Sermon Tone Analysis
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Intro:
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:
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
When David became king over Israel, his first major decision was to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant.
He issued a royal proclamation:
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.
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.
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
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
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
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