Embracing God's Love: Reverence and Purposeful Gathering
Summary
### Summary
Today, we explored the profound and unending love of God, illustrated through the story of the prodigal son and the journey of the Ark of the Covenant. God's love reaches further than anything else, always calling us back to Him, no matter our state. We delved into 2 Samuel 6, where David gathered 30,000 chosen men to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. This story underscores the importance of reverence and obedience to God. Uzzah's tragic mistake of touching the Ark without proper reverence serves as a stark reminder that we cannot treat God's presence casually or try to "fix" God to fit our own understanding.
We also discussed the Philistine god Dagon, whose temple was desecrated by the presence of the Ark, illustrating that our God will not be mocked or reduced to a lesser deity. The Ark's journey back to Israel and its temporary stay in the house of Obed-Edom, a Philistine, highlights that God's blessings are available to all who honor Him, regardless of their background.
David's desire to bring the Ark to Jerusalem was not just a political move but a deeply spiritual one, emphasizing the need for God's presence in our lives. The gathering of the chosen men symbolizes the collective effort required to usher God's presence into our midst. This gathering is not just a physical assembly but a spiritual one, aimed at worshiping and honoring God.
We are reminded that God chooses us, and our response to His call is crucial. Our lives should reflect a deep reverence and obedience to God, aligning our ways with His. The act of gathering, whether in church or in spirit, is a purposeful act of worship, aimed at glorifying God and inviting His presence into our lives and communities.
### Key Takeaways
1. God's Unending Reach: God's love and reach extend beyond our failures and shortcomings. He continually calls us back to Him, just as the father welcomed the prodigal son with open arms. This relentless pursuit is a testament to His unconditional love and grace. [01:21]
2. Reverence for God's Presence: The story of Uzzah teaches us the importance of reverence and proper conduct in God's presence. We cannot treat the sacred casually or try to "fix" God to fit our understanding. Our approach to God must be marked by deep respect and obedience. [03:36]
3. God Will Not Be Mocked: The desecration of Dagon's temple by the Ark of the Covenant illustrates that our God will not be reduced to a lesser deity. He is the supreme, capital-G God, and His presence demands honor and reverence. [08:15]
4. God's Blessings Are Inclusive: Obed-Edom, a Philistine, was blessed for honoring the Ark of the Covenant. This shows that God's blessings are available to all who honor Him, regardless of their background or past. It’s a powerful reminder that God’s grace is inclusive and far-reaching. [23:37]
5. Purposeful Gathering: The act of gathering, whether in church or in spirit, is a purposeful act of worship. We come together not just to socialize but to collectively honor and glorify God. This gathering is essential for ushering in God's presence and experiencing His blessings. [33:56]
### YouTube Chapters
[0:00] - Welcome
[01:21] - The Love of God and the Prodigal Son
[01:52] - Introduction to 2 Samuel 6
[03:36] - Uzzah's Mistake and Reverence for God
[08:15] - God Will Not Be Mocked
[12:07] - David's Desire for God's Presence
[13:11] - Gathering the Chosen Men
[20:16] - God Chooses Us
[23:37] - Obed-Edom's Blessing
[33:56] - The Purpose of Gathering
[39:21] - Worship and Honor
[45:51] - Ushering in God's Presence
[47:06] - Closing Prayer and Worship
Study Guide
### Bible Reading
1. 2 Samuel 6:1-11 - The story of David bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and Uzzah's tragic mistake.
2. Luke 15:11-32 - The Parable of the Prodigal Son, illustrating God's unending love and grace.
### Observation Questions
1. What actions did David take to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem? ([02:35])
2. What was Uzzah's mistake, and what was the consequence of his action? ([03:36])
3. How did the presence of the Ark affect the Philistine god Dagon and his temple? ([08:15])
4. What was the outcome for Obed-Edom when the Ark stayed in his house? ([04:06])
### Interpretation Questions
1. How does the story of the prodigal son reflect God's unending reach and love for us? ([01:21])
2. What does Uzzah's story teach us about the importance of reverence and obedience in God's presence? ([03:36])
3. Why is it significant that God's blessings were extended to Obed-Edom, a Philistine? ([23:37])
4. How does the act of gathering, as seen in David's assembly of chosen men, relate to our modern-day worship and community? ([33:56])
### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you felt far from God. How did you experience His unending reach and love calling you back? ([01:21])
2. In what ways can you show more reverence and obedience in your daily walk with God? Are there specific areas where you might be treating the sacred casually? ([03:36])
3. How can you ensure that you are not trying to "fix" God to fit your own understanding, but rather aligning your life with His ways? ([15:22])
4. Have you ever witnessed or experienced God's blessings in unexpected places or through unexpected people? Share your experience. ([23:37])
5. How can you contribute to making your church gatherings more purposeful and centered on worshiping and honoring God? ([33:56])
6. What steps can you take to invite God's presence more fully into your life and community? ([45:51])
7. Think about someone in your life who might feel excluded from God's blessings. How can you reach out to them and show that God's grace is inclusive and far-reaching? ([23:37])
Devotional
Day 1: God's Unending Reach
God's love and reach extend beyond our failures and shortcomings. He continually calls us back to Him, just as the father welcomed the prodigal son with open arms. This relentless pursuit is a testament to His unconditional love and grace. No matter how far we stray or how many mistakes we make, God's love is always there, waiting to embrace us and bring us back into His fold. This is a powerful reminder that we are never too far gone for God's love to reach us.
In the story of the prodigal son, we see a vivid illustration of this unending reach. The son, who squandered his inheritance and lived a life of sin, was still welcomed back by his father with open arms. This story mirrors our relationship with God. Even when we feel unworthy or distant, God is always ready to welcome us back with love and forgiveness. [01:21]
Jeremiah 31:3 (ESV): "The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."
Reflection: Think of a time when you felt distant from God. How did you experience His love calling you back? How can you respond to His unending reach today?
Day 2: Reverence for God's Presence
The story of Uzzah teaches us the importance of reverence and proper conduct in God's presence. We cannot treat the sacred casually or try to "fix" God to fit our understanding. Our approach to God must be marked by deep respect and obedience. Uzzah's tragic mistake of touching the Ark without proper reverence serves as a stark reminder of this truth. It shows that God's presence is holy and demands our utmost respect.
In 2 Samuel 6, Uzzah's action of touching the Ark, even with good intentions, resulted in his death. This incident underscores the seriousness of approaching God with the right heart and attitude. It is a call for us to examine how we treat the sacred aspects of our faith and ensure that we approach God with the reverence He deserves. [03:36]
Hebrews 12:28-29 (ESV): "Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire."
Reflection: Reflect on your approach to worship and prayer. Are there areas where you might be treating the sacred casually? How can you cultivate a deeper sense of reverence for God's presence?
Day 3: God Will Not Be Mocked
The desecration of Dagon's temple by the Ark of the Covenant illustrates that our God will not be reduced to a lesser deity. He is the supreme, capital-G God, and His presence demands honor and reverence. The Philistine god Dagon fell before the Ark, showing that no other power can stand before the true God. This event is a powerful reminder that God is sovereign and will not be mocked or diminished.
This story from 1 Samuel 5 highlights the supremacy of God over all other gods and idols. It serves as a warning against idolatry and a call to recognize God's unmatched power and authority. We are reminded that God is not to be taken lightly or treated as one among many; He is the one true God who reigns supreme. [08:15]
Isaiah 42:8 (ESV): "I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols."
Reflection: Are there any "idols" in your life that you might be placing before God? How can you ensure that God holds the highest place of honor and reverence in your heart?
Day 4: God's Blessings Are Inclusive
Obed-Edom, a Philistine, was blessed for honoring the Ark of the Covenant. This shows that God's blessings are available to all who honor Him, regardless of their background or past. It’s a powerful reminder that God’s grace is inclusive and far-reaching. The blessings that came to Obed-Edom's household because of the Ark's presence demonstrate that God's favor is not limited by nationality or past actions.
This story from 2 Samuel 6 reveals that God's blessings are not confined to a specific group of people. Anyone who honors God and His presence can experience His blessings. It challenges us to see beyond our prejudices and recognize that God's grace is available to all who seek Him with a sincere heart. [23:37]
Acts 10:34-35 (ESV): "So Peter opened his mouth and said: 'Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.'"
Reflection: Reflect on how you view others who are different from you. Are there ways you can be more inclusive and share God's love and blessings with those who might feel excluded?
Day 5: Purposeful Gathering
The act of gathering, whether in church or in spirit, is a purposeful act of worship. We come together not just to socialize but to collectively honor and glorify God. This gathering is essential for ushering in God's presence and experiencing His blessings. David's gathering of 30,000 chosen men to bring the Ark to Jerusalem symbolizes the collective effort required to honor God and invite His presence into our midst.
This story from 2 Samuel 6 emphasizes the importance of community and collective worship. It shows that when we come together with a shared purpose of honoring God, we create an environment where His presence can dwell. Our gatherings, whether physical or spiritual, should be intentional acts of worship that glorify God and invite His blessings. [33:56]
Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV): "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."
Reflection: How can you make your gatherings with fellow believers more purposeful and centered on worshiping God? What steps can you take to ensure that your community is inviting God's presence into your midst?
Quotes
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "The love of God reaches further, reaches further than anything else can reach to get a hold of our hearts and our minds. God will never stop reaching for you, and I thank God for that. When I was lost and undone, he kept reaching for me. He kept calling for me because he is our heavenly father. Amen. One of the greatest pictures of his love is the prodigal son. He's the son of the Lord. He's the son of the Lord. He's the son of the Lord. son was a father standing there with open arms. Didn't matter what the son smelled like. Didn't matter what the son had done. None of that mattered. He was standing there with open arms. Amen. And I'm thankful for that." (52 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "God, Jehovah God, our God, He will not be mocked. They took the Ark of the Covenant and they put it in the temple of Dagon. God will never be a little G God. Everybody know what I'm talking about? You got a capital G and you got the lowercase g. God, our God, will never be a lowercase g God. He's capital G. I don't know how to do it, Mandy. Help me out with the sign language. Is that the G? The big G? How do you do it? Whatever. He'll never be more than He's going to be the capital G God." (56 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "You can't fix God to what you want God to be. His ways. His thoughts. Amen. You see, the second thing that we need to understand about God is that He chooses us. We don't choose Him. He chooses us. Amen. He calls everybody. But the deal is this. Amen. You can't fix God, but I'll tell you what you can do. You can make a decision and do the right thing with God. When God chooses us, there's got to be something that happens in us that says, you know what I need to do? I need to make sure I'm doing the right things with this God." (44 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "Maybe it's time for some of us that are chosen men of God to change our ways to God's ways. Maybe it's time for you to quit doing what you want to do start doing what God wants you to do. Amen. Maybe it's time to be a man. Of God. Or a woman of God. I'm preaching to everybody. Come on. Maybe it's time. Maybe it's time. Well, Ruth Jones, I'm 95 years old and I've stuck in my ways. No, you're not. God can fix anything. He can fix anything. You know what? He made us to change." (50 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "We are here for a purpose, a reason. There's a reason that we're in this house. Amen. I'm glad for everybody I see. I love to come and talk to you. I love to come and talk to the kids. Amen. One of the first people that when I came out of my office this morning after people started showing up was Apollo and he started talking to me immediately amen I didn't know what he was saying but he was talking amen and we was having fun and he was grinning and clapping his hands and showing me his whatever that is monkey that he's holding right now or whatever it is amen I love that kind of stuff I love to aggravate Zyla amen it's so fun when she starts talking to me I love that kind of stuff I love to aggravate everybody by the way amen if you hadn't been aggravated by me well just hold on for a minute or two and you might amen but here's one of the things I love everybody that's here I love talking to you I'll talk till the sun comes up tomorrow amen I'll talk amen but can I tell you something that is not why I'm here I am here for a purpose and a reason we are gathered here to worship we're gathered here to worship the king of kings and the lord of lords we are here to give honor and glory to the one who loves us to the one who went to the cross and shed his blood for you and for me to save us amen that's why I'm here I'm here to magnify the name of Jesus I'm here to worship the one amen who created everything and if I don't praise him and if I don't worship him he said that the rocks would cry out come on I'm not going to let any rock take my place I'm not going to let any tree take my place I came to magnify Jesus" (112 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
### Quotes for Members
1. "David is now king of Israel. And one of the first things he wants to do is to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem where he lived. The first thing that he wanted to do and the first thing that caught my eye in this text is the very first verse where it says that David gathered all the chosen men of Israel. There was 30,000 of them. Amen. These were men that knew how to fight. Got any fighters in the house? These were men that knew how to worship. These were men that knew how to play some instruments. These were men that knew how to sing a little bit. Amen. These were men that knew what it took. Amen. To get God back into their presence. We need some men in our world that knows how to get God back in our presence. David said, how am I going to get this ark of the covenant to me? You need to make this personal. I need some men that will make this personal and say, hey, I need to know how to get God back to me. I love my neighbor, but I'm not real worried about him right now. I'm worried about me. I need to get God back to me. And so he chose 30,000 men that knew how to do that." (89 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "You see, these were the chosen men of Israel. Uzzah was a chosen man of Israel. He was one of Abinadab's boys. He had lived for 20 years. He had lived with the ark of the covenant in his house. He had walked by it every single day. He walked by the ark of the covenant. I don't find anywhere in Scripture that it talks about Uzzah getting in front of the ark of the covenant and worshiping. I don't find anywhere in Scripture that it talks about that he did anything with the ark of the covenant. It's not in there. Not until it was on an ark leaving away from his house. Amen. That he touches the ark of the covenant and God kills him for it because he didn't have respect towards it. He was trying to help God. Amen. Can I tell you this? We, we cannot be God and try to help God be God. One of the things that our world is trying to do, they're trying to fix God in today's world. Amen. There's one thing you better realize today. You're not going to fix God. Matter of fact, God ain't broke. Oh, I'm preaching today. I'm going to let it fly because too many times, we got a world that's trying to fix God. They think that God's messed up. They think that God's broke. Amen. Can I tell you, my God is not messed up. My God, his ways are not wrong. Amen. His thoughts are not bipolar. Amen. He is not, he is not messed up in his thinking. Quit trying to fix God to match your messed up life. It don't work. God will never match your messed up life. We got to match him." (118 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "One of the most interesting things to me is that God chose me and He chose you. He chose us. He called us out of darkness. He called us to come out from among the world. He called us. He chose us. I began to think about this and I thought, you know what? God chose a lot of idiots in the Bible. He chose Judas. He chose King Saul before David. He chose Uzzah and he killed Uzzah. But He also chose some good. He chose David. He chose Obed-Edom. Obed-Edom was a Philistine. He still chose him. He chose murderers. Moses was a murderer. The Apostle Paul was a murderer before he was the Apostle Paul. He chose adulterers. Judah was an adulterer. David was an adulterer and he chose them. He chose Isaac. He chose idol worshipers. Abraham was an idol worshiper. I can name a bunch of them out of Scripture that were idol worshipers and He chose them. Amen. He chose people that lied and cheated. Jacob was a liar and a cheat. He chose all these people. So I began to think, well, you know, He chose me too. And I was quite a few of those things myself. Not all of them, but a few of them. I wasn't the best person. He chose all manner of people. But what mattered is how they responded to Him." (116 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "Some of the saddest scriptures to me in the Bible is when it talks about kings and their sons and it says this, when their sons would take the throne to be king, that they sinned in the same way that their fathers did. Come on, I'm going to tell you something. I've had people ask me over and over and over, Pastor, you believe in generational curses? No, I really don't. Amen. Because we all have the choice to do what we want to do. You do not have to be an alcoholic like your father was. You do not have to be a dope head like your father or your mother was. Amen. You don't have to be that way. You have the choice to say yes, Lord. Come on. I don't believe that a generational curse can harm you. I don't believe that at all in my life. I'll never believe that. Because God's power is greater than anything that your mom and dad did. Your grandparents, people in your past, it doesn't matter what they did. God has more power than any sin. Amen. Where sin doth abound, grace does much more abound. Come on somebody. You better be thankful that God called you out." (74 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "This is a gathering to worship. It's what church is all about. We get together to worship together. To worship together. Amen. This is getting together to give honor to the Almighty God. Amen. It didn't matter where you came from. It didn't matter whether you were a Philistine or an Israelite. Because Obed-Edom was there. And Uzzah was there. It didn't matter whether you were somebody of status or not. Could have been a peasant. It didn't matter. Could have been a slave. You could have gone to worship. Didn't matter whether you were rich or poor. Didn't matter. They were gathered together. Whoo! I feel it to worship. They were gathered together to give honor to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Man, you might feel that I'm feeling the Holy Ghost. They were gathered together to give honor to God Almighty. Amen. I came to tell you this morning, we are here for a purpose, a reason. There's a reason that we're in this house." (97 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
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