What’s Your Worship Look Like? (2 Samuel 6)

Greatest rivalry in all of sports – And in the greatest game of the rivalry – UNC/Duke Final Four 4/4/22. Rams vs. Devils. Pretty clear which side God is on. Duke’s Coach K’s last game ever. I’m with Timothy at a father/son retreat. Bunch of other dads/sons. Watching the game on the big screen. And it’s back and forth all game. 18 lead changes and 12 ties. Until the moment came – One of the biggest shots in college basketball history. – Caleb Love shoots a long 3 pointer over the top of Duke’s 7 footer (213cm). And when he let the ball go, time stood still, all the air in the room was sucked out as everyone gasped and held their breath. And as the ball went through the net – the room went crazy. There was yelling, jumping, popcorn flying all over the room. I was so excited I threw Timothy in the air as high as I could and he almost went through the ceiling. When he hit his peak – his big eyes looked down on me in sheer terror – He was so high up. But thank God I caught him and we celebrated all night long. – Good had won and the evil devils had been defeated once and for all.

Most of you have no idea what I’m talking about and you really don’t care. You don’t share the same excitement as I do. There’s no emotional connection. And that’s really sad cause you’re missing out. (Heart racing. Re-living/telling.) – BUT it’s ok because that’s kind of the whole point for today’s message. – You don’t get all that excited for things you encounter in life that don’t matter to you. But for the things you love – You care a lot about. You’re invested physically, emotionally, and spiritually – in every way.

If you’re just joining us… Series: Search for a King. – Today – 2 Sam. 6. Bible. Turn. Screen.

Context: Last week – Political and Military conquests of King David, who has unified the nation under his kingship. Today – Spiritual/Religious…

All the way back – 1 Sam. 4 – The ark of God is lost. The Israelites presumptuously go out to battle against the Philistines and they try to manipulate God by taking the ark of the covenant out to battle thinking if they have the ark, the presence of God, there’s no way they can lose. 

Ark – Big, wooden box overlaid with gold. Where God’s presence dwelt. On top there were two golden angels facing each other with their wings covering the mercy seat in the middle. 

It was placed in the tabernacle in a place called the Holy of Holies, where it was the only piece of furniture. And one priest could go in once a year, and he would take the blood of a sacrifice and sprinkle it on the mercy seat, foreshadowing that God would one day provide a sacrifice for their sin. 

Inside of the ark were 3 things: a jar of manna (God’s provision); the 2 tablets of the Ten Commandments (God’s law); Aaron’s rod which had budded, (God’s miraculous power). 

But the Philistines defeat the Israelites AND take the ark of the covenant back to their land. But things go terribly bad for them. – Temple – Dagon – Facedown. Facedown with head and hands chopped off. Tumors and death. Move it around. – After 7 months of suffering – Send it away with offerings on a cart pulled by 2 cows back to Israel – Where some people – look at this cool ark we have – Look. – Die. So it gets moved again and it just sits there undisturbed. – Dangerous. Decades later until…

Text: 2 Sam. 5 David again gathered all the chosen 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, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. ³ And they carried 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, were driving the new cart, ⁴ with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark.

Everything seems good so far right? This is a big deal – David and 30k of his men go to get the ark back. They want the presence of God back – that’s great! But not so fast – Everything is not good. In fact, things are very bad. – Because the ark of God is on a new cart. – And why would that matter? It’s not like it was on an old janky cart. It was brand new and nice, I’m sure.

Problem – Not how the ark was supposed to be transported. That’s how the Philistines transported the ark. The people of God were to follow the Word of God and carry the ark. (Ex.25, Num.4) Yeah it’s more burdensome, it’s more work – But that was God’s prescribed way. 

1. God is to be worshiped obediently. His way. Only way.

We don’t get to determine how we worship God. We don’t get a say in what honors God or not. What God likes or not. God sets the rules and ways he desires to be worshipped. First Married – I’d buy Grace all these gifts. And she said to me one time – You know, you just buy me stuff that you like. You don’t consider what I like. Thought – Yeah, that was pretty selfish and self-centered of me. I was thinking more of myself than her. And that’s completely backwards.

We cannot worship God on our own terms. – That’s part of the role that the law/word of God serves for us. He makes clear what is good and what is not good. He reveals his heart to us so we can follow them. They are like guides/boundaries. But he gives us freedom within those boundaries. 

⁵ And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. It’s an all out party. The ark is coming back. The presence of God is coming back. Something to be celebrated. – Big time. David knows – God is the true king. So as he stands in as the earthly representative, he wants and needs the true king there.

 ⁶ And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. (They make it past the hill to the threshing floor which is usually pretty flat – and the oxen stumble here. And Uzzah, not wanting the ark to hit the ground, stretches out his hand to brace it and keep it from falling. – Something getting knocked off the table…) ⁷ And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. ⁸ And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day. (Lit. breaking out against Uzzah)

 A lot of people – I can’t believe God would over react like that. I could never believe or serve a God like that…

2. God is to be worshipped reverently.

Uzzah – Debate – Levite/Priest? He should have known better from the beginning – The cart. Touching the ark. Two problems – Unaware of his sinfulness. Unaware of God’s holiness.

Again – You don’t get to decide who God is. What he should be ok with or not. You don’t get to tell him what he can or can’t do. You don’t get to form God into your image and liking. – Clay telling the Potter. – Who do you think you are? What right do you have? 

God is who he is – Holy. – Holy, holy, holy. The only word used to describe him 3x. Not love, love, love. Not grace, grace, grace. Not faithful, faithful, faithful. Though he is all these things to perfection. And that’s because he’s holy, holy, holy.

And because he’s holy, holy, holy, no amount of sin can be tolerated. – No matter how small we think it is. The quality of the person determines the consequence of wrongdoing. – If you kill a mosquito – Hero. If you kill a dog – More serious. If you kill a cat – no one cares. If you kill a person – incredibly serious. If you kill a VIP – you’re done. But when you sin against God – Immediate death is what you deserve. No sin can be tolerated in the presence of God. – “Napkins” in KL. Thinnest little tissues that do nothing. Sign – Please use sparingly. – Environment. – Get better napkins. Our sin to God’s holiness – KL tissue paper touching the surface of the sun.

And the problem is not God’s holiness. It’s – we are all sinful. We’re full of it. We’re dead in our sin. So Uzzah actually got what he deserved. And the only fair question to ask ourselves – Will God give us what we deserve for our sin too?

When approaching God, when worshipping God. – We should not take our sin so lightly. No matter how small they seem to us. The slightest, most insignificant – death. So we shouldn’t freely live a life of sin during the week and just come into church so lightly. We must have a reverence for God that he is holy, holy, holy in our worship.

⁹ And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” ¹⁰ 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 Gittite. ¹¹ And 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. (Gentile/Levite? David – I need a favor. – One of our guys touched it and died- So we’re all a little afraid of it – Would you be willing to keep it at your house for us? – Just make sure no one touches it. Tell the kids – This is serious. – How he convinced Obed-edom? I don’t know. – But blessing.)

God’s presence can bring devastation or blessing – Depends on you and your standing before God. David was right – How can the holy presence of God dwell with sinful man to bring blessing? (Come back.)

¹² And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household 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 rejoicing. (On second thought – Let’s bring the ark back. Let’s try again.)

¹³ And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. (They get it right this time – They’re carrying the ark.) ¹⁴ And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁵ So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.

3. God is to be worshipped sacrificially/extravagantly. 

Sacrifices every 6 steps. Why be so lavish? Overkill? (Pun very much intended.) It’s not because God has needs. It’s about the worthiness of God. So the right question when it comes to worshipping God is not – How much do I have to give? It’s – What is God worthy of? If he’s God – EVERYTHING. So again, the question is not how much should I give – It’s – In joy, how can I give and leverage everything I have to reflect the worthiness of God? 

Anointing of Jesus – A woman breaks a jar of extremely expensive anointment to anoint Jesus in preparation for his crucifixion/burial. Washing his feet with her tears/hair. Some – What a waste. Think about how much good could have been done with the money. – Feed the hungry. Clothed the poor. – They think they’re more religious/spiritual than Jesus. Jesus – This woman’s worship was beautiful/right. Nothing given to Jesus in worship, no matter how great the cost, is ever a waste. He’s worthy of it all.

¹⁶ As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart. ¹⁷ And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. ¹⁸ And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts ¹⁹ and distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed, each to his house. 

4. God is to be worshipped corporately. 

Coronation – The king would give out gifts/blessings to the people. God the true King – his presence – blessing and joy – for all peoples. Not just the king. Not just the leaders. For everyone together. (Aphrodisiac?)

Often – People – I can just worship at home. I don’t get much out of the worship service or serving on Sunday. – Not trying to be harsh, but that’s an incredibly self-centered way to look at worship. There is no such thing as the Christian life lived in isolation from the church. Called – Disobedient Christians. 

Corporate Worship – Mutual benefit. Love and serve one another. Build up. – If you’re not around and you’re not engaged – You’re not able to use your gifts to build up others and others aren’t able to use their gifts to build you up. So you’re not only hurting yourself, you are hurting the church. Now I realize I’m preaching to people who are at church today. But if you’re not meaningfully engaged. You just come and go – Get connected today. Come to SP. Become a member. Join a serving team. Get into a community group. Serve our city through KRC.

²⁰ And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” (You’re not acting like a king. Fool. – Linen ephod – See through. Might as well have been naked. Ephod – priestly clothing. – Ushering in the presence of God.) ²¹ And David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord—and I will celebrate before the Lord. ²² I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.” ²³ And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

5. God is to be worshiped joyfully.

David’s response to God’s presence? – WORSHIP. – His whole body. With all his might. He’s not holding anything back and he’s not letting what other people think of him even as the king hold him back. There’s only one thing on his mind – the worthiness of God. 

I know there are cultural norms when it comes to worship and the worship service and we are an international church – beautiful diversity. BUT we must also recognize and be willing to critique our cultures and our preferences. Because some of our cultural norms and preferences may not be biblical. And wherever that is the case, we must redeem our culture through the word. – We obey the word in all things. Not our culture.

Some – More stoic. Others – more expressive. Which one is right? Yes. I just want it to be biblical. There are times for both. There are times to fall flat on your face before God in silence and there are other times to run around and jump and shout for joy. 

I’m just not an expressive person. – You’re telling me – if your favorite sports team, you find out you’re going to have a baby after years of infertility, you baby says mama/dada for the very first time, I handed you a million dollars that you’d just be like – Cool, that’s great with NO expression of joy or excitement. Then fine. But if not – area of growth. 

Well – You don’t know me. You don’t know what’s in my heart. – Yeah. That’s kind of the problem. No one can tell you love Jesus. You think he’s supremely worthy. That’s he’s your joy and treasure. People should know the worthiness of God through your worship. 

Well – Can you please be a little more helpful? – What should my worship look like? What does biblical worship look like? – All your heart, soul, mind, strength. I know – Sometimes you come in here tired. If we’re honest, that’s usually most weeks – for me too. So I wake up early and get myself ready. I get my heart, mind, soul, and body ready to worship. – At my age – I need to stretch first. – Don’t pull a muscle.

Many different postures of worship that are good and acceptable AND BIBLICAL – Singing, raising hands, clapping, shouting, dancing, crying, bowing down to the ground, silence. – I want to encourage you to do any and all of these things as the Spirit leads. Uncomfortable? Baby step? Smile. Start there.

When I worship – I want/need some space. So get out into the aisles if you need to. Sometimes I’ll just stand right over there in the aisle in the back. – 1) I love watching you worship. 2) I want my space to worship. AND I can’t dance. So if I feel led to bust a move. I don’t want to be a distraction to anyone.

Orderly – Biblical. Principles – We want to draw attention to God. We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves. Part of worship – Joy of self-forgetfulness. (David) Worship is not about you. Sometimes – The worship wasn’t that great today. – I’m sorry to tell you but our worship here is not for you. Yes – We want to make sure the worship team does their leading excellently and not in any way that distracts or draws attention away from God. – Thank the worship team. Grateful for you. – But our worship is for God alone.

Worship is also not about others. You’re not worried about what other people are thinking of you. Who cares? Just give God the worship he’s due. It doesn’t matter what others think. 

We want our worship to encourage others to worship. – Corporate worship. Privilege. 1x/wk. Reminds me – Whatever is out there, God is worthy of my worship here.

We want our worship to add to what is going on in the service. We don’t want our worship to be a distraction to others. Probably not the best idea to dance around naked here at Garden City – But for sure do that at home.

We want all our worship to show the worthiness of God.

Men – This is an area you can lead in. I’m a man – I don’t show emotions. I’m strong. I’ve got too much respect/dignity for myself. Lovingly – Get over yourself. No one thinks that highly of you. Stop taking yourself so seriously.

And listen – This applies to the entire service. Not just the portion while we’re singing. Our entire time here together is the worship service. So while the message/sermon is being preached – Engage. – Say Amen, Praise God, Hallelujah, Let’s Go, Ouch, Ooh, Ahh. Say something. You can at least nod your head – tracking. I know that may seem really irreverent or disrespectful to some when the Word of God is being preached – But let me tell you – It is such an encouragement to me when you are responsive. Not because I want you to affirm my preaching – But I want to know you’re hearing what God has to say. Because that’s all I’m trying to do up here. – To deliver to you from God’s Word. 

Lastly – Worship is not just what happens here at church on Sundays for 90mins. It’s every day. When you’re in your workplace, at school, in your neighborhood. – Can people take a look at your life – the way you live – the way you worship with your whole life – There’s definitely something different about him/her. – Joy, peace, generous, loving, kind, patient, etc. – Aroma of Christ. Presence of God.

If others can’t look at your life – It looks foolish! – Why would they lower themselves and serve others – especially those who are lower. Why would they give their money generously to the church? Why would they spend so much time at church on the weekend? Why wouldn’t they cheat and cut corners to get ahead like everyone else? – But at least they’re consistent with what they say they believe. Then you might not be living in a manner worthy of Jesus.

Not – How do you feel? But is he worthy? Yes, he’s God – that alone makes him worthy. But that seems so impersonal. Is there anything else?

Conclusion/Gospel: The Gospel. 

We all deserved to be struck down like Uzzah. But Jesus was struck down in our place to take the punishment for our sins so our sins could be forgiven and we can have the presence of God.

Remember all the sacrifices that were made as the ark was coming back? It’s Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross that makes the way for the presence of God to dwell with us by grace through faith.

Interesting – Two angels at the resurrection – ark. Empty tomb – Presence not isolated but in everyone who puts their trust in him. 

Does the gospel message, the love of God for you, not stir your heart to worship? Understand this – Worthiness of Jesus – Explode inside. Outburst of worship and praise. 

Your worship of God should lead others to curiosity about Jesus. – Who is this person that is worthy of the way you live? – Like David – We are flawed instruments of worship God uses to bring his presence into the places we go. – So that blessing, joy from God’s presence is known and celebrated by all the people.

There is only one person who is worthy of your worship – Jesus. There’s only one name under all of heaven by which you can be saved – Jesus. There’s only one God who loves you enough to lay down his life for you – Jesus. There’s no one like him. He’s your Creator, your Redeemer, your Savior, your Victory. And you can put your faith in him today.