Power Without the Presence

Last week we asked the question that runs through this whole series: is He your God or the God kept at a distance? We saw the problems that come from holding God at arm's length. This week the danger is subtler. It is not the person who pushes God away, but the person who wants God's power while keeping His presence at a distance - who treats Him as "THE God" (அந்த தேவன்), a box you fetch in an emergency and put back on the shelf when the crisis passes.

"The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured." - 1 Samuel 4:22 (NKJV)

"தேவனுடைய பெட்டி பிடிபட்டுப்போனபடியினால், மகிமை இஸ்ரவேலை விட்டு விலகிப்போயிற்று என்றாள்." - 1 சாமுவேல் 4:22 (TAOVBSI)

A Box Is Not a God (பெட்டி தேவன் அல்ல)

In 1 Samuel 4 the story opens with a battle. Israel goes out against the Philistines and is beaten - roughly four thousand men fall on the field. The people come back to the camp shaken, and the elders ask the right question and reach the wrong answer.

"Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh to us, that... it may save us from the hand of our enemies." - 1 Samuel 4:3 (NKJV)

"சீலோவிலிருக்கிற கர்த்தருடைய உடன்படிக்கைப்பெட்டியைக் கொண்டுவருவோம்; அது நம்மை நம்முடைய பகைஞரின் கைக்கு விலக்கி இரட்சிக்கும்படி, நம்முடைய நடுவிலே வரவேண்டியது." - 1 சாமுவேல் 4:3 (TAOVBSI)

Notice the pronoun. They do not say, "Let us bring the ark that He may save us." They say, "that it may save us." The ark - the box - becomes the saviour in their imagination. They use the covenant of God the way a person uses a talisman (தாயத்து): carry it in, and it will rescue us. They never actually say, "The Lord will save us." They say, "If we bring the box, the box will save us."

And we do the same thing more often than we admit. Where is your talisman? For many it hangs at the neck, or is carried in the hand. Sometimes the very Bible we carry is treated as a charm. We lay the Bible on our head as we sleep and imagine the devil cannot come near. We wear a chain with a cross and feel everything will now go well. We set a Bible on the shelf, a Scripture plaque on the wall, a picture of Jesus, a cross - and we think, now no trouble can touch us, this will save us.

None of these things are wrong in themselves. To keep a Bible, to display Scripture, to own a cross - these are good. The question is your motive. The ark was genuinely the place where God's presence rested. But Israel did not say, "God will save us." They said, "The box will save us." They wanted every one of God's benefits, and so do we. We want all His benefits - but with no repentance in our lives at all.

That is exactly what was missing at Shiloh. The reason for the defeat was Eli's sons. The whole disaster traces back to Eli's house - to sons whose corruption was so open that people came to loathe even bringing their offerings. God had spoken about Eli and his sons through Samuel, and there had been no repentance. Yet the people, instead of thinking, "This is the root of our trouble," thought only, "If we bring the ark, everything will be fine." They wanted the furniture of worship (ஆராதனையின் பொருள்) to cover for a heart that had never turned.

You cannot carry God like an umbrella - out in the storm, back in the cupboard when the sun returns. When it rains you take the umbrella; when the rain stops you fold it up and leave it in the house for a week. That is exactly how they treated the covenant of God: trouble comes, fetch the ark; trouble passes, send it back. God is not a device you switch on in emergencies. He is a Person to be known (அறியப்பட), not a tool to be used.

The things of God are not the same as God

The things of God and God Himself are not one and the same. When we pray in this building, God certainly answers - He answers many prayers here. God dwells in this building, and everyone who comes here is blessed. But even this building is not equal to God. Our importance must not rest on the building; it must rest on the God who dwells in the building.

It is good to come here and pray - all of it is good. But our focus must be on the Lord Himself. Do not settle for "if I come here God will heal me," or "if I go to church my problem will be solved." Let it instead be: "when I go to church God Himself will speak with me, God Himself will meet me." Wherever we go, it is the Lord who matters, not the place or the object where He is pleased to dwell.

The God Is Real, But He Will Not Be Owned (அந்த தேவன் மெய், ஆனால் சொந்தமாகார்)

We should also pause here to notice what Scripture is teaching about those God places over us. The whole nation was affected by what happened in one household - Eli's house. That is why we must pray for those in authority over us, whether they lead us spiritually or govern us. Pray for the Chief Minister, for the Prime Minister, for whoever holds authority, because when one person in that place errs, the whole state, the whole nation, is affected. Pray earnestly for God's servants, that they walk in the right way, because if they stray, the trouble falls on everyone. And pray for those who lead in smaller places too - the leader of your prayer group who may have only just finished college, the class leader at school, the assistant leader you may not even like. If they go wrong, it becomes everyone's problem. So we pray. And more than praying blessings over them, we ourselves must live rightly and in holiness, giving no place to the devil - which itself takes much prayer, because there are days none of us feels like praying at all.

Now watch the irony of the story. The Philistines capture the ark and carry it home in triumph. But when they set it before their god Dagon, Dagon topples over and shatters.

"Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God?" - 1 Samuel 6:20 (NKJV)

"இந்தப் பரிசுத்தமான தேவனாகிய கர்த்தருக்கு முன்பாக நிற்கத்தக்கவன் யார்?" - 1 சாமுவேல் 6:20 (TAOVBSI)

Read what happens as the ark moves through Philistine territory:

"The hand of the LORD was heavy on them." - 1 Samuel 5:6 (NKJV)

"கர்த்தருடைய கை அவர்கள்மேல் பாரமாய் இருந்தது." - 1 சாமுவேல் 5:6 (TAOVBSI)

The hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Philistines. They knew who this was. They remembered: these are the gods who struck Egypt with every kind of plague in the wilderness. The Philistines had a clearer sense of the God of Israel than Israel did. Even His enemies felt His weight (மகிமை) - but as a force, not as a Father.

Here is a secret to grasp about your own life: the devil fears God more than you or I ever do. The devil does not play games with God the way we do; he does not go to God with frivolous requests, because he knows who God is. The one who fears God most, the one who knows Scripture best, is the devil himself - Scripture says the demons believe and tremble. You can be genuinely afraid of God, genuinely impressed by Him, and still not be able to say "my God" (என் தேவன்).

But ask the better question: whose side is God on? Not the devil's. He is on ours. So however much you tremble before Him, that is not the issue. It is right to fear God - everyone here fears Him. Even when we sin, we still fear Him; the moment a bad word leaves our mouth we know it was wrong, we know it does not please Him. Nobody here can honestly say they do not fear God. We all do. But the question comes back again and again: for you who fear God, what is God to you? Is He your God?

This is where many religious people quietly live - in awe without intimacy (நெருக்கம் இல்லாத பயம்). There is no close relationship with God, yet we fear Him. God is real to them, powerful, unchanging in His word - and all of that is true. But the question is whether He is my God. Proximity is not possession (அருகாமை சொந்தம் அல்ல). Being close to holy things is not the same as being His.

Do not put your trust in the vessel

If God works through someone - even truly through a servant of His - that servant is not the one who matters to you. The Lord who uses him is the one who matters. Many people learn to serve God's servants, to please the big-name ministers, always crowding around them. Serving is good; keep serving. But if there is no relationship between you and God, that service will bring you no blessing at all.

And be very careful of those who make a business of prophecy. There are many in our day with a spirit of divination, who tell fortunes. True prophecy comes to build up our faith. If someone can tell you that you left two vessels beside the gas stove this morning, that is not from God - the name of Jesus can send such a spirit out. God does not care how many tumblers you set beside your stove. He cares where your soul is going. Do not receive such people, because many make gods of these fortune-tellers, until you are phoning them to ask whether you may even brush your teeth today. That is bondage. The Lord who works, not the vessel He works through, is our trust.

I say it often: the employer who pays your salary is not the one who matters most - not that you should fail to respect him; give him every honour due. But do not place your trust in him. The one who appointed him to pay you is the Lord. Whatever your trade, honour your customers, treat them well - all of it is true. But even if they hand you lakhs, they are not your hope. The Lord is your hope. When the Lord is your hope, He may use one person today and bring another tomorrow. So do not make the person or the thing God uses into your trust, and do not let it quietly become "this is my god."

We must know the Lord personally - a real relationship, a personal relationship with Him. That is what 1 Samuel 4:3 exposes: they never once said, "He will save me, He will keep me, He will stand with me." And we make the same mistake when we say, "My father will always support me, my mother will be with me to the end," and quietly rest our whole hope there. Yes, your parents will be there - God gives long life to those who honour father and mother, and He can keep them strong to eighty, ninety, a hundred. Believe that for them; declare it in faith. But even our confidence in them must not become the trust that belongs to God alone. Our bodies are kept strong when adultery and immorality are kept out of our lives, because these are sins against our own body, and the Lord is able to keep us strong when we obey Him. Confess such sins at once, and pray with David, "Create in me a clean heart, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

Keep the Form, Lose the Glory: Ichabod (வடிவம் உண்டு, மகிமை போயிற்று)

Now look at how the ark was fetched in the first place. When it was carried into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth rang.

"When the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth shook." - 1 Samuel 4:5 (NKJV)

"கர்த்தருடைய உடன்படிக்கைப்பெட்டி பாளையத்திலே வந்தபோது, இஸ்ரவேலர் யாவரும் பூமி அதிரத்தக்கதாக மகா ஆர்ப்பரிப்பாய் ஆர்ப்பரித்தார்கள்." - 1 சாமுவேல் 4:5 (TAOVBSI)

They shouted until the ground trembled. And how often is our worship not even that - our own mouths do not tremble when we sing of the God of Elijah. Yet all their noise came to nothing. When the Philistines heard the shout and learned the ark had come, they said, "God has come into the camp." But God had not come. They said God had come; that is all. We do the same. We say the Lord is with me. Saying it is easy. Is He truly with you? Think about it. He does not come running just because we announce it. He does not appear here and follow us there simply because we declare His presence.

Read on and the whole thing collapses:

"So the people sent to Shiloh... And there Israel was defeated... There was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. Also the ark of God was captured." - 1 Samuel 4:10-11 (NKJV)

"இஸ்ரவேலர் முறிந்தோடிப்போனார்கள்... இஸ்ரவேலிலே முப்பதினாயிரம் காலாட்கள் விழுந்தார்கள். தேவனுடைய பெட்டியும் பிடிபட்டது." - 1 சாமுவேல் 4:10-11 (TAOVBSI)

Thirty thousand men dead, and the ark of God captured. They brought the box like a talisman and lost thirty thousand men anyway. The box without the Person is empty.

And now the most honest word in the whole chapter. Eli, ninety-eight years old and blind, hears the news, falls backward from his seat, and dies. His daughter-in-law, wife of Phinehas, is in labour, and when she hears the ark is captured and her husband and father-in-law are dead, she bows down and gives birth.

"Then she named the child Ichabod, saying, 'The glory has departed from Israel!'... And she said, 'The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.'" - 1 Samuel 4:21-22 (NKJV)

"அவள் அந்தப் பிள்ளைக்கு இக்கபோத் என்று பேரிட்டு, மகிமை இஸ்ரவேலை விட்டுப் போயிற்று என்றாள்... தேவனுடைய பெட்டி பிடிபட்டுப்போனபடியினால், மகிமை இஸ்ரவேலை விட்டு விலகிப்போயிற்று என்றாள்." - 1 சாமுவேல் 4:22 (TAOVBSI)

Ichabod (இகாபோத்) - "no glory." Remember that word. In a room where everyone else was too stunned to say the truth, this dying mother alone said it plainly: the glory of God has left us. The tragedy was not that a battle was lost; it was that the glory (மகிமை) departed and most did not even notice. They still had the rituals, the shouting, the ark itself - and no glory.

That is where the New Testament reading meets us:

"...having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!" - 2 Timothy 3:5 (NKJV)

"தேவபக்தியின் வேஷத்தைத் தரித்து, அதின் பெலனை மறுதலிக்கிறவர்களாயும் இருப்பார்கள்; இப்படிப்பட்டவர்களை நீ விட்டு விலகு." - 2 தீமோத்தேயு 3:5 (TAOVBSI)

The form is kept, the power is denied. Once the glory of God has departed, our very existence has no use left in it. I would rather have His presence in a small room than His absence in a full one. Ask it of your own worship: is the weight still here, or only the form (வடிவம்)?

When the glory departs, you cannot pray with confidence

We have all crossed through this kind of experience at least once. We are walking in faith, and suddenly we fall into some sin, and the glory of the Lord is lost - and then we cannot even pray as before. We cannot pray with confidence, cannot pray boldly, because the Lord is not with us and we know it.

Think of the son who ruined himself. A father has children; one son goes bad, takes his inheritance, and leaves the house. Having walked out, can he come back and say, "Father, do this for me, do that for me"? When he returns he does not claim his rights - he says, "I will go to my father's house and be as one of the hired servants." He has forfeited the right to demand. That is what happens to us when the glory is gone: we cannot go and ask as sons with any boldness.

And yet see the greatness of our God. The Philistines could have told us who our God is; if they were alive today they would say, "You have no idea what kind of God you have; you live in ignorance." But that powerful God says to us, "I am like a father to you; all that is mine is yours." God has given us the Spirit of adoption, so that we cry, "Abba, Father." That is how close He has set us. But the one who has lost the glory cannot rise up and speak to Him with that right.

This is why so often we cannot come boldly and ask. Why can we not get out of debt? We cannot stand before the Lord and speak plainly. We could pray Scripture back to Him - "Lord, You said we would not have to borrow; Lord, why must this debt come upon me? Let me be freed from it." Why can we not ask that boldly? Have we lost the glory? Do we lack wisdom? God has said He gives wisdom generously to the one who asks and lacks it - complete wisdom, the full measure we need. But the one who has lost the glory cannot ask.

Let me tell you how quickly wisdom can come when the Lord is with you. In Chennai I was given work by some people in the real estate business. While doing a task for them - something that had nothing to do with me directly - I sat down to study the laws and regulations governing property and building sales, just to understand what the law required of such a business. I studied for a long while and learned some things, and that night I sent them a detailed email: here are certain things you have not done correctly, here is the evidence, here is what you must correct. The next morning the man phoned me, astonished. "How were you able to do this?" he asked. He had lawyers, advocates, legal experts on staff - and a thing they could not find, God enabled me to find and lay out, until their own legal experts sat down, examined it, and said, "He is right." That is how the Lord lifts us. He gives wisdom. I have nothing to do with real estate. I always say I do not even know how to run a business or run a church - and that is honestly true. But God gives the wisdom, and makes us able. Whatever is needed at each moment, He supplies it. And out of that, a man comes to trust: "Whatever I hand to Praveen, he will do it rightly; he will not leave me stuck in trouble; he will protect me even where the fault was not his." Where does that trust come from? From the Lord being with us.

The glory can be lost in a second - so turn back at once

The glory of the Lord can be lost in a moment. The devil deceives us and empties us in one second. One glance at something wrong, one lust, one sin, one lie, one thing that displeases the Lord, one shift of trust from God onto something else - and suddenly the glory is gone and the devil has dragged us away. And there, can we pray boldly? The moment we kneel he says, "What a great sinner you are. How dare you come to pray? What will God even hear from you?"

Here is the point. That the Philistines beat Israel, that Israel lost the battle - that is not the real problem. The real problem is that Israel lost the glory of God. Your sinning, your failing, your disobedience in some matter - the Lord knows you will do these things. He knows you will stumble, that now and then you will fall into sin. What the Lord waits for is this: that you turn back immediately (திருந்துங்க). Do not be like the sons of Eli, who said, "No matter who says it, no matter how much is said, I will not listen."

Remember who carried that mighty ark into the camp - it was Eli's own sons. They brought a box of enormous power. But it was on account of Eli's sons that the ark was captured, and on account of Eli's sons that Israel was destroyed. So if we have lost the glory of God, then it does not matter that we hauled the ark of God along, that we kept an all-night fasting prayer, that we came to church every week, that we did ministry - with the glory of God departed we can lift nothing that carries weight. Whatever we carry - even the Bible we carry - it is only a book, only paper, if the glory has gone.

Here is the mercy

And here is the mercy. In chapter 6, when the Philistines could bear the plagues no longer, they said, "This box must go back," and they sent the ark home on their own - God defended His own name and needed no army to do it. He is not finished with a people who lost Him; He comes looking. Do not settle for the form of godliness with the presence gone. Cry out until the glory returns (மகிமை திரும்பும்வரை).

Conclusion (முடிவுரை)

"THE God" (அந்த தேவன்) out there can win your battles, topple your idols, and terrify your enemies, and still not be YOUR God at your own table. Power is not the same as intimacy. God is true, God is powerful, God does not break His word - all of it is true. But the question is still: is He my God? However much we fear Him, however much we do to please Him, until we can say "my God" we cannot claim Him as our own.

The whole point of this series is that He wants to move from அந்த தேவன் to என் தேவன் - from the God to my God. Do not stop at being impressed by Him. Do not let it be written "Ichabod" over your house. Ask Him not for His hand only, but for His face (உம்முடைய முகம்).

Declaration Prayer (அறிக்கை ஜெபம்)

பிதாவே, உம்முடைய வல்லமையை மட்டும் தேடி, உம்முடைய பிரசன்னத்தை நான் புறக்கணிக்கமாட்டேன். என் வீட்டின்மேல் 'இகாபோத்' என்று எழுதப்படாதபடி, நீர் வந்து என்னோடே தங்கியிரும். நீர் என் தேவன்; உம்முடைய முகத்தையே தேடுகிறேன். இயேசுவின் நாமத்தில், ஆமென்.

One Thing This Week (இந்த வாரம் ஒன்று மட்டும்)

This week, seek His face and not just His hand. Spend time with God asking for nothing, wanting only Him. Presence before requests.