Pastor Edgar Mayer;
For more sermons and other writings check out pastors homepage: http://www.geocities.com/mayeredgar
Every Six Steps
An evangelist came to a church for a
period of four weeks and God revived the church in a powerful move of his
presence. They were experiencing an abundance of what many call holy laughter. It was so refreshing to them but they soon became more interested in
these refreshings than God himself. Two years later they had another evangelist
come and he on the second night of meetings he preached on the fear of the Lord. The next evening without any
previous discussion the pastor of the
church stood up and spent a considerable amount of time correcting what the
evangelist had preached on the fear of the Lord. That evangelist sat in the
front row almost in shock. The basis of the correction was that believers do
not have to fear God. The Bible was quoted 1 John 4:18:
there is no fear in love
but according to the evangelist the pastor confused a spirit of fear (becoming afraid) with the fear of the Lord (cf. John Bevere:
The Fear Of The Lord, Lake Mary: Charisma House 1997, p1-2).
How are we hearing this? Holy laughter is not that common among us but do we not also expect refreshings from
God rather than any talk about fearing God? When we come to church, do we not also
desire and expect and almost take for granted a God who is always going to be nice to us and always taking a soft
line with our blemishes? Do we ever get any sense that we just might be
overcome with awe and holy fear.
A Bible teacher was invited to preach
before four thousand people in a church that was located in the capital of
The platform was rocking with high-intensity praise
music. The music quality was very good
Yet I quickly noted a complete absence
of the Lords presence. As I scanned the crowd and musicians, I thought, Where is God? So immediately I questioned, Lord, where is Your
presence?
As I waited for His reply, I noticed
what was happening in the building. Through the bright lights of the platform I
could see the people milling about. Many stood with they eyes open looking at
something or someone in the building. Many appeared to be bored. Their hands
were thrust into their pockets or hung heavy at their sides. Everything about
their body postures and countenances gave the appearance of a casual crowd
waiting patiently for a show to begin
I was grieved. This was not an
evangelistic outreach but a believers conference
I waited, hoping the people
would enter into a true reverence of the Lord. I thought, Surely this atmosphere will change. But it didnt. After twenty or thirty
minutes, the music tempo slowed to what we call the worship songs. Yet what I
witnessed was far from true worship. This same casual behaviour I had observed
when I entered the auditorium had moved forward into the service.
When the song service ended,
those present were told to sit down. They sat, but the underlying
rumble of casual conversation continued. One leader took the microphone to
exhort the people, yet the people talked on. The leader read from the Bible and
taught. The entire time I heard the dull rumble of many voices speaking and
many people moving about in the congregation
At this point, I was becoming
angry. I had been in other meetings where the people behaved this way, but
never to this magnitude. In each of those meetings I had encountered a similar
spiritual atmosphere heaviness, void of Gods presence. I knew now that my
question Lord, where is Your presence? had been answered. His presence
certainly was not here.
The Spirit of the Lord then spoke to me
and said, I want you to directly confront this.
When I was finally introduced, the
murmur had diminished but was still present. I stepped up to the podium and
stood there looking at the crowd. I was determined to say nothing until I had
their attention. I felt godly indignation burning within my breast. After a
minute, everyone fell silent, realizing nothing was happening on the platform.
I did not introduce myself or greet the
crowd. Instead I opened with this question, How would you like it if, while
you spoke with someone, they ignored you the entire time or continued to carry
on a conversation with the person next to them? Or if their eyes roamed with
disinterest and disrespect? I paused, then answered
my own question: You wouldnt like it, would you?
I probed further: What if every time
you rang the doorbell to visit a neighbours house you were greeted with a
careless attitude and monotone sigh, Oh, its you again; come on in? I paused, then added, You wouldnt visit them anymore, would you?
Then I stated firmly, Do you think the
King of kings and Lord of lords is going to come into a place where He is not
given due honour and reverence? Do you think the Master of all creation is
going to speak when His Word is not respected enough to be listened to
attentively? Youre deceived if you do!
The president of your nation would
be granted great honour
one of your favourite soccer players
I proceeded to read what God requires of
those who come near him: By those who
come near Me, I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be
glorified. Leviticus 10:3.
For the next hour and a half, I preached
the message God had burned in my heart. The words came with boldness and
authority, and I did not fear what the people would think or how they would
react
You could have heard a pin drop in the silent moments between each of
my statements. For that hour and a half there was no further crowd noise. There
was no further disrespect. The Spirit of God had arrested the peoples
attention by His Word
I could sense the Word of God pounding through the
hardened shells of their hearts.
At the close of my message, I asked
every person present to close their eyes. The call for repentance was pointed
and brief: If you have treated what God calls holy as common, if you have
lived with an irreverent attitude toward the things of God, and if tonight you
have been convicted by the Holy Spirit through His Word, are you ready to
repent before the Lord? If so, stand to your feet. Without hesitation, 75
percent of those present rose to their feet.
I bowed my head, praying aloud this
simple, sincere prayer: Lord, confirm your Word preached tonight to these
people. Immediately the presence of the Lord filled that auditorium. Although
I had not led the congregation in a prayer, I heard sobs and cries rising from
the crowd. It was as if a wave of Gods presence had swept through the
building, bringing cleansing and refreshing. It was not possible for all
present to come forward to the altar, so I led a prayer of repentance that
could be prayed from where they stood. I watched as people wiped away tears.
His wonderful presence continued.
After a few minutes Gods presence
subsided. I encouraged the people not to lose their focus on their Master.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). A few moments
passed, and another wave of His presence flooded the building. There were more
tears as the crying intensified. His presence was even more far-reaching this
time, and more people were touched by the Master. This lasted a few minutes,
then again subsided. I exhorted the people not to drift between the waves but
to hold fast their hearts focus.
A few minutes later I heard the Spirit
of God whisper to my heart, I am coming again. Immediately I sensed it and
said, Hes coming again!
What I now write will in no way
accurately represent what happened next. My words are too limited and God too
awesome. Neither will I exaggerate, for that would also be irreverent. I
interviewed three other leaders who were present to clarify and confirm what I
now record.
No sooner had the word again left my lips when the following
happened. The only way I know how to describe it is to compare it to standing a
hundred or so yards away from the end of a runway as a huge jet takes off right
in front of you. This describes the roar of the wind that immediately blew
through that auditorium. Almost simultaneously the people erupted in fervent
and intense prayer, their voices rising and combining into almost a single
shout
I did not want to relay inaccurate
information or hype the peope with overzealous professions of spiritual
manifestations. The roar of this wind lasted approximately two minutes. When it
subsided, it left in its wake a praying weeping people. The atmosphere was
charged with holy reverence. The Lords presence was very real and powerful.
The awesome aftermath of His presence
continued for fifteen to twenty minutes. Then I turned the platform over to the
leader and asked to be taken out of the building immediately
a woman . a recording artist
entered the car, crying, Did you hear the wind? I quickly responded, That
was an airplane. (Though I sensed in my heart it was not, I wanted
confirmation and was determined not to be the first to say anything.
No, she stated and shook her head. It
was the Spirit of the Lord. Then her husband, a man
firmly asserted, There
was no plane anywhere near the building. Really! I
exclaimed. He continued, Furthermore, the sound of that wind did not come
through the soundboard, there was no reading on the board, or record of any
noise. I sat silently, in complete awe.
Later I learned the reason this man was
so certain that the wind was heard was not caused by an aircraft. There were
security personnel and police outside
who also reported hearing a mighty sound coming from inside the building. Outside, no wind. Just another calm Brazilian evening.
His wife continued as tears streamed
down her cheeks. I saw waves of fire falling on the building and angels
everywhere!
(John Bevere: The Fear Of The Lord, Lake Mary:
Charisma House 1997, p8-14).
Again, how are we hearing this? We are
not as casual as that congregation in
These considerations bing us now finally
back to our sermon series on King David in the Bible and in his case unlike in the testimonies which weve heard there was no immature expectation that nothing
but refreshings would come from God (for instance, nothing but holy
laughter) or a casual attitude to
worship. God himself said that David was a man after his heart and he proved
that when he was purified in suffering. Even in the worst circumstances he
never turned against God but always sought more of him reached out for
more of him in worship strengthening himself in God. David knew what it was what it feels like when God comes near to you. Even as a teenager 1 Samuel 16:13 I read from the Bible:
the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power
Immediately before the incident which we are going to address in a moment David experienced two stunning victories
against the combined forces of the Philistine armies because again God drew near to him and this time with
power. He even named the place of
victory Baal Perazim the Lord of breakthrough. The presence of God was with David and he
knew!
Yet, then this happened. I read from the
Bible 2 Samuel 6:1-9: David
again brought together out of
David true to himself a man after Gods own heart he always desired more from God and therefore he had this wonderful
idea of moving the ark of the covenant to his home
city next to where he lived. The
ark of the covenant was the chest which contained the ten commandments on stone
tablets and it was fashioned according to Gods own instruction according
to a pattern which was revealed from heaven (at the time when God made a
covenant with the nation of Israel). There
was nothing more holy in the land than this ark because God promised to dwell
among his people be present with them come close to them through his
most holy enthronement between the cherubim (the winged angels) that are on the
ark (cf. Exodus 25).
As it sometimes goes among believers the
ark was ignored for some time many
years in fact languished in somebodys home but David knew its value and for him it was a big deal to have the ark
the presence of God come even closer
to him. 30,000 chosen men accompanied him to bring it home.
I continue reading the Bible story 2 Samuel 6:1-9:
They set the ark of God on a new cart and
brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio,
sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the ark of God on it, and Ahio
was walking in front of it. David
and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the
Lord with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals.
When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold
of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lords anger burned against
Uzzah because of this irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died
there beside the ark of God. Then David was angry because the Lords wrath had
broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah [the
place of outbreak against Uzzah]. David was afraid of the Lord that day and
said, How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me? He was
not willing to take the ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David
David was taken by surprise shocked rattled to the core by an unexpected quality of God. After enjoying such sweet communion
with God over so many years after enjoying such favour with God in
powerful victories all of a sudden
this God posed a problem. He broke out against David killed one of his
helpers [a few verses earlier with much joy David had named the place of a
miracle victory against the Philistines the Lord of breakthrough and now ony
a few verses later he is forced to name another place The Lord of outbreak
against Uzzah] and David did not
understand why. What was
wrong? He had organized a new cart, 30,000 chosen men, mighty
worship with tambourines and cymbals and then there was this good man
Uzzah who only tried to prop up the
ark when it threatened to slip off the cart because the oxen stumbled. Yet, he
died. Should he have let the ark crash to the ground? God cut everything short
with his wrath. Why?
I remind us of the words of the Bible:
The Lords anger
burned against Uzzah because of this irreverent act; therefore God struck him
down and he died there beside the ark of God. Then David was angry because the
Lords wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called
Perez Uzzah [the place of outbreak against Uzzah]. David was afraid of the Lord
that day and said, How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me? He was not willing to take the ark of the Lord to be with him in
the City of David
David this late in his relationship with God he discovered the hard way that
God was holy and that the deeper you penetrate his holiness in an ever closer
relationship with him the more dangerous God becomes for sinful humans. The
Bible says that God lives 1 Timothy 6:16:
in
unapproachable light
and that he
is Hebrews 12:29:
a consuming fire
Uzzah had lived under the same roof as the ark for all of his life. He
grew up with the ark because the ark languished in their home. Therefore, he was familiar with this piece
of furniture and he felt safe in Gods presence but he discovered and
David discovered that moving the ark
even daring to touch the glory of God was
moving to a different and far more dangerous level of intimacy with a holy God.
And in practical ways the same principle
is applying to us. As hungry as we are for God, watch out when he is on the
move watch out when he comes in
revival when he shakes a church when his Spirit falls on us because the once harmless experience of
living under the same roof as God in the church as Uzzah lived under the
same roof as the ark changes when the unapproachable
light and the consuming
fire are drawing closer. At least that
was the experience of the first Christians because on the day of Pentecost
with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit Acts 2:43:
fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the
apostles.
Fear came upon every soul
The holy presence of God became so intense that even a simple lie
maybe a small sin in our eyes caused
the death of two Christians Ananias and Sapphira (they were dishonest
about money) with the consequence that
again Acts 5:11: Great fear seized the whole church
There is a quality about God that is to
be feared. Looking at the dead body
of Uzzah David saw and understood the
problem, became angry with God and afraid, and then stated with newfound
clarity the question which we are all asking in fearful desperation: How
can the ark of the Lord ever come to me? How can God ever come closer to me?
Maybe right now with what weve heard we actually dont want that any longer. Are we still hungry for God? David
wasnt (and he was a man after Gods own heart). He had enough of religion for the day and ordered a retreat leaving
the ark behind with a stranger the Gittite Obed-Edom. God was too confusing and the life of faith
too hard with unexpected complications and sacrifices. Are we feeling the same way?
Only this report came back to David
after three months 2 Samuel 6:12:
The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and
everything he has, because of the ark of God. The Lord had blessed the family of Obed-Edom and everything he had,
because the ark his presence resided
there. Yes there is something fearful about God but the same God who is a consuming
fire and who is breaking out
against irreverence remains the source of unending goodness and grace. David
had experienced so much comfort from God over so many years that he could not
stay away from the ark but gave the whole enterprise another go. God would come
to him in the end.
This time he made himself more
knowledgeable about Gods instructions for moving the ark. There were rings
attached to the side of the ark which were for the insertion of wooden poles
for carrying the ark (Exodus 25). This is what they did and then also this
2 Samuel 6:13: When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken
six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. Every six steps a bull and a fattened calf two expensive animals
were sacrificed (that amounted to
a lot of animals because the journey was kilometers long) and their blood offered to God for atonement as a covering for
their sin.
How can the ark of the Lord ever come to
David? How can God ever come closer to me? By following the instructions of our
Lord with great fear and making sure that the blood of enough sacrifices would
atone for human sin.
How does it work for us today? We no
longer have a physical ark and we no longer sacrifice animals. In our case this morning if we want now what was prefigured in the time of David has come to fulfillment in
Jesus Christ. Romans 5:5-11 I read
from the Bible:
God has poured out his love
into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us. You see, at just the
right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly
God
demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ
died for us . we have been
justified by his blood
we . rejoice in God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
How can the ark of Gods presence come
to us? God himself answered that question because he himself more than anything
desires to come close to us. He loved David who was a man after his own heart
and he loves you. He loves me. God substituted his own son Jesus Christ for the
bull and fattened calf that were to be sacrificed
every six steps. The Son of God
Jesus Christ poured out his own blood
on a cross so that we would be
justified by faith in his blood Romans 3:25: God presented him as a
sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood
Our holy God the God of consuming fire provided a way for you and me to be with him to enjoy him. As we exercise trust as we put our
faith in the power of Jesus blood, we
receive forgiveness for every one of our sins without exception with the result of intimacy with God. I
quote from the previous Bible reading Romans 5:-5-11 and that is the experience of Christians:
God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he
has given us
we . rejoice
in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received
reconciliation [friendship with God].
This goes deep and for all of the good news is a serious matter. This kind of grace this kind of closeness
with God the Holy Spirit setting our hearts alight with the love of God is not achieved in a glib and casual way.
David sacrificed animals every six steps and we likewise do well covering ourselves with the blood
of Jesus every six steps of our lives meaning that we are thorough in our
repentance pause every six steps and examine ourselves whether there is
another root of bitterness towards God or each other springing up within us.
Martin Luther taught the practice of
using the ten commandments daily for meditation using
them as a mirror which would reflect back on us where we fall short of Gods
standards. He himself mediated daily on Gods required standard of holiness and
then daily spent time in repentance and covering himself with the blood of
Christ. Have I lied? Have I gossiped? Have I kept his name holy? Have honoured
my parents? Have I hurt anyone? Have I been faithful to my marriage partner?
Have I been dishonest? Every six steps of his life Martin Luther would ask for
forgiveness and by faith in the blood of Christ receive atonement friendship with God. The closer we want to be with God, the more this would have to become
our practice as well. The Bible says Philippians 2:12:
as you have always obeyed
continue to work out your salvation
with fear and trembling
The God of our salvation deserves indeed requires that we learn the serious lesson of fearing him. He made a way for the
ark of his presence to come to be poured into us his love but it is to be treated with the utmost
respect. Therefore the fear of the Lord is something good and necessary because
Proverbs 16:6:
A person that fears God
avoids evil. Proverbs 8:13: The fear of the Lord is to hate evil
[Example: You may love your sports car and you are not becoming afraid of it
even though you cannot stand in its way when it approaches with 300 km per
hour. You still love that car and we still love God (are so in love with him)
even though we cannot come to him with unrepented sin.]
And before anyone misunderstands the
fear of the Lord is not the same as being afraid of him. Having the fear of the
Lord is not making us timid or subdued or restrained but on the contrary it means to be released into knowing and loving and communing with the
real God in all of his awesomeness.
Look at David 2 Samuel 6:12-15:
David
brought up the ark of God
with rejoicing
David, wearing a linen ephod
[wearing only his undies after having put off his outer garments for better
movement],
danced [whirled
around] before the Lord with all of his might
leaping and dancing before
the Lord
David had learned about
the fear of the Lord but he was not afraid. He was rather beside himself with
joy that God the ark of the Lord would
take residence next to him. What can be better for us?
Maybe if we were God, we would have
judged differently. We would have let Uzzah live because he only wanted to lend
a hand even if he dared to touch
the glory of God and we would have
zapped David when he whirled around in his undies. Wasnt that irreverent? No.
It may have been a little undignified but God delights in humility and he
delights in our joy in our most rapturous worship because he loves to be with us.
How can God come close to you? Learn
about the fear of the Lord and learn that you are dealing with a holy God.
Every six steps of your life cover yourself with the blood of Christ and then be released in joy without becoming afraid of God. Dance.
Whirl around. You have reason to (do
this). Experience what the Bible
describes in this way (what weve heard before) Romans 5:-5-11:
God
has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us
we . rejoice in God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation
[friendship with God]. The ark of his
presence is with you if you want. Amen.