So David didn't move the ark to him into the city of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.
When a person has to degrade to those type of efforts, then something's wrong with the work that they are seeking to do. I am thoroughly convinced "when God guides, God provides." And if you tell me that you're not getting the money to do this great program God has laid upon your heart, I'll have to say God didn't lay it upon your heart. When you have to resort to worldly ways and do things after the pattern of the world, it's not of God. It's not of the Spirit of God.David made a tragic mistake. He wanted to do the right thing. There is nothing wrong with the desire, but he was doing it in a wrong way. God never intended for us to use the Madison Avenue techniques to sell Jesus Christ to the world. Or to use all of these fundraising techniques that people stoop to raise funds for the work of God. "Poor God, He's almost broke. All the time. He lives on the verge of financial disaster. If you don't come through this week, God's had it." What kind of a God is it who never can take care of His own program? As I say, it embarrasses me. I'm humiliated by it.So David said, "Hey, leave it here. I'm not going to take that back to Jerusalem." They took it into the house of Obededom. And then God began to bless Obededom tremendously because the ark of the covenant was there at his house. And so David said, "Hey, let's get the thing back to Jerusalem. Let's do it again." Only this time, he had gone back to the law of Moses. He said, "Let's have four priests who will take and let them bear it between them and so forth. And we'll offer sacrifices unto the Lord." And so they went out again with the worshipping and with the praising, the offering of sacrifices before the ark. They would go so many places, and they'd offer a sacrifice. And the priests were carrying it, and David put on just a linen. He took off his royal robes as a king, and he put on just a linen ephod, which was a sort of a, the robes that the priest wore in service. And he just put on sort of the priestly servant's garments and was with the people, among the people. And dancing and praising the Lord as they brought the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem.And his wife Michal looked out the window and saw him out there without his kingly garments, dressed in just the linen ephod, mingling with the common people, dancing before the Lord. Out there shouting, having a big time. And when she saw him, she despised him. So David had a great feast for all of the people as they gave to each of them bread and wine and a big portion of meat. And then after blessing the people, he came home to bless his own family. And when he came into the house, Michal said to him, "Well, didn't you look smart out there! In a linen robe, no less. Big deal!"Boy, I'll tell you, it wiped David out. Just, you know, he came in just overloaded with joy, blessing. Oh, praise the Lord! Isn't it amazing how easily Satan can deflate our spiritual balloon? You know, we can get so high and so joyous in the Lord and, "Oh Lord, You're so good. You're so great." And Satan can rob us of that joy. And whenever you get in that state, he's seeking to do some little thing just to deflate that, you know, super feeling that you have.A while back I was in the Safeway Market. And every once in a while someone will send some money and say, "Have a steak for dinner or something." And I had some money that was sent and a little note said, "Have a steak for dinner." Well, they had some beautiful thick top sirloin steaks. And so I picked out one of these choice beautiful thick, thick top sirloin. I was going to take it home and barbecue it. And I said, "Lord, I can remember the days when man, all we could afford, we couldn't even afford hamburger. And now able to buy this beautiful steak, oh Lord, You're so good. Oh, thank You, Lord; I just love you so much." And I, just pushing the cart through Safeway just really just worshipping the Lord and praising Him. Just a beautiful time. And I pulled up to the checkstand, just could taste that steak. Just praising the Lord.And some short little fat guy smoking a cigar pulled... He came up and he just pushed my cart and stood right in front of me. Got in line in front of me. And my first impulse was to grab the guy by the collar, turn him around and say, "Hey fattie, who do you think you are?" And hope that he would take a swing at me. Oh how I wanted to level him. I was so upset. And beside that, smoking that stinky cigar! And I thought, "The very idea! I've never seen anything like this. I've heard of it. I've never seen any. This guy needs to be taught a lesson." And the Lord spoke to my heart and He said, "Oh what joy and praise all dissipated over a smelly cigar!" And I said, "No, Lord, I'm not going to let him get the best of me." I didn't have to smell his cigar. I took my cart and I went walking again through the store to get my joy and peace back again, you know. I made a few rounds through the store till he got out the door and then I went back up to the checkstand and went out. But I thought, "Oh, how easy it would have been for me to have lost my joy." God has been so good and all. Now one little adverse thing comes along and, you know, the joy dissipates so rapidly. Oh, how I'm sure, how Satan delights in robbing us from our joyful experiences in Christ.I'm sure that he is just thinking of ways by which he can dissipate and see how fast he can dissipate that joy in the Lord. You watch it. The next time you have a real high in Jesus. Watch how he's going to come along and try and deflate it. He'll use some irritating little thing to just turn you out of the Spirit into the flesh. And man, it's so easy to turn from the Spirit into the flesh. And that's, of course, his purpose. Get me in the flesh, and then he just makes minced meat out of me. He can just defeat me. As long as I'm in the Spirit I can have a glorious victory over him.And so David in the Spirit out there worshipping, and suddenly, man, it's gone. Here is his wife just giving him a bad time. "