Text:
I Chronicles 13:1-4, 7-14
I Chronicles 15:1-5, 12-14, 25-28

Theme: We need to take the service of God seriously.

Intro:

  1. Today, it is popular to have messy church, and to approach service for God in a slap-dash manner without proper consideration for the holiness of God and for Biblical patterns.
  2. The lesson to be learned from these chapters is that God rejects lazy, half-hearted, self-important service, but God rewards the true service of humility and obedience to Him.

I. David’s Failed Attempt to Serve God (I Chron 13)

  1. David set his heart on serving God (Vs 1-4)
    – You would all agree that what David desired to do was a good thing.
    – David wanted to prepare a more permanent place for the Ark of the Covenant, in fact, David was the one who wanted to build the Temple, but God ordained that Solomon should build it instead, because David was a man of war and bloodshed.
  2. David set his heart on his own way (7-14)
    – In verse 7, we are told that they set the Ark of the Covenant on a cart which was pulled by oxen.
    – This plan makes sense, really. Why would we carry this heavy, gold-plated box all the way up to Jerusalem if we could simply put it on a cart and make our oxen pull it instead?
    – In the book of Numbers, chapter 4, God instructed Israel that the holy things of the Tabernacle were to be carried on the shoulders of the sons of Kohath. No-one else was supposed to touch them, “lest they die.”
  3. Today, churches keep coming up with “new methods” for “doing church” and they introduce new music, new dress standards, and a new “message” too.
    – All of these changes might seem fine from the human perspective, but when our holy God looks down on this He cannot approve because it is all in total opposition to His plan for His local church and the Bride of His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ who died for the local church that he might redeem unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
  4. We need more Christians who will be willing to take a stand against the trends, ideals, and immorality of the world.

II. David’s Humble Service for God (I Chron 15)

  1. David’s Service Done God’s Way (Vs 1-5)
    – David was careful to follow the biblical pattern.
    – David gave instructions that no-one was to carry the Ark except the men who God had ordained for the task. Clearly David had done some thinking on this and realized that his initial approach to serving God was wrong.
  2. Psalm 29:2 “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”
    – To worship God in “the beauty of holiness” is to stoop before him adorned in sanctity, in a sacred separation from the world. That is certainly not the picture you get when looking at the modern churches full of strobe lights, drum kits and electric guitars, and pounding out their worldly CCM.
  3. David’s Recognition of His Fault (Vs 12-14)
    – This is another sign that David intended to serve God in a holy and proper way this time. The priests were always supposed to make themselves clean before serving in the Tabernacle.
    – David was concerned about the way they would approach service to God. They were not to serve God in a flippant manner but were to cleanse themselves first.
  4. David’s Service Blessed By God (Vs 25-28)
    – David and the Levites were encouraged when God blessed their efforts. (Vs 26)
    – When we approach God in the correct, respectful, and holy manner God will accept our praise and worship, but when we fail meet these criteria we will find our worship is not acceptable to God.
    – When we have cleaned out the sin and all the worlds junk from our lives, and we discover that our praise for God and be accepted when it is offered in holiness, we will rejoice and be glad. We will enjoy spending time praising God, when our spirit is in close fellowship with Him.
    Conclusion:

    1. Have you been struggling to properly worship God because of sin in your life? I encourage you to deal with the sin and get ack to a right relationship with God and then bring your offering of praise to his holy name.
    2. Be prepared to humble yourself before God and let him show you the things in your life that are displeasing to Him and then let Him change you for His glory.