1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,480 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,720 My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,480 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,680 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:17,560 Now, come along. 8 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,440 Let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today. 9 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,200 We're going to go right into our Bible study, so if you have your 10 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:30,420 Bibles here this evening, turn with me to First Samuel, chapter 11 00:00:30,500 --> 00:00:30,900 three. 12 00:00:31,780 --> 00:00:33,300 First Samuel, chapter three. 13 00:00:33,780 --> 00:00:37,300 We've been in this study now for a few weeks, and we've been looking 14 00:00:37,300 --> 00:00:39,740 at the life of Samuel. 15 00:00:39,740 --> 00:00:43,460 And we really saw before Samuel was born, his mother, Hannah, 16 00:00:43,860 --> 00:00:46,900 was faithful to the Lord and asking the Lord and trusting the 17 00:00:46,900 --> 00:00:49,220 Lord to provide for her a son. 18 00:00:49,460 --> 00:00:54,860 And we know that Eli was used by God to prophesied that Hannah 19 00:00:54,860 --> 00:00:55,740 would have a child. 20 00:00:56,220 --> 00:01:01,460 And so, sure enough, God kept his word as he always does, and Samuel 21 00:01:01,460 --> 00:01:02,620 was born to Hannah. 22 00:01:02,940 --> 00:01:06,380 But if you remember, Hannah's promise to the Lord was, if you give 23 00:01:06,380 --> 00:01:10,820 me a son, I promise to dedicate him to the service of the 24 00:01:10,820 --> 00:01:11,180 Lord. 25 00:01:11,260 --> 00:01:15,740 I promised to dedicate him to the tabernacle there with the high 26 00:01:15,740 --> 00:01:16,100 priest. 27 00:01:16,100 --> 00:01:17,580 And that's exactly what she did. 28 00:01:17,660 --> 00:01:20,860 And we read about that in First Samuel chapter one and two. 29 00:01:21,290 --> 00:01:25,530 And in First Samuel chapter two, we saw Hannah's worship to God 30 00:01:25,850 --> 00:01:27,770 through a prayer and through a song. 31 00:01:28,250 --> 00:01:33,770 And then we saw the contrast between Hannah's son Samuel and his 32 00:01:33,770 --> 00:01:35,690 righteousness and his obedience to God. 33 00:01:35,850 --> 00:01:41,650 And then the other side of that, the evil sons of Eli, if you 34 00:01:41,650 --> 00:01:45,570 remember, Eli had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, who essentially 35 00:01:45,570 --> 00:01:47,930 what they were doing is they were abusing their office. 36 00:01:48,650 --> 00:01:50,970 They were really falling in two areas of sin. 37 00:01:50,970 --> 00:01:53,770 One area of sin was pride and materialism. 38 00:01:53,770 --> 00:01:56,570 They were stealing from the people that were coming to worship. 39 00:01:56,810 --> 00:01:59,890 People were coming to worship, and they were giving their meat as 40 00:01:59,890 --> 00:02:00,490 an offering. 41 00:02:00,490 --> 00:02:03,170 But Hophni and Phineas were saying, we want the meat the way 42 00:02:03,170 --> 00:02:05,970 that we want it, so that we can take it and eat it our way, that 43 00:02:05,970 --> 00:02:09,450 we can sell it and that we can make extra money on top of that. 44 00:02:09,450 --> 00:02:12,770 And that's really a picture of all the spiritual leaders today that 45 00:02:12,770 --> 00:02:16,150 are abusing people, taking money from them, stealing from them, 46 00:02:16,150 --> 00:02:18,070 and really manipulating them. 47 00:02:18,150 --> 00:02:20,230 And then there was another sin that they were committing. 48 00:02:20,470 --> 00:02:23,550 They were essentially committing a fornication with women 49 00:02:23,550 --> 00:02:25,590 that were coming in looking to worship. 50 00:02:25,750 --> 00:02:28,550 And so essentially, they were falling into the trap of pride. 51 00:02:28,710 --> 00:02:31,270 They were falling into the trap of greed, and they were falling 52 00:02:31,270 --> 00:02:33,950 into the trap of lust and ultimately fornication. 53 00:02:33,950 --> 00:02:37,750 And those are the really, the paths that we see today in the sin 54 00:02:37,750 --> 00:02:41,030 of spiritual leaders is that they go usually towards the love 55 00:02:41,030 --> 00:02:41,390 of money. 56 00:02:41,390 --> 00:02:43,950 As the Bible says, the love of money is the root of all evil. 57 00:02:44,350 --> 00:02:45,710 Not money, but the love of money. 58 00:02:45,870 --> 00:02:49,030 And then we also know that the Bible says for specifically men in 59 00:02:49,030 --> 00:02:52,710 leadership to guard our hearts from those youthful lust. 60 00:02:52,710 --> 00:02:55,270 And so that's what we saw in chapter two. 61 00:02:55,270 --> 00:02:57,870 So I catch you up here to chapter three. 62 00:02:58,030 --> 00:03:03,630 And now we're going to see Samuel and how God calls Samuel to 63 00:03:03,630 --> 00:03:06,190 more to prophesy and to serve the Lord. 64 00:03:06,580 --> 00:03:11,300 And this is an exciting story of hearing how a young man, Samuel, 65 00:03:11,460 --> 00:03:14,140 hears the call of God and obeys the call of God. 66 00:03:14,140 --> 00:03:17,700 And this should be a picture for all of us to follow in our lives 67 00:03:18,180 --> 00:03:20,020 as God calls us to do certain things. 68 00:03:20,020 --> 00:03:24,340 And so here in verse 1 of 1st Samuel 3, it says, and the child 69 00:03:24,340 --> 00:03:28,260 Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. 70 00:03:28,980 --> 00:03:32,020 Now, I want to just stop there because this is really awesome. 71 00:03:32,460 --> 00:03:36,980 This is the third time it's emphasized in this book already that 72 00:03:36,980 --> 00:03:39,060 Samuel is ministering to the Lord. 73 00:03:39,060 --> 00:03:40,620 And what a great testimony that is. 74 00:03:40,620 --> 00:03:43,060 I. I don't know about you guys, but sometimes I often think, 75 00:03:43,060 --> 00:03:45,420 like, what if someone was to write a story about my life? 76 00:03:45,820 --> 00:03:50,380 If someone was to track me and follow me and look at what I'm doing 77 00:03:50,380 --> 00:03:52,940 in private and look at what I'm doing in public, would they say 78 00:03:53,260 --> 00:03:55,620 that I'm a minister of the Lord, or would they say something 79 00:03:55,620 --> 00:03:56,060 else? 80 00:03:56,460 --> 00:03:59,140 But what we see here in this case is that the testimony of this 81 00:03:59,140 --> 00:04:03,050 young man Samuel was that he was ministering unto the Lord. 82 00:04:03,530 --> 00:04:05,890 And it's important to note that it says that he was ministering 83 00:04:05,890 --> 00:04:09,090 unto the Lord even though he was serving others, even though he 84 00:04:09,090 --> 00:04:12,690 was serving Eli, even though he was helping others in their worship 85 00:04:12,690 --> 00:04:16,010 in the tabernacle, he ultimately was serving God. 86 00:04:16,010 --> 00:04:18,330 And that's something that we have to understand in our own lives 87 00:04:18,330 --> 00:04:21,570 when we're serving, when we're called by God to do certain things 88 00:04:21,570 --> 00:04:25,330 for other people, is that ultimately the ultimate object of 89 00:04:25,330 --> 00:04:26,530 our service is the Lord. 90 00:04:26,530 --> 00:04:28,840 And that's what we see here in verse number one. 91 00:04:28,840 --> 00:04:33,560 And so just as God calls us to serve him, he called Samuel to serve 92 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:33,680 him. 93 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:36,040 And Samuel was faithful to that. 94 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:39,360 So it says that he ministered unto the Lord before Eli, and the 95 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:42,200 word of the Lord was precious in those days. 96 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:44,280 There was no open vision. 97 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,760 Now if you read verse one, there might seem a little confusing. 98 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:50,920 And you might say, what is he talking about here, but essentially 99 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:54,880 what it's saying here is that the Word of the Lord at this point 100 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:57,660 in time was, was rare for many people. 101 00:04:57,740 --> 00:04:59,660 Now it's not rare that God was speaking. 102 00:04:59,660 --> 00:05:02,340 It's rare for people in the fact that they weren't listening 103 00:05:02,340 --> 00:05:03,500 to the call of God. 104 00:05:03,900 --> 00:05:06,820 And so the Word of the Lord that we're reading here in this case 105 00:05:06,820 --> 00:05:10,660 is, is obviously what they have before them and God guiding 106 00:05:10,660 --> 00:05:13,540 them through prophecies and through His Word. 107 00:05:13,540 --> 00:05:16,700 And so the Word of the Lord being rare in those days essentially 108 00:05:16,700 --> 00:05:17,220 means this. 109 00:05:17,220 --> 00:05:20,460 It wasn't that God was silent as much as the hardness of the hearts 110 00:05:20,460 --> 00:05:23,650 of the people there in Israel were there cold to it. 111 00:05:23,650 --> 00:05:26,250 And therefore it was rare because they were not perceiving 112 00:05:26,250 --> 00:05:27,050 the Word of God. 113 00:05:27,050 --> 00:05:29,770 They were not listening to the Word of God, they were not obeying 114 00:05:29,770 --> 00:05:30,290 the Word of God. 115 00:05:30,290 --> 00:05:32,690 And that's sometimes what can happen in our culture today. 116 00:05:32,690 --> 00:05:35,450 We could say, well, you know what, it seems like God's not speaking, 117 00:05:35,450 --> 00:05:38,329 but many times God is speaking through His Word. 118 00:05:38,329 --> 00:05:41,650 But we're cold to it, we're hard hearted to it, we're distracted, 119 00:05:41,650 --> 00:05:44,690 and we're so busy with life that we miss out on the fact that 120 00:05:44,690 --> 00:05:46,090 God is calling us for something. 121 00:05:46,090 --> 00:05:49,010 And so essentially what verse one is telling us is not that God 122 00:05:49,010 --> 00:05:53,490 was quiet as much as people were not listening to God and he 123 00:05:53,490 --> 00:05:55,290 was guiding and they were not following. 124 00:05:56,090 --> 00:05:59,330 So this is unique in the case that Samuel, a young man, was following 125 00:05:59,330 --> 00:06:00,250 God, verse 2. 126 00:06:00,250 --> 00:06:03,170 And it came to pass at that time when Eli was laid down in his 127 00:06:03,170 --> 00:06:06,330 place, and his eyes began to wax them that he could not see. 128 00:06:06,410 --> 00:06:09,330 And air, the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord where 129 00:06:09,330 --> 00:06:10,370 the ark of the covenant was. 130 00:06:10,370 --> 00:06:11,890 And Samuel was laid down to sleep. 131 00:06:11,890 --> 00:06:14,970 And so we know that this is in the evening, we know that they're 132 00:06:15,290 --> 00:06:16,090 going to sleep. 133 00:06:16,090 --> 00:06:21,150 And so this is in the case of Eli, he's physically going to sleep. 134 00:06:21,150 --> 00:06:24,070 But I would actually venture to say that Eli at this point of 135 00:06:24,070 --> 00:06:27,430 his life, because of his sons and because the way he was leading, 136 00:06:27,510 --> 00:06:29,830 he might have been even been spiritually asleep. 137 00:06:30,470 --> 00:06:34,150 And so he comes here and he goes to sleep and says that before 138 00:06:34,150 --> 00:06:36,150 the Lamb of God went out in the tabernacle. 139 00:06:36,310 --> 00:06:38,470 So this is essentially saying basically they're turning the lights 140 00:06:38,470 --> 00:06:41,830 off, they're going to bed, and we're going to see that God speaks 141 00:06:41,830 --> 00:06:43,110 to Samuel in this case. 142 00:06:43,110 --> 00:06:46,710 And at first Samuel is going to think that this is Eli speaking, 143 00:06:47,910 --> 00:06:50,470 but we, we know that eventually he finds out that it's 144 00:06:50,470 --> 00:06:50,670 God. 145 00:06:50,670 --> 00:06:51,230 Speaking to him. 146 00:06:51,230 --> 00:06:51,910 So verse 4. 147 00:06:52,550 --> 00:06:56,550 But the Lord called Samuel, and he answered, here am I. 148 00:06:57,110 --> 00:07:00,030 And so Samuel here hears an audible voice. 149 00:07:00,030 --> 00:07:02,870 It seems like he hears an audible voice, and his response is, 150 00:07:02,870 --> 00:07:03,430 here I am. 151 00:07:04,230 --> 00:07:04,670 I'm here. 152 00:07:04,670 --> 00:07:05,230 I'm ready. 153 00:07:05,230 --> 00:07:05,990 What do you want? 154 00:07:06,390 --> 00:07:08,710 And he ran unto Eli and said, here am I. 155 00:07:08,870 --> 00:07:09,130 So. 156 00:07:09,280 --> 00:07:11,760 So obviously we see that first point. 157 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:14,800 Samuel thinks that it's Eli calling out to him. 158 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,200 And he says, here am I, for thou called us me. 159 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:19,440 And he said, I called not lie down again. 160 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:20,880 And he went and lay down. 161 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,080 And so obviously Eli's confused. 162 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:25,399 Eli's like, go back to sleep. 163 00:07:25,399 --> 00:07:26,080 What are you doing? 164 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:27,280 I didn't call you. 165 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:31,280 And, you know, I heard this story so many times and didn't really 166 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:33,040 resonate to me until I had kids. 167 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:35,820 I don't know of any of you that have had kids, have come and 168 00:07:35,820 --> 00:07:38,260 knocked on your door and said that they heard something or try 169 00:07:38,260 --> 00:07:39,220 to wake you up in the middle of the night. 170 00:07:39,220 --> 00:07:40,620 Eli's probably frustrated. 171 00:07:40,620 --> 00:07:42,380 Eli's saying, hey, I'm trying to sleep here. 172 00:07:42,380 --> 00:07:43,260 Go back to sleep. 173 00:07:43,580 --> 00:07:45,900 And obviously Samuel's trying to be obedient. 174 00:07:45,900 --> 00:07:49,740 Samuel's trying to do what he always does in obedience to God and 175 00:07:49,740 --> 00:07:52,660 obedience to his mom by following Eli. 176 00:07:52,660 --> 00:07:53,860 So he says, eli's calling for me. 177 00:07:53,860 --> 00:07:54,660 I'm going to go help him. 178 00:07:54,660 --> 00:07:54,900 That's. 179 00:07:54,900 --> 00:07:55,740 That's his whole point. 180 00:07:56,460 --> 00:07:59,700 And so again he lays down in verse six, and the Lord called yet 181 00:07:59,700 --> 00:08:00,420 again Samuel. 182 00:08:00,420 --> 00:08:04,070 And Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, here am I, for thou 183 00:08:04,070 --> 00:08:04,710 didst call me. 184 00:08:04,710 --> 00:08:06,590 And he answered, I called not my son. 185 00:08:06,590 --> 00:08:07,470 Lie down again. 186 00:08:07,470 --> 00:08:09,070 So this happens again. 187 00:08:09,790 --> 00:08:11,710 And so Samuel was obedient. 188 00:08:12,110 --> 00:08:13,790 We know that through his testimony. 189 00:08:13,790 --> 00:08:17,510 And so as God is calling him, he's going to Eli thinking Eli might 190 00:08:17,510 --> 00:08:18,030 need help. 191 00:08:18,910 --> 00:08:21,910 But this often, sometimes is how God calls us. 192 00:08:21,910 --> 00:08:22,550 God calls us. 193 00:08:22,550 --> 00:08:25,950 And maybe we're not perceptive to what he's saying in our life, 194 00:08:25,950 --> 00:08:26,750 through other people. 195 00:08:27,390 --> 00:08:29,790 And oftentimes when God's calling us, we might think that it's 196 00:08:29,790 --> 00:08:30,230 something else. 197 00:08:30,230 --> 00:08:32,590 It might be a circumstance, it might be an open door, it might be 198 00:08:33,020 --> 00:08:33,700 a closed door. 199 00:08:33,700 --> 00:08:36,340 But at this point in time, Samuel didn't know that it was the 200 00:08:36,340 --> 00:08:36,580 Lord. 201 00:08:36,580 --> 00:08:40,060 Yet eventually he's going to find out through Eli's guidance here. 202 00:08:40,220 --> 00:08:44,500 And so verse seven, it says, now, Samuel did not yet know the 203 00:08:44,500 --> 00:08:47,500 Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. 204 00:08:47,500 --> 00:08:50,460 So we see at this point in time, he hasn't had this experience 205 00:08:50,460 --> 00:08:50,820 before. 206 00:08:50,820 --> 00:08:52,860 He has not had God call out to him. 207 00:08:52,940 --> 00:08:53,540 Verse 8. 208 00:08:53,540 --> 00:08:55,100 And the Lord called Samuel again. 209 00:08:55,100 --> 00:08:55,780 The third time. 210 00:08:55,780 --> 00:08:58,900 And he arose and went to Eli and said, here am I, for thou didst 211 00:08:58,900 --> 00:08:59,300 call me. 212 00:08:59,300 --> 00:09:02,350 And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. 213 00:09:02,350 --> 00:09:06,270 And so, even though Eli had a lot of problems in his life, even 214 00:09:06,270 --> 00:09:09,550 though Eli wasn't a good father, even though Eli was getting 215 00:09:09,550 --> 00:09:12,710 up in age and probably spiritually apathetic at this point, 216 00:09:13,030 --> 00:09:16,270 we know that, at least through some experience, Eli perceived that 217 00:09:16,270 --> 00:09:18,310 the Lord had called Samuel. 218 00:09:18,310 --> 00:09:19,670 And so he gives him some advice. 219 00:09:19,670 --> 00:09:20,150 Verse 9. 220 00:09:20,150 --> 00:09:22,550 Therefore, Eli said unto Samuel, go lie down. 221 00:09:22,870 --> 00:09:26,150 And it shall be if he called thee, that thou shalt say, speak, 222 00:09:26,150 --> 00:09:27,590 Lord, for thy servant here. 223 00:09:28,130 --> 00:09:30,250 So Samuel went and laid down in his place. 224 00:09:30,250 --> 00:09:32,930 And so Eli does give Samuel good advice. 225 00:09:32,930 --> 00:09:33,650 This is God. 226 00:09:33,810 --> 00:09:35,730 When God calls you, you listen. 227 00:09:36,210 --> 00:09:39,090 And so what he says here is good advice. 228 00:09:39,090 --> 00:09:41,410 And I think that we can take some lessons from this. 229 00:09:41,890 --> 00:09:45,570 And so when God is calling us in our life through many different 230 00:09:45,570 --> 00:09:48,850 circumstances, maybe through it's a passage of scripture, maybe 231 00:09:48,850 --> 00:09:51,890 through a circumstance, maybe through an open door, maybe through 232 00:09:52,530 --> 00:09:56,080 giving us conviction, maybe through giving us comfort, there's 233 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:58,480 some steps that I think we need to take to hear the voice of 234 00:09:58,480 --> 00:09:59,280 God in our life. 235 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:00,680 Now, I need to be clear here. 236 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:04,840 I don't believe that in every situation that God is audibly speaking 237 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:06,120 to all of us at all times. 238 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:09,000 But we know that God can speak through various means. 239 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:11,960 So when God speaks to us, I mean, some of the times that God's 240 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:14,360 spoken to me the loudest has been through Bible study. 241 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:17,000 I've been reading and I've been struggling with something. 242 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:18,840 I've been thinking about something, I've been praying about 243 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:19,160 something. 244 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:21,920 And God reveals this truth to me right there from Scripture. 245 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:23,560 It almost like jumps off the page for me. 246 00:10:24,090 --> 00:10:26,970 And the reality is, is that there is a way that we can respond 247 00:10:26,970 --> 00:10:28,010 properly to God. 248 00:10:28,010 --> 00:10:31,530 And the first step would be to make ourselves available to God, 249 00:10:31,610 --> 00:10:31,890 right? 250 00:10:31,890 --> 00:10:33,010 He says, go lie down. 251 00:10:33,010 --> 00:10:34,090 Be ready, listen. 252 00:10:34,810 --> 00:10:38,010 And I think that sometimes we're so busy with life, we're so 253 00:10:38,730 --> 00:10:42,570 caught up in the to and fro of work and. 254 00:10:42,730 --> 00:10:46,570 And home and hobbies and just all the distractions of this world, 255 00:10:46,570 --> 00:10:50,210 our world is so loud right now that a lot of times we're not even 256 00:10:50,210 --> 00:10:52,250 available to hear God's call in our life. 257 00:10:53,090 --> 00:10:55,650 I remember one of the most convicting messages that my pastor 258 00:10:55,650 --> 00:10:59,730 preached back when I was in church in Florida, was he preached 259 00:10:59,730 --> 00:11:01,970 a message on, are you ready to be called by God? 260 00:11:01,970 --> 00:11:03,330 Are you prepared to go? 261 00:11:03,490 --> 00:11:06,170 If God called you right now, would you be ready to go? 262 00:11:06,170 --> 00:11:08,770 Or would you say, I gotta take care of this, I gotta take care of 263 00:11:08,770 --> 00:11:08,930 this. 264 00:11:08,930 --> 00:11:09,850 I gotta take care of this. 265 00:11:09,850 --> 00:11:12,090 Well, there's passages in scripture that talk about that. 266 00:11:12,090 --> 00:11:14,570 Remember, Jesus says, you can't be the type of person that 267 00:11:14,570 --> 00:11:16,290 says, I gotta go do this, I gotta go do that. 268 00:11:16,290 --> 00:11:17,330 I gotta be ready to go. 269 00:11:17,410 --> 00:11:20,170 So the first step would be to make yourself available for God to 270 00:11:20,170 --> 00:11:20,530 speak. 271 00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:22,320 What does that mean? 272 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:25,880 Well, biblically speaking, the Bible says to be still and know that 273 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:26,440 he is God. 274 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:28,320 There's some times in our life where we need to be still. 275 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:31,760 We need to be open, we need to clear our minds, we need to clear 276 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:32,360 our hearts. 277 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:36,080 We need to set up a situation in which God can speak to us. 278 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:37,600 Now, what does that look like for. 279 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,080 For many of us, that might look like just a personal, private 280 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:41,440 time with God every single day. 281 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:44,520 It might look like a personal, private prayer time. 282 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:47,330 It might look like a personal, private, a Bible study. 283 00:11:47,330 --> 00:11:51,170 It might look just like a situation where we can remove distractions 284 00:11:51,170 --> 00:11:53,570 from our lives and so that we can hear from God. 285 00:11:53,570 --> 00:11:55,210 But then the second step would be this. 286 00:11:55,530 --> 00:11:58,370 Not to be presumptuous about God speaking. 287 00:11:58,370 --> 00:11:59,570 Don't, don't get ahead of God. 288 00:11:59,570 --> 00:12:01,570 Don't, don't insert things there that aren't there. 289 00:12:01,570 --> 00:12:02,410 And that's what he says. 290 00:12:02,570 --> 00:12:05,690 He says if he calls you a kid, basically, we're not going to get 291 00:12:05,690 --> 00:12:06,370 ahead of ourselves. 292 00:12:06,370 --> 00:12:07,690 And I think that too. 293 00:12:07,690 --> 00:12:10,770 Another problem with many of us when we're thinking about God's 294 00:12:10,770 --> 00:12:13,760 direction in our life, and I know I've been here, is that I've 295 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:15,520 said, lord, okay, I'm going to go do this. 296 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:18,400 I, I, I, I know you probably want me to do this, so I'm going 297 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:20,160 to go do this and then I hope you bless it later. 298 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:24,280 That's sometimes the problem is that we get ahead of God's plan 299 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:24,880 in our life. 300 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:26,640 We become presumptuous. 301 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:30,600 We assume that God wants us to do something without going and seeking 302 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:32,880 him and waiting for him to specifically call us. 303 00:12:33,680 --> 00:12:38,000 And then we see at the very end of this, he says to, he says 304 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:42,710 essentially to perceive the word of God to respond to the word 305 00:12:42,710 --> 00:12:43,190 of God. 306 00:12:43,670 --> 00:12:47,510 And so he says, if he does do this to you, just say, speak, Lord, 307 00:12:48,310 --> 00:12:50,150 here am I, here am I. 308 00:12:50,150 --> 00:12:52,790 Speak, Lord, at the end of verse 9, for thy servant heareth. 309 00:12:53,430 --> 00:12:56,670 And so I would say that another step that we could take is 310 00:12:56,670 --> 00:12:58,630 to respond to the Word of God. 311 00:12:58,630 --> 00:13:01,190 When God does show us something from his Word. 312 00:13:01,350 --> 00:13:04,310 When God does give us a teaching, be willing and ready to 313 00:13:04,310 --> 00:13:05,990 respond to that in obedience. 314 00:13:06,680 --> 00:13:08,560 Because there's a few different ways that we can respond 315 00:13:08,560 --> 00:13:10,480 to the preaching of the Word of God. 316 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,000 There's a few different ways that we can respond to Bible study. 317 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:17,120 One way to respond is to look at it and not believe it, or to hear 318 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:18,360 it preached and not believe it. 319 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:21,240 I mean, I don't know about you guys, but there's times in my life 320 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:25,320 where I've heard a hard truth from Scripture and it's been difficult 321 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:26,360 for me to apply. 322 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:30,360 But at the same time, we have to understand and recognize that 323 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:33,330 if this is the word of God, which we believe it is, and when 324 00:13:33,330 --> 00:13:35,450 it says something, it doesn't matter how I feel about it. 325 00:13:35,930 --> 00:13:38,810 The reality is, is that I have to obey it no matter what the cost 326 00:13:38,810 --> 00:13:39,370 might be. 327 00:13:39,770 --> 00:13:41,450 So one response is to reject it. 328 00:13:41,450 --> 00:13:44,170 The second response is to receive it, right? 329 00:13:44,170 --> 00:13:45,370 Like, okay, that's great. 330 00:13:45,610 --> 00:13:49,249 Or to say Amen in a church service and even come forward and 331 00:13:49,249 --> 00:13:52,810 kneel at the steps and pray and go, wow, that really captivated 332 00:13:52,810 --> 00:13:53,290 my heart. 333 00:13:53,450 --> 00:13:56,250 But then go outside of the doors and just let it go back to 334 00:13:56,250 --> 00:13:57,450 the way that it used to be. 335 00:13:58,170 --> 00:14:00,770 That speaks to this idea of like, well, I agree with it, but 336 00:14:00,770 --> 00:14:01,930 I'm not going to follow it. 337 00:14:02,490 --> 00:14:04,450 Well, we really, truly don't agree with it. 338 00:14:04,450 --> 00:14:08,010 Sometimes we'll mentally adhere to a biblical teaching, but 339 00:14:08,010 --> 00:14:09,330 we don't apply it to our lives. 340 00:14:09,330 --> 00:14:13,410 And so it would be the process of seeing it, hearing it, believing 341 00:14:13,410 --> 00:14:15,330 it, trusting in it, and then living it. 342 00:14:15,330 --> 00:14:18,890 So to respond to the Word of God and then ultimately to humble 343 00:14:18,890 --> 00:14:19,370 ourselves. 344 00:14:19,690 --> 00:14:21,450 And that's what he says at the end of verse nine. 345 00:14:21,450 --> 00:14:23,530 He says, for thy servant heareth. 346 00:14:24,810 --> 00:14:27,770 So Samuel's position would be to say, lord, I'm your servant. 347 00:14:27,770 --> 00:14:28,930 Whatever you want from me. 348 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:30,840 So we make ourselves available. 349 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:33,360 We don't get ahead of ourselves. 350 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:34,600 We don't get ahead of the Lord. 351 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:36,920 We respond to his word with obedience. 352 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:40,320 And we humble ourselves before the Lord to say, lord, whatever you 353 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:42,120 want me to do, I will do. 354 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:44,760 And so we have to listen to the Lord. 355 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:48,920 You know, for example, we're trying to teach our children to listen 356 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:49,320 to us. 357 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:54,960 And oftentimes our children hear us, but they don't listen to 358 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:55,240 us. 359 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:57,120 And you guys know what I mean by that? 360 00:14:57,120 --> 00:14:58,120 Like, they're, They're. 361 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:00,480 We say something like, hey, go do this. 362 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:02,600 And they, okay, but it's. 363 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:06,560 It's not heard or heated and heating would be that they hear it 364 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:07,920 and they do it. 365 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:11,440 And ultimately what we see here in this case is that God is 366 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:12,880 speaking to Samuel. 367 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:18,400 And Eli's advice is, Samuel, humble yourself, hear it, do it. 368 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:20,520 And so Samuel went and laid down in his places. 369 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:22,600 So Samuel follows in obedience. 370 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:24,240 And so we have to hear the word of God. 371 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:27,840 We have to apply those truths that God has given us. 372 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:31,480 And we have to understand that what God's call is for our life is 373 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:35,280 truly the only call that will bring satisfaction and sufficiency 374 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:36,040 to our life. 375 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:39,560 And so let's see in verse number 10 what God's me message is 376 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:40,240 for Samuel. 377 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:45,000 And so verse nine is essentially the wisdom that Eli gives 378 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:46,120 to Samuel in verse 10. 379 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:46,960 And the Lord came. 380 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:49,720 So the Lord does come and speak to Samuel. 381 00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:53,720 And stood and called, as at other times, samuel, Samuel. 382 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:57,400 Then Samuel answered, speak for thy servant here. 383 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:00,320 And so he follows through with this wise advice. 384 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:02,920 And he says, lord, I'm ready. 385 00:16:03,239 --> 00:16:04,000 Speak to me. 386 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:05,120 I want to respond to you. 387 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:06,760 I'm humbling myself before you. 388 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:10,600 And the Lord said to Samuel, behold, I will do a thing in Israel 389 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:15,000 at which both the ears of everyone that heareth it shall tingle. 390 00:16:15,620 --> 00:16:21,340 And so God is about to tell Samuel what he's going to tell him 391 00:16:21,340 --> 00:16:22,660 in way of prophecy. 392 00:16:23,300 --> 00:16:28,740 And so this seems to be something that's a large, huge announcement 393 00:16:28,740 --> 00:16:29,500 to Samuel here. 394 00:16:29,500 --> 00:16:31,780 And Samuel is going to be trusted with this. 395 00:16:31,860 --> 00:16:34,980 And so God's message to Samuel is that there's going to be coming 396 00:16:35,140 --> 00:16:38,660 judgment upon specifically Eli in his house. 397 00:16:38,900 --> 00:16:40,260 And so verse number 12. 398 00:16:40,260 --> 00:16:43,650 In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I've 399 00:16:43,650 --> 00:16:44,970 spoken concerning his house. 400 00:16:45,530 --> 00:16:47,690 When I begin, I will also make an end. 401 00:16:47,770 --> 00:16:52,250 So what he is doing here is he's warning Samuel that there's 402 00:16:52,250 --> 00:16:55,170 going to be judgment, but also he's going to tell Samuel that he 403 00:16:55,170 --> 00:16:56,930 has to convey this verse 13. 404 00:16:56,930 --> 00:17:00,170 For I have told him that I will judge his house for every. 405 00:17:00,570 --> 00:17:04,530 For forever, for the iniquity which he knoweth, because his sons 406 00:17:04,530 --> 00:17:06,730 made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. 407 00:17:07,210 --> 00:17:10,330 So again we see a reiteration of Eli's sin. 408 00:17:11,860 --> 00:17:15,900 Eli did a great job as a dad, and then his children went off in 409 00:17:15,900 --> 00:17:16,340 rebellion. 410 00:17:16,340 --> 00:17:19,620 And God's judging Eli just because his children are bad? 411 00:17:19,780 --> 00:17:24,100 No, he's judging Eli in his house because, as we see here, verse 412 00:17:24,100 --> 00:17:27,460 13, he says his sons made themselves vile. 413 00:17:27,460 --> 00:17:30,500 And you remember there were some terrible things that his sons 414 00:17:30,500 --> 00:17:30,900 were doing. 415 00:17:31,060 --> 00:17:32,340 But then what's the problem? 416 00:17:32,580 --> 00:17:37,460 Well, the iniquity in Eli was that there was never going to be 417 00:17:37,460 --> 00:17:38,420 any discipline there. 418 00:17:38,420 --> 00:17:38,620 He. 419 00:17:38,690 --> 00:17:41,410 He says that essentially you restrain them not. 420 00:17:42,210 --> 00:17:47,130 And so this is a strong warning that if we do not raise our 421 00:17:47,130 --> 00:17:50,730 children well, and, and in many cases this might not apply to 422 00:17:50,730 --> 00:17:51,130 everybody. 423 00:17:51,130 --> 00:17:54,130 But what he says Here for Eli is that there's consequences to how 424 00:17:54,130 --> 00:17:55,009 we raise our children. 425 00:17:55,170 --> 00:17:57,050 And in this case, there's severe consequences. 426 00:17:57,050 --> 00:17:57,650 Verse 14. 427 00:17:57,730 --> 00:18:01,210 And therefore I've sworn unto the house of Eli that the iniquity 428 00:18:01,210 --> 00:18:04,370 of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice, nor offering 429 00:18:04,370 --> 00:18:04,770 forever. 430 00:18:05,100 --> 00:18:07,500 And Samuel lay unto the morning and opened the doors of the 431 00:18:07,500 --> 00:18:10,700 house of the Lord, and Samuel feared to show Eli the vision. 432 00:18:10,700 --> 00:18:14,580 So understandably, think. 433 00:18:14,580 --> 00:18:16,540 Put yourself in Samuel's shoes for a second. 434 00:18:17,100 --> 00:18:17,580 Okay? 435 00:18:17,580 --> 00:18:18,580 Samuel's a young boy. 436 00:18:18,580 --> 00:18:21,540 We don't know exactly how old he is, but it's evident that he's 437 00:18:21,540 --> 00:18:21,740 young. 438 00:18:21,740 --> 00:18:25,580 And Eli is very old and very mature and considered to be the spiritual 439 00:18:25,580 --> 00:18:26,500 leader of Israel. 440 00:18:26,500 --> 00:18:30,660 And God comes and speaks to Samuel and say, samuel gonna judge 441 00:18:30,660 --> 00:18:31,260 Eli. 442 00:18:31,690 --> 00:18:34,090 And actually, I'm telling you to tell him this. 443 00:18:34,570 --> 00:18:37,050 Samuel has a lot of fear because Samuel's like, man, I'm going 444 00:18:37,050 --> 00:18:39,570 to have to confront someone with the truth sometimes. 445 00:18:39,570 --> 00:18:42,250 The hardest thing to do sometimes is to confront people with 446 00:18:42,250 --> 00:18:45,570 the truth of God because of the fear of what might happen when 447 00:18:45,570 --> 00:18:46,170 we do that. 448 00:18:46,170 --> 00:18:49,850 And so says Samuel feared to show Eli the vision. 449 00:18:50,330 --> 00:18:51,850 And so God had a message. 450 00:18:52,330 --> 00:18:54,970 And I think the lesson that we can learn from this is that sometimes 451 00:18:54,970 --> 00:18:57,640 God is going to give us a call or a message that is not. 452 00:18:57,790 --> 00:19:00,430 Not going to be easy to impart and to live out in our lives. 453 00:19:00,990 --> 00:19:04,550 I wish that everything that God called us to do was easy and, 454 00:19:04,550 --> 00:19:07,030 and it is easy if we give ourselves over to him. 455 00:19:07,030 --> 00:19:10,070 But ultimately, as a human being, there's going to be a lot 456 00:19:10,070 --> 00:19:13,230 of difficulties with following God's call for our life. 457 00:19:14,350 --> 00:19:18,310 I remember very vividly there was a point in my life that I said 458 00:19:18,310 --> 00:19:24,310 the very overwhelming yet reassuring words of, like, lord, 459 00:19:24,310 --> 00:19:25,190 I'm going to trust you. 460 00:19:25,190 --> 00:19:27,230 Wherever you want me to go, I'm going to go. 461 00:19:28,220 --> 00:19:33,460 And I knew that saying that was saying that he could send me 462 00:19:33,460 --> 00:19:35,820 to another continent. 463 00:19:36,060 --> 00:19:40,060 He could send me to a ministry that I do not even know what I would 464 00:19:40,060 --> 00:19:40,380 do. 465 00:19:40,380 --> 00:19:40,740 And. 466 00:19:40,740 --> 00:19:42,340 And where did he call me? 467 00:19:42,340 --> 00:19:44,820 Well, he called me to Delaware, which after this weekend, 468 00:19:44,820 --> 00:19:45,100 it's. 469 00:19:45,100 --> 00:19:47,340 It's been a real struggle to deal with the cold and the snow. 470 00:19:47,340 --> 00:19:47,660 Okay. 471 00:19:47,660 --> 00:19:49,820 It's like for a Florida boy, that's a struggle. 472 00:19:49,980 --> 00:19:50,340 But. 473 00:19:50,340 --> 00:19:53,380 But the reality is, is we often think of, like, circumstantial 474 00:19:53,380 --> 00:19:55,090 things, like, it's a different place. 475 00:19:55,090 --> 00:19:55,650 It's. 476 00:19:55,650 --> 00:19:56,050 It's. 477 00:19:56,050 --> 00:19:59,410 It's different culture, it's different food, it's different whatever. 478 00:19:59,890 --> 00:20:00,210 But. 479 00:20:00,210 --> 00:20:02,610 But at the end of the day, some of the most difficult things 480 00:20:02,610 --> 00:20:05,930 that God calls Us to do is just live in the truth and proclaim 481 00:20:05,930 --> 00:20:07,210 the truth to others around us. 482 00:20:07,210 --> 00:20:08,850 And Samuel has a challenge here. 483 00:20:08,930 --> 00:20:11,890 And that challenge is that I have to live godly. 484 00:20:11,890 --> 00:20:15,010 I have to live in truth even when others around me are not. 485 00:20:15,410 --> 00:20:19,650 And so the word of God comes to Samuel, and he recognizes that 486 00:20:19,650 --> 00:20:21,370 God is judging sin. 487 00:20:21,370 --> 00:20:22,930 Eli knew of his sin. 488 00:20:22,930 --> 00:20:27,050 Eli understood that he was walking in rebellion to the Lord. 489 00:20:27,210 --> 00:20:30,690 But ultimately doesn't make it any easier for this to be coming 490 00:20:30,690 --> 00:20:33,810 to pass in the life of Eli and his sons. 491 00:20:33,810 --> 00:20:38,690 And so Samuel is now going to tell Eli the truth, which. 492 00:20:38,690 --> 00:20:40,090 Which is sometimes difficult. 493 00:20:40,570 --> 00:20:45,530 So it says here that Samuel waits until the morning and we see 494 00:20:45,530 --> 00:20:49,930 a young man in his bed struggling to come to grips with 495 00:20:49,930 --> 00:20:50,810 what God told him. 496 00:20:51,630 --> 00:20:57,150 But ultimately, in verse 16, then Eli called Samuel and said, 497 00:20:57,150 --> 00:20:57,990 samuel, my son. 498 00:20:57,990 --> 00:20:59,070 And he answered, here am I. 499 00:20:59,070 --> 00:21:00,910 So we see a reiteration of that phrase. 500 00:21:00,910 --> 00:21:01,470 Here am I. 501 00:21:01,470 --> 00:21:01,830 He's. 502 00:21:01,830 --> 00:21:04,150 He's open, he's ready, he's obedient. 503 00:21:04,150 --> 00:21:09,030 And so Eli probably wasn't the greatest boss, he probably wasn't 504 00:21:09,030 --> 00:21:13,230 the greatest parent, but still Samuel allowed for him to have respect 505 00:21:13,230 --> 00:21:14,510 because he was his elder. 506 00:21:15,150 --> 00:21:18,630 And verse 17 and he said, what is the thing that the Lord has said 507 00:21:18,630 --> 00:21:18,990 unto thee? 508 00:21:18,990 --> 00:21:20,110 So Eli's curious. 509 00:21:22,430 --> 00:21:23,790 I pray thee hide it not from. 510 00:21:23,870 --> 00:21:24,510 From me. 511 00:21:25,070 --> 00:21:29,230 God do so to thee, and more also if thou hide anything from me 512 00:21:29,390 --> 00:21:30,990 of all the things that he said. 513 00:21:31,550 --> 00:21:35,030 So basically, Eli is under the assumption that Samuel's going to 514 00:21:35,030 --> 00:21:37,470 hide it from him, but Samuel's not. 515 00:21:37,470 --> 00:21:38,070 Verse 18. 516 00:21:38,070 --> 00:21:41,470 And Samuel told him every wit and hid nothing from him. 517 00:21:41,550 --> 00:21:45,470 And he said, it is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good. 518 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,160 And so Samuel tells him everything. 519 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:50,400 And that'd be hard. 520 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:50,760 It's hard. 521 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:51,880 It's the. 522 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:53,640 The message of judgment is hard. 523 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:59,560 That's often why in churches we only hear a portion of the gospel, 524 00:22:00,120 --> 00:22:03,360 because there's parts of the gospel that are easy for most people 525 00:22:03,360 --> 00:22:03,880 to hear. 526 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:05,080 It's not. 527 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:08,560 Most people don't get upset with the fact that we tell people 528 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:09,480 that God loves them. 529 00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:10,360 Like, that's a. 530 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:11,640 Like a reasonable five. 531 00:22:12,140 --> 00:22:14,900 Because all of us think like, well, I'm a pretty lovable person. 532 00:22:14,900 --> 00:22:17,740 So, like, the fact that God loves me is a good thing. 533 00:22:17,740 --> 00:22:20,180 And we should always tell people that God loves them because 534 00:22:20,180 --> 00:22:20,620 he does. 535 00:22:20,860 --> 00:22:21,740 God is love. 536 00:22:21,900 --> 00:22:24,140 For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son. 537 00:22:24,140 --> 00:22:27,500 But there's more to the gospel message than just God loves you. 538 00:22:27,980 --> 00:22:29,220 Because, yes, God loves you. 539 00:22:29,220 --> 00:22:32,380 But if we leave it at the fact that just God Loves everybody. 540 00:22:32,780 --> 00:22:35,100 The problem with that is, then why would I need to change? 541 00:22:35,340 --> 00:22:38,790 Like, if God loves me the way that I am in my sin, when why do 542 00:22:38,790 --> 00:22:39,310 I need to change? 543 00:22:39,310 --> 00:22:41,630 And then that's when we bring in the full message of the gospel, 544 00:22:41,630 --> 00:22:43,950 that there is judgment to sin. 545 00:22:44,670 --> 00:22:46,270 For the wages of sin is death. 546 00:22:47,390 --> 00:22:50,310 We know for all have sinned to come short of the glory of God, there 547 00:22:50,310 --> 00:22:50,910 is none good. 548 00:22:50,910 --> 00:22:55,470 No, not one part of telling the whole message of the gospel is 549 00:22:55,470 --> 00:22:56,990 a message of judgment. 550 00:22:56,990 --> 00:22:58,270 Yes, it's a message of love. 551 00:22:58,430 --> 00:23:00,030 Yes, it's a message of hope. 552 00:23:00,190 --> 00:23:02,910 But it's also a message that, hey, if you don't listen to this, 553 00:23:02,910 --> 00:23:06,200 if you don't believe in what God has to say, that there is punishment 554 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:08,480 to this, there is a payment for sin. 555 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:11,360 Now, the greatest news ever told us that Jesus loved us enough 556 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:15,480 to give that sacrifice for us so that we don't have to face the 557 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:17,840 payment for sin, that we don't have to face judgment. 558 00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:22,080 But I would venture to say that many people are afraid to mention 559 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:24,840 the judgment because it's an offensive peace. 560 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:26,560 It's an offensive state. 561 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:30,080 And the Bible says that Jesus is a stumbling block. 562 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:33,110 He's a rock for those, for those that believe, he's the sure 563 00:23:33,110 --> 00:23:34,670 foundation which we can build off of. 564 00:23:34,670 --> 00:23:36,030 That's what first Peter tells us. 565 00:23:36,430 --> 00:23:39,390 But for people that don't believe in Jesus and think that they're 566 00:23:39,390 --> 00:23:42,510 good people, Jesus, the Bible says it's a rock of offense. 567 00:23:43,150 --> 00:23:47,149 Because I can say all day in this world, hey, I believe in a God. 568 00:23:47,149 --> 00:23:48,950 And most people say, okay, that's you. 569 00:23:48,950 --> 00:23:49,750 That's your good thing. 570 00:23:49,750 --> 00:23:51,430 You know, I believe in God, you believe in a God. 571 00:23:51,430 --> 00:23:53,230 We all believe in some God, and we're okay. 572 00:23:53,870 --> 00:23:56,630 But where we preach the full gospel is that it's only through 573 00:23:56,630 --> 00:23:57,070 Jesus. 574 00:23:57,700 --> 00:23:58,500 Only through Jesus. 575 00:23:58,980 --> 00:24:02,060 So then that, that does offend because not everyone believes in 576 00:24:02,060 --> 00:24:02,500 Jesus. 577 00:24:02,820 --> 00:24:05,180 And so we can't be afraid to preach the whole message. 578 00:24:05,180 --> 00:24:06,340 And that's what Samuel does here. 579 00:24:06,340 --> 00:24:08,660 Samuel says, I'm going to preach the whole message. 580 00:24:08,980 --> 00:24:12,580 I love how it says it there says in Samuel, told him every wit, 581 00:24:12,580 --> 00:24:14,020 meaning every little thing. 582 00:24:15,060 --> 00:24:19,860 And I think for us as Christians, we can find a place in 583 00:24:19,860 --> 00:24:22,140 our life where we can use the sermon. 584 00:24:22,140 --> 00:24:26,020 We can still speak the truth in love, but we need to tell people 585 00:24:26,020 --> 00:24:26,780 the full story. 586 00:24:27,980 --> 00:24:32,540 I, I often think about when I was a kid and my parents would ask 587 00:24:32,540 --> 00:24:33,020 me something. 588 00:24:33,740 --> 00:24:37,260 You know, we all know that we could tell a partial truth. 589 00:24:37,660 --> 00:24:40,060 You ever, you ever had someone tell you like a part of the story, 590 00:24:40,060 --> 00:24:41,340 but they didn't tell you the whole story. 591 00:24:41,820 --> 00:24:47,260 Well, omission to a truth is in many ways a lie because we're 592 00:24:47,260 --> 00:24:48,540 leaving out a certain point. 593 00:24:48,820 --> 00:24:51,780 And so what we do with the gospel is we tell people the whole 594 00:24:51,780 --> 00:24:52,180 story. 595 00:24:52,340 --> 00:24:53,500 And that's what Samuel did. 596 00:24:53,500 --> 00:24:54,500 He told him the whole story. 597 00:24:55,700 --> 00:24:57,540 And so Eli's response is. 598 00:24:57,620 --> 00:24:58,900 Is interesting here. 599 00:25:00,500 --> 00:25:04,100 Many commentators argue on whether or not Eli is responding 600 00:25:05,300 --> 00:25:09,460 in a respectful, godly manner, or what some people would call fatalistic 601 00:25:09,460 --> 00:25:12,460 response, like, well, God's going to judge me. 602 00:25:12,460 --> 00:25:13,780 Then I guess that's what's going to happen. 603 00:25:14,590 --> 00:25:17,710 But nonetheless, he says, let God do what he sees fit. 604 00:25:19,230 --> 00:25:23,630 Ultimately, we should submit ourselves to God's correction conviction 605 00:25:23,630 --> 00:25:24,270 in our life. 606 00:25:25,470 --> 00:25:28,990 But at the same time, it's not about just resigning to judgment. 607 00:25:28,990 --> 00:25:31,230 It's about seeing where God leads us to change. 608 00:25:32,190 --> 00:25:33,190 So, so what does that mean? 609 00:25:33,190 --> 00:25:33,710 That means this. 610 00:25:33,710 --> 00:25:39,110 When I'm reading Scripture and I find a place, by the way, 2nd Timothy 611 00:25:39,110 --> 00:25:39,344 3. 612 00:25:39,396 --> 00:25:43,720 16 says, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and 613 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:46,480 it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof. 614 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:48,800 Reproof is telling us that we're wrong. 615 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:52,320 And then it says for correction, for instruction and righteousness. 616 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:53,520 So there's. 617 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:56,040 If we're reading the Bible enough and we're reading the Bible 618 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,760 the right way, we should find places where we're like, man, I'm 619 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:00,160 wrong. 620 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:01,360 I need to change. 621 00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:04,400 There's one way to read scripture like this, okay, I'm reading 622 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:07,280 and it says something, and I realize that there is a sin in my 623 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:07,520 life. 624 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:07,720 And. 625 00:26:07,790 --> 00:26:10,190 And I go, well, yep, I'm a failure in that. 626 00:26:10,190 --> 00:26:11,790 But okay, that's just me. 627 00:26:12,270 --> 00:26:13,790 That's not the right way to read. 628 00:26:13,790 --> 00:26:15,710 The right way to read it is this. 629 00:26:15,790 --> 00:26:19,270 I see this passage of Scripture, the Holy Spirit's convicting 630 00:26:19,270 --> 00:26:19,710 my heart. 631 00:26:19,870 --> 00:26:21,150 Where do I need to fix this? 632 00:26:21,150 --> 00:26:23,709 God's going to lead me to walk in righteousness, therefore I need 633 00:26:23,709 --> 00:26:24,430 to get this right. 634 00:26:24,830 --> 00:26:27,990 And so Samuel's response is this, well, God's going to do what 635 00:26:27,990 --> 00:26:28,550 he's going to do. 636 00:26:28,550 --> 00:26:29,390 And that's true. 637 00:26:29,870 --> 00:26:33,310 But a lot of times there are people that just resign to the fact 638 00:26:33,310 --> 00:26:36,120 that God is going to judge them and they go, well, that's okay. 639 00:26:36,120 --> 00:26:37,640 I guess that's just what I'll have to face. 640 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:40,080 But the Bible gives us opportunities to repent. 641 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:43,000 And I would encourage you to find that place of repentance in 642 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:44,400 your life and find it frequently. 643 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:46,640 Repented. 644 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:49,080 I used to think that repentance was like a nasty word. 645 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:50,440 Like, oh, man, I got to repent. 646 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:51,360 I got to go back. 647 00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:53,560 And I used to Think that repentance meant I'm never going 648 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:54,160 to sin again. 649 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:56,800 Because the Bible, the Bible speaks of repentance. 650 00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,640 And I used to hear people say, are you repentant of your sins? 651 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:03,740 And I'm like, I am, but what I just sometimes keep sinning. 652 00:27:03,740 --> 00:27:04,300 What's the problem? 653 00:27:04,300 --> 00:27:06,140 Well, we know that we're still dealing with the old man. 654 00:27:06,140 --> 00:27:09,300 Well, repentance, what repentance means is recognizing that 655 00:27:09,300 --> 00:27:13,180 we're wrong and then turning away from it, turning our desires 656 00:27:13,180 --> 00:27:14,300 away from that sin. 657 00:27:14,540 --> 00:27:16,100 And it doesn't mean that we're perfect. 658 00:27:16,100 --> 00:27:19,220 It just means that we're turning away from that path of sin 659 00:27:19,220 --> 00:27:19,660 in our life. 660 00:27:19,660 --> 00:27:23,860 And the Bible says in first, or, excuse me, First John 1:9, to 661 00:27:23,860 --> 00:27:24,860 confess our sins. 662 00:27:25,260 --> 00:27:27,580 If, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just, to preach, 663 00:27:27,650 --> 00:27:29,730 forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 664 00:27:29,890 --> 00:27:31,370 So what does that word confess mean? 665 00:27:31,370 --> 00:27:35,010 I think I've explained this before to you, but biblically speaking, 666 00:27:35,090 --> 00:27:39,570 what Eli's proper response should have been is confessing to 667 00:27:39,570 --> 00:27:44,010 God, living that humble, repentant spirit, and hopefully just 668 00:27:44,010 --> 00:27:46,090 saying, you know, at this point in time, this is all I can 669 00:27:46,090 --> 00:27:46,370 do. 670 00:27:46,930 --> 00:27:48,330 But what is confession? 671 00:27:48,330 --> 00:27:50,690 Well, the Greek word for confession is a word. 672 00:27:50,850 --> 00:27:52,530 It's two words put together. 673 00:27:53,180 --> 00:27:57,140 The Greek word is homo logeo, Homo meaning the same, logeo meaning 674 00:27:57,140 --> 00:27:57,500 word. 675 00:27:57,900 --> 00:28:00,460 Essentially, what that means is to have the same word as God. 676 00:28:00,460 --> 00:28:03,820 Meaning what I'm saying about my sin is the same thing that God's 677 00:28:03,820 --> 00:28:05,100 saying about my sin. 678 00:28:05,340 --> 00:28:07,260 That it's evil, that it's wrong, that it's. 679 00:28:07,260 --> 00:28:08,620 That it's something that I need to change. 680 00:28:08,780 --> 00:28:11,940 And so biblically speaking, Eli's proper response should have 681 00:28:11,940 --> 00:28:15,180 been confession and repentance, which leads to revival. 682 00:28:15,820 --> 00:28:18,140 But we know that that's not necessarily the case. 683 00:28:19,430 --> 00:28:21,910 So he says, let him do what seemeth him. 684 00:28:21,910 --> 00:28:22,230 Good. 685 00:28:22,550 --> 00:28:23,710 Then let's go to verse 19. 686 00:28:23,710 --> 00:28:27,830 We're going to finish up the chapter, verse 19, 20 and 21. 687 00:28:28,790 --> 00:28:31,910 So this was a huge step in Samuel's life. 688 00:28:32,790 --> 00:28:36,230 There, There is a gap here from verse 18 to verse 19. 689 00:28:36,630 --> 00:28:40,070 And we don't know what happens here other than the fact that Samuel 690 00:28:40,070 --> 00:28:40,550 matures. 691 00:28:41,350 --> 00:28:44,350 But there are, There are certain pieces in our life that I 692 00:28:44,350 --> 00:28:47,710 believe are those capstone moments that bring us to a place 693 00:28:47,710 --> 00:28:48,910 of spiritual maturity. 694 00:28:49,390 --> 00:28:56,150 I remember growing up, what it meant to be a man varied on who you 695 00:28:56,150 --> 00:28:56,590 talked. 696 00:28:56,590 --> 00:28:59,750 You know, for some people, being a man meant you got to be burly, 697 00:28:59,750 --> 00:29:02,870 you got to be strong, you got to be, you know, don't show your 698 00:29:02,870 --> 00:29:05,870 emotions, you know, rub Dirt in your wounds and just go for it, 699 00:29:05,870 --> 00:29:07,470 Never cry, never do any of that. 700 00:29:07,550 --> 00:29:11,890 But I realized later on that biblically speaking, and really practically 701 00:29:11,890 --> 00:29:14,930 speaking, being a man essentially means doing what's right. 702 00:29:14,930 --> 00:29:17,050 Essentially, it means taking responsibility. 703 00:29:17,290 --> 00:29:18,610 It means to live soberly. 704 00:29:18,610 --> 00:29:20,810 It means to live in a way of leadership. 705 00:29:20,810 --> 00:29:26,370 And so sometimes being mature in our lives means that we do things 706 00:29:26,370 --> 00:29:27,930 and we learn things that are difficult. 707 00:29:28,090 --> 00:29:32,410 And for Samuel, this was a huge difficult piece for him to overcome 708 00:29:32,410 --> 00:29:35,770 that God would speak to him and tell him, your mentor, your leader, 709 00:29:36,090 --> 00:29:40,000 your spiritual high priest here in this case is going to face 710 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:40,560 judgment. 711 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:42,640 Samuel had to be the one that brought that message. 712 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:45,600 But through that came maturity. 713 00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:46,720 Through that came growth. 714 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:50,160 And so we see in verse 19, and Samuel grew and the Lord was with 715 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:50,480 him. 716 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:56,320 And I love that praise because I. I know that for all of us, hopefully 717 00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:58,400 we desire to grow in the Lord. 718 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:02,800 And we know in this case it's talking about Samuel physically growing, 719 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:05,600 but I think even more so, it's talking about him spiritually growing. 720 00:30:07,130 --> 00:30:11,730 And for us to spiritually grow, we must, as it says here, have 721 00:30:11,730 --> 00:30:12,570 the Lord with us. 722 00:30:13,130 --> 00:30:17,730 Now the Lord is with us in a sense that if we're saved, he's with 723 00:30:17,730 --> 00:30:17,890 us. 724 00:30:17,890 --> 00:30:19,970 The Bible says that he's never going to leave us nor forsake us. 725 00:30:19,970 --> 00:30:23,130 We're indwelled by the Spirit, but oftentimes we can live our lives 726 00:30:23,130 --> 00:30:24,650 like God is not with us. 727 00:30:24,890 --> 00:30:27,970 And so it's a recognition that God is with us, and then it's walking 728 00:30:27,970 --> 00:30:30,170 alongside of him and allowing him to guide us. 729 00:30:30,250 --> 00:30:34,150 So verse 19, Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and did let 730 00:30:34,150 --> 00:30:35,990 none of his words fall to the ground. 731 00:30:36,790 --> 00:30:37,510 And I just. 732 00:30:37,510 --> 00:30:40,630 I love the way that that's phrased, because this means that 733 00:30:40,710 --> 00:30:42,870 all of Samuel's prophecies came to pass. 734 00:30:42,870 --> 00:30:43,270 Why? 735 00:30:43,510 --> 00:30:45,270 Because he was obedient to God. 736 00:30:46,070 --> 00:30:50,110 As God spoke to him, he received it and he believed it, and 737 00:30:50,110 --> 00:30:50,990 he proclaimed it. 738 00:30:50,990 --> 00:30:52,990 And that's exactly how we should live our lives. 739 00:30:52,990 --> 00:30:56,550 And so ultimately, Samuel grows in the Lord. 740 00:30:56,950 --> 00:31:00,270 He grows in his perception of the word of God, and he grows in 741 00:31:00,270 --> 00:31:03,260 his prophetic nature of preaching the truth. 742 00:31:03,340 --> 00:31:03,980 Verse 20. 743 00:31:03,980 --> 00:31:07,740 And all Israel, from Dan, even to Beersheba, knew that Samuel was 744 00:31:07,740 --> 00:31:09,340 established to be the prophet of the Lord. 745 00:31:09,340 --> 00:31:13,020 So essentially what happens here is that because of his testimony, 746 00:31:13,020 --> 00:31:16,300 there's confirmation that God is using him. 747 00:31:16,699 --> 00:31:21,100 It's confirmation that God's power is resting upon Samuel. 748 00:31:21,100 --> 00:31:23,340 So this is the testimony. 749 00:31:23,340 --> 00:31:26,220 So those two cities are really significant. 750 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:27,000 Why? 751 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:30,840 Because Dan is the northernmost city in Israel at the 752 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:34,000 time, and Beersheba was the southernmost. 753 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,920 So it would be like, you know, saying today, like the most northern 754 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:41,080 city of America to the most southern city of America, talking 755 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:44,840 about everybody knowing of the testimony of the Lord through the 756 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:46,080 life of Samuel. 757 00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:46,840 Verse 21. 758 00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:49,280 And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. 759 00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:52,200 For the Lord revealed himself to Samuel and Shiloh by the word 760 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:52,800 of the Lord. 761 00:31:53,470 --> 00:31:55,950 And so obviously the. 762 00:31:55,950 --> 00:31:58,990 The truth of God is being worked out through Samuel's life. 763 00:31:59,150 --> 00:32:04,590 And we know that God appears to Samuel here, and the Lord is revealing 764 00:32:04,590 --> 00:32:05,950 himself by his Word. 765 00:32:06,110 --> 00:32:08,750 And so whenever God is moving, what's going to happen is that he's 766 00:32:08,750 --> 00:32:09,790 going to reveal himself. 767 00:32:10,110 --> 00:32:11,390 How does he reveal himself? 768 00:32:11,390 --> 00:32:13,270 He always reveals himself through His Word. 769 00:32:13,270 --> 00:32:17,590 So if we want to see God's power working in our midst, if we 770 00:32:17,590 --> 00:32:21,370 want to see revival, if we want to see growth, if we want to 771 00:32:21,370 --> 00:32:22,970 see fruit, what do we do? 772 00:32:22,970 --> 00:32:27,050 We infuse every element of our lives, every element of our church, 773 00:32:27,050 --> 00:32:29,530 every element of our culture with the Word of God. 774 00:32:29,530 --> 00:32:31,410 The Word of God is powerful. 775 00:32:31,410 --> 00:32:34,729 And we see that there, that God revealed himself to Samuel and 776 00:32:34,729 --> 00:32:36,690 Shiloh by the word of the Lord. 777 00:32:37,090 --> 00:32:39,970 And so we don't grow by tactics. 778 00:32:39,970 --> 00:32:41,730 We don't grow through manipulation. 779 00:32:41,810 --> 00:32:44,850 We don't grow through controlling people. 780 00:32:44,850 --> 00:32:48,500 We grow through the power of God resting in our lives, through 781 00:32:48,500 --> 00:32:50,820 the power of the Spirit, through the power of the Word. 782 00:32:51,460 --> 00:32:55,820 So Samuel, though he's not perfect, we know that nobody was 783 00:32:55,820 --> 00:32:58,020 perfect except for Jesus Christ walking this earth. 784 00:32:58,340 --> 00:33:02,020 But Samuel was an obedient prophet of the Lord, and he has to 785 00:33:02,020 --> 00:33:03,780 do a lot of brave things in his life. 786 00:33:04,180 --> 00:33:04,980 Know what's. 787 00:33:04,980 --> 00:33:06,180 What Samuel has to do. 788 00:33:06,900 --> 00:33:10,340 He confronts Saul, which we're going to talk about later on. 789 00:33:11,140 --> 00:33:14,880 He obviously anoints Saul, Saul and David. 790 00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:18,120 And Samuel is one of those heroes of scripture that oftentimes 791 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:21,160 gets overlooked, but we see just his obedience and. 792 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:22,280 And I think it all goes back. 793 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:27,240 If we could summarize Samuel's success, we could see it there in 794 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:31,720 chapter three, when God calls out to him, his response is, here 795 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:36,280 am I, here am I, Lord, Speak your servant here. 796 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:41,350 And I think if we want to take any lesson from Samuel, if we want 797 00:33:41,350 --> 00:33:44,630 to take any lesson from Samuel's life, and we could take 798 00:33:44,630 --> 00:33:46,670 a lot of lessons, but what I would say is this. 799 00:33:46,910 --> 00:33:50,790 We should say when God teaches us something from his Word, when 800 00:33:50,790 --> 00:33:53,830 he's guiding us by the Spirit, Lord, here am I. 801 00:33:53,830 --> 00:33:57,630 Wherever you want me to go, whatever you want me to do, wherever 802 00:33:57,710 --> 00:33:59,790 I can be used, I'm available. 803 00:34:00,030 --> 00:34:00,990 I'm your servant. 804 00:34:00,990 --> 00:34:03,350 And when we do that, it doesn't mean that God's going to 805 00:34:03,350 --> 00:34:06,220 always give us the most attractive position. 806 00:34:06,220 --> 00:34:09,060 He's not going to always give us the easiest jobs. 807 00:34:09,060 --> 00:34:12,100 He's not going to always give us the praise of man, which actually 808 00:34:12,100 --> 00:34:15,100 we don't want the praise of man, biblically speaking, because 809 00:34:15,100 --> 00:34:17,220 the Bible says that if we get the praise now, we. 810 00:34:17,220 --> 00:34:18,620 We don't receive the praise later. 811 00:34:18,940 --> 00:34:19,660 So let's. 812 00:34:19,660 --> 00:34:23,940 Let's say in this case, like, to be great in the eyes of God means 813 00:34:23,940 --> 00:34:27,620 to humble ourselves before the people of this earth and say, lord, 814 00:34:27,620 --> 00:34:28,940 whatever you want me to do. 815 00:34:29,180 --> 00:34:31,500 And sometimes God calls you to do things that are notable. 816 00:34:31,500 --> 00:34:33,500 Sometimes God calls you to do things that are rewarding. 817 00:34:33,500 --> 00:34:37,920 Sometimes that calls you to do things that can be a challenge and 818 00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:39,560 maybe even cause fear in your life. 819 00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:40,960 But what I will say is this. 820 00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:45,320 All of us should respond to the Lord by saying, lord, here am 821 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:45,600 I. 822 00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:49,520 And I would tell you that if you honestly do that, God is going 823 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:50,359 to answer that prayer. 824 00:34:50,359 --> 00:34:52,720 He's going to say, okay, here's what I need you to do. 825 00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:55,880 Then the question is, is, are we willing to take the call in our 826 00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:56,120 life? 827 00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:59,280 Not all of us are called to vocational ministry. 828 00:35:00,090 --> 00:35:00,610 Okay, that. 829 00:35:00,610 --> 00:35:03,290 That was the lot that God laid out for me. 830 00:35:03,850 --> 00:35:07,370 But for many of us, it might not be like a missionary or a pastor, 831 00:35:07,610 --> 00:35:10,770 but what it is, is that God would have a ministry for you within 832 00:35:10,770 --> 00:35:14,570 the context of the gospel, some way, some shape, some. 833 00:35:14,570 --> 00:35:19,730 Some form within the capacity that God has called you in your spiritual 834 00:35:19,730 --> 00:35:20,050 gifts. 835 00:35:20,050 --> 00:35:22,890 And so what I would challenge you to do is the first step after 836 00:35:22,890 --> 00:35:26,330 faith, and your first step in growth is saying, lord, what do you 837 00:35:26,330 --> 00:35:26,860 want from me? 838 00:35:27,330 --> 00:35:28,530 How would you want to use me? 839 00:35:28,530 --> 00:35:32,330 And maybe we could be like Samuel and say, here am I, Lord. 840 00:35:32,330 --> 00:35:33,130 Lord, send me. 841 00:35:33,130 --> 00:35:34,210 Here am I. I'm available. 842 00:35:34,370 --> 00:35:35,170 Here am I. 843 00:35:35,730 --> 00:35:38,050 Whatever you want from me, I'm your servant. 844 00:35:38,530 --> 00:35:41,250 And so I would encourage you guys to think about that here. 845 00:35:41,410 --> 00:35:44,210 When it comes to your life, you might say, well, how do I know? 846 00:35:44,770 --> 00:35:46,410 How do I know what God's calling me to? 847 00:35:46,410 --> 00:35:48,050 I have no idea where to even start. 848 00:35:48,130 --> 00:35:51,050 The first place to start is by growing in your relationship with 849 00:35:51,050 --> 00:35:51,330 me. 850 00:35:51,810 --> 00:35:56,110 Prayer, Bible study, following his word, looking for opportunities. 851 00:35:56,910 --> 00:35:58,670 You know, when we're thinking about service. 852 00:35:59,470 --> 00:36:01,310 And I don't want to go down another rabbit trail. 853 00:36:01,550 --> 00:36:05,470 But one of the many great pieces of advice that I received 854 00:36:05,470 --> 00:36:09,350 that really helped me was that I didn't know where God would have 855 00:36:09,350 --> 00:36:09,510 me. 856 00:36:09,510 --> 00:36:10,190 I'm like, lord, where. 857 00:36:10,190 --> 00:36:11,550 Where do you want me to serve? 858 00:36:11,710 --> 00:36:15,070 And I went to my pastor at the time And I said, pastor, I don't 859 00:36:15,070 --> 00:36:16,150 know where you want me to serve. 860 00:36:16,150 --> 00:36:17,790 I don't know where God wants me to serve. 861 00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:19,520 He says, well, how about this? 862 00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:22,320 He says, just start serving everywhere and immediately you'll 863 00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:25,880 start realizing where you feel like God's calling you to serve and 864 00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:27,160 where you don't need to serve. 865 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:29,680 So I remember I was trying to do everything. 866 00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:31,520 I was in the media team. 867 00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:33,120 I was working behind the scenes. 868 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:35,440 I was where I was trying to find opportunities to teach. 869 00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:39,200 And very quickly, by the way, you guys might not know this about 870 00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:42,280 me, but I was working in the nursery, I was working. 871 00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:44,040 I did game time with the kids. 872 00:36:44,530 --> 00:36:49,490 And there I really realized very early that I love children, 873 00:36:50,290 --> 00:36:53,170 but the little children, I'm not necessarily. 874 00:36:53,170 --> 00:36:54,810 That's not my calling, so to speak. 875 00:36:54,810 --> 00:36:56,890 Okay, I love working with kids, but. 876 00:36:56,890 --> 00:37:00,050 But again, I just knew that that's not necessarily something 877 00:37:00,050 --> 00:37:02,210 that I have a strong draw to. 878 00:37:02,370 --> 00:37:06,130 And the truth is, is that God will eventually, as you start serving, 879 00:37:06,370 --> 00:37:10,010 God will reveal to you where he has you and where you feel fit 880 00:37:10,010 --> 00:37:12,630 and where he's going to effectively use you. 881 00:37:12,710 --> 00:37:15,190 And so there's no shame in saying that's not my calling. 882 00:37:16,390 --> 00:37:20,590 But at the same time, there is shame in saying, well, I could never 883 00:37:20,590 --> 00:37:23,110 be used that way because immediately we're getting ahead of 884 00:37:23,110 --> 00:37:24,150 God and saying, God, you. 885 00:37:24,150 --> 00:37:25,150 I would never do that. 886 00:37:25,150 --> 00:37:26,949 Like, never say never. 887 00:37:27,110 --> 00:37:29,710 Never say never when it comes to ministry, because God can call 888 00:37:29,710 --> 00:37:33,270 you and use you in many ways that you might never, never expect. 889 00:37:33,270 --> 00:37:35,190 And I would encourage you to pray about that. 890 00:37:35,350 --> 00:37:38,230 And so may we all be like Samuel and say, lord, here am I. 891 00:37:38,550 --> 00:37:39,030 Send me. 892 00:37:39,670 --> 00:37:40,230 All right. 893 00:37:40,950 --> 00:37:43,590 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 894 00:37:43,590 --> 00:37:44,230 podcast. 895 00:37:44,470 --> 00:37:46,790 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 896 00:37:47,510 --> 00:37:49,710 You would like to find out more information about our church 897 00:37:49,710 --> 00:37:53,190 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 898 00:37:53,510 --> 00:37:56,070 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 899 00:37:56,790 --> 00:38:01,270 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch 900 00:38:01,270 --> 00:38:05,680 dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow 901 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:08,520 along for future podcast and updates. 902 00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:10,120 Thank you so much. 903 00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:11,080 God bless. 904 00:38:11,320 --> 00:38:12,600 Have a wonderful day.