Samuel's very existence was born out of his Mother, Hannah's fervent prayer. Hannah dedicated her son to God, and God spoke directly to Samuel and used him mightily to judge Israel. Peter Evans gives another thoughtful sermon, this time on - When God Speaks!
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00:00Words for today is from 1 Samuel chapter 3. 1 Samuel chapter 3, reading the whole chapter.
00:18Yes, we'll read the whole chapter. A well-known passage.
00:26Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare
00:34in those days, and there was no widespread revelation. And it came to pass that at that
00:41time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to glow so dim
00:52that he could not see, and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the Lord,
01:00where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, that the Lord called Samuel
01:09and he answered, Here I am. And he ran to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me.
01:18And he said, I did not call you. Lie down again. And he went to lay down. And the Lord
01:28called yet again, Samuel. So Samuel arose and he went to Eli and said, Here I am, for
01:36you called me. And he answered, I did not call you, my son. Lie down again. And Samuel
01:46did not yet know the Lord, nor the word of the Lord was yet revealed to him. And the
01:55Lord called Samuel again a third time. And he arose and he went to Eli and he said, Here
02:01I am, for you called me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. Therefore
02:11Eli said to Samuel, Go and lie down, and it shall be, if he calls you, you must say, Speak,
02:22Lord, for your servant hears. So Samuel went to lay down in his place. Now the Lord came and
02:32stood and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. And Samuel answered, Speak, for your
02:41servant hears. And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do something in Israel at which
02:50the ears of everyone who hears might will tingle. For that day I will perform against Eli all
02:59that I have spoken concerning his house from the beginning to the end. For I have told him that I
03:09will judge his house forever, and the iniquity which he knows, because his sons have made
03:16themselves vile, and he did not restrain them. And therefore I have sworn to Eli's house shall
03:26not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever. So Samuel lay down until the morning,
03:35and he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli his
03:42vision. Then Eli called Samuel and said, Samuel, my son. He answered, Here I am. And he said,
03:55What is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to
04:01you, and more also if you do, you hide anything from me of all the things that he said to
04:10you. Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the
04:20word of the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him. And so Samuel grew, and the Lord was
04:28with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba
04:37knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared
04:46again in Shiloh, and the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
04:55As we've already been reminded, whatever our circumstances, whatever our ministry, one
05:01thing we can do is pray. And perhaps nothing is more important, more urgent at this hour,
05:08at this time. But it is one thing to be an intercessory people, a people that uphold
05:16one another before the Lord, as we seek to do, and a people that intercede for this lost
05:23and fallen world that surrounds us, and our friends, our neighbours, and these situations
05:32circumstances seem to be so lost. We can be an intercessory people. But beyond that, there
05:42is a sense where we can actually leave the presence of God as a prophetic people, a people
05:51that have his word on our hearts in a way that's immediate and urgent, that we know
05:57exactly, we're convicted exactly of what we should do or what we should say in certain
06:03circumstances. And that we're a people able to face the world with that sense that we have
06:11been directed by God, instructed by God, left his intimate presence, but we can still contain
06:18his intimate word, his word for us now, for this situation, whatever we face, or these
06:25people. And we see a situation where the Holy Spirit really moves before us and convicts
06:31people of the truth of God's word. That is perhaps another challenge, that sense of moving
06:42on from just being an intercessory people to being a prophetic people, a people that
06:47carry God's word out with us as we go into the world in a very immediate sense. And there
06:56are things in this passage that may help us to just think through or to ponder upon, perhaps
07:05things that we can do, they're all very familiar things, but we can be reminded of that may
07:12help us to dwell in the, perhaps in the intimate presence of God in a way that where we have
07:20confidence in hearing his word or seeking out to hear his word in a very immediate sense.
07:27Notice you come to this passage, Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. Samuel's very
07:38existence was born out of prayer, came into being out of prayer. As we read in verse one, prayer
07:45that was absolutely sincere, prayer that was urgent, prayer that was a desperate, a real cry
07:55from the heart and prayer that the grace of God responded to and answered. Any ministry of any
08:06depth and importance will have been like that, born really out of prayer, sincere prayer that's
08:15actually a cry from the heart. And Samuel had been dedicated to the Lord, his life had been
08:27given right at completely over to the Lord's service. That was his role in life, what he was
08:35being prepared for, what he was being trained for, solely just to serve the Lord. He dwelt in the
08:45tabernacle, the place where the presence of God dwelt in or people could seek the Lord's presence
08:54and the Lord's guidance. And he was under the instruction of Eli, the most senior spiritual
09:06leader in the country, the man that had taken the responsibility for being the
09:15high priest to ministering to the Lord in the tabernacle for many years.
09:24And they're all perhaps factors that we can think, perhaps ponder on. Is what we're seeking
09:32really born out of prayer, sincere prayer that's actually a cry from our heart?
09:40Is the situation really consecrated to the Lord? Are we seeking the Lord's holiness, the Lord's
09:49presence, and committed to that? Now if we, because Joshua was told before he entered the
09:57promised land, consecrate yourself because tomorrow I will do great wonders amongst you.
10:03That sense that if we expect God to act, have we really consecrated ourselves?
10:11Do we seek to dwell as much as we're able in what might be called the intimate presence of God?
10:20The God's close presence.
10:25Are we taking on the wisdom and the guidance of those who've gone before and those who've
10:32shown great leadership? They're all things that we might help us to think about.
10:39But we also know that, note the situation in the land at that time.
10:44That the word of the Lord was rare in those days, there was no widespread revelation.
10:54We note that Eli's eyes were dim, or we note that the candle in the tabernacle was burning low.
11:03It was soon to go out.
11:04All those things perhaps have a relevance for us.
11:10We know that the word of the Lord is rare in this land now.
11:17There are many, many Bibles available, but that word is not in men's hearts
11:22or even in their minds known to them. And there is no widespread revelation.
11:30But there's also the sense perhaps of a leadership whose eyes are dim, whose vision is very limited.
11:43And if the church is a light to the world outside, in this land it burns very low.
11:52It hasn't gone out, it's still a day of grace.
11:57But perhaps it's coming to the end like that lamp in the tabernacle.
12:07So an urgent situation. But within that situation God speaks.
12:13And he speaks to this young boy, but it's the start of a new era.
12:22And it's the beginning of a whole new era.
12:27When God speaks, we all know what his word can do.
12:32And it's the beginning of a whole new era.
12:37When God speaks, we all know what his word can do.
12:44But hearing his word, his word is not always perhaps that easy.
12:50But we note that Samuel's instant response, he was available and he was ready.
13:08He lacked wisdom at that time, he did not know the Lord in an intimate sense.
13:15He hadn't heard the Lord speak to him in a way like that before, but he was available.
13:26Perhaps the first thing that if we are to hear the Lord speak, there is that sense of
13:32actually being available and being responsive.
13:37But it took the wisdom of an older man to guide him to the truth, to point him to hearing
13:44God's word, to actually listening to it, to be ready for it.
13:50Again, discerning the Lord's word is perhaps not always easy, and the guidance of those
13:58who are mature in these things, it is necessary sometimes, it's helpful.
14:07But he comes to the point where Samuel responds to Eli's wisdom and he says,
14:15Speak Lord, your servant heareth.
14:22Are they words that we really want to utter?
14:26Because in one sense, for God to speak to us is wonderful, to open up his word is wonderful.
14:36But it also brings great responsibility and great conviction.
14:43The word of the Lord is not always perhaps what we would want to be hearing.
14:50But we do, we have that availability.
14:53Lord, this is your word, Lord speak, your servant heareth.
14:58I'm going to hear this word, I'm not going to deny it.
15:03I'm going to hear it, because it's you speaking.
15:11And the Lord speaks to him.
15:15But it's a message of judgement.
15:18I'm sure many of us would long for the Lord's word, long for a word of comfort,
15:24long for words of guidance, long for words of reassurance.
15:30And very often as we open up the word, we receive that.
15:37But we cannot expect God to speak and to speak to his church without having a word of judgement.
15:51A very serious word of judgement.
15:53For our times are perhaps like the time of Samuel.
15:57We read in the previous chapter that Eli's sons were completely corrupted.
16:04We were reminded in this chapter their conduct is called vile.
16:09It's actually at a stage where it cannot be atoned for, the God will not forgive it.
16:16And they're under imminent judgement.
16:20And we read in the next chapter that they seek to go into battle.
16:24And that battle is a failure.
16:28And they die in that battle.
16:32There is no point really I think perhaps from the church seeking to take the gospel out with the state it's in.
16:40Because it will end up in failure.
16:42And that's a generalisation, I'm not talking about individuals.
16:48Because there is the same sort of corruption even within the leadership, within the body of the church as there was in the priesthood at that time.
16:57So there was a dealing with what was wrong before they could move on to a time of victory.
17:05When God speaks, it can be a word of judgement.
17:10And we need to be prepared for that.
17:13As Eli was, he'd already heard that word.
17:17We read in the previous chapter that an unknown prophet had come to him and told him the same thing.
17:24So it had already been revealed.
17:29And it was being confirmed here as God tends to do.
17:33You know, you get that confirmation very often that if it is God's word, God's true word, it will be confirmed.
17:48So Samuel was ready.
17:51Samuel shared that message. He was afraid too.
17:56It was a difficult message, as God's word often is.
18:01But under instructions he shared that message and he held nothing back.
18:06So key, isn't it?
18:08You know, with God's word, how we would love certain parts of it, love to present it in a certain way.
18:16That is what the world does outside with everything.
18:20What happens on our news or happens in the world of advertising or all sorts of promotions or whatever.
18:29It's all doctored to present something in a certain way.
18:33To produce a certain viewpoint, a certain angle.
18:41God's word that is sincere and true needs to be presented in a way that is holistic, that is whole.
18:51Where nothing is held back.
18:53Where we're not picking out bits we like and turning a blind eye to bits we don't like.
19:01Not seeking to manipulate it so it's presentable when it's difficult.
19:08Samuel held nothing back.
19:13That was so important for the beginning of his ministry as a prophet.
19:18He did not have a future as a prophet for the Lord if he was going to hold God's word back.
19:23Because God's word is very often difficult.
19:30It was uncompromised.
19:33It was uncompromised.
19:36And we know Eli's response, it is of the Lord.
19:42God's word will be recognised.
19:47It is of the Lord.
19:51God's word when it's not compromised.
19:55But when we read on, we read that none of Samuel's words as he grew in the Lord fell to the ground.
20:05That's a lovely phrase isn't it?
20:07And the words did not fall in vain.
20:12They did not just fall to the ground, they achieved their purposes.
20:16And we read in Isaiah of course that God's word never returns void but achieves its purposes.
20:26When it is true.
20:28And that was so for Samuel's ministry.
20:33The word through him was not a word in vain.
20:36It was a word that achieved its purposes.
20:39It didn't fall to the ground.
20:43And as we go on in the next verse, we read that all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord.
21:00Ministry generally, ministry of the tabernacle only existed in really a small area in the central of Israel then.
21:10Really up at the top of Judah.
21:13You know in the area of Shiloh and several, and moved perhaps to a couple of other points.
21:20But it was a relatively small area that Samuel actually on the priest's minute roved round.
21:29And yet for the whole of this country, the whole 80 miles or whatever it was, 100 miles from Dan, right up in the north, down to Beersheba in the south, had heard, knew that Samuel was a prophet of the Lord.
21:47Word had spread. The Lord's word was spreading through Samuel.
21:53He is a prophet. This is God's word. This is what's been said.
22:01Years ago when I was employed, my boss at the time, his father had been in East Africa during World War II.
22:10And they had a very influential padre.
22:14A padre that had been very influential in his life.
22:18But when a senior military figure, general or whatever, came to inspect their whatever it was, encampment, their place, they were very surprised to find that a church had been built, a church building.
22:38Because it was right in the midst of a Muslim area.
22:43And he was told, oh, the locals, they know he's a holy man.
22:51Because this padre went evangelising amongst them in this heavily Muslim area.
22:58He's a holy man.
23:00He brings God's word.
23:03That they knew. That whether it was the Europeans, the soldiers that he was witnessing to, or whether it was the people of Africa with their Muslim background, this man was seen to be a prophet of the Lord.
23:17He brought God's word. He's a holy man.
23:22And that was like Samuel's ministry.
23:25God's word through him did not fall void.
23:29But it spread right throughout the land from Dan to Beersheba, from Beersheba to Dan.
23:38So the ability to hear God speak and the ability to respond to what he says and to share it across the land.
23:49We may be not called or ever able to be a prophet in the sense that Daniel was.
23:57But we can be a prophetic people.
24:01God can speak to us and we can share that word.
24:05And that word will not return void.
24:09So be encouraged as you think about the things that brought Samuel close to the Lord, that allowed him to be used in such a remarkable way by the Lord.
24:20And maybe our ministry can be encouraged and empowered.
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