FILL YOUR HORN WITH OIL & GO!
1 Sam. 16:1
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Mr. and Mrs. Brown had two sons. One was named Mind Your Own Business & the other was named Trouble.
2. One day the two boys decided to play hide and seek. Trouble hid while Mind Your Own Business counted to one hundred.
3. Mind Your Own Business began looking for his brother behind garbage cans and bushes. Then he started looking in and under cars until a police man approached him and asked, "What are you doing?" "Playing a game," the boy replied.
4. "What is your name?" the officer questioned. "Mind Your Own Business." Furious the policeman inquired, "Are you looking for trouble?!" The boy replied, "Why, yes."
B. TEXT
1. Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.” 1 Sam. 16:1, NKJV.
C. THESIS
1. Tonight we’re looking at a beautiful command of God to the prophet Samuel. Samuel thought his work was over with. All he could see was the broken monarchy that couldn’t be fixed.
2. We find that Samuel was way off in every way; God wasn’t finished with him and the nation wasn’t hopeless. God gave him a command which changed everything to God’s vision.
3. The title of this message is “Fill Your Horn With Oil and Go!”
I. GRIEVING OVER THE PAST
A. SAMUEL WEEPS FROM THE SIDELINES
1. After Samuel had prophesied that the kingdom would be torn from Saul’s hand, he retired to his private house in Ramah. He no longer appeared publicly, but contented himself to instructing and training the sons of the prophets. Only here do we see Samuel move back into a national role.
2. Samuel was a tenderhearted man and he was broken over the condition of his nation. Saul had disobeyed God and as a result, God was no longer supporting him against the enemies of Israel. These were dark days for God’s people.
3. And Samuel had evidently been weeping, mourning, and praying for King Saul. Saul had been God’s anointed, with the stature of a king. Samuel had thought he would champion God’s cause and bring victory for God’s people; but he had failed.
4. All Samuel could see was that the old order had collapsed and there was no hope of fixing it.
B. THE PROBLEM OF GETTING STUCK IN THE PAST
1. There IS a season for mourning, but there’s also a season for going on. Many people struggle with that. We all have pain in our past – circumstances/people that wounded us - and we struggle to emotionally deal with it and let go.
2. Frequently we find ourselves going over the same ground:
Why did this happen to me? Why did they hurt me? Why did I do this or that? We keep meditating on the past. What good will that do? We can’t change it! THERE’S TWO CHOICES:
3. You can keep talking about the hurt or start talking about God’s goodness. You can keep asking ‘why’ or get a hope for the future. Samuel learned he needed to “get over it” before he could “get on with it.”
4. God is saying tonight, “Let go of the past! Put it behind you. I have new things ahead for you, focus on those!”
5. JOKE. A woman came to her doctor in a panic.
"Doctor, all day long my daughter eats yeast and car wax, and won't get out of bed! What will happen to her?"
"Don't worry," said the Doctor, "eventually she will rise and shine!"
C. ILLUSTRATION
1. Eight-year-old Frank had looked forward for weeks to this particular Saturday because his father had promised to take him fishing if the weather was suitable.
2. There hadn’t been any rain for weeks, when Saturday morning dawned, it was raining heavily and it appeared that it would continue all day.
3. Frank wandered around the house, peering out the windows and grumbling more than a little. "Seems like the Lord should’ve known that it would’ve been better to have the rain yesterday than today," he complained to his father who was sitting by the fireplace.
4. Then, about three o’clock, the rain stopped. Still time for some fishing, they quickly loaded the gear and were off to the lake. Whatever the reason, the fish were biting hungrily and father and son returned with a full string of fine, big fish.
5. At supper, when some of the fish were ready, Frank’s mom asked him to say grace. Frank did--and concluded his prayer by saying, "And, Lord, if I sounded grumpy earlier today it was because I COULDN’T SEE FAR ENOUGH AHEAD." How true!
II. GOD STILL HAS A PLAN
A. GOD’S KINGDOM DEPENDS ON GOD
1. Despite human failure, God still has a plan! Just because Saul failed, didn’t mean that God was finished with Israel. God still has a work that he wants to accomplish.
2. Samuel couldn’t see past Saul, but God could. God’s kingdom wasn’t dependent on men or women, but on God! Jonathan himself said, “there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few!” 1 Sam. 14:6.
3. There have always been attacks on the Church of Jesus. In the last 10 years, record numbers of Christians have been martyred, courts have over-ruled our belief system, the media has mocked and the atheists have scorned.
4. But remember this, Jesus said, “…on this Rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!” Mt. 16:18, KJV. HELL WILL NEVER PREVAIL OVER THE CHURCH!
B. GOD HAS FUTURE PROSPECTS GREATER THAT THOSE OF THE PAST
1. Samuel…there are still Davids out there - waiting and ready to enlist in the work of God. When God told Samuel to fill his horn with oil, it was a message of hope.
2. God still wants to use people to pass the anointing on. We must be willing. Why does God need human vessels? He doesn’t; but the blessing might be more for the pray-er than the pray-ee.
3. Samuel had the anointing on him and God wanted to pass that anointing on. Also, the fact that the Prophet of that age anointed David, was a public stamp of approval by God of David’s call and leadership.
4. Samuel argued with the Lord, as we sometimes do, that to obey might be dangerous (Saul might kill him if he went and anointed a new king), but God gave him an extra purpose for going to Bethlehem.
5. Samuel suddenly saw with God’s vision: all is NOT DARK. God is on the throne. He’s ALIVE & WORKING! God’s about to initiate A NEW SEASON OF BLESSING AND SUCCESS! I hear that statement about YOUR life!
6. Let go of your old vision and see God’s new vision for your life. Forget your old problems and move on!
III. COMMAND: FILL YOUR HORN WITH OIL & GO!
God commanded Samuel to “Fill your horn with oil and go.” There are three things inherent in this command:
A. SAMUEL NEEDED HIS OWN HORN TO BE REFILLED
1. The “horn” was actually an animal’s horn (wild ox?), hollowed out in the center, which from ancient times was used as a container for oil.
2. David many times says in the Book of Psalms that God exalted “his horn.” David’s using the term as an emblem of God giving him “strength and power.”
3. Just as Samuel needed a “refilling” to set in motion God’s next season of blessing for the nation, so we need a new refilling so God can accomplish NEW things through us!
4. We must seek a fresh, new anointing in our own lives before we can influence those around us. We need fresh oil in our horns.
B. PURPOSES & USES OF OIL
1. People were anointed in the Bible to:
a. Set them apart to God, and
b. To consecrate them to sacred office.
2. RECIPE OF THE SACRED/HOLY OIL. The Holy Oil was made up of 4 spices: myrrh, sweet cinnamon, sweet calamus, and cassia. These were mingled with a ‘hin’ (4 quarts) of olive oil. It created a beautiful fragrance.
3. WHO RECEIVED THESE ANOINTINGS
a. PROPHETS. Elijah was told to anoint Elisha to be prophet in his ‘room’ or office (1 Kg. 19:16).
b. PRIESTS. They were set apart for ministry by the Holy Oil
(Ex. 30:30; 40:13-15; Lev. 8:12,30).
c. KINGS. Ex., 1 Sam. 16:13,6.
d. Vessels in the Tabernacle/ Temple. Once anointed, they became holy. They couldn’t be touched except by authorized people, i.e., the priests or Levites.
4. WHAT RECEIVING IT SYMBOLIZED
a. Surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit.
b. The anointing of the Spirit brings liberty (Lk. 4:18) and breaks the yoke of bondage (Isa. 10:27, KJV).
c. The Lord Jesus said through Isaiah the Prophet, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor…” (Isa. 61:1).
5. When Samuel anointed David with oil, it says, “from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came on David with power” 1 Sam. 16:13.
6. ANOINTING WITH OIL FOR HEALING, James 5:14-15, Church Elders anoint for healing. Mk. 6:13.
7. COMMON USES: Cleansing of Lepers (Lev. 14:17-18); As a Medicine (Lk. 10:34; Rev. 3:18); As Fuel for Light in Lamps (Mt. 25:1-13); As part of Diet, food (2 Kgs. 4:1-7); Cosmetic, as a beauty aid (Ps. 104:15).
C. SUMMARY OF THE ANOINTING OIL
1. The oil is the defining component, the often, missing ingredient in spiritual things. We can’t be on the cutting edge of the Spirit without filling our horns with oil.
2. When your horn is filled with oil, you can be assured of uncommon success because the difference is the oil.
3. The oil is symbolic of the anointing, unction, power, presence and person of the HOLY GHOST. The absence of oil is recognized by dryness, emptiness, and friction.
4. When oil is released, rust and corrosion cease to hinder. Oil lubricates, makes things run more smoothly. Oil is associated with our faces shining and joy in our lives (Ps. 104:15). Oil makes things fresh and adds beauty.
5. If you’re downtrodden and despairing, God wants to give you His substitute: “to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” Isa. 61:3.
D. COMMAND TO “GO!”
1. All the anointing in the world won’t do any good if we don’t go. “God gives His Spirit to them that obey Him.” God doesn’t give us anointings just for our own enjoyment, but to accomplish some purpose.
2. So if we want to have God’s anointing constantly flowing in our lives, we must commit ourselves to be in the stream of life, out where people are living and working, so God can give us divine appointments with people who are supposed to RECEIVE the anointing. We must GO!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. A young artist was trying to copy Raphael's "Madonna and Child," one of the most beautiful pictures in all the world. He went to Florence, Italy and gazed on it, then got his easel.
2. Sitting down in front of it he began to copy it. As he looked at it his picture became a thing of beauty, too.
3. But suppose that, instead of only copying, the spirit of Raphael could have come upon that young man: what a difference it would make! Then we would have Raphael’s eye, Raphael’s skillful hand, and Raphael’s talent and knowledge. What a difference that would make!
4. When we come to the Lord Jesus, He gives us His Holy Spirit, Who helps us live as Jesus would live, to say what Jesus would say, and love the way Jesus would love!
5. Will you come to Him now and ask Him to give you His Holy Spirit? (Intermediate Young People)
B. THE CALL
1. God is telling some of you to lay down your former season of doubts and fears, and move forward to God’s new mission for you.
2. And believe God is saying, “My child, hold up your horn of oil and I will fill it!”
3. How many NEED a fresh anointing? How many WANT a fresh a fresh anointing? God promises to:
a. give us as much oil as we need;
b. Recommission us with His Spirit;
c. Revive our drooping spirits by His Spirit!
4. Let’s pray!
[Some quotes were gleaned from Kwasi Asante Annor in his “Praise Gems – Fill Thy Horn with Oil.”]
