The State of The Church: What Does Jesus See? | Day 1: When The Glory Departs

One of the saddest moments in Scripture is not the destruction of a city, the fall of a king, or the defeat of an army. One of the saddest moments is when the glory of God leaves His house. 

Ezekiel 10:18-19, "Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims. And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above." (KJV)

The prophet Ezekiel was given a vision that must have broken his heart. He watched as the glory of the Lord gradually departed from the temple. 

God was not forced out by a stronger power. He was not defeated by an enemy. He left because His people had drifted so far from Him that the place designed for His presence had become polluted by compromise and disobedience.

That raises a sobering question for us today: Can a church continue functioning while gradually losing the presence of God?

The answer, unfortunately, is yes.

A church can still have a choir, a praise team, livestreams, committees, conferences, programmes, and packed pews. The calendar can be full, the budget can be healthy, and the building can be beautiful. Yet somewhere along the way, the presence of God can become secondary to performance, tradition, reputation, and routine.

The Church at Ephesus serves as a warning. 

Jesus commended them for many things. They worked hard. They persevered. They rejected false teaching. They were doctrinally sound. Yet Jesus identified a problem that threatened everything else.

Revelation 2:4-5 (KJV), "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works..."

Jesus did not say they had lost their doctrine. He said they had left their first love. They were still busy serving God, but they were no longer passionately devoted to Him.

Perhaps that is one of the greatest dangers facing the modern Church. We can become so occupied with the work of God that we neglect the God of the work.

The story of Ichabod illustrates this danger vividly.

Israel had begun treating the Ark of the Covenant as a lucky charm rather than a symbol of God's holy presence. The people assumed that because they possessed the Ark, they automatically possessed God's favour. Yet their hearts were far from Him. 

When the Philistines attacked, Israel suffered a devastating defeat. The Ark was captured, Eli's sons died, and a grieving woman gave birth to a son.

1 Samuel 4:21-22 (KJV), "And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken... And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken."

Imagine that. A child whose name became a memorial to spiritual decline.

What is striking is that many people did not recognise how serious the situation was until the glory had already departed. 

The decline had been happening for years. Sin had been tolerated. Spiritual leadership had become compromised. Worship had become corrupted. Yet life continued as usual…until suddenly the consequences could no longer be ignored.

That pattern appears elsewhere in Scripture. Consider Samson.

In Judges 16:20 (KJV), we read: "And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him."

Those final words are chilling: "He wist not that the Lord was departed from him." That is translated in modern language to mean: "But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him."

Samson expected business as usual. He expected yesterday's power to be available today. He assumed that because God had moved before, God would continue moving regardless of how he lived.

But the presence of God is never something we should take for granted.

The prophet Hosea described a similar condition.

Hosea 7:9 (KJV), ”Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not."

Israel was experiencing spiritual decline and did not even recognise it. Their strength was disappearing while they continued acting as though everything was fine.

Could the same thing be happening today?

Could we become more concerned about attendance than repentance? More concerned about presentation than prayer? More concerned about influence than intimacy with God?

Jesus addressed this issue through the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 29:13 (KJV), ”Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me..."

I don’t believe God is impressed merely by outward activity. He looks beyond the songs, the sermons, the offerings, and the appearances. He examines the heart.

The good news is that today's message is not a message of condemnation. It is a message of warning and invitation. 

The same Jesus who confronted Ephesus also called them to remember, repent, and return.

If God's people will humble themselves, seek His face, and return to wholehearted devotion, the story does not have to end with Ichabod.

The greatest tragedy is not an empty church building. The greatest tragedy is a full church building without God's presence.

As we begin this series, let us ask ourselves a difficult but necessary question: If Jesus were to walk through our churches today and through our hearts today, would He find a people passionately in love with Him, or would He say, "You have left your first love"?

The answer to that question may determine whether we experience revival or merely continue with religion. 

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