How Do You Like Your Word?
Pastor Ryan Akers
Part 1- January 7, 2007
Some of the historical research and quotes from this message were borrowed from Pastor David Washburn. I want to thank him and i gave him full credit for the way he spoke of the history of this passage very clearly.
(VIDEO- YEAR OF THE BIBLE)
Sometime during this last week I happened to be sitting at my desk minding my own business when suddenly this man walked in and sat down in the chair opposite me. His name was Eric Ebbinghaus. Pastor Eric and myself were having a light hearted conversation until he asked me a question that caught me off guard and took me a moment to answer. He asked, “What are your must watch shows?”
Well, I had to think about that for a moment. What are my most watched TV shows? He said, “just start with Monday.” I said, “alright.” Now before I admit what I watch on a regular basis I want to say right now you have no right no make fun of me. But if I were you I probably would for one show, Eric did. Alright I said, “Monday I watch CSI: Miami and Heroes, Tuesday I watch Gilmore Girls, Wednesdays I watch Lost and Friday Night Lights, Thursday I watch the original and still the best CSI.”
There are 6 shows I watch on a regular basis. Add those shows up and that counts for 6 hours a week that I am sitting in front of my TV vegging out. But those are my regular shows. We haven’t taken into account reruns of History Channel shows, American Chopper. I also love to read and watch movies. I am exposing myself to you today for a very important reason. All of us are given 24 hours a day. You take out 8 hours for sleep and it is down to 16 hours.
You throw in work and school and extra cirriculuar activities and there is not much time left, but whatever time we have we desire to relax by watching a tv show or reading a good book or listening to music. There is something about those forms of entertainment that excite us, or relax us or start our adrenaline. There is something about the fantasy and mystery of a good book that keeps us up till 2am because we just can’t stop reading. There is something about the power and emotion in movies that cause us to stand in line for the sequal. There is something about falling in love with the fictional characters that cause us to come back week after week for the next episode and to invent technology such as TIVO and DVR’s so we are guaranteed not to miss one episode.
We are a people that thrive on the thrill of fiction and fantasy. We spend hours a day and week and thousands of dollars in our lifetime so we can ride a roller coaster of emotion over and over again. It doesn’t matter how many sports movies are made or how similar they are we continue to line up for each new one because there is something about rooting on the underdog that ignites a passion and excitement in us.
There is something about seeing the good guy finishing first or getting the girl that drives us to cheer out loud with them. And leaves us quoting lines for years that each time we hear them sparks that excitement and emotion we felt when we first watched the movie. Like, “Rudy, Rudy, Rudy.” Or, “You make sure they remember the night they played the Titans!” “The name is Bond, James Bond.” “Luke, I am your father!” There is something about the Rocky Theme song that makes me want to punch someone in the face or go run up some stairs. There is something about, (play Jaws on piano) that sends a tingle down our spines. There is just something about books and movies and tv that bring people together to where two total strangers who have never talked can find something like a movie they both liked and talking about that movie begins a friendship.
Yet for all the time you and I spend in a world of fantasy and fiction we fail to realize that we are missing out on the greatest story ever told. A true story. A story of love and corruption. A story where good guys finish first and underdogs conquer the giant. A story where corrupt kings are destroyed and mothers sacrifice their children for a greater love. A story where Good is always the victor over Evil. And the greatest part of this story is that its true.
All of us own this story. Most of us have more than one in our homes. You may even have audio tapes or movies of this story. Yet even though most people own this story. The greatest story ever told it is seldom talked about.
You don’t see people lining up to buy it. You don’t here coworkers talking about it at the water cooler. You don’t see children pretending to be their favorite hero from this story. You don’t hear people quoting their favorite lines or hanging up posters in their rooms or buying the soundtrack. The greatest story ever told, that has ever been written is a story that has been lost and forgotten. Even though you can find one in every hospital and in every nightstand of every hotel this story is becoming a forgotten tale.
Of course you know that I am speaking of the Word of God. This book is the greatest story you will ever read. Ted Dekker and John Grisham and Steven King, Danielle Steele, George Lucas, Sylvester Stallone, Frank Peretti and Tom Clancey can not even hold a candle to the author of this book. Yet this book is being forgotten.
My dream as a pastor is to make this a place where this story will once again become alive and well. My dream is that this story will become so alive in us that it will be common place to see you talking about it at work and at home. Where children will pretend to be the heroes and where we will be quoting the lines that send chills down our spines. We must because the difference between this story and the $8.50 movie is eternal life. This book is alive. These words are God breathed. Written over centuries by hundreds of authors without one contradiction. There is not one misspelled word. There is not one grammatical error or contradiction in its teaching. This book is the most complete and most perfect book ever put together and yet it sits on our shelves collecting dust.
Why are churches failing? Why is crime rising? Why are kids faltering and rebelling? Because instead of Moses they get James Bond. Instead of Jesus they get Frodo. Instead of David they get Rudy. Instead of God they get ticket stubs and good memories.
I desire for 2007 to be the year of the Bible for Warrenton Wesleyan Church. My goal is to see everyone here not just sit and soak but to come alive by being a part of something bigger than yourself. Being a part of community in Impact Groups, and experiencing for the first time real life through the power of reading the greatest story ever written.
If we want to know about the character of God we have to get into his word.
So today I want to teach you something about God’s word. We can learn 5 things about this book today and we can learn them all from one story.
Turn with me to the book of I Samuel 3.
Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the LORD by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the LORD were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon. One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God. Suddenly the LORD called out, “Samuel!” “Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?” He got up and ran to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?” “I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So he did. Then the LORD called out again, “Samuel!” Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?” “I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go back to bed.” Samuel did not yet know the LORD because he had never had a message from the LORD before. So the LORD called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?” Then Eli realized it was the LORD who was calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, LORD, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed. And the LORD came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.” Then the LORD said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them. So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.” Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle as usual. He was afraid to tell Eli what the LORD had said to him. But Eli called out to him, “Samuel, my son.” “Here I am,” Samuel replied. “What did the LORD say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me!” So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back. “It is the LORD’s will,” Eli replied. “Let him do what he thinks best.” As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable. And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD. The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh and gave messages to Samuel there at the Tabernacle. And Samuel’s words went out to all the people of Israel. I Samuel 3:1-4:1
Now you may have just heard this and thought, “alright that’s a good story but what does that have to do with understanding God’s Word or what does that have to do with me.” That’s a great question. At this point it’s a good story but it’s not exciting to us until we really know who these characters are. Nobody would like a movie that starts in the middle and skips the whole section where the characters are introduced.
The meaning and way in which we engage the scripture is much deeper and more meaningful when we understand what’s brought us to this point. Pastor David Washburn
This story is not just about 2 guys in a temple hearing voices. This story and all of the Old Testament is about the Israelite people who have been released from captivity and bondage struggling to hold to the covenant they made with God to be a holy nation. God selected the Israleites to be His chosen people. He desires for this people and nation to become the vehicle through which other nations will come to know and experience God.
The Old Testament is the story of their righteousness, their waywardness, their joy, and their pain in living out this covenant. It easily runs parallel to our own journey with God. It is the story of our need for a true Savior who would come 400 years after the last Old Testament book was written.
Our story today is picking up during a time of great unrest. The Israelites have been freed from the captivity of the Egyptians for a long time now. Moses has come and gone. Joshua has led them to the promised land. And has died as well. At this time, Israel is basically a federation of tribes. They are threatened by the military of the Philistines. They are also experiencing great internal battles because of corruption within the priestly house of Eli. Eli is the chief priest, and he is a responsible, upright man of integrity, but he’s got two sons who are described as scoundrels, and they have no regard for the Lord or the duties of the priest to the people. There’s incredible concern over what the Philistines might do to them, but God is more concerned about what will happen when Eli dies and his sons are left to lead Israel.
Overall the people have turned their backs on God and they only cry out to him in crises. It is at this point that we meet Samuel. Samuel is Hannah’s son. Hannah was barren and prayed that God would bless her with a son and in turn she would give him back over to God for His service. This Is why we meet Samuel sleeping on the floor in a temple. He is living with the chief priest to be educated and prepared for God’s service.
Samuel is only 10 years old. He is just a boy and he has no clue what’s going on. Three times he hears a voice calling out to him and three times he goes to Eli to see what he wants. The third time, it clicks with Eli that it is God calling Samuel. He instructs him to go lie down, and if God calls him again, he is to answer and present himself as God’s servant.
So Samuel goes back to bed and soon God does call Samuel again. And this time Samuel answers. God tells Samuel that he is about to punish Eli’s house forever, because of the behavior of his sons and Eli’s inability to control them. No sacrifice or offering will ever make it right. Their punishment is forever.
Samuel listens, takes it all in, and lies there until morning afraid to tell Eli what God has said. Eli insists that Samuel tell him everything. Can you imagine being in Samuel’s shoes? He is only a boy and he has to tell his mentor, the chief priest, that God is going to enact a permanent punishment upon his household. Samuel keeps his promise to God, and tells Eli of God’s impending judgment, but listen to Eli’s response: “It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.”
This judgment had to have crushed Eli, but he acknowledged that God’s will had priority over his own, and because of that, he would not run away from it or try to stand in the way.
This is an amazing story an amazing story. The hero is a 10 year old boy. The people and leadership is corrupt and God chooses to use this boy to bring about judgement. It is an amazing story and a story which still holds important truths for us today.
This story gives us amazing insight on understanding some important aspects about God’s Word.
If don’t see it yet there are 5 things here that God’s word does.
1. God’s Word is rare because it is not heard or declared.
Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the LORD by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the LORD were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon. One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God. Suddenly the LORD called out, “Samuel!” I Samuel 3:1-3
God is not giving his word to people because they have turned their backs on him. The book of Judges tells us that after Joshua’s death, the Israelites began to disobey God, and as they do, they’re taken as slaves by one of the neighboring people. They then cry out to God, who raises up a judge to free them. They follow God, until that judge dies. They would then fall back into their wicked ways, be conquered by another people, cry out to God, and God would again free them by raising up another judge. This was the pattern of their existence leading up to I Samuel. It was only when life was hard that the people wanted anything to do with God.
People want to ask all the time, “Where was God when tragedy came into my life? Where was God when I needed him?” But I would ask them, “Where were you when life was good?” “Where were you before crisis came?” That was the mindset of the Israelites and that is the mindset today. Different generations but it’s the same thinking.
After 9-11 happened I watch an interview with Franklin Graham. Billy Graham’s son. The reporter asked him, “Why would God let this happen? How could a loving God let so many people die?” And Franklin responded by saying and I’m paraphrasing his quote, “Why would we expect God to do anything. We have taken God out of books, out of schools, out of our government. We want God off our money and our pledge of allegiance. Why should we question God when we have turned our backs on him?”
God’s word is rare because it is not heard or declared by his people today. We have the spoken word of God in our hands. The instruction book to life is on our shelves. The unending, ifinite wisdom of our almighty creator is right here but we don’t know it. We can’t hear God today because we don’t know how to hear. Or we only hear when we want something and if we don’t get that something then we turn our backs on God and say, “God doesn’t care about me!”
This story teaches us that God’s Word is rare because it is not heard or declared. But that can change.
This story also teaches us that God’s word…
2. Can be confusing if we don’t know it/him.
Suddenly the LORD called out, “Samuel!” “Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?” He got up and ran to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?” “I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So he did. Then the LORD called out again, “Samuel!” Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?” “I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go back to bed.” Samuel did not yet know the LORD because he had never had a message from the LORD before. So the LORD called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?” Then Eli realized it was the LORD who was calling the boy. I Samuel 3:4-8
If we don’t know God personally how do we know it’s him? How we can we understand him if we don’t know his word. Samuel is young and had never received a message from the Lord, but Eli on the 3rd time knew that it was God. Why it took him three times I don’t know, maybe Eli just thought Samuel was being weird.
The simple fact is that the more we know God, the more we learn about him, the more we will recognize his voice when we speak. Our relationship with God starts the same. It’s like a radio that has a really weak signal. You can’t hear anything but static but as you play with the dials and slowly turn them and play with the attenna you slowing start getting a signal till after just the right amount of tweaking it starts coming in crystal clear.
The more we study this awesome story, the more we will learn about God’s character. The more we know about God the easier it is to hear his voice when he is speaking.
But how can you know if it is for sure God’s voice and not Satan’s or how do you know that God spoke to you and it wasn’t really you mistaking your emotions for God’s voice. Take a simple test.
What does the voice we hear tell us about Christ Jesus? --- does what the voice says direct us to the cross of Christ and resurrection, to forgiveness or to God’s promises. Does what God tells us help us to become more like Jesus.
You know it is God because God never asks us to do something he has forbidden in the scriptures. To know it is God speaking, you must know what the Bible says, so you must read and study the scriptures.
You know it is God speaking when you compare what God is asking you to do or telling you to the way Jesus lived and the things Jesus did. Is this something Christ Jesus would do? If so, then, it must be God speaking.
Our goal should be to know God’s voice so well that when he calls we just know. He won’t have to call us 3 times and someone else has to tell us its God we will just know. When my wife calls me on the phone just to tell me how awesome I am I don’t have question who it is. When Taylor calls me she never says hi. She always go, “Hey!” I just know who it is by the sound of her voice. I don’t go into Eric’s office and go, “Would you listen to this person I can’t tell who it is, they just said hey!” I know her voice because I know her personally I have deep personal relationship with her. That is what God wants for you and him. When he says hey he want you to say, “yes God.”
3. God’s Word Calls
So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, LORD, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed. And the LORD came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.” I Samuel 3:9-10
God’s word teaches us that God still calls people. I don’t know how many times that I have heard stories of people who have been reading the bible and they will read a passage of scripture that they have read probably a hundred times before but this one particular time they read something and all of sudden something clicks. They see something that they hadn’t noticed and that passage or verse will impact their lives in a new way. That is the power of God’s word. Through the greatest story ever told men and women have been called to serve him.
God’s word is not there as a rule book to life. It is a guidebook to learn how to really live. If you want direction your life God’s word will show you every time. In Matthew we are called from labor to rest. In I John we are called from death to life. In Galatians we are called from bondage to liberty. In I Peter we are called out of darkness into light. In I Cor. We are called from bondage to peace. God’s word calls us to seek and to serve him.
In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery. "Your Majesty," said Prior Richard, "do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king."
"I understand," said Henry. "The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you."
"Then I will tell you what to do," said Prior Richard. "Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you." When King Henry died, a statement was written: "The King learned to rule by being obedient." When we tire of our roles and responsibilities, it helps to remember God has planted us in a certain place and told us to be a good accountant or teacher or mother or father. Christ expects us to be faithful where he puts us, and when he returns, we’ll rule together with him.
4. God’s Word Can be shocking to us
Then the LORD said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them. So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.” Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle as usual. He was afraid to tell Eli what the LORD had said to him. But Eli called out to him, “Samuel, my son.” “Here I am,” Samuel replied. “What did the LORD say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me!” So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back. “It is the LORD’s will,” Eli replied. “Let him do what he thinks best.” I Samuel 3:11-18
Eli had been the priest for years, and by all accounts, he had been a good priest. His name, his house was going to have its responsibilities ripped away, but Eli was mature enough and obedient enough to see that not only was this God’s will, but this was in the best interest of Israel. He put aside his personal feelings, his personal agenda for the betterment of the body. Many Christians and many churches get stuck, when they’re unwilling to put aside personal feelings and personal agendas for the betterment of the body. This is what Eli did. Instead of mourning his loss and his place of service, instead of resisting change, he grabbed hold of what God was beginning.
In the heat of the moment we usually fail to see the good in a bad situation. We may not be able to see through our emotions and see how God is working and beginning something that he has planned. That is why we have to trust His word that says “He will never leave us or forsake us.” Or in Jeremiah where God says, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
God’s desire is not to scare us but to teach us to trust him. When all the good of our life just seems to get ripped out we need to trust God that He knows what is best for us. We are never going to understand God. We will never grasp his thoughts. Isaiah says, “"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8
We can’t see down the road like he can so all we can do is have faith that our creator who loves us enough to send his son to die for us knows what He is doing.
5. God’s word still goes out to all people everywhere
As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable. And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD. The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh and gave messages to Samuel there at the Tabernacle. And Samuel’s words went out to all the people of Israel. I Samuel 3:19-4:1
Through his response to God’s call, Samuel became known as a trustworthy prophet, and he bridged the gap as the last Israelite judge before Saul became their first king. This young boy who heard God’s call and obediently obeyed proved pivotal to the Israelite story, in that he paved the way for Saul, who eventually gave way to King David. This is more than the story of a "religious" boy.
This is the story of the lineage of Christ our savior. This book is all about us as a people needing a savior. It all point to Jesus. Its better than any movie or any book or any tv show you have ever seen. It is the greatest story ever told and it is one that has not been told for far too long. My challenge is that this year, 2007, every one of you will read through the Bible. We have provided some resources to help you in that mission.
(Read the bible in a year cards/bookmarks)
A second resource that we would like to tell you about is one called The Bible Experience. Many have heard audio tapes of the bible and quite frankly they’re pretty boring. The Bible Experience is just that. It is a whole new way to hear the bible. Over 200 actors, musicians, ministers have come together to bring the new testament to life through a dramatic reading. It is not just the reading of the bible but it also features a fully orchecstrated soundtrack. And these are not just random people that are the voices in this amazing stories. Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Cuba Gooding Jr., Bishop, T.D. Jakes, Kirk Franklin and many others are the voices that bring the bible to life.
In the table on the back I have 30 sample cd’s. I only have 30 so please only take 1 per family. Just to give you an idea of how amazing this is I want to play quick 1 ½ min sample from the reading.
(Play Audio Clip)
You can order the Bible experience by going to www.zondervan.com.
Prayer
