Do Your Homework
Pastor Shaun Hixon 5/20/2025
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Summary
Pastor Shaun Hixon explores the story of David and the Ark to emphasize that spiritual shortcuts and public performances cannot replace personal, private devotion. He challenges believers to 'do their homework' at home so that their public worship is a genuine overflow of a life lived in God's presence.
Key points
- •The story of David bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Israel teaches us that good intentions do not replace obedience to God's specific instructions.
- •Convenience is often the enemy of spiritual depth; David's use of a 'new cart' instead of having the Levites carry the Ark led to tragedy because he skipped the 'homework' of the Law.
- •True spiritual authority and breakthrough are built in private; what we do at home when no one is watching determines the power of our public worship.
- •A strong church is not defined by attendance numbers but by strong families where parents prioritize the presence of God and pass faith down to the next generation.
- •Worship requires vertical vision; we must focus on the eternal presence of God rather than horizontal vision, which is preoccupied with the opinions of others.
Scripture
Spiritual Discipline
Legacy and Heritage
Presence of God
Consistency
Authenticity
Life application
This week, dedicate ten minutes a day to 'spiritual homework' through private prayer or scripture reading before engaging with work or social media, ensuring your public life flows from a private connection with God.
Reflection questions
- In what areas of my spiritual life am I looking for a 'convenient' or 'shortcut' version of faith rather than doing the hard work of discipline?
- David's anger at God eventually turned into a healthy fear and reverence. How am I processing my own frustrations or unanswered prayers?
- What 'heritage' am I currently building for those following me (children, friends, or coworkers) through my personal habits?
- Am I more concerned with 'horizontal' distractions (what people think) or 'vertical' focus (what God desires) during worship?
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Full transcript
0:00hunger for the spirit. So we're glad
0:00you're here tonight. But I'm going to be
0:00reading from 2 Samuel chapter 6. If you
0:02have your Bible, you can stand. Um
0:05starting at verse one. I'm reading from
0:08the NLT version, but you can follow
0:09along in any any version. uh verse 6
0:13chapter 1 it says then David again
0:15gathered all the elite troops in Israel
0:1930,000 in all and he led them to Bala of
0:23Judah to bring back the ark of God which
0:26bears the name of the Lord's heaven's
0:28armies who was enthroned between the
0:30cherubam they placed the ark of God on a
0:33new cart and brought it to Abinad's
0:36house which was on a
0:38hill and aho Abinad's sons were guiding
0:42the cart, that cart that carried the ark
0:45of God. Ao walked in front of the ark.
0:48David and all the people of Israel were
0:51celebrating before the Lord, singing
0:52songs and playing all kinds of musical
0:54instruments leers harps tambourines
0:57and castinets and symbols. You may be
1:00seated. It may not make sense yet, but
1:03I'm going to talk to you for a few
1:04moments tonight on this subject. Don't
1:07skip the homework.
1:09Don't skip the homework. Lord, I thank
1:12you for this word you've given me. Lord,
1:14it's not about me, but it's about you. I
1:16pray that we would walk out of here
1:18changed tonight, God. We pray that we
1:20would take what we've learned tonight
1:22and bring it back to our schools and our
1:24homes and our workplaces because we want
1:26this world to know that we are nothing
1:28without you, Jesus. We give it all to
1:30you, Lord. And thank you in advance for
1:33what you're going to do, Lord. In Jesus'
1:34name. In Jesus
1:36name. Amen. But we are a few awake a few
1:39few weeks away from summer which I know
1:41some parents are kind of indifferent
1:43about that. Um for some for some of you
1:46when I said don't skip the homework that
1:48was a trigger word for you. Homework is
1:50something that you don't like to say
1:51often. I don't like the word homework um
1:56at all. And uh I know in the summertime
1:59that it's always a blessing not to have
2:01homework but you're also trying to find
2:03ways to entertain your kids. I'm not
2:05sure if they have this now, but when I
2:07was in middle school and high school,
2:08they had something called summer
2:10reading. I don't know if they they do
2:12that anymore, but uh they would give you
2:14this big book. Anything over 100 pages
2:16to me is a big book. And they would make
2:19you read it over summer and they would
2:21test you when school
2:23started. And reading was always a
2:26subject that I hated growing up. I've
2:28always I always tried to procrastinate
2:30and and push it aside because all I
2:32wanted to do was be outside. We didn't
2:34have phones back in the
2:3690s like like we do now, but um a major
2:40myself, but all I wanted to do was be
2:42outside and play basketball cuz you all
2:44most of you guys know there was a time
2:45when I was picked first at every sport.
2:50There was a time, that time is long gone
2:53now, but there was a time where I was
2:55actually athletic and uh when I was
2:58going into the seventh grade, I I'll
2:59never forget I found this company
3:01through a friend called Spark
3:04Notes. SparkNotes, you may not know
3:06about it, but SparkNotes used to create
3:09books, summaries of big books.
3:13And so I found out this company and I
3:16was able to go to Barnes & Nobles and
3:18pick out this Spark Notes book of the
3:19book I was supposed to read for the
3:21summer. I probably lied to my mom and
3:24said I need it for extra studying. But
3:25what I really was doing was I wanted to
3:28read the snippet of the book so it would
3:31give me some more time to do what I
3:33wanted to do. I I I knew the summary of
3:36the book, but I didn't know any of the
3:38details. I knew the surface of it, but I
3:40I didn't know any of the the characters
3:42that that that really were were were
3:45they were talking about. And it it never
3:47the book never gave me its the Spark
3:50Notes never gives you the why. It just
3:51gives you what they're doing, but
3:53doesn't tell you why they're doing it.
3:55And it felt really good. I knew the
3:58summary of the book. I walked into
4:00school acting like I read the whole
4:03book. I knew the summary until the test
4:07came. And when the test came, I failed
4:11my first reading test because I only
4:14read the Spark Notes version of it. I
4:17may have fooled the teachers. I may have
4:19fooled my parents. But when the test
4:21came asking for questions about the
4:22book, I couldn't answer. I only knew the
4:25highle summary for it. And I was was
4:27thinking about this week, one of the
4:28dangers of living for God if is if we
4:30only come here on Sundays and Tuesdays,
4:33we call ourselves men of God, women of
4:35God, and that's all we do. The only
4:37spiritual moments we have throughout the
4:39week is at a church service a few hours
4:42a
4:43week. What what we're really doing is
4:45just living for God on the
4:49surface. There's been times I thought if
4:51I just respond in an altar call or just
4:54dance to the right music at service,
4:58I'll be called a man of God. Or some
5:00some call it nowadays apostolic.
5:03If I can just lift my voice a little
5:05bit, I'll be apostolic. And and it's
5:09it's a it's a very dangerous way to
5:11live. And I'm not downplaying church
5:13whatsoever because the Bible says, the
5:15last book in Psalms says, "Praise ye the
5:17Lord. Praise God in the sanctuary.
5:21Praise him in the firmament of his
5:23power." Meaning, we ought to praise him
5:25in this place. There ought to be a
5:26praise that that goes forth. Not only
5:28when I'm speaking, but when we're
5:29worshiping, whoever is up here, there
5:31ought to be a praise in the air. But the
5:32Bible says, "Praise him in the
5:34sanctuary and praise him in the
5:37firmament of his power." Meaning from
5:39horizon to horizon. Wherever you go, we
5:42are meant to praise the Lord because his
5:45glory was never confined to a particular
5:47space.
5:49His glory is never confined just just to
5:52your prayer closet, but it's confined in
5:54your office. It could be confined in
5:56your office. It could be confined out in
5:58the malls. Wherever it may be, we are
6:00ought to praise the Lord wherever we go.
6:05And in the Old Testament, the central
6:07place of worship was not in the
6:10believer, but it was in the tabernacle.
6:13Pastor talked about the tabernacle a
6:15little bit on Sunday, but under King
6:17Saul's leadership, the emphasis of the
6:20tabernacle drifted away. the Philistines
6:24or the the enemy, they they took away
6:26the ark of the covenant and it was no
6:28longer
6:30there. That may not mean much to you
6:33tonight, but when the ark was gone, it
6:35meant that the presence of the Lord was
6:39gone. When the ark was gone, there there
6:41there was there was no move of God. Can
6:43you imagine coming to church and seeking
6:46the Lord and not feeling anything?
6:49Yeah, it's very easy to come to church
6:50and not feel God. But imagine coming to
6:53church and seeking him and not feeling
6:56anything. Being desperate for
6:58something and you feel nothing at all.
7:00The ark in the Old Testament was that
7:03that that that glory that that what they
7:06looked up to, what what they followed,
7:08and it was no longer there.
7:11One of the scariest places we can
7:14be is a place where we go to church and
7:17not be changed.
7:21One of the scariest places we can be is
7:22not go to a prayer meeting or a Tuesday
7:24night or a youth service and and walk
7:27out the same way we came in. There's
7:29it's it's no different than going to a
7:31concert. It's no different than than
7:33than going to a store just getting what
7:35you want and walking out with it and
7:37having no change on on on the inside.
7:41You see, we live in a different time,
7:42but what remains the same is the enemy
7:45has always wanted to take away the
7:47presence of the Lord.
7:50That that's his
7:51desire. I I found out he doesn't mind if
7:54I come to church. He doesn't mind if if
7:57I'm a youth pastor. He doesn't mind if
7:58if if I I come here on a Friday night.
8:00As long as there's no presence, as long
8:02as there's no change in me, that's all
8:05he cares about. Because this world
8:07prefers gatherings over his presence.
8:11They prefer moments of silence and times
8:13of trouble over his presence. They don't
8:15mind if you come here. As long as you
8:17don't worship, as long as you don't give
8:20him something, he's okay with that. The
8:23only reason we have worship is just to
8:25usher us into the presence of the God.
8:27It does it it it doesn't replace the
8:29word of God, but it's ushering us
8:31somewhere. His goal is to get your mind
8:34to a place of what do I have to do after
8:36service? The Panthers are playing in
8:38five minutes. What where am I going
8:40tonight to watch the game? And I and I
8:42know it's a fight. We we we all we all
8:45fight for it. We're all here at midweek.
8:47You guys are working hardworking people.
8:50It took a lot to come here. I scarfed
8:52down pasta before I came here. I was
8:55trying to feed my kids before I came
8:57here. Dumped crackers on the floor.
8:59Poured juice on the on the car. It all
9:02happened before I came here and I was
9:04trying just to get it together and be
9:05here on time. All of us have had a
9:09struggle to get here and and you know
9:11it's it gets even harder with kids. It
9:13it's it's just a struggle. But we don't
9:16stop. We don't give up. We don't quit
9:19because we know where our hope is. We
9:21know where the glory resides.
9:27And I'm not I'm not speaking here long
9:29tonight, but I I I realize that I can't
9:32change
9:33you. Yeah, it's nervous being up here,
9:36but I I realize that there's nothing I
9:38can say to move you. I'm not smart
9:40enough to change your opinion. I don't
9:43even consider myself a good preacher,
9:45but I know that if God is in the room,
9:49that's it. If if the glory is in the
9:52room, it doesn't matter what I'm saying
9:56because you're hungry just to get at his
9:58presence. That's why when we come to
10:00church, it's so important to close your
10:03eyes and block out every distraction
10:05around you. I don't care who's
10:07worshiping, who's not worshiping. Lord,
10:09I just want your glory. God, I desire
10:12your presence. If it's just me walking
10:15out of here changed, then so be it.
10:17Because that's all I desire is to be in
10:19your presence. When we get in that
10:21mindset, things shift in the atmosphere.
10:23What we say, man, what a mighty move of
10:25God. Not because of what Sean said, but
10:27because of who he is. He's been so good
10:29to me. When I was low last week, I
10:32remember he picked me up. That's why I'm
10:34walking in here with my hands lifted
10:35high knowing that God is on the move.
10:40God is on the move. We're, you know, God
10:42God doesn't need you. He doesn't need
10:45me. If if God speaks to me to do
10:46something and I don't do it, he's going
10:47to ask somebody else. He doesn't need us
10:50here. But we're here to do something
10:52with God. We're not doing it for God.
10:55We're doing something with God because
10:57he desires you. Can you imagine that?
11:00The God that the God that died for you,
11:02he he desires for you to bask in his
11:05presence. He desires you to flow in the
11:09Holy Ghost. He desires you to wake up in
11:11the morning and the first thing on your
11:13mind is saying,
11:16"Lord, what do you have for me today?"
11:18He desires you to have a love for his
11:21word. You see, in the Old Testament, the
11:23ark of the covenant was so important. He
11:25gave Moses specific instructions and
11:28details of how to build it and make it
11:30portable so the Israelites can move
11:33through the wilderness. They they needed
11:34him, especially through the wilderness.
11:36We've all had those moments, right?
11:38Walking through the wilderness, it feels
11:39like. and and we we know we need the
11:41presence of the Lord. Some of you have
11:43gone through some seasons where if it
11:45wasn't for the Lord, you wouldn't be
11:47standing here today. You wouldn't be in
11:49this room.
11:51You see, the ark was always meant to be
11:53with the people of
11:56God. Everywhere it was placed, God's
11:59glory would rest there. God's spirit was
12:03always meant to be with you.
12:07It was always meant to live in you. It
12:11was always meant to go wherever you go.
12:14It was the people were all It was always
12:17meant for the people to see the glory
12:18living through you. Not not just looking
12:21at you on the outside, but feeling
12:23something different about you. There's
12:25there's there's something there's
12:26there's something different about that
12:28person that I that I I I want to know
12:30more. They in the Old Testament, they
12:31didn't need a preacher to persuade them
12:33to live for God.
12:35They didn't need a a a certain musician
12:37to to be here for his glory to rise.
12:39They didn't need all that. They all they
12:41wanted was the ark. All they wanted was
12:43his
12:44presence. Last
12:46Friday, Brother Baptist preached a
12:49phenomenal message here Friday night.
12:51And um man, it was such a mighty move of
12:53the Lord here. And and um I I've been
12:56I've been just basking in it the past
12:58few days. But he said something that
13:00stuck out to me. He said, "Our
13:02generation is so consumed with
13:05entertainment. It's it's so consumed
13:07with entertainment and there's so much
13:09pressure on the minister to reach the
13:12saint." I understand right now that
13:14we're probably on YouTube and Facebook
13:16and I and I I hate that. I I know I know
13:19it's good for the community. I get it.
13:21But mentally, if I think about that, it
13:23messes me up a little bit.
13:25But what what I'm what I'm trying to say
13:27is when you scroll through your Facebook
13:29or YouTube, if if you're not
13:31entertained, the first thing you do is
13:32just move a finger and and and keep
13:35scrolling. And many times that's how how
13:37churches for people. They they come in
13:39and and you aren't saying the word
13:41specifically for them. So, they're kind
13:43of just checking out and they're looking
13:44at their emails right
13:46now. And we got to get to a point where
13:49we're not here to to to grab your
13:51attention. I I I want to get your
13:53attention. I I I want you to hear me,
13:56but all I need tonight is God's
13:58attention.
14:00It's a fight against our flesh, but we
14:02have to fight for the glory. So when
14:05David took over, he realized that there
14:07was no ark, which meant there was no
14:10glory. The people were
14:13lukewarm and they were comfortable
14:15living without the
14:17glory. There was a season when it wasn't
14:19here and and they were okay with it. But
14:22David decided, I need that back. If
14:26presence if if the presence of the Lord
14:27is not here, there's there's really no
14:29point in me being king. And I and and he
14:32realized the more you go without the
14:34glory, the more you're okay with not
14:36having the glory. The longer you go
14:39without his presence, the the more
14:40you're okay with not getting in his
14:42presence. And the longer you stop
14:44praying, the more you're okay with not
14:46praying. But on the contrary, the more
14:49you start praying, the more you start
14:51feeling his presence, the more you want
14:53to pray. There's something so powerful
14:55of just get getting past the first 10
14:58minutes of prayer when you're just kind
14:59of going through the motions and
15:01actually feeling something and saying,
15:02"Man, I want to keep walking in that
15:06vein. I I I want more." You see, if you
15:09ever struggle to
15:11pray, if I ever struggle to pray, I'll
15:13make this personal. I have to question
15:15myself. Am I praying at home?
15:19Am I am I doing my
15:21homework? Am I Am I doing what God
15:23called me to
15:25do? In this passage of scripture, David
15:28was rejoicing because he was excited
15:30about this ark coming back to him. He
15:32was excited about the presence of the
15:34Lord coming back to him. And we read in
15:35in verse 5 that they were singing all
15:37types of songs and and and playing
15:39instruments and the glory wasn't even
15:41there and they were rejoicing with
15:43music. The King James version says they
15:45played before the Lord. So they were
15:47anticipating this mighty big boom of God
15:50is coming back and we are getting
15:53excited and they were playing this the
15:56music because why music can usher us in
15:58the presence of the Lord but it doesn't
15:59play for the presence of the Lord and
16:01they were getting so excited about it
16:03and it was just this this big excitement
16:05I I kind of when I read this I was kind
16:07of thinking of that that Tuesday night
16:09we first came back from COVID where all
16:10the chairs were broken up and we were so
16:13excited to see each other but we didn't
16:15know if we should shake hands hands, hug
16:16each other or talk to each other if we
16:18should wear a mask, not wear a mask. We
16:21were doing these hand signals of I love
16:22you, I miss you. And and and the the the
16:25countdown was on and there was just an
16:28excitement in the air. And I remember
16:30pastor up here like we were saying five,
16:32four, three, two, and we were just
16:34yelling like, "Thank you, Jesus." We
16:37were so excited about coming back
16:39together. Before church even started,
16:42the excitement was so
16:43high. And we were just excited to be
16:47together. I imagine David having that
16:49same
16:51excitement. He's coming back. He's
16:53coming back. What I used to feel as a
16:55kid, he's coming back. What my ancestors
16:58talked about, he's coming back. What my
16:59what my father talked to me about, he's
17:01coming back. And there was excitement in
17:03the air. You see, his intentions were
17:06good. But the problem was David didn't
17:08do his homework.
17:11He was bringing back the ark that was
17:13made a certain way. Made of wood,
17:15goldplated, a certain cover called the
17:18mercy seat. It was hammered a a gold
17:21cherubam facing each other. It was
17:22extremely heavy. And inside the ark of
17:24the covenant, there was a gold jar of
17:26mana from the wilderness. And there was
17:28Aaron's rod and there was a tablets of
17:29stone because God promised that he would
17:33meet with his people above the mercy
17:36seat. It wasn't just any ark. It sounded
17:39strange, but there was glory that rested
17:43there. It brought the people through the
17:45wilderness. And on the base of it, there
17:47were these these fixed rings because
17:50there was a specific way to carry
17:52it. But David was just so excited. The
17:55Bible says that he built a new cart to
17:59bring it back home. The only people that
18:02were meant to carry the cart was the
18:03tribe of Levi, the Levites. And when
18:06David built this this this new cart, he
18:10was just excited about it. And I can
18:12relate. We all can relate. His
18:13intentions were right. But sometimes
18:17convenience hurts us more than it helps
18:20us. I heard a quote, and it's a a common
18:23quote you guys heard. When when man
18:25makes plans, God God laughs. That's a I
18:28mean that's that's the story of my
18:30life. A year ago, I thought I was only
18:33going to have a family of four.
18:35And here we are, family of six. I know.
18:39I know exactly what happened in in in
18:44heaven. God was like, "Watch this." He
18:49got everybody
18:54laughing. But we've all been there. We
18:57We want to make things more
18:58convenient. How can I speed up the
19:01service faster? How can I h how can I
19:03get by with just doing the bare
19:06minimum? But but God had a specific way
19:09of how to handle this ark. And in verse
19:11six, if you put that up there, it says,
19:12"But when they arrived at the threshing
19:14floor of Nikon, the oxen stumbled, and
19:17Usuza reached out his hand and steadied
19:20the ark of God, and the Lord's anger was
19:22aroused against Usuza, and God struck
19:25him dead because of this." So Usuza died
19:28right there beside the
19:32ark. David made this new cart. They were
19:36excited about bringing it back home.
19:37Their intentions were good. The ark
19:40started shaking and Usuza just wanted to
19:41make sure it didn't fall. And he touched
19:43it and the Lord stried him
19:45dead. They're excited singing this song,
19:49one verse, and the next song and and and
19:51the next verse, a man died because of
19:53it.
19:54Can can you imagine what happened in
19:56that worship
19:57service? Excited about it and then
19:59someone just falls dead. Why? Because
20:01David took the convenient
20:03route and a life was lost. And in verse
20:068 says, David was angry because of the
20:09Lord's anger and had to burst out
20:11against Usuza. He named that place Perez
20:13Usuza, which means burst out against
20:15Usuza as it is called today. 8:9 says,
20:18"David was now afraid of the Lord, and
20:21he asked, "How can I ever bring the ark
20:23of the Lord back into my
20:26care?" So, David decided to move the ark
20:29of the Lord into the city. Decided not
20:32to move the ark into the city. Instead,
20:34he took it to the house of Obedium of
20:36Gath. Verse eight, it it tells us that,
20:39you know, he was angry at the Lord. And
20:42we we've heard the scripture, God,
20:44David's a man after God's own heart. A
20:46man after God's own heart was angry at
20:48the Lord. But in the next verse, it says
20:51that he was afraid of the
20:53Lord. His anger turned into
20:57fear. His anger didn't turn in just a
20:59hurt. It it it turned into
21:01fear. Many times when we get angry,
21:04we've all been angry at the
21:05Lord. If you're honest, you're going to
21:07say,
21:09"Yes." We don't understand why things
21:12happen the way they do. But it's it's so
21:14easy for us when we get that anger to
21:17turn into resentment. If you ever met an
21:18atheist and and you really dig deep into
21:21their life, usually something happened
21:23in their life where they were angry with
21:24the Lord. They had to go through
21:25something and that anger turned into
21:28resentment. The reason David was a man
21:30after God's own heart is because his
21:32anger turned in to
21:35fear. But the real problem was David
21:38didn't do his homework. He knew the law,
21:40but he didn't take that seriously.
21:43You see, life sometimes doesn't make
21:45sense. But it took the death of a
21:47man for him to realize that I have to do
21:50some work at home before I move this
21:52back home. I have to do some work before
21:56I get this. Whenever whenever you go to
21:59a service and you just feel a mighty
22:01move of of God's spirit and and people
22:03are just praying and and and just so
22:06excited and just they don't care about
22:08who's around them. They're just focused
22:09on on the Lord. You want to know why?
22:12Because there was homework that was done
22:14before the
22:15service. There was some pre-ervice
22:17prayer that was done before the service.
22:20What what what happened here at the
22:22altar, they were doing at home before
22:24they even got
22:26here. One of the reasons why it's hard
22:29for us to to get into those moments is
22:31because we skip out on the homework. We
22:34find out con convenience ways of how can
22:37I just get by, get through the service
22:40and just show
22:41up. Right now, the Panthers are playing
22:47and there are people that I'm sure got
22:51there hours early before the
22:53stadium. They got dressed up. They they
22:56call it a tailgate on Sundays on the
22:59football. They do it basketball anytime.
23:01They they get prepared for this event.
23:04They're so excited about it. And when
23:07you get there, you can feel it. You feel
23:09the energy in the air. You feel them
23:10yelling and and and screaming. And the
23:12reason why they can do that is because
23:14they are so pumped up about their team.
23:17They don't care who's around you. Last
23:20time I went to a Dolphins game with with
23:21Randy got me free tickets, they we
23:24walked together. This guy was yelling at
23:26me, calling me a fake fan because I was
23:28just clapping like this and I wasn't
23:30standing up. He was yelling at me
23:32saying, "You're fake. You're fake." And
23:34I was like, "Okay, all right, whatever."
23:36I was in my box seat, so it didn't
23:40matter. But they were prepared for the
23:44game. That's what happens in church.
23:47When we come prepared for church, God
23:49moves. When we get here early for
23:52prayer, God moves. When we do our
23:54homework at home, God
23:56moves, we we think it's just some some
23:58just hocus pocus stuff, but no, it's
24:01just us doing our homework, saying,
24:03"God, I need you today. God, I want to
24:06walk in your spirit today. God, tonight,
24:08I pray that you would speak through me
24:09at this service. God, I pray that there
24:11would be somebody here, Lord, that
24:12receives the gift of the Holy Ghost
24:14tonight. God, I pray that your presence
24:15is so thick tonight, Lord, that the
24:17people around us, the neighbors feel it,
24:19our our work, our co-workers feel it
24:21tonight. All it is is homework of doing
24:24work at home. You see na David never
24:27sought the Lord. He just wanted to get
24:29the job done. And I don't know the time
24:31frame from verse 9 to13 of of of when he
24:34was angry. But in verse 12 it says then
24:36King David was told the Lord has blessed
24:39Obodam's household and everything he has
24:42because of the ark of God was there. He
24:44left the ark at Oidom's house and the
24:47Bible says that his house was blessed.
24:48So David went there and brought the ark
24:51of God back from the house of Obadum to
24:54the city of David with a great
24:56celebration. After the after the men who
24:59were carrying the ark of the Lord had
25:00gone six steps, David sacrificed the
25:03bull and a fattened calf. And David
25:06danced before the Lord with all of his
25:08might, wearing a priestly garment. Verse
25:1015 says, "So David and all the people of
25:13Israel brought up the ark of the Lord
25:15with shouts of joy, blowing the ram's
25:20horn." You see, to get to verse
25:2313, he had to go back to the drawing
25:26board. All right. Usuza just died. He
25:28had to experience a funeral.
25:31I don't know if it was a I don't know
25:33his whole family tree, but he had to see
25:34his his his own his own kids sobb and
25:37mourn because their father was dead
25:39because somebody didn't do their
25:40homework. Somebody just didn't take time
25:44to take it seriously what God took
25:46seriously. You see, what we do at home
25:49is more important than what we do here
25:51at church.
25:55What we do when nobody's looking is more
25:58important than what we do here for the
26:00few hours that we're here. I'm thankful
26:03for the church, but there's been moments
26:06when I was dry and I walked in here and
26:10I got hit by his presence. And you know
26:13what it did? It didn't just change me to
26:14say, "Thank you, Jesus." But it changed
26:15me to say, "You know what? I got to
26:17remove some things in my life. I got to
26:20change some things in my life. I got to
26:22make the atmosphere different when I get
26:24home because see, I don't like
26:25homework. I don't desire to go home and
26:28just do that. I It's not not what I
26:31desire to do. And even the physical, I
26:33hated homework. I thought after
26:35graduating college, I was done with
26:36homework. But now I have to do it with
26:39Everly. And it's not even serious
26:41homework, but it always stresses me out
26:43when she has homework because I don't
26:45want to do homework. And she doesn't
26:46want to do homework.
26:49We talk about it in the car and all she
26:52wants to do when she gets home is play
26:53with her 60 stuffed animals and talk to
26:56them. That's that's her that's her her
26:58priority and and and play with them. And
27:00I'll I'll say, "Okay, you get 10 minutes
27:02to play with them or 15 minutes and I'll
27:04come back and we'll do our homework
27:05together." I come back, she's like, "Sh,
27:08they're
27:10sleeping. You got to wait till nap's
27:13over."
27:14and she'll she'll she'll do these things
27:16and it's funny but it stresses me out.
27:19Like I just want to get it done with so
27:21I can move on to the next thing because
27:22it's still in the back of my mind and
27:24it's really only probably 10 minutes of
27:26homework but it's still just driving me
27:29crazy and she she takes it seriously and
27:32I I told her this past week I said you
27:33better had that same revelation when the
27:35twins get here. Shh, they're
27:39napping. But in in her mind, she's not
27:41joking. This is really this is really
27:43deep deep things to her. Her stuffed
27:46animals are so important to her. And I I
27:49probably shouldn't shouldn't say this. I
27:51I know the older we get, our priorities
27:53changed. And I I I pray in 10 years that
27:55her priorities at 16 is not her stuff's
27:57animals,
27:58but last week she got on red. And it's
28:03it's uncommon for her to get on red. And
28:05I was just really really upset. And I I
28:07can just see it from the way she walked
28:08to my car with her head down. And uh if
28:12you don't know what red is, you're
28:13green, you're doing good. Yellow, you
28:15got a warning. And red, you did
28:16something bad. And she got on red and I
28:18I knew and she got in the car and she
28:19put her head down. She's like, "Got on
28:20red." And I said, "Okay, so what
28:23happened?" "Don't want to talk about
28:24it." I said, "We're going to talk about
28:26it." So what happened? I pushed
28:28somebody. The story story goes on. I
28:30said, "Why'd you push somebody?" "Oh,
28:31because they're in my face for so long."
28:33I'm like, "Why don't you go to the
28:34teacher?" I don't know. I I I shouldn't
28:37have pushed her. tonight and she was
28:40crying in the car cuz she knows if she
28:41gets on red, she's going to get a
28:42spanking when she gets home. There's
28:43there's consequences to it. No matter
28:45what you say to me, you're it's it's
28:46it's going to happen. So, she was very
28:49upset about this. She was crying in the
28:52car with me. Levi's on the side just
28:54enjoying it.
28:56Like, he kept saying, "I got on green
28:59today." His school doesn't have green
29:01colors, but he was like, "I got on
29:02green. When I get home, I'm watching the
29:04movie." and he's just putting in her
29:07face and and and she's she she's crying
29:10to me and then and we're we're talking
29:13and she says, "Dad, I have a great
29:15idea." I'm like, "What is that?" She's
29:18like, "I think I need to pretend that my
29:22stuffed animals are Bible characters and
29:25I need to just pray with them and we got
29:28to make stories about Jesus so they can
29:31remind me to be good in school."
29:33And I said, "That's a great idea. That's
29:37so awesome." Yeah, I love that. You're
29:39still getting a spanking, but I really
29:42love the
29:47idea. And yeah, but deep down inside
29:50that that really I I loved I loved
29:52hearing that. I I I love to hear her
29:55pray. I love to hear her read the word.
29:57I I I I love all these things. And I
29:59want her to know that in times of
30:01trouble, you have to go to the Lord. In
30:05in moments of crisis, daddy can't be
30:07your savior. Mommy can't be your savior.
30:09Pastor can't can't be your savior. But
30:12the work that we do at home is meant to
30:14push them into a place realizing that
30:17they need a savior. I can't just live
30:20off my mom's prayers, but I need a
30:22savior.
30:24If you talk to any teacher, they'll
30:26they'll tell you what you practice at
30:28home with your child makes a difference.
30:31If you don't practice your homework with
30:32them, they will struggle. If you don't
30:34go over with them, they they will
30:36struggle. Why? Because what we do at
30:38home reflects what we do outside of the
30:40home. What we do Monday through Friday
30:42impacts what we do on Sunday.
30:46If it's hard for us to worship on a
30:48Tuesday night, it's just because
30:50something that we were doing at
30:52home. That's really what it is. Because
30:55when we think of the temporary things of
30:57the job that the stressful job that we
30:59had, we all had busy days. I was in
31:00backto-back meetings almost the whole
31:02afternoon. But it doesn't
31:05compare to the presence of God. Doesn't
31:08compare to what I feel in this place.
31:11you wouldn't I I I know you wouldn't be
31:13here tonight if if you didn't love the
31:16Lord. But I'm just here to remind you
31:19tonight that if we don't do our
31:22homework, your kids will feel it. And
31:25I'm still learning this myself. I don't
31:26have it together. This is this is for
31:27me. If you don't do your
31:29homework, your grandkids will feel it.
31:33Your neighbors will feel it. The people
31:35around you will feel it. I don't have it
31:36all together. Trust me. Tell Noel, I
31:38have don't have it all together
31:39whatsoever. They call it at work wip
31:42work in prog progress. I don't have it
31:45at
31:46all. But I don't want to be known as
31:48somebody that just has a corporate
31:50career. I don't want to be known of
31:52somebody that just plays good at pickle
31:56ball. I want to be known as a man of
32:02God. Not just by my family, but from
32:05those that are around me. One of my
32:06greatest desires is that my children
32:09will love the Lord. That your children
32:13will love the Lord. Strong churches
32:17aren't churches that have the biggest
32:18attendance, but they're churches with
32:21the strongest families.
32:23Churches that when their their mom and
32:25dad come together, I understand that
32:27every circumstance is different. I
32:29understand this house is for the broken.
32:31But our our our world, our culture right
32:33now is trying to normalize not having a
32:35mom and dad. Trying to normalize that
32:37it's it's it's okay. You don't you don't
32:39need your mom. You don't need your dad.
32:40They try to normalize these things. But
32:43strong churches are churches where they
32:46can see their mom and their dad pray
32:48together.
32:50I don't want to follow the culture of
32:52this world. I don't want to just hear
32:54about a generational curse. I'm going to
32:56walk right through it because I know who
32:58my savior is. I've seen people call on
33:00the name of Jesus and things be changed
33:04instantly. In Paul's writings, his last
33:08writings to Timothy in second Timothy,
33:10he was about to lose his life. And and
33:11and we know whenever we hear someone
33:13losing their life, our ears perk up of
33:15what they have to say because their
33:16perspective on life changes. And we we
33:19hear these quotes of notable people that
33:22have on been on their deathbed and and
33:23and said certain sayings. But in in
33:25Paul's last words to Timothy, he says,
33:28"Timothy, I thank God for
33:31you, the God I serve with a clear
33:34conscience, just as my ancestors did.
33:36Night and day I constantly remember you
33:38in my prayers." He's speaking to
33:40Timothy. I long to see you again, for I
33:42remember your tears as we parted. I will
33:45be filled with joy when we are together.
33:48I remember your genuine faith for you
33:52share the faith that first filled your
33:55grandmother Lois and your mother
33:57Ununice. And I know that the same faith
34:00continues strong in you. This is why I
34:03want to remind you to fan into the
34:06flames the spiritual gift that God gave
34:08you when he laid when I laid my hands
34:10upon you. For God has not given us a
34:12spirit of fear and
34:17intimid. So never be ashamed to tell
34:19others about the
34:21Lord. I'm getting ready to close, but
34:23Paul is writing to
34:25Timothy before he he dies and something
34:28that stuck with me this week. He said,
34:30"For you share the faith that first
34:33filled your grandmother Lois and your
34:35mother Ununice."
34:39He's reminding Paul of of where he he
34:42got it from, who instilled it into him
34:46before he was working through
34:49him. Paul mentioned that his mom, he had
34:52a mom and a grandma that that prayed for
34:54him. Doesn't mention his father, but it
34:56it mentions those two. And I found it so
34:59fascinating that I don't know much about
35:00Ununice. I don't know much about Lois. I
35:02I have no idea who they are. There's not
35:04much talked about them, but somehow they
35:07made a difference in Timothy's
35:09life. Somehow they made it in the Bible
35:13to write about how important it is to
35:17invest into the next
35:19generation. You see, in this lifetime,
35:22you may never get the
35:24credit. You may have served God your
35:26entire life, and you may never be on the
35:30big screen. You may never, no one people
35:32may not even know about
35:34you. But what you may be doing, you may
35:36not see it now, is you may be building
35:38up a
35:41Timothy. Say, "I'm here because of the
35:43prayers of my mom and my my my
35:45grandmother. I'm I'm here because of
35:47those faithful saints that kept walking
35:49when they didn't want to want to walk at
35:51all. When they worked all day and night
35:53and came to the house of God. I'm I'm
35:56I'm
35:57thankful for my heritage." But the truth
35:59is, you build your own
36:02heritage. It's up to you to change it.
36:06We sing songs like, "When we all get to
36:07heaven, what a day of rejoicing that
36:09will be." I really believe the heroes of
36:12the Bible, you will have no idea who
36:14they were on this
36:15earth. Nobody talked about them. They
36:18didn't have the most followers, but they
36:20were faithful. They did their homework
36:23every day and night.
36:26They kept praying every day and night.
36:29Nobody ever asked them to minister.
36:31Nobody ever asked them to to to to be
36:34the president of something. But no, they
36:35prayed every day of, "God, I just want
36:38your presence today. Nobody can hear me
36:40but you." And I believe that those
36:43people are going to be in the Hall of
36:44Fame when you walk in there and say,
36:45"Wow, thank God for those prayers. We're
36:49standing in this building because of the
36:51prayers that were prayed before us.
36:54You're currently standing on Bibles that
36:56were laid in this cement ground years
36:59before we ever took this
37:01building. They may have never known the
37:04impact that they were making when they
37:05prayed over this building as they were
37:07building it. But you are a testimony.
37:09You're standing here
37:11tonight hungry for the Lord because of
37:15those
37:18prayers. I don't want just
37:20entertainment. singers, musicians, you
37:22may you may never get get the call to
37:24sing a big conference. You may never
37:26have the
37:28followers, but sing unto the
37:31Lord. Your greatest moment is is is not
37:33when you're behind a camera, but it's
37:35what you do when the camera is not on
37:38you.
37:40I mean, I can look around the room right
37:42now and see so many different stories of
37:44people of what God did in their life. I
37:49can I I can I can tell stories about
37:50every one of you of of of what of what
37:53the Lord did in and in in your life and
37:55and it it just reminds me of how good
37:57God is. Susan, I don't think that your
38:01greatest moment was when you prayed over
38:02Nikki when she was in the hospital.
38:04Yeah, it was a great moment. I'm sure
38:05and I know and I could be wrong, but I
38:08think your greatest moment is what you
38:09did every day when life was great. When
38:11life was bad, you were consistent. We're
38:14going to pray. We're going to come to
38:14the house of the Lord. We're going to
38:15keep moving. Those were our greatest
38:19moments. I think of Tama Murphy when I
38:22was writing tonight of taking Sabrina to
38:25to our rally last week and there was
38:28such a mighty move of his spirit through
38:30and Sabrina was getting a breakthrough
38:31right
38:33here. She drove probably almost 45
38:36minutes to get here. Many parents don't
38:39even take their kids to youth service
38:40because they're just too tired or they
38:41don't make it a priority.
38:43She drove her 45 minutes to get here,
38:45probably waited or came back a few hours
38:47later. She may have not known, but
38:50Sabrina needed that. There was a
38:53breakthrough that
38:55happened. You see, there are moments in
38:58life where we think that we need to get
39:01to some big pinnacle and all God's
39:03asking for us to do is do the work at
39:05home and God will provide. God will
39:11speak to us.
39:14I don't think pastor's greatest moments
39:16are here behind this pullpit, but I
39:18think it's what he does in his office
39:19when he gets on his knees and intercedes
39:22on your behalf of Lord. He knows exactly
39:24what you're going through. He's
39:26interceding because he desires a move of
39:29your spirit in his life. He desires
39:32that. I'm thankful for for my own
39:35testimony. I'm thankful for a praying
39:37mother growing up. But I used to wake up
39:39middle school and high school hearing
39:41the travail of prayer every single
39:43morning. It may have not meant much to
39:45me now, but I I coveret those prayers
39:48now. I think those are her greatest
39:53moments because she was faithful with
39:56their hunger, the hunger for the Lord.
39:58We may not see it now. You all may
40:00stand.
40:06We read that after the ark entered the
40:09presence of the Lord, David danced in
40:11his own wife. Mel mocked him. I don't
40:14think it's a coincidence that
40:17Michaelel Saul's
40:19daughter. The man that that that that
40:22that chose people of the Lord. The the
40:24man that decided it was more about him
40:28than the Lord. The man that let the ark
40:31get captured away. I'm not surprised
40:32that Mael looked at David mocking
40:36[Music]
40:38him. But there was something in
40:41David that just said, "God, the ark is
40:45here, and this is all where I want to
40:47be." You see, David's eyes, his vision
40:50was
40:52vertical. When your eyes are
40:55vertical, you can't see what's around
40:57you.
40:59You only focus on the
41:01eternal. Focus on things that matter. My
41:05my my keel's eyes were focused on the
41:07people horizontal. They were focused on
41:10what are they going to think of David?
41:11What what are how are they going to
41:13respond to
41:14him? He looks crazy. Why? Because her
41:17eyes were like this. That's why when we
41:19come to the
41:20church, it's so powerful when you lift
41:23your head and say, "God, I need you."
41:26Take close your eyes. Take out your take
41:27out every distraction. God, I I I want
41:29you. Why? Because you're just seeking
41:32for his
41:33presence. Every hand lifted, we're going
41:35to take a few moments in prayer. I know
41:38it's getting late, but I just want to
41:41remind us tonight.
41:43Lord, help me to be what I am here at
41:48home. Help me to pray like I pray here
41:51in my prayer closet. Help me to look
41:54vertical when all I can see is
41:56horizontally. Help me to focus on your
41:59presence, Lord. God, I need you, Jesus.
42:03God, I desire you, Lord
42:06Jesus. God, I I want more of you, Jesus.
42:09I can't live off yesterday's prayer, but
42:11I'm deciding right now, Lord God, that
42:14today I want to make a change, God, when
42:16I walk out of this place, God, I want
42:19the presence of the Lord to reside in
42:21me. God, I'm thankful that I can come to
42:24a church and feel his presence. God, I'm
42:26thankful, Lord, that I can come here and
42:29feel something different. But it's not
42:32just about the goosebumps. It's about
42:35getting in your presence. God, move me
42:37past the goosebumps to say, "God, I just
42:40I just need you. I want you, Jesus. I
42:44want you, Jesus. Take out every
42:45distraction, Lord Jesus. I desire you,
42:47Lord God. I praise you, Lord God. You've
42:50been so good to me, Lord. When I feel
42:53like nobody's watching, I know that you
42:55are watching. I know that you are
42:57moving, God. So, I lay I lay at your
43:00feet and say, "God, speak through me.
43:02Speak through my children. Speak through
43:05my workplace, God. Help me to be a
43:07vessel you call me to be, Lord Jesus."
43:10If God's speaking to you right now, I
43:11want you to lift your hands and respond,
43:14"Yes, Lord. I say yes. I say yes to your
43:17will, God. Help me to move past my
43:19flesh, God. I say yes to what you want
43:22me to do, Lord. I want to do what you
43:25have me to do, Lord. Whatever it is,
43:27Jesus. Whatever it is, do it, Lord.
43:30Whatever it is, Jesus. If it's just
43:32raising your hands, do it. If it's just
43:34telling him, "Thank you." Let him know,
43:36Lord, I thank you, Jesus. I want to
43:37respond because you are worthy, God.
43:41There is power in your name. We sang
43:43about it tonight. Lord, your name is
43:45beautiful. Your name, Lord, is my
43:47everything. Jesus, I worship you, Lord
43:50Jesus. I need you, Jesus. Hallelujah.
43:53Lord God, we give it all to you. Jesus,
43:56you see every circumstance. You see
43:59everything that's happening right now in
44:00our world. God, I come to you and say,
44:02"I just need you, Jesus." That's it.
44:05We're just moving past what we feel. If
44:07we would say, "I just want to be in the
44:09vein of your spirit, Lord. I just want
44:11to be in the vein of you, Lord. Whatever
44:13you have me to do, Lord, do it. Thank
44:15you, Jesus. Hallelujah, Lord Jesus. I
44:18magnify you, Lord
44:21Jesus. God. Yes, God. Yes, God. There's
44:25something moving here right now, Jesus.
44:28When I leave this place, God, I want to
44:30make sure I do some work at home. Before
44:33I go to bed, Lord, remind me that I need
44:35to do some work at home, Lord. Lord,
44:37whatever it may be, I want the attention
44:39to be on you, Jesus. Not on anything
44:42else but your presence, Jesus.
44:44Hallelujah Jesus. I worship you Lord in
44:48the name of Jesus. Hallelujah Jesus. You
44:51are worthy of only taken from me. Oh I