{"id":492,"date":"2020-08-29T15:23:32","date_gmt":"2020-08-29T15:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/?page_id=492"},"modified":"2021-01-31T12:25:04","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T12:25:04","slug":"30-august-disaster-anger-fear-retreat","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/?page_id=492","title":{"rendered":"30 August: Disaster &#8230; Anger &#8230; Fear &#8230; Retreat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-top\" style=\"grid-template-columns:15% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"340\" height=\"340\" src=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20200830.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1081 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20200830.jpg 340w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20200830-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20200830-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20200830-24x24.jpg 24w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20200830-36x36.jpg 36w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20200830-48x48.jpg 48w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-f3d62e28-f3f0-4c12-91cb-c3baad3e3641\"><strong><strong><strong><strong>Bethel Baptist Church<\/strong><br><strong>Worship Service in the building<\/strong><br><strong>30 August 2020<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-black-color has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color has-text-color has-background\" href=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/?page_id=470\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"20\" height=\"13\" class=\"wp-image-1006\" style=\"width: 20px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/leftarrow.png\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/leftarrow.png 120w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/leftarrow-24x16.png 24w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/leftarrow-36x24.png 36w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/leftarrow-48x32.png 48w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 20px) 100vw, 20px\" \/> <strong>Previous Service<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-black-color has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color has-text-color has-background\" href=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/?page_id=485\"><strong>Next Service <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"20\" height=\"13\" class=\"wp-image-1007\" style=\"width: 20px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/rightarrow.png\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/rightarrow.png 120w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/rightarrow-24x16.png 24w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/rightarrow-36x24.png 36w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/rightarrow-48x32.png 48w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 20px) 100vw, 20px\" \/><\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Welcome<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Welcome to Bethel Baptist Church this Sunday 30 August. Harry and Mandy are away today \u2013 let\u2019s pray that the Lord bless them and refresh them at this time. I\u2019m Graham Steel, and Harry asked me to prepare the message for this morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dylys and I have been working our way through 1 and 2 Chronicles in our daily Bible study together in recent weeks. I have chosen the passage for today from that study because I found this particular portion so striking \u2013 it really feels like God is being unduly harsh, and because the commentary that we were using identified a key point in the passage which I had skipped over when I first read it, and which gives us the real reason that David and the people suffered a disaster on that day. It is a lesson that is going to stick in my mind for a long time to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Word<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Disaster &#8230; Anger &#8230; Fear &#8230; Retreat. Please read 1 Chronicles 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A brief history of the Ark of the Covenant<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Construction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Please watch the short video for an idea of what the Ark may have looked like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Ark of the Covenant\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CjGJ2MSpauk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. History<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I refer to the following web site for a history of the Ark from a Judaist perspective. See particularly the section entitled &#8220;History of the Ark&#8221; for what happened between its construction and the time of David.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org\/the-ark-of-the-convenant\">https:\/\/www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org\/the-ark-of-the-convenant<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Disaster<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>It seems so unfair!<\/strong> David really wanted to honour the Lord and put the Ark of the Covenant at a central place in Israel. It was such a great day of devotion and service to the Lord. It is obvious that David made a mistake \u2013 he overlooked the law of Moses and decided to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem his way. But he did it with absolutely the best of intentions. He had a united people who all agreed with him. He had sourced or prepared a new cart \u2013 only the best will do for this magnificent occasion. They were celebrating before God with all their might, making lots of music. Surely God should have been looking down and taking great delight in His people. Why, why, why was it necessary to strike Uzza fatally when he had simply reacted spontaneously to save the Ark from damage?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have you ever been sincerely devoted in doing some great service for the Lord, or perhaps showing mercy and giving help to somebody in great need, only to see everything go horribly wrong? Have you ever cried out in despair, \u201cLord, I was doing my very best to honour You. Why have You let this happen?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#e4eff3\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>It is hard to relate it to a mistake, but we suffered a series of disasters in the month before lockdown. My mother was living in a care home in the West Midlands at the time. I went down to see her on a Saturday in the middle of February \u2013 I think Dylys was not feeling very bright, so she let me go on my own. So I spent a good morning, though not very exciting, with my Mum. I left her when she was having lunch and drove over to see my sister and her family, who lived nearby, and I had lunch with them. It was quite windy in the afternoon when I drove home. I arrived at home, and as usual, I opened the garage door in order to reverse the car into the garage; but then as I reversed towards the garage door \u2013 BANG! I had not noticed the wind bring the up-and-over garage door down 45 degrees \u2013 I smashed the rear windscreen and bent the garage door. I was quite upset \u2013 it had felt a long day, and just wanted my tea and a short, quiet evening before going to bed. Instead we had to sweep up all the glass and put an old shower curtain around the tailgate of the car, over what had been the rear windscreen, and make the phone calls to the insurer. Then I had to do my best to secure the garage door, as it was no longer possible to close it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"963\" height=\"722\" src=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-494\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/image-1.png 963w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/image-1-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/image-1-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/image-1-24x18.png 24w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/image-1-36x27.png 36w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/image-1-48x36.png 48w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 963px) 100vw, 963px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In the weeks prior to that, we obviously had a leak somewhere in the boiler system in the house \u2013 we were having to top up the boiler daily. It was due to be serviced two days after the incident with the car. The engineers came on the appointed day, and condemned the boiler. So we faced the expense of a new boiler, as well as getting the car and the garage door sorted out. Two weeks after that, at the beginning of March, with the car having been repaired, I drove to work. After an hour or so in the office, Dylys got in touch \u2013 she had fainted whilst standing in the bath, collapsed, and hurt herself badly \u2013 she said that there was blood everywhere. So I drove home and took her to Accident and Emergency. She was admitted and spent the night in hospital. One consequence was that I had to take a couple of unscheduled days off work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We had a week in Cornwall planned for the end of March, when we were going to see family in Cornwall and get some relaxation. With lots of talk about Coronavirus, we were not sure we would be able to follow through the plans to see family \u2013 my Dad and his wife are in their mid-80s and as such vulnerable people, my niece has a young daughter and wanted to keep her safe. In the days running up to the break, the Government advised everybody to avoid all unnecessary travel, so we cancelled the holiday, and with the date being so close, and technically we were not yet in lockdown, we lost all our money on the accommodation. Why was the Lord letting all these bad things happen to us just now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I can\u2019t answer that question absolutely, but it did strike me that the situation would have been a whole lot more difficult if the incidents with the car, and the boiler, and Dylys fainting, had happened just a few weeks later when we were in lockdown.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>So what was David\u2019s real mistake? There is something more fundamental than being familiar with the law of Moses. It was our commentary by Andrew Thomson, a Baptist pastor in the UK, who pointed out what I had missed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Chapter 13 begins with David consulting every leader about fetching the ark of God from Kiriath-Jearim. Back in 1 and 2 Samuel it\u2019s noticeable how often David \u2018inquires of the Lord\u2019 (1 Sam 23:2, 4; 30:8; 2 Sam 2:1; 5:19). It is usually a sign that something has gone wrong or is about to go wrong when David fails to \u2018inquire of the Lord\u2019, and that holds true here. In addition, we have the phrase \u2018If it seems good to you\u2019 (1 Chron 13:2), and for added emphasis our historian comments, \u2018the thing was right in the eyes of all the people\u2019 (1 Chron 13:4). Sadly, whether it was right in the eyes of the Lord doesn\u2019t seem to have occurred to David. He asks whether it seems good to the people, but doesn\u2019t ask whether it seems good to the Lord. There is no doubt that David wants to bring the ark to Jerusalem for the best of reasons. In fact, he is encouraging the nation to seek the Lord in a way that they had not done \u2018in the days of Saul\u2019.<\/p><cite>&#8220;Opening up 1 Chronicles&#8221;, Andrew Thomson, Day One Publications<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>That made me question myself: do I consult with people, even good Christian people, to do something honourable for the Lord, and overlook the important matter of approaching Him in prayer? Am I guilty of pursuing what I have decided to do myself, with the very best of intentions, to honour the Lord, when I should be seeking His will?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Anger<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So David made a mistake. The Lord struck Uzza, it feels unduly harshly. At the time, David was still oblivious to his mistake. His initial response was one of anger:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Then David became angry because of the Lord\u2019s outburst against Uzza; and he called that place Perez-uzza to this day.<\/p><cite>1 Chronicles 13:11, NASB<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>We are not told a lot about David\u2019s anger. But certainly when things go wrong, we can feel angry. <em>\u201cI was doing my best! Why has the Lord let this happen?\u201d<\/em> Anger is not in itself wrong \u2013 it is a natural emotion. The Lord Himself was angry with Uzza. It can be right to be angry about injustice. But anger is dangerous and must be kept under control. In Ephesians, Paul writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.<\/p><cite>Ephesians 4:26-27, NASB<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>One response when things go wrong is to get angry and do something rash. Then we have let the devil take control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fear<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I do not know for how long David was angry, or how he expressed his anger, other than to give the place where it happened a permanent name, reminding people of what had happened there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>David\u2019s next reaction was one of fear:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>David was afraid of God that day, saying, \u201cHow can I bring the ark of God <em>home<\/em> to me?\u201d<\/p><cite>1 Chronicles 13:12, NASB<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>This is not surprising. It is as though God had spoken the words, <em>\u201cOne false move and you are dead!\u201d<\/em> Whereas anger can lead us into active sin, fear has more of a restraining effect. It is good to fear God in the right way, but not in a way that disables and paralyses us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Retreat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In David\u2019s case, fear led to retreat. He and all the people had been bringing the Ark to a place of prominence in Jerusalem, in great celebration. Now, instead, he took the Ark to the house of Obed-edom, which I am guessing was close to where the incident happened. It turned out to be a great blessing for Obed-edom, but for the priests and everybody else, the Ark was off the scene for the time being. Instead of a place of prominence in Jerusalem, the Ark was consigned to the quiet of a private house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A lesson learned<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Mistakes are not entirely bad if we learn from them. In that sense we can put a positive spin on mistakes and regard them as opportunities to do better in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have been reading 1 Chronicles 13, where Andrew Thomson states in his commentary that <em>David enquired of the leaders and the people<\/em> instead of <em>enquiring of the Lord<\/em>. In the following chapter, chapter 14, there is trouble with the Philistines, and we are told on two occasions that David enquired of the Lord, and God gave him success:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>David inquired of God, saying, \u201cShall I go up against the Philistines? And will You give them into my hand?\u201d Then the Lord said to him, \u201cGo up, for I will give them into your hand.\u201d<\/p><p>David inquired again of God, and God said to him, \u201cYou shall not go up after them; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees. \u201cIt shall be when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.\u201d<\/p><cite>1 Chronicles 14:10, 14-15, NASB<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1 Chronicles 15 we see that David has learned his original mistake:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Now <em>David<\/em> built houses for himself in the city of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.<\/p><p>Then David said, \u201cNo one is to carry the ark of God but the Levites; for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of God and to minister to Him forever.\u201d<\/p><cite>1 Chronicles 15:1-2, NASB<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>So in summary we need to spend time in prayer, enquiring of the Lord what He would have us do and how we should do it. It is good to encourage one another, discuss, and gain from the wisdom of those around us. But it must never be at the expense of spending time in earnest prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We need to be ready to recognise our mistakes. Of course it is better not to make the mistake in the first place. But we can learn a lot from mistakes. If I unintentionally upset somebody, it can be a lasting memory \u2013 I do not want to do that again. If I make a mistake in a practical job, maybe gardening, decorating, DIY, it is good experience, and the memory should help me avoid the same mistake when doing that job another time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amen<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Benediction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, <span style=\"font-size: inherit; color: inherit; background-color: initial;\">nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.<\/span><\/p><cite>Romans 8:38-39, NASB<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome Welcome to Bethel Baptist Church this Sunday 30 August. Harry and Mandy are away today \u2013 let\u2019s pray that the Lord bless them and refresh them at this time. I\u2019m Graham Steel, and Harry asked me to prepare the message for this morning. Dylys and I have been working our way through 1 and &#8230; <a title=\"30 August: Disaster &#8230; Anger &#8230; Fear &#8230; Retreat\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/?page_id=492\" aria-label=\"Read more about 30 August: Disaster &#8230; Anger &#8230; Fear &#8230; Retreat\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-492","page","type-page","status-publish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=492"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1082,"href":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/492\/revisions\/1082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}