Day 31, Chapter 30: The Price | Give Him 15: Daily Prayer with Dutch | June 7

hello and thank you for joining me for day 31 chapter 30 of our pursuit of the heart of god going through the book the pleasure of his company and it has been wonderful today's post our last one is titled the price you may have surmised by now that david the great psalmist giant slayer and eventual king of israel is one of my favorite bible characters i've written about him a good bit in this book jesus must have liked him also he accepted the title son of david david's ultimate success in spite of his colossal failures should bring hope to all of us the man after god's heart also went after another man's wife and the famous giant killer also caused the death of a loyal soldier the woman's husband in order to cover the affair it doesn't get much worse than that but forgiveness and cleansing are for sinners not perfect people and we all qualify someone once said the only perfect people are in heaven indeed i thank god for his amazing grace i love to sing the song and think often of its writer john newton a former slave trader it's hard for me to imagine a more despicable activity than slave trading but truth and justice finally broke the fog of deception and after his conversion newton would eventually be a significant voice for the abolition of the slave trade later he penned the famous words amazing grace how sweet the sound the save the wretch like me i once was lost but now i'm found was blind but now i see thank god for his amazing grace and the song some historians actually believe newton took the melody of amazing grace from the singing of slaves aboard one of his ships whether true or not the irony that the song sang more than any other in the history of the world was written by a former slave trader is like the song itself amazing but the song could not have carried us to such heights had not the man sunk to such depths and when all was said and done the greatness of his sin was no match for the greatness of god's grace pardon me david would one day need and find this grace but at the time when he became king david was living a pure life of passion and purity and he decided that his first order of business would be to move the ark of the coveted to jerusalem above the ark was where god's presence and glory dwelled and david lover of god that he was wanted this right next to the palace so he could make regular visits he also wanted god's presence to be the focal point of the nation so first chronicles 13 1-7 i give you the verses here david said to her let's go get the ark back because we didn't seek it in the days of saul so he gathered israel went to kiryat jiren brought the ark of god back to jerusalem and and the passage says they carried the ark of god on a new cart from the house of abinadab and uzza and ohio drove the cart this was quite an undertaking samuel's version of the endeavor says david gathered 30 000 specially chosen men of israel to be a part of this procession 35 000. he and the entourage were quote celebrating before the lord with all kinds of instruments made of fur wood and liars and harps tambourines castanets whatever those are and symbols it must have been quite breathtaking though david is about to make a serious mistake with the ark give him credit the ark and presence of god were important enough to him that he wanted this to be a big deal after all this is yahweh god almighty we're talking about was probably the reasoning nothing is too much or too good for him in fact make a new card on which to transport it and that's where the problem started because the ark was transported on a cart pulled by oxen it wasn't stable when they hit a rough spot the cart shifted and it looked like the ark might fall off one of the drivers uzza touched it in order to steady it and god killed him talk about raining on a parade the music and dancing stopped as did the procession laughter turned to sorrow and joy to mourning a celebration became a funeral david uncertain of what to do put the transporting of the ark on hold housing it in the home of obed edom for three months while he researched what to do next the problem david eventually discovered was the mode of transportation the new cart the ark wasn't supposed to be transported in this manner but rather carried by poles running through rings on the sides of the ark this way it was secure didn't have to be touched and though the process would be much more difficult priests were supposed to carry the ark on their shoulders the entire process was spelled out clearly in numbers the fourth chapter we are left to wonder what the motivation was behind david's using a cart me i believe it very likely boiled down the convenience carrying the ark on shoulders for 10 miles would have been hard work splinters sore muscles chafed shoulders blisters on the feet all would have been the painful result the long hard miles up and down hills across streams in the heat let's just let the oxen do it david learned the hard way that contrary to human preference ignorance isn't bliss easy doesn't do it and it's not just the thought that counts the three idiomatic expressions from which i took these statements may be witty but often they are simply not true in fact they can be deadly david and his followers discover that it's more than the thought that counts obedience matters and they learned that experiencing the lord's presence and glory wouldn't come easy or conveniently as my friend damon thompson once said if christianity was intended to be convenient it wouldn't have been built on crosses and martyrs god's presence and glory aren't stumbled unto by happenstance nor are they found by the casual seeker they are discovered when sought after with passion and intentionality in first things first a roger merrill tells of a business consultant who was moving into a new home he decided to hire a friend of his to landscape the grounds she had a doctorate in horticulture was extremely bright and knowledgeable because the business consultant was very busy and traveled a lot he kept emphasizing to her the need to create his garden in a way that would require little or no maintenance on his part he pointed out the absolute necessity of automatic sprinklers and other labor-saving devices she stopped and said there's one thing you need to deal with before we go any further if there's no gardener there's no garden and if there are no tired shoulders there will be no ark our world has become obsessed with convenience whether it be our food travel communication or gardens we're determined to live new cart lifestyles the trend has finally made it to the church we offer many convenient times styles and locations because we're so busy we offer the condensed and abbreviated versions some congregations are now so efficiently convenient they can serve you your weekly god connection in 45 minutes less time than it takes to watch your favorite television show 15 minutes of worship 15 minutes of announcements and fellowship and a 15 minute message but wait there's more if that doesn't work for you you can stay at home and watch the service online and by the way we promise not to mention anything that might convict or sadden you there will be no sin talked about no grieving over the lost no mention of social or moral injustices such as abortion or human trafficking we strive to make it quick easy and pleasant i'm waiting for attendance indulgences to be sold throw in an extra 20 bucks this sunday and stay home with our blessing next week i don't believe our new cart version of christianity is god honoring or biblical the pleasure of his company is readily available but it's not cheap it will cost you time and effort god wants intimacy with us but he isn't an easy scorer he expects marriage and covenant not one night stands but i assure you he is more than worth the price david and his leaders decided give it another try the inconvenient way let's carry him ourselves on our shoulders and next to our hearts they said it'll be hard work and will take all day but having his presence and glory nearby will be worth it so david and his workers his people went and got the ark from obed edom and i give you the verses here they brought the ark back with shouting it says and the sound of the trumpet great rejoicing david was dancing before the ark with all of his might in the chronicles account of this we're told that quote god was helping the levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the lord isn't that encouraging and so typical of god's heart when we honor him by seeking his presence in the appropriate manner he makes it easier to find him our father wants our company for david it had finally happened the presence junkie would have unfettered access to the lord and his glory he placed the ark in a tent called simply the tent or tabernacle of david and filled it with 24 7 worship history tells us david himself spent hours at a time lingering inside the inconvenience of the process had been rewarded by the enjoyment of his presence pursuit one this can be your story as well on this side of the cross our hearts are the tent as unfathomable as it may seem we are now the holy of holies his presence is always with us and in us you be the cart that's what he really wants carry him everywhere you go reach for him he'll reach back make christ your magnificent obsession yahweh your papa and holy spirit your daily companion never again settle for the sub-standard existence of a life without the pleasure of his company pray with me father you are worthy of the highest praise the most extravagant devotion and the furthest possible reaches of our love jesus there's nothing we could ever give or do or say that would equate to the great sacrifice you made you paid the price in full that we might have salvation and yet to freely bask in your glory there is still a price that must be paid how can we bring you an offering that costs us nothing father we repent for doing this very thing trying to access the most exquisite of blessings while limiting you by what is easy or convenient more than the mere sacrifice of our lips the sacrifice of our lives is required in order to become the tabernacle of your glory and your presence today we purpose in our hearts to give our time and effort toward fueling an intentional passionate pursuit jesus you are worth it all we refuse to live without experiencing the great pleasure of your company you are our magnificent obsession what a great journey this has been lord we are confident that as we have done what you instructed us to do the act of obedience has become an entry point for your presence and power wonders are coming breakthroughs are imminent you lord god are about to explode onto the earth scene we can't wait it's going to be glorious amen what a great month it's been thank you so much for joining me i can't wait to see you tomorrow

Channel: Dutch Sheets

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Keywords: An Appeal To Heaven, Appeal To Heaven, America shall be saved, Dutch Sheets Ministries, DSM, Give Him 15, Give Him Fifteen, GH15

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Length: 18min 36sec (1116 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 06 2021