1. We desire God's presence and glory. Only HE can fill the emptiness in our hearts -- Ecclesiastes 3.11
2. The church is a place to reveal the glory of God
3. It is a "House of Commons" not differences
a. Common Salvation -- Jude 3
b. Common Problems -- Romans 3.23
c. Common Fate -- Romans 6.23
d. Common Solution -- John 3.16
e. It is a place where the walls of distinctions are broken down.
4. Perseverance
a. The following is reported to have been seen in the window of an English company: "We have been established for over one hundred years and have been pleasing and displeasing customers ever since. We have made money and lost money, suffered the effects of coal nationalization, coal rationing, government control, and bad payers. We have been cussed and discussed, messed about, lied to, held up, robbed, and swindled. The only reason we stay in business is to see what happens next."
b. I wonder if there were times in the life of Paul and others who felt like giving up on God. Paul lists his challenges in 2 Corinthians 11.23-28. What would have happened if he had given up? It seems he kept looking to see what God would do next. What do you think the end of Paul's life was like -- Glorious or common?
c. What if We Don't Persevere? What if God Departs?
5. 1 Samuel 4.12-22 Ichabod -- "Inglorious" or "No Glory" ("The Glory Has Departed")
a. All of us have forgivable failures -- 1 John 1.8-9 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
b. This is so BIG -- that God would depart them!
I. Glory Departed Because of Sinful Service
A. Deceptive Priests -- 1 Samuel 2.12
1. Worthless; uncorrected; "Blind Guides" Who did not know God (as Matthew 15.14)
2. This is during the Judges when there was little direction from God; therefore, Judges 21.25 is repeated through the book. In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
3. Generations neglected to tell the wonder of God in the wilderness and people turned away. Question, do you share the wonder of God with others?
B. Desecration of God's Word (Regularly) -- 1 Samuel 2.13
The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand,
1. Traditions are unimportant compared to the word of God -- Matthew 15.9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "
Tradition
The word tradition in Greek comes from two words: para ("beside") and didomi ("to give"). Therefore, a tradition was something given alongside something else. In first- century Jewish culture, traditions were teachings of the Jewish elders that they gave alongside the Law of Moses. Those traditions were often given equal, if not more, weight than the Law itself.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls into question one of those traditions: "You have heard that it was said, '. . . hate your enemy'" (Matthew 5:43). Nowhere in the Old Testament were the Jews taught to hate their enemies. Did some Israelites express hatred for the enemies of God? Yes (Psalm 139:21-22)--but not because they were commanded to. Instead, the Law taught the Jews to treat their enemies with kindness (Exodus 23:4-5 "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. 5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.).
2. Always Be Biblical -- Call of Restoration Movement -- 1 Peter 4.11a
whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God;
C. Treating Lord's Offerings with Disrespect
1 Samuel 2:17 ESV Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the LORD, for the men treated the offering of the LORD with contempt.
1. Our Offerings:
* Self
* Time
* Talent
* Treasure
2. Our attitude?
D. The PEOPLE'S Continual Drift and Tolerance -- "Boiling the Frog" -- 1 Samuel 2.22-25
1. Refusal to Hear -- "Would not listen" (Deuteronomy 6.4)
a. Eli Talked, but no action
b. People complained, no action
c. These two should've been stoned for their rebellion
2. Results in the God-Shaped Hole in Hearts -- 1 Samuel 2.29
Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?'
a. Question: Do we ever honor our children above God?
b. Loss of Regard for the Word of God -- 1 Samuel 3.1
* When people are not told the works of God the will lose the wonder of God and do what is right in their own eyes.
* How often do you see or hear of God working? Healing? Reconciling? Advancing His Kingdom?
* God doesn't say he will stop working in our lives -- 1 Thessalonians 5.19
Request: In the next few weeks, keep a record/journal od your prayer requests and answers. Please give me a copy of answered prayers and with your permission I would like to share these actions of God with our congregation. WE NEED TO EXPERIENCE THE WONDER OF God!
II. Settling for "Ichabod" -- No Glory
A. Unpleasant Results -- 1 Samuel 3.13-14
And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever."
1. Eli knew his sons' actions but did not stop them -- Lost priesthood
2. It is hard to restrain people determined to sin
3. Question: Are American churches determined to do what is right in their own eyes?
4. Hebrews Lost:
a. The Battle -- 4.1-4
b. The Ark -- 4.5-11
c. Their Priest -- 4.18
d. The Glory of God -- 4.21-22
B. "Ichabod" (No Glory) is the Easy Way
1. Easy name to live up to -- no father to change his name as Jacob and Rachel with Benjamin
2. Ways to obtain" no glory":
* Do Nothing
* Run from Challenges
* Settle for lukewarm mediocrity
* [Compare Decorated Warriors like Audie Murphy; Alvin York to the average guy who just wanted to go home
* How many Christians just want to "go home"? They don't want expectations from God;
* In fact, don't want presence/glory of God -- it would be demanding (Matthew 16.24); it would require submission to and trust in God instead of our normal independence
* Much like Sinai -- Exodus 20.18-21
18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die." 20 Moses said to the people, "Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin." 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
1. Is God's glory here or has it departed? [Mediocrity Slides
a. We are probably not living in an intentional rebellion, although the sons of Eli attended worship services with hearts far from God;
b. Are we living on God's power or our own? What can we say ONLY God has done?
c. We have a choice: Be filled with His HOLY Spirit or with the UNHOLY spirit of our age!
2. Anything we do to restrain or limit God results in failure
3. Simple Math
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. Matthew 12:35
You get what you put into it. It's simple math. You can't plant carrots and expect to harvest watermelon. You can't fill your piggy bank with pennies and expect a hundred dollar bill to emerge. We may wish for results to magically appear, but the cause and effect principle remains.
Of course there are exceptions. When a child puts his newly pulled tooth under his pillow, a coin appears in its place, as long as his parents didn't forget. The most important exception is Christ's gift to us. We surrender our sin and failure to God, and He replaces it with the flawless righteousness of Christ. God's commitment to us includes an eternal home and purpose for today. He delights in transforming us to bring forth good treasure. We become His lights, impacting and encouraging the people around us.
Submit yourself and your efforts to Him, and you will gain more than you could ever give. It is the "harvest principle": you harvest more than you plant!
4. Next lesson -- The Solution for Ichabod
