Hidden Heroes
I Samuel 1:4-23
Preached Mother’s Day May 11,2003 AM Service
Text:
2 Timothy 1:5
5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
Introduction:
A teenage boy found himself in a parked car with a few other rather unscrupulous friends. He knew that he was where he shouldn’t be. The car was tucked away in a private location to keep their deeds secret. Soon, a bottle of 151 rum made its way around the car. Each teen took a large gulp and then passed it on. The boy never had a drink of liquor before. He liked his friends. He didn’t want to seem like a chicken or a nerd. His heart raced as the bottle drew closer and closer to him. He took grip of the neck of the bottle, raising it to his lips. There was a girl in the car ready and willing to take his purity from him as soon as he took that first swig. The bottle tipped up, and just before that vile stuff hit his lips, pain shot from his chest throughout his entire body. Wracked with pain, he threw the bottle down and demanded to be taken home.
When he arrived to the two-room shack that he called home, he saw a light on. We quietly walked in to find his mother crying and praying. He overheard her praying "Lord, please deliver my boy. Lord, please deliver my boy. Lord, please deliver my boy. Lord, please deliver my boy."
He broke into her prayer and blurted out the story of his ordeal. His mother urgently grilled him. "Did you drink it? DID YOU DRINK IT? When the boy told of his pain and the following events that little mother began to cry and shout praises to God. Her boy grew up to pastor a large independent fundamental soul winning Baptist church.
Not many people ever met that little mother, but she was a hero. All over the world, behind great men and women of God there are hidden heroes. Today we take a moment to celebrate these heroes. These are the ones who had the desire to have children. These are the heroes who spent countless hours alone in tearful prayer for their little ones. These are the heroes who gave their precious children over to the will of God for Him to use them, as He would see fit. Take a few moments with me and let us together honor our hidden heroes.
Hannah was one of these heroes. Although she was barren for a long time, God heard her prayers of anguish and had pity on her. Today as we study the mother Samuel the prophet, we will see some of the qualities of a hidden hero.
I. The desires of a hidden hero.
1 Samuel 1:7-8
7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. 8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
A. Desire to bear a child.
B. Desire to produce a God fearing child.
C. This desire forced Hannah
1. Denied her normal appetite.
2. Rearranged her priorities.
II. The prayers of a hidden hero.
1 Samuel 1:9-12
9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD. 10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. 11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. 12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth.
A. Fervant.
James 5:16
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
B. Public opinion was not important.
1 Samuel 1:13-16
13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. 14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee. 15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. 16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
1 Samuel 17:23-29
23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel. 26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? 27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him. 28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. 29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?
è Sometimes a passion for what is right will be mocked or misunderstood.
C. Hannah wept before Almighty God.
Psalm 126:6
6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
Psalm 56:8
8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?
D. Hannah dedicated her child to God.
1 Samuel 1:11
11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
E. She trusted God.
1 Samuel 1:18
18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.
III. The surrender of a hidden hero.
A. Willing to let God have His way with her child.
1 Samuel 1:24-28
24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young. 25 And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD. 27 For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him: 28 Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.
B. God rewarded that willingness five times over!
1 Samuel 2:21
21 And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.
Conclusion:
Mothers are our hidden heroes! Most people do not know of their intense desire to conceive and raise the precious children that they have been given. Only once or twice did I walk in accidentally on my mother who was weeping and praying for me. Most mothers carry on private wrestling matches with God over their precious children. The great thing is that our God, which sees the secret things, rewards in the open! The fact that we have Godly men and women who are our heroes in the faith because somewhere in the shadows there is a hidden hero!
