God can not be captured, constrained, limited, or defeated. God can not be put into a box, or be forced to worship any other. God is almighty and will triumph over every enemy. There is no one who will ultimately be able to stand in the presence of the Lord, unless he makes them able to stand. We can never capture God, however he will captivate our hearts if we harden not our hearts as in the provocation.

Capturing God Welcome We are going to be looking together at the Word of God in 1 Samuel 4. Philistines = people who refuse to serve GodIsraelites = people who try to serve God (but often fail)Ark of the Covenant = God’s presence 1 Samuel 4:10-11 (NIV) So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11 The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died. Israel lost more than a battle, they lost the ark of the covenant.  Philistines rejoiced - captured the God of the Israelites. Capturing God 1 Samuel 5 - Philistines take the Ark to Ashdod Display God Ashdod = Spoiler Ashdod means spoiler, ravager, one who plunders… Capture and display Dagon – fish-god temple1st time knocked down Dagon2nd time Dagon knocked down – head and hands broken off. Capturing God It seems like the God of Israel is not so easy to capture. He has busted up Dagon and that is just the start. 1 Samuel 5:6-7 (NIV) 6 The Lord’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors.[a] 7 When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.” Ashdod, the spoiler is having trouble, so they send their “captive” to another city named Gath. Gath = Presser Gath is known for 2 things. 1 Goliath, 2 Winepresses. Strength to crush and squeeze anything that stood in their way.  Gath would show Ashdod how to capture God… 1 Samuel 5:9 (NIV) But after they had moved it, the Lord’s hand was against Gath, throwing it into a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron… Ekron = Eradicator Known for their complete destruction of cities & crops.  How would they respond to the captured ark of God? 1 Samuel 5:10 (NIV) …As the ark of God was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought the ark of the god of Israel around to us to kill us and our people.” As the ark entered the people cried out…  Your God is powerful! The God of Israel was not like any other captured spoiled, king, or idol. They thought they had captured God, but instead this happened. Spoiled the spoilersPressed the pressersEradicates the eradicators The ark of God was in a foreign land… but God was still on the throne. 11 So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it[c] will kill us and our people.” For death had filled the city with panic; God’s hand was very heavy on it. Israel got the Ark back without having to send out a search party.Israel got the victory without forming an army.Israel received the Ark back because God is not capturable. You can win a victory today, because Your God is uncapturable. Any God that can be captured is not really God God cannot be manipulated.…controlled.… imprisoned. Worship is not manipulation…Pray is not holding God captive... Worship because He is the uncapturable God.              NEVER place God in the temple of an idol We should never hold God as lesser than Dagon… sin, greed, lust, disobedience, sickness, problems  Break the idol. We pray to God because He is the uncapturable God. We should never treat him as a means to a desired end. God is the desired end!  His blessings are not the desired end.