The joy of gospel order. Now, while the main point of our message is really from the last five verses, it's prompted by 1 Chronicles chapter 15, verse 25. And it is in your handout in the English Standard Version where it says, So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-Edom with rejoicing. And that's the word of the Lord and he will most certainly add his abundant gracious and magnified blessing to the reading of his holy truth and And I know that Brother Larry has already prayed, but let us pray again. Our most blessed and gracious Father in God, in Jesus' name and for his sake, we thank you, Lord, for the truth that is set before us. A banquet of banquets that you have given us in the word of God in 1 Chronicles chapter 15. And we pray that as the supper is set before us, the bread of life and the truth of Christ, may we Eat to our fill, that you may be glorified through the exaltation of our Lord and Savior. We thank you, Heavenly Father, for your truth, and may we glean what we must glean to be as the congregation that you've called us here in the peninsula, here in Ninelchik, that we may be the light of the gospel until the Lord Jesus Christ returns. And we pray, Lord Jesus, that you come quickly in Jesus' name and for His sake. Amen. Now, as you can see from your handout that the message is only divided into two parts today. We have the historical breakdown of our chapter and we'll just get a feel for it as there was a lot of names there and we can kind of get a little lost in the crowd, as it were. And then the helpful application from our text, where we're really looking at verses 25 through verse 29, that gives us a blueprint, if you will, for this joy that is gospel order. And it really does actually start in chapter 13. And there was a progression there. And I pray that I may have been, that I was listening and hearing from the Lord for what it is that he wants us to know and how he wants us to grow as his blessed congregation here. And then I'll check. Well, first, what we see in the historical breakdown of our chapter, David builds his houses in Jerusalem in verse one. But David confesses his sin of ignorance. He confesses his sin of ignorance where he says, then David said that no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever. Now you remember that in 1 Chronicles chapter 13, that in bringing up the ark from where it had rested because it was worthy, Philistines had captured it and they sent it on its way. Well, David wants to bring it into Jerusalem now that Jerusalem is his, the city of God, and he wants to bring it in. So because it was on a cart, they put it on a fresh cart, gave it fresh oxen. And they remember that Uzzah and Achio took it and the cart stumbled and Uzzah stuck out his hand to try to steady the ark and he died. He was struck down by the Lord for reaching out his hand. David was beside himself. He was angry that the ark couldn't come in. And now three months have passed as it is over by the house of Obed-Edom for three months. And the home of Obed-Edom is blessed because of the Ark of the Covenant and the mercy seat is there. And in that three month period of time, David Recognizes I've done wrong because Deuteronomy chapter 17 verse 18 shows that and it's it says that and when he sits on the throne of his kingdom speaking of the king that Israel wants to reign over them he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law approved by the Levitical priests and So maybe I suggested possibly even in this three month period of time, this was a duty that he had neglected, obviously, because in Deuteronomy 17, it says he's not to multiply wives to himself, but he did. He's not to multiply horses and other things. There are certain criteria that's given to whom would be the king in Israel. And as he reads this, whoa. oh okay and the ark in writing this down in leviticus uh and uh excuse me in numbers in numbers chapter four which we actually just read this week numbers chapter four verses four through six tell us this is the service of the sons of kohath in the tent of meeting the most holy things When the camp is to set out Aaron and his son shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it so they're supposed to take all the things that surround the holy place and cover and the Ark of the Covenant and cover the things that are the implements of the candlestick and the altar of incense and the table of showbread. And they're supposed to be covered so that no one except the priests, the sons of Aaron, can touch them. So the sons of Coath can go in, and it says in verse 15, 6 of chapter numbers chapter 4 then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin and spread on top of that a Cloth of blue and shall put in its pole. So the ark itself is not only covered by those curtains but it's also covered by goatskin and then a covering of blue so that to keep any human hands off of that and Because as the Ark of the Covenant represents the mercy of God, which the mercy seat of pure gold sits upon, it represents the truth of God's mercy in the cross of Jesus Christ. Whereas even though sinful hands put him to death, the work of atonement was only by the outspread hands of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that no man need give God who became man any help to atone for sins. And so in verse 15 it says, and when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things lest they die. These are the things of the Tent of Meeting and the sons of Kohath are to carry. So the Ark of the Covenant with the poles, the staves in the Old King James Version were put into the Ark that's supposed to be carried by the sons of Kohath. And now David realizes this and not only confesses the sins of Israel, because the Levites didn't correct him. He's the king. He confesses his own sin of ignorance. David dances before the Lord in verses three through 24, actually verses three through 29, it should be. But he first assembles Israel to the event in verse 3. And he gathers priests and Levites in verses 4 through 10. He addresses the Levitical sin and his own in verses 11 through 15. Because he says, you Levites, you should have known better. But it's my fault, too, because of what we see in Deuteronomy 17 and verse 18. I should have known. I should have written a copy of the law, which is somewhat interesting for us if you think about it. When we are saved in Christ that we are called kings and priests, we're called a royal priesthood. Writing down a copy of the Bible like they do in China because they can't have these precious pages They have to share them around. They got to write the Bible out for themselves. There's a blessed stewardship and ownership of the gospel in doing so so I'm not suggesting that you should do that, but Maybe something to ponder So David, as he gathers the priests and Levites and addresses the sins in verses 11 through 15 and verses 16 to 22, he commands singers to be appointed, which is a type of Christ that Christ is the head of his church. And he commands all of us to lift up a joyful voice, a joyful noise. So it doesn't matter how well you sing, how good a singer you are. when the truth of Christ comes to us, that we do lift up a voice that springs forth from the Spirit, ministering to us and moving us. And that gatekeepers and trumpet blowers are also assigned in verses 23 and 24. And then he enters Jerusalem with the Ark in verses 25 to 28. And then he infuriates Michal, his wife, the second daughter of Saul, the younger daughter of Saul. You remember that David, that as he was a mighty man and the women in Israel were singing, Saul has slain his thousands, but David is 10 thousands. And as a mighty man of war, David was going to receive the gift of Saul's oldest daughter, unmarried daughter. He says, who am I to marry the daughter of the king? But Michal loved him. And so he was supposed to marry, he did marry her. In fact, he married her for a dowry of 100 Philistine foreskins. I know, that's kind of a disgusting dowry. And David went above and beyond that, if you remember. He got 200, he slayed 200, had slain 200 men, and then married Michal, and Michal loved him. Now we see that at the end, Michal despised him. So what do we get out of this? How do we take this and have it minister into our hearts and take this chapter? Well, we see, again, as we see the harsh reality of human depravity and disobedience in chapter 13 and verses nine and 10 in particular, verse nine, and when they came, in chapter 13 of 1 Chronicles, it says, and when they came, to the threshold of the floor of Cadan, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark for the oxen stumbled. Verse 10, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah and he struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark and he died there before God. And in this, what we learned in that lesson is, you know, the gospel doesn't need our help. We should do the best that we can. If I preach the gospel, I should try to get every element that I can in there by the Spirit of God. But if I miss something, I trust the Holy Spirit to minister unto you because the Spirit is upon you to minister those areas where I am weak because the only preacher who has ever preached a perfect message upon this planet is the Lord Jesus Christ. Every prophet before him was a sinful man like you and me. But Jesus, he's the perfect prophet. And we see the harsh reality of human depravity. And the consequence to that disobedience that they brought, they were attempting to bring in the ark by oxen and carts apart from how God's word said to bring it in. And they were disobedient to the gospel order. And so, in so doing, death, the death of Usa. And it's a great lesson that we see that even David is learning by that. Because when we go to chapter 14, we had the little break there, because we had Palm Sunday, we had a message in Palm Sunday, and we had a message for the Resurrection Sunday before we got to chapter 14, and we see the blessings of gospel obedience and maturity. In chapter 14, verse 10, we read how David, in the Valley of Rephilim, And this is during this three-month period where David's learning that the ark should have come up by the Levites, carried by the Kohathites. And then when in the Valley of Rephaim, where the enemies of Israel come up against him and his armies, that in verse 10 it says where David inquires of God, and David inquired of God, shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand? And the Lord said to him, go up. and I will give them into your hands." So last week when we saw this, we saw how this is the beginning of our obedience. When we are saved by God's grace, he says that we should be baptized. And so we go and do that. Or we inquire of God, we ask of God, and he says, do this or do that. Here's his word. But as we mature, we see certain things of being able to make decisions where God's word may not be so clear as far as a direct command. Because in as we read in verse 15 last week, it says, and when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle for God has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines. And we see this kind of maturity that when the Holy Spirit is ministering, the rustling of the leaves in the trees, when it ministers unto us personally, then that word becomes our possession. We are the possession of Christ. He has bought and purchased us. But likewise, being saved, Christ is our possession. We take ownership in the truth of who He is and what He has done, and that we're responsible for that truth. And now being responsible for that truth, As I mentioned last week, that as far as for the message, one of the toughest, and I mentioned time and again, that one of the hardest things for me is taking the text and asking the Lord, what is it for us? And then stripping it away so that we have a message that is uniquely for us. But I also mentioned that anytime that we share, anytime that we preach, anytime that we teach, and we're all, if we are saved by God's grace, then we're all ministers of the gospel in one way, shape, or form. So teaching something that isn't really yours is a difficulty. It's a problem. But once it is yours, it's your possession. When the Holy Spirit has gripped you, your heart, with the truth of God's word, then it's yours. And then it goes forth powerfully when you share it. And that's what we looked at last week, the blessings of gospel obedience and maturity as we grow in grace. And that presents a truth of gospel order. It's not just mere obedience. God says this and I do it. Well, that's that's for children. But as we mature, we walk in the ways of God in a wicked world, then we see the blessing of the order that just somewhat falls into place. Obedience doesn't become like, well, I got to do this. Obedience becomes that thing that presents unto us an order that displays the gospel. It puts the gospel on display in our lives. The joy of gospel order, as we see, as the New Testament tells us in 1 Corinthians 14, verse 40, but all things should be done decently in an order. You remember that in Corinth that Paul had to send a letter to them on his third missionary journey that had to correct many of the things that they had out of order. They were divisive, with many schisms within the congregation. They were winking at sin, and even proud of themselves for doing so. They had the Lord's Supper out of order, and that they were speaking tongues without anyone interpreting it. And it was just, it was chaos. Paul says, let everything be done decently in order so that when the gospel does come forth, not only does it become a witness for the world, it becomes a witness and a testimony for ourselves. A blessing for us to see Christ working in us and it encourages us further to be used of God in Christ. And so these things that when things are done decently and in order, as God has taken David from Well, just wanting to do a good thing, but doing it out of order, to now hearing from God in chapter 14 and stepping out to bring in the ark now in order according to his word. We'll want to always keep in mind, as it shows in your handout, always keep in mind how David acted. And then that's the acronym that I use for these next five points, these next five verses. First, it's accompaniment. The joy of gospel order presents unto us its accompaniment. In verse 25, that we... Read in verse 25, it says, and so David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-Edom with rejoicing. We know that as David brings in the elders and the commanders, the thousands of commanders of thousands of Israel, that when we come together, what a blessing it is. Hebrews 10 24-25, let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. Verse 25 says, not neglecting to meet together as the habit of some, but encouraging one another. and all the more as we see the day drawing near. What a blessing it is for us to come together that on Wednesday nights we were, whereas we were studying for the last two weeks or just meditating in the devotionals for our Wednesday night prayer meeting, Psalm 122. That begins in verse one, I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord. and of a truth that when we do gather together that Christ is here, this is his church, and we're going to meet the Lord. But we also recognize that Jesus said, in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse five, I shall never leave you nor forsake you. That his eternal presence is with us, and so that when we do go to gather, Lord, we're going to church. Lord, we're going to meet with the brethren. So Jesus is saying to each one of us in Psalm 122, the Hillel Psalm in verse one, I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord. That Jesus is overjoyed that we're gonna go and that we're taking him with us. Likewise, the rejoicing of bringing people, the accompaniment of the gospel order Presents unto us something that Jesus said in even with those whom he is saving remember that he told the parable in Luke chapter 15 that he speaks of a Lost sheep. He says who among you that would have a hundred sheep and one is lost wouldn't leave the 99 and go search out the one and then when he finds it in Luke 15 verse 6 he says and when he comes home because he's found the sheep and when he comes home and He calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost, that others may also enter into the joy that he has for this which is lost. And that's what we do when we get together. This is what David is presenting when he calls those others. He's rejoicing that this blessed truth of the mercy seat and the ark of the covenant is coming in the Jerusalem. Come, join me in my joy. And that's where gospel order begins. We see it in our fellowship. What a blessing. And we're having a fellowship meal today. This church, what I'm tremendously blessed by, this church loves fellowship. We love to eat together. We love to spend time with one another. And good thing we're in a small village where we could do that. The next thing we see in the joy of gospel order is it's cross-centeredness in verse 26. It's cross-centeredness in verse 26. It says, and because God helped the Levites who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, which is a sermon all by itself, they couldn't carry it apart from the help of God, you know. that it was by God's grace that he strengthened them to be able to have those poles upon their shoulders to carry mercy. And likewise with you, me, us, that the gospel is such a weighty thing. It is the mighty power of heaven through Christ and him crucified. And so to carry that upon our shoulders, we need all of God's grace to carry that truth. And so God helped the Levites who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant to the Lord. They sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams, seven being the number of completion or perfection. It speaks to us of the blessed truth of the one sacrifice for all, the Lord Jesus Christ. The cross-centeredness of the truth of Christ and Him crucified, mentioned in the sacrifices in verse 25. See, those things that were done in David's day in Hebrews 8 verse 5 tells us that they serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you in the mountain. Those sacrifices were foreshadowing the sacrifice of Christ. In Hebrews 10 v. 12 tells us the importance of Christ's sacrifice over all the sacrifices of bulls and goats. It says in Hebrews 10 v. 12, But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God. No more need we offer animal sacrifices by the shed blood of the innocent animal. Because the innocent and the perfect God came and became man, flesh and bone man, and his blood was shed on Calvary's tree. His sacrifice was perfect. When Jesus said, it is finished on the cross, the work was indeed finished. Cross-centered, the cross-centeredness of gospel order, the joy of that. The joy of gospel order, we see also its transformational effect as verse 27 presents to us. David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark. And the singers of Kenaniah, the leader of the music of the singers, and David wore a linen ephod, a linen apron. He was dressed just like the Levites, just like the priests. And we see first its transformational effect that the king, the prophet King David, changed into the clothes of a priest and walked among them. We see the truth of what the grace of the gospel does for us when Jesus has saved us by his grace. Titus 2, verses 11 and 12 says, for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people. Verse 12 says, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age. We know the reality of the spiritual transformation that takes place, that Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, in verse 17, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, or a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things become new. And we also see the reality that Peter tells us the same truth in a different way. He says in 1 Peter 2 and verse 9, but you are a chosen race, and get this, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light. this blessed truth, we see David, who is the prophet king. He is the king who is brought out of the sheepfolds, shepherding his father's flock, but he was a prophet who pens psalms, who now is wearing the garments of a priest, which reflect the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is prophet, priest, and king. And so there we see this blessed truth here, wearing the priestly garments, presenting the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, but also presents our being transformed by God's grace in the kings and priests, because Peter says that to us, to you, to me. that we, that you are a royal priesthood. Not just David as a reflection and foreshadow of Christ's ministry, but since Christ has saved us, we are too, a royal priesthood. Revelation 5 and verse 10 says that we are kings and priests and reign with him. a royal priesthood in Christ's kingdom. Therefore, obedience springs forth from a changed life and flows out as we delight and rejoice in God's gospel order in Christ. Because that's God's plan from before the foundations of the world that everything that he created would be a picture and foreshadow of Christ to come. And since Christ has come to fulfill it, everyone that is saved in the recreation is now an illumination of what Christ has done. We are all being made to be gospel witnesses and testimonies, an exuberant display, which we see in verse 28, the next point. that in verse 28 it says, so all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting to the sound of the horn trumpets and cymbals and made loud music on harps and lyres. They took everything that they had with the ark coming in and they made music with shouting and joy Because that foreshadowed another day and another event that would take place, which we just celebrated just a few weeks ago. Just to say, April 1, Palm Sunday. that John chapter 12 and verses 12 through 15, where the crowd had gathered and come to the feast and heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. Verse 13 of John chapter 12 says, so they took branches of palm trees, and even though they didn't have musical instruments, or it doesn't say that they had musical instruments, with shouts of joy, they were ushering in the triumphal entry of our Lord. They met him crying out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, bless you. Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king of Israel. Hoshina, hoshina, save now. Baruch haba b'shem Adonai. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Even the king of Israel, in verse 14, and Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming, sitting on the donkey's colt. And so on Palm Sunday, where we see mercy himself was carried in to Jerusalem on a donkey. And In verse, let's see, in verse 28, it foreshadows this verse that we had just read here. It foreshadows the triumphal entry of Christ. And His triumph is also our triumph, as you remember that the Palm Sunday message from 1 Corinthians 1, as we looked at that, that though Christ had not gone to the cross, and it is a triumph because basically, since he's the lamb slain from before the foundation of the world, 1 Peter tells us in chapter one, verses 18 to 20, this is God's plan from before the beginning, even his entry is a triumph. And though Jesus has not come again, that's still a triumph because of the cross. The cross is that triumph and that we are testimonies that bear witness of this. As those acts in verse 28 of 1 Chronicles 15 foreshadow what he would fulfill for our salvation, since he's come, we are testimonies of Christ's fulfillment. And I know I'm kind of getting kind of redundant here, saying kind of the same thing I said just a minute ago, but I think that repetition is a blessed thing. That if we hear it again, it'll sink down for us. That you and I are aftershadows, if you will. We're aftershadows, whereas those things were foreshadows, we're aftershadows of what Christ has done for us. We're aftershadows of his glorious light. Jesus is the light of the world, he has come, he has died upon the cross, he has risen from the dead, ascended, and he sent the Holy Spirit to bring his light into our lives, and so now our lives reflect an aftershadow of his glorious light. Acts chapter one and verse eight, he says, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses. Martoris in Greek, a martyr, a witness in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost part of the earth or the end of the earth. Revelation chapter 19, verse 10, it uses a form of that word. It uses, I think it's marturias, it uses in the Greek. Revelation 19, 10 says, for the testimony, the word testimony and witness are very, very close, but he says the testimony, the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. So when we rejoice as God's, When we rejoice in God's gospel order in Christ, we rejoice because Christ is the fulfillment in our lives. God has put those things in order so that Christ may be all in all in you, in me, in us. Our lives become living epistles of the power of Christ, of the prophecy of Christ, of the priority of Christ, of the provision of Christ, of the praise of Christ. And I think I've run out of P words, so I'll go to the next letter in the alphabet. What's next? Q, Q, of the quest of Christ. Or go backwards, because in Hebrew we read from right to left, right? Tri-ar, yeah, of the riches of Christ. Of the supremacy and the superlativeness of Christ. But know this, as we see in verse 29, David is excited, he comes before, he's walking with the Levites, there's a transformation in his life even more than his obedience and his maturity in Christ. As the gospel order is set before him and he comes into Jerusalem, his city is the king. and he's dancing before the Lord. And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked out the window and saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart. Know that you will be despised by the gospel witness that's in you. John 15 and verse 18, the Lord The Lord Jesus himself told us, if the world hate you, know that it hated me before it hated you. In fact, in other words, he's saying that the reason you're hated is because they hate me. Lord Jesus is an offense to the unbelieving world. 1 John 3, verse 13, John tells us, don't be surprised. Don't let this cut you off guard. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. See, your joy in gospel order will upset and disturb the unbelieving world. Expect to be ridiculed and mocked. We read that today. In Psalm chapter 44, verse 14, if you read the Robert Murray McShane reading plan, as we have this week set behind your... your handout on the back of your handout, the McShane reading plan. Psalm 44 in verse 14 says, you have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples. That's because Jesus was when he hung upon the cross and they mocked him. That God becoming a man. and suffering God's wrath for sins he did not commit, and taking our iniquity, our sins, our trespasses upon himself as if they were his very own, and never once denying them, never once saying that they're not mine, suffering God's wrath for that, and then dying after he says, it is finished, giving up the spirit, yielding the spirit, Choosing the time of His death as no man can, which shows that He is truly God who became man. Hidden away in a tomb for three days and three nights, rising again from the dead, ascending into heaven with the promise of coming again. And that truth that excites you and me, that truth of our every prayer that we pray because the world besets us wickedly. but we have a hope and because of the joy of that hope and the dancing within our heart and the leaping within our souls for the blessedness of this God who became a man who condescended to save such wretches as you and me that this blessed truth that creates dancing and tears of joy in our lives is so despised by those who want to say that evil is good and good is evil and substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, as Isaiah says in chapter five. That's the world that we live in. They don't see it and God's grace must display it. But when we have, when you have and I have the joy of that gospel order in our lives, that we are being a an instrument in the hand, in the nail-marked hand of our Lord and Savior to be His testimonies, an aftershadow of His glorious light. There's power in that to save the most wretched soul. That even you young people who may have only been saved for a year, last year, that you've given testimony of your lives, young people, that God in Christ ministering in your life by the witness that you have unto others is so powerful when you rejoice in the gospel order that Christ has given you that it may even witness unto others unto their eternal salvation and blessed hope that you have will maybe by God's grace be theirs. What a good God we have. What a mighty and gracious Savior that would do such things, bypassing the angels in order to save wretches like us. Let's pray. Our most blessed and gracious Father in God, in Jesus' name, and forsake. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the joy that you've given us in such a chapter. With all those names, there is blessing upon blessing in the order that you've given in Christ's gospel from the Old Testament. We love you, Lord, and thank you for what you've given us. May we apply it in our lives this week, tonight, today, even as we fellowship in just a few minutes. May we see that lived out in our lives. for your glory, through Christ's exaltation, and by the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.