Untitled Sermon (11)

Transitions of a Prophetic Calling

1 Samuel 3:1–21 NRSV

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 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. Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” 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. The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” Then the Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.” Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” He said, “Here I am.” Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, “It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.” As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

King James Version Chapter 3

And athe child Samuel

b Status ministered unto the LORD before Eli.

c Topic (d) And bthe word of the LORD

d Characterization was precious in those days;

Supplied there was

e Denial no open vision.

2 a Background-Temporal (c) And it came to pass at that time,

b Topic (c) when Eli

Supplied was

c Status laid down in his place,

d Topic (e) cand his eyes

e Event began to wax dim,

Supplied that

f Denial he could not see;

3 a Topic (c) And

b Background-Temporal (c) ere

a Topic (c) dthe lamp of God

c Event went out

e Status ein the temple of the LORD,

f Elaboration where the ark of God

e Status was,

d Topic (e) and Samuel

e Status was laid down

Supplied to sleep;

4 a Divine-Action That the LORD called Samuel:

b Response and he answered,

c Pronouncement Here am I.

5 a Action And he ran unto Eli,

b Speech and said,

c Pronouncement Here am I;

d Reason for thou calledst me.

e Response And he said,

f Denial I called not;

g Command lie down again.

h Departure And he went

i Action and lay down.

6 a Divine-Action And the LORD called yet again, Samuel.

b Action And Samuel arose

c Subsequent and went to Eli,

d Speech and said,

e Pronouncement Here am I;

f Reason for thou didst call me.

g Response And he answered,

h Denial I called not, my son;

i Command lie down again.

7 a Parenthetical ||Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD,

b Parenthetical neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.

8 a Divine-Action And the LORD called Samuel again the third time.

b Action And he arose

c Action and went to Eli,

d Speech and said,

e Pronouncement Here am I;

f Reason for thou didst call me.

g Experience And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.

9 a Speech Therefore Eli said unto Samuel,

b Command Go, lie down:

c Background-Condition (d) and it shall be, if he call thee,

d Command that thou shalt say,

e Request Speak, LORD;

f Reason for thy servant heareth.

g Departure So Samuel went

h Action and lay down in his place.

10 a Arrival And the LORD came,

b Divine-Action and stood,

c Subsequent and called as at other times,

d Address Samuel, Samuel.

e Response Then Samuel answered,

f Request Speak;

g Reason for thy servant heareth.

11 a Response And the LORD said to Samuel,

b Exclamation Behold, I will do a thing in Israel,

c Elaboration fat which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.

12 a Background-Temporal (b) In that day

b Pronouncement I will perform against Eli gall things which I have spoken concerning his house:

c Elaboration †when I begin, I will also make an end.

13 a Pronouncement ||gFor I have told him that I will hjudge his house for ever

b Reason for the iniquity which he knoweth;

c Reason because

d Action ihis sons made themselves ||vile,

e Denial and he †krestrained them not.

14 a Inference And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli,

Supplied that

b Expansion lthe iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering

c Temporal for ever.

15 a Status And Samuel lay until the morning,

b Action and opened the doors of the house of the LORD.

c Topic (d) And Samuel

d Experience feared to shew Eli the vision.

16 a Action Then Eli called Samuel,

b Speech and said,

c Address Samuel, my son.

d Response And he answered,

e Pronouncement Here am I.

17 a Response And he said,

b Question What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee?

c Request (Neg.) I pray thee hide it not from me:

e Wish (Pos.) God do

d Manner (e) so

e Wish (Pos.) to thee,

f Manner (g) and

g Wish (Pos.) †more also, if thou hide any ||thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.

18 a Action And Samuel told him †every whit,

b Denial and hid nothing from him.

c Speech And he said,

e Topic (d) mIt

Supplied is

d Status the LORD:

g Wish (Pos.) let him do

f Emphasis (g) what seemeth him good.

19 a Experience And Samuel ngrew,

b Topic (c) and othe LORD

c Accompaniment was with him,

d Denial and pdid let none of his words fall to the ground.

20 a Experience And all Israel qfrom Dan even to Beer-sheba knew

b Expansion that Samuel was ||established to be a prophet of the LORD.

21 a Divine-Action And the LORD appeared again in rShiloh:

b Reason for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh sby the word of the LORD.

There are times when BREAKDOWNS ARE JUST BREAKDOWNS To think that you, as a divine being, won’t ever have to deal with anything unpleasant in this world is a misconception. Even Jesus had to face so many unpleasant things. The cards did not seem to be in His favor, when He is the Messiah. If life was not easy for Jesus and He is God Incarnate, what more would life be for you?

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External conditions are only as powerful as you make them out to be.

What you need to recognize about these problems, troubles, or disappointments is that they have no power to determine your future. Jesus knew that there is trouble in life, yet they are what they are—nothing will change that. However, external conditions are only as powerful as you make them out to be. When something does not align with our plans and jolts us into uncertainty, we automatically describe it as a “problem.” When one becomes a problem, we associate with it the power to derail our plans or our lives. When we say we have a problem, we are saying, “Life is not as it should be,” because “life should be like this.” Your circumstances do not have power to disappoint you from God’s appointment for your life.

If you’re a teacher applying for a job at the middle school in your community, and you did not get the job, then you might feel disappointed. However, your circumstances do not have power to disappoint you from God’s appointment for your life. God has gone before you and has ordained this rejection for His purposes. God may be closing this door, but He might be guiding you into His purposes. Instead of thinking, “life should not be like this” or “I should have gotten that job,” you must open your divine mind and accept reality. You don’t have to label something to be negative, especially when this would not empower your life. The Prophet Isaiah tells us how the way of God is higher and that His Word would never go back to Him empty. We can trust the

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integrity of God’s Word because He is faithful and He has proven Himself to be trustworthy. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it (, emphasis added).

When we distinguish life in this way, we become stuck and we know that it’s wrong. Instead, we must move into a different attitude in which we surrender to the fact that problems or troubles are part of our lives. Jesus himself declared it, “I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world, you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world” ( NRSV) Indeed, these troubles should not have the power to shake us down. Instead of calling these conditions problems, we must distinguish them as “breakdowns”.

E. Bernard Jordan

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Instead of calling these conditions problems, we must distinguish them as “breakdowns.” While breakdowns seem unpleasant, they are actually blessings. Breakdowns help us determine what is missing. Our awareness for what is missing gives us the ability to respond. And through our response-ability, we can transform the quality of our lives. Therefore, without breakdowns, there can be no growth and no breakthrough. You must become powerful in the face of “no.” You may see problems as “no’s.” However, you must take your stand as cocreator of your life. When you remain powerful in the face of the “no,” then it’s like saying it does not have the power to shift your circumstances. Another point is that breakdowns are inevitable; they may come in the form of missed chances or setbacks that seem to have come out of the blue. Breakdowns are those things, situations, and circumstances that have somehow just gone wrong.89 But then breakdowns do not define who you are. Instead, your word defines who you are—the integrity of your word does this powerfully. If this is so, then how you respond in the face of breakdowns—if you would choose to honor your word or not—will ultimately be the source of your identity and the quality of your life. A breakdown is something that is just there—not because something caused it, and most definitely not because we caused it.

Imagine two cliffs with a bridge hanging between them. One cliff is bigger than the other one. You’re standing on the foot of the bridge of the smaller cliff. If the bridge suddenly crumbles into pieces and falls off, then you are at a breakdown. There is a huge

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gap—this huge, unfathomable space separating you from your possibility. This is exactly what a breakdown is. And many times, we think that the breakdown is our fault. We think that the breakdown has to do solely with our own mistakes and shortcomings. We blame ourselves as if we were the ones who cut off the bridge ourselves. But this is not true.90 A breakdown is there not because of anything we did or didn’t do. A breakdown is something that is just there, not because something caused it and most definitely not because we caused it. A breakdown is something that merely exists.91 Only when we are able to understand that a breakdown has no association whatsoever with failure, more so with our failure, are we able to appreciate and recognize truly the importance of breakdowns in our lives. The truth is that breakdowns are actually positive rather than negative. Moreover, breakdowns are important, in fact, necessary to achieve a breakthrough.92 We all need to go through a breakdown because it enables us to see the things we need to work on and improve.

We all need to go through a breakdown because it enables us to see the things that we need to work on and improve. Now, the question we should ask ourselves in the midst of a breakdown is,“What is missing?” and not “What is wrong?” By asking the first question, we recognize that breakdowns are supposedly eyeopeners.93 They are meant to prompt us into action and to inspire us to keep on going.

E. Bernard Jordan

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GENERATING BREAKTHROUGHS A breakthrough is all about breaking through a certain obstruction in our lives. An obstruction refers to an area in our lives that is closed shut. It is an area that we are no longer able to open up and explore. Thus, a breakthrough is an access to a possibility that was once inaccessible to us.94 A breakthrough is an access to a possibility that was once inaccessible to us.

When we talk about breakthroughs, we do not mean simply getting problems fixed. Breaking through obstructions means opening the door to greater possibilities. It means being more than who we are now, having far greater than what we now have. A breakthrough is what paves the way for excellence. Think of a wall — a thick, brick wall. Imagine that you’ve been trying to drill a hole through it so you can get to the other side. It’s been a while, but you make it a point to keep on pushing, to keep going on. The moment you make it to the other side, well, that is the breakthrough. A breakthrough, however, is not going to be immediate; it is not instantaneous. When we’re at the very thick of things, inching our way to get the breakthrough that we want may seem difficult. It may take a bit of time and a whole lot of perseverance. Right in the middle of it, you may begin to think you’re not going to make it; however, it’s going to happen. And when it does, you will be amazed that it does. The problem is that many times we are not able to cause breakthroughs, because we’re not seeing things right or we have the

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wrong perspective. Remember that breakthroughs are determined by our performance, and that our performance is determined by the way we view things. Our performance is determined by our point of view, our perspective, in essence, how the world occurs for us.95 How do you deal with a breakdown? Well, the first step is to identify a breakdown as a breakdown.

Instead of allowing ourselves to be paralyzed with fear and negativity, we must focus on telling ourselves that we can. Every obstacle must be seen as a challenge and an opportunity for growth, not as a stumbling block. In so doing, we can cause breakthroughs to happen. How do you deal with a breakdown? Well, the first step is to identify a breakdown as a breakdown. Identify how the condition or circumstance is occurring for you. The next step is to regenerate the possibility or commitment against which the breakdown is happening. The third step is to recognize what actions you can take to fulfill this possibility, how are you response-able (how you are able to respond). Finally, take action.