Holiness

Give your Bibles with you today. Turn with me if you would to second Samuel chapter 6 and will start with the first four verses David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel 30,000 and David arose and went with all the people who were with them from bail Judah to bring up from there.

The ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of host who sits enthroned on the cherubim and they carry the ark of God on you cart. They brought it out of the house of the been a day of which is on the heel and others in Ohio, the sons of the been a dam were driving the new card with the ark of God in Ohio went before the ark that with me as we go to the Lord in prayer.

Heavenly father. The passage of Scripture that I'm preaching on the day is hard.

It's hard because it forces us to take seriously your holiness and our sinfulness is shocking passage to slap in the face. It's a reminder that we have no right to view you as only a God of love, you are indeed a God of love and mercy and grace. But those attributes do not negate your holiness and righteousness father.

This passage is not just a theological history.

It's a wake-up call. We take your grace for granted. We refuse to deal seriously with sin in our lives. We too often forget that it was our low some sin that sent Jesus to the cross. Please use this passage to increase our fear of God. We don't be scared of you, but we want to be so wild by your holiness that we would despise our sin. Take this tough passage make us tender for Jesus, keep my lips from arrow. What is the precious holy name of Jesus that we pray. Amen may be seated. In 1979 I received a call from Olive Grove Baptist church in Creekmore North Carolina to be their pastor. I had been there for about a month and one of the deacons came up to me and said Doug if he talked to Harvey yet and I said who's Harvey. He said will Harveys the tail atheist and he said all the pastors of knowledge growth have gone to him and tried to witness to him, and none were successful.

He said Harveys ketamine. He said he immediately smacked Pentecostal preacher one time and I thought to myself, why don't want to be out persecuted by Pentecostal preacher and so I decided to take the challenge and I prayed all that weekend and pray for Harvey stolen on that next Saturday I went to see Harvey. I went to his house. He was lit, lived in an old country farmhouse is a farmer.

He was a big guy had white hairs about 65 years all always was wearing overalls and I walked up onto his front porch. I could see him through the screen door and he was crying back in his lazy boy he was sipping on a Budweiser he's watching a baseball game. I knocked on the door and he screamed. Who is it. I said, it's Doug Agee on the new pastor down at Olive Grove.

He said what took you so long, AAA said, why have you come earlier instead which one of those hypocrites dented Olive Grove sent you all me anyway and I said well my Deacon Fred told me that you are nice. He said all I come only in and saw Winnie and I sat down in the on the couch and he clicked off the TV and he said all right what you got and I started sharing with. I shared my testimony with him of how I came to know Christ as my Lord and this is my Savior. Then I went to a gospel presentation withing I shared with him about the atoning work of Jesus on the cross.

I shared with him about the mighty power of the resurrection of Christ and how he was resurrected to break the power of death over us. I shared with him about the ministry of the Holy Spirit that God changes hearts and brings us into a relationship with him. Finally I got through he said okay said. I got up I got a passage of Scripture for you is in Leviticus chapter 10.

Why didn't have my whole Bible with me. All I have is my New Testament and when he said that I just kind of drew a blank.

And he said well he stated that then ring a bell with you said let me tell you what happened in the story. He said that Aaron had two sons, and these two sons were just little boys or names or late at night having a body and he said they were nephews of Moses and he said they came to the altar of God in the Scripture says that they offered strange fire. They roll torches to the altar.

He said element read you what happened and he got up and he walked over to his bookshelf and he brought back a bottle. He ended up to Leviticus chapter 10 verses one into then he read these words now night having to buy you the sons of Aaron, took each his sensor and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consume them, and they died before the Lord. He looked me right in the eyes face turns red as a beet. Then he pointed his finger at me and he said that your loving God, that your loving God peaked here were two little boys and they were just playing around.

They said they had murdered anybody they hadn't raped anybody they had were more guilty of child molestation. He said there were just playing around and he said, your loving God struck them down and killed the two little boys that belong to Aaron. I remember his hand shaking and he pointed his finger at me again.

He said I won't serve a God like that. AAA said I will serve a God like that they about because this is not right because this God did that which is was wrong. He said I'd rather go to hell. My sale for all of eternity than to have to go to heaven with a God like that. He said that you had your say so get out and I left the house that day and I remember driving back home in my head was just spinning. I'd never seen that kind of animosity against God before I went right to my bedroom and I got my Scripture out now begin the study.

Leviticus chapter 10, I found out the night having to buy he were not little boys. They were priest and the priest had to be over 30 years of age.

I found out that the strange fire that they offered was not just what he thought he thought they may have just taken some chemicals in and put in it and it was, went off like a sparkler. Know this was much worse. What they were doing was they were offering probably fire to a false God on the altar of Jehovah. Folks, the Lord took their lives. The Lord took their lives to show Israel at their God was holy and powerful and awesome and that there was no hope. Outside of this God through my years as a pastor. I've heard countless people mock the standards that God gives us in his word and I've heard them them say all my God would not condemn somebody for abortion. My God would not condemn somebody for homosexuality.

My God would not condemn somebody for fornication was a problem with that, there God that they're talking about is not the true God is a God that they made up in their imagination for the true God is the biblical God who tells us that he is holy and righteous and absolutely just, is he a God of love absolutely is for. There's never been any display of love that was greater than what Jesus did for us on the cross now share that with you this morning because second Samuel chapter 6 is very's similar to Leviticus chapter 10 God's judgment fell powerfully and quickly and it was not immediately understood.

In fact, it was misunderstood. In fact, it even angered and frustrated. David and David was a man after God's own heart pneumonic criticize David to honor the holiness of God better than David, absolutely not.

Absolutely not.

And that's why praise God for this chapter. This chapter stings my heart. It makes me realize how weak and how sinful I really AM and it makes me realize this, that the God that we serve is holier than I ever imagined brothers and sisters I'm here to tell you today do not neglect the holiness of God. Let it home will you let it break you let it convict you and when you see it in its reality when you realize just how holy God really is.

Then you begin to understand why Grace is amazing and why Jesus Christ is our only hope.

White three point someone to share with you .1 is transporting the art with it with me again at verses one through four. David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel 30,000 and David arose and went with all the people were with him from bail Judah to bring up from there. The ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of host who sits enthroned on the chairman and the care the ark of God on a new card and brought it out of the house and the been a dab which is on the heel and is us and Ohio, the sons of a been a damper drive in the new card with the ark of God and Ohio went before the ark.

I want you to notice of the Scripture refers here to the ark and doesn't refer to it just as the ark, but is ark of God.

This was the ark of the covenant. It was placed in the holy of holies, which is the second room in the tabernacle of Moses's about a 3 1/2 foot long box that was goldplated on the top of it was a Leah call the Mercy seat on the top of the Mercy seat. There were two sculptured cherubim that had wings that that went back over their head.

They were pointed toward each other on one day a year and only one day a year, the high priest would go in to the tabernacle. Hey, he would go back behind the veil that went into the holy of holies, and he would approach the ark of the covenant he would take with him a bowl of goat's blood and when he went in. He would take a branch of his that dip it down into the goat's blood, and then sprinkle it on the on the Mercy seat. When that happened, the Shekinah glory would come the Shekinah glory is the bright shining presence of God in a cloudlike form and it would come. It would hover between the wings of the cherubim, and when that happened is assured. The high priest that God had forgiven their sins for the year that now inside the ark of the covenant.

There were three things that that represent the Lord Jesus Christ himself. There was a rod of Aaron that butted there with the two tablets of stone containing the 10 Commandments and it was a jar of manna, the rod of Aaron that but it is a picture of the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus.

Jesus is called what the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one.

Also, then we have the.

The two tablets of stone containing the 10 Commandments and is a picture of the righteousness and the holiness of our Lord and Savior. And then there's the jar of manna teaching us about the provision of Christ, a jar of man is a picture of the word of God that we need every single day.

Jesus said about himself. I am the bread of life, not the ark of the covenant was not God. The ark of the covenant is a representation of God is a prophetic picture of Jesus Christ to come and that's important now in Psalm 24 when David was under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, God inspired him with words that that were to be sung as the ark was to be brought in to Jerusalem, I will read you just some of these words.

Picture this is arts coming in, be lifted up, oh ancient doors that the King of glory may come in who is the King of glory, the Lord opposed he is the King of glory.

So, make no mistake about it, David is pumped up about bring in the ark of God into Jerusalem.

He's excited about the people experiencing the presence of God in their midst. John Calvin said this, the ark was a standing witness that God wanted to dwell in the midst of his people. So let me ask you something wise honoring of the ark. Why is that not idolatry. We are told in the second commandment that we are not to make into our sales any graven images. So what's the difference between a a goldplated 3 1/2 foot long box called ark of the covenant, and a stone statue that was made by the Philistines that they called their God day God. What's the difference.

Will the Philistines woods would bow down before that that stone statue and they would worship it as if it were a God. The ark of the covenant was not God and the people knew it was not God. They knew it was a representation kind of like a sacrament. They worshiped it in and the way we would use a sacrament like the Lord's supper. We celebrate the Lord's supper. We don't worship the bread and the wine but we use it to help us to focus upon Jesus and folks that's with the ark did was a representation of God that was used to focus Israel on Jehovah high when David became king. Where was the ark.

The ark for 20 years had been in a town called purist Jeremy or bail Judah's the same town and it was in the home of a priest whose name was a been a dab and the priest had a son. His name was Eliezer that was his oldest son in Eliezer it was taking care of the ark. He was watching over the art, and he watched it with his very life for 20 years and why was the ark they are at the house of a been a day up in bail Judah because several years before this, the Philistines and the Israelites got into a terrible battle and the Philistines won that battle.

And when they did they took the ark and they brought it back to their camp. They were all excited about it. Until all of a sudden, those that were around the ark broke out in cancerous tumors and they realize man this is dangerous.

We gotta get this thing out of here so they built a cart and they took the ark and they put it up on top of the cart and then they hitched it to Kyle's and they put the cows in the direction of Israel and they sent the cows down the road. The cows went down the road they went to a city in Israel called Buescher match there and Buescher match the people got all excited. The Israelites did the ark of the covenant is back and I got so excited that they went over and they looked into the ark, 70 people did that in their lives were taken right on the spot and they said this is too dangerous for us and so they they called on a been a dab and they said you come to get this architected to yourself. We can handle it. And so a been a day of got the ark of the covenant brought it back to his house and it was there for 20 years. So David became king when David became king PA set up Jerusalem as the new capital of Israel and one of the first things that he wanted to do was to bring the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem.

He built a tabernacle in place up on Mount Zion and there's where the ark would be. He was greatly excited about this and so he said to his men go to the house of a been a day of go to his house get the ark and bring it back to Jerusalem like that takes us to point to the holiness of God treated carelessly.

Look at verses five through seven, and David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with songs and liars, and hearts in tambourines and castanets and symbols and when they came to the threshing floor of Nikon also 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 kindled against Isa and God struck him down there because of his era and he died there beside the ark of God puts it is a good thing that David wanted the ark of God to be a Jerusalem. He was excited about the presence of God being in the midst of his people. So we got singers and musicians and dancers so as ark of the covenant was being brought in. They could vocally and visibly be worshiping the Lord. It was an exciting time for him so he sent a message to the house of a been a dab that the ark of God was to be brought to Jerusalem, and Billy Dabbs two youngest sons of Rosa and Ohio took the ark they placed it on a cart and they were taken, the, the cart back to Jerusalem higher was in the front, as it was on the side of the ark and they were marching with the ark all the way back to Jerusalem know me ask you something.

Why was the ark transported on a cart.

If you go back to Numbers chapter 4, you will see that in Numbers chapter 4 we have explicit directions on how the ark was supposed to be transported. First of all, the ark was to have have be covered over with goat skins so that nobody could look into it and then it was to be taken placed on the sanctified shoulders of the priesthood and to be carried on the top of that ark on each corner that there was a you a round handle. It was made of bronze and they would take poles to polls and they put them through those those handle handles and then the priest would get on for priest get on one corner of the ark. Each one of them they would pick it up, put on their shoulders and then they would carry it wherever it needed to go folks that what they had. They had instructions here that were playing his day is there's not an option here. There's not a choice to your own how it's to be done. They have explicit instructions. God says this is how you do it, but how did they do it.

They did it by putting the ark on the cart that blows my mind. Why did they do it that way. Like copy and they were copy in the Philistines for folks they they were getting instructions from the pagan world. Instead of from the word of God. The Philistines put the ark on the cart, driven by tales and the tales took the ark all the way to Buescher match what was going on. Will the house of a been a Dabbs Atlas to its expedient pay this work for the Philistines, so surely it'll work for us. We here at Grace Church believe in what is called the regular principle of worship and regular principle of worship says that you can't just worship God in any way that you choose to worshiping at you must worship God in the way that he prescribes for us to worship him in Scripture so you don't worship God.

Just because this makes you feel good you don't worship God. Just because this is a great way of entertainment you don't worship God because this feels pragmatic. It feels like it might work for us. No, no, no, you worship God. Only in the way that he prescribes us to worship him. So what did David in the sons of a been a dab do wrong. They followed the world and they neglected the word of God. John Calvin said this about this problem.

He said this was simply a result of the negligence of the previous generation. This shows us what happens when people are not used to participating in the worship of God. Calvin said the cause of the failure was that the people increasingly adulterated themselves and were not accustomed to the worship of God and were ignorant of the simple elements of it.

I remember years ago someone asked me to do point we have children's church here at Grace said do you not know that when you have people that are teaching the little children, those little children are getting all the teacher's attention and they love that attention and they get excited about it and they have a good time in their entertained and and this, like preschool list but it's for us on Sunday was just a great time for them to hear some Bible stories and so forth. And besides that, the then the parents don't have to worry about their kids for that hour and that they can just focus more on the sermon and I said no we we don't want to have the children's church here. And the reason is this.

We want our little children with their families and we want those little children learning as little kids how important it is that on this particular day on the Lord's day on the Christian Sabbath that we get together and we worship and that worship is important, that worship is not about us, that worship is about the Lord and we get together and you and we in in joy just experience in his presence, and we get together and and we realized how great and how powerful and how holy this God is.

We want our children to experience that to know that this day is not just about them. If this day is about the Lord and you know it. It is blessed my heart to see little children learning that from the time that they're just very very small incident when they grow up they know that this day is not about them. If this day is about Jesus.

We don't want to cheat our kids out of the privilege of deep sweet no nonsense worship so many churches in America moved entertainment instead of worship.

They have moved from God glorifying truth in exposition of Scripture.

They have moved away from that, in order that they might have motivational talks and self-help lectures, folks were not too concerned about just pleasing people.

We are concerned about glorifying God glorifying God and helping you and helping me to walk holy before our Lord. I said it many times over the last few months, but I believe the church and Americas get ready to experience persecution, like maybe we have never experienced it before.

I think we get ready to be shaken and if you're in a situation where you have just been subjected to entertainment is worship where you got self-help lectures instead of exposition of the word of God that I have a feeling a lot of those people are going to bail out and quit. I want this church to have the same attitude that Peter and James and John had when they were in Jerusalem and they were under great persecution on a region from acts chapter 5 versus 4342.

This is when they called in the apostles. They beat them and charge them not to speak in the name of Jesus and they let them go. Then they left the presence of the Council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for his name and every day in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

That verse 41 blows my mind. Here they are under heavy persecution. Wicked men are threatening them wicked men are equipping them wicked men are beating them. We can manner restraining them and when they leave what they do they rejoice that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ's sake.

That makes me realize that I've got a long way to go because often when I feel persecution come in all my first response is not joy like it should be. But anger I need to get to the point which joy back to the text. The ark is being carried on the cart is going headed toward Jerusalem and all of a sudden the the oxen. One of them steps in the whole and the cart begins to shake and the art begins to totter and when that happens is a reaches up and he steadies the art to keep it from falling and is soon as he touches our just like that he keels over dead. What happened to doing have a heart attack, seizure, stroke, and the Scripture says that God struck us a down when we think about that folks. We think think most often times when we read that wets a little radical man that's a little over-the-top. What was it was trying to do a good thing because it was reaching up and stopping at heart because he just didn't wanted to hit the ground even wanted to get dirty. He was trying to protect it. What was God's" God was saying in Israel you don't understand my holiness, Israel. You treat sin is trivial, Israel.

You think justice is unnecessary. God was saying it would have been better for the art to have dropped off in the mud than for us to have reached up and touched it while I because the mud's neutral the muds not since it's a simple but is a is not neutral as a was sinful as it was sinful and he cannot treat God with such negligence, but whether we understand God's holiness or not, we will not be allowed to market Roger Ellsworth said this in Scripture God is clearly revealed his holiness to us, even as he did Israel of old because of his holiness.

He cannot dwell with sin, and will not allow sinners to enter heaven here is on record as saying that nothing that the files will be allowed to enter their IT that makes the gospel glorious done it that that shows us that we will never be good enough to please God. That makes us run to the cross for forgiveness. My third point is servile theater verses eight through 11 and David was angry because the Lord had broken out against doesn't that place is called Perez us is to this day, and David was afraid of the Lord that day and he said how can the ark of the Lord come to me.

So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David, but David took it aside to the house of Obed Edom, the get tight and ark of the Lord remains in the house of Obed Edom, the get tight for three months and the Lord blessed Obed Edom and all his household. Dale Ralph Davis said this passage is one of those passages that makes us know that the Bible was not written by human invention that the Bible is actually the word of God because no human warning to uplift God would have written this story out this when we read the story we like David don't understand God's reaction. We think the story makes God look mean and is it was just trying to help, so he reached up to steady the ark and when he reached up to stated ark God shielding why while we say to ourselves. That's over the top. That's just tough as it was just trying to keep the ark from falling on the ground.

He was trying to do that which was right in here, David understands nothing. He doesn't understand why God reacted the way he did. These he feels just like us, he would've probably done the same thing you have reached up and and and and tried to steady the ark now. He was afraid of God folks are we supposed to fear God, don't it does in the Bible teach us that Christians are to have a fear of God. Yes, we are we take some about the fear of God that is true fear of God for the believer are fear of God ought to be in all field respect is the kind of fear that a little boy has when he looks up to a godly daddy and looks up to that godly daddy. He says I love you and I don't want to disappoint you and the little boy didn't run away from his daddy. He runs to his daddy is not what David was doing.

David was running from God.

He wasn't running to God he didn't understand what is was struck down because he doesn't understand what God has commanded that this kind of theorist call servile fear is the fear that a slave has when he scared to death of his master, a mean-spirited mastering beat seaman abuses him and so every chance he gets.

He runs from that master because he hates thing it didn't want anything to do with thing that's not a word of fear God, we are to fear God as as as a little boy who loves his daddy and trust his daddy and can run to wing. So David in fear since the ark of the covenant back to the house of Obed Edom.

He left it there instead of trying to bring it onto into Jerusalem he left it there so he can spend some time in the word of God and for three months. David went away, got off by himself got into the word of God to find out exactly what they had done wrong only share something closing with you that Richard Phillips said and listen carefully to this. I thought this was great. He said CS Lewis's children's tale the silver chair provides a fitting illustration to conclude the lesson that David learn about the holiness of God using the biblical image of a great lion name Aslan Lewis represents the holy majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The girl Jill encounters this line at a time when she is parched with thirst in a forest approaching the bubbling sound of a stream. She is horrified to see Aslan's menacing form resting before it like David, Jill, was arrested by holiness, so she started to back away. To her surprise, the line beckoned her to come forward if you're thirsty he said you may drink. Jill was very thirsty, but the line was simply too frightening. Afraid of his holiness.

She stammered I dare not come and drink.

The line answered. Then you will die of thirst. Oh dear, cry, Geo, but then she reasoned, I suppose I must go and look for another stream then turn shot. The line replied there is no other string so it is with a holy God who revealed his wrath in the death of us is through his holy son, Jesus Christ. We must humble ourselves to come in. The only way that God is offered the way of salvation through the blood of the cross we may set the gospel aside, but there is no other way to avoid the death experience prematurely by Osa for his sin. We must be willing to worship God as he demands a holy God who rejects the sinful inventions of man and we must seek his salvation in the way that he offers. Jesus said, truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come in the judgment, but is passed from death to life is pray. Heavenly father we been studying David's life for months nail we have seen him filled with faith and victorious over wicked enemies. We seen him writing Psalms under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. But today's episode is different. David is bewildered by your response to us a touching the ark. He doesn't understand because he was not is grounded in the Scripture, as he should've been.

David is always loved you. He's always wanted to glorify you this story. David is scared of you. This is not the right kind of fear.

This is not just all in respect is his debilitating fear, servile fear father. This story is recorded that we might not just see his dilemma, but that we would see his solution. His solution came when he pushed his emotions to the side and begin to devour God's word may we never forget that the word of God builds a godly fear of God, not a debilitating fear of God, help us to fear you, Lord, is a godly father not a angry judge. That is the privilege that we have as your children forts in the precious name of Jesus that we pray. Amen