Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Just before we get into the Word, I want to welcome one of my friends, Pastor Vitaly. Would you come and join me here on stage? We just, we want to take a moment to pray.
[00:00:12] Of course. This last week we've seen on major headlines everywhere. Ukraine has been a massive topic of discussion. And I feel like God does this sort of thing. Only the Lord could orchestrate to bring into our church a pastor who pastors in the Ukraine. This has been a friend of our, of our church. He was a part of Project 5000. We invested heavily into their ministry. I know Pastor Matt and our kids ministry has taken a trip and some of you may have been on that trip and. But just before service, we were praying together and hearing about 70 pastors who were slaughtered recently and hundreds, literally hundreds of churches that have been damaged, you know, torn down because of all the warfare and the tension that's there. But even as I consider the faithfulness of God, you'll notice that every revival in scripture in the backdrop is warfare and persecution and hardship. So we don't ask for these things. But I'm just, I'm telling you on the authority of scripture, I believe the best days for the Ukraine and the church of Ukraine and the people of God that you get to oversee and you get to minister over, the best days are ahead. And so we wanted to take a moment and we wanted to pray. How many know you have brothers and sisters in Ukraine that you have, you don't even know about? And the Bible says that if one part of our body suffers, we all suffer. You imagine if you had an injury on your hand, you would feel it and the rest of your body would care about that? Well, there are people in this region of the world that are hurting right now. And so we're gonna pray for them right now. Would you just stand right now and stretch your hands out to our brother Vitaly? Pastor Lord, we just thank you for this man of God. And I thank you, God, that even in some of the darkest and war torn areas on the planet, there are beacons of light, there are people of God. I thank you, Lord, for the work that even Trinity Churches have the privilege of partnering with, empowering that church in reaching the next gener. And we heard the declaration from Pastor Vitaly earlier today. He's believing that not only are you going to pour out your spirit in his church, but God, you're going to release something that will multiply and even launch out from Ukraine and impact the nations of the world. We've seen it historically. You did it In Jerusalem, persecution. But it was seed for the rest of the world. We've seen it out of the persecuted church and in underground churches, Lord, the strongest and most powerful missionaries released from persecuted areas. And we declare the very same thing is going to happen out of. Of this region, out of this area. Lord, we bless Pastor Vitaly. We ask you, Lord, flow, resources, provision. But more than that, your grace, your abundance, your power, a mighty move of your spirit. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Amen. God bless you, Pastor.
[00:03:12] Remain standing. We're gonna. I tried to catch you quick before you sat down. We're going to jump right into the word of God this morning.
[00:03:25] You know, Pastor Jim and I. Pastor, by the way, is in Waxahachie ministering. He and Pastor Becky over there. So always be sure to pray for our campuses. We're believing the very same way that God moves here, he's going to do all across the metroplex. But one of the things that him and I talk about often, we come into moments like we were experiencing just a moment ago. And I'm looking up at Pastor Tim Manigold, just tears running down his face and thinking, like, man, we could just stay here. And there's always a tension that I feel, but I really believe similar to what happened a couple weeks ago when pastor preached. He preached about the glory and he preached, and he was wishing, like, the way he put it, we preached about it the first service, and then God did it the second service. I feel like we're on the same track this morning, that even some of the things that I am going to share, I want you to keep kind of that posture of adoration and worship central in your heart. Because I think we're going to go back to that place here in just a few moments. And I want to see the glory of God. Are you with me on that?
[00:04:34] My goodness. Romans, chapter 15 in verse 13. This is our theme verse for the year there on the screen. Can we read it together? Is it getting in your heart yet? All right, let's read it together. 1, 2, 3, go. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. And I'm going to read to you out of the Psalms. It'll be up there on the screen. Psalm 84.
[00:05:04] This is actually the entire chapter. This doesn't include the introduction, but this is kind of important. You'll see it in.
[00:05:11] If you're looking in your physical Bible, it says to the chief musician on an instrument of Gath. A psalm of the sons of Korah. And this is what it says. How lovely is your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts. My soul longs, yes, even faints, for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Have you ever felt that way about the Lord? I think he's doing that in our midst. Even the sparrow has found a home, the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young. Even your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house. They will still be praising you. Is anybody thankful to be in the house of God today? I sure am. Blessed is the man whose strength is in you and whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the valley of Baca, they will make it a spring. The rain covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength. I like that. They go from strength to strength. You could say glory to glory. Each one appears before God in Zion. O Lord, God of hosts, hear my prayer. Give ear, O God of Jacob. O God, behold our shield and look upon the face of your anointed.
[00:06:40] For a day in your courts is better than a thousand.
[00:06:46] One day in your presence is better than a thousand. Anywhere else, one day where your glory dwells is better than a thousand.
[00:06:59] I would rather be a doorkeeper, oh, my goodness. In the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. He will give grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold. Oh, my goodness.
[00:07:21] If this doesn't preach to you, no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in you. And this Trinity Church is God's word, and we believe it to be true. You may be seated.
[00:07:45] You'll notice as we read that text, there's a few verses that probably have jumped out to you through our time of prayer and fasting, through other messages that have been shared. We've talked about the hunger for the Lord. It's been a theme, really, for the last month, that you can have as much of God as you're hungry. For if you hunger and thirst after him you will. You will have him. You will be satisfied. We've talked about grace and glory. Are these words familiar to you yet? We talked in 2025 about. About Grace. In fact, we've talked about you, the number five representing grace, and how this is 2025. Grace squared grace. Grace. And, and so we've essentially been talking about how we're believing for greater measures of grace. And what is grace? This is the attitude. This is the heart posture of God released towards the people of God. He's patient and he's merciful, and he's slow to anger, and he's abounding in kindness, and he relents. He. He. He steps back from bringing harm or judgment. His desire is to leave a blessing. It's the most frequently quoted promise of the Lord through all of the Bible. And, and then we talk about glory. And many of us grew up, you hear. You know, I just. I can still hear in my mind, you know, pastor would get in, preaching a good point, and. And the old man in the back would stand up and say, glory. And so I always thought that was like a substitute for amen. But you realize glory, you know, the Bible talks about the working of miracles. That was something available in heaven, released into the earth. The Bible called it glory, or how Jesus eternally existent, clothed himself in human flesh. He came and he dwelt among us. And the Bible says we beheld his glory. That which was in heaven came to the earth. Glory. And so we begin to understand when the attributes of heaven are released in the earth. That's glory. We were experiencing glory just a moment ago in the place of worship. When we begin to engage the Lord and, And look to him, all of a sudden the atmosphere changes. Did we all feel that? You know, there's. I mean, I just. The song, maybe we got to sing it later. I. I know that I'm standing on holy ground and that there are angels all around. You know, that old hymn, that's what I felt like in that moment. What is that? As we engage the Lord in worship, all of a sudden the atmosphere is like heaven comes to earth. That's glory. And in that atmosphere, I'm telling you, miracles break out the power of God. And so we're looking and these verses begin to talk about that. I've seen grace. The Lord will give grace and glory, and there is no good thing that he will withhold from those who walk uprightly, you realize God's the potential for prosperity. And I know that's a trigger word for some. But if you walk uprightly before the Lord and you keep him first and foremost, I believe there are no limits to the prosperity, the blessing that God desires to pour out on his people. I believe that. I don't know if you believe it. Two people said amen. But do you believe that? Well, if you don't, maybe you will before the end of the day. But, Pastor, a couple weeks ago, was talking about Moses, and it kind of started me down this track in my own personal prayer and devotion time. That moment where Moses, he says, lord, I know you've got a promise for us. I know you have blessings, you have land, you have inheritance for us. But if you're not going with us into the promised land, I'm gonna stay right here. I would rather be with you in the wilderness than in blessing without you.
[00:11:44] And then he extended it even further, and he says, oh, by the way, God, even if you go with me also, I'm not going without the people.
[00:11:54] I know they made you mad. I know they're idol worshipers. I know they're knuckleheads. But listen, if. If I'm not going without them.
[00:12:03] And I was reminded of another story where a man of God made a very similar decision. I've experienced blessing, but, God, I want to be where you are. I want to be where you are. You see, there's a man. You can read his story in Second Samuel, chapter six. I'm going to paraphrase it. This is how I picture it. There's a guy named Obed Edom in the Old Testament. And the way I picture this is there was a time where he's at home, and I don't know. I don't know if he was a farmer or what he was doing, but all of a sudden, he hears this commotion outside, and he steps out onto his front porch and he sees this parade of people. He sees King David, the King of Jerusalem, coming down the road, and he sees this whole mass of people that are following after him. He sees a cart and he sees oxen, and they're worshiping and they're prais. And he's watching this whole episode unfold before him. And all of a sudden, there's some disruption. He watches everybody just kind of stop. And there's a commotion right there around where the Ark of the Covenant is. Now, if you know anything about the Ark of the Covenant, this was like. I mean, this was. This was like the thing of an item of legend. This was the. The Ark. And they say that, well, if you have the Ark with you, you'll win every battle you fight. If you have the Ark with you, God's blessing will come. In fact, they believed that upon the Ark of the Covenant, God himself chose to abide.
[00:13:37] So he's watching this whole thing, and, man, maybe I could see the Ark. If I could just Catch a glimpse in. And the whole procession stops. And all of a sudden, people begin to back away from the Ark. And there's a man dead on the ground.
[00:13:54] The story comes back to him that Uzziah had stretched forth his hand and touched the Ark in a way that the Lord had not intended him to. He was struck dead. And King David, prophet, lover of God, his response is God. The Bible says he was angry. God, how has this ark come to me now? A life is in my hands. I don't want this. And he begins to look around and say, is there somebody who would take this?
[00:14:26] Well, they're right on the front step of Obed Edom. And Obed Edom says, I'll take it.
[00:14:34] I'll house the ark.
[00:14:37] So he receives King David and the priests, they bring the ark into the house of Obed Edom. I'd imagine they had to rearrange their furniture. And we got our TV right in the center here. We're going to move this off on the side. And let's put the ark right here.
[00:14:53] Puts the ark in his home. And the Bible says that for the next three months, the Ark of the Covenant was in the house of Obed Edom. And the Lord began to manifest his glory.
[00:15:09] He began to experience blessing that is indescribable. I'm telling you, I don't know how this all happened, but the Lord began to flow resources in to him that are almost indescribable. You can read about him in Second Chronicles. This is like, this is a while later, generations later. They're talking about all the treasure that's been amassed in the temple of God. And it makes known this is the temple treasure and the wealth of Obed Edom.
[00:15:38] 200 years later, God so blessed Obed Edom, his household and everything, that 200 years later, they're still talking about that season of blessing and what was produced in that period of time. So I don't know if his crops just began to multiply like we're reaping a hundredfold. I don't know if everybody who owed him money just came and brought it back, or if all his credit cards were forgiven. I don't know what that looked like, people just dropping off gold and silver at his house. But we know that over the course of three months, he became incredibly prosperous. Then even greater. Not just glory, God making himself known, but his grace.
[00:16:25] He would notice that every time he would come near the Ark, he would sense the abiding presence of God Almighty, where he was anxious and fearful the moment that he would come near this peace and this joy would just overwhelm him. He'd have these moments where there's, where there's disputes and there's trials and I don't know what I'm going to do in the moment. He comes around the ark, all of a sudd divine revelation, wisdom begins to come. I have the solution. I know what I'm going to do. And he begins to experience the abiding presence of God around the ark.
[00:17:02] Do you know about the ark? The ark of the covenant. This is an idea that God himself gave to Moses. And you can read about it in the book of Exodus, in Exodus 25 and verse 21, he's just finished describing to Moses. Like Moses, this is how you're going to build. It's going to be this long and this wide. This is the wood that you're to use, and the rings and the. And the poles. I mean, describes everything. You're going to have to get some metal makers because you're going to coat this entire thing in gold. And I need you to make some angels on the top. And you're going to create this, this, this lid for it that we're going to call the mercy seat. This is the place where forgiveness of sins is going to transpire. Because I'm making a new covenant with you, Moses. And this is what he says about it. He says, you will put the mercy seat on top of the ark. This is Exodus 25:21. And you will put the testimony that I will give you. That's the ten Commandments.
[00:17:56] And there, oh, I will meet with you.
[00:18:01] There. I will speak to you from above the mercy of seat between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the testimony about everything. I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel. I'm gonna speak to you. We talked a couple weeks ago about how mercy and grace truly are the same thing. One's got an action attached to it, but it's essentially the same thing. He's saying, listen, I'm creating something that is going to rest upon grace.
[00:18:32] And from that platform of grace, Moses, I'm gonna meet with you.
[00:18:38] I'm gonna talk to you, and I'm going to abide with you. I'm going to meet with. I feel the Holy Ghost on. I'm going to meet with you. I'm going to talk to you, and I'm going to make this the very dwelling place for my presence. I'm gonna stay with you. Hebrews chapter nine. You can See, there were a few things that they added to this over time.
[00:19:06] Behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle that was called holiest of all or the holy of holies, she had the golden censer, the ark of the covenant, overlaid with gold. There was a golden pot that had manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant, you see, there were pieces of the testimony, the journey that God brought all of them through.
[00:19:29] And what I need you to understand about the Ark of the Covenant is this was God's desire. This was the means to Moses, how I'm going to meet with you. This is all God has ever wanted. I need you to understand this. From Genesis to revelation, over 40 times, the cry from the heart of God is, I want to be your God.
[00:19:54] If you will be my people, if you will be my people, I will be your God. And you'll see over and over again, people blow it. Adam and Eve, I'm going to give you a. I'm going to give you a garden. It's going to be awesome. They blow it. God immediately comes covenant. Grace. I still want to connect with you years later, Noah. I mean, the whole world has blown it. But Noah, you have found favor in my eyes. And I'm going to make a covenant with you. Grace, Grace. Now upon grace had an understanding of grace. But now there was a new dimension of grace that was being revealed. I'm going to connect with you, Moses, and your descendants. The same thing with, with Abraham. And you'll see, every time he shows up, oh man, he begins to reveal new dimensions of his grace in his nature. Abraham, I'm going to tell you a name that nobody else knows yet. I am El Shaddai. I am Almighty God, the all sufficient one. New measures of grace, new measures of glory. And then, and then he comes to Moses and he says, listen, Moses, I'm gonna tell you some things that nobody else knows about me yet. I am. That I am. Nobody knows that about me yet, but. But I'm revealing new aspects of grace. Every time you see covenant in scripture, Jesus included, he's inviting us into a new realm of his grace.
[00:21:22] Grace, Grace, you could say. And with that grace comes new measures of glory. This is what the psalmist said. Oh my. He said, he says, the Lord is a sun and shield. The Lord will give grace and glory.
[00:21:39] I don't know if you are here today believing for greater grace and greater glory, but I for one desire. That I for one desire. Every time I come into worship, I'M on the edge of my seat right now. I'm like, God, every time we. Are you gonna take over this service, too? Are you gonna move like that?
[00:22:00] I like seeing Tim Manigolt cry. I don't know. I just like, wow, God is moving. And I love hearing the testimonies that come after this. Like, dude, somebody got healed last week. Whoa. Somebody got $10,000 deposited in their account. I love hearing this kind of stuff. Because God is showing up. God is showing up.
[00:22:25] So the Ark of the Covenant. It's a picture. I'll just give these to you quickly.
[00:22:30] Three ideas. It's a picture, first of all, of God's abiding presence. We can learn something as we study the Ark of the Covenant. This is a picture of God's abiding presence. This is why we as a church emphasize substance. This is why you'll see on signs and on everywhere. You'll see, meet God here. That's our desire, friend. If God doesn't show up, we're a social club, we're a concert. But if God shows up, it's holy, it's glorious. We experience his grace. This is where. I mean, I remember years ago, my wife told me I didn't tell enough stories in the first service. So let me tell you a story.
[00:23:20] Remember a number of years ago, many of you, we had, like, 300 people that helped us put on an event called Jesus Encounter.
[00:23:29] I had had a dream, and in that dream, an angel came to me and began to speak to me about how we were going to begin to reach masses for Jesus. And I remember, I. We were in a service much like we were experiencing today. The glory of God was so filling the worship space. And I remember I was so overwhelmed by the glory of God that I almost felt like I need to relief from this. It's like the weight. I can't even handle it. And so I walk outside and I saw how we were promoting the services.
[00:24:03] I saw the advertisement that was everywhere, and it wasn't.
[00:24:08] Evangelist Jacob Barrientos is pre. It wasn't. It was no person. There was no worship. There was no. It didn't even have the name of our church on there. All it said was, experience God, encounter God. And as we began to pray into it, that's where we got this envision this. This vision, like, lord, as we're gonna do this, I'm not putting names, I'm not putting titles. I don't care about any of that. The only thing that matters is if you show up, if you show up, and so when we preach the word, we believe it to be true. This is not just some teaching. No, we're releasing wisdom and revelation as if it's coming straight from the heart of God into your life. And we're believing it's going to change and transform, that you will encounter God. When we come together and we worship, we're not just singing nice songs. Oh, I like that song. I don't like that song. It has nothing to do with what you like or don't like.
[00:25:02] We're entertaining one, we're appealing to one. We're worshiping and giving glory to one. Why? Because I want him to show up. Because I want him to abide with us when we pray. We're not just here to. To encourage you, somebody standing with you. That's important. But at the end of the day, like, no, I want you to encounter the delivering power of God, the healing power of God, the forgiving power of God, the restoring power of God. That's. That's what we're going to contend for. You're going to meet God as substance.
[00:25:38] As substance. You're going to meet God. The Ark is a picture of God's abiding presence. Secondly, it's a picture of his grace and his glory. It's a picture of his grace and his glory. And again, I'll just restate it simply and we'll move on. It's not just grace.
[00:25:59] New dimensions of his grace.
[00:26:02] This is. I have a covenant, but I've got a greater covenant. And I'm establishing. I'm bringing you into grace, grace. And with that grace, grace comes glory, glory. Right. Now the third. Oh, I like this one a lot. The Ark is a picture of the protection of the Lord.
[00:26:23] It's a picture of the protection of the Lord. Listen, some of you don't get excited about that, but I'm just here to remind you, like God fights on your behalf. God is your defender. It doesn't matter if people are talking bad about you behind your back. God's got your back. He will defend you. But the problem is when we try and defend ourselves, we try and cover ourselves. We try and protect ourselves. I'm going to go fix this. Well, I'm going to bring justice to this situation. Friend. You understand when you take. When you take judgment into your own hands, you're doing two things that you ought not do.
[00:26:59] First of all, you step into the role of the accuser.
[00:27:05] And the Bible names an accuser. His name is Satan. His name literally means accuser. And that's what he does, he accuses. But the Bible also says in the book of Hebrews, God himself declares over himself, vengeance is mine, says the Lord. I will repay when we try and take justice into our own hands. Well, I'm going to avenge this. I'm going to do. Not only do you step into the role of Satan, but you take a job that God says, that's my job.
[00:27:35] And you don't want to be in either one of those positions. Now, I'm not saying you don't lift your voice on behalf of those who aren't able to care for themselves or defend themselves. You do that. That's Scriptural as well. But when it comes to. I'm not trying to cover my own name or reputation. I'm not trying to avenge somebody who's wronged me or sinned against me. I'm going to lean into the Lord and say, God, you're going to fight my battles and you're working on my behalf. You know, the Bible actually calls God an avenger. I don't know if there's any Marvel fans. I used to be a Marvel fan. It's really gone downhill. But God's still an avenger. God's an avenger, and he's a good one.
[00:28:15] It's a picture of the protection. In fact, you'll see a glimpse of this.
[00:28:20] Looking back to our story. I'm kind of following the path of the Ark. There was a time when the ark was still in the temple. This is before the account that we read just earlier, the story I told you earlier. There was a young boy named Samuel, Prophet.
[00:28:37] You know how he began to hear the voice of the Lord.
[00:28:41] His mama, Hannah had prayed for a son. That's all she wanted. And God blessed her with a boy. She said, lord, if you give me a son, I'll dedicate him to you. And that's exactly what she did. She received. She conceived a miracle child, Samuel. And then she went and gave him into service in the house of God. So Samuel literally grew up in the temple.
[00:29:04] He decided to make his bed. Anybody know, next to the ark, this is the. I mean, this is the scary ark of the covenant. I don't know if you guys ever watched Indiana Jones growing up. That thing freaked me out. I mean, I watch those guys, the Nazis, they come and try and take the lid off. I wonder if that's why our livestream got pulled down, because I said Nazi. But they try and take the lid off of this thing and God got him. He's an avenger, Remember, He Wiped them out. Should have happened, praise God. But. But he does. And I watch those guys face melt. And I'm. That was trauma for me as a young boy. Like, if I ever get the chance to get around the ark, I don't know if I want it. It scared me. And so I'd have moments even. Have you ever been like this? I have moments where the presence of God would come so powerfully into a service and I'd get scared. Like, man, if this gets too much, I might die. Die.
[00:29:59] Anybody with me? I mean, this is. This is the kind of fear preaching that I don't. I'm not a fan of, because I'd have moments. Even in my personal prayer time after I was a pastor, I remember one time I was praying late at night and. And I literally felt like God, the Father stepped into the room. I mean, it. It freaked. I hit my face so fast, and I just. I have the picture of Moses. If I see you in your glory, I will die. And so I didn't. But then later in my walk with God, I began to read about guys like Samuel. This dude set up his bed next to the ark. I'm reading about Obed Edom, who has replaced his television with the Ark of the Covenant. Now, how are these guys hanging around the glory of God? And it's not affecting them where other people are touching it or exposed to it, and it ends up being a curse to them.
[00:30:55] This is a lesson because I don't know about you, if I'm believing for greater glory and greater grace, I don't ever want it to be a curse to me.
[00:31:06] You'll watch people get so blessed of God.
[00:31:10] I've watched influencers. I've watched celebrities who are. Who are nothing in there. They've got God on their lips. They're singing his praises. And as God begins to elevate them, elevate them, the talk of the Lord becomes less and less and less and less. And by the time they get to their place, they. They've reached the apex of their fame or their influence. All of a sudden, now, they're now. Now God's nowhere to be found. And that which the Lord intended to be a blessing ends up being their downfall. It ends up being a curse. You watch people who get in a desperate place of financial need and they have faith, and I'm going to give and I'm going to pray and. And God brings them out of that. And sometime later, they become very prosperous. And I've watched people, their business takes off and next thing you know, you never see them in the house of God anymore. Remember God. Remember the Lord. In fact, I know I'm speaking out of order, you guys. Oh, no. My notes just disappeared. Oh, there they are. This is technology. Okay.
[00:32:13] Deuteronomy 8.
[00:32:16] You heard this verse before. This is a popular prosperity verse. Okay? And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth. How many of you have ever heard that before? There is an actual anointing from the Lord to generate wealth. There's an actual anointing. I call it the Anointing of Increase. There's an anointing that comes upon your life that everything you touch prosp. Just like Obed Edom. Everything he did, every relationship around him, he just began to prosper and prosper and prosper. But where do some miss it?
[00:32:57] They forget the first half of that verse.
[00:33:01] And you shall remember the Lord your God. It is he who gives you power. See, this is a problem. People. People start thinking, well, I'm somebody because I'm wealthy. I'm somebody because I got the car. I'm somebody because I got the house. Friend. Remember the Lord your God. Remember the Lord your God. It was him who blessed you. It was him who gave you influence. It was him who blessed your business and gave you authority. Remember the Lord your God.
[00:33:35] Oh, my. This is where Obed Edom got it right. I'll just tell you. This is where the Philistines got it wrong. Do you know that part of the story?
[00:33:45] Samuel, he's growing up. He learns to hear the voice of God because he's taken naps by the ark of the Covenant. That's so cool. I want to be like that.
[00:33:55] And the first prophetic word that he gets is essentially, listen. There's so much sin in the camp. I can't hang out in this anymore. I'm about to take my glory out of the house now. This is not a warning to this house. I'm just telling you what happened there.
[00:34:11] There's so much junk. I need to get out of here. And there was a word, Ichabod. The glory has departed. So Israel was going to war with the Philistines at this point in time. And God fulfilled the word that he spoke. In fact, there was something that happened as Israel was across the battle lines from the Philistines. They brought the ark of the Covenant out, and they brought the ark right into the center of Israel's army. And this is what happened. First Samuel, chapter four. And verse when the Ark of the Covenant of The Lord came into the camp. All Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. Oh, we're going to win this battle. God is going to fight for us. When the Philistines heard the noise and the shout, they said, what does this sound, this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean? Then they heard the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. So they were afraid. They said, God has come into the camp. And they said, woe is us, for such a thing has never happened before. Woe to us who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods. These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all of the plagues in the wilderness. Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men and fight.
[00:35:32] This is the opposing army and they know the reputation. This is a God who fights for his people.
[00:35:39] They don't know the prophetic word. God's done with them for a time.
[00:35:45] So they go into battle. The Philistines win that battle. They capture the Ark and they take it into their city. Now this God is going to fight for us. Now this God is going to bring curses upon our enemies. And so they take the Ark of the Covenant. Many of you know this story. They come and they place it in a temple that they've already built to another God, Dagon.
[00:36:10] They place the Ark in the temple. And the next morning they get up and they find that this false God has fallen on its face, bowing before the Ark of the Covenant. Day two, same thing happens. Day three, same thing happens. The hands break off. I mean, the whole statue is completely falling apart. It's a big mess. And, and then tumors begin to break out amongst all the Philistines.
[00:36:36] Curse.
[00:36:38] There was a curse upon the people. Tumors. And there was a curse upon the land rats.
[00:36:46] In the next chapter, they say, we're done with this. We can't handle this anymore. We're going to give an offering. I don't know what this looked like, but the Bible says that they gave an offering of golden tumors and golden wrath.
[00:36:58] And they said, get this thing out of here. That which they thought would be a blessing to them actually ended up being a curse.
[00:37:04] Why?
[00:37:07] Why?
[00:37:09] How can we be sure that if God's desire is to bless us, grace upon grace, glory to glory, strength, how can we be sure that this won't crush us?
[00:37:21] They wanted the benefits of God without relationship.
[00:37:29] They wanted God for what he could do for them.
[00:37:33] But the blessing ended up being a curse.
[00:37:36] I believe God. God wants to bless you. God wants to fight for you. He wants to promote you. But if you forget the God that has worked on your behalf, what he has intended to be a blessing will end up being a curse.
[00:37:52] If the blessing becomes God, then that blessing becomes a curse.
[00:38:01] This is why I want you to write this down. Here's how we're going to stay safe.
[00:38:06] Greater grace and glory requires a hunger for the Lord.
[00:38:12] Greater grace and greater glory requires a hunger for the Lord. This is what you see. You want to know where Moses got it, right? Lord, I don't care about the blessing so much as I care about you being with us. You know where Samuel got it, right? He's receiving powerful prophecies. I just want to be around the Ark. I'm going to set my bed up around the Ark. You want to know where Obed Edom got it? Right. Here he is in a nation that has just been cursed.
[00:38:43] But he says, I'm going to put you right in the center of my house. I'm going to take care of the ark. I'll give you place. I mean, literally. He had to rearrange his home, probably his family dynamic, to make room for the blessing of God.
[00:38:57] They had a reverence in this, my friends. This is why worship is so important. This is why seeking the Lord in the Word is so important. I want the blessings. I believe for the blessings. But, friend, I'm never going to let the promises of God take a higher place in my life than my love for. For the Lord. I don't want what's in your hand. I want to see your face, Lord. I don't want your blessing if I can't know you. I want to abide with you. I want to hear your voice. I want to come near to you.
[00:39:35] So sometime later, King David, he decides, man, we need to get the ark back in Jerusalem.
[00:39:42] And this was the episode that I was sharing at the beginning of the message.
[00:39:47] They make a cart, and they put the Ark on a cart.
[00:39:55] Problem?
[00:39:57] The ark was never supposed to be pulled by a cart, but we got new technology, David, you gotta see, these carts are great. It's got hydraulics on it. We got these great oxen, and they've got, you know, these great yolks, and, boy, it's just going to be awesome. This is how everybody's doing it these days. All right, let's try it.
[00:40:18] Man ends up dead because it's not how the Lord asked him to do it.
[00:40:24] The glory of the Lord and the grace of the Lord was meant to be carried by people.
[00:40:33] The grace and the glory of the Lord was meant to be carried by people. God said, I want you to build it this way. I want you to house it this way. I want you to care for it this way. He was very specific about how you were to do this thing. And if you do that, I'm going to speak to you and I'm going to meet you, and I will abide with you. But if you try and substitute technology for presence, I'm not in that, friend.
[00:41:00] It was meant to be carried by people, by the worshipers of God, by the stewards of the word, the Levites, the keepers of the presence of God. This is how God intended the glory, to be carried by people.
[00:41:23] I would submit to you. It's the same today.
[00:41:27] God has not changed in this regard.
[00:41:29] I love technology.
[00:41:32] I love our sound system. I love the. I love the screens. And I'm not saying this sarcastically or. But I really mean. No, I. I mean, it's. I love being in here and the sound system blowing me away. I really enjoy that kind of stuff.
[00:41:48] But it will never be a substitute for the abiding presence of God.
[00:41:55] It will never be a substitute. You want to know? I mean, this. This picture is in my mind from this morning.
[00:42:03] Pastor Tim on his knees, weeping.
[00:42:08] Daniel Marciano laying on his face, prostrate before the Lord.
[00:42:15] Catherine on her knees.
[00:42:18] You want to know why the glory of God shows up? It's not because of our technology, but it's because we have people. Vontae came into my office Tuesday already praying over the set list, and here's what we feel. There's a people who have leaned in. I want to hear from God, and I want to know what he's going to do. It's people who carry the present. It's not the technology. Some people have said, man, if we just had the lights, we'd have the presence, like you do. If we just had a smoke machine, the glory of God would come in. No, it wouldn't.
[00:42:50] No, it wouldn't.
[00:42:52] It's meant to be carried by people.
[00:42:59] And you, you are people.
[00:43:02] It's not just the worship team, but when you come into this place with hunger and you have expectancy, I want to meet with you, God. I'm telling you, all these worshipers, they all fall by the wayside. As you begin to look at the glory, I want to see your face, Lord. I want to experience you. And all of a sudden, the Lord, the very same way he did on that ark of the covenant he began to tabernacle amongst the people of God. I will make you my dwelling place. I will abide with you and I will speak to you and I will minister to you as people.
[00:43:40] The Bible calls us living stones that have been fitly framed together. You know what that means? People. People say it all the time. Oh, I'm the temple of the Holy Ghost. No, you're not.
[00:43:55] We are the temple. You're a stone, that's what you are. You're a brick in the house of God. That's what you are. Because we need one another.
[00:44:09] I cannot drum like what's his name? This guy's crazy.
[00:44:15] I need that gift, Josue. Oh, it's good, man. He's got the anointing. He's got an anointing like I don't have. Like you don't have.
[00:44:28] You need people who will come. I wish I could sing like Becca Miller. She just starts going, and the glory of God comes.
[00:44:41] When I just did that, it was like Ichabod. The glory just left. Right?
[00:44:48] But we need these gifts. We need these gifts. You see, I like to think of it like this.
[00:44:55] You imagine if it was somebody's birthday, we were celebrating Cheryl DeWitt yesterday, it was her birthday.
[00:45:02] And you just imagine I asked for some references, who's somebody generous that you know. And the first name that was mentioned was Bruce and Camilla Binkley. You know, the Binkleys. You just imagine if. And this is a made up story, this isn't true. This didn't happen in the first service or anything. But you imagine if Bruce and Camilla hear, oh, it was Cheryl DeWitt's birthday, we ought to honor her in the church service. That's the gift of generosity that's being expressed. So they go, they buy a cake, they buy a card. And then they say, could we get some vocalists? And so Brenda Haney is leading the choir and they're singing Happy Birthday to Cheryl. Gift singing. As Bruce and Camilla begin to walk up on stage with the cake. One of them trips, I won't tell you which one. One of them trips and in slow motion, the cake begins to fly through the air and hit the stage and smear across the stage.
[00:45:57] They're embarrassed, but immediately the gift of managing flies into action. Tim Ferguson, sitting on the front row, says, listen, we need to get our facility care in here. I need a bra, a mop, I need a broom, I need cleaning supplies. We got to get this cleaned up in the next 30 seconds. Ronnie Mac in our facility care team serving helps. They Said, we're already on it. We're already moving.
[00:46:20] Tommy Prophet.
[00:46:24] I knew that was about to happen.
[00:46:27] He knew it.
[00:46:30] You look. Bruce and Camilla, they're sitting on the front row. They're okay, but here's Ms. Jan Stovall and Jan sitting next to them and hugging them. And she's crying because she's such. Got such a gift of compassion. Oh, I'm so sorry that you had to experience that. Oh, that must have been so painful. And she's just grieving with them. I would never do that.
[00:46:56] Gifts.
[00:46:58] Gifts.
[00:47:01] And then Cheryl, who this whole thing was about in the first place, she comes up and says, listen, after all of that trauma, you guys probably need sozo. You should go ahead and sign up for that. We'll walk you through some inner healing and deliverance, and it's gonna be great for you. It's gifts. Do you understand me? We need your gifts. This is. I want you to write this down, and I promise. I'm almost done. Worship team, you can come. Grace. Greater grace and glory requires a community of people.
[00:47:29] Greater grace and glory requires a community of people.
[00:47:36] This is where David missed it the first time around.
[00:47:39] We're going to use technology to carry this. It wasn't how it was supposed to be.
[00:47:45] It was meant to be carried by people.
[00:47:47] And the glory of God still moves in the very same way.
[00:47:52] Technology, social media, all of these things are tools and they're wonderful.
[00:47:57] But if there are not people who will steward God's grace and God's glory, it will never be all that the Lord desires it to be. You have a place in the house of God.
[00:48:09] If we're gonna see greater glory and greater revival, I need you to hear me on this.
[00:48:14] You need to be a part of it.
[00:48:17] I need your smile in the parking lot.
[00:48:20] This is why we have Bible studies, 50 women's Bible studies that are starting all across this campus. This is why you're always going to have an invitation like, whoa, dude, you look mean. You should be on our security team. Praise God.
[00:48:34] This is why you're always going to get invitations to be a part of the community. This is why you show up to TYA and they're hanging out and they're doing groups. You show up to 2:03. Oh, we've got tables and we're sharing meals together. Why community?
[00:48:50] You have a place in this. You have a reach. You have a gift set that nobody else in this house does. And the glory of God.
[00:48:59] The grace of God will never be carried to its full capacity unless the People of God say, I'll be a part.
[00:49:08] I'll be a part.
[00:49:12] David hears about the blessing on Obed Edom in his household. And he says, we're going to try this again.
[00:49:17] And this time he gets the community involved.
[00:49:21] This time he's a king, He's a leader, prophet.
[00:49:26] He says, I can't do this on my own.
[00:49:29] We need some worshipers.
[00:49:31] I need the worshipers front and center. I need some instrumentalists. We need the trumpets and we need the cymbals and we need the drums. We need it all. And you guys are going to come with us. You guys are going to have a part in this. We need dancers. I need some dancers to be around this. And, and David, that day, you understand, he joined the dancing team. He really did read the story. I need some priests. I need some strong priests who can carry the ark.
[00:49:58] I need you to shoulder this because the glory of God was meant to be carried by people.
[00:50:03] I need some people that'll. That'll quote the word. That's what they would do around the ark. They would literally be declaring the promises of God. Every, every few steps. They would be declaring out of Psalms and Isaiah different passages. This is what the Lord is doing. I need some stewards of the word.
[00:50:20] I need some farmers. What? That's right, because we're gonna, we're gonna offer some sacrifices.
[00:50:27] Every seven steps, we're gonna make a sacrifice. So I need some people who can care for livestock. I need some people who can sharpen some knives. I need some people who can do the, the dirty work. You've got a part in this too.
[00:50:41] And as a community, they came together and began to usher the grace and the glory back into Jerusalem.
[00:50:54] The grace and the glory of God came to a city carried by people.
[00:51:05] I know that's not. It doesn't sound like mind blowing revelation.
[00:51:10] Do you want to know how the grace and the glory of God is going to come to Cedar Hill, Duncanville, DeSoto, Dallas Fort Worth, Ukraine, Uganda? You want to know how the grace and the glory of God is going to permeate the world?
[00:51:30] People, you and me, if we get hungry for it, if we say God, if you don't show up, I don't want to be there. If you don't go with us, I don't want to go. And this is what Obed Edom did. David, this is so amazing.
[00:51:55] Oh, my time is up.
[00:52:00] Let me give you one other idea. We're gonna pray.
[00:52:05] Your family is invited into greater grace and glory.
[00:52:10] I need you to know that Your family is invited into greater grace and glory.
[00:52:17] This isn't just for. This isn't just for you. Now this is an option. I told you. If we're going to steward greater grace and glory, it will require us to hunger for him and for God to remain first and foremost. It requires that. It will require the people of God doing their part. I'm a part of a community and I'm going to do my part. This last one is optional.
[00:52:40] You have a choice whether your family is going to come along with you or not.
[00:52:44] But like Moses praying God, I'm not doing this without them.
[00:52:48] I believe for greater grace and greater glory.
[00:52:52] But I'm not going to lose my marriage along the way. I'm not going to lose my kids along the way. And if I'm stepping into promises and blessings, I want my parents to be a part of it. I want my siblings to be a part of it. I want my grandbabies to be a part of it. And that's what you can contend for. Obed Edom. Now this is amazing. Why don't you stand so I. This will really make me stop.
[00:53:21] There's a whole study I could do. I could spend a whole nother week talking about Obed Edom. But you might have missed it. Obed Edom was a man from Gath.
[00:53:33] Bible quiz. You remember any other famous Bible figures who are from Gath? Goliath.
[00:53:39] It was a philistine city.
[00:53:42] And many scholars believe that Obed Edom wasn't even Jewish.
[00:53:47] Obed Edom was a philistine.
[00:53:50] Obed Edom was not qualified to be a carrier of the presence of God.
[00:53:55] Yet when David is erecting the tent and he places the ark inside, he begins to list. Here's all the worshipers.
[00:54:04] Here's all the instrumentalists. Here's the one who will steward the offerings. Here's the one who will give the sacrifice. And it's listing all of these.
[00:54:13] And then he comes to the doorkeeper.
[00:54:16] And right there, Obed Edom.
[00:54:20] And then it proceeds to list 62 of Obed Edom's family members.
[00:54:27] 62. Obed Edom stepped into a blessing that he technically wasn't even allowed to.
[00:54:33] But because he had honor, he had reverence, he wanted to carry and care for the grace and the glory of God. He was given a place in the house of God that spanned generations for the next hundreds of years.
[00:54:51] What's amazing about that, his house was blessed.
[00:54:58] He chose to be a doorkeeper.
[00:55:01] He chose to be a greeter in the house of God rather than live in his blessed house.
[00:55:09] That's where I want to be.
