I Samuel chapter three is about the importance of hearing the voice of God from the example of Samuel.
We learned that we must be sure of hearing God's voice and not the voice of the enemy because there are many voices out there trying to get our attention.
We had to reject other unfamiliar voices and only focus on God's voice to direct our lives.
When we hear God's voice clearly and without any interruptions, we allow God's wisdom to flow in our hearts and lead the way for us to follow.
Hearing God's voice is important in our everyday ministry work for God.
Not only should we hear His message, but we must be able to receive and clearly understand what God is speaking to us.
Because when God's message enters our hearts, our characters will be transformed for the better and make us fit for God's service.
Then, of course, it would not be complete without sharing God's Word to others.
We must not add or subtract anything from God's Word but be able to share with confidence and boldness.
I hope and pray that all of you are hearing God's Word right now through the power of the Holy Spirit.
In I Samuel chapter 4, we are going to look at the various negative consequences when we do not hear from God.
What would happen if we do not hear from God but instead hear other unfamiliar voices that would lead us to destruction and sin?
What would happen if we have closed our ears to God's voice and reject His guidance?
The negative consequences would be beyond measure and truly devastating.
Just look around and see how people's lives are being destroyed through immorality, useless crimes and other sinful activities when people do not listen from God.
Why are people caught in sin?
Because of not hearing from God's voice.
They would want to follow their own conscience rather than God.
That is always the case when people are in depths of sin.
And if you go to the pages of the Bible, you will find many more incidents of the negative consequences of not hearing from God particularly in this chapter.
First Samuel Chapter 4 is one of the darkest moments of Israel's history as a nation.
In this chapter, we will read the defeat of Israel as a nation, the ark of God captured, the death of the two sons of Eli, the death of Eli himself and the death of the wife of Phineas while giving birth.
The conclusion in the last verse was that the glory has departed from Israel.
A lot of deaths in one chapter of the Bible - a very depressing time for Israel.
Why did God allow us to read all these negative stuff from the Bible?
In order to warn us and to teach us a very valuable lesson on the consequences of sin and disobedience.
God wants us to learn from the horrible mistakes that people had made in the past when they do not hear and listen from God's voice.
He wants us to avoid repeating the same costly mistakes over and over again.
He wants us to take seriously these lessons from the Bible and learn them by heart.
Because we will be facing similar situations in the future and we had to know how to respond properly.
God's will for us is to remain obedient to Him by keeping His Word, so that we can joyfully enjoy all of His many blessings through Christ.
The apostle Paul warned us concerning these things.
Galatians 6:7 (NIV) 7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."
Whatever seed we sow, we shall someday reap a corresponding harvest.
If we sow seeds of sin, we shall reap its deadly consequences.
But if we sow seeds of obedience to God's Word, we shall reap its many benefits and blessings.
By your fruits you shall know them.
Good seeds will always bear goof fruits.
Bad seeds will always bear bad fruits.
And so, we have to learn our lessons well for whatever we do in our lifetime will determine our state for eternity.
As always, at the end of this message, I will ask you to make a response for whatever things you have heard.
May you receive His voice clearly and begin to do something concrete for God right now.
I will be asking you to come forward, receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior and make a commitment to serve Him for the rest of your life.
Open your hearts and your minds so that you can receive God's Word.
There was defeat, death and despair that characterized this chapter.
Praying that only good things can happen as we study this chapter.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FOURTH CHAPTER OF 1 SAMUEL
1. ISRAEL WAS DEFEATED BY THE ENEMY
I Samuel 4:1-2 (NIV) “Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. 2 The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield."
The first thing we can learn in verse 1 is that there is an ongoing battle that rages between Israel and the neighboring Philistines.
Actually, this battle has been going on for many years since the time of the Judges particularly Samson.
But during this time, it has already escalated into a full bloom confrontation wherein the text said that the Israelites camped at Ebenezer while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
Can you imagine that?
There were facing each other, divided by the river with thousands of soldiers on each side ready to fight with the slightest provocation.
We were not told who the leader of the Israelites at that time was but we were only informed in verse 2 that the enemy camp attacked Israel and at the first encounter, Israel lost a staggering 4,000 men.
That is a lot of death on the people of God during the the first confrontation of battle.
But the disheartening thing we learned is that in verse 3, the elders of Israel blamed God for their defeat.
Instead of humbling themselves before God and repenting from their sin as a nation, they acted with pride and arrogance.
That is a sure sign of not listening from God's voice.
Then, they continued in their sin by making a foolish decision bringing the ark of God in the center of the conflict.
You see, when you do not listen to God's voice, you are prone to make too many foolish decisions that you would later regret.
That is what the Israelites experienced.
They said, "Let us bring the ark of the Lord's covenant to Shiloh so that He may save us from the enemy!"
Here is the picture of the ark - it is the symbol of God's presence.
They were actually commanding God to do something for them instead of humbly seeking His face.
Remember the time when Joshua's army was defeated by the people of Ai after the resounding victory at Jericho?
Do you know that Joshua did right away?
He humbled himself, tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the Lord until evening.
It was then that God spoke to him regarding the sin in the camp.
We are to seek God's face whenever things are not turning out right.
But in here, we find in verse 4 that the decision has been made and it was implemented right away.
They brought the ark of God in the midst of the battle.
It was a foolish decision and they rushed into implementing it.
That is a sure recipe for disaster.
Major decisions such as these must be properly weighed and prayed for.
And many times, God will speak to us on the directions we had to take, otherwise, the result can be fatal.
Even the two sons of Eli were brought into the middle of the battle without knowing what to do then.
Previous to that, when the ark of God was in the midst of the battle, the praise and worship team was always
in the front lines but this time, there were no mention of such worshipers.
There were no mention of the prayer warriors as back ups.
There were no mention of the trumpeters who would declare their praises to God.
They do not recognize the value and power of prayer and worship in spiritual battle.
No wonder, they had to face the consequences of their disobedience.
And so, thinking that God would follow their man-made plans, verse 5 said that "Israel shouted with a great shout"
That means they mustered all their strength and had full confidence to attack the enemy but they were mistaken.
They thought that God was with them when in reality, God had already abandoned them.
In verses 6 - 7, we find that even their enemies were afraid of such loud shouts thinking they were doomed in the hands of God.
Little did they know that God was about to use the Philistines to teach His people, a very valuable lesson of obedience.
And so, verse 9 talks about the Philistines able to regain their confidence and fight with courage.
It seems that because of their disobedience, God was siding with their enemies.
Hence, in verse 10, God allowed Israel to be defeated severely while the ark captured and the sons of Eli killed.
It boils down to this simple truth: Israel did not hear God's voice.
Israel did not seek His face.
Israel did not humble themselves before the Lord.
They did not know what was His will for them.
They acted on their own and they experienced a dreadful and humiliating defeat.
Brothers and sisters, if we do not hear from God daily, when we face the enemy, we will surely be defeated.
According to an article in Charismanews.com, there are several mighty weapons that the enemy primarily uses from his arsenal that have been proven effective in defeating Christians.
(1) PRIDE or arrogance. Looking too much at self rather than trusting God's strength and power.
It was the same pride that filled Satan's heart in rebelling against God.
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
(2) GREED - extreme love for money instead of loving God with all our hearts, soul and might.
When a person is filled with greed, he is vulnerable to many temptations and becomes a spiritual snare.
(3) Lust of the flesh - when a person is strongly enticed to commit sexual sins instead of maintaining moral integrity.
(4) Rebellion and Stubbornness - rejecting the voice of God or hardening one's heart from God's soft voice.
(5) Bitterness and unforgiveness - allowing the sin of others to dominate your thoughts and refusing to forgive.
(6) self-condemnation or judgmental spirit
Beware, my brothers and sisters if you have any of these things, you will have difficulty hearing His voice.
Satan and his demonic army have used these weapons for ages with skill and deadly intent.
But if you notice, all these weapons can only be effective against Christians who have not been listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
But once we begin to hear God speaking to our hearts, those weapons by the enemy can easily be defeated because God has given us spiritual armors to fight the battle.
This bring us to the first life lesson of this chapter:
WHEN CONFRONTED WITH DEFEAT, HUMBLE YOURSELF BEFORE GOD. Proverbs 22:4(NIV) Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life."
That is true. When you are facing defeat, just humble yourself upon God and he will lift you up.
Do not allow pride to dominate you - because He must be obeyed and we must follow.
Fear the Lord, love the Lord, Humble yourself and he will give us honor.
And so, we need to constantly hear Him speak to us giving us direction in our lives.
2. PRIEST ELI WAS OVERCOME BY FEAR
1 Samuel 4:12-18 (NIV) 12 That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dust on his head. 13 When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry. 14 Eli heard the outcry and asked, “What is the meaning of this uproar?” The man hurried over to Eli, 15 who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes had failed so that he could not see. 16 He told Eli, “I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day.” Eli asked, “What happened, my son?” 17 The man who brought the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. He had led Israel forty years.”
Look what happened to priest Eli - he fell from his chair and his neck was broken.
Remember that in the previous chapter, we learned that priest Eli had already been warned of the impending judgment by the Lord through Samuel.
And Samuel's words were: "He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”
However, in this chapter, when the news arrived that Israel has been defeated from the hands of the Philistines, the entire town sent up a loud cry.
Probably, at this time, Eli's heart has been throbbing heavily due to near panic.
And when he asked, "What is the meaning if this uproar?"
He was told that Israel fled from the Philistines and the army had suffered heavy losses.
And then, he was also told that his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas are both dead.
But the most dreadful thing of all was that the ark of God has been captured.
Upon the mention of the ark of God captured, Eli was so devastated by fear that he fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate.
He knew that judgment has come and no one can escape the judgment of God.
His fear paralyzed him instantly that his neck was broken and he died instantly.
He was ninety eight years at that time, he was so heavy and he could barely see.
When the bad news entered his mind, his entire being was affected - his emotional health, his physical health and his intellectual health.
Fear is an enemy.
Fear can enter the hearts of people not hearing the voice of God.
There are many ways that a person can be overcome by fear.
They have not been familiar to God's voice.
These individuals have been listening to the voice of fear rather than to the voice of God.
That makes a big difference.
When fear comes in, you could not act well, you could not think well, you could not speak well.
And so, how do you respond to fear when it attacks you?
How do you respond when a person suddenly tells you a bad or horrifying news?
God forbid that we we don't hear any bad news regarding our nation, our family and our faith, but what if?
Usually, when confronted by sudden bad news, a person without God's spiritual armor can be struck with sudden paralyzing fear.
If you have no helmet of salvation to protect your mind and if you have no breastplate of righteousness to protect your heart, you will get hurt.
You must put on the whole armor of God and especially the shield of faith.
Because the devil knows your weaknesses already and he attacks you where you are most vulnerable, where you are most weak.
And if you are not yet properly protected, you will be defeated.
My brothers and sisters, sudden fear when it enters your heart and mind can bring about paralysis in yourself.
May God deliver us from such fears.
So, how do you deal with fear?
This leads us to the next life lesson. .
WHEN CONFRONTED WITH FEAR, TAKE HIS HAND. Isaiah 41:13(NIV) "For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you."
When you know that fear is about to enter, reject it right away, divert your thoughts on something good.
Think of God's goodness. His love and His strength.
He will help you. He is right there beside you.
He is our strong tower. He is our deliverer.
Take his hand, hold on tight.
Never let go and I assure you that fear will leave you because fear cannot stand God's presence, not a single second.
Fear cannot stand a chance to God's power.
Because fear only grows when you listen to it and entertain it.
And so, when confronted with fear, take God's hand and you will be an overcomer.
And so, are you holding on to God's hands right now?
This bring us to the next life lesson.
WHEN CONFRONTED WITH FEAR, RECEIVE HIS PEACE. Isaiah 26:3 (NIV) " You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."
The more we talk to God through prayer and read His word, the more fear will flee from your hearts.
The more you enjoy the songs in worship and praises to God, the more fear will be defeated.
The more you allow His voice in your ears, the more peace will enter.
Here then is the result that fear has already left heart and never to enter again - when there is inward peace.
That peace like the river in your soul.
Do you have inward peace with Christ right now?
Or do you still have paralyzing fears?
Immerse yourself in God's Word, in praise and worship.
Receive the peace from God.
I was going through the inter net last week trying to look at the paralyzing fear that entered the history of America and I was directed to the tragic date of June 17, 1916.
Do you know what happened on this day?
It was on this day that it was officially announced in New York of the existence of an epidemic named polio infection.
That year, there were over 27,000 cases and more than 6,000 deaths due to polio all over the United States.
During that time, no vaccines has been developed against polio and that fear was the dominant factor among Americans.
The names and addresses of individuals with confirmed polio cases were published daily in the press.
Their houses were identified with placards and their families were quarantined.
Think of it, those were not the names of the drug pushers nor sexual predators that were identified, but the victims themselves - polio victims.
It will be so devastating if one of the members in your family has contracted that disease and your whole family will be rejected by the society.
That was the situation at that time.
Because at that time, the nature of the disease remained largely a mystery.
One day you had a headache and an hour later you were paralyzed.
How far the virus crept up your spine determined whether you could walk afterward or even breathe.
This epidemic caused widespread panic and thousands fled the city to nearby mountain resorts.
Movie theaters were closed, meetings were canceled, public gatherings were almost non-existent, and children were warned not to drink from water fountains.
Paralyzing fear was all over the country.
But one man overcame the fear of polio.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt who contracted the disease in 1921 was paralyzed from the waist down.
It would have cost his political career in jeopardy but in spite of his condition, he refused to accept the limitations of his disease.
He refused to give up.
He tried a wide range of therapy including hydrotherapy in Warm Springs, Georgia and failed many times.
And then, another crisis came in - the Great Depression (from 1929-1939) which crippled the economy of the United States.
Millions of Americans have lost their jobs but Roosevelt did not allow fear to dominate his thinking.
He fought fear with optimism and his faith in God sustained him.
He said, "The only thing we had to fear is fear itself... and polio."
Finally, through various major legislation and executive orders, the economy of the United States
improved rapidly from 1933 to 1937 which helped him win re-election by a landslide.
He was the only US president to win a record of four presidential elections until his health seriously declined during the war years.
He is often rated by scholars as one of the top three US Presidents along with Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.
By the way, it was only in the late 1950's that a successful vaccine against polio was introduced in the U.S.
Imagine, facing with two strong opponents - one personal - being a polio victim and one general - the Great Depression,
but he overcame all of them by the grace of God.
Lesson? Either you allow fear to paralyze you or you overcome fear in your heart.
What is the fear you are facing right now?
Take God's hand and receive God's peace.
So far, we talked about the defeat of the Israelites from the hands of the Philistines.
Secondly, we learned about the way priest Eli was overcome by fear.
3. PHINEHAS WAS OVERCOME BY DESPAIR
1 Samuel 4:19-22 (NIV) 19 His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains.20 As she was dying, the women attending her said, “Don’t despair; you have given birth to a son.” But she did not respond or pay any attention. 21 She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The Glory has departed from Israel”—because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 She said, “The Glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”
Here is the picture of Ichabod - the glory has departed from Israel.
How did this happen?
We are introduced with the wife of Phineas, one of the wicked sons of priest Eli.
We were not told exactly her name but we were only told that she was pregnant and near the time of delivery.
The dreadful news reached her: the ark of God had been captured, her father-in-law and her husband dead.
One death after another - all these people were close to her heart.
Just like what happened to priest Eli, the impact of such dreadful news entered her heart.
There were no spiritual armor to protect her mind and her heart.
And the result was devastating.
Despair crept in and overwhelmed her instantly.
I remember the time when my wife and I also had four deaths in the family (my brother, my father-in-law, and our two twin sons) within a period of just one month.
That happened in the Philippines - when despair almost crept in.
And at that time, I was being ejected out from the church I was serving by the leadership of our organization for being accused of something I did not do.
It was bad news one after another.
We could only hold on tightly to each other and to God.
I thought it was the end of my pastoral ministry.
But praise God, He has other plans for us and He brought us here and restored me back to ministry.
Imagine what could have happened if I listened to the voice of despair instead of God.
Going back to the wife of Phineas, the text says that she could not contain her despair because of the bad news.
She went into labor pains immediately and gave birth.
Even if her attendant told her that she gave birth to a son, yet, she did not respond and was pronounced dead.
The name of the child, "Ichabod" was a fitting summary of this chapter filled with gloom - "The glory of God has departed from Israel."
That word "despair" means the complete loss or absence of hope.
That woman lost her hope and she died in giving birth to a child.
When hope is lost, all is lost.
And so, my brothers and sisters, don't lose hope.
Don't despair.
Listen carefully to God's voice.
Hear Him speaking to your heart.
Let me tell you a story.
I took this fro Biblebasics.com
There was this story of a man who was overwhelmed with despair as he walked along the road.
He had fallen into the depths of despair when he stumbled and literally fell into a deep dark pit.
He looked up and he could see the daylight.
But there was no way that he could get out.
He was really starting to be afraid and shouted for help.
Soon, a doctor passed by.
The man was relieved. "Just what I needed." he cried.
"I am trapped in this deep dark pit and I cannot get out!"
So the Doctor nodded and then wrote the man a prescription and tossed it down the hole.
The man's heart sunk.
Going to the doctors when you are depressed might help a bit but sometimes, these doctors will just prescribe you drugs and medicines that can be addicted and cannot totally bring complete healing to you.
And so, be careful with those medical prescriptions.
Later, a priest walked by.
The man was relieved, "Thank God," he cried.
"I am trapped in this deep dark pit and I cannot get out!"
The Priest nodded to help him.
He wrote the man with a beautiful prayer and tossed it down the hole for him to pray.
The man's heart sunk.
Prayers are important, of course, but sometimes, our prayers are not answered in the way we want them to be.
Sometimes, the answer is "Yes!" and sometimes, the answer is "No"
Sometimes, the answer is "Not now.. wait patiently to the Lord."
Sometimes, the answer is that "God has a better plan for our lives."
We cannot imagine the greatness and the wonders that God has in store for us.
But to a person who is depressed, waiting is not an option.
They want an answer right away.
And so, the man in the pit was really starting to worry especially when it was getting dark.
Suddenly, there was a smiling face looking down the pit at him.
The man had very little hope but he stammered,
"I am trapped in this deep dark pit and I cannot get out!"
Immediately, the smiling face jumped down into the pit with him.
The man was perplexed! "Why did you jump down here?"
The other man with a kind smile said, "I've been trapped down here before and I know the WAY OUT!"
That is the solution to depression.
Sometimes, a Christian friend who will be there beside you in the darkest of times is the "Best Medicine."
This will lead us to the next life lesson:
WHEN CONFRONTED WITH DESPAIR, ASK HELP FROM A FRIEND. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10New International Version (NIV) Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."
Don't be ashamed to ask help from a Christian friend.
They are there to help you.
They have been in your situation before and they know the way out of that depression.
Lastly,
WHEN CONFRONTED WITH DESPAIR, PUT YOUR HOPE IN GOD. Psalm 42:5New International Version (NIV) Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God."
I will now ask you to make a response concerning this message that you have heard.
It is time to do something and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit in your heart.
Do you want to turn away from your sins and receive Christ as your Lord and Savior?
Do you want to rededicate your life to Christ?
Do you want commit yourself to ministry work?
Come forward so that I can anoint you with oil and pray for you.
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