DOING RIGHT THE WRONG WAY: GOD’S WAY IS BETTER

2 SAMUEL 6:1-10

 

          Have you ever found yourself doing the right thing, but in the wrong way? In our zeal to accomplish something, we sometimes rush headlong into a project, only to find out halfway through it that we’re doing everything wrong. It happens with home projects, and it happens with spiritual projects. We can have the desire to do something good, but we might rush into things and end up doing the right thing the wrong way. Only if we had taken the time to slow down and seek out what God had to say on the matter, we might have had a different experience. Again, so often in our excitement for the Lord we can come up with all manner of ways to serve Him; but in our zeal we need to pray through the ideas and check with the Word to see if we would be disobeying any command or counsel from God by proceeding down that path. Know that it’s possible for a Child of God to want to do the right thing but end up doing it in the wrong way.

          For example, Paul told the Roman believers that the religious Jews who were bringing persecution upon the church had a zeal for God but not according to knowledge; Paul was one of them before his conversion. The Word of the Lord gives other examples of people doing the right thing the wrong way. Cain’s sacrifice was not pleasing to the Lord because of his motivation. Abraham and Sarah’s decision to use Hagar to provide an heir. Jacob and Rebekah’s deception of Isaac to attain Esau’s inheritance. In other words, somewhere along the path toward their goal of achieving what is right and good, they fell into the trap of the wrong way. There are many ways in which to serve the Lord; but there are boundaries in all areas of service; the boundaries have to do with holiness and obedience to the counsels and commands of God through His holy and righteous Word. I stopped by to say this morning that God’s way is better.

          In our text, we find King David desiring to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the City of David. David decided to bring the Ark to Jerusalem because the Philistines had captured it during the last days of Eli. But it caused them so much trouble that they put it on a cart and returned it, and for a while it stayed at the house of Abinadab. David undertook a mission to bring the Ark to Jerusalem. His motive was good, but his method was wrong. He was right in his intentions, but wrong in the methodology. He wanted to do this with the purest of motives. His desire was to get the nation to see that it was God who was really the King over Israel. It was God who had given them this land, this nation, these laws, this privileged position as His own special people. But David didn’t rely upon the Scriptures to determine how it should be done; he just plowed ahead thinking, “How could this be wrong?”, and sought to make it happen.

          God had ordered that the Ark should only be carried on the shoulders of the Levites. However, David loaded it on a new cart to be drawn by oxen. He probably got the idea from the Philistines. On the way, the oxen stumbled; Uzzah put forth his hand to steady the ark, and God struck him dead. This strange tragedy has some serious lessons for us. The Philistines weren’t familiar with God’s instructions for handling the ark. God didn’t punish them for transporting the ark on a cart. God was merciful to them because of their ignorance. To the Philistines, the Ark of the Covenant was only part of the bounty they had captured. They had no cherished memories of the Ark. To them the Ark meant very little. They had defeated the Israelites and captured their God.

          In many cases, the Church of Jesus Christ today has borrowed from the world the vehicles for her ministry. They study techniques of this age … the gadgetry of the business, social, and the entertainment world. Looking for new carts on which to carry our testimony, instead of asking, “How does God do it?” Instead, we ask, “How does the world do it?” Churches have begun to copycat the world. We have to have entertainment, or we aren’t content to be in church. Ministers have begun to slant their messages to “tickle ears” for fear that the flock will go elsewhere. We’ve begun to try methods and fads of the world within the church, just to try to add to our numbers. Like David, our intentions are right, but our methods are wrong! Doing right the wrong way!

          David’s whole procedure was wrong. He had heard of the new cart made by the Philistines. They had experienced no difficulty and had moved the ark successfully. Now David presumes moving the Ark, adopting the methods of the Philistines. Again, many in the church today want to adopt the methods and standards of the world to do the work of God. They’re looking for a new cart, or a short-cut, rather than seeking the face of God and doing it God’s way. It simply will not work because God’s way is better!

          Too many people today are like Uzzah. Uzzah had no regard for the sanctity of the Ark. He was the son of Abinadab and had seen the Ark all his life. The Ark was a familiar piece of furniture and had become to him just a box. Some in the church have grown so familiar with the gospel, with the worship, and with the ordinances of the church they have lost their reverence and respect for the things of God. Uzzah had lost his regard for the sacredness of the Ark as the symbol of God’s presence among His people.

          There are those who have grown up in Pentecostalism as Uzzah grew up around the Ark. Somehow these folks have become too familiar with the moving of the Spirit. They just assume everything will continue as they have always known, but they do very little to ensure the abiding presence of God. Others have become so familiar that they ignore the moving of the Spirit. They can be in a service where the Holy Spirit is moving and ministering in a dynamic way but be unaffected. It’s amazing that there was a time when a child would be talking and game-playing, but when the Holy Ghost began to move, all chatter, game-playing and movement stopped. In other words, there was a reverent hush as the Spirit came in. But today, that respect and reverence is gone.

Another aspect of becoming too familiar with the things of God is that if the service is not a running the isles, dancing, shouting service, we fail to see that God has worked. In a service where the Spirit is quietly dealing with souls, some have become so calloused, that they didn’t even realize that God was moving in the midst of His people. God help us when we become so familiar and friendly with the things of God.

          Now watch this. God had instructed that bearing the Ark of the Covenant would be a personal thing. The Philistines had devised the plan to put the Ark on the cart. Carrying it on the shoulders of the priests represented a personal commitment and a sharing of responsibility. One of the greatest needs of the church today is personal commitment: a commitment to pray, to fast, and to get involved in the work of God. Our modern society lacks commitment. You can see this lack of commitment in the home, between husbands and wives, with parents and children, in companies ... between employer and employee, and even in the church—between brothers and sisters.

          Meanwhile, there was much fanfare for David’s new cart. The Bible says, “The thing was right in the eyes of all the people.” This was the voice of the people and not God! Just because the people approved the plan didn’t mean that the plan was acceptable to God. On the contrary, as evidence of His disapproval, God struck Uzzah dead when he touched the Ark of God. Even so today, just because the masses give their approval doesn’t mean it’s God’s plan. Much of what is done today in the church meets man’s approval but isn’t acceptable to God. You can determine that, because the anointing of God is not being experienced as it was in the days of the early church. What the church must do today is find God’s plan and do things God’s way.

          The work of the church is also personal. David finally came to his senses. After his initial indignation at God for striking Uzzah dead, David began to pray and seek God’s direction. As he studied the Law, he discovered how God wanted the ark transported. He learned a valuable lesson in being obedient to the Word of God. The first thing we need to do in church today is to discover that God’s work must be done by God’s people, God’s way. Under the Old Testament law, only the Levites were qualified to carry the ark. Even for the Levites to carry the ark there were very strict instructions for the personal purification and preparation. If the work of God is going to be successful today, the people of God must be willing to be dedicated to the work of God. Only separated and dedicated people can do the work of the church and be found pleasing to the Lord. There are three questions to be asked if we want to do things God’s way:

               1. Am I one of God’s people? Have I come into that personal relationship where Jesus Christ is really the Lord of my life? Am I willing and ready to surrender all of the areas of my life to the lordship of Jesus Christ?

               2. Am I doing God’s work? As you begin to look at your life, are you really doing God’s work? There’s no doubt that there is much to be done. Everywhere you look people are hurting, people are in need. Every believer should be involved in the work of the Lord: preaching, teaching, witnessing, praying, fasting, caring, sharing, and so forth. If you’re not involved, now is the time to get involved!

               3. Am I doing God’s work, God’s way? Those who have been in the church for a long period of time must guard against doing God’s work their way. If a person isn’t careful his desires and motives can be superimposed over God’s desires. Jesus told His disciples that the first and greatest commandment is this, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.” God has a work for HIs people to do. The fields are ripe for harvest. Let’s get back into the Word of God to see how God desires for His work to be

accomplished. Let’s not find ourselves as David, trying to carry on the work of God using the new cart of the world, but rather let us get back to thus saith the Lord! Let’s begin to seek God’s face for direction and then willing to do the work and be bold enough to stand up in the face of those who tell us that we have to do it “a new way.”

          As I close, is it possible to do the right thing the wrong way? Yes. To bring the Ark to Jerusalem was good and noble. It was God-honoring, something that God desired David to do. But there was a right way to do it. When David neglected to seek the Lord and search out God’s Word, the results were tragic. But, as he learned in other areas of his life, God wants us to seek Him. God wants us to inquire of Him and to know His will. God doesn’t hold back on His counsel to us. Those who seek Him find Him. Those who ask for wisdom receive it. And when David finally did, the results were dramatically and wonderfully different. Doing right the wrong way: God’s way is better!