David Ravenhill.
It's a real joy to be with you
this morning.
I've told people for a number of years
there's one basic difference between my father's ministry
and my teaching.
That's about 45 minutes.
I've had to revise that in recent years
to about 30 minutes.
Pretty soon we'll be neck and neck.
I appreciate the ones that were leading the
singing this morning, that they were cooperative and
they cut down the song service a little
bit to give me a little bit more
time so I won't waste that time.
I'd like you to turn with me to
1 Chronicles chapter 13.
If you have your notes, I believe it's
page 29.
I want to speak about the presence of
God and the title, Preparing for His Presence
or Bringing Back the Presence of God.
I was asked to send these notes about
six weeks ago now and one of the
dangers in sending notes ahead of time is
that you're sort of bound by them when
the day arrives so please give me the
liberty of not necessarily covering every single verse.
In fact, already this morning I found one
that does not apply or seemingly got the
wrong verse.
But the background to this particular portion of
Scripture really is there in 1 Samuel chapter
4 where the children of Israel in a
moment of desperation decided as they were fighting
the Philistines that the only way in which
they were going to win the battle was
to bring the Ark of the Covenant into
the battle with them.
They were convinced that in doing that that
they would succeed in defeating the Philistines.
Instead God allowed His strength, as the Bible
says, to be given into captivity and the
Ark of God or the Presence of God
was taken by the Philistines and for seven
months caused havoc throughout the land of the
Philistines.
Seemingly the people broke out in hemorrhoids or
tumors and the god Dagon fell down shattered
in front of the Presence of God and
so on.
All sorts of devastation happened until finally after
seven months they wised up and said let's
get rid of the Ark.
And they decided that the way in which
they would do that they would put it
on a new card and send it back
and I'm sure many of you know the
story.
And it says that when they sent the
Ark back that it was placed in the
house of Abinadad for something like twenty years.
In fact, if you study the record a
little more closely than that that was the
initial period of time and then there was
a forty year period of time after that
in which the Ark of God was in
the house of Abinadad.
Something like sixty years when Israel was without
the Presence of God.
Sixty years in which the tabernacle never had
the Presence of God in it.
One entire generation and a half that missed
out if you like on the Presence of
God.
And David in 1 Chronicles chapter 13 verse
3 after he comes to the throne he
makes the statement, Let us bring back the
Ark of God to us for we did
not seek it all the days of Saul.
Mike Bickle who I have now had the
privilege of working with for almost a year
has a little phrase about your secret history
in God.
I wrote down that Saul's secret history in
God or I should say without God is
summed up there in that portion of Scripture.
That forty years in which Saul reigned over
Israel and never once did he seek the
Presence of God.
Never once did he inquire apart from when
it was too late did he ever really
inquire of God.
What a tragedy.
I think there is a parallel in this
portion of Scripture and it's the reason I'm
giving it today as to what God is
doing in the Church.
I believe that Saul's reign is over.
Saul who was self-sufficient and independent of
God who never inquired of God.
He reminds me of the verse of Scripture
there in Ecclesiastes talks about the old and
the foolish king who no longer knew how
to receive instruction.
Nobody could teach him.
Samuel the prophet went to him.
He refused to listen.
And again his life is summarized in that
verse there.
We did not seek it all the days
of Saul.
I think Saul himself summarizes his own life
even better where he says I've erred exceedingly
and I've played the fool.
That was the summation of his life by
his own confession at the end of his
life.
I've erred exceedingly.
I've played the fool.
I think that again this generation spiritually speaking
now really could sum up what we have
accomplished in the last 40 years with those
same words.
We've erred exceedingly.
We've played the fool.
We've depended on man's methods and man's ways
of doing things and as a result we've
produced absolutely nothing.
But David was a different man.
David was from a different order.
David had different longings and different desires.
And David as it says there in your
notes had all the way through the Psalms
has this expression of his immense longing and
desire after God.
Psalm 42 where he says as a heart
panteth after the water brooks so panteth my
soul after the oil.
David's supreme longing was to bring back the
presence of God.
Psalm 132.
Again verses 2 to 5 there where he
says that I will not enter my house
I will not lie on my bed I
will not give sleep to my eyes or
slumber to my eyelids until I find a
place for the Lord a dwelling place for
the mighty one of Jacob.
Notice the intensity of that statement.
David says I'll not rest I'll not slumber
I'll not settle down until I restore God
back to his rightful place in the center
of if you like the Old Testament church.
He realized there was a dimension that was
missing.
And he realized as he became king that
he could not operate as king unless the
presence of God was part of his life.
Unless the presence of God was once again
reinstated into the center of the nation of
Israel.
You recall it was Jesus who borrowed the
statement from David.
There in Psalm 69 where he says zeal
for thy house has consumed me.
David again was the one that originally if
you like coined that expression.
Such was his longing zeal for thy house
it's consumed me.
David was consumed.
He had one supreme longing one supreme desire
and that was to know God intimately.
And so he decides that he will bring
back the presence of God.
You notice the decision came after the statement
there in verse 40 of 1 Chronicles chapter
12 where it says that they had had
a tremendous time of feasting.
It says there are great quantities of flour
cakes and pig cakes and bunches of raisins
wine and oil and oxen and sheep and
there was joy indeed in Israel.
And then verse 13 David consulted with the
captains captains of thousands and hundreds even with
every leader.
And he gathers his men together after this
time of celebration and he says listen it
seems good to me and I trust it
seems good to you why don't we bring
back the presence of God after all for
60 years it's been in the house of
Abinadad.
For 60 years it's been in a place
of obscurity.
For 60 years the average individual in Israel
has never seen or sensed the presence of
God.
Why don't we bring it back and they
agree that that's the right thing to do.
Now let me say this about the ark
and again you have the scriptures there but
in Exodus chapter 25 and verse 22 when
Moses made the ark according to the divine
pattern God said that it was the place
where he would meet with his people.
It was a place where he would commune
with them.
It was a place where he would speak
to them.
It was a place where he would dwell.
God was not in the box or in
the ark he dwelt between the cherubim.
The only thing that was in the ark
if you recall was the law and then
Aaron's rod that budded and then a portion
of the manna that the children of Israel
ate during the wandering in the wilderness.
I believe those three things if you like
symbolize the Godhead the law representing the Father
and by law I don't use that in
a negative sense.
James says it's the perfect law of liberty.
I think we've sometimes got a wrong conception
about God's law.
And then there was the rod that budded
symbolizing the Spirit of God the anointing, the
authority and then the bread again symbolizing the
Son of God I am the bread of
life.
But God said I will dwell there where
the ark is.
I will come to you I'll commune with
you I'll speak with you.
It was called the meeting place and David
says that's what we need.
We need a place of communion.
We need a place of intimacy.
We need to hear once again the mind
of God the voice of God.
So let's bring back the ark of God.
David was not simply speaking about a little
box about two and a half feet long.
He was speaking about bringing back God's presence.
And so he sets apart to do that.
And again in your notes if you are
following along David's motivation and let me say
this right from the very beginning I believe
that David's motivation was right.
I believe his desires were right his motives
were pure.
I don't believe there was any sense in
which David wanted to make a name for
himself.
I believe that David honestly longed again for
God's presence.
But David made a wrong assumption.
And the wrong assumption was this that just
because my motivation is right therefore my methods
must be right.
And I think maybe that's one of the
greatest problems in the church of Jesus Christ
today that we've assumed because our motivation is
right that therefore our methodology also must be
right.
And God had to teach David a very
costly lesson as we go through this portion
of scripture.
You notice he consulted everybody but God.
Very easy isn't it to sort of compare
ourselves among ourselves.
Paul writing to the Corinthians says if we
compare ourselves among ourselves we're not wise.
I remember hearing a number of years ago
about a watchmaker who set up his practice
in a small town and the main industry
in that town was some sort of a
paper mill.
And 80% of the men were employed
in this particular mill.
The watchmaker after he had set up his
little store he noticed that every single morning
without exception a gentleman came by looked in
the window took out his watch adjusted it
very carefully to the clock that he had
in the window and went on his way.
And this went on week after week after
week and finally out of curiosity one morning
he stopped the man and he said to
him he said listen I'm the watchmaker I
own this shop and out of curiosity he
said I've noticed that you know every morning
you come by you take your watch out
you adjust it he said I just wonder
who are you and so on.
And the man said well you see I'm
the foreman down at the mill and it's
my responsibility every morning to or every lunch
time to blow the whistle.
And the whistle of course not only signifies
that it's 12 o'clock time for the
men to take a break for lunch but
he says also it's amazing how many people
in this village set their watch and their
clocks by my whistle.
And so he said I need to have
the right time.
The watchmaker sort of chuckled and looked at
him he said you know for the last
three months ever since opening this shop I've
been setting my clock according to your whistle.
And I think many times spiritually we do
the same thing.
We compare ourselves among ourselves and we're not
very wise.
David again consulted with thousands of the captains
of thousands and hundreds and hundreds and so
on.
The end result being that he lacked wisdom.
The one individual if you like the one
person that he should have consulted and prayed
to was God himself.
But he failed to do that.
And therefore consequently the thing came to a
place of disaster.
David's restoration David's restoration again his desire was
to bring back the ark of God.
Notice in verse 6 it says and David
and all Israel went up to Bala that
is to Kirith-Jerim which belongs to Judah
to bring up from there the ark of
God the Lord who is enthroned above the
cherubim where his name is called.
You see it was not simply the ark
again that David was after but it says
the Lord the ark of God the Lord
who is enthroned above the cherubim.
That's what David was longing for.
David wanted to see restored again to Israel
to his own life individually the presence of
God.
And so he sets apart about doing this.
You notice it says in verse 7 and
they carried the ark of God on a
new cart from the house of Abinadad and
Uzzah and Ahau drove the cart.
I think there's been a lot of confusion
over this verse in verse 7.
I've heard it said many many times that
the way in which David decided to bring
back the presence of God was the way
in which the Philistines did it.
In other words David relied upon the method
of the world.
He took the same method that the Philistines
used and therefore he was he met with
disaster.
Well the end of that is true he
did meet with disaster but I do not
believe that he was copying the way in
which the world did it.
Rather I believe the world was attempting to
copy the way in which God ordained at
least to their understanding the way in which
the ark was to be transported.
Let me show you that if you turn
to Numbers chapter 7 before we do that
let's go to 1 Samuel chapter 6 1
Samuel chapter 6 gives us the details of
the Philistines bringing back the ark or sending
back the ark and in verse 2 it
says the Philistines call for the priests and
the diviners saying what shall we do with
the ark of the Lord?
Tell us how we shall send it to
its place.
Now prior to this in verse 11 of
the previous chapter you'll notice that they had
all sorts of problems with the ark.
There was disaster on every single hand it
says the latter part of that verse for
there was deadly confusion throughout the city.
The hand of God was very heavy there.
And the Philistines realized that listen we cannot
afford to make another mistake.
Every time we've moved the ark every time
we've handled the ark God has come down
and there's been confusion there's been a sort
of a heavy hand of God resting upon
us.
And therefore what they did if you like
they inquired of their gods.
Verse 2 it says they called for the
priests and the diviners and they said listen
you inquire you find out how we get
rid of the ark.
We don't want to make any more mistakes.
And you'll notice that the diviners and the
priests and the religious men of the Philistine
camp if you like they get their heads
together they do a little bit of research
and in verse 7 when we have the
result of that it says now therefore take
and prepare a new cart and two milk
cows on which there has never been a
yoke and hitch the cows to the cart
and take their calves away and take the
ark of the Lord and place it on
the cart and put the articles of gold
which you shall return to him as a
guilt offering in a box by its side
and then send it away that it may
go.
Now why was it that they came up
with that particular method?
Why was it that they said listen this
is the way to do it you need
a brand new cart make that brand new
cart set the ark of God on it
put some oxen in front of it and
send it on its way that's the way
to get rid of it.
You see I believe that as the Bible
says the children of this age are wiser
many times than the children of light.
I believe that they had one desire and
that was to make sure that well listen
we don't have any more problems we need
to handle this thing correctly.
Why do I say that?
Because if you turn over to the book
of Numbers Numbers chapter 7 we have this
background to the transportation of the tabernacle.
In verse 3 it says when they brought
their offerings before the Lord six covered carts
and twelve oxen a cart for every two
of the leaders and an ox for each
one and they presented them before the tabernacle
and the Lord spoke to Moses saying accept
these things from them that they may be
used in the service of the Tent of
Meeting and you shall give them to the
Levites to each man according to his service.
So Moses took the carts and the oxen
and he gave them to the Levites.
It says four carts and eight oxen he
gave to the sons of Merari according to
their service under the direction of Ithamah the
son of Aaron the priest.
Verse 9 but he did not give any
to the sons of Kohath because theirs was
the service of the holy objects which they
carried on their shoulder.
Now notice the Philistines didn't quite get the
method correct but they did find out this
they did their research and they said listen
one of the ways in which the various
articles are transported they always transport them on
brand new carts and if we are going
to return the presence of God we better
make sure we do it according to God's
method.
Now the only thing that was not transported
on a cart was the ark of God
that's where they failed but I do not
believe in that sense that David you know
was copying the world's way of doing it.
I believe that the world in a sense
was trying to be so close to God's
way as they possibly could because they knew
if they didn't do it that way it
would meet with failure.
Would to God that the church was that
determined to follow the ways of God that
even though we may err at least we
say God we need to seek you we
need your mind we need your direction we
need to do it according to the understanding
of your word and so David decides that
he will take back the ark of God
and put it again on a new cart.
If we go back into 1 Chronicles chapter
13 you
notice that God said to Moses that the
ark could not be transported any other way
than on the shoulders of the priests those
that were consecrated those that were set apart.
I believe that is true I believe that
what God is looking for today is no
longer methods He's looking for men He's looking
for God ordained God appointed men God men
that are being consecrated by the spirit of
God men that are being separated unto God
unto the purpose of God as I read
through the word of God I find invariably
that God is looking for men He looked
for a man to stand amongst them there
was a man sent from God whose name
was John look out from among you seven
men full of faith and of a good
report and so on and so forth God
never uses methods I believe what God is
doing in these days He is raising up
a new generation Paul Cain calls it the
new breed but He's looking for men that
can carry the presence of God He's done
with sort of methodology we love to rely
don't we on sort of new cards I
remember preaching once on this particular message and
somebody came up to me afterwards and he
said you know what a new card is
made of it's made up of big wheels
and boards and I think most churches have
got new cards don't they they're sort of
governed by big wheels and boards that tell
them exactly what to do and how to
operate and so on and the methodology to
use and so on and God is saying
listen get rid of the big wheels and
boards if you can't get rid of them
get out from among them start something else
but God is saying listen my presence does
not rest on methods it rests on men
it rests on men that are consecrated it
rests on men that are separated it rests
on men that have had the blood applied
to their ear to their thumb to their
toe they've got a separated hearing a separated
service a separated walk they know what it
is to seek me they know what it
is and know my mind and know my
will and so David again makes this mistake
his motivation again is right there is nothing
wrong with his motivation his methods are drastically
wrong and so he seeks to bring back
again the the ark of God and he
says in verse 8 and David and all
Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all
their might even with songs and with lyres
with harps and tambourines and cymbals and with
trumpets and notice the celebration was genuine I
don't think there is any question if you
are to look into this that they really
did have the presence of God in other
words the ark that they were transporting really
was the genuine article it really was God's
presence and therefore associated with that presence there
was tremendous celebration David was dancing the people
were spinning around if you like there was
great music there was great celebration there was
tremendous energy being extended because the presence of
God was there and I believe in a
sense that you know over the last number
of years as being in the church of
Jesus Christ a restoration if you like or
at least a renewal in the realm of
celebration we have come into a dimension of
praise and worship we have come into a
new dimension of songs to the Lord and
so on and I believe that God has
inhabited many times the presence of praises of
His people I believe that God has come
down we have honestly been able to say
God was in the meeting tonight or God
was in the meeting this morning because the
presence of God was there in other words
even though our methods were wrong God at
least for a period of time sanctioned what
we were doing and so the same thing
is true of David even though he is
using the wrong method God's presence nevertheless is
resting on the cart I think we also
need to see that celebration and liberty are
not always a sign of God's approval I
think many times we judge a meeting according
to the freedom in the atmosphere according to
the amount of noise that we make and
so on and so forth here was tremendous
noise tremendous celebration but it was not necessary
it was not met necessarily with God's approval
and God had to teach David a very
real lesson in the midst of this if
you are following along in your notes at
number five David's correction because you will notice
something it says there in verse eight or
verse nine when they came to the threshing
floor of Chidon it has always amazed me
as I have read this portion of scripture
that when they came to possibly the most
level portion of ground on their whole pilgrimage
and I am not sure how many miles
it was but when they came to a
threshing floor suddenly the oxen began to unsteady
the ark I don't believe it was the
oxen I believe God was in control I
believe God was trying to teach David one
of his spiritual leaders or the spiritual leader
at the time he was trying to teach
him a divine object lesson why did it
happen at the threshing floor again the threshing
floor in the natural is a very level
place you don't thresh wheat on a place
where there is all sorts of rough terrain
you don't thresh where there is all sorts
of boulders and rocks and so on and
so forth because obviously you would lose all
the grain down there it would be impossible
to reap your harvest you find a place
that is as level and smooth possibly some
great big huge rock or something and that's
the place where you do your threshing and
yet of all the places on that trip
as they came no doubt over all sorts
of rocks and rough roads and we need
to understand they didn't have the highways that
we do that everything went smoothly until they
came to the threshing floor and then suddenly
everything went wrong and as he puts forth
his hand to steady the ark and suddenly
God destroys him I'm convinced as we look
at this as a parallel of what is
happening today that the church of Jesus Christ
today is at the threshing floor there is
no question in my mind that this is
where we are at in God's time table
this is where we are at in God's
program the church of Jesus Christ right now
is going through a time if you like
where things seem to be shaking where God
is doing a work of divine threshing you
see the threshing floor is a place of
separation the threshing floor is a place where
He separates the wheat from the chaff where
He rids one of the other and I
believe we are seeing that in the church
of Jesus Christ today in
1 Chronicles chapter 21 David has been moved
upon to number Israel what he did was
he took a census find out how many
people there were in Israel you wonder why
God judged him 70,000 men died as
a result of that decision why was God
so angry what was David doing he simply
called his men together and said I want
to know how many men there are in
Israel but you see he wasn't interested in
how many twins had been born he wasn't
interested in how many people he had over
the age of 50 he wasn't interested in
how many marriages had taken place David had
one specific thing in mind when he numbered
Israel that was how many men I can
rely on in time of need he wanted
to know how many men he could rely
on how many soldiers how many men that
could draw the sword and the reason that
God judged David so severely there in verse
14 when 70,000 men died was because
David was beginning to rely on the arm
of flesh David was saying listen how strong
am I how self sufficient am I I
don't really need God I've got so many
men in fact when Joab was there when
he brought back the report there was over
a million or one and a half million
men that were able to go out to
battle and David again immediately felt listen I'm
secure nobody can defeat me I've got so
many men to rely upon somebody said that
David's sin of passion with Bathsheba cost him
one life David's sin of pride cost him
70,000 lives I think so often when
we talk about David's greatest sin immediately we
go to Bathsheba and we think you know
that was the greatest sin in the life
of David I don't believe that and by
saying that I'm not belittling in any way
that area of immorality God does not condone
that but God took away the life of
that child that was born out of that
union with Bathsheba but when David had pride
in his life God took away 70,000
of his choicest men He says if you're
going to rely on them I'm going to
deplete them I'm going to make you rely
upon me David is able to say later
on in the Psalms some trust in chariots
and some in horses but we will remember
what the name of the Lord our God
but it was on that occasion that David
comes and in order to stay the hand
of God he is told to make a
sacrifice and he goes to the threshing floor
you recall that when he got there that
Ornan said to him listen I'll give it
to you it's yours and he said God
forbid that I should offer to God that
which costs me nothing and he makes a
sacrifice to God and the the angel lord
puts his sword back in his sheath and
the plague is stayed and as David is
standing there on that threshing floor notice what
he does there in 1 Chronicles chapter 22
and verse 1 and David said this is
the house of the Lord God and this
is the altar of burnt offering for Israel
suddenly as he is standing there on that
threshing floor there is a sort of prophetic
mantle if you like that comes upon him
divine revelation is given to him and as
he stands on the threshing floor he says
this is God's house now there was nothing
there there were no buildings there there was
no outer court a holy place a holy
of holies it was simply a barren place
it was a threshing floor belonging to a
farmer out in his field somewhere but David
suddenly by the spirit of God he says
this is God's house in other words David
understood by divine inspiration that the foundation of
God's house is a threshing floor it's a
place of separation the ecclesia the called out
ones the separated ones he says it's on
that sort of a rock that I'll build
my church you notice you go over into
2 Chronicles and chapter 3 verse 1 and
Solomon began to build the house of the
Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah where the
Lord had appeared to his father David at
the place that David had prepared on the
threshing floor of Ornan the Jebuzite