is the things about Christ. He
won't bless anything else. He really won't. He won't. Did I tell you to look in 2 Chronicles
13? Is that where everybody's at? That's what I thought. And
David here is bringing back the ark. And it didn't go so good. It didn't go so good. Now let
me describe the ark to you. I think I did it when we went
through the book of Exodus. The ark of the covenant was a
chest that was about 45 inches long, 27 inches wide and 27 inches
deep. And inside that ark it contained
the tables of the law, two tables of the law. It contained a pot
of manna, Aaron's rod that budded so it was kept there and it was
kept in the holiest of holies in the tabernacle and in the
temple after it was brought back and that showed them that they
had the presence of God in the ark because on that ark was the
mercy seat had mercy seat the lid that was on that ark was
the mercy seat and had the two cherubims that came over and
touched their wings to one another and then in the days of Saul
y'all might remember that they took the ark and took it out
into the battle with them when they was fighting the philistines
and the philistines took the ark away from them They took
it with them to be superstitious. They said, if we bring the ark,
we'll win. Well, they didn't win. And so the Philistines ended
up stealing the ark and taking it away with them. And it was
finally brought to a place called Jerusalem, and that was this
little city in the tribe of Judah, where the kings reigned, where
the king come from. And it was there for 50 years,
50 years. And David decided he wanted to
bring the ark back to Jerusalem. And he felt that the ark would
give him assurance of the presence of God and the presence of the
Lord among his people. And they thought, you know, where
the ark was, that's where the glory of God was going to be.
So what did he do? It says there in verse 1, David
consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds and with
every leader. Oh my! He consulted with all
the big shots. You know, his captains, and his
kings, and his generals, and his leaders. He consulted with
all of them. But one person he did not consult
with, he did consult with the Lord. He never inquired of the
Lord. He never said, what would God
have us do? What would God have us to do?
Well, you know, and David told this, he told all the people,
he says, you know, I want to bring the art back. And everybody
said, that sounds like the most best, that's a wonderful idea,
David. Oh, just wonderful. So David
gathered together 30,000 men. Got all of Israel together. Got
a whole bunch of singers together. A big band together. I mean,
look what it says, it said they, sing with all their might with
harps, psalteries, timbrels, cymbals and trumpets I mean they
was making music and I mean they was singing and dancing and with
all their might with all their might so they had music going
people was having a wonderful time and they all got down there
to where this ark was Kirjath Jerim, Kirjath Baal to bring
up the ark Well, here's the thing about it. They got down there
to get the ark. And what David did, it's an astonishing
event. David was, he knew the law, he
knew God's law. And the priests that were with
him, they knew how this thing was supposed to be done. They
knew that the ark was only to be carried, you know, it had
staves in it. That ark had staves in it. And the only people allowed
to carry that were Levites and priests. And they had to carry
one on, there would be four of them, one on this shoulder, one
on that shoulder, and over here. So that's the only way they could
carry that, is for the priest to carry it. For the priest to
carry it. And the Levites to carry it.
And he knew that. And I tell you, it's always supposed
to be that. But what did David do? He said, I want a new cart. I want you to build me a brand
new cart. Build me a brand new cart. And
that's what he said in verse 7. And they went in there and
got that ark and laid it on that cart. And they got two men, one
to go before it and one to go behind it to keep that ox going.
You know, oxen, they just don't, they're not like a horse or a
mule, you know, gee or haw. I mean, somebody's got to make
that thing go. So they set that on that new
cart. And they had us in Ohio, and
they had them having a big time, you know, put it on that thing.
And they put the ark on that cart and they began going up
to Jerusalem rejoicing, singing, paying them all attention, confident
that God was with them and that God was well pleased with them.
Well down there in verse 9, and they came to the threshing floor
of Chidon, Uzzah. Cart moved a little bit. That
ox stumbled. That cart moved just a little
bit. Us a reach out real quick to steady it. God killed him. That quick. God killed him. I'm telling you
what tells us that God needs no help from anybody under any
circumstances. If God can't take care of His
ark, He couldn't take care of nobody. That ark was holy. That ark represented God. That
ark and the law and everything in it. And the only people that
was allowed to do anything with that ark was the high priest,
once a year, entered into the holy place, holiest of holies,
by himself, and putting blood on that altar. He wasn't even
allowed to touch it, just to put blood on it. And the only
way they could do that and pick that thing up and do it according
to God's law, they had to go in there and pick them staves
up and put them on their shoulders. Nobody could touch it. nobody
can touch it so all listen and I tell you when God smote him
dead because he put his hand on the ark and the people were
stunned can you imagine how stunned they were they were dancing and
singing and making all kinds of music and all of a sudden
God kills a man right in the middle of all this and it says there in verse 11
and David was displeased Oh my, David was displeased because
the Lord had smitten us. Oh my, David didn't like this. David didn't think this, you
know, is a good thing to do. But all of them, including David,
realized at last that God was angry with them and displeased
with the whole shooting match and everything that was going
on. I don't care how many people they had. I don't care how much
music they was making. I don't care what a cart they
put it on. But God said, not pleased with this at all. Not
pleased with it at all. So they took that ark and took
it down to the house of Obed-Edom. And that
ark was there for three months and God blessed Obed-Edom. But what was wrong with this?
What was wrong with David doing this? Why was the Lord displeased
with David and Israel? You know, most folks would say,
well, my goodness, David was, he was zealous for the Lord.
He was doing the right thing in returning the Ark back into
Jerusalem, the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. He ought to be
commended for that. He ought to be bragged on about
that. But three months later, David gives us the answer when
he determined to bring the ark. Now look over here in chapter
15 with me for a moment. David gives us the answer three
months later. That thing is dealt down there
at Obed-Edom's house for three months. And oh, look at what
he says here now in verse 12. And he said unto them, Ye are
the chiefs of the fathers of the Levites. Sanctify yourselves,
both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the
Lord God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it.
Because you did it not at the first, the Lord our God made
a breach upon us, for we sought him not after the due order.
This time instead of going to the captains, And the congregation,
and asking them, you know, if you think this is a good thing
to do. He consulted with the priest this time. He consulted
with people who knew this time. And he said, sanctify yourselves.
Make yourselves, clean yourselves up. That you can carry the ark
back into the place that's been prepared for it. And he said,
oh listen, I sinned. I ignored God's priests and put
the ark on a cart. And the Lord was angry with us
because of that. And this is what he said there
in the last part of verse 13. We sought Him not after the due
order. God has an order of doing things. And what David was saying was
when he brought that ark and put it in that cart, what he
was saying was he was ignoring the mediator. He was ignoring
the law. He was ignoring the one that's
supposed to do this work. You know, I saw a fellow today,
he had a t-shirt on over to Jim and said, ask God. So I see him and I said, I see
that t-shirt you got on there that says ask God. I said, well
what would you ask him? He said, oh I got a lot of questions
to ask him. I said, you know what the number
one question that you ought to ask God, that ought to be asked
of God? He said, what? I said, how are
we supposed to approach you? How can we come into your presence?
Second question is, how can a man be just with God? That guy just looked like somebody
slapped him. And here's the thing about it. Here's the thing about
it. He told me later, he said he's
the youth pastor at Central Baptist Church. He accepted Jesus when
he was seven years old. And he's the youth pastor there,
so that's all the places he's ever been. He said, where are
you going? I said, I'm pastor of Lantana
Grace Church. I hope he tells his pastor because
his pastor knows exactly where we're at, what we do, and what
we stand for. But you think, why run around
with a t-shirt and ask God? Ask God what? David didn't ask
God. He asked the captains, he asked
the leaders, he asked everybody that was anybody, and he bypassed
Christ. He bypassed the order of God. God's got an order of how He
does things in this world. And you know where He starts
at? He starts with His Son. That's where God starts, and
that's where you and I are going to have to start. Right there. Right there. Now I want you to
turn with me, and keep first You know, he told him, sanctify
yourself. Now turn to Hebrews chapter 5
with me. I want us to look at a few things
over here real, you know, and see what's going on over here.
You know, David, what he was doing, he was ignoring the mediator.
You know, the high priest was the one who offered the atonement.
And the other priests are the ones who offered the sacrifices.
And there's the one who ministered about the tabernacle. And everything
about that tabernacle and those priests and those Levites and
the sacrifices, every single one of them were a type of our
Lord Jesus Christ. And where David messed up is
that he, he knew these things and went ahead and done them
anyway. And it cost a man his life and it cost him a lot of
discomfort. A lot of discomfort. Look what
it says now. The priests were taken from among
men in things pertaining to God. Ain't that what it says there
in verse 1? For every high priest is taken from among men. And
here's the thing about it. He's ordained. Ordained. Who ordained him? God does. For
what? For men in things pertaining
to God. But he ordained these priests
for things pertaining to God that he may offer both gifts
and sacrifices for what? For sins. Huh? And so God took
them from among men as pertaining to God that they can offer sacrifices.
And our Lord Jesus Christ was made of the seed of David according
to the flesh. And God set him apart and ordained
him to be our mediator and our great high priest that's passed
into the heavens. And then look what it says there
in verse 4. And no man taketh this honour
unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
The priests were chosen of God. Aaron didn't say, I believe I'm
going to enter the ministry. Aaron didn't say, I think I'll
become a priest. He didn't go off and go to school
and go to be a priest, put on a bunch of garments. No, no.
The priests were chosen of God. No man took this honor unto himself. And so our Lord Jesus Christ
glorified, glorified not Himself to be our priest. The Father
ordained Him, chose Him, set Him apart to this blessed office. And set Him apart from eternity. And oh my, bless his holy name. Christ didn't take this honor
unto himself, but the Father sent me. He said, even as my
Father sent me. My Father gave me these people.
My Father put me here. My Father sent me here. My Father
gave me the words to say. The Father ordained him to this.
And that look over here now in chapter 9 verse 6 and 7 with
me for a minute So those priests were offers
the priest offers sacrifices And look what it says here now
in verse 6 Now when those things were thus ordained now listen
to things of everything that was ordained in the tabernacle
The priest went always into the first tabernacle accomplishing
the service of God And I tell you, they went in offering sacrifices
at the brazen altar. They went in offering sacrifices,
ministering around, putting the oil, making the lights go, and
burning the candles, and putting the oil in, and all those things. And the high priest, the high
priest, he was the only one allowed to offer an atonement, and only
that once a year. Ain't that what it says in verse
7? But into the second, with the
high priest alone by himself once every year but now watch
this now but not without blood which he offered for himself
and for the errors of the people you know no man no man dared
to assume this office and no man dared to take this duty unto
himself And those who did perished. You look up King, you know when
Isaiah saw the year the King Uzziah died, he saw the Lord. You know what King Uzziah did?
He decided to enter into the priesthood. He decided to go
into the tabernacle and go into the hole of Tivoli and burn incense
himself. Well the priest went in there
and laid hands on him and said, don't do this, don't do this.
He told her, mind your own business. I'm the king. I can do what I
want to. And God smote him and he became a leper right then
and there. Leprosy broke out on his head.
Leprosy broke out in his face. And everybody, and you know what
he had to do? He never ever come out in public again. He had to
go and stay in a house because he was unclean. God will not
let any type of the Lord Jesus Christ be dishonored under any
circumstances. He'll kill a man over that. And
I tell you there's going to be a multitude of people perish
because they do not come in God's due order. Now I tell you something,
if a 7 year old, a 5 year old, or a 4 year old, or a 6 year
old knows about sin, I mean knows sin, knows they're
a sinner, I mean a deep, dark, dead, died in the heart sinner. And if they know that Jesus Christ
was God, and that He alone put away sin by the sacrifice of
Himself, and that the only way that God can accept you is through
His blessed Son, then I believe that a man can be saved. Until
then, until I see that, and somebody tells me that and what happened
to him, there ain't no seven-year-olds that's ever been converted. They
ain't gonna convince me of that. And I'll get a chance to talk
to that guy about that one of these days. You wait and see.
I'm going to bring that up and say, Boy, where's that t-shirt
at? I bet he won't wear that anymore. Oh, I'm telling you. That's the
first place we start. We've got to start with God. the Lord Jesus Christ in His
death. You know what the first reason
of His coming and dying was? First and foremost, to satisfy
God. And when God's satisfied, then
Christ will come and open our hearts and reveal Himself to
us and put His Spirit in us and come and dwell in us. And that's what David didn't
do. He said he just bypassed all of that. And David, he finally said, oh
my. So he come. And so I tell you,
beloved, go back over here to 2 Chronicles 15 now. You know, our Lord Jesus Christ is our
high priest. He's our atonement. He's our
mediator. 2 Chronicles 15. No man, no man,
absolutely no man can come to the Father but by Him. That's what He said. Don't try
it. Don't try it. You know, over in Galatians says,
a mediator, one doesn't need a mediator. One person doesn't
need a mediator. God is one. He doesn't need a
mediator. You know who needs a mediator?
We do. We do. God's one. He don't need nobody to mediate
between Him and His Son and the Holy Spirit. But we need somebody
to come between us and God. You know, they have mediation,
you know. People have mediation now, you know. They want to get
a divorce or they get in a lawsuit or something, they'll hire a
mediator to come and try to bring the two sides together. Most time it don't help. Most
time it don't work. But when Christ mediates, the
man Christ Jesus sitting at God's right hand, when He mediates,
we can come and God will accept us because of Him. He'll never
turn us away. Never, never, never. And all
without question, that was what David's error was. He bypassed
the mediator. He bypassed the priesthood. And
that's, you know, and the Lord dealt severely with him and with
his friends. David knew. David knew God's
commandments in regards to the priest carrying that ark. And
oh my! And how to set it up. But David
and the people sought to approach God. And move and set up the
ark. and establish the worship without
God's priest. And how many people are worshiping
without God's priest? I don't want to do that. Oh,
I'm scared to death to Let something go through my mind. Oh that I've
done something. I've done something good here Well, just a minute.
I think I've done something good. I automatically say God forgive
me. Oh Listen Men they're all the
time trying to set up their worship without the priest without Christ
and God will not have it and that's a That's a deadly error
And I tell you, I don't care how sincere, it doesn't matter how
sincere a person may be in desiring to worship God, to know God,
to serve God, or even approach God. But he's worshipped and only
known and approached through the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'll tell you what, we walked
softly before him. We don't rush into His presence. You know, Scott used to say all
the time, just tell back to God what He's already said. And that's
what we do. We just tell the people what
God's already said. And when we pray, we're just
telling God things He already knows. We're not telling Him
nothing He don't know. But what we're telling Him is
that we need You. We worship You. We bow before
You. We submit to You. And we'll come the way you tell
us to come. We'll approach you the way you
tell us to approach. We'll worship the way you tell
us to worship you. Oh, I don't want to miss Christ.
Oh my. Cain built an altar. And he tried
to worship God apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, apart from
blood. God rejected him. And God cursed
him. And you know when Saul was waiting
for Samuel, he got tired of waiting. He ignored the prophet, he ignored
the priest, and he offered a sacrifice. And God rejected him from being
king. And you know what he ended up
doing? Committing suicide. That's what he ended up doing. Now look back here in First Chronicles
and let me give you three things real quick. Now David came to
God the right way. The priest carried the ark. Look
there in verse 14 and 15. So the priest and the Levites
sanctifies themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of
Israel. And the children of Levites bear the ark of God upon their
shoulders with the staves, their own as Moses commanded according
to the word of the Lord. That's the secret. Do it according
to what the Lord says. Then look at the second thing
now, down here in verse 25 and 26. God was pleased and helped
the priest who bore the ark. And I tell you something they
did. They offered blood sacrifices and when David returned to Jerusalem,
two things were missing. the priest and the sacrifices. Look what he said here in verse
25. So David and the elders of Israel
and the captains over thousands went to bring up the Ark of the
Covenant of the Lord out of the house of Obedidim with joy. And
it came to pass when God helped the Levites that bear the Ark
of the Covenant of the Lord. Now listen to what else they
did. They offered seven bullocks and seven rams. They offered
a perfect and complete sacrifice. and oh my and that was the two
things that were missing the first time he went to God a priest
in blood a priest in sacrifice and then oh look how humble David
he became humble this time and David verse 27 and oh my and
David was clothed with a robe of fine linens he became a servant
here now He became a servant. God humbled him down. His robe
with a fine linen, and the Levites that bear the ark, and the singers,
and Chenaniah, the master of the song, with the singers. David also had a linen epaulet
on. Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the coming of the
Lord, and listen to this, with shouting, and with sound of cornet,
with trumpets and cymbals making a noise with soft, And oh my,
it came to pass as the ark of the coming of the Lord came into
the city of David that Michael the daughter of Saul looking
out at a window saw King David dancing and playing and she despised
him in her heart. Oh my, he come in the right way
and then God blessed him. And they put that ark there and
they went back to the true worship of God. And I tell you, if God
would be pleased to let me preach to a congregation of say a thousand
people, five hundred people, I believe I could preach the
same thing and stress to them. There's only one way. David said we didn't seek him
after the due order. And when he went back, He brought
it up the right way. He could win according to the
word of the Lord. And I tell you what, that's the
only way we can ever worship God, is through His blessed Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm thankful for that, ain't
you? I'm thankful. Ain't you glad that it's, that
there's, you know, old Tim James said one time, one, if you start
adding a whole bunch of things together, you get people confused.
But if everything's just one, you know, you can't get confused.
One way, One Redeemer, one Mediator, one Savior, one Spirit, one God. You can't get confused with one.
You don't like it like that, don't you? Because I'm easily
confused. Thank God for the Gospel. Thank
God for our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our Father, Oh, our blessed,
blessed Father, great is your holiness, great is your glory,
great is your majesty. Oh Lord, you're infinite and
we're finite. You're pure spirit and we're
just flesh. But Lord, you made a way, you
made a way for this old frail, these old sinful people to come
into your presence, to be accepted, to be holy, to be righteous,
to be justified. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
And blessed be your holy name. In Christ's name. Amen. Amen. Well, I can't think of nothing
to say, so I'll let you go.