God's Presence Makes the Difference
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Intro:
17 So they brought the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
Today, as we have our first service under our pavilion, I want to share on the thought of, [God’s Presence Makes the Difference].
There are certain objects, tools, or devices that make all the difference. For instance:
When I first moved out on my own, I had very little and I knew very little about life.
I had a friend from Oklahoma come to stay for a few days. I had something to do at church, so he stayed at the house and got a steak from a local restaurant.
I came back from the church event and asked, how as the steak. He told me, you need to get some steak knives. I didn’t eat steak at the time, and I said, I thought I had knives.
He looked at me, dead serious, and explained that cutting a steak with a butter knife was not ideal, the proper knife would have made all the difference.
Another time in Salem, I had to check the propane tank to see if I needed more. I opened the top and hundreds of bees swarmed the top of the tank.
I went inside and looked at what I had. I settled on a broom. I walked out to the tank, lifted the broom, got ready to swing, and it is as though I heard the voice of God— THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT TOOL.
I went and got some spray and took care of the bees. The right tool made all the difference.
Life is better, the job is easier, and everything runs smoother when we have the right tools, they make all the difference.
As I think about our lives as followers of Christ, especially as Spirit-filled believers, I thought about what God has given us that makes the difference!
There are many religions, many belief systems, and many thoughts about God. But we serve the One True God who promised:
20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
If we surveyed our life and look back on the blessings of God, we could all agree that His PRESENCE is what makes the difference.
I want to look at one of my favorite events of the Old Testament. I love reading about David moving the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem.
Through this account, we will further see that God’s Presence Makes the Difference.
Let’s look at where the Ark of the Covenant rested on its journey to Jerusalem. I have three points, [The Wrong Place], [A Righteous Place], [The Rightful Place].
Let’s begin
1. The Wrong Place
1. The Wrong Place
1 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand.
2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale 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.
When David became king over Israel, his first major decision was to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant. He issued a royal proclamation:
3 and let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we have not inquired at it since the days of Saul.”
Why was he adamant about retrieving the Ark?
The Ark was more than symbolic furniture—it housed the very presence and glory of God.
By the time of David’s reign, the Ark had been in the wrong place for far too long. It all started more than forty years before David.
The final judge of Israel, Eli, allowed the nation to backslide. His son’s rebelled against the Lord.
11 Also the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
The Philistines captured the Ark. Why would they want Israel’s Ark?
They could tell it made all the difference. Whenever Israel took the Ark into battle, they would succeed. In the Philistines mind, if they stole the Ark, the difference-maker, then they could succeed.
Boy were they wrong.
They took God’s Ark and set in a temple of their god named Dagon. The next morning, they find that statue of Dagon fell face down before the Ark.
The placed the idol upright and the next day, not only had the idol fallen, its head, arms, and legs broke off the statue.
Then the Philistine people broke out in tumors, and they knew why.
7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.”
The Ark was in the wrong place. The problem with the Philistines was:
They wanted the presence of God without a relationship
They wanted the benefits of God’s protection without commitment to God
This type of mindset NEVER works!
Long story short, they placed the ark on a cart led by two milk cows and the Ark ended up in a place called Kirjath Jearim. It stayed there for over forty years.
The presence of God makes little difference if we place God in the wrong place in our lives.
David began to move the Ark, and for a while, it ended up at...
2. A Righteous Place
2. A Righteous Place
11 The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his household.
David’s motives were pure in his desire to see the Ark of God return to Jerusalem. He knew that God’s Presence Makes the Difference.
David’s only problem was he tried to get God’s presence the wrong way.
When David consulted with the people on the need for the Ark to reside in Jerusalem, they were not diligent enough to see how God wanted them to move the Ark.
God left specific instructions on how to transport the Ark. Instead of doing it God’s way, they placed the Ark on a cart and started moving.
Remember how the Philistines sent the Ark away on a cart pulled by two cows.
The oxen who pulled the Ark stumbled, a man reached out to steady the ark and died. David was distraught, the people were discouraged, and they determined to leave the Ark alone for a while.
But they needed to place the Ark in the home of someone who was righteous and holy.
They settled on a man by the name of Obed-Edom.
I have often wondered how that was for Obed-Edom. Mistreating the ark cost someone their lives and he was about to set it in his home.
I imagine he had a serious discussion with his family. Kid’s this Ark houses God’s presence. We cannot take it for granted. We cannot misuse the Ark. It is holy and we need to treat it as such.
He would have carefully selected a place of prominence for the Ark as he felt honored that God would allow His presence to rest in his home.
Then something began to happen, everything in his home started to get blessed.
His marriage was blessed
His children were blessed
His finances were blessed
His business was blessed
His crops were blessed
His cattle were blessed
The favor of God hovered over his house.
No doubt the neighbors wondered, what is different about Obed-Edom, everything he has is blessed.
Perhaps it became a topic of discussion for the family. Why is everything going so great all of a sudden?
Obed-Edom knew why— God’s Presence Makes the Difference.
God wants His presence to reside in our homes. If we will welcome His presence, OUR LIVES WILL EXPERIENCE HIS SUPERNATURAL BLESSINGS!
3. The Rightful Place
3. The Rightful Place
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.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness.
13 And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep.
14 Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod.
The blessings of God that fell on Obed-Edom’s home caught people’s attention. David took note and determined to get the Ark back to Jerusalem, but this time they would do it God’s way.
They gathered the Levites who were responsible to carry the Ark and with each step closer, the crowds grew excited. Joy overtook David and every six steps he began to dance before the Lord.
The closer they got to Jerusalem, the more everyone joined the roar of praise rising to God.
They were singing
They were dancing
They were shouting
They were playing their instruments
Why?
They knew the Ark made ALL the difference. It had been nearly half a century since the Ark had been a focal point for the people of Israel.
And now, it was back. The Ark had made the difference in their history:
They carried the Ark into the Jordan river when they entered the Promised Land
They carried the Ark around the walls of Jericho before they fell down flat
They carried the Ark into battle
Wherever the Ark was, the presence of God worked on behalf of the nation.
1 Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.
Now, with the presence of God returning to its rightful place, they had the hope that they would enjoy the presence of God and that would make all the difference.
David reversed the flawed ideology of his predecessor. He knew without the Ark, they would never make it as a nation.
Close:
I have shared this before, but I love this story. What joy to know that the presence of God makes all the difference.
I prayed about what to preach this morning. It is our first service under our pavilion and the Lord reminded me of David moving the Ark.
But I want to emphasize where he placed the Ark.
17 So they brought the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
1 David built houses for himself in the City of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched a tent for it.
He placed the ark, the presence and glory of God, under a tent or a tabernacle, similar to the one we are under right now.
I’ve thought about this tabernacle, and realized it was not the only one at that time.
Other nations put up tents, tabernacles, and build temples to their gods.
Other nations made sacrifices to their gods.
Other nations had religious ceremonies.
but NOTHING rivaled the Tabernacle of David.
Why?
Because it had the Ark, the presence of God, and His presence makes ALL the difference!
We were very prayerful and intentional about the planning for our outdoor gathering place. We are getting there. We have our pavilion, almost finished.
We have started the play ground.
We have plans for the firepit.
But the thought came to me, up and down this highway:
there are other pavilions
there are other playgrounds
there are other fire pits
there are other places for people to get together.
So what will make our special?
Remember, God’s presence makes the difference.
I believe that the Lord wants to pour out HIs presence under this pavilion, just as He has in our sanctuary. Then, when people from our church, from our community, or even those driving down the road, stop here, they will feel something different!
I pray that God use the time, talent, and resources we’ve invested in this place to make the difference in the lives of others.
Then when people ask, you go to Vulcan Assembly, there is just something different there, what is it?
We can answer, GOD’S PRESENCE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE!
But for that to happen HERE it has to start IN HERE.
We cannot place God’s presence in the WRONG Place. We cannot desire His presence without a relationship. We cannot get the benefits without the commitment.
But when we put God in His rightful place in our lives, marriages, and families, our homes will become saturated with the presence of God.
For this is the right place, WE are temples of the Spirit and God dwells with us.
So let’s welcome His presence and believe that HE will make all the difference.