Preached · November 20, 2016
Where We Are in The Story
We are continuing on in our series called The Story. And The Story is a 31-week-long series that is moving us through the narrative of Scripture, front to back cover. And for those of us who find it hard to get into Scripture, this is a really easy on-ramp into doing so. So if you haven't had a chance yet to pick up your copy of The Story, you can do so in the welcome area. You can buy it on Kindle or iBooks or whatever device you prefer.
And we are in week 11. We are one-third of the way through. Whoo! We've done it. These two weeks, we'll get through the story of David, and then we're going to take a chunk of a break in December, celebrate Advent and Christmas together, and then we'll restart, start again, back in the first week of January.
So in summary, we've been through a lot. We've seen the creation, God desiring to be with his people. We saw the created people, Adam and Eve, reject God's intentions. And so God launched this grand master plan through Abraham, launching the nation of Israel to bring redemption to all of the world — that all the world, all nations, all people might be blessed through the people of Abraham. And we saw Joseph and his story. We saw Israel going down into Egypt, being enslaved, and then being called out of slavery, called out of Egypt by God's servant Moses. We saw Israel in front of Mount Sinai, hearing the very voice of God and entering into covenant with Yahweh, the I Am, calling Israel his people and he their God. We saw the wanderings in the desert. We saw the battle to get into Israel. And we saw last week Israel's first king, named Saul. And Saul ended up rejecting the ways of Yahweh, rejecting the ways of God. And that's where we are today.
When Have You Ever Felt Ridiculous?
Now, I've got a question for you. When have you ever felt ridiculous? When have you ever felt ridiculous? And I don't necessarily mean humiliated. It was probably something you did, and you felt ridiculous about it.
Now, my brother and I — my brother David — we were kind of the epitome of cool, because we were both homeschooled and in 4-H. And that just made us the coolest folks you could ever know. If David knew this picture was on the screen, I would not be alive. Yeah, we were the epitome of cool. And our 4-H club, they would do various things for fun. And so — I don't know why, I don't necessarily suggest this — but they had this competition where, if you dressed like the other gender, you would get a prize or something like that. And so, you know, we really took that to heart. And, yeah, thank you. People were always disturbed by this image, because they thought, "Anthony, you look kind of too good as a woman." And again, if you have moral objections to this image, so do I. Take them up with my mother.
Another time I looked ridiculous and it was unfortunate — I'm sorry if I've told you this story before, but often we would go down to Florida as a family for an extended period of time. And we were homeschooled, because we were the epitome of cool. So we would do our school as quickly as we could and then go down to the beach. And so one of the times — you know, moms are always doing their job, "Put on your sunscreen, put on your sunscreen." So I did like any good child would do. I obeyed and put sunscreen on, you know, maybe a third of my face, if that. That quickie job, like, boom, done. See, Mom? Well, I felt a little ridiculous.
Also, one of these just-inspired decisions while I was in Florida: I thought it would be cool if I shaved my head and grew out my mustache. And this is a true story, true story. So I participated in the high school jazz band. I would go to Goshen High School. And our town had a pretty significant Latino community. And so I walked into the doors, and there was this group of Latino students, and they're like, "Hey, come over here," because they thought I was a new student. And I came over there, and they're like, "Oh, oh, you're not Latino." And it was that immediate, like, "Oh, I'm going to have a friend." No — rejected. I felt ridiculous.
When have you ever felt ridiculous? When was the last time that you felt ridiculous? Sometimes it's fun. Sometimes we do it for kicks and giggles. And sometimes it inspires ridicule — where that word comes from. We get ridiculed for the things we do, or the way we look, or the things we say.
Called to Be Holy — and Undignified?
And in Scripture, there is this concept that God's people, both as a group and as individuals, we are called to be holy, like God is holy — called to be set apart. And so the question is: does that ever mean that we are called to look ridiculous or undignified? And that's what we'll be talking about today.
So I want to give you a brief, brief summary of the life of David. If you take a look at The Story, chapter 11, it covers a good chunk of 1 and 2 Samuel. And this is kind of like the preacher's dream. There are so many good stories out of the life of David.
David was the youngest of his family. He's anointed by Samuel to be the next king of Israel. God has rejected the line of Saul and has anointed the youngest, the smallest, the shepherd. So that's great preaching right there. We know perhaps the story of David and Goliath. David is this small shepherd boy, armed with only a slingshot, going up against the Philistines' greatest military man, this giant of a man. Well, that's some great preaching right there, too. We know the stories perhaps of David being chased by King Saul. Saul is upset, angry, jealous, comparing himself to David and his popularity. And so Saul is enraged and consumed by his anger, and so chases God's anointed across the land.
There are stories of all sorts of things in David's life. And what I felt like God was saying to me this week was to zoom in on something very particular, and that was the story of David bringing the Ark into Jerusalem. So before we get into that, let's just take one moment and pray.
Almighty God, we do believe that you are here and that you are speaking. So help us, God, be a people who are listening. God, as we encounter your word this morning, I pray that it would fall fresh on us. God, I pray that your word would be life to us — for wherever each of us is this morning: places of joy, places of despair, places of hope, and places of fear. God, I know that your Spirit is binding us all together in unity and in love. So help us to sense that unity, sense that love, and to know that when you speak, God, you speak peace, you speak love, you speak conviction over our lives, to grow us up into the body of Christ. Thank you, God, that you are a God who does that. We pray these things in Christ's name. Amen.
The Ark of the Covenant
So in the Old Testament, there is something called the Ark narrative. And if you're reading through Scripture, you might notice these little stories inserted about the Ark of the Covenant. Now, what is the Ark of the Covenant? Well, if you've watched Indiana Jones, you might be familiar with it as this voodoo thing that shoots out lasers and melts people. But fortunately, the news about the Covenant is a little better than that.
Israel believed, rightfully so, that God dwelled in their very midst. And so during the whole Sinai encounter, when they're hearing the voice of God and hearing the covenant and the commandments, part of those commandments was that God asked Israel to build an Ark. And this Ark was to represent the localized, specific presence of God in their community. They believed that God was in the midst of them as a whole, but it was also symbolized and localized in the Ark. Very much like how, when we partake of communion, we believe that God is in this place, and yet there's something unique that happens in the bread and in the wine. And so the Ark of the Covenant was very special. It was treated specially. It was protected specially. It was kept in the holiest place of the tabernacle.
Well, Israel, as the years went on, kind of began to grow some superstitions about the Ark. And so there was a time when the Israelites went into a battle that God had not asked them to go into. And they thought, "Well, there's no way we can lose if we take the Ark with us. God has to protect us." And as soon as you start using phrases like "God has to," you know you're probably in trouble. And so the Israelites carry the Ark into battle — "God has to protect them," so they think. But the Ark is stolen, and the Israelites defeated. And so you can trace throughout Scripture the story of the Ark, bouncing from town to town, between enemy territory and friendly territory.
Well, finally, Israel anoints David as king. And David is beginning to consolidate his power. First, he's just the king of Judah. And then he becomes the king of all of the tribes of Israel. And he is consolidating his power into Jerusalem. And he is going to move the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem with him, to symbolize that this is the place of the king, this is the place of Yahweh.
And there's really no true modern-day parallel to this. Anybody remember the National Treasure movies with Nicolas Cage? Nicolas Cage steals the Constitution. It'd be like if Nicolas Cage had stolen the Constitution, and the White House, and Congress, and the Pope, and then some victorious king — let's say, I don't know, Ryan Gosling or something like that — won it all back and was marching triumphantly back into D.C. But in this case, it's King David marching triumphantly back into Jerusalem with the Ark of the Covenant. And so he is establishing his kingship. And he is reminding Israel that Yahweh is God. Yahweh is the true king.
David Dances Before the Lord
So that kind of sets up the scene for us, sets up some context. If you have The Story, we're on page 157, chapter 11. Or if you have your Bibles, we are in 2 Samuel, chapter 6, verse 12. And this is what it says:
So David went to bring up the Ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David with rejoicing. And when those who were carrying the Ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf.
So they're making their way into Jerusalem. They take one, two, three, four, five, six steps. They stop, and they set up a sacrifice, and they sacrifice to God. Then they take six more steps, and they do it again.
And David, wearing a linen ephod, was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the Ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
So it's this massive scene. The entirety of the population of Israel — everybody who could get the time off — was there sacrificing to God, celebrating to God. Trumpets are blowing. David is dancing. So no big deal, right? This is some of your typical, ancient Near Eastern bull-sacrificing stuff, right? David is dancing, the trumpets — typical worship service. I'm sure we've all been to one.
But not exactly, though, right? David is wearing this priestly garment called an ephod. And this is an event that's meant to be taken seriously, solemnly. In fact, the last time someone tried to move the Ark, someone had died in the process, because they didn't have enough respect for the situation. But instead, David, the king, is dancing around like a fool, dressed as a priest — the king of Israel — dancing with all his might. And later on we get this implication from the Scriptures that the way he is dancing is actually giving the impression of the risk of exposing himself, making his subjects lust over him. So I don't know if it was pelvic thrusts, or inappropriate cartwheels, but something is going on. David is dancing during this solemn situation and being possibly mistaken for some sensuality.
Michal's Rebuke and David's Response
And in fact, David is called out by his wife. Verse 16. Now, there is a complicated history involved here. Michal, she was the daughter of Saul. She was the daughter of this disgraced king. And she had married David. She had sacrificed everything for him, but there's really no proof that David ever truly loved her. And so it's kind of this icy relationship. So Michal, in her well-earned bitterness, calls David out for his less-than-royal actions. This is what she says:
How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants, as any vulgar fellow would.
Now, there's something to the concept of reputation and avoiding the appearance of evil. That's part of growing up. It's part of maturing — that process of not caring as much about what people think about you anymore. You get old enough that you start showing embarrassing pictures of yourself on the screen, and it's fine. There's part of growing up where people's opinions don't fully define your self-perception, your actions, or what you know about what God thinks about you. So there's something to reputation, there's something about avoiding the appearance of evil, but there's something about growing up, not caring about what people think.
And so, while Michal wants to point out David's supposed indiscretions and actions, David goes immediately to his confidence in who he is in God's eyes — who he is, what his identity is in God, before anything else. And so this is what David says:
It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone else from his house, when he appointed me ruler over the Lord's people Israel. So I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by those slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.
David says, "I will become even more undignified than this."
The Postures of Worship
Who here doesn't like raising their hand in worship? Ha, gotcha. There is this thing in worship where we talk about posture, and it's funny, because measuring how expressive a congregation is in worship is so relative. So I know for a fact that there are some people in our area, in the Dickinson County area, who call Good News a charismatic church, because we have people who raise their hands. And I also know that there are charismatics, like, in this room right now, who know that's kind of ridiculous, because on the spectrum, we're not that expressive.
You all familiar with the mannequin challenge? I just found out about it. I was kind of behind the times. So, you know, there are video challenges that go around. There was the ice bucket challenge. Well, the most recent one — it's not raising money for anything, I don't think — but the mannequin challenge is that you take video of a group of people being as still as they possibly can, so that they look like mannequins. And there's this online magazine called the Babylon Bee. It's a satirical Christian fake news site. And I loved this headline, because it's just too funny: "Reformed Church Unintentionally Pulls Off Perfect Mannequin Challenge." So the article goes on about how they just were perfectly still for 60 minutes, so no one knew that they were part of the challenge.
Now, Scripture is actually pretty clear about posture during worship. There are a variety of verses, and this is just a fraction of them.
1 Timothy 2:8: I desire that in every place people should pray, lifting up holy hands.
Psalm 47: Clap your hands, all you nations. Shout to God with cries of joy.
Psalm 95: Come, let us bow down in worship. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
And we see these Scriptures. We see that this is true. But why? Why does God make us do this? It's so uncomfortable. Why does this matter?
So I want to try something. I want to try an exercise with you all, okay? I'm not going to embarrass you, I promise. This is what I want you to do. I want you to try to get as small as you possibly can. So, everybody in the room, just try to close your arms in, crunch down, maybe pretend like you have a stomachache, okay? Get your knees all together, and just furrow your brow, okay? And just sit like that for, like, 10 seconds. Okay? Now say: "Hi, it's nice to meet you today. I'm having such a good day." Now, what's happening? As you're doing this, what's happening? Your body is giving off all sorts of cues, not only to the people around you, but to yourself. It's telling you that you are closed off, that you're under stress. Do you feel like you could say right now, "God, I'm just so thankful"? It'd be kind of hard.
Okay, now let's do the opposite. Let's all stand up. And you're going to do the opposite. So you're going to take a wide posture. You can raise your hands, or just kind of lift them up, or around, or whatever. And you're going to look kind of upwards, and you're just going to smile. Okay? And you know it's a real smile if you get, like — what do they call it? — crow's feet. Okay, that's a sign of a true smile. So you're trying to get crow's feet, and just hold that pose for, like, 10 seconds. Now, do you hear what's happening? Some of you are just laughing spontaneously, right? Now, say this: "I'm so angry." And now, some of you really are, because you hate me right now. Go ahead and sit down.
The Mind-Body Problem
Now, in philosophy, there's something called the mind-body problem. I won't get into it super specifically, because you all want to go to breakfast. But this is the mind-body problem. It says that we conceive of our mind as something separate from our bodies. Now, we can have conversations about soul and spirit and all of that. But in the most basic sense, your brain is part of your body. Your brain is your body. Your body has a brain. It's the same thing. And so when you are in a certain posture, your brain is going to receive the messages that that posture sends, and vice versa. Posture affects mood. Smiling can make you feel better. If you sit in a power pose — you know, legs spread, arms out, maybe your feet are up on the table — literally, it's going to raise, boys and girls, your testosterone level, your cortisol levels. You're going to feel more powerful. You're going to feel stronger. You're going to feel happier. And I know some of you are going to do this, and I love you for it: if you go to the bathroom and look in the mirror for 45 seconds and just smile and get those crow's feet going, it's going to improve your mood. Okay? This is true.
And so there's this interesting relationship between what your body does and how your brain reacts. So worship, and Scripture, and God in his wisdom, says: engage in these postures of worship to fully experience what's going on. The body is not separate from your brain or from your soul. You are a whole person. This, brothers and sisters, is a place not of shame — so don't worry about the embarrassment factor. Let's be obedient to what God has called us to be in Scripture by lifting our hands, or kneeling down, or clapping.
Now, some of you are going to question, "Well, I just would not feel very authentic." Well, I get that. I'm with you. But on the other hand is the crunched posture saying "you people, dancing, dancing, dancing" — is that authentic? So it goes both ways. We want to practice postures of worship to teach our soul and teach our bodies what it is to worship with the whole of us.
A Life Posture Before God
Now, this moves beyond just what happens in this room, but also into our life posture — the posture we use in worship, not only inside this room and this building, but once we leave the doors. Are we going to be people who care merely about the opinion of others? Or are we going to live the life that God has called us to, dancing our life to God with all of our might, becoming even more undignified than this, in the words of David, because it's the right thing to do?
Now, should you be ridiculous or undignified for the sake of being undignified? Of course not. In David's response, he refers to Yahweh, to God, three times. He dances before God. He worships before God. God is the God who has called him. And so our primary purpose is to be obedient to God's calling and his will for our lives. And oftentimes that requires being undignified, looking ridiculous, being open to ridicule. So if you feel like God is calling you to do or to be something, and you aren't sure if it's God or not, check yourself. If the primary reason you're holding yourself back is because you fear you might be open to ridicule, it's probably not a good enough reason to say no.
Response
So I'm going to ask the worship team to come forward. I want to ask you two questions. First: what do you think God is saying to you this morning? Is there something that's stirring inside of you? Something that you know you have been doing, or haven't been doing, because you fear ridicule? Perhaps it's standing up for a justice issue about racism or hunger or poverty or orphan care. Perhaps you need to be the whistleblower at your work because you see something unethical. Perhaps it's standing up to a friend or a parent or a sibling. Perhaps it's just as simple as raising a hand in worship, or kneeling, or bowing. And perhaps it's nothing, and that's okay too. Just accept God's acceptance of you.
So, is there something you feel like God is telling you this morning? And secondly: what are you going to do about it? How will you respond to God's nudging of your soul? So, as we continue in worship this morning, let's consider those questions.
Father God, we thank you for your word, and we pray, God, that we would be a people who not just hear it, but do it — respond faithfully. Not out of peer pressure, not out of social pressure, God, but because we believe that you are a God who speaks, and we desire to be a people who listen and respond. Thank you, God, for your promises. We pray these things in Christ's name. Amen.
