“The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months. And the Lord blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that he had.” (1 Chronicles 13:14) I welcome you to the year 2020, the year of the Great Turnaround. December 2019 was “Heaven on Earth” for us and we shall continue to harvest the result of the prayers, in Jesus’ Name. In discussing a Great Turnaround, we should define the component terms. Great means as an important or distinguished person; it also means enormous, colossal, extreme, jumbo, stupendous, excellent or glorious. To turn is to change position, to reverse the position or placement, to shift or twist or change from one state to another. Around means all sides or all over or throughout. Put together, a Great Turnaround means God, the Excellent, Glorious and Distinguished Person in this equation, will move or cause us to change on all sides. It means God will reverse the irreversible concerning you; that which you have lost, and you think is gone, God will bring it back. When God turns to you, it is your turn; your story will change from good to better and from better to best. In 1 Chronicles 13:14, quoted above, we are concisely told the story of Obed-Edom’s transformation; his great turnaround from a nobody to somebody. Here are a few other examples of divine turnarounds in the Bible:
- Abram: Figuratively, he could not afford the rent in a different house, so he was hanging around his parents, though married, until God called him, and he obeyed. By the time we read of him again in Genesis 13:2, “…Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.” God continued to bless Abram so much, Genesis 14:19 says, “And He blessed him, and said, blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth.”
- Jephthah: A bastard (Judges 11:1,3) that became the Prime Minister. He was sent packing from his father’s house before God intervened and gave him a great turnaround. “And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, ‘Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.’” (Judges 11:8)
- A robber that was crucified with Jesus: Two robbers were crucified on each side of Jesus. One mocked Jesus, hardhearted to the end while the other repented, seeing that Jesus was innocent and believing that He was Who He said He was. The repentant robber asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His Kingdom. Jesus promised they would be together that very day in paradise (Luke 23:39-43).
- Saul: One who was a religious fanatic and a persecutor of ‘The People of The Way’, disciples and members of the body of Christ (Acts 9:1-2). Now, he is longer a terrorist, his heart filled with the love of Jesus and love for God’s people Philippians 1:8, 2:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8).
Things to note in the life of Obed-Edom that resulted in a Great Turnaround can be seen in the background to his story. David, the great king of Israel, wanted to go and retrieve the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the very presence and power of God. Long before this:
- The Ark had not been in the midst of the people for some time. It had been stolen by the Philistines and stored in the house of Dagon (1 Samuel 5:2-4). In verse 3, Dagon was flat on his face before the Ark of Covenant. The people put Dagon on its feet (verse 4), the next day, in addition to falling on its face before the Ark, Dagon’s feet, hands, and head were cut off. FACT: NO DEMON OR IDOL CAN STAND BEFORE THE LIVING AND TRUE GOD OF ISRAEL. God punished the Philistines with tumors (verses 6 & 9).
- After this, the ark went to the house of Abinadab, who sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD (1 Samuel 7:1). When the Ark of the Covenant was initially removed from the house of Dagon, it was sent to Beth-Shemesh, and then to Kirjath Jearim. There, it remained in Abinandab’s house, even before the reign of Saul, for two decades.
- Fast forward to David’s time. 1 Chronicles 13:5 says, “So David gathered all Israel together, from Shihor in Egypt to as far as the entrance of Hamath, to bring the Ark of God from Kirjath Jearim.” However, proper protocol was not observed; they put the ark on a new cart, and tragedy struck when Uzzah touched the Ark and died. Uzzah wanted to help God but was struck dead (1 Chronicles 13:10). Joy turned to sadness. In verse 11, David was displeased with God and place was called Perez-Uzzah.
- So instead of taking the Ark into the City of David, the King decided to take the Ark to the house of a man called Obed-Edom. You can imagine the surprise of Obed-Edom. Here is the entire assembly of Israel outside his home. The king of Israel is at his door and says, “Excuse me, Mr. Obed-Edom; we need to leave this Ark with you for a short time”. “Say what?” would have probably been the response of Obed-Edom. But Obed-Edom allowed the Ark in his home, and that brings us to today’s text of 1 Chronicles 13:14, where the Ark of God remained in his house for 3 months and the LORD blessed him tremendously.
Lessons from the life of Obed-Edom:
- God is interested in the home and family of His people. You may wonder why this man and his household were blessed. See 2 Samuel 6:12 and the answer becomes obvious: because of the Ark of God signifying the Presence of God. The very PRESENCE AND POWER OF GOD.
- An equal opportunity God – what is your response to the Ark of God? (Acts 10:34)
- Give Him a place in your home for His Presence makes the difference. Obed-Edom had God in his home for 3 months, and his life was never the same.
- There are 2 parts to Obed-Edom’s name. Obed means worshipper or servant. The servant of Edom became a worshipper of God.
- Purpose of the Blessing – Is it for you to get a big car, or a big house, or to work with a Fortune 500 company? The purpose of advertising a product [on TV] is so that people will see the product, develop an interest in it and eventually buy it. God’s blessing in your life is His advertisement to bring in more sons and daughters unto Himself, having liberated them from the dominion of darkness into His marvelous Light (Colossians 1:13-14).
- David was stirred up and he stirred others up as well. One day there came another knock on the door of Obed-Edom’s house. It was David again, returning for the Ark. I can imagine that Obed-Edom didn’t want to release it!
How can we get a Great Turnaround in our personal lives, marital lives, churches and cities? That’s explained by the acronym for GREAT: G- God; R – Rapprochement (harmonization reached between warring factions); E – Examine your motives (brokenness), A: Attitude and T: Teachability.
- G – God: If God does not make it happen, you’re finished, toasted, stranded and stagnated at the bus stop of life. Psalm 127:1 says, “Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”
- R – Rapprochement: In Romans 7:15, the Apostle Paul said, “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.” The ‘I’ must die, and your spirit and God’s Holy Spirit must be harmonious – God’s wishes must become your commands.
- E – Examine yourselves: “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Corinthians 13:5). If you are strong in your eyes, God cannot use you, until your flesh disappoints you. When the flesh dies, God is enthroned. Brokenness is proof of humility.
- A -Attitude: It’s a known saying that your attitude determines your altitude. You are the product of what you imagine, think, feel and act upon (Proverbs 23:7; Genesis 11:6). Your attitude will either make you or break you. Have a positive image of yourself.
- T – Teachability: A servant is TEACHABLE. 3 John 1:9 says, “I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.” Charlie Chaplain was the most famous person on the planet in the 1920’s. Born into poverty, he worked on stage to support himself and by age 17 he was a veteran performer. He was successful not just because he had talent and drive; he was teachable. He kept learning and perfecting his gift. Even at the height of his popularity as the highest paid performer in the world (he signed his first million-dollar contract in 1918; something unheard of). Even after he became famous, he didn’t exchange teachability for arrogance; he still remembered the basics and always kept learning. “You need someone to teach you the basic things” (Hebrews 5:12). There’s no place in God’s Kingdom for know-it-alls. When you stay teachable, God can use you!
Conclusion: Greatness can only be activated by a persistent, diligent, consistent and prayerful life. Jeremiah 33:3 invites you to dial heaven to download your Great Turnaround today. Welcome again to the year 2020.
Prayers:
- Father, I thank You for You alone are God. I exalt and appreciate You for 2019 and 2020. Thank You that I didn’t go with 2019. Thank You for bringing me thus far. Please, LORD, accept my thanks, worship and adoration. Sing: “For this God is my God forever and ever, He will be my guide from now even unto the end.”
- Blood of Jesus, cleanse me totally from every defilement of the spirit, soul and body and from every pride, self-will, and pomposity. I know fully well that empty barrels make the most noise. Please cleanse me of every sin that is yet to be forgiven me right now, in Jesus’ Name.
- Every implantation and establishment of Satan in my life and destiny, thou wind of change, uproot and sweep them out of my life as from today, in Jesus’ Name.
- Every demonic wall and barrier that is standing between me and God, collapse now by fire, in Jesus’ Name.
- I receive an attitude of thanksgiving, as well as the grace to examine myself and remain teachable every day of the year 2020, in Jesus’ mighty Name.
- Oh God, open unto me, the door of your power and abilities, doors of your treasures and blessings, doors of your secrets and mysteries as from today, in Jesus’ Name.
- Father let the rain of your blessings fall consistently on me, in Jesus’ Name. Please, let Your Presence go ahead of me in the new year, in Jesus’ Name.
- I receive anointing for fruitfulness and plenty in all areas of my life, fall on me as from today, in Jesus’ Name.
- Father, I receive a Great Turnaround now in my life, family, church, community, state and country, in the mighty Name of Jesus.
- Begin to thank God for prayers answered.
