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Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copied and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
LAMPS WITHOUT LIGHT
1 Samuel 3:1-3, "And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision. And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;"
Even those of us who live around the House of God and are counted as part of the Body of Christ must be vigilant to not allow the presence of God and the sacred things of God to become too common and meaningless. God will not spare those who presume upon Him, nor will He spare those who are never taught proper reverence for the House of God.
Eli was a judge in Israel, and a Levite. He was the Great High Priest of Israel whose duty it was to oversee the events of the sacrifices in the Tabernacle and to bring into the Holy of Holies, once each year to offer sacrifice for all of Israel.
For many years Eli had been faithful as the High Priest. He had two sons, Hophni and Phineas, who were reared around the Tabernacle and learned the duties that they were to inherit as Priests of Israel. They were of the Tribe of Levi, whom God had foreordained to serve Him and the people. They were separated and dedicated unto the service of the Lord God in all the ceremonies of the Temple.
Hophni and Phineas experienced the sacrificing of the morning and evening sacrifices in the Tabernacle. They saw and understood the importance of the ceremonial cleansing that must take place before the High Priest could offer the blood of the spotless lamb on the Day of Atonement when their father, Eli, would enter into the Holy of Holies and into the very presence of God before the Mercy Seat upon the Ark of the Covenant.
God had laid out in detail the specifics of how the work of the Temple was to be done and what each of the priests of the Temple were do to so that there would be no mistakes. If Israel were to be blessed by God, these priests must perform their duties faithfully and completely.
Through their childhood and teen years, Hophni and Phineas had watched and learned. They knew every gesture, every expression, every correct prayer and everything required to give their service as Priests the proper ceremonial appearance. But, the work of the Temple and the presence of God became too common place to them and they were not careful to give their duties proper reverence.
They became lax in their commitment and lazy in their assigned duties before God. They allowed their consecration to slip and they no longer even loved the Lord God.
These two young men are described in a strong statement of condemnation found in 1 Samuel 2:12, "Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD."
What a terrible thing it is to be brought up as a child around the things of God, learning to make the appearance of being a Christian, pretending that all things are right and still be considered by God as a “Son of the Devil”.
These young men, along with their father had become lamps without light!
Even Eli, the High Priest, he had also become lax in his own commitment to God and had allowed his sons to continue to serve in the Tabernacle as priests, knowing that they were living in wickedness and sin. Eli knew that his sons had no regard for the ceremonial law of Moses and were guilty of presuming upon God.
One of the greatest problems we face in our churches is that too many parents believe that their children are saved just because they hang around God’s House and God’s people. Just because our children are familiar with the ways of Christianity doesn’t make them a Christian.
God doesn’t have any Grandchildren! We must not allow Satan to deceive us into believing that our youth and children are saved when they have never accepted Christ, coming by way of the Cross of Calvary, in repentance and true surrender of their will to the will of God. Every one of us must answer for his/her own life. We cannot enter hanging on the experience of Mom, Dad, Grandpa and Grandma or anyone else.
Eli was growing old and tired. His eyesight was fading so that he was not able to see what was happening in the Temple so clearly now. His eyesight had faded slowly at first but now it was probably accelerating.
That’s what sin will do for a man or woman of God. If we allow sin to remain, our spiritual sight is blinded slowly but surely until there comes a day that we can no longer see that sin. Our desire for God is gone and our commitment and dedication to Him is almost non-existent.
Even the Great High Priest of Israel became a “lamp without light”.
Even though there will always be those who live like Eli and his sons, disregarding and being irreverent to the presence of God and sacredness of God’s house, not thinking of the judgment that is sure to come for sin, there will still always be those who will carry on the true work of the Lord.
Young Samuel grew up around the same environment as Hophni and Phineas. He too, was reared in the work of the priesthood in the Tabernacle. Samuel’s love of God and commitment to do all things right never faded with time and His relationship with God became stronger because of that commitment.
It isn’t the environment or the circumstances that determines our final destiny, its our own personal commitment, dedication and right attitude that makes the difference.
To put it another way, “IT’S NOT YOUR APTITUDE, BUT YOUR ATTITUDE, THAT DETERMINES YOUR ALTITUDE.”
1 Samuel 3:3, "And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;"
This was the final blow to insult the duties of the priesthood that God had appointed to Eli and his sons.
This lamp we call the Golden Candlestick, was located within the Tabernacle and was to remain trimmed, full of oil and lighted at all times as long the Tabernacle was standing. It was to a perpetual light as a type and shadow of the Light of the World, Jesus Christ, who was to come as Messiah of Israel and Savior of the World.
The light of the Golden Candlestick was given off from a wick that fed from a reservoir of olive oil in the stem. It was the priests duties to keep that lamp trimmed and burning and full of oil so that the light would never fail.
In the life of a Christian, we are instructed to keep our lamps all trimmed and burning. That means that we are to be vigilant to keep our heart right with God and to allow the anointing of the Holy Spirit to rest upon us lest we become “lamps without light”.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:14-16, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
The light within each of us is the light of Jesus Christ that lives within our hearts. The anointing of the Holy Spirit and the very presence of God within must shine forth from us into a dark and dying world. Lord, may we burn brightly, that all might see Jesus and come to Him.
Oh, how often are “lamps without light” because we are too self-centered to care about the lost, or too caught up in the cares of life to be concerned with the destiny of our eternal soul! How often do those in darkness of sin look upon us and see nothing different about us? How often do we let our light be hid, or snuffed out, by hidden sin and irreverence for the presence of God?
I am reminded of the Parable of the 10 Virgins found in Matthew 25:1-12.
Five were wise and kept their lamps all trimmed and burning. They brought more oil than what was in their lamps and kept their lamps full. The other five were foolish. They did not plan well, did not attend to their lamps and they were left out of the marriage feast.
People of God, we cannot afford to be “lamps without light” or we will not be at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb as part of the Bride of Christ! Keep your lamps trimmed and burning. Stay close to God and stay full of the Holy Spirit.
Those five foolish virgins could not get oil from their peers and friends. They could not enter in to the marriage feast on the work, preparation, commitment and dedication of others, and neither can we. It’s a personal, one-to-one commitment and relationship with Jesus Christ that will make us ready for that day.
Because of Eli’s failure, Israel had no open vision. The presence of God was gone and no prophets spoke in Israel for a long time. God had forsaken Israel.
God ceased to dwell in the Holy of Holies. The shekinah glory of God that rested upon the Mercy Seat of the Ark was no longer there. Sin was present and darkness prevailed because the light was now gone out.
God had written the word “ICHABOD” across the veil of the Temple meaning that the “glory had departed”.
In the fourth chapter of 1 Samuel we read what the final judgment was against both Hophni and Phineas for their hypocrisy. They were with the Ark of the Covenant as it was carried into battle against the Philistines and were killed. The Ark was captured and taken away as a spoil of war to the camp of the Philistines.
Phineas’ wife bore a son and it says in 1 Samuel 4:21, "And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband."
I want you to know that Satan is not satisfied with just oppressing you, or making you grow cold. He is out to utterly destroy both body and soul in hell for all eternity. He knows that if we have contempt for the things of God that God will have no choice but to condemn us and judge us for sin.
God always honors those who honor Him and so we see that Samuel is raised up as the next judge of Israel.
God’s promises are conditional! God had promised that the Tribe and house of Levi would serve as priests perpetually. The sin of Eli and his sons negated that promise and the house of Eli lost its place in God’s work. God will honor those who honor Him but will judge those who despise Him.
In 1 Samuel 3:1-9 we read about the call of God that is placed upon the young priest named Samuel to be the next judge and prophet for Israel. Samuel did all he could to bring Israel back into right relationship with God. He did the right things and led Israel to repentance. Samuel was appointed to anoint the first King of Israel, King Saul. He didn’t agree with even getting a King but did it anyway because God gave him the OK. Israel would rather put their trust in an earthly King than in the King of Kings.
God used Samuel greatly and blessed all of Israel because of him.
What happened to the unrepentant sons of Eli? They were killed in battle at the same time. And Eli, when he heard of their death, was 98 years old, lazy, blind, fat and was sitting in a chair by the gate, then fell over backwards and broke his neck.
Eli, the once Great High Priest of Israel, who judged over Israel for 40 years, died in a most unusual manner. He had lost his life and his right standing with God but most of all, he had lost his sons and probably his own soul for all eternity! He had led all of Israel down the path of defeat and caused the glory of God to leave the Tabernacle.
WHAT A TERRIBLE EPITAPH FOR HIS HEADSTONE!
May God have mercy on the unfaithful preacher, parent, leader, or teacher who have led men and women into the very pits of hell!
I cannot begin to imagine the horror of facing the Great White Throne Judgment with the blood of lost souls on my hands.
How indescribable will be the pain, agony and sorrow, for all eternity, of those who did not speak the truth and live the truth but led others astray through their own sin and self-centeredness.
We must keep the Light of God burning brightly within lest we also fall into this condition!
We must never fail to live the truth and speak the truth to those around us, lest we find ourselves standing before God with blood upon our hands!
WE MUST NOT BECOME “LAMPS WITHOUT LIGHT”!
Stay full of the Holy Spirit; let your light shine that others may see Christ in you; listen for the voice of God for He is calling you to be a witness for Him.
Time is too short to get lazy, irreverent and lax concerning the House of God and the call of God upon your life.
What about you? Have you been found guilty of being un-concerned as you should be about the things of God or for lost souls? Have you allowed the sacred presence of God and His ways of Righteousness to become too commonplace?
Turn to God in repentance. Look to the Cross of Christ! God is looking for those who will honor Him!
