In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of recognizing and appreciating the divine order in our lives. He encourages believers to find contentment and joy in the place where God has positioned them, whether it be in their relationships, jobs, or service in the church. The speaker highlights that when we are in alignment with God's will and filled with the Holy Spirit, we cannot go more than six paces without stopping to give God glory. He emphasizes that even the simplest tasks, like being an usher or cleaning toilets in the church, can be a great work in the sight of God. The speaker concludes by reminding listeners that coming to a place of contentment and gratitude requires learning and surrendering to God's guidance and authority in our lives.

Now, last week I began a message, a series of three messages on spiritual authority. The second message is going to be on Tuesday night, won't be this morning, and I'll be speaking Tuesday night on the purpose and limits of authority, what to do in response when authority becomes abusive, questionable, or unjust. And so we'll be speaking on that on Tuesday night. It's going to be part of a three-part set that will be available when all of the messages are finished. And then the following Sunday, Lord willing, I'll be speaking on authority and faith, inseparable link between authority and faith, that is being under godly authority and having the eyes of faith. Today I have a message that the Lord's put on my heart called Six Paces and a Shout of Glory. And it's not a new play for college football, this is really in the Bible. Nehemiah chapter 6, please, if you'll go there, in the Old Testament you'll find Kings, first and second, and first and second Chronicles, then Ezra, then Nehemiah. Nehemiah chapter 6, Six Paces and a Shout of Glory. Now that's in the Bible, I will prove that to you eventually, you'll see it. How many know where that is in the Bible, Six Paces and a Shout of Glory? I see that hand, that's... it is in the Bible. Six Paces and a Shout of Glory. We won't get there for a little while, so don't try to figure it out too fast. Father, I stand before you and I have no desire but to stand as an oracle of God. I pray, Lord, that this thought that you've given into my heart, which I believe is from your heart, Lord, that you will enable me now to bring it out clearly, and that every heart may understand this. Lord, your kingdom advances when our hearts are open, and your word finds a dwelling place in our innermost being. And it's not just something we learn, but your word becomes the very foundations of our life. Jesus, I ask that you be pleased today, at the end of this service, that your kingdom will have advanced. You told us clearly, the kingdom of God does not come without your display. You said, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Let your kingdom come now. Let your will be done in us, as it is in heaven. Father, we ask this. I ask for a quickening of my heart, mind, and my spirit. I ask, Lord, that you push away every enemy that would come and try to obstruct this message. And I pray, Father, that Jesus, you be lifted up and absolutely glorified, be loved, be longed for in this sanctuary. I thank you for reaching out and holding my hands today, Jesus, that in turn I may be a vessel that is a revelation of your heart. And I thank you for it in your precious name. Amen. Nehemiah chapter 6, beginning at verse 1. Now it came to pass when Sanballat and Tobiah and Yeshim the Arabian and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left therein, though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates. Then Sanballat and Yeshim sent to me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. And why should the work cease while I leave it and come down to you? Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort, and I answered them after the same manner. I don't normally do this, but I'd like you to say something after me. I'd like you to say these words. I am doing a great work. Now, Nehemiah was an ordinary man who was called to do an extraordinary work for God. And that's, in effect, what all of us are. We're ordinary people. We are, as Paul says, we're not skilled, we're not royal, we're not brilliant. At least I'm not anyway. I don't know about anybody else here. But we are called by God. And God's life comes in the form of the Holy Spirit. And he empowers us to understand God's word to us. And as we believe the word of God, he makes this word a reality within us. And calls each of us into an extraordinary work. Now, Nehemiah was given obvious giftings from the Lord. In chapter 2, we see that Nehemiah is a man who could see what needed to be done. He came into the ruin that had been the wall surrounding Jerusalem and the gates. Of course, the wall was down, the people were in reproach, and the gates were burned with fire. But Nehemiah could see what needed to be done. And that's one of the evidences of the giftings of the Lord. You have a ministry that God's entrusted to you. And part of the evidence that you are in the right place, that God has placed you in the body, is that you can see what needs to be done. When all others around you might be confused, you're not confused. You have a gifting of sight that God will give to you when he calls you into where you're supposed to be in the body. His life and obedience to God's calling inspired others to take up the cause of God's heart. This is a man who, as we travel through the book of Nehemiah, you'll see that people have become accustomed, as it is, to the ruin. They've become accustomed to the reproach. There had been a disgrace, as it is over Jerusalem, perhaps for dozens of years. But yet, Nehemiah comes, and through an anointed servant of God, called to do an extraordinary work, there is this infusion, as it is, of inspiration into the lives of others. And that's another sign that you and I are in the right place. When we're in the right place that God has called us to be in, there will be an inspiration that passes through our lives and into the lives of others. And they'll be inspired to take up the cause of Christ, to take up the work of God, because they will see something in us. I believe that that is the number one thing that children in our homes need to see. They need to see moms and dads who are content to be where God has placed them, who are walking in divine order and walking with the anointing of God flowing through their lives. And just by virtue of that very place that they're in, children begin to be inspired to say, I want to live this kind of a life. Nobody wants to live a life of religious works. But when the divine life of God is what is in us and animating us, it becomes extremely attractive to those that are around us. We see that Nehemiah was a man who, through prayer, could organize and defend, even against the most fierce enemies of the Lord's work. There were conspirators, and there always will be, powers, principalities of darkness, sometimes who get a hold of the hearts of those who are not surrendered to the things of God. And they came against this rebuilding of the wall. The enemy will always come against that which represents the kingdom of God. And they came, and they threatened violence, and they threatened to come in during the night times when people were weary. And Nehemiah recognized, through prayer, that God had a specific defense. And he was enabled to bring these people into that organized defense to stand against even the most fierce attack of the enemies of the Lord's work. And when we see such a man, a man who is gifted, a man who can see, a man who is inspiring others, a man who can organize and defend against the power of the fiercest enemies that oppose the work of the Lord, we ask ourselves a question. How could the enemy defeat the purposes of God through such a man? If that is you today, now you might not be in a ministry that's high profile, but nevertheless, the very same life and giftings that were on Nehemiah could be given to you. You are a person who can see what needs to be done. Your life is inspiring others to begin to take up the cause of Christ. You are a person who is enabled, through prayer, to organize and defend. Your prayers have weight, they have authority. And you're able to stand against the most wicked onslaughts of darkness, not against just your ministry, but against your own family, your own home. And you're standing in this place of authority. It seems that you're in a place where you really can't be defeated. But the Bible tells us, if you go right back to Genesis, that the devil was more subtle than any other of the created things that would come against the purposes of God through his creation. And they tried to draw him. You see in Nehemiah chapter 6, they tried to draw him away from what he was doing or what God was doing through him to another place. And that's exactly how the enemy will come and try to defeat an anointed man or woman of God. They'll try to draw you away from where you're called into another place. Now that's exactly what Satan did in Eden. In Genesis chapter 3, he drew Adam and Eve away from a place of walking in unity and unison with God into a place where they thought they could profit by acting independently of the life and direction of their Creator. And he did so by infusing into their minds the thought that where God had placed them was somehow a place that lacked complete fulfillment. It's amazing. His devices never changed. Adam and Eve are walking in absolute divine life. They are in the presence of God. And it may not have seen... You know, this is the first time the enemy comes and just infuses that. And he's done this, I don't know how many times over the centuries. He infuses into the mind and heart of somebody who is placed exactly where God wants them to be. And it's not an argument. Nobody could argue that Adam and Eve were not exactly in the place where they were to be. They were co-laborers with God. They were involved in tending the garden as it is. They were naming certain animals that were being created and such like things. And most importantly, they were in divine and complete unity of fellowship with God. And so Satan comes and says, no, this is not complete, there's more. There's more things that need to be done. There's a greater dimension of fulfillment that you are lacking in the place where you are. And so the enemy comes to try to lure those who are actually in the place where God has destined them to be into another place. In Nehemiah 6, verse 2, tells us that Sanballat... Now, these are people who are really in opposition to divine order. They're in opposition to where their life and work of God really is. And they sent to me saying, come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. And they thought to do me mischief. Now, the scripture says in verse 4, they sent to me four times after this sort and I answered them after the same manner. Four times they tried to draw Nehemiah away from his divinely appointed place. Matthew Henry, the commentator, says that Ono is a place of mutual concern. It might even be portrayed as a good place. A place like... Here's the best way I can explain it. There's greater fulfillment over here. Or you are such an anointed person. It's obvious the giftings of God are with you. And there are other needs, not just the wall, not just where God's placed you, but there are other ministries. There are other needs. There are other places you need to go. There are other people you need to speak to. You cannot contain this gifting that is in your life to just this one place at this one time. And it may have been portrayed as a good place. You see, this is how the enemy defeated Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis chapter 3 and verse 1 says, The serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the field which the Lord God had made. And then in verse 5, he says, You know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and they did eat. And see, this is the way the enemy will come against you. If you are in the place that God wants you to be in, he will convince you that it is a good thing to go where he's suggesting you should go. He will draw you out of the place that you are in and say, no, there's something over here that you need to consider. And in this place, you'll be more fulfilled. Your sense of destiny will be achieved as it is in a greater way. So move from where you are and move to this other place. And this is a good place. You see, this is how the enemy came against God's creation in the first place, convincing them that where they are was insufficient. You're unfulfilled here. Move from this place and go to another place. And I can't help but wonder how many people in the church of Jesus Christ are in the wrong place today. How many in the sanctuaries this morning, meeting all over, let's just say, the United States of America today, are doing something, but they're in the wrong place. They're in the wrong ministry. They're doing something they were not called to do. They were called to do something else, but the enemy came and said, no, you're not fulfilled here. Your potential is not being realized here. This is a place, but I have something very, very good for you to consider, and draws them out. And folks, when you and I are drawn out of where we should be, it's as surely as I stand here, the giftings, the empowerment of God is lost. And we are now relegated to a place where we have to come up with plans out of our natural mind and schemes out of our natural spirit. That's why so much of the church of Jesus Christ today, folks, listen to me on this, is being led by committees, being led out of the minds of men, being led in the devices of men, because those that are doing these things are in the wrong place. Now, Nehemiah responds in chapter 6 and verse 3 of Nehemiah, and he says, I am doing a great work. And folks, this is really the issue that I want to speak to you about today. The tactic of the enemy is to get you to leave a great work for a good work. And he says, why should I leave it to come down to you? Why should I leave a great work to come down where you are, even if the invitation is apparently to something good? Now listen, go with me, put a marker here, and go ahead in your Bible to Psalm 111. We're talking about a great work. What is the definition of a great work? Because Nehemiah said, no, I'm doing a great work, and I'm not going to leave a great work for a good work. I'm not going there. Psalm 111, the psalmist says in verse 1, praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. The works of the Lord are what? Are great. If you're reading from the King James Isaiah, the works of the Lord are great, and they're sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. In other words, what God does is great. How God does it is great. This manifestation of his life through my life is the greatest place I could ever be in, in the body of Jesus Christ. If I'm in a place where I'm losing this sense of the divine, I have to stop what I'm doing. Find out why I'm losing this awareness of his presence. What is it that I'm doing? The psalmist says, the works of the Lord are great, and sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. Sought out. In other words, Jesus, I'm not in this to live for myself. I'm not in this to be relegated to my own understanding, my own abilities and power. I am called to be a divine ambassador of the reality that you have been raised from the dead and sit at the right hand of all glory. I am told by the Apostle Paul that the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is sent to quicken my mortal body, to bring me into this divine life of Christ. The Holy Spirit is to give me a new mind. The Holy Spirit is to give me a new heart. The Holy Spirit comes and changes my very motive and essence of why I live my life on this earth, and intertwines me as it is with the Spirit of Christ, and I become a completely new creation. I don't stand with ideas about God. I stand with the very life of God within me. I live, Paul says, and I move and I have my being in Christ. I walk in divine order as it is with God. And God begins to manifest His glory through my life. This is the purpose of the church of Jesus Christ. In verse 3 of Psalm 111 it says, His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever. And the word honorable in the original text means His work displays the honor, the majesty, and the glory of God. And the word glorious means it is made excellent, and it is something that is esteemed and made to be desired. Can I put it in layman's terms? When I am in a place where God's life is being manifested through my life, it brings not me to glory and honor, it brings Christ to glory and honor through me. And others see, and they know, like the Gadarene demoniac. Imagine this man going back into his village, and now preaching the freedom and the life that can be for everyone who is in Christ. The people would have known the manner of life this man lived before. But now they saw that something greater than his history, something greater than his own struggle, something greater than his own ability had come and was now animating him and walking him towards an even greater freedom. And this freedom that is found in Christ begins to be desired by those who see it. I remember years ago, as a young Christian, I walked into a church. It was the first time, actually, I was in this particular church. And an usher greeted me. It's strange how a person who is in the right place can have such an effect on you. Just the manner in which this man greeted me made me want to stay in that church. And it's like every Sunday morning I would come in and he would seek me out. And he would just, just a greeting. You see, this man was in the place, and I knew him for many years after this, and I knew exactly, he was exactly where God had called him to be. He was actually quite content to do what God had called him to do. He had a gifting of God that was on him, and he could perhaps discern those that were weary coming in for the first time, not quite sure of the whole procedure and what's going on, and was able to come. And just the manner of how he dealt with me caused my heart to want to be in that place. And even more, I remember thinking, I'd like to be like this man. This man has such a nice spirit about him. I was a young Christian. You still have a whole wagon load of baggage coming in behind you, and you see somebody that seems to be at peace, and they're walking in a divine order, although you don't understand those terms in the beginning of your walk with Christ. And I can't help but wonder, what would have happened had this man been in another place than where God had called him? You have to ask the question, would his life have had the same influence on mine that it had? And how many are drawn away from where they should be by something good, by a thought that comes into the mind, this is better than where I am now. Folks, I have honestly lived this throughout my life. I know exactly what this is all about. Go back to Psalm 92 with me just for a moment, if you will, in your Bible. Psalm 92, verse 4. The psalmist says, For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work. I will triumph in the works of thy hands. O Lord, how great are thy works, and thy thoughts are very deep. How great are your works, O God. You have made me glad through your work. In other words, Lord, I know I'm where I should be, and I know that your life and love and power is flowing through me, and I'm glad because I'm in the place where you are able to work through me. You've called me. Folks, do you understand this morning, really, in essence, I guess what I'm trying to say, is that we are placed, the Scripture says, in the body of Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, as He determines it appropriate. He places us where we're supposed to be. You and I have a calling of God. And not one calling is less than the other. We're just simply part of the body. It's only humanistic thinking, getting into the church, that makes people believe that the person who cleans the floor and the person who preaches the gospel are somehow in a different place in God. And that's not true. We're in the same body. The rewards that we get for faithfully doing what we're called to do will be exactly the same when we stand before the throne of God. Folks, there are no big people and little people in the church of Jesus Christ. There are just obedient people, obedient servants. Folks, when we get there one day, Jesus said, many who are first are going to be last, many who are last are going to be first. He's simply talking about the way humanity in their minds evolves and begins to understand what they think the church of Jesus Christ is. Big, big people are going to get big, big rewards. Not so. It's the obedient in the body of Christ. It's the man, it's the woman who just simply heard God, said, Lord, wherever you place me, if I'm a big stone in the wall, if I'm a little pebble under the stairs, I really don't care as long as I'm in the right place in your body and your life can flow through me. That's what it's all about. Manifest your glory through my life. If I'm a cleaner, I'm going to clean to the best of my ability. I'm going to sing the songs of Zion up and down the aisles. Whether or not anybody ever sees it, God Almighty, you see it. You see it, you know it. Verse 6 of Psalm 92 says, A brutish man doesn't know this, and neither does a fool understand this. You go back with me, please, in the book of 1 Samuel, if you will. If you're back in Nehemiah, just go back a little ways before Kings and you'll find 1 Samuel 10. And I'm not going to labor long on this, but I want to talk for a moment about a man called Saul that most of you are familiar with. A brutish man who just doesn't understand. A fool who doesn't know. In 1 Samuel 10, Saul was anointed. In 1 Samuel 10, verse 1, it says, Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord has anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? He was anointed to be a leader as it is in the body, as it was, of course, then. It's not the body of Christ in those days, but the church as the church was, the anointed people of God, Saul is called to be a leader in some capacity as it is in that particular body. And then, of course, in verse 6 of chapter 1, he was empowered by the Spirit. Samuel said, The Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. And this very thing happened. He was walking, and God gave him clear signs, that as you walk in obedience to me, provision. Now, I don't have time to go through all of this, but he told him, he said, You're going to meet some men, and you're going to get provision from their hands. And God was speaking to this man. If you will just walk in obedience to me, if you will hold and cherish the office that I've given you, all the provision that you will ever need will be given to you. But he was not understanding it. He was not learning the lesson. And in chapter 11, in verse 6, it tells us, The Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was greatly kindled. Now, Saul heard that there was certain groups of his people that were under attack, and he was enabled to be led and to be moved by the Spirit of God. And verse 7, at the end of the verse, says, The fear of the Lord fell on all the people, and they came out with one consent. Not only did God enable Saul, but He confirmed his position by placing an awareness in the hearts of the people that this man is exactly where I have placed him. Now, we go to chapter 13 and verse 8. He was given specific instructions. Verse 8 says, He tarried seven days according to the set time that Samuel had appointed. But Samuel came not to Gilgal, and the people were scattered from him. And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, Samuel came, and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, What have you done? And Saul said, Because I saw the people were scattered from me, and that you came not within the days appointed. And the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash. Therefore, I said, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord. I forced myself, therefore, and have offered a burnt offering. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly. Thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which He commanded thee. For now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. And here is really the bottom line. Saul is walking in this place of divine enablement and empowerment. And in a moment of weakness, he left something that was great, as it is, and settled for something good. Keep in mind, this is what I'm talking about all the way through this message. He had a great calling upon him. Samuel said, The Lord would have established your kingdom forever. In other words, you would have walked in this divine enablement all of your life. Not just you, but your son and your sons and others after you. There would have been a lineage that you would have left behind. But you chose to step out from the place that God had appointed you. And you settled in your mind for something that seemed good. And you know, in effect, what Saul did is he became his own priest. And those who step out of the divine calling of God quite often have become their own priests. They're the ones who are appointing themselves a position in the body. They look in the mirror and say, No, you're better than to be this. You're better than to be working in the nursery. You're better than to have such a low position in the body. And they appoint themselves. And when we appoint ourselves a position that God hasn't given us, we have in effect become our own priest. We've moved out of divine order. And we've moved automatically into the realm of the flesh. And the Scripture tells us that a fool doesn't understand these things. Oh, folks, I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than to step on the biggest platform in the world and be preaching to hundreds of thousands and be out of the will of God, out of divine order, for the things in my heart now are beginning to understand. Later on, Saul was commissioned to slay the Amalekites. But now his heart was being firmly entrenched in this lie of the enemy. The Lord sent him. I think I've often felt it was a plea to see if this man would finally obey me. But once again, in disobedience to God, he was told, slay everything, slay all the animals, slay everything. But he moved from a great work to a good work. And what seemed good in his own mind began to lead him. And he brought back home some of the sheep. And Samuel, who was a godly man, was infuriated. Not just infuriated, but he grieved in his heart because of the loss of this young man that he deeply loved. And he said to him, you've done foolishly. You've not kept the commandment of the Lord. He would have established your kingdom upon Israel forever. But he said, now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought him a man after his own heart. And the Lord has commanded him to be captain over his people because thou has not kept that which the Lord commanded thee. Now, God said, I've had to reject you. It's a tragedy, folks. This is not just about Saul. It's about the person in this church. Now, for lack of a better example, I'm going to use ushers, not just because they're more visible, perhaps, than other ministries. But you can get like Saul and begin to think that this place in the body that I've been given is insufficient for me. And you begin to move in good ideas and end up where you shouldn't be and inadvertently become your own priest, inadvertently become the Holy Spirit in your own life, placing yourself in the body. Now, the evidence that you're in the wrong place is there's no divine anointing. There's a deep sense of frustration. You're always pushing, pushing, pushing against a door that never seems to open. There's this deep inner sense of unfulfillment, which is not stirred by human passion to be great, but a sense that somehow I've missed God in what I'm doing. And the Lord says, you've done foolishly to Saul. I've sought a man after my own heart. Now, seeking a man after his own heart does not mean that David, the next king, was perfect. The principle of a man after God's heart is that he can be moved from a good idea to that which is great in the sight of God. Saul started at a position of greatness and moved to what he thought was good. That's exactly what the enemy tried to do to Nehemiah, to take him away from a great work and draw him into a place that seemed good. But now God found a man. And this is the good news, I guess, of what I'm preaching today. If you're a man after God's heart, a woman after God's heart, the evidence is that you can be moved from something that seems good into that which is great in the sight of God. Saul could not be moved in that direction, and subsequently he was too entrenched in doing things his own way. He was too entrenched in a stubbornness in his own heart that would not allow him to be moved to what God had for him. Now, 2 Samuel, go ahead, just one book in your Bible, 2 Samuel chapter 6. We're getting close now to our title. 2 Samuel chapter 6. Now, David has a good idea. And his good idea was the whole time that Saul was the king, we didn't seek to the ark. And the ark, of course, was a physical representation of the presence of God. And David said, we didn't seek to the ark while Saul was the king. And subsequently the ark ended up, later on, captivated. And David, in 2 Samuel chapter 6, verse 3, it says, set the ark of God on a new cart. Well, that's the way the Philistines had done it. That seemed like a good idea. And brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart. And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God. And Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps and psalteries and timbrels and on cornets and cymbals. And when they came to Nachan's threshing floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him there for his error. And there he died by the ark of God. And David was displeased because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah, and he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah unto this day, or a breach against Uzzah. And David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, How shall the ark of the Lord come to me? Now, folks, when we have a good idea, and we set out, no matter how enthusiastic we are about our good idea, what David was doing was wrong. It was against the word of God. The law of God specifically said that only the Levites are to carry the ark. And not only are they to carry it, but they are to be sanctified before God. But now, he was taking this presence of God, and he was putting it on the ark, the cart, rather, which represented a good idea. And God is not in favor of our good ideas, folks. It's as simple as that. And he killed Uzzah just to prove it. And the best thing that God can do with my good ideas and your good ideas is kill them right on the spot. That's the mercy of God that will kill them. No matter how we start out, instruments of wood, and all the sincerity, and all the wonderful way, we say, oh, isn't this good? I'm moving in divine life. I'm moving in divine order. Then all of a sudden, bang, God just kills the whole thing. Now, so many people, when that happens, they have an idea. They're moving into what they think is a new ministry. They think that this is going to be greatly honoring to God. They're so enthusiastic about what they're doing. And then all of a sudden, the whole thing just dies. It comes to a dead end. And they get mad at God. God, you know how sincere I am. David was displeased with the Lord. David said, God, you've made a breach upon our sincerity and our human effort that we're putting into bringing you back into your kingdom where you belong to be. God says, no, I want to come back, but I don't come back your way. I want to be glorified, but I'm not glorified your way. Flesh never glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. If I am to come back, and if I am to dwell in the center and the heart and the midst of my people, it will be by the way I have prescribed. I am to be worshiped and I am to be honored. And later on, David realizes that the ark has been placed in the house of a man called Obed-Edom. And God was blessing all of his house and blessing all of his children. And David looks at this and says, obviously, it's not the will of God to kill people. Obviously, it's not God's will to stop our parade. And he stops and begins to consider his ways. That's what makes him a man after God's heart. When it's not prospering, stop and have a look at it. Stop and say, Lord, what are you trying to speak to me? When your ministry is, there's no sense of the divine, stop when God's favor is not with you. Stop when it feels like you have to hold God up in the midst of it. Stop and consider your ways. Take a look and say, Holy Spirit, come. Show me, Lord. Am I in the wrong place? Am I doing the wrong thing? Am I doing it the wrong way? Have I brought something out of my natural mind into what is a divine and a spirit-led kingdom? What am I doing, God? What's happening in my life that there's so little fruit? And when I start out with all this enthusiasm, you seem to bring it to such an abrupt end. And David gets back into the Word of God. And as he gets back into the Word of God, he begins to see that he's trying to bring this glory to God, as it is, in the wrong manner. It's not the way that God has prescribed it. And it's a type of the person who's wanting to glorify Christ, but you are in the wrong place. You're in the wrong spot. You're doing the wrong thing. And you're subsequently left to human effort to try to make it look like it's God. And now David finds out what they did wrong and sends down a verse 12. He says, The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that pertains to him because of the ark of God. Oh, it's the type of the person who's struggling in ministry and says, Hey, how come those that are doing it the right way have such a sense of the divine? And I'm struggling so much. How come I'm sitting alone at home and God is blessing somebody else or some other ministry in such a powerful way and he doesn't seem to be blessing my life? He gets back into the Word of God and finds out how the ark or the presence of God will come home to him. And so it says, David went in the end of verse 12 and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom into the city of David with gladness. And it was so that when that bearer of the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was girded with a linen ephod. And David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. In Chronicles chapter 15 it says, with voices raised with joy. It's as if they couldn't go more than six paces. Folks, I want to tell you something. When you are doing it right, when you know that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is in you, when you know that divine life is flowing through you, when you know that your life is in divine order, you might be an usher in the church, you might be cleaning toilets in the church. I don't know what it is. But you know you're in divine... You know, you know, you know you're in the right place. I want to tell you, you can't go more than six paces without stopping and giving God glory. You can't... You can't go through your day. The glory of the Lord will hit you. You'll be halfway down the aisle with your broom and the glory of the Lord just begins to hit your life. You begin to dance with joy and shout to God with all your might because you know that what you're doing is divine. You know that you are enabled by the Spirit of God to do what you do. You step out of the subway. You step off the bus. You don't get more than six paces from the door you just came out of. And you've got to stop, even in your heart, and give God a shout of glory. Hallelujah. Your children see it. Your neighbors see it. It's a great work. It may not be much in the sight of man, but it's a great work in the sight of God. And people see it. It's the work of God's hands. They see a man. They see a woman walking home every day after. Content, they watch you walking into the workplace. And your sense of identity is not by how much money you make or how big your job is. Your identity is the fact that I have Christ living inside of me. I'm walking in divine order with God. I know that what I do, I'm enabled to do. I know it's the Spirit of God in me. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You can't go more than six paces most days without stopping and giving God glory, thanking Him for His mercy, thanking Him for His greatness. Hallelujah. This is the fruit of a great work. This is the fruit of a great work. Not a good work. A great work. You can't go more than six paces. That's about 18 feet, roughly. And you have to stop and give God glory. It may not be a dance, but you're just walking down the street, and in your heart you're giving God glory. Oh, God, thank You. Oh, God, thank You. I know that that was divine, that appointment. I know that the love that I felt in my heart was not me, it was You. I know that I'm enabled to be what I am and do what I do. Oh, God, thank You. God, thank You. There's this parade that just goes on endlessly in your heart because you're in the right place. You might be in the nursery, and all it is is screaming babies all Sunday morning. But you walk out and you say, Oh, God, thank You. God, thank You. I'm enabled to do what I do, and I feel Your favor flowing through my life. Hallelujah. Thank You, Lord. Like the Apostle Paul, I have learned to be content. Think about Nehemiah's day. In Nehemiah's day, when the wall was finally completed. You know, folks, it was just at the point where the gates, the last bit of the work was not yet finished, and it was at that point that the enemy came to him and said, Come down to us. Leave what you're doing and come here. I remember back in, I guess, about 1993, somewhere around there, I got very, very discontent at one point of what I was doing. And I made plans to leave and to go to another place. And I remember a friend of mine from another city, just a burden of the Lord came on him, and he drove for five, six hours to get to where I was, not even knowing if I was home, but he drove and couldn't find me. Then he drove through the town where he thought I might be, and ultimately he did find me. And he said, The Lord has a great thing for your life. He said, If you leave this place, you're going to miss it. You know, where I was at that moment was not a very desirable place to me. It was a hard place that I was in. And everything in me wanted out. And I had worked up a burden for sand and sun inside. Some of you know what that's all about. The Cayman Island burden, you know, that comes on people every once in a while. You know, so many godless people there that need the gospel. And I took his word and stayed. That was about 1993, I think. And 1994 is when I began to travel and preach here in New York City. And the Lord said, I have a great thing. But if you don't see what you're doing as great, and you are drawn off to something good, then that's what it was. I had to make the choice between great and good. Great was undesirable. Good was very desirable at that point. Great was killing me. Good looked like it offered life. Great was squeezing me. And good looked like it was easy. Great was tough. Good looked like a nicer place to be. You see, folks, Nehemiah said, I'm doing a great work. And why should I leave it? And why should the work cease while I come down to you? And that's got to be the attitude of every Christian's heart. We have to look the devil in the face and say, I'm doing a great work. I'm right where God called me. Why should I leave it and come down to where you are? Living in hatred of God and disobedience to everything that is godly. Living in a place of justice and judgment that is going to come upon you for all eternity. Why should I leave a great work and come down to where you are? Folks, that's exactly what you and I every day need to say to the devil. Because the enemy came against Nehemiah four times, the scripture says. Four times came back to him. And the fifth time, of course, came back with a threat. Don't leave the place of God's power for a good idea. He places you and I in the body as he sees fit. We're content. When we are content to be where the Holy Spirit has placed us, folks, the honor and glory of God will be revealed. Paul said, I've learned to be content. We can't all say that yet. But what we can do is give ourselves to the work that God has established in us and be thankful for where he put us. And trust him that where we are is sufficient and that his glory will be revealed with us and through us. And it starts with our home, starts with our family, carries on to our job, our community, and our place that he has given us in his church. Oh, Jesus, thank you. Jesus, thank you. You've called me to something great. God, deliver me from humanistic thinking that sees success as numbers, sees success as influence and authority and my slice of the pie, recognition. All of these other things that the human spirit craves in its fallen condition. But help me, God, to see greatness as being exactly in the place that you've called me to be. That means the home I'm in is the home that you've placed me in. The family I have is the family that you've given me. The wife I have, the husband I have is the wife or husband that you've given me. Thank you, God. This is not a mistake. It's not a happenstance. This is exactly where you placed me. And even if it's a difficult situation, Lord, I'm going to trust you because I'm going to come under your authority and your life as it is will emanate through mine and you will give me the grace that I need to be a testimony of your resurrection power in this place. Your job is the same thing. It might be one of the most hateful jobs in the face of the earth. But I want to tell you something. The glory of God, if you are in the right place, especially in the church of Jesus Christ, the glory of God can be manifested through you in the workplace. This glory that is a divine order, this mind that can see, this prayer life that can stand against works of darkness, this submission to Christ that becomes an inspiration to people all around you. Whether or not they're telling dirty stories or whether or not they're stabbing you in the back, if you stay in this place where God is able to use your life and manifest His glory through you, they will see it and they'll be drawn to it. Folks, some of the people I've led to the Lord over the years have been some of the deepest devout enemies that I've had. As I've walked with Christ, then finally, all of a sudden, just without explanation, turn and begin to ask questions about what is it that is in your life. Oh, I've known this. I've walked through this. I've been in places where people were so red in the face and so absolutely angry, they would have either beaten me or shot me if they could, but ended up going to church because the glory of God was being manifested. I was content to be where I was. This glory is revealed in our community as we walk down the street, step out of the subway, get off the bus. The man or woman who sees as God sees. Lord, yes, I'm a cleaner in a building and I might even be still a cleaner in your church, but oh God, I am in a great place. You are doing a great work through my life. And he walks down the street and people look and say, I would never be content to be where he is, but I see this contentment. It exudes from his very being. And the glory and the honor of God because of the works of God begin to be manifested. Really, the bottom line is that you and I can both come to a place of six paces and a shout of glory. Six paces and a shout of glory. God, thank you. I wish it came easy, but it doesn't. I wish we could all learn this in New Believers 101, but we don't. We're all like wild horses when we get saved. And eventually the master's got to teach us some things. And ultimately, after all of the breaking and all of the learning that we are not our own, we're bought with a price. Learning that our journey is not our own, but there's somebody else that has the right to take the reins of our life. And then ultimately, a truly usable and broken horse, you can drop the reins, you can walk away, and the horse will not move until he's told what to do. Paul, the apostle, says, when it's all over, I will still stand. Paul had learned to obey God. He had learned to be content at all things. He had learned that it could even be jail that God had assigned to him. But even in that place, the word of God could not be bound. Paul, if you read his prison epistles, had this shout of glory still in his heart, even in a place of imprisonment. Because even though confined by four walls and perhaps as a guard or two, the life that was in him was not confined. And the life that was in him was flowing through a pen onto some paper. And we're still reading it today and we're encouraged by it. He was being divinely inspired because he was a man who could not be taken away from something great and brought into something good. Agabus took his belt, tied up his own hands and said, this is what's going to happen to the man that wears this. You're going to be bound. You're going to be put into a prison. And Paul says, you're trying to break my heart. Just like Nehemiah. I'm doing a great work. And you're calling me to something good. And I can hear the people saying, well, look at the good that could be done. Paul, if you just move this way, if you just get off center a little bit, look at the good that could be done through your life. And just like Nehemiah, I'm sure Paul in his heart is saying, no, I'm called to something great. It might not look great in the sight of man, but it is great in the sight of God. When you and I get to that place, our lives truly become a living testimony of the grace, the glory of God. I'm going to give an altar call today. And it's for every person here that needs to learn to be content. In your home, your family, your job, your community. And most importantly, in the church of Jesus Christ. I'm looking for people today who have not been able to shout because of the place you've been put in the body. And you're living in this place and you've got you've got one foot out the door and one eye out the window. You see where you are is just a stopover to greatness. And God says, no, this is a great work. And I need people to come to this altar today who are willing to learn the lesson, say, God, forgive me for this foolishness. Because your word says that the fool doesn't understand these things. God, it is a great place that I'm in. This is a great place. And if you've not found that place yet, you should come down here as well. You need to find that place. You need to find where it is. Maybe your sights are set a little too high. Maybe you've not really understood what it is that God wants you to do. It might be time to pray and say, God, please show me what do you want me to do in your body? Where have you placed me? What is my calling? What's what's where have you appointed me? This is a great place. Guide me to this place. Let's stand together in the main sanctuary, the balcony. You can slip out to either exit. Make your way to the altar, please. In the education annex, you can go and stand right between the screens so you don't block the view. And we're going to pray because I believe today that you're going to experience six paces and a shout of glory. When you can walk away from this aisle and say, God, where you have me is a great place. The wife you've given me, the husband you've given me, this is a great place. The family you've given me, this is a great place. The job you've given me, this is a great job. Hallelujah. And you walk out of the house content. You walk out of the house like David. You just got to stop and dance every 18 feet. You just have to give a shout of glory to God. You have no other way of doing it. You just you have to do it because you know the divine life is beginning to flow through your life. Now, don't look so sad making your way down here. This is not a bad thing. You really are going to have a shout of glory in your heart. You're surrendering this ambition that drives these ideas that are not God. You're just giving them up and saying, God, I want the best. I want what is great. I want what you have for me. I don't want what I think I should be. I want what you have for me. And the Lord says, this is a great thing. Nehemiah said, why should I leave a great thing to come down to where you are? And I'm not leaving. I'm not leaving where God has appointed me. And it was so that when they bear the ark of the Lord, they that bear the ark of the Lord had gone six paces. He sacrificed oxen and fatlings and David danced before the Lord with all his might. David was girded with a linen ephod. So David at all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and the sound of the trumpet. And, folks, that's your future. When you and I learn to be content. When we begin to understand that where we are is a great place. And we say, God, just be glorified. You're not asking you to do it our way. We're doing it your way. And you say that where you've appointed me is a great place. And you just head out to bring him honor. He is honored. He's glorified. And I can you can you imagine being on the sidelines of this procession? And you're somewhat out of the loop. As most of society argued, you're looking at the king and he's dancing and he doesn't even care how foolish he looks. He's so filled with joy because he's doing it God's way. And he now understands that the principle of greatness is obedience. And what God says to do, just do it. And where you're placed, just walk there. And where you are, abide in him. And you can see David coming through the community and people are looking at the king. And as he's dancing and this joy is in him, it begins to spread around. And maybe some people who have been outside of that joy begin to maybe tap a foot or snap their fingers. I don't know what they're doing, but they get caught up in it. And our lives are to be a saver of Christ. We're to walk through this world and this deep abiding trust, this sense that where I am is great because God is in it. It's not about education. It's not about visibility. It's not about anything but just obedience. God, where you've called me is a great place and I'm not leaving it for a good place. I'm not leaving it for people's invitations. God, I want to be only where you want me and only where you've placed me. And Lord, if I move in another direction, kill it. Just kill it on the spot and bring me back again where I'm to be. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Pray with me now. Lord Jesus, thank you for setting me free from wrong ideas about success and greatness. Where I am is a great place. What I'm doing is a great work because you have called me to do it. And God, I feel your presence and I feel your power flowing through me to accomplish your purposes for my life. I thank you for releasing me from all the invitations of the devil and my own heart that try to tell me that somewhere else is better than where I am. Where I am is a great place because a great God has called me to it. And his life in a great way is flowing through my life to touch the world all around me. Oh God, you've invited me to this parade of joy. And in the name of Jesus, I surrender and I join this parade. Six paces and a shout of glory is in my soul. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Thank you, God. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah, Lamb of God. Oh God, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Mighty God, mighty God, mighty God, mighty God. Mighty God! Mighty God! Mighty God! Mighty God! Mighty God! Mighty God! Oh, Jesus, thank you! Hallelujah! Set free! Set free by the truth! Set free! Set free by the truth of God! Oh, thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Lord! Thank you, God! Hallelujah!