A certain Jewish couple, expecting to the their first child, argued hotly about what name should be given to their little boy. This went on for weeks. Finally, exhausted, they asked their rabbi to intervene.
The exasperated mom-to-be said, "I want to name my child after my father, but my husband wants to name him after his father."
"What is your father’s name?" the rabbi asked the woman. "Joseph,"
"And what is your father’s name?" the rabbi asked the man. "Joseph,"
Then what’s the problem?"
"The problem," said the woman, "is that my father was a man with a Godly reputation, his father was a cheat and a liar. If we call our son Joseph, how will I know that we didn’t end up naming him after the wrong father?"
Little Samuel – this precious little boy – just going about living his life…..
Unaware of the spiritual reality around him,
Unaware of who he was,
Unaware that God will use him to bring spiritual renewal,
Even unaware of the true existence of God.
Little Samuel, in the middle of the night – BOOM, God speaks and Samuel is unaware no more.
Have you ever had an experience like that? You know, you know about God, maybe believe in Jesus Christ. Perhaps have grown up in a Christian home, even studied extensively the bible and theology. But then, there is that moment: Sometimes its mystical; Sometimes there is an acute awareness that comes over you; Sometimes it’s an event; Sometimes …. It is difficult to explain, but there it is…and you know without a doubt – God is real. You knew God was real before….but not like this!
For some folks this can happen many times.
Story: Bike Chain
I was about 12 years old. Friend and I and his little brother were riding bikes. Little brother – his bike chain fell off repeatedly – he couldn’t get it back on alone. We were getting upset like little kids do and when the chain came off came of one last time. We rode ahead leaving him alone by the side of the road. We vowed to not go back to help him. But, we stopped, he was crying, we went back and helped him with his bike chain We hopped on our bikes and rode no more than a few feet – Ka-blaam! A car careened off the road and into a ditch over the exact spot we were standing moments before. It came by so close that we felt a breeze from the car passing by…
We were unaware no more….
Samuel has a moment like that – but more intense.
As we look at this chapter, chapter three, what word is God bringing to us this morning?I think there are three spiritual keys for us to understand this morning. Ready….On the positive side: 1 An open heart to the spirit of God brings awareness. 2 Responding to the spirit of God in obedience brings an intimate relationship. Conversely, on the negative side: 1 Failure to be open to the spirit of God brings a cloudiness of spiritual things. 2 Failure to be obedient to God brings outright disaster.
Let me say a couple of things about what this passage is not about:
It is not a manual on how to hear God speak.It is not a manual on parenting.
Hearing God Speak. Since your bibles are open (notice, I’m just assuming that now). Since your bibles are open, place your finger on verse 7.
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD:
The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
The word “know” here is Yada (if you did time in NY or NJ you know this word). I went to First Presbyterian on Sunday…yada, yada ya…
Pastor Peter had a good joke in his sermon. This word means more than “know” – it means to intimately know someone. So Samuel isn’t completely unaware, he is working in the temple after all, but he may assume God is like all the pagan gods in the land.
Let me ask: what special preparation does Samuel do to hear God?
Three things: 1. He serves the priest Eli obediently. 2.Apparently is not influenced by the bad behavior of Eli and his sons. 3. He goes to sleep
That’s not really much is it?
Why should God speak to Samuel? He is just a kid. Josephus says he was 12 years old. But Josephus is not known for his accuracy, though I would say since he is called a boy twelve is the most he could be.
Samuel doesn’t even really know God. God speaks to Samuel because he is a gracious God. God simply chooses Samuel. God knows everything, does he not? God then knows that Samuel will respond, because he knows his heart. God elects, chooses, preordains, predestines – however you want to put it. God selects Samuel – and that’s it, the only thing Samuel has going for him is an open heart.
There is no pattern for hearing God here. This is God choosing by his grace and love, as God has chosen each one of us who have given our life over to Christ - Not because we are wonderful people, but because God is gracious. I say this because as we learn about Samuel, chosen by God and in many ways we are like him - Chosen by God.
It is apparent that at one time that Eli had this open heart too, but unlike Samuel, he did not foster an intimate relationship with God. I find that a frightening prospect….don’t you?
Chapter three is also not about good parenting. This is not about how to be a parent. Now, yes his mother Hannah prays for him, and man, does the boy need the prayer, because Eli is a rotten, terrible parent – his kids are a wreak, we saw that last week.
Its amazing…this kid is placed with a rotten foster parent, with roll models at the Temple ( Eli, his sons and the women who help out), roll models who are, well, corrupt. This child lives and works in scandal – the poor kid doesn’t stand a chance. Yet the Spirit of God has mercy upon him. God knows his heart…..God expects obedience.
If you have been here the last two Sundays, or are using our study guide, you know that Pastor Ted and I have been preaching on stewardship. And this morning is no exception. Biblical stewardship involves an open heart to the Spirit of God. And, even more importantly, obedience to the Spirit of God. Samuel, with his life is a wonderful example of stewardship – Through openness and obedience.
Remember, earlier I said that on the positive side: 1 An open heart to the spirit of God brings awareness. 2 Responding to the spirit of God in obedience brings an intimate relationship.
We see these two qualities in Samuel. Though he does not know the Lord he is open to him. Anyone. Anyone, can hear God – sometimes even if they have a hard heart too. Remember Saul in Acts Chapter 9:4-6. Jesus appears to him as he is on his way to kill Christians. Speaks to him, blinds him, knocks him to the ground. Well what do you know. All of the sudden, Saul heart isn’t so hard anymore. Suddenly he is open to hearing from God. This happens to you and me too. A crisis happens, an illness, a loss, a death and what do you know, we suddenly are very open to hearing God speak…….
Looking at verse three
3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.”
Apparently, at this time there is some kind of walled structure that is built around the tabernacle and Samuel is essentially in the Holy of Holies. He isw sleeping right next to the Ark of the Covenant. Holy smokes! This is the ark that men touched, and died. This is the ark that is so holy that it is carried by two long poles, so no one would ever have to touch it. The kid plops down to sleep right next to it. You gotta love that! That just cracks me up. Everyone else is scared to death of this thing. Samuel curls up next to it and sleeps soundly – how cool is that?
So the Lord calls him “Samuel” – who responds “here I am”. Now Samuel lights candles, sweeps does general household chores…well, temple chores, not high profile jobs, but they had to be done.
So when he hears his name, of course he runs to Eli. Who else would call him?
I wonder…have we done that in or lives? God speaks to us. We believe it to be intuition. God speaks to us through an event. We call it consequence, luck….my great driving skill…When God calls – Stop. Don’t assume that you don’t live in a spiritual world. Don’t worry, God doesn’t give up easily. Pastor Ted how old were you, like 24, before God spoke to you in a Humvee Crash? And you know, that wasn’t the first time.
God has to call Samuel four times before he clues in. Look at verse 10. 10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
I just love that. Can you see it?
The presence of God filling the room, a little clueless child speaks of obedience to God even before he understands. How powerful. I wish I was like that, don’t you?
Let me take a moment here and let me encourage you. If you haven’t heard from God – why not ask him to speak to you – seriously ask. Not, God please speak to me. But God prove yourself to me, move in my life in a powerful way. Do it so I cannot pretend it is anything but you…
Be careful. Take what I say here with a sober mind, because it is not just hearing God. See it was apparent that Eli hade heard God years before, that’s why he finally clues in that God is speaking. But Eli was not obedient, and his faith went dim.
It is not just hearing God, it being obedient. If you want to hear from God, be prepared to be obedient. Be assured that God doesn’t what to speak to you just to hear himself talk. God will expect, obedience and then comes intimacy with God, and intimacy with God….what we all seek. What we all seek, this is what Samuel does.
And we read in verse 19. 19 The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up,
and he let none of his words fall to the ground.
Letting none of his words fall to the ground is a Hebrew way of saying:
Everything Samuel spoke came to pass. So that is why in verse 20,
20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD.
Now Eli. With Eli we see what is on the Negative side. 1 Failure to be open to the spirit of God brings a cloudiness of spiritual things. 2 Failure to be obedient to God brings outright disaster.
It seems at one point Eli could hear God. But since he is not obedient to God – what’s the point? Why does it matter? Slowly, things cloud over and that life changing moment is but a memory.Sound familiar?……That happens to us too, doesn’t it? Hard to take, but it is true isn’t it?
A question for us to day: Each of us, are we more like Eli, or more like Samuel? That is a tough question to face. For if we are more like Eli – then our words, our deeds fall to the ground.
Let me bring this around to stewardship. Remember stewardship is not only about money. But about my time and talents too (some say, time is money don’t they).
The Trustees, Ted and I ask you to take the pledge card, the time and talents card, and ask God to speak to you. Not {blandly} God speak to me. But as I said earlier, show me your real, without a doubt, speak to me about my finances, my time, my worship, my study and prayer time
Speak to me –and I will do what you say. We think hearing is a big deal – the big deal is obedience.
I’ll be frank, Ted and I don’t tell you what to give do we? But we urge you to give. To this church and other Christian ministries because it is a spiritual thing. And when we are not generous with what God has given us, time, talents, materials things…Our spiritual life suffers.
Remember a few weeks ago we talked about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ? How it was a bodily resurrection and how, though our bodies are material God uses them in a spiritual sense. We found that the material world is connected to the spiritual. Remember? Actions we do with material things can have a spiritual effect. Like sin, Like generosity…or the lack there of.
Stewardship is spiritual. Don’t be fooled. Your time, your talents, your finances...How you handle them has definite spiritual consequences.
Verse 15. 15 Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision,
Well, no kidding! The kid has the shock of his life. Not only does he now know that the is spiritual world real. He knows that God is very real and even more intense: the disobedience of Eli will not be overlooked. So he lay down – but he doesn’t sleep and he will never be the same. God calls Samuel like God calls us.
I’ll wrap this up with two thoughts.
First, be encouraged. If God spoke to Samuel – he will speak to you.
As God called Samuel, God calls you. God elected Samuel simply by his grace, as God elects you simply by his grace. I would flat out say expect God to speak to you in one way or another. But be careful, God expects obedience
Second, many of you have been very generous and plan to continue to be generous, with your time, talents and finances, both here and at other ministries. Like the Rescue Mission, Mary Magdalene House, The Awake Shelter, Compassion Intl, to name a few. That’s awesome. That’s obedience. You‘re living it.
Amen.
