This sermon emphasizes the importance of trembling for the presence of God, using the story of Eli and his sons as a cautionary tale. It highlights the consequences of hidden sin and the need for obedience and righteousness in families and individuals to avoid spiritual defeat and leaving a negative legacy. The speaker urges self-examination, repentance, and a focus on building a consistent, faithful life that honors God and leaves a positive spiritual heritage.

Write it upon our hearts. Oh, how ugly we can be. But we want your thoughts, we want your thinking. We want to please you. We are nobodies. Yes Lord, I am conscious that I am nobody. But you are all and in all. And are worthy to receive honor and glory and majesty, dominion and power. So teach us to love you Lord. Teach us to transmit this love to the succeeding generations. We seem peculiarly inept to do this. Forgive us oh Lord. Thou God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob. Teach us that faith. Draw near to us and visit us. In Jesus' holy name. Amen. My dear friends, last night I heard a cell phone somewhere here. I don't have to tell you to turn them off. But remember, if you forget it and you disturb the meeting, you must find yourself. Hundred and fifty rupees. How do I collect it? I won't go around collecting. You better put it into the offertory or one of the offertory boxes. And say I am worthy of 1500 rupees. Because I disturbed the meeting. So, in a way, let everyone not lose money that way. Nor do I desire it. Now friends, this evening, there is a very critical matter which I want to share with you. If you turn to 1 Samuel and the 4th chapter and the 13th verse. 1 Samuel 4 chapter 13 verse. Now here is a messenger from the army and from the battlefield. And when he came, the priest sat upon a seat by the wayside. For his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told it, all the city cried out. And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, what minute the noise of this tumult. And the man came in hastily and told Eli. Now Eli was ninety and eight years old. And his eyes were dim. He could not see. And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army. And I fled today out of the army. And he said, what is there done my son? And the messenger answered and said, Israel has fled before the Philistines. And there hath been also a great slaughter among the people. And your two sons also, Hopni and Phinehas are dead. And the ark of God is taken. And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell from off the seat, backward by the side of the gate. And his neck broke. And he died. For he was an old man and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years. Now you know, a very uncommon thing, method was adopted in that battle against the Philistines. The people of Israel said, if we take the ark of God into the battle, we will win. So, when the ark of God went into the battle, into the camp of Israel, the fifth verse says, All Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, what meant the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp. And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. Woe unto us, for there hath not been such a thing heretofore. Woe unto us. Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. Yes, the ark of God symbolized the presence of God. Now, the battle was lost even before it began. You see, some of you can tell the outcome of the battles in your life. If there is sin hidden in your life, the battle is lost. The battle for the succeeding generations is also lost. It is lost. My dear friends, but here was the symbol of God's presence. And even the Philistines were really afraid. They said, who can stand before these almighty gods? That's all the understanding they had. You see, Egypt, the mighty Pharaoh was defeated. Who can stand before these mighty gods? But who carried the ark into the camp, into the battle? The two sons of this high priest, Eli, Hophni and Phinehas. Now, we see some of the dismal history of these two priests. If you turn to 2 Samuel 2, verse 17, where for the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord. For men abhorred the offering of the Lord. But Samuel, who was only a child, ministered before the Lord. So, here were these young men. They had all the paraphernalia of priesthood. And they functioned as free priests. But alongside of that, there was every manner of evil in their life. If you turn to the 22nd verse of the 2nd chapter, Eli was very old and heard all that his sons did unto Israel. How they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he said unto them, Why do you such things? For I hear of your evil dealings by all these people. Why, my sons, for it is not a good report that I hear you make the people of God sin. Why, my sons, for it is not a good report that I hear you make the people of God sin. Now listen, friends. You might think that this was a sufficient rebuke. But not so God. God did not think so. God said, You have not restrained your son. Now he told them, What you are doing is wrong, my sons. And what you are leading God's people into sin. Now this is exactly what happens when a priest or his children come short in holiness. Today we have such mixed standards in the world. I do not know how many of you come from broken families. But in certain classrooms in Europe and in America, more than half the children come from broken families. So there is fighting in the classroom, disorder, inattention. Teachers are not able to teach. And violent children are attacking the teachers. And some of them, five year old children in England, they are being expelled because they are so completely unruly. Even five year olds, when teachers and even the police are called, they cannot control them. So that is our modern culture and civilization. And in that atmosphere, I do not know how much the diligent students can learn. Now they are the products of broken families, generally. They are also the products of self-indulgent parents. And nobody can help them. I do not know how many of you parents have given cell phones to your children. And I see what these cell phones are leading children into. How strangers are messaging texts to them. Somebody meets them somewhere, gets their phone number, and begins a relationship with them. And their lives of these children are ruined. I asked a girl, what was the bill of your cell phone? Six hundred rupees. Well, we earn money in rupees. So, you cannot imagine somebody spending six hundred dollars, a little girl, over her phone conversations with her friends. But some of you have got so many rupees, you are throwing not only your rupees, but your children along with the rupees, into the gutter. My dear people, Anyone here, you know I have found that Bible students do not know how to use a cell phone. I do not know what to say about adults, I mean pastors and leaders. But I see enough of them going astray. I see suspicion and fights between husbands and wives. And children cannot sit with their parents and talk. Oh, something is wriggling in their pockets. And then they run out of the room. They dare not talk before their parents. It is some secret relationship. We see such disorderly families today. All because of vanity. I do not feel the necessity for a cell phone myself. I do not want to be disturbed all the time. But I get calls from around the world. But I do not use a cell phone. Any little gadget which comes along, is becoming a snare to souls. How terrible. Television, a snare. VCDs are your cassettes. Oh, parents and others are so upset. My son is always with some strange music. If everything becomes a snare to us, what is the common factor there? To the pure, all things are pure. But to the unclean, anything can become a device for evil. Now I find that there are some people who quickly adopt any new fashion which comes along. Whether it is a fashion which promotes purity. Or whether it is an instrument of exposure. So, people are getting brainwashed. Now here, in this context, these young men were in the holiest office. You know, I find it very difficult to keep any sanctuary or any fellowship center clean. Young men and women want to use it for homosexuality. For masturbation. And all kinds of evil. My dear friend, your heart is the breeding ground for evil. By becoming a Bible student or even a preacher, you change nothing. Your heart is wicked. Now these two young men, they carried the ark into the camp. And they brought a great defeat. And they themselves were killed. Yes, their death was deserved. They were presumptuous. You know, when a fellowship becomes old, my father walked with fear and trembling. He did not want even a filthy picture from the newspaper in the house. He used to say, angels of God, walk around our house. And I, when I was a wicked boy, even as I approached my house at a distance of 200 meters, Oh, I would have terror in my heart. I knew that I was going into the presence of God. The family was filled with prayer. But, oh, look at the family today. No family prayer. Father and mother arguing. And transmitting weak nerves, shattered nerves to the children. Can you imagine that a man wrote to me, a preacher wrote to me? My son is keeping a dagger with him. There was a threat almost that he would use it against those in the family. And when a child was born in that family, the wife of this young man was afraid that the husband would kill the child. Listen, my dear father, listen, my dear friend, when such things are brought to me, I say, what is this dismal condition to which this family and other families have come? All that the parents want, oh, my son, my daughter must be highly educated. So, they are pursuing courses that make their children either bookworms, who are just teethed in their studies, or they are becoming money minters. Listen, dear friends, we must judge ourselves righteously. The choices of these children reflect the real affections of their parents. Yes. What is uppermost in the heart of your parents that will soon find its way into your son's or daughter's heart. You can't stop it. You might say, son, read your Bible, be a good boy. Son, I dedicated you to God. What are you running after, money? Now, all that is superficial talk. Your son has heard the language of your heart. So, the language which your son and daughter have heard in the house is not the language of faith. It's the language of the world. It's the language of money. And that is what has come into their system. My dear friends, it's very easy to fault your son or daughter. But, it's your fault. I say, what part of me have I imparted to my children? Where did they get this? Where did they get that? And I can trace it to my own nature. I can trace it to my own traits, my unsanctified traits of the past. I can trace it to my own unsanctified traits of the past. Oh, do we tremble like Eli? What Eli trembled for the ark. No, I don't see that trembling in many of our leaders. In this regard, Eli was way ahead of many of our preachers. He trembled for the ark. Oh, he didn't want the ark of God to fall into the enemy's hands. He didn't want the heathen to blaspheme the name of God. Today, does India tremble at the name of Jesus? Does India say, does China say, There is only one God who can give us upright officials. Otherwise, our money will go down the drain. It is only Jesus who can save us from this old oriental habit and institution of bribery. Bullets and firing squads cannot save the country from these bribe takers. My dear people, No, nobody feels like that. Because there are enough bribe takers, I suppose, even amongst Christians. Tricks of deceit. You know promotion must come. How to get promotion? Just deny Jesus for the time being. Let me become an SC or something else. Look at the argument and the fight and the tribunals over caste. You know, I can't understand. Where is this nation? It is in the dark ages. Oh, we say rocket scientists are leading the nation. Oh, rocket scientists are blowing up this nation. When you can't see the disease, you will never treat it. We have not seen our disease. Oh, my beloved people, Eli trembled for the ark. I do not know how many of you are keeping your eyes upon the Lord Jesus. They saw no man but Jesus. Listen, I want to tell you something. If you are only seeing the faults of somebody else here, Pack up and leave. I always say to people, I am very imperfect. But I am pressing towards that which is perfect. So if you think you are here to find fault with somebody, Please leave the place. Let's be rid of you. Because you have not said, Sir, we want to see Jesus. That's all the central theme and function of this retreat. We do not want to put upon you some religious fern of Theraford, India. And say, Oh, we have given you this magical thing. You go on and you will win. Oh, we have given you this magical thing. You go on and you will win. No, Eli. If you turn to 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 22nd verse, Now Eli was very old and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel. Sin in the camp. Adultery in the camp. My dear friends, You know, you can hide from everybody. You can't hide from God. That humble spirit. You know, we like to fix our faith in someone else or something else. The Bible says that righteous are as strong as a lion. You know, people are not courageous or strong for righteousness. They go to their friends and whisper. What is this? What is that? They don't go to the person concerned. And they don't say, Hey. Now, what is this? Is this some cancerous growth? No, my dear friends, that's not love. That's not righteousness. No, many people have continued like that for a long time. But remember, the righteous are as bold as a lion. You will zero in upon the need. You will take the beam out of your own eye. You will save your family from disaster. You will be honest to bear and to confess your own responsibility. You will be honest to confess your own responsibility and sin. You know, they thought they were taking some big talisman into the battle. God will never support an unrighteous cause. The Lord will never give permanence to evil. If there is the cancer of evil in your heart and in your family, My dear friend, you will die. That family will be destroyed. How sad. At the time of her confinement or delivery time, the wife of Phinehas, she was told, if you turn to the 4th chapter and the 19th verse, and his daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was with child. And when she heard the tidings that the Ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and prevailed, for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death, the demons stood by her. They said, fear not, for thou is born a son. But she answered not, neither did she retaliate. She did not retaliate, nor did she think about it. She named the child Echobard, saying, the glory is departed from Israel. Because the Ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. The glory is departed. For the Ark of God is taken. What a humiliating defeat. No religious garb and religious show will take you anywhere. The glory is departed. What are you going to tell God this evening? That the Shekinah glory has come in. That God is in the camp. And God goes before us. Or are you going to say Echobard? If you hide sin in your heart, you know my dear friend, you can take twenty lifetimes dealing with your crooked nature. Let me tell you, eighty years are not enough to deal with the crooked nature. Oh, even twenty times eighty is not enough. It is only when you go to the cross, that the loose tongue of yours will gain a bridle. Just think of what glory will be manifest in the land if all of us were faithful prayer warriors. If we obeyed fully the word which we do know, if we obeyed fully the word which we do know, you know when I see some people saying, what we need is more Bible classes, I say to them, what you need is not a head full of more knowledge. What you need is obedience to the truth. Now I see that people want to be escapists. They want to run away from their real selves. I want to tell you this, a Christian is a very consistent person. He is not a hedgehog, he is not a kangaroo, hopping around from here and there. He builds brick upon brick. You know my dear friends, I was not at all a consistent person. But whatever work God gave me, I stuck to it and built brick upon brick. The builder is God and it is he who has done the work. But he brought a measure of consistency into my life. I have never come to the platform careless. I see so many of our song leaders and others in various places. They come to the platform. They have not done their homework. And then let us sing. My dear friends, when a lecturer goes into his classroom, he says, we left off at hard statics last time. Let us turn to the chapter on dynamics. Let us go to this chapter and there on, I found my lecturers went too fast for my poor head. Yes, they were focused. They were focused. But I see people who are not focused. You know, in this fellowship, I have never believed in instituting a lot of laws. First of all, I do not like them and I have never needed them. The spirit of God is the best guide. He corrects you. He teaches you. He teaches you consistency. He does not make you trust in false trust. No, that is, I want the spirit of God to lead you. Then there will be no problem. But, today, there is a strong pull towards the world. There is a strong pull towards the world. And fathers and mothers are like Eli. They do not restrain the children. They do not warn them. Everybody sees, but the father and mother are blind. You know what I used to tell my assistants? No, if there is anything, would you need to complain about my children? Tell me. And I used to punish them. But punishment alone will not change them. But, when you have grown up children, fasting and prayer, you must take to fasting. Fasting and prayer. But, remember we are leaving a heritage. Look at the heritage which the sons of Eli left. Look at the freedom which the sons of Eli left. They left the Ark of the Covenant with the enemies. They left one of their widows crying, my son is to be named Iqobah. My dear friend, will you leave Iqobah behind you? Or are you going to give a glorious spiritual heritage? Eli Tremble. For the Ark of the Law. May God help all of us to tremble. Let us pray. In a few moments we will send you away. Tell God, Are you writing Iqobah over your house? Are you writing Iqobah over your children? Have you left the Ark of God in the camp of the enemy? Have you left the Ark of God in the camp of the enemy? My dear friend, what is the heritage that you are leaving? Some light and some darkness. Some pampering of children and some rebuking of children. Ultimately making them useless for the kingdom of God. O loving Father, we do not want Iqobah to be written over us. We do not want Iqobah to be named at all in our family. O let the Shekinah glory come in. O let not our own nature cripple our children. O teach us to tremble for the Ark of God. How greatly we are failing you in this country. In Australia, in Malaysia, in Burma, in our neighboring countries, in England, in Germany, in the United States, in how many areas, when the glory is departed we do not even tremble. O God, save us from this inanimity. Save us from this insensitivity. O teach us to be faithful dear Lord. O teach me to be faithful dear Lord. Come to us good Lord. We need much more penalty and punishment. We are not bringing you the glory due unto your name. Forgive us O Lord. Cleanse us in your precious blood dear Lord. The cross is our only refuge. We come to you precious Lord. Set us free from our old nature. Have mercy on our children. Let us leave a glorious spiritual heritage. And let us not leave Ecobar behind. Have mercy on us. In Jesus name. Amen. And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus, and the love of God, and the fellowship and power of the Holy Spirit, be with you dear people. Amen. My dear people, I hope you are with me.