4.2.29 6.14.2020 Samuel shows us how to to be called by God 1 Samuel 2 & 3

…in Dangerous Times

Entice: Some of the greatest Biblical heroes were heroic because they were spokesmen (and women) for God in desperate times. Wouldn't it be great to have a hero or three like that today?

Do not wish for what you are not willing to be.

Engage: God is able call you. God is able to call me. Individually and corporately He needs us to be heroic leaders in our community.

All Leadership is spiritual.

All Leadership is pastoral.

All Leadership is personal.

Leadership begins with listening. Leadership ends with thank you! Leadership serves.

Expand: Over the course of 1 Samuel chapters 2 and 3 we have a sprawling narrative of how to be available to God and responsive on the one hand; and how to be rebellious and arrogant before God on the other. Samuel becomes a hero because he seeks and listens to God. Eli’s sons become outlaws because they abandon God’s voice to live for their own vice.

Excite: When a a hero is called by God he or she is called to bring God's word to the fallen world. Are you available? Are you paying attention? Will you answer the call.

Explore:

You and I must respond when God calls us to be a Hero in our hurting world.

Explain: Why? Why Me, why now? This story illustrates the gravity of our situation...in need of a hero Called by God in our time. We must respond because

1. The Times are Urgent!

1 Samuel 2:12–17 ESV

12 Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord. 13 The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, 14 and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15 Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” 16 And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.” 17 Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.

Spiritually Compromised

Did not know God personally.

Did not treat holy things responsibly.

Socially Corrupt.

finally in

1 Samuel 2:22 ESV

22 Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

we learn they are

Sexually Contaminated.

Beware of overly sexualized bullies who use religion as a cover for their corruption.

2. The Equipment is Available.

1 Samuel 2:11 ESV

11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. And the boy was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.

1 Samuel 2:18 ESV

18 Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy clothed with a linen ephod.

1 Samuel 2:21 ESV

21 Indeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord.

1 Samuel 2:26 ESV

26 Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.

The theme of Samuel's growth parallels the theme of the Elides decline...

Spiritual Maturity.

Social Integrity.

Sexual...Purity?

Samuel's a boy it's not an issue now but is also never an issue addressed at any time in his life; Despite the horrid example of Eli's sons.

3. The Silence is Deafening.

1 Samuel 3:1–21 ESV

1 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. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 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, and he said, “Here I am!” 5 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. 6 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 down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 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. 9 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. 10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 And I declare to 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. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” 15 Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 And 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.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.” 19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

Eli had Zero bandwidth. 1-3

From prophet, Judge and Priest Eli has become nothing a caretaker. He has stopped listening to God to trim the lamps and get a good night sleep. Jesus says...

Luke 11:28 ESV

28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

James His brother added.

James 1:22 ESV

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Samuel didn’t really have a secret…He was putting into practice what Jesus, and James and others instructed. In fact, Eli was actually able to advise him though he had himself stopped hearing and doing.

So, how can we follow Samuel’s example to increase our bandwidth to try and end this cultural silence we have imposed on God by our inattention? It begins by

Responding to His probing.

in continues in

Hearing His pronouncement.

Then our act of hearing flows into

Proclaiming His Purpose.

When we hear, and do, and speak God reveals His saving presence.

Revealing His presence.

There's never been any reason...

I am tired of living in a world where the ignorant and corrupt try and out shout the sly and the slackers. I'm fatigued by leaders who cannot pronounce the words that describe the problems we face and whose childish solutions make things worse.

I think one of the subtexts of all scripture is that all true leadership is spiritual, pastoral, and personal. We need a hero who does not speak for himself but God. A hero who understands the spiritual desolation which lies behind every social problem we have. We need leaders who are unafraid to pronounce God's judgement on the unrepentant and unashamed to pronounce God's mercy on the unheard. Samuel was that kind of hero...will you be the next Samuel? Hannah, Ruth, the next Peter or the next Stephen?