1 Samuel 3 Bible Study (The Lord Calls Samuel) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

First Samuel chapter three. Let's go there in our bible study. First Samuel chapter three. And as we arrive there, let's pray one more time and ask the Holy Spirit to help us with his word. Father, again, we come before you because you call your house a house of prayer.

And so we pray again. And Lord, we ask that your son, Jesus Christ, would be mightily exalted. Lord, he is our king. And we bow before him in our hearts, in our will, with our lives. We surrender to him afresh.

Lord, we desire to know more of you in this house. Lord, it is our deep longing to discover the glories of who you are. We pray Lord that you would demolish every lofty thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. We pray that you would replace Lord every single deceptive thing that has creeped into our hearts. Everything that would insult or would blaspheme the name of God in our lives, Lord, would be eradicated.

Lord, every false view of who he is that would make us intimidated or view you wrongly, Lord. We pray that you would come and you would reign in our hearts instead. We ask, Lord, that the anointed one, according to Isaiah, would come and set the captive free. Open the eyes of the blind. Open the doors of those who are in prison.

Lord, we long to see liberation. We long to see you breathe, Lord, life into this house. Into your people, Lord, that we may be revived. Will you not revive us again that we may rejoice in you? Well, we know that one of the evidences and symptoms of revival is a rejoicing in God, and we pray that that would be the reality of tonight.

So Lord, quicken us God. Quicken us that we may praise you, and adore you, and obey you more importantly. And we pray again that Jesus Christ would be exalted whether people choose to surrender to him or not. We pray that he would be exalted. In Jesus name we pray.

Amen and amen. We live in crazy times, guys. We live in crazy times. And let me make this charge to you. Okay?

Pay attention. You're gonna hear it a lot in the next few weeks. Stick close to the word of God. I'm telling you. I'm telling you.

I'm restricting myself. I'm trying to refrain of going a different direction in this Bible study, but I'm gonna stick close to this text as much as possible. But let me just say this, stick close to the word of God. Stick close to God in these times. First Samuel chapter three.

In this short yet wonderful chapter, we will read of Samuel's call into the ministry of a prophet. And it's quite amazing because this little boy that we've been reading about, who was an answer to a mother's prayer, will now be promoted to a prophet of God for the nation of Israel. And it's quite interesting to see how much the word of God gives us concerning God's commissioning or his invitation or his call of men and women throughout history. What I mean is that you and I see different snap shots of how God calls a certain man or woman of God and he could have let those details out. But no, he invites us to examine those details and for many reasons.

There's no question that when you read a story like this, when you read this kind of a chapter or how God calls Jeremiah or Moses, that it's unique to that person. It's unique to that individual. Nonetheless, in every single call in the bible, there are underlining insights and instructions, and principles to how God calls all men. Now, I'm gonna tell you how you're gonna be really bored in this Bible study. You ready?

You wanna know? You will be extremely bored if you don't care if you serve God's purposes or not in your life. Extremely bored. But you will be excited to know how God does call if you want to serve God. And what's amazing here is that his methods are different throughout history.

He uses a burning bush in one instance, he uses a prophet's voice in another, he speaks from heaven, And in this case, he's going to speak audibly to a young man. And though the methods vary, listen, the measurements are still the same. What do I mean? The requirements, the qualifications, the aspects of God's calling on a man or a woman are the same throughout though his methods and his means are different. Does that make sense?

And so in this bible study, the main emphasis is gonna be the different aspects to how God calls a man and what he looks for in a man. And it's a glorious insight. It's a glorious study. And so we'd read from verse one of chapter three. Now, the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli and the word of the Lord was rare in those days.

There was no frequent vision. You remember what's happening up to this point. Right? Eli's sons are deep in mischief. Eli himself was rebuked by a man of God and the whole nation of Israel is extremely frustrated with what's happening in the house of God.

Yet despite all that is happening, we are told again that this young boy Samuel is doing what? Ministering to the Lord. Is this the only time that this has been brought up? No. Look at chapter two again and look at verse 11.

And the boy was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest. Look at verse 18. Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy clothed with linen ephod. Come here to verse 21. Indeed the Lord visited Hannah, and at the end of the verse it says, and the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord.

Verse 26. Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man. And then we come to chapter three verse one. Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. Whenever the Holy Spirit, especially in a close tight context, repeats something, it means he really wants to convey a message.

He really wants something to be drilled in our minds and our hearts. And in this case, what's happening here is that he wants us to see that again, despite everything around Samuel that could have discouraged him or caused him to not do what he was doing, his devotion was not deterred. His service to the Lord was not stifled. It was not shaken. Didn't matter what was happening around him, whether it was good or bad, he was laser focused on serving God.

And this is how Samuel was found when God called him. It was in this kind of posture, serving the Lord in whatever capacity in which he was given. Whatever limitations he had, despite the failures of those who would have caused anybody else surely to go into a different direction. Samuel was like, I'm gonna serve God. I'm gonna minister to the Lord.

And it's also encouraging to see that God calls Samuel while he was a boy. Right? Now, the boy Samuel, that Hebrew word has a wide range for different ages, but many believe he was 12 years old. 12 years old when God is about to call him. Now, think about how significant that is because that is not foreign to the rest of the Bible.

It is not a crazy concept to God for him to recruit a young boy or a young girl to his service. And some of you in here can testify that even when you were in pre k, maybe. I don't know how young. But some people as young as five, six, seven, eight years old can remember sensing that God was gonna use them in a particular way and it proves to be true when they grow up. Now, why is that important for us to understand?

Because if God is willing to make his calling clear to somebody of such an age, then we as the people of God should be encouraged to stir them up to love God at that age. Right? If God sees that they are able to understand something of his voice and his gifting, even at such a point in their lives, why do we don't think that they have no potential or grasp of the things of God? We should trust that they do, and we should encourage them and stir them as young as possible to see the beauties of serving the Lord. And and to and to make their antennas ready for God to speak to them if he wants to speak to them.

Because God is able to recruit somebody even in the womb. Who is who is the person that received a call from God in the womb? Jeremiah, who else in the New Testament? John the Baptist knew how to praise God in the womb. When Mary stepped in with Jesus in her belly, John the Baptist in the presence of Jesus left with joy.

And so, you and I should be able to look at a young child, and their innocence and their purity and realize, this is a candidate for God's service. Now they are. Now when they understand more things, no. Now, in this moment, God can speak and God can recruit, and we should encourage them like Samuel's mom by putting on them, speaking over them, blessing them, training them to be used of God. That might not mean much to you now, most people in here because you don't have children or maybe you don't have young siblings.

It will when you do. So remember that. Now what do we see here? And the word of the Lord was rare in those days, there was no frequent vision. This is a description of the spiritual darkness that plagued the nation of Israel.

What's being said said here is that essentially there was no prophetic word. It was rare. It was like a blue moon. It would come once in a while that you would have a voice of guidance, a voice of reason, a voice that heard from God and then spoke to the people of God to walk in a certain direction or correct them from a certain way of life. That was very very rare.

And secondary, we can also say that it was rare for even God's leaders to open God's word and to teach faithfully because that was the job of the Levites. Why is that important? Because it's not God's desire not to speak. The reason why Israel has stooped down to this point, you ready? It's because Israel wanted them to be there.

Do you realize that? In what sense? God's word was rare, first, because the spiritual leadership was incapable of receiving and then directing those because of their own corruption. There was no leaders, there was no vessels ready for the master's use to speak on behalf of God, because of their own hypocrisy as we read in chapter two. And secondary, we see here that the people If this is the same crowd that follows the book of Judges, then we know full well that they don't want God's word for themselves either.

And so we see this is spiritual leadership's fault and also the people's fault, but mainly the leadership, and we see it in verse two. Look at verse two. At that time, Eli whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see was lying down in his own place. That's his physical eyes. He was an old man, he was partially blind, but it also speaks of his spiritual perception.

He could not see as God saw, and therefore, he could not direct as God wanted his people to be directed. So what what's happening here? God is giving them what they want as he often does, and this is one of the worst forms of God's judgment. You probably haven't heard of it much, but it's described in the book of Amos, chapter eight verse 11. This might shock you as it did me, but listen to these words here in eight eleven of Amos.

Behold the days are coming, God says. Declares the Lord God, when I Who will do it? When I, God, when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread nor thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. You know what the prophet is saying? I wanna tell you something more catastrophic, more frightening than a drought that would cause a shortage of food and water and it's the hearing of God's word.

Can I ask you a question tonight? This Friday night Bible study. Do you cherish God's word that much? Is God's word so valuable to you that you see it greater, like Joseph, than your daily food? In God's eyes, as we know from Deuteronomy, that man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

And in this case, in Israel's history saying, I am going to initiate a judgment where it's gonna be so rare for you to hear my voice. You think to yourself, how is that an act of judgment? Well, think about God's word. What does it provide? Salvation, life, wisdom, comfort, peace, joy, purity, power.

And for God to refrain to veil that from the general public, that is an act of judgment. But it's not his primary will. It's a response to the will of the people who say, we don't want God's word. You don't want my word? Then here's chaos instead, and welcome to America in 2021.

And obviously speaking of the prophetic word primarily, and many believe Amos eight eleven was fulfilled during the old before the New Testament, after the Old Testament. Meaning that four hundred year period where there was not one prophetic voice for the nation of Israel until John the Baptist appeared on the scene and you wonder why there was such a frantic scene. Finally, a prophet arise and he calls people to repentance and the whole nation sweeps into the wilderness. Why? Because for hundreds, for centuries, there was in one voice that would speak on behalf of God prophetically.

And your Bibles testify to that. The intertestamental period, where there is no voice. And what happens with that? Look at verse 12. This is what you'll have.

God will allow it and when he does, it says, they being the people shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east. They shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it. There'll be such a desperation for some guidance, for some clarity, for some instruction. And people will travel all across the world just to hear from God, and God will choose not to speak. And that is true prophetically, and though that was unique to Israel in their covenant, the principle of this judgment is still applicable like it was in Samuel's day, even in our day.

Because I believe we are under this judgment in the West. You're saying what? Prophetically? No. I'm speaking about the word of God.

I can't tell you the amount of people that I've talked to that are desperate just to hear sound biblical teaching in their local church. And I know people that are willing to move states, and move houses, and move to different countries. Why? To hear from God. To hear from God.

And I believe there's a famine of hearing the word of the Lord, not because God wants to refrain and restrict his word from being shun on the people, because the people don't want to hear from God. He goes fine. But here's the thing, with that, God is still merciful. It's a terrifying judgment, but God is extremely merciful, and he will never leave himself without witness to any generation. 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.

Look back at verse one, and the word of the Lord was rare. Does it say it was totally unavailable? No. It says it was just rare. It it wasn't frequent.

It wasn't regular like it could have been. It was a rare commodity. And it's proven here even with the lamp of God in the house of God. The lamp of God was the only instrument in the tabernacle that provided what? Light.

And it was the job of the priest to come and maintain the light, to snip it, to protect it so that it would continually burn night and day. And what are we told here? That the lamp of God was almost near being extinguished, but it wasn't totally out. It wasn't totally out. But the moment it would go out, the house of God would be in darkness.

And if the house of God is in darkness, then the people of God will be in darkness. And if the people of God are in darkness, then the rest of the nation will be in darkness. But here's the point, that this lamp represented, it defined the spiritual condition of the leadership. There was a little light left, but it was near to going out. And just when the light was about to go out, God now is about to call another man to reignite it.

God is faithful to raise up a voice even when things look grim and dim in every generation. And as much as it seems like there is little influence of heat and divine truth being lit and maintained, at the right time, God will raise up somebody to burn for God. He will. What does that mean for us? It means that you can look out into this world, and you can see professing Christians passionate just about everything else except God.

You can see people that are more into politics than they are into divine truth. You can see little to no voice in this generation. Just all you hear more than anything else is compromise, and people buying into political agendas, and social ideas more than true. And you can think like, what's going to happen? Here's what I'm going to tell you.

God has somebody in mind. God has a few people in mind, in fact. He will never leave himself without witness in any generation. And the darker things look, the more hopeful we should be. As hopeless as it looks, we should be the most hopeful, because God never leaves himself without a witness.

Let me prove it to you. The darkest period that this world will ever know is in the period of the tribulation as defined in the book of Revelation. Seven years of living hell. If you think 2020 was hell, 2020 was a playground compared to what the tribulation period will look like. And yet still, during that tribulation period, God will raise up a 144,000 evangelists to preach the word of God and to see the greatest revival that this world has ever known.

He will always leave himself with a witness in every single generation. So you think about the time where Amos eleven, eight eleven was fulfilled, four hundred years. Right? And then all for a sudden, listen to the description of John the Baptist according to the words of Jesus. John five thirty five.

He was a burning and shining lamp. He was a burning and shining lamp and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. That's just like a lot of people today, by the way. God will raise up a prophetic voice, God will raise up a voice that preaches truth, and people get so excited about it, and that excitement only lasts for so long though. It's a scary symptom of people.

That you can hear a voice just like John the Baptist thundering and preaching everything that God wants to say and people get hyped and excited and then the rejoicing, the rejoicing dims down after a bit. Be careful that this doesn't happen to you. Be careful that doesn't happen to you. And so what happens here, God is about to raise up a man. Even as the light is growing dim, and I'm sure it had to do with Eli's blindness that he couldn't really see anyway.

So he didn't know how to manage the lamp of the Lord. But it was speaking of his own condition and his own relationship with God. So what are we about to see? Samuel's call in that kind of a spiritual background, societal background, the moral chaos and anarchy, here comes the invitation for a prophet to arise. And today, tonight at this Bible study, I present to you seven different aspects to God's calling in our lives.

For those who want to be used of God, here's seven ingredients, not exclusive, but major ones to consider. And so here's point number one in our bible study, when God calls a man. God's call is inconvenient to the flesh. Verse four, then the Lord called Samuel and he said, here I am. Samuel said that.

And ran to Eli and said, here I am for you called me. But he said, I did not call lie down again. So he went and lay down. Notice first here, that the end of verse three, when God called Samuel, Samuel was lying down for bed. He was trying to sleep.

And it was in that moment that God chose to speak to him, to get his attention, to awaken him. And what's interesting about that is, we all know the discomfort of being awoken from sleep. It's not pleasant. It's not pleasant, is it? I don't know anybody that enjoys that.

And here in Samuel's case, the call of God came at an inconvenient time. Because when he does call, oftentimes, it does not line up with the desires of our flesh. Sometimes the Lord calls somebody when they are in a state of life where everything is extremely well, in a natural sense. You have everything going for you. You have your plan for your life set out.

You have you have your investments laid out. You have your relationship established. You have your education all sorted. Everything is set in place and all for a sudden the Lord will come and interrupt and say, follow me. Or for others, maybe they're not as well placed, but they have their future set and the call of God invokes this sense of uncertainty and nobody likes uncertainty, and so there's an inconvenience to the invitation.

And if God truly calls somebody, oftentimes it will include both hurdles. I'm in a really good place right now and I'm kind of scared of where you might take me if I say yes to you. But the point is this, Samuel was interrupted in his sleep and your flesh will find reasons why not to completely submit to the will of God also. But you have to remember in that moment when God does call, if he does call you in a certain direction, you have to hold on to the promises that come with the purpose, and realize that he'll take care of you, and that you're on the you're on the path of a wild journey if you say yes. It's inconvenient.

It's inconvenient. There will be something that you have to give up. There will be something that you have to reject. There will be something that you have to turn away from. And if you're not willing to do that, I'm sorry.

Like Jesus said, you're not worthy to be his disciple. Number one, God's call is inconvenient to the flesh. Samuel was awoken. Samuel was disturbed while he was sleeping. But number two, God's call meets a heart that is eager to serve.

God's call meets a heart that is eager to serve. When God spoke, Samuel immediately said, here I am. And ran to Eli. Notice that, he ran to Eli and he said, here I am. So I want you to imagine this.

Eli is laying in his bed, and he hears a voice, Samuel. And in his mind, as a servant under Eli who's partially blind that needs assistance, he right in that moment says, here I am. And he jumps out of his bed and he runs. He doesn't walk. He doesn't crawl.

He runs to Eli to assist them and then he says again, here I am. You called me. Right? Here's the thing, he was misunderstood. He didn't have the perception to understand that it was God who was calling him, but we can still see the character of the man even in his lack of understanding.

When he was told and when he was called, you can sense an eagerness, you can sense an excitement, you can sense an urgency to serve. He was sacrificial. He was prompt. He was respectful. And the beauty about this is that, he does it over and over again.

I mean, he goes back to bed. He hears his name again, and he gets up and he goes back to Eli. Again and again. Three times before he gets it. So this is speaking about the man's attitude, the young boy's attitude.

That even at this point, with menial tasks, such as assisting a blind man, a partially blind man's life to make it a little easier, he was still willing. And surely, God found somebody who was willing to help a weak individual to be able to handle the power and authority to serve a weak nation. Because God will look at where you're at right now and what you're doing right now and will consider the attitude and the eagerness and the sense of privilege before even considering to promote you or me. He saw something special in this boy who just helped an old man when he would call in the middle of the night, maybe for a glass of water, or maybe to grab an extra sheet to make him warmer. You have a lot of people that don't wanna serve God until God gives them exactly what they want for ministry, and that's not how it works.

That's not how it works. He finds Samuel and if you wanted to make him a prophet right away, he would have made him a prophet right away, like Jeremiah. He could have made Samuel a young prophet at a young age, but instead, no. He lets him go to Eli's house, in God's house, and to train him in humility, and train him in the sense of serving at this capacity before he promotes him. So wherever you are today, God will look at you and say, how much are you willing to serve me?

As though this is the only thing I was going to give you anyway. And based on that attitude, based on that sense of honor and privilege and efficiency, God will consider the next step. God's call comes to a heart that is eager to serve. Thirdly, God's call comes with merciful confirmation. Look here, verse five again.

And ran to Eli and said, here I am for you called me. But he, Eli said, I I didn't call. Lie down again. So he went and lay down. And the Lord called again Samuel.

And Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, here I am for you called me. But he said, I did not call my son. Lie lie down again. Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. And the Lord called Samuel again, the third time.

And he arose and went to Eli and said, here I am for you called me. Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Three times, three times the Lord calls Samuel's name and the boy misses it every single time. He thinks it's it's his boss. He thinks it's Eli, and his unwillingness to respond to the Lord was not a reluctance or a desire to ignore God's call knowing the cause.

He just does not know God's voice yet. And when God sees this boy who doesn't have the capacity yet to understand that he's the one speaking to him, he attempts over and over and over again to get his attention and was willing to do so until he understood it was God speaking to him. God's mercy is wonderful because even when somebody knows it's God speaking to them and they are willing to go the opposite direction, he's still willing to give him a chance. Give me a proof of that of an individual in the Old Testament. Jonah.

Jonah literally goes the opposite direction geographically. He says, you're telling me to go there, and he GPSed where is the exact opposite direction because that's where I'm going. And God still gives the man a second chance to perform his duty as a prophet. That's how merciful he is. How much more for somebody who doesn't understand that God is calling him and he wants to serve God, but he doesn't know if God's the one directing him in this way?

So God, when he really Listen, I wanna tell you something. God is more excited for you to fulfill his will for your life than you are. God longs you to know the joys and the privilege of glorifying him more than you might anticipate. And so here's God trying to get the attention of this young boy. He's not getting it, so what is he gonna do?

He doesn't give up on us so quickly. He he doesn't play this strange game where he's mysterious and if you can't crack the code, then you're not worthy to serve him. No. He's very realistic. God is extremely realistic.

And so there are people that are terrified, terrified if they're gonna miss God's will for their lives. A lot of people like that. And when people come up to me with that concern, I applaud them and comfort them with the fact that they have that concern. Because when you understand the nature of God and his desire for you to be used for his glory, you have no reason to fear. You have no reason to fear, because he'll make it clear.

Why fear your future? Why fear like you're gonna miss the door? Why feel like you're gonna miss a moment of God's will for your life? Samuel here, could not perceive it yet. And I see another principle.

Who was the one that perceived it for Samuel? Eli. Eli was the one who had the maturity and the experience and the relationship with God to understand that after three times, the boy is hearing his name, the Lord is trying to call you boy. Do you know how Eli received confirmation or greater clarity rather that God was speaking to him? Through community.

There was this there was somebody else in his life that had the experience, that had the knowledge, that had an understanding that he did not have, that helped him understand that it was God speaking to him. And as much as the Holy Spirit lives in each of us, the Holy Spirit has also made it that you would be dependent on somebody else to perceive something that you cannot perceive on your own. We don't like that in this individualistic society. How dare you? I have all the Holy Spirit in me.

I have the whole council of God. I'll be just fine. Oh, really? You will be fine, but you'll be even better off if you know how to be in partnership with other people. I love this.

I love this. Samuel, young boy, and God allows for Eli, another man, to turn his eyes and to help him realize this is God speaking to you. And although we each need to have our own personal walk with the Lord, in that personal journey, God has ordained it for you to be humbled by knowing you you you you have blind spots and so do I. And it's a humbling thing to ask somebody for prayer. It's a humbling thing to ask somebody else for counsel.

But God will see that humility, and he will honor it by providing greater clarity to whatever you need clarity for. And in this case, you received guidance from another man, and you and I can know this, that when we walk with others who are Spirit filled, who actually love you, who care for you, because this must have been very humbling for Eli. You realize that. Right? Eli is the High Priest, and Eli realizes in this moment, God is speaking to a kid, and he's not speaking to me.

God is speaking to a little boy, and knowing what that man said to me in chapter two about my fate, I know I'm probably cut off with God and he's not going to speak to me ever again. And he was what? Was he like, you're just hearing things, boy go to bed. I said, I can't believe God's calling him. No, He encouraged the boy.

He encouraged the boy. What an example of older saints not being intimidated by younger men and woman, but encouraging them to fulfill the will of God in their lives. Go. God is calling you. And he gave him instructions of how to receive from the Lord further from that place.

But look here verse seven. Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the Word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. I don't believe that this is saying that Samuel had no personal knowledge of God. Meaning, he didn't have a relationship with God. I don't think that's what it's what's trying to be said here.

I believe what's being said here more specifically is that Samuel was not in the place of maturity to perceive the spoken word of God. The revelation of God. As a prophet would understand and hear God, Samuel had not arrived there yet. And so that's the understanding here, is that he he didn't have the ears yet. He didn't have the experience that to know, this is God speaking to me right here and right now.

Nonetheless, the possibility of somebody like Samuel, who all he knew was church, man. That's all he knew, like some of you in this place. As young as he can remember, every meeting that the temple could offer, he was there. Wednesday night, Friday night, Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon till the evening. He was there.

He was there. And he he served at the youngest age possible. He was in the Sunday school, he became the youth leader, he probably became the young adults leader at that point. What am I trying to say? That although this is a specific type of knowing of the Lord that he did not know, there are those like Samuel, who grew up in the ministry, who grew up in the church, and let me say, they don't know the Lord.

I'm just gonna cut it straight tonight, they don't know the Lord. And I've personally encountered this, you ask people, certain people, especially people that grew up in the church, and you ask them, tell me your testimony. And they begin to tell you what they did for the Lord. Well, I I went to Sunday school ever since I was a kid and I served on the worship team and I did Awana, and I did a missions trip in Florida. And it's like, that's not the same as you knowing the Lord.

You describing your activities for Christ does not equal how you entered into a relationship with him. And sometimes we convince ourselves because I've busied myself like Samuel, I've ministered to the Lord, I've ministered to the Lord. Yeah, but do you know the Lord? Do you know the Lord? Not the work for the Lord, do you know him?

And one way you'll know if you know the Lord is that you want to spend time with Him. You actually want to spend time with Him. You actually want to get to know Him. This might shatter your confidence, but I hope if it saves your soul tonight. You actually want to spend time with God.

If you don't want to spend time with God, I question if you've ever met him. You want to actually open his word and read it. You actually look at sin differently and if you do fall in sin, it grieves you in a way that you'd never known before you were saved. What's encouraging though is that Samuel was called while he was in the house of God, because here's the opposite extreme. You have people that grow up in the church and they think that God will not use them because they don't have as colorful as a past as others that grew up in a much more broken background.

But here's the beauty that Samuel was called in the house of God for a mighty purpose. And just because your background like Samuel is pristine and clean and free from like Eli's sons description of life, God can still recruit you. God has a vast array of recruiting different people with different backgrounds for different for different purposes. And oftentimes, God will find somebody who grew up in his word, that grew up under his word, that grew up with the people of God to be a mighty voice for his glory. I'll tell you this from personal experience, some of the hardest people to preach to is church people.

Like the youth conferences. Like, can these dry bones live Lord? Those kind of services. I'm like, am I living in Ezekiel 37 right now? You want me to preach on this theme?

I don't even know if these kids are saved. You know, you ask questions in Bible study, and the one question that I often want to ask at those conferences, are you guys even alive? Anyways, I don't know. Sorry. Something just came out of me there.

Let's come back to the Bible study. God's call comes with merciful confirmation. Merciful confirmation. He will make himself known when you really desire to serve him, which comes to the fourth point. God's call is known to a submissive spirit.

Look at verse nine. Therefore, Eli said to Samuel, go lie down and if he calls you, you shall say, speak Lord for your servant hears. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now, Eli perhaps had this experience where he heard from God as a high priest, so he knew what to give Samuel as instruction. And he said, Samuel, listen.

This is important. And he picks himself up from his bed and he tries to wipe his eyes and says, listen boy, this is what you need to understand. If he calls you again, if you hear his name again, make sure that this is how you respond. Now why would he say that unless he knew something about it? I want you to say, speak Lord for your servant hears.

And Samuel says in verse 10, and the Lord came and stood. This is a physical manifestation. Now, the Lord now is now just speaking audibly. The Lord now appears in the room. You wanna talk about making yourself known.

He appears in the room calling his other times, Samuel Samuel. You see? He's amplifying. He's repeating. He's really wanting to get this boy's attention.

And Samuel said, speak for your servant hears. Now, this is this is really encouraging. Remember, God's call, God's voice for your life meets a person who has a submissive spirit. And this is the instruction. He didn't just say, go and say, speak Lord.

He didn't say, just just say, speak Lord. Because that's that's what you have a lot of people often wanting. They want to know something of God's voice, of an experience with God, of opening the Bible and something just shooting right into your life that speaks to the moment that you're in right now, people long for that. And you should long for that because I'll tell you this, if you have no desire for God to speak, like, God only knows. God only knows our hearts when we pull up into this place, when we open our Bibles every single morning, if we even do that.

God knows our heart posture behind it. And if we have no desire for God to speak, guess what? He'll honor that desire. See, this is why you cannot succumb. Make sure you check yourself, brother, sister.

Make sure you don't slip into this trap where your satisfaction is you satisfying what you're supposed to do as a Christian in your devotional life. Go deeper than that. Go deeper and say, Lord, I long for you to speak when I come to your word. Speak to me. Don't let my joy be found in the fact that I just read.

I wanna know your voice, and God will see that. But it goes beyond that because you have people that are just crazy for experiences and sensationalism and some thrill and some story they can share with others. Listen. He could have said, when you hear your name say, speak Lord, and that would have been enough, but that's not what he said. He said, speak Lord for what?

Your servant hears. So the equation is this, that if you want God to speak, it's because you're ready to obey what he has to say. You're ready to obey whatever he reveals to you. And oftentimes, people want God to speak for much more different reasons than for you to submit to his will for your life. But this is what's necessary.

I am willing to do whatever you tell me to do. I'm willing to go wherever you tell me to go. I'm willing to give up whatever you want me to give up. I'm willing to say whatever you want me to say. And when that is the heart posture of God's child, he readies himself to hear from the Lord.

They forget the second part. See, when I come to hear a sermon, what am I looking for? What am I looking for? I can tell you this. You'd be amazed to know how God will speak when you're ready to hear from him and you ask him to speak to you from wherever it's being preached from.

You'll be amazed to know. And sometimes it's for yourself, and sometimes it's for you to know for somebody else. It's incredible. And I never wanna be a person that waltz into the house of God and I don't even say, speak Lord. I'm just like, I hope this isn't a long sermon so I can eat because I skipped breakfast today.

What is sad way of going to the house of God? What is sad way of going to the house of God? So God won't speak if you don't want him to speak. You'll hear words, you'll hear a sermon, you'll see many passion and get veins in their neck, but you won't hear God speak. And God especially won't speak if you're not ready to obey whatever is being revealed.

You have a lot of people that are hungry for knowledge, but not for the sake of will be obeying God in greater ways. In Deuteronomy twenty nine twenty nine, look what the Lord says. We're having this conversation with a few brothers on Wednesday night. The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, but it doesn't stop there. That we may do all the words of this law.

You have many people that spend their entire Christian existence trying to find out things that only God knows, so that they can, when they feel like they have an answer, debate it with other Christians. That's all their That's the thrill of their Christian life, debating the secret things of God. And here's what the Bible says, whatever God has made known to you, whatever God has revealed to you, here's the purpose. It's been revealed to you so that you can do what? What does it say?

Obey it. Obey it. The revelation, no matter how great the insight, no matter how I've never seen that before, all of those things is for one main purpose, that from it you would draw something where you can be more sanctified in Christ. Or else we become dangerous to our own souls. When we wanna gather in, we become like the Dead Sea.

All we do is get things in, but we have no outlet, and we become swampy and poisonous in our spiritual life. So even whatever God reveals is for the sake of me walking in close relationship with him and representing him more well than I did before when it was revealed. But no, people want the secret things. God, I wanna know the mysterious things. For what?

To be puffed up. Let's just be honest. To be puffed up. But he says, no, I'm gonna reveal whatever I reveal. Whatever exposed to you is for one main purpose, so that you would be more like my son.

And so, God speaks here, but only to a person who's ready to obey. And here's the thing, out of all the things that God could have said, this is point number five of God's call. God's call will always come with a cost. Always. Always.

Always. It will always come with a cost. The Lord manifests himself and he tells Samuel of something that is going to come to pass in the land of Israel. Verse 11, then the Lord said to Samuel, behold, I'm about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. He goes, I'm about to say something to you now that when the rest of the people hear it, their ears are actually gonna vibrate.

And that's that's an important phrase because you see it in two other times in the Old Testament. Second Kings, Jeremiah 19. And both times, God says, you're about to hear and you're about to say something that will make the ears of the people tingle and it always has to do with severe judgment that he's gonna rain down from heaven. So what's about to be told here is something that's gonna shake the hearts of men when they realize what God is about to do. And and why is he telling this?

Why is he saying this to Samuel? Because Samuel is supposed to proclaim it. And he goes on to say, on that day, I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I'm about to punish his house forever for the iniquity that he knew because his sons were blaspheming God and he did not restrain them. I mean, I want you to realize, here's a 12 year old boy and the first thing that God reveals to this boy, the the very core of this message is the holiness of God.

The holiness of God. Samuel, I want you to realize right off the bat who I am and my hatred for sin. And I'm gonna tell you this message because you're gonna proclaim it to Eli, and I want you to realize of what I am capable of doing. And here's what we all have to choose in our own hearts. You ready?

In second Timothy four, what does it say about those who would want teachers that stray away from the Word of God? So that they would do what? Tickle their itching ears. Right? You and I have to make a decision that we are willing to declare what will make not ears tickle, but tingle.

Let me say that one more time. You and I have to determine in our hearts that we are willing to relay the message that would make people's ears tingle, and not tickle. Because many people don't want people's ears to tingle, because tingle has to do with God's holiness, and His justice, and His wrath, and His righteousness. But if you're gonna serve God, whether you're a preacher or not, if you're gonna be a faithful servant, you have to be determined within yourself. Lord, if you're telling me to say something or live in a way that would cause people to tingle, I'll do it.

And that's why many people can't serve God. This is a difficult thing that many people are not willing to do, but it's a necessary price of being used by the Lord. And here's what makes it so much more difficult for Eli, or rather for Samuel, he has to say it to somebody that he grew up with his whole life. I have to say it to Eli who was like a father figure to me. This man took me under his wing, we ate together, we played together, he put me to bed, we had conversations, I served him my whole life, and now you're telling me that I have to speak this word over him.

And the answer is, yes. Because Samuel is going to do what Eli refused to do with his own kids and that's honor God's holiness above the feelings of other people. Samuel, here's the message that I'm giving to you. I mean, this is a 12 year old kid, you have 40 year old men that won't even preach this. And you have a 12 year old boy that God is entrusting to this message.

Why? Because you have grown men that are not willing to do so in his day. So he's gonna let a kid prophesied judgment, because men can't even judge themselves. And what are we told? Look at verse 18.

So Samuel told him, being Eli, everything and hid nothing from him. 12 years old. Yeah. Guess what? A 12 year old can understand the concept of God's holiness.

They can. But we again, just like what we do many things, underestimate their capacity of understanding certain things and we try to hide God's holiness from them, lest they be who knows what. And so, you want proof of that? Look at the common child's book of Noah's Ark. It's like the happiest thing in the world.

That's not what I read when I read Genesis. I don't read rainbow over the Ark and giraffes and elephants sticking their head out of the windows. There's terror in that book. It's a picture of God's holiness and his his thundering righteousness and great wrath. So Samuel hid nothing from Eli, but look look how honest the bible is.

Look at verse 15, Samuel lay until morning. You know, he didn't sleep that night. Like God told him what he was supposed to say, what was gonna happen and the boy just laid there all night. Because what? When you wanna be used by God, don't be surprised if he puts his burden on you.

I'm not talking about the burden of legalistic limitation, I'm not talking about the burden of unrealistic way of life, I'm talking about the burden of his heart for sinners and for his people. This young boy could not even sleep a wink that night and I don't blame him because he knew what was gonna happen to one of the closest people in his life. But look, then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. Look how honest the bible is. This boy was afraid.

He goes to the and who knows? He was sweeping the floor and he's like, I hope I don't bump into Eli. I hope he doesn't ask me about last night. I hope he doesn't tell me and ask me that I don't want to have this kind of conversation with Eli. Who knows what was running through the boy's mind?

But here's what we learn in verse 18, despite his feelings, he honored God. He crucified his emotions for the sake of obeying God. And at times when you serve God, guess what? You're not gonna feel like it sometimes. If you ask some preachers, they'll be honest.

Sometimes they don't want to go up and preach for different reasons. You have some people that serve God in different ways, they'll be honest and say, there are some days where I feel lazy. There are some days where I feel afraid. There are some days where I feel depressed. But guess what they do?

They crucify how they feel for the sake of serving and glorifying God. And you and I have to learn how to manage how we feel because you have a lot of Christians that allow their emotions to determine their devotion. You cannot go far. You cannot go far. And God is merciful.

He is extremely patient with us. I mean, you have the boy afraid here after the Lord I mean, how can you be afraid when the Lord stands in your room and says, can you Here's the message. I mean, I would feel like Superman. I would feel invincible. I'm like, bring it on.

Bring on Baal and Asherath. I don't care. No. He was still sincerely afraid after a wonderful manifestation of the revelation of Christ. And he goes, I don't wanna say it.

And then he ends up saying it anyway, because that's what it means to serve the Lord. You die to yourself. You die to yourself. And he does. Now, here's a great question for discussion.

So Samuel, verse 18, told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he being Eli said, it is the Lord. Let him do let him do what seems good to him. Here's my question. What do you guys think about that reaction?

I actually wanna hear from you if you're willing to answer. Is this a noble response? Is this a bad example as a response? What do you think? He says, you're done.

Okay? It seems apathetic like he's like, alright, if that's the case then let it be. That's his only response, that's the other answer that he pretty much says it's done. There's no chance that because he says here, it's it's over. This judgment is sealed, there's no chance of repentance, so what we're hearing here is, well, okay, if that's it, that's it.

Okay. So there's an element of repentance there where he's not saying, well, no, how how can this be? This isn't fair. And he just accepts his his fate. Yeah.

So he's saying whatever God would do, whatever is good to him, I'll accept it. So he's leaving it at the mercy of God. These are great great answers. I think it's Hezekiah who sought God for an extended life despite his judgment. So it seems like he's out.

K. You're onto something now. You're onto something where you see different responses from men in different places and God responds differently. Yeah. Right.

So he's saying, if this is what God wants, I have a different opinion. So let just let it be. Okay? You guys are onto something. So again, we're seeing another example of how God has declared something that seems to be a a sealed faith for a people and yet he was willing to reverse that based on the response of the people.

Go to first Kings. I want you to see something. In chapter 21, and let me say this is not a dogmatic thing, every answer that was given is where people stand on this issue concerning Eli's response. But I want you to see something quite interesting. In first Kings 21, what happens here is that Ahab killed a man for his vineyard.

I mean, he was so covetous, so ugly that he robbed the man of his father's inheritance so that he can enjoy gardening. And and to God, in God's eyes, this was the last straw. This is like, you're done. After all that you've done, I'm sending my prophet, and he's gonna declare your fate, and he does. And we see it here in verse 19.

So he tells Elijah to go to Ahab, and this is what the instruction is. And you shall say to him, thus says the Lord, have you killed and also taken possession? And you shall say to him, thus says the Lord, in the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick your own blood. Talk about a sermon. Talk about a sermon.

You know how you're gonna die? Wild dogs are gonna lick up the blood from the floor after you are slaughtered in a way that you're not gonna know. Does that sound like a final fate? Does that sound like it's a done deal? Yes.

There's no or or if, he says, that's it. You're gonna be dog's food because of what you've done. This is what's amazing. I want you to see the response here. As you scroll down in verse 25, they go back and forth and then Elijah walks away and look how the Holy Spirit goes beyond to describe what kind of man Ahab was.

There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel, his wife, incited. He acted very abominably in going after idols as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel. It's like the Bible wants to say, this man is among the top wicked people that Israel has ever known. Before we read on, he wants to make sure that we understand this person is vile, despicable, unspeakable filth has come from his life as a king and as a leader for the nation of Israel. And then what happens?

Verse 27. And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and laid sackcloth and went about dejectedly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite saying Now before, after he said, your dog food, you're done. Your blood, your blood is gonna be spilled on the floor and they're gonna drink it. After saying that and walking away, done deal.

My hands are clean. I've declared the word of the Lord. Look what happens in verse 29 or verse 28. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite saying, have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days, but in his son's days, I will bring the disaster upon his house.

Wow. The mercy of God. The grace of God. You know, it's important to realize that Samuel speaking this word to Eli was the second time. There was a man before that in chapter two that declared the same word of judgment, but we don't see a response from Eli.

And then now, God speaks to Samuel to speak to the man so that it would really really be driven into his skull and still the response is, well, if this is what he wants, then let it be. There was no sense of brokenness, no sense of fear, no sense of trembling, just the reception of what seemed to be a final fate. But then I look at a man like Ahab, who the Bible goes beyond to say, this man is there are no words to describe how evil he was. And because he tore his robe, humbled himself, God says, do you see this man? Elijah, change the word that I've declared over him.

Let the judgment come upon his sons. I wonder if Eli could have escaped judgment. And it would have went on his sons instead of him as well. Don't underestimate the mercy of God. It's much deeper and greater than you can imagine.

And so, the man receives it and we come to the last two points of God's call, aspects of God's calls in our life. Number six, God's call should always keep us humble. God's call should always keep us humble. Look at verse 15 again. Samuel lay until morning then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord.

Don't you love that? I mean, you just had God himself manifest in your room. He stands there and he's about to call you to be a prophet and you get up. Once you realize the sun comes and you've reached the morning, you get up and what do you do? You return to the task that you were given before you were called as a prophet.

And he he opens the door for the house of God just like he did before. And he was willing to, what? Not allow himself to be puffed up, not think that he was greater than anybody else, not think there is there anybody else in Israel's history that was called at the age of 12 to be a prophet? No. He just goes about like nothing happened.

Because he had a revelation even at that point in his life that this is all by the grace and mercy of God. And so God will tell me where to go next, but until he does, I'm gonna serve him at this point in this way. And so he opens the house of God. He came to church early and unlocked the door and set the alarm up and sat and wait for the people to come in. That's what he did.

Prophet. Yes. The man that's about to speak and call for the weather to change, that's how much authority the man was gonna get. And he was still able to serve God in this way. We have this dangerous thing in our modern church era.

You know what it is? Celebrity Christianity. Celebrity Christianity. You would be amazed to know, you'd be amazed to know how many people will use Christian ministry. And I think, I think what it is, especially in the worship world, is because they can't do it in the secular world so they come into the church.

That's just my opinion, I'm sorry. They couldn't make it in the real world so they come into the Christian world and they know they can dupe a bunch of people. And so they come and they wanna be treated like rock stars. You'd be amazed to know the request that people make when they come into a place to minister for a few days. Like, who are you, Brad Pitt?

Like, who do you think you are? You're serving the Lord Jesus Christ. We're not here to lay out a red carpet for you so we can praise you because you can speak well. Samuel, put a broom in his hand and he'll he'll sweep the floor. He'll open the house.

He'll take out the garbage. And not so, so people can look, look at me, I'm a man of God. I'm gonna take out the garbage and I hope that somebody's looking out the window right now, and so I'm gonna go. That's not humility. I'm sure everybody else was asleep when he did this.

And if you desire not just to know God's call for your life, but continue in God's call for your life, you want to know the ingredient, humility is necessary for longevity. Humility. Realize that no matter what God allows you to experience or uses you to explore or touch or whatever, remember where you came from. And Samuel as a young boy is demonstrating this by his quiet service. The call of God should always keep us humble, and we come to the last point.

God's call will be recognized by others. Verse 19. And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

So after he delivers this message to Eli, we fast forward, he grows in stature, in wisdom, in every way, especially in his relationship with the Lord. And here's what I love. Every word that he spoke prophetically, it never failed. And then we're told Israel from Dan to Beersheba, like from New York to LA, everyone knew this guy is the real deal. This boy, this man, this young adult, he's a prophet.

Because when God really calls you and gifts you and raises you and prepares you and launches you, you don't have to convince others about it. You don't. You don't have to go around telling everybody what God is going to use you for and how you have these gifts and how this is the ministry, and you're trying to convince everybody else that God really called you. If God called you, you don't have to say a word. You don't.

You don't don't have to say a word. You don't have to convince anybody. Actually, oftentimes, when people go around trying to convince everybody who they are in God, it's probably likely that God hasn't called them and they want the validation from others to comfort them. Not that we can't go to others and ask for a prayer or confirmation of what you feel God's in your heart. I'm not talking about that.

I'm talking about those who toot their own horn. I'm talking about those who force doors to be open, and so they have awkward conversations to try to get into a place of ministry. You don't need to do that. You don't need to do that. Samuel didn't go around saying, do you guys realize that at 12 years old, God came into my room and went around telling everybody in Israel?

Everyone in Israel knew as he just served God, when would God call him to go, they begin to realize and deem and identify and saying, this guy is the real deal. This guy is the real deal. And when God calls a man, the scriptures tells us in the New Testament that there will be confirmation from the spiritual leadership of that house, the people of God who receive from that gifting, and then they'll be able to say, this is from the Lord. God's call comes with confirmation from others. And in verse 21, I love how it ends, and the Lord appeared again at Shiloh.

God shows up in the place where the house of God is supposed to be. And how does he show up? Look what it says, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel. So God reveals himself to a man and through that man, he's able to reveal God to others. That's the essence of every ministry, whether you're a preacher or anything else.

The essence of your ministry and mine, the calling that God has placed in our lives, is that God would do something in us and then through us, people would be able to taste something of God and experience God through that particular ministry. At least an aspect of God. And that's what this man does. He goes around and he is now, in essence, embodying. He is carrying something of God where people are saying, God has visited us again through this man.

And oftentimes, it comes by way, the way of the word of the Lord. The word of the Lord. And so let me repeat these seven aspects of God's call in our lives. And it'll do us good to counsel our own souls and counsel others with it. Number one, God's call is inconvenient to the flesh.

Samuel was sleeping or trying to sleep rather when God called him and oftentimes, God will interrupt our comfort to follow him. But secondly, we see that God's call meets a heart that is eager to serve. Thirdly, God's call comes with merciful confirmation. Fourthly, God's call is known to a submissive spirit. Speak Lord for your servant hears.

Fifth, God's call will always come with a cost. Six, God's call will always and should always keep us humble. And lastly, God's call will be recognized by others. Let's pray together. As brother Daniel opened the service with the verse that we unpacked, speak Lord for your servant hearers.

I encourage you to pray that tonight. And guess what? It might not be as spectacular as you being promoted to a new ministry. You know what it might be? Hey.

You're supposed to forgive that person because you haven't forgave them yet. Hey. I want you to serve in this way. Hey, I want you to move here. And the Lord knows how to make that clear to you.

I'm not saying there's gonna be an audible voice or him appearing in your room. Oftentimes, it comes when the word of God is read or declared. But ask the Lord, Lord, I wanna hear your voice because I wanna make sure that every part of my life is in alliance with your will. God Almighty, we thank you how your word is so alive. Lord, thank you for a room filled with servants that want to hear your voice so that they can obey you better.

Lord, help us believe that you're a God who speaks. Help us believe that you're a God who has a personal plan for each of our lives. Help us believe that you're a God that wants us to be in your perfect will. Help us believe that we have no reason to fear, that as long as our hearts are eager to serve, you will not keep us away or miss the plan that you have for us. Lord, we ask that in this place you would make us into a burning and shining lamp.

In a day that is very dark, like Samuel's day, we pray that this house will not experience a famine of your word, but that we would feast every time we come together. But Lord, protect us from being like those under the influence of John the Baptist who only rejoice for a while in the light that they had. Lord, we want to rejoice always. Always. We wanna be grateful always to know that we're in a house filled with people that love the Word of God, that takes serious the call of God.

And so Lord, we ask with great hope in our hearts that if you're gonna find anybody to recruit in this dire age, you would find a people here. You would find a people here. Lord, we look out into the news, into the blogs, into the podcast, and we hear the confusion and the cries of this generation, but we are hopeful. We are hopeful. Because when the light of the lamp of God grows dim, you are quick to reignite it.

We want to be the very instrument you use for that purpose. Lord, in this place, may it be our daily posture every single day when we spend time with you throughout our routine and our schedule to say, Lord, speak to my heart. Lord, is there something that I can do, I need to do? I wanna be your servant. This is our desire tonight as a result of this chapter.

We bless your Holy Name. We honor you. We glorify you. You are wonderful. You are majestic.

You are alive. You are real. And for those who don't know that reality, Lord, we pray that they would be touched by your presence to experience it. We glorify you in this place tonight. In Jesus' mighty name we pray.

Amen and amen. Let's worship the living God tonight. The God who speaks. Oh, does he speak. He speaks.

He speaks. Let's worship him.