The Ark is returning Part 3 The Missing Ingredient

The Ark is returning Part 3  

The Missing Ingredient
We saw how that 50,000 people died because the ark was opened I Samual 6:20.
The question now was, how can we bring back the Ark, without being destroyed?
They were so afraid of the Ark, they left it at Kirjathjearim where it stayed for 20 years, I Samual 7:1-2.  Twenty is the number for waiting for maturity, which is exactly what the Lord has being doing.

Isaiah 30:18

And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

The Lord is waiting for the church to come to a place where He can reveal Himself in great power and Glory, however as the power and glory of the Lord increases there is a corresponding increase of judgment against sin, as Ananias and Sapphira found out. Acts chapter 5.
David next tried the new man-made cart scenario 1 Chronicles 13. And again someone died. Now David is not about to bring the ark into Jerusalem until he finds a solution or a sfe way to do it, too many people had died

1 Chronicles 13:12	And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?
13	So David brought not the ark home to himself to the city of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite.
14	And the ark of God remained with the family of Obededom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the house of Obededom, and all that he had.

David’s question was how are we going to bring back the ark
David tries again: 

1 Chronicles 15:1	And David made him houses in the city of David, and prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent.
2	Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.

1st the Levites had to carry the ark, the Levites were chosen by God to minister in the Tabernacle, they has been consecrated and set aside by God to do this.
This brings up the question of the five fold ministries

Ephesians 4:11	And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12	For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13	Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

As we saw in part one of this series, no man takes this ministry unto himself, but only those who are called an appointed by God.  We need to understand the difference between Gifts of the Spirit and Ministry Gifts
Gifts of the Spirit

1 Corinthians 12:8	For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9	To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10	To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

The word Gift in these scriptures is the Greek word; “charisma” this word simply means a free gift by an endowment of the Holy Spirit, in other words simply a Gift from the Holy Spirit.
The word gift when referring to Ministry Gifts a very different word

Ephesians 4:8	Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. ( this should read. Gifts of Men)
Ephesians 4:11	And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

The word Gifts here is the Greek word “Doma”  and means, the person is the gift.
Gifts of the spirit in 1 1 Corinthians 12 are gifts or manifestation of the Holy Spirit
Ministry Gifts are different, the gift is the person. God gives men to the church who are gifts from the Lord. I use the word men in a general including women.
Gifts of the Spirit are manifestation of the Holy Spirit
Ministry Gifts are manifestations of Jesus
God gave the gift of a prophet to the church and the gift is the man, who is a manifestation of Jesus the prophet or Apostle, Teacher etc to the church.
Each has his own role and calling and the responsible for bringing back the Ark was on the shoulders of the Levites or Ministry Gifts.
The Five fold Ministry’s responsibility is to show the way by example they are to carry the Ark, the presence of the Lord back to the church.
It requires ministries which God has appoint to carry the Ark, the presence back to the church. They had to sanctify themselves, holiness was required

Psalms 24:3	Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? (The hill of the Lord was Mt Zion where the ark was to be placed)
4	He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart;

When Israel were about to cross over Jordan to a new day and a new life God said this;  

Josh 3:5	And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.
1 Chronicles 15:2	Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.
1 Chronicles 15:12	And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it.
13	For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.
14	So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel.

God is calling for a greater level of sanctification and purity from His leaders so that the Ark may be brought back. Manifest Glory requires Manifest Purity.
God is going to demolish everything in the church that is man made; the House of Saul (the house of flesh) will give way to the House of David which is after God’s own heart and order.
Now the ascent to Zion was about to begin and David ordered that this progression to Zion was to be with music, singing, worship dancing, and sacrifices.

1 Chronicles 15:28

Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.

The whole procession up to Zion was to be with Music and Worship and Sacrifices

Psalms 100:2

Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

Worship in the church is scheduled for a major upgrade. What we have at present is not enough to take us to Zion. 
Note how the prophet Malachi addresses this:

Malachi 3:1	Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
Malach 3:3	And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
4	Then shall the offering (worship) of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

The book of Malachi addresses the worship of Israel which had become lip service only and without sacrifice. One of the meanings of worship is, to surrender oneself wholly to God. Worship without surrender is empty. David was aware of this when bringing the Ark to Zion.
Now look at this account in 2 Samual Chapter 6.

2 Samual 6:12	And it was told king David, saying, The LORD hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness.
13	And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.

Six paces is about 18 feet.  “The Hebrew langue here clearly suggests that every six paces they offered a sacrifice. It would have taken this procession, weeks to reach Mt Zion” (The Expositors Bible Commentary Vol 3)
This was no quick fix thousands had been killed trying to move the Ark, now David offers a sacrifice every 18 feet of this journey.
This greatly highlights the missing ingredient in our worship today. Surrender, the sacrifice of our lives, Paul the apostle reiterates this in Romans 12

Romans 12:1

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.(or worship)

We have very little true worship in the church today because of this missing ingredient sacrifice.
When the act of worship truly becomes an unreserved giving of ourselves to God then the Ark the presence of God will come in a new way into our services.
God Bless you
James N Johnson © 2005