Transformed by His Presence

Transformed by his presence

Psalm 16:11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 140:13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; The upright shall dwell in Your presence.

There are many things in life to experience, to seek after and to enjoy. Most of those experiences, achievements and successes while temporarily satisfying do not leave an eternal mark upon our souls. Jesus even said it was possible for a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul. He also said to lay up treasure in heaven and the Apostle Paul said we are to “seek those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God.” (Colossians 3:1)

Throughout the Bible we are instructed us to “seek the face of God.” The face of God, is the Hebrew expression denoting the presence of God. To pray and to “seek God’s face”, was to experience His personal presence. This sums up temple worship and private prayer in Israel and the blessing of God consisted in his face shining upon them.[1]

That is why we are a “presence based” church. Our goal and hearts desire is not to fill you heads with information but to encounter His presence and experience transformation. When we experience the presence of God, the saving grace of His Son Jesus Christ made real through the person of the Holy Spirit, and truly encounter God in reality, there is no way we can be the same.

The single fact setting Christianity apart from all other religions is simply, is it not a religion at all, it is a relationship. Our God and Father longs to enter into a deep intimate relationship with us. Knowing “about God” is vastly different from “knowing God,” and it is in the knowing, the abiding in His presence changes us from glory to glory and from faith to faith.

There is a blessing in the presence of God that not only impacts our present lives and circumstances, but also flows down through the generations of those who love and serve Him, even to our children’s children! How we live our lives today, the choices we make, who, what and how we serve will have an impact upon our children, grandchildren and all our descendants who follow! The Lord spoke of this to us through the prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 44:3–5 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring; 4 They will spring up among the grass Like willows by the watercourses.’ 5 One will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’; Another will call himself by the name of Jacob; Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ And name himself by the name of Israel.

Today we are going to see how one man’s encounter with the presence of God forever changed him and true to God’s promise, effected all the subsequent generations of his family. Before we look into his story, we need to look to 1 Chronicles 13 so we have the proper context. We pick up the account of King David as he is bringing the ark of God back to Jerusalem.

I. a right motive, the wrong method

1 Chronicles 13:1–4 Then David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader. 2 And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if it is of the Lord our God, let us send out to our brethren everywhere who are left in all the land of Israel, and with them to the priests and Levites who are in their cities and their common-lands, that they may gather together to us; 3 and let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we have not inquired at it since the days of Saul.” 4 Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

There are a few things to notice about David as we read this text;

First, was a man after God’s own heart and recognized the need to abide continually in His presence.
The scriptures tell us that throughout the entire reign of Saul the Ark of the Covenant remained in house of Abinadab.
David passionately longed for God’s presence and was determined to bring the Ark to Jerusalem so it would abide with him.

The second thing I noticed was that he went about a right thing, in the wrong way. (How do we know?)

Notice, David consulted with the people and did not inquire of the Lord and did what was right in their eyes.
His motive was right but his method was wrong and the results were disastrous.
The plan begins well and it appears to bring a great revival as they begin to move the ark but things are about to change.

1 Chronicles 13:6–10 And David and all Israel went up to Baalah, to Kirjath Jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God the Lord, who dwells between the cherubim, where His name is proclaimed. 7 So they carried the ark of God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart. 8 Then David and all Israel played music before God with all their might, with singing, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on cymbals, and with trumpets. 9 And when they came to Chidon’s threshing floor, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled. 10 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzza, and He struck him because he put his hand to the ark; and he died there before God.

We have a difficult time dealing with this incident from our western perspective, but remember, God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. He is holy and would not allow man to touch His glory.

As I read through this passage I felt the Lord whisper, “I do not need your assistance to accomplish my purpose, only your obedience.”
God is accomplishing His will in the earth and He calls us to partner with Him. He longs to bring His kingdom’s fullness to this place and all He requires is obedient vessels to His reveal His presence through.

Back to the passage; Uzza died but there was a good ending to this story. First, David gets angry and then realized his error and asks the right question:

1 Chronicles 13:12 David was afraid of God that day, saying, “How can I bring the ark of God to me?”

God’s work done God’s way will never lack God’s provision to accomplish it.
David feared the Lord and sets his heart to serve Him according to what He required not the will of the people.
Only the Levites were allowed to carry the ark – God’s presence will never abide unless He commands are kept and His Word is honored above all else.
Proverbs tells us that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” and in Psalm 25 David reveals:

Psalm 25:14 The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.

4. David repents, changes his approach and in doing so it produces an:

II. an unexpected blessing

1 Chronicles 13:13–14 So David would not move the ark with him into the City of David, but took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 14 The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months. And the Lord blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that he had.

This where we pick up this amazing account of the man called, Obed-edom. Obed-edom was a Gittite, probably, a native of the Levitical city of Gath-rimmon in Manasseh.

Interestingly his name means “a servant of Edom” or better translated as, “the servant who honors God in the right way.”
Obed-edom was a man who served God the “right” way. David’s motive was right but he chose a wrong method.

This is the first mention of Obed-edom in the Bible but as you will see, it won’t be the last. After the death of Uzza, David was afraid to carry the Ark of God any further.

This man opened his home and welcomed the presence of God, “And the Lord blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that he had.” His crops, his herds but even greater … His family.
The blessings and favor of God flowed down upon this man and his wife, children, grandchildren throughout their generations.
Such is the promise of God’s covenant to all who will love and serve Him

Deuteronomy 7:9 “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;

When the Ark, was welcomed into the home of Obed-edom, the supernatural presence of God blessing descended upon it as well.

Remember Psalm 16; it is in His presence that we will find fullness of joy and pleasures evermore.
In His presence broken lives and wounded hearts are healed and hope is restored.
In His presence we are changed from the inside out, old things begin to pass away and all things become new. (We become the new wineskin, filled with new wine)
In His presence we are given spiritual sight to see beyond this fallen world into the realm of kingdom possibility and the glorious abundance of His grace!

This promise of His presence still stands today; when men repent and submit to Jesus Christ as the Lord, opening their hearts to the life giving fullness of the Holy Spirit, and press into His presence, a radical transformation beings.
The provision, protection blessings and fruitfulness that Obed-edom experienced can be ours in Christ today.
As we begin abide in His presence we will live a different lives and will no longer be satisfied to sit on the sidelines as spectators. “Jesus changes everything or He changes nothing!” (Bob Goff)

III. a life changed by his presence

2 Samuel 6:12–15 Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house 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 gladness. 13 And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. 14 Then 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 trumpet.

I wonder if King David was just a little bit jealous of what God was doing in the life of Obed-edom and it encouraged him to retrieve the Ark in the proper, God prescribed manner.

As David moved the Ark to Jerusalem with great celebration and rejoicing it has left Obed-Edom with a choice.
He could have stayed where he was living off of his past relationship with God or move with the Ark of God, staying in God’s presence and in relationship with Him.

Obed-Edom has been transformed. For three months he had lived in the presence of God and now he has become addicted to God’s glory

He has fallen in love with God’s presence and his desire for the Lord caused him to do whatever it took to be close to the Lord.
When the Ark moved, Obed-edom moved with it and he would do anything he could to be near it.

As David begins to organize the city around the worship of God and the Ark, Obed-edom is there ready to serve. No job was to small, no task to great, he was addicted and did everything to be near his God.

Because of Obed-Edom’s desire and love for the Lord and his faithfulness, God begins again to bless him and promote him.
When David needed: porters to carry the Ark and all its furnishings, who is the first to volunteer? Obed-edom. (1 Chronicles 15:18)
When the worship team is being organized and needs a harp player who signs up? Obed-edom! (1 Chronicles 15:21)
Obed-Edom goes on to become a worship leader and is mentioned along with Aspah the Chief Musician. Obed-Edom and his 68 associates minister regularly before the Lord in worship.
And when a gatekeeper, is needed … you guessed it. Obed-edom steps up again! (1 Chronicles 15:24)
Obed-Edom along with his other duties was put in charge of the Southgate and his sons were keepers of the storehouse.

This is so cool! Obed-Edom is a changed man. He is now so hungry for God’s presence that he will do anything to serve and be near His presence. He has gone from relative obscurity to fulltime service, all because he became addicted to God’s presence.

Not only was he blessed in ministry and relationship with the Lord, his family is also blessed.
God gives him eight sons. His sons and grandsons are also worshipers blessed by the Lord. The Bible says they were all leaders, capable men, 62 men in all with strength to do the work of the Lord

Obed-Edom by his faith, attitude, and actions created a heritage of relationship with the Lord and the Lord established a legacy of generational blessings.

Obed-Edom packed up and physically moved to stay in the presence of God. His hunger for the presence of God established blessing and relationship not only for himself but also for his children grandchildren and down through the generations.
240 years later as Hezekiah prepares to rebuild the temple guess who is there to help and serve? You got it, the descendants of Obed-edom setup to the plate!

It is no different for us today. When we are truly saved and touched by the Master, we are ruined for everything else the world has to offer.

No pleasure, to possession or prestige can satisfy us now; it is His presence alone that fulfills us! Jesus said it like this to the woman at the well:

John 4:13–14 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Conclusion

Today, we don’t have to travel to a specific place to know and experience the presence of the Lord. We, as believers all have the Holy Spirit within us. But, we have to stir up the hunger and desire to seek the presence and our own relationship with God, Our Father.

The Father longs to reveal Himself to us and to be intimate with us, but He will not shout to us during the commercials or the half-time show. He waits patiently for His sons and daughters to passionately seek His presence and cultivate their individual relationship with Him. He has promised that those who seek Him shall find Him!

Our Father is crying out by His Spirit within us, for each of us to stir up our desire for Him. He wants us to be passionate for Him, to get hungry and thirsty for Him. When we are truly hungry and thirsty for something, we will do what it takes to be satisfied.

As we close this morning you might be saying to yourself, “I get it pastor, I just don’t know how to do it!” Let me share some practical first steps to move us into His presence:

Keep a pure heart… Unconfessed sin is a blessing killer. Keep short accounts with the Lord by following 1 John 1:9 and by keeping short accounts with others. No wiggle room here. If you have done wrong, go to the person, confess it, ask for forgiveness and make it right. If you know some one has something against you, go to them, and don’t wait for them to come to you. Make it right. Be careful what you watch, listen to and what comes in over the Internet, enough said.
Second, study the Word of God, and mediate on it daily. Mediation is not mystical or hard. If you can worry, you can mediate. We all do a great job worrying. We take an issue and keep thinking the worst that can happen over and over again. Mediation is thinking about a particular scripture or the goodness of God, over and over again. This is simple but it works, and the more you do it the easier it gets. Putting on worship music helps with mediation and directing our focus on the Presence of God.
Just relax and learn to rest in the Presence of God. We think that we must be doing something all the time for God. Relaxing and resting in God’s Presence is extremely important. It is in these times that we can clearly hear from the Lord. And finally,
Get up and get moving. Get involved in our church and our community. Obed-Edom did not wait for the Lord to tell him to do something, he just did it. He hungered for God’s presence and served where ever and whenever he could; the usher team, the nursery, nursing home and the yard team!

If you want a life blessed down through all your generations, be an Obed-Edom and begin to hunger for the presence of God. His presence will change everything. Keep your heart pure. Study and mediate on the Lord, and relax and rest in God’s presence. Get up and get involved.