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God at the Center: Leaders Called to Restore His Presence
June 23, 2026 · 18 min
A pastor’s charge to leaders and people to prioritize God in our communities and nation, modeled by David and echoed in historic calls to prayer and unity.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand June 23, 2026 · 18 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
A pastor’s charge to leaders and people to prioritize God in our communities and nation, modeled by David and echoed in historic calls to prayer and unity. ...more Show the full description Show less A pastor’s charge to leaders and people to prioritize God in our communities and nation, modeled by David and echoed in historic calls to prayer and unity.
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David's First Attempt and Uzzah's Death 0:09 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me this morning as we continue our journey through the book of 1st Chronicles. We're gonna be looking at chapters 13 and through 15 today.0:21 Verse 3 of chapter 13, then let us bring again the ark of our god to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul. While we may have previously explored this account of David bringing the ark0:33 to Jerusalem back in 2nd Samuel, it's crucial that we not just kind of skim over or hurriedly pass through this passage because it's familiar. And again, I'll caution you0:45 as we see it. We're gonna see a lot of this in, Chronicles and in Kings, very similar accounts. I think the repetition of certain events in scripture actually should call for0:57 us to pay closer attention because each word is purposefully included for our spiritual understanding and our spiritual growth. And so we're gonna find some aspects that are slightly different1:09 or provide more insight into the event. So what can we gain from the 2nd account of David's desire to bring the ark to what was now the capital city? Well, the desire to1:21 prioritize the place of God's presence in a nation is not only good, but it's essential, as we'll see here and quite frankly, as I think we see in history. However,1:33 however, that said, we cannot approach God on our terms as we saw here with David. Rather, we're to approach him on his terms. Good intentions1:45 or motive motives cannot substitute for obedience to God's stated precepts. Verse 1, chapter 13. David consulted with the commanders of thousands and of hundreds with every leader.1:57 And David said to all the assembly of Israel, if it seems good to you and from the Lord our God, let us send abroad to our brothers who remain in all the lands of Israel as well as to2:09 the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasture lands that they may be gathered to us. Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of2:21 Saul. Alright. On in the, the previous chapter, the nation was united under a singular civil government. Alright? So David was 1st king of2:32 Hebron, then all of Israel. So here, David now moves to solidify the reunited nation by turning their focus to their shared2:44 foundation. What was that? Their national origin, which came from god. David involves the leaders here, which I think is important. Leaders are to lead, but a part of that leading is bringing people along and2:56 making them a part of the effort, which he does here. Here we read that what we had deduced back in 1st and 2nd Samuel during Saul's reign, the ark representing the3:08 presence of God set in basically obscurity for about 2 decades. Saul made no effort to return God to the center of the nation's focus. Why?3:20 Well, Saul became self absorbed, obsessed with retaining power, which resulted in him pursuing David to try and kill him rather than pursuing God to3:32 worship him. Now turning a nation's focus to God may sound like a foreign concept today. However, seeking to unify the nation on a shared foundation3:44 of the Christian faith is a part of our nation's historical record. After his election as the nation's 1st president, George Washington on October 3rd 173:56 89 issued a proclamation calling for a national day of prayer and thanksgiving. And here is part, just part of what he said. It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the4:08 providence of almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor. Now what if4:20 every new administration that came into power started with a call to focus on almighty god, the provider and the protector of nations? Now, in fact, I just4:32 wrote a commentary on how the Bible is the key to the unity of our nation. I know that, again, it sounds like a foreign concept, but history makes it very clear. In fact, you can read this on the4:43 read that commentary on the StanFirm app or you can go to washington stand dot com. It's entitled, if we forget our story, we lose our identity. Alright. Back to chapter 13 verse 4. All the assembly4:55 agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people. And they carried the ark of the Lord on a new cart from the house of Abinadab, and Uzzah and Ahio were driving the cart.5:07 And David and all Israel, and he had remember, they'd called the nation together for this. This was a nationwide celebration. They were celebrating before god with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and5:19 tambourines and cymbals and trumpets. I mean, this was some celebration, but the wheels quickly came off their plan. Verse 9. And when they came to the threshing floor of Kidan,5:30 Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he put out his hands in the ark, and he died before there before5:42 God. And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. Alright. When I read that, who is who is David angry with? Himself, the priest, God,5:54 all the above? Remember, David was he was human. Alright? He had organized this grand celebration. And right there in the middle of it, the Lord struck down 1 of the men leading to6:06 pray. David's initial reaction was probably, what? What what's going on here? God, I did this for you and and and this happens to Uzzah? But David quickly comes to his senses, verse6:18 12. And David was afraid of God on that day, and he said, how can I bring the ark of God home to me? Verse 14, and the ark of God remained in the house of Obed Edom in his6:29 house 3 months, and the Lord blessed the household of Obed Edom and all that he had. Now this is I like verses like that because, you know, you can read it and you move on, but look at that6:41 last sentence. And the Lord blessed the household of Obed Edom and all that he had. Just a reminder of how the presence of God in a home is a blessing upon the entire6:53 home. Cultivate your home into being a place of the presence of God. You know, I I like music. And I often have when I'm home, I'll7:05 have worship music in the background, just cultivating the presence of the Holy Spirit in that sense of worship. And and it creates a peaceful place. I love to be at home because it's a peaceful7:17 place. Alright. A quick look at chapter 14, which may or may not be chronically, chronologically placed in the middle of this account of the ark. It does not seem7:29 like, all that is contained in chapter 14 could have occurred in the 3 months. However however, it could have. And I think it does provide an instructive contrast.7:41 Okay? Verse 1 chapter 14. And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David and cedar trees also masons and carpenters to build a house for him. And David knew that the lord7:53 had established him as king over Israel and that his kingdom was highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel. Now the circumstances and the events made it evident that David,8:06 to David, made it evident to him that the lord had indeed established him as king. Now this is important because if god has established you in a certain place or position, he will sustain you. And so you're8:18 like Saul, Saul was constantly having to try to retain power, but there's confidence in courage and encouraging it's encouraging to know that god8:30 has established you. So you have confidence in that. Part of the confirmation came from the opposition as well that arose against him. Verse 8. When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel,8:41 all the Philistines went up to search for David, but David heard of it and went out against him. I love that. They came looking for him and David, you're looking for me? Here I am. We looked at this at 2nd Samuel and and8:53 so I'm not gonna spend a lot of time on this this this passage of in confronting the Philistines. I just wanna point out something in the context of how this fits in this passage and this contrast we're talking about.Blessing at Obed-Edom and David's Victories 9:02 Look at what David does. Verse 10. And David inquired of the Lord's, shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand? And the Lord said, go up and I will give them into your hand. David sought the9:14 Lord on the field of battle and God gave him great victories, which had the effect of what we read in the very last verse of chapter 17. And the fame of David went out into all the land, and the9:26 Lord brought the fear of him upon all the nations. Now here's the contrast. David asked repeatedly about fighting the Philistines. Why do we not read that about David inquiring of the Lord about9:38 moving the ark, which was a spiritual battle? See, David understood the physical battles, but the spiritual battles, he wasn't quite clear about. And and and so we too need to be mindful of this. Sometimes we ask the9:50 lord for the things that are in the natural that are very evident, but not inquiring about those things in the spiritual. Verse 15, verse 2. Then David said, let no 1 but the Levites no 1 but the LevitesObedience: Levites Carry the Ark 10:02 may carry the ark of God, for the Lord has chosen him to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever. So who or what made David aware of this? Did he inquire of the Lord? Did he go back and10:13 read the word, which, remember, he was actually supposed to write. He was supposed to copy the the law of God. Did the priest inform him? Verse 11. Then10:25 David summons the priests Zadok and Abathar and the Levites, Eu, Reel, Ace Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah,10:37 Eliel, and, Minnedab, and said to them, you are the heads of all the fathers' houses of the Levites. Consecrate yourself, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up10:49 the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it. Because you did not carry it the 1st time, the Lord our God broke out against us because we did not seek him according to the11:01 rule. Was he saying they failed to inform him or because they were not called upon? I don't know. The spiritual leaders, I think here, this another 1 of those things we find11:12 here at truth is that the spiritual leaders have a responsibility to speak up when the civil rulers operate counter to the word of God. This is where I think that this is why we need separation of church and state. The11:24 the state should not have its hand upon the church, should not be controlling the church. The church should not seek affirmation from the government.11:36 It should pray for the government, and it should hold the government accountable and should be involved. It should be involved. But here here's where this involvement comes in. They should have spoken up and said,11:47 David, David, this is not how it's supposed to be. Alright. Verse 14. So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. And the Levites carried the ark of11:59 God on their shoulders with the poles as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord. It always works better, and it's done the way God prescribes it to be done. Now a couple of observations in this12:11 from this passage, Heman, the grandson of Samuel, is a part of leading this magnificent occasion. And I I pointed this out before, but it's worth repeating. I think this will be someone this12:23 morning is gonna find this encouraging. Samuel's son, Joel, was not described favorably in scripture. He was a corrupt judge. But here, his son, which is Samuel's12:35 grandson, is a part of leading the nation in worship. This shows us the redemptive nature of God and how we must never stop praying for our children12:47 and our grandchildren and encouraging them to walk with the Lord. This is an extremely well organized and executed plan. I think David was, when it came to planning,12:59 I think he was just he he was an expert. I mean, he planned the battles. I think he planned this. You can see the detail that was provided here here and how he13:11 structured things revolving around the the worship of God. I mean, he was a master planner. God is a God, and I think this reflects God's nature because God is a God of order and13:23 structure. He sets an example for us in creation and even in worship. We are not to approach God however we want, nor are we to serve him in a haphazard13:35 manner. And I know we live in this the age of grace, and and there's a lot of this kind of freestyle worship. I would just caution. The the Lord has given13:46 us it's I'm not I'm not saying that we, you know, have to have kind of the formalities that we have seen in some of the the churches that are empty13:58 and hollow. I'm just saying that we need to approach God with holiness, with a heart of of worship. As Jesus said, you know, we should worship him in spirit and in truth.14:11 God deserves and he demands our very best when it comes to our worship and our service. Here's something I saw for the 1st time, as I read through this. In verses 18 and14:22 24, along with the worship leaders and the musicians, there are 2 sets of gatekeepers named. And I looked at it, I said, why why is there one's at the beginning, one's at the14:34 end. Some translations use the word porters or doorkeepers. And the the the the word the the14:47 the Hebrew word is, and it is also translated as watchmen. They went before and behind the procession as14:58 watchmen to guard the presence of God. And I thought that was really fascinating. That there there were men that were committed in, you know, we know when they had the tabernacle at the temple, they were they were theTriumphant Procession and Worship 15:10 doorkeepers. They made sure that nobody got in, that wasn't supposed to be in. But this is this is they were in this parade, and they were marching before the presence of God to guard15:22 the presence of God. They didn't want another incident like Uzzah. And I so it just prompted in me, are we guarding the presence of God in our lives and in our homes and in15:34 our churches? Are we making sure that there's not those things coming into our home that would hamper or hinder or drive out the presence of God.15:46 We need to guard. We need to be watchmen in our homes. Alright. Look at the result this time, verse 26. And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed 715:58 bulls and 7 rams. God helped them. God help us as we seek to live according to your word and your way, oh god. Father, we thank16:10 you. We thank you for your word, and we do pray, god, help us as we seek to live according to your word and according to your ways. Lord, bring the increase to the work of our hands. Lord,16:22 magnify our worship of you. And, lord, may we, may we honor you in all that we do. Continue, we pray, to guide us on this journey. May the holy spirit bring to our16:33 understanding that the truths and the principles of your word and how they apply to our lives in this world in which we live. For we pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning.16:44 And let me again remind you, we're gonna begin in a week. We're in the oasis of the Psalms, and this is a great opportunity to invite someone to join you on this journey. And I have a specialPrayer and Invitation to Psalms Study 16:56 digital it's pretty neat. It's a digital invitation, that you can send to your friends to invite them to join us on this journey. So I'm gonna ask you, invite 2 people invite 2 people to join us on17:08 this journey. Simply text Psalms Psalms to 6 7 7 4 2, and I'll send you the link that you can send to your friends. So that's Psalms 2 6 7 7 417:20 2. Look. Let others be ministered to by the word of the Lord and the Holy Spirit that enlightens us through the word of God. So prayerfully consider 217:32 people you can invite to join us on this journey through the Psalms. We're gonna spend the entire summer in the Psalms. Alright. Until next time, keep standing on the word.17:46 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan, available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you17:58 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 David's First Attempt and Uzzah's Death9:00 Blessing at Obed-Edom and David's Victories10:01 Obedience: Levites Carry the Ark15:01 Triumphant Procession and Worship16:47 Prayer and Invitation to Psalms Study
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