January 31, 2011 Foward Motion Faith

I hesitated at first.  Going to the pulpit this morning with a chaotic outline for a message was not going to be easy.  But I had to.  I had a word from the Lord burning in my spirit that I had to get out.  It wasn’t a simple A, B, C outline.  Not that there’s anything wrong with such an outline.  I use them on a weekly basis.  This one came out of my prayer closet.  It was a tough and sober word.  Sobering words are sometimes difficult to take.

I spoke on the Abiding Presence of God – Rules of Engagement.  The scriptural base of my message was 1 Chronicles 13.1-10.  You know the story.  It’s about David chasing the Ark of the Covenant.  He wanted it back in Jerusalem.  The Ark was at the house of Abinadab.  After the Philistines captured the Ark during civil war – they surrendered it because it so troublesome to them.  It wound up at Abinadab’s house.  It had been there for twenty years.  David pulled 30,000 people together to consult going after the Ark.  He gathered tribal leaders, Levites, captains and civil leaders.  They decided it was a good idea.  Badda-boom.  Badda-bing!  They were on their way! 

When they got there they loaded up the cart with the Ark and headed out.  Things seemed to be going fine until the ox cart hit a chuck hole. It wobbled and shook and Uzza reached up to stabilize it and that’s when it happened.  Boom!  He was struck by God and died next to the Ark.  Uzza broke the law.  He touched the Ark. I know it sounds so silly but God had established guidelines, rules for His abiding presence.  He knew the rules and yet in an instance broke the law.  Wow!  This story has been evaluated by men who are much more intellectual than I.  It has been under the microscope frame by countless numbers of theologians.  Who would I be to attack it again?  Go figure.

I think for my congregation today Uzza represented the church.  Here are my deductions for today. 

• The Ark had been in Abinadab’s house for twenty years.  The Abinadab family had become comfortable with the manifest presence of God.  They had become familiar with the Ark – the presence of God.
• Abinadab was from the tribe of the Kohathites of the tribe of Levi.  He was schooled in what it took to move the Ark.  Did he fail to teach his two sons the rules for the abiding presence of God?
• Uzza and Ahio were born into the tribe of Levi. They were stewards by inheritance to the abiding presence of God.  They had a responsibility to manage the Ark.  Somehow along the way they failed in doing so.  Uzza changed the rules.  God struck him dead.  Matter of fact it really ticked God off that he did what he did.  Like a parent who gives rules to their kids and the kids blatantly break the rules.  It’s a parental anger.
• Then there’s the cart.  Out of the 30,000 people who were around and possibly had some small part in even loading the Ark on the new cart – who attempted to stop the action?  Were they so far removed from the presence of God they forgot the rules for His presence?  Someone should have yelled, “Stop!”   But they didn’t.

Familiarity.  Taking God’s presence for granted.  People with religion minus relationship.  Uzza breaking the rules.  A new idea for managing the presence of God (new cart) as opposed to the holiness of God as the Ancient of Days.  The bottom line to this story is that Uzza represents a succeeding generation that died right in front of the Ark – the presence of God.  How many lost lives will we add up in our churches – right in the presence of God – because we are entertaining changing the rules in far too many churches.  God’s rules do not change. They remain for every people group, tongue and color.  His word is timeless.  Succeeding generations do not have to die on the front porch of the church.  We can and we should be burdened to not this happen.

Uzza didn’t have to die.  Yes, he made a decision and had to be accountable for his decision to break all the rules (Romans 1).   But somewhere along the line – Uzza slipped away from reverencing God’s presence.   2 Samuel 6.7 says that Uzza did what he did out of irreverence.  The word implies eluding, to diminish.  Over time Uzza lost his zeal for the presence of God.  He lost his desire to obey the rules.  The new cart was….new.  It was faster than God’s way of managing the Ark in movement.  But the new way broke the rules and someone died.  God in His inherent mercy and grace must be a God of justice. 

I can only pray that the New Testament church understand we can’t change the rules of God’s abiding presence.   Just as Uzza was brought into the lineage of the priesthood by birth so are we.  We are brought in by new birth and in this born again experience we become New Testament priests.  We have a stewardship of the presence of God that abides in us as a living temple.   I ask that you consider yourself.  Ask God if there are any rules you’re breaking.  I am confident He will show you.  That’s His job and He does it well as long as we want to know.  I do – what about you?