewalk, and what I see is a crushed little bird because, well, someone less observant than I came by after me, either, you know, on purpose or on accident. I won't judge them, but, you know, there was the crushing of that bird, and I didn't think much of it the day before when I saw it. I didn't think to put it in the nest or, you know, I was just walking along. I was like, hey, there's a bird, and just kept walking, but

But then when I saw it and there was this crushed bird and the Lord spoke to me really clearly right there because I was that little bird that had fallen out of the nest and I was in desperate needs and in danger of being crushed. And the Lord said, look, if you're so afraid that you're not going to get back up there and try to fly again, you're going to end up crushed. You need to trust me. You need to get back up and try again. And I would encourage you to consider that. Here's David. He's crushed.

He's there. He's in danger of like just being crushed completely, but he doesn't just give up. Say, well, I guess we don't get to have the presence of God. I guess we don't get to have the ark in Jerusalem. I guess that's the end, you know, and we'll just live our lives without the Lord. He doesn't give up, but he consults with the Lord. He finds out what it is that God wants, and then he goes and tries again. I want to encourage you this evening.

Consult with God how to pursue his heart. Let him show you how to pick up the pieces and try again, even when previous attempts have failed tragically. Moving on to verses 12 through 17, we get point number three, and that is obedience will bring you joy in God's presence. Obedience will bring you joy as you hear from the Lord and then begin to act out and live out

What it is that God has set before you, there's going to be an incredible joy in the presence of the Lord. Looking again at verse 12, it says, Now it was told King David, saying, The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God. So David went...

David seeks the Lord. He finds out the way that this is to be done. It's not recorded here in 2 Samuel. Again, it's recorded there in 1 Chronicles 15-20.

He discovers putting the ark on a cart and transporting it, that's not God's design. That is the way the Philistines did it, but they were not the Philistines.

Just because it worked for the Philistines didn't mean it would work for them. That God had a specific and clear instruction for them on how they were to transport the ark. And in the construction of the ark, God had specifically given them instruction to build these rings onto the side of the ark and make these poles and these poles slide through the rings so that the ark could be carried on the shoulders of the Levites.

And they would carry the ark from place to place. That was God's design. He designed it with those poles for a reason. And again, we read that this past week in Exodus 25. God says, Very specific, clear instruction. This is how it's to be transported. And so David, this time he goes to the house of Obed-Edom, not with a new cart, but

Not with a catapult or some other form of transportation. He gets some poles because that's what God has said. That's the instruction that God gave. And now they begin to carry the ark. In verse 13, it talks about those bearing the ark. They've put it on their shoulders because they've listened to the Lord and they're doing what God has called them to do. And then I like how it says that when they had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep.

David has to just stop and celebrate. Guys, it's working. It's working. They've gone six paces. They haven't made it very far, but look. Oh my goodness. It works. When you do things God's way, it works. And he offers these sacrifices. He begins to celebrate. In verse 14, it says, then David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod.

So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. Notice the characteristics of joy here as they experience what it is that God has for them as they walk in the instruction that God has given to them. They're offering sacrifices. David is dancing before the Lord with all his might. He's dancing. He's celebrating. He's rejoicing.

And the people are there, the whole house of Israel, it says, they're shouting with the sound of the trumpet. They're shouting and celebrating. They're hooping and hollering. They're excited. They're praising God and celebrating God's presence being brought right into their midst.

Verse 16 is kind of a downer, but we'll get back to that in just a moment. It says, Michelle is not too happy about the scene, but let me tell you, God is happy with this scene.

And he looks down and he sees David leaping and whirling and celebrating along with the rest of the nation of Israel. The ark of God, the presence of God is being brought into its rightful place. And they are experiencing great joy in the midst of God's presence as they walk in the instruction that God has given to them.

I like what Thomas Constable, the commentator, says about this. He says, There are many times, aren't there?

Where people think, man, if I have to obey God, that's going to be a bummer. That's going to, like, just do what God wants, then it's going to be a drag. You know, that's going to be so difficult. And, well, it's for sure God will call you to do difficult and challenging things. But when you obey God and do those difficult and challenging things, you will experience great joy.

Joy in the presence of the Lord. God doesn't tell us to do anything just because he wants us to suffer and be miserable and that's, you know, so here, do this suffering, miserable thing. God tells us to do things because he knows what's best for us.

Because he has our best interests in mind and in his heart and he wants what's best for us. And so he gives us that instruction. He has specific instruction and intentions for you on pursuing his heart because he knows what's best for you and he knows how to lead you into that joy that's found in his presence that's unique to you, that's important for you and for your situation and where you are. That's why we need to consult God with how to pursue his heart.

Because God knows what's best for us. And as we hear from him, boy, we'll be able to dance and sing and celebrate and rejoice in all that God is doing in the presence of the Lord. But here we also see David's wife, Michelle. And she's not so into this whole pursuing God's heart thing. It's not that exciting to her. And she misses out. She misses out.

on the work of God that's taking place this day. And that brings us to point four, and that is you will miss out on God's presence if you don't pursue Him. Even if your spouse is pursuing God's heart, you can miss out and you don't get to experience the joy of God's presence if you yourself are not pursuing Him. It's often been said, you know, God doesn't have grandchildren. God only has children.

That each and every one of us have our own relationship with God. We're directly his children and there's nobody behind us that kind of inherits relationship with God through us. It doesn't work. No, it's each and every one of us individually, together, but also independently. We must pursue God's heart. There needs to be that deliberate connection, consulting with God. Lord, how do you want me to pursue God's heart? And what do you want from me?

And if you don't do that, if you don't connect with the Lord and seek after him, you're going to miss out on God's presence. Verse 18, when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. Then he distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israel, both the women and the men, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed, everyone to his house. Then David returned to bless his household.

And Michelle, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet David and said, how glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servant as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself. Here's grumpy Michelle. Now, in verse 18 and 19, it describes this whole scene, right? The ark is set there in the tabernacle.

They sacrifice. David's giving out feasts, you know, provisions and giving people food. And then they're departing from there. So get the understanding here, right? They're at the tabernacle where the ark is. The people are there. David's offering things to the Lord. He's giving them to the people. It says in verse 19 at the end, and then the people departed and went to their house.

So they took the provisions, the feast makings, and then they go to their home and they're going to have a feast and celebrate the presence of God and the work that God has done. And so there's this air of festivity, this celebration that's going on. David's like whistling and skipping as he returns home in verse 20. But he isn't quite making it home. Michelle comes out to meet David. "'How glorious was the king,' she says."

That's my best lady's attitude. I don't know how good that was. But notice where Michelle's been. She's been home. Where's Israel been? At the tabernacle. Where's Michelle been? She's been home. Where's Israel? At the tabernacle. Celebrating. They're participating in the feast. Earlier, it described her looking out the window and seeing David. Like, as the procession marched by, she kind of glanced out the window. There's my husband, being a fool like he always is, dancing with everybody else and celebrating.

Hope he comes home soon. I'm hungry. He comes home and she doesn't quite let him get to the door. She rushes out. What is it that gets her out of the house? Some type of complaint, some type of grumbling, some type of conflict, but not the setting of the presence of God in the center of their lives. That doesn't get her out of the house. What gets her out of the house? Let me tell you what I don't like about you. I don't like what you did. What gets her fired up?

not the presence of God. She's not pursuing God's heart. David is. The people are, generally speaking. Now, I'm sure there were other people who stayed home also, right? But you get the point. She has not intentionally and deliberately been part of this. She wasn't far off. You know, it wasn't like, it was just, it was a choice. It was not important to her to be part of this work that God was doing.

David and all Israel brought up the ark of the Lord, it says in verse 15. But Michelle just kind of glanced out the window. She only came out to criticize. And her criticism wasn't fair. So, you know, if you just read this, you might think, like, was David naked when he was out there dancing? Like, that seems kind of weird. He was wearing a linen ephod. He was wearing common clothes. It wasn't even like he was in his underwear. That's not what it's describing, okay? He was just wearing regular, he wasn't wearing his royal attire, okay?

This is what upset her. She was not pursuing God's heart. She was pursuing her own heart. She was not seeking to please God. She was seeking to please herself. She wanted David to have a certain role and to be in a certain capacity. She did not want David to be humbled before the Lord in the way that he was. Verse 21, so David said to Michelle,

It was before the Lord who chose me instead of your father and all his house to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord over Israel. Therefore, I will play music before the Lord. I just, I read so much into this a little bit because it's just like, you know, you know how it is as married couples, right? You could say so much about

when, you know, only a little was needed. You know, he could have just said it was the Lord who chose me, but he said, instead of your father, you know, like there's that extra little, like we've had this discussion before. God chose me and not your father, so we're not going to do things your father's way. You know, like, I don't know, it implies there's some previous discussion there, but David's here, he's right on. He's like, I did this for the Lord. I wasn't worried about you or everybody else or

I'm going to continue to put God first. And he goes on in verse 22, I'll be even more undignified than this and will be humble in my own sight. See, this is the issue. It was not indignified in the sense of indecent, but it was indignified in the sense that, you know, kings don't normally operate that way. That's pretty humble for you to behave that way. But he says, I will be humble in my own sight. As for the maidservants that you've spoken about, you're so concerned about, I'll be held by them in honor.

They're going to respect me, even though I didn't wear the royal attire and did all that. They're going to respect me because I'm honoring the Lord. Verse 23, therefore, Michelle, the daughter of Saul, had no children to the day of her death. She suffered loss. She missed out because she was not pursuing God's heart. This evening, we need to check our hearts. What is the Lord saying to you about how he wants you?

to pursue his heart. Understand your best efforts, it's not enough. You need to give your best to the Lord, but it needs to be in response to what the Lord is saying, not giving your best with your best ideas, with your best strategies, with what you heard somebody else did, with what that person did, and you admire that, and so you want that for you, and

But looking to the Lord and saying, Lord, what do you want? And then when God tells you, then you can give your best. Then bring out the choice men and, you know, bring out the awesome worship team and, you know, put all that together. Go for it. Yeah, give your all to the Lord as the Lord speaks and directs, but not just with your own plans.

God's presence brings great blessing. And as you obey him, there's going to be great joy in his presence. There'll still be challenges. There'll still be difficulties, but joy in the midst of it. And if you don't do that, you're going to miss out. God has a lot for you. Don't miss out on that by not pursuing God's heart. Let's pray. Lord, this evening, I pray for each and every one of us. And Lord, there are

things that you have called each one of us to. And there are many things that are in line and common and similar things that you've called us to in our walks with you, in our relationship with you. And yet, Lord, there's also many things that are distinct and different. And you haven't called us to have somebody else's relationship or walk with you. But Lord, you've got some specific things for us individually, how you want us to draw near to you and what that means for us.

in our secret times in the prayer closet, in our times of reading your word, in our times of serving you and declaring you to the people around us. Lord, you have a plan for us and set a path for us to walk. And Lord, we want to experience that. But Lord, it's not enough for us to want to experience that and to give it our best effort. Lord, we need to hear from you. And so God, I pray for each one of us. Lord, would you speak to us about how you want us to walk with you?

Teach us, Lord, how to pursue your heart. I pray, Lord, that you would show us anything that we're doing in our lives that is just a dependence and a reliance upon our best efforts and our ideas and strategies. And it's really not of you, but I pray that you would reveal those things, that we'd be able to correct them and put a stop to them before the tragedy takes place. God, I pray that you would reveal to us also those areas where you are speaking and

calling us to certain things and behaviors and functions and walking with you in certain ways. And when maybe we're not listening or we've heard, but just neglecting and not being faithful, I pray, Lord, that you would help us to hear your call, to take up those things that you've set before us. And Lord, where we've failed and messed up before, and it's great temptation to just give up and not try again, I pray that you would encourage us. I pray, Lord, that you would stir up within us as we look around and see others blessed as they walk with you.

Lord, stir up within us that desire, Lord, that we would not give up, but Lord, that we would connect with you, to hear from you what you have to say about our relationship with you, Lord, that we would use that as instruction to pursue your heart. I pray that you would protect us, God, from missing out on anything that you have for us as we seek you and as we seek to love you with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.

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