1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:29,980 . . . . . . . . . . 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:59,980 . . . . 3 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:29,980 . . . 4 00:01:29,980 --> 00:01:59,960 Good morning. I'm glad to be here to worship. I'm also thankful this morning for air conditioning. That is a blessing from God. Before we get started this morning, I'm going to begin with a word of prayer, and then we will stand and read some Scripture together before we dive into our time of worship. Let's pray. 5 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:29,940 Father in heaven, we thank you that as we gather this morning, we know that you are good and that you are in control and that you watch over us and that you care for us. Help us as we worship this morning to fix our eyes on the hope that is in you, the strength that comes from you, that we would be a light in a dark and broken world, that we would be people with a message of hope and of grace and a call to repentance 6 00:02:29,940 --> 00:02:59,920 for those who need to turn to you. We thank you for Jesus and we thank you for grace. It's in his name we pray. Amen. Let's go ahead and be standing. We're going to read from Psalm 18 verses 1 and 2, a song that David wrote after God, a psalm that David wrote after God had delivered him from the hands of Saul. And as we sing this morning, we're going to be singing about putting our focus on Jesus and seeing the 7 00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:29,900 salvation that is found there. So let's read from Psalm the 18th chapter. It says, "I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." And we're going to begin by singing, "Our God saves." 8 00:03:29,900 --> 00:03:59,880 in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, in the name of the Spirit, Lord, we come. We are gathered together to lift up your name, to call on our Savior, to fall on your grace. 9 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:29,860 Hear the joyful sound of our offering. As your saints bow down, as your people sing, we will rise with you, lifted on your wings, and the world will see that our God saves. Our God saves. 10 00:04:29,860 --> 00:04:59,840 His hope in your name. Morning turns to songs of praise. Our God saves. Our God saves. In the name of the Father. 11 00:04:59,840 --> 00:05:29,820 In the name of the Son. In the name of the Spirit. Lord we come. We are gathered together. To lift up your name. To call on our Savior. To fall on your grace. Hear the joyful sound of our offering. As your saints bow down. As your people sing. We will rise with you. 12 00:05:29,820 --> 00:05:59,800 Lift it on your wings. And the world will see that. Our God saves. Our God saves. There is hope. In your name. Morning, church. 13 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:29,780 To psalms of praise. Our God saves. Our God saves. 14 00:06:29,780 --> 00:06:59,760 My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. 15 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:10,760 I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus' name. 16 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:29,740 Christ alone, cornerstone, weak made strong in the Savior's love through the storm. 17 00:07:29,740 --> 00:07:59,720 He is Lord, Lord of all. 18 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:14,720 My anchor holds within the veil. My anchor holds within the veil. 19 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:29,700 Christ alone, call us home. We pray strong in the Savior's love. 20 00:08:29,700 --> 00:08:44,700 Lord, you're the star. He is the Lord of all. 21 00:08:44,700 --> 00:08:59,680 He shall come with trumpet sound. Oh, may I then in Him be found. 22 00:08:59,680 --> 00:09:14,680 Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless than before the throne. 23 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:29,660 Christ alone, call us though weak may strong in the same as love. 24 00:09:29,660 --> 00:09:59,640 He is Lord, Lord of all. Christ alone, call us though weak may strong in the same as love. 25 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:06,640 He is Lord, Lord of all. 26 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:31,640 Let's pray. 27 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:01,640 Let's pray. 28 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:31,640 Let's pray. 29 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:01,640 Amen. 30 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:31,640 Let's pray. 31 00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:25,140 I set my hope on Jesus. For the deepest wounds the time won't heal. There's a joy that runs still deeper. There's a truth that's more than all I feel. I set my hope on Jesus. 32 00:23:25,140 --> 00:23:45,640 I set my hope on Jesus. My rock, my only trust. Who set his heart upon me first? I set my hope on Jesus. 33 00:23:45,640 --> 00:24:12,640 Though I falter in this war with sin, I set my hope on Jesus. When I fail the fight and sink within, I set my hope on Jesus. 34 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:39,640 Though the shame will drown me in its steel, and I drain the waves of justice, I will cast my life on Calvary. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. 35 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:52,640 I only trust. You set his heart upon you first. I set my hope on Jesus. 36 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:28,640 Though the world call me to leave my Lord, I set my hope on Jesus. Though it offer all its vain rewards, I set my hope on Jesus. 37 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:49,640 Though this heart of mine is prone to stray, give me grace enough to finish. Till I worship on that final day, I set my hope on Jesus. 38 00:25:49,640 --> 00:26:18,640 I set my hope on Jesus. My rock, my only trust. You set his heart upon me first. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. My rock, my only trust. 39 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:33,640 You set his heart upon me first. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. 40 00:26:47,640 --> 00:27:16,640 I come to the table this morning. One of the things that Rachel and I have discussed, every time that we have bought a car, especially after a long road trip, we sent her a video of a van like that this past week where the guy was saying, "Hey, check out our family van." He said, "The greatest feature in our family van is it has the limousine window in between the passenger compartment and the driver's compartment." I thought about that. 41 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:45,640 And in theory, that sounds good, right? But as we were riding in the car around West Virginia yesterday, one of the things that I enjoyed doing is talking back and forth to the kids and spending time together, and sometimes it was a little more grumpy than other times. But there is a desire sometimes for us, and I was thinking about this in regards to the church and the world that we live in, that it's very easy for us to try to sort of roll up the window on the world 42 00:27:45,640 --> 00:28:14,640 in which we live, right? We just sung about temptation and struggles and cares, and we've all experienced the heartbreak and the brokenness, and it's very easy for us to seek to become a place where we can run and we can hide and we can be as far away from that as possible. What God designs the church to do and what he calls us to do is to be a place 43 00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:43,640 where we come together, encouraged by God's goodness, empowered by his strength, together with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and if you remember what Jesus says in Matthew, the 18th chapter, that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. And so rather than being a place to hide, the church is called to be a place where we strengthen and 44 00:28:43,640 --> 00:29:12,640 encourage and help one another in the midst of all of that brokenness. And so as we come to the table this morning, I want to remind us from the 46th Psalm, and it's a Psalm we read fairly frequently on Sunday mornings, and it begins by talking about how God is our refuge and our strength of very present help in trouble. And verse 2 begins just with this, "Therefore I will not fear, because God is my strength and my help 45 00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:41,640 and my trouble, I don't have to be afraid." And the psalmist goes on to talk about the things that he has to be afraid of. If the earth collapses, if the mountains topple into the sea, though in the middle of a storm where the waves and waters roar and foam, so much so that in the storm the mountains shake. He says, "I will not fear." 46 00:29:41,640 --> 00:30:10,640 And so as we come to this place and we partake in this meal, we don't have to fear God. The message of the cross is that because Jesus has taken our sins, that he has paid the price for our transgressions. We don't have to be afraid if we are in Christ. We don't have to fear death. 47 00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:39,640 We don't have to fear being alone. We don't have to fear not being strong enough because through Jesus, through the promise of the resurrection, through the power of the Holy Spirit, all of our fears have been met in the goodness of God. Let's pray. Father, remind us as we eat this bread and drink this cup that we don't have to be afraid. That our fears often come 48 00:30:39,640 --> 00:31:08,640 from where we have not seen your strength and your goodness in a deep enough way. So in this moment, may we fix our eyes on Jesus. May we focus and not be distracted by all the busyness and the worries and the troubles and the difficulties and all of our insufficiencies that we would see you in your strength and your power. 49 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:13,640 I ask that you bless this bread and this cup. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 50 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:26,640 If you would, bread with me as Jesus shared with his disciples and said to them, "Do this in remembrance of me." 51 00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:37,640 And in the same way, after supper, Jesus takes the cup, reminds the disciples this is the new covenant in his blood, and so let's drink together and remember Jesus. 52 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:44,640 And remember, we are not simply called to remember, but we're also called to proclaim. 53 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:52,640 We are going to be in 1 Samuel chapter 3. Before we get there, we'll get a little bit of a two-and-a-half-minute summary of this. 54 00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:57,640 And so, Derek, if you want to go ahead and... 55 00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:03,640 Stories of the Bible. God speaks to Samuel. This is Samuel. 56 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:08,640 Hi. Samuel was the son of Hannah. Hey, Samuel. 57 00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:15,640 Hannah prayed for God to give her a son, and God did. So Hannah gave Samuel back to God. 58 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:22,640 See you, Samuel. Bye, Mom. And Samuel grew up in the temple serving under Eli, the priest. 59 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:30,640 Hi, Eli. As Samuel grew up, he learned how to serve God from Eli. 60 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:44,640 Samuel lived in the house of God, but he did not know God or what God's voice sounded like. 61 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:57,640 In those days, messages from God were rare. But one night after Eli had gone to bed, Samuel was sleeping in the tabernacle 62 00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:07,640 when suddenly God called out, "Samuel." Samuel got up and ran to Eli and said, "Did you call me?" 63 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:24,640 Eli said, "I didn't call you. Go back to bed." So Samuel did. Then God called out again, and again Samuel got up and ran to Eli asking, "Did you call me?" 64 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:52,640 Eli said, "I didn't call you. Go back to bed." So Samuel did. God called Samuel for a third time, "Samuel." And Samuel went to Eli yet again. After three times, Eli realized that God was trying to speak to Samuel. So Eli taught Samuel to say, "Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening." 65 00:33:52,640 --> 00:34:20,640 Okay. Samuel went back to bed, and God came and called as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak. Your servant is listening." God told him many things about what would happen to Israel. As Samuel grew up, God was with him, and everything God spoke through Samuel came true. Samuel was seen as a great prophet of God, because he could hear the voice of God, and he loved him. 66 00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:24,640 Hear the voice of God, and he listened when God spoke to him. 67 00:34:24,640 --> 00:34:48,640 We'll pray, and we will dive into it this morning. This, I think, very familiar passage in terms of Samuel. If you've spent much time in church or Sunday school, 68 00:34:48,640 --> 00:35:02,640 there's probably two stories you know from Samuel. There is David and Goliath, and there is God's call of prophet Samuel 1 because it's fairly easy for us to understand and depict. 69 00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:10,640 So let's go ahead and pray, and then we'll jump right into it. Father in heaven, we thank you for the good news of the gospel. 70 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:21,640 We thank you for Jesus. We thank you for this chapter. We thank you for how it directs us to your word, and we thank you for how you bring light out of the darkness. 71 00:35:21,640 --> 00:35:27,640 We just ask that you would be with us during this time. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 72 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:35,640 And so as I see this chapter, and we've heard sort of the summary of the story, and we'll take a look a little more in depth. 73 00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:42,640 You have sort of the center point of this being God speaking to Samuel in the middle of the night. 74 00:35:42,640 --> 00:35:51,640 And if you have kids or grandkids, especially when they're younger, it's very easy to be woken up in the middle of the night by your children. 75 00:35:51,640 --> 00:35:58,640 Probably the most memorable experience for me, and one that sticks in my mind I've shared with some of you before, 76 00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:07,640 but during the phase that probably most of us are familiar with, the Anna and Elsa phase of Frozen 1. 77 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:14,640 You went from peace and quiet to now there is only Elsa. There's a point in there where Anna goes to Elsa, 78 00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:18,640 wakes her up in the middle of the night and goes, "Do you want to bell the snowman?" 79 00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:25,640 And one of my most disturbing awakenings as a dad is waking up with a child sitting on my chest going, 80 00:36:25,640 --> 00:36:31,640 "Do you want to bell the snowman?" And it's like 3 in the morning. It's like, "No, first of all, it's like summertime." 81 00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:39,640 But secondly, you wake up and you're ready to fight somebody, and there's your child sitting there asking if you want to bell a snowman. 82 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:47,640 And so, Eli doesn't get a very good night's sleep, keeps sending Samuel back to bed, something that we can't relate to. 83 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:53,640 And so, as we come into this text, what we find is this whole chapter of 1 Samuel chapter 3 is dealing 84 00:36:53,640 --> 00:37:01,640 with a bunch of really big problems. And we get the whole summary of the really big problems in verse 1. 85 00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:10,640 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, 86 00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:21,640 and there was no frequent vision. And the first part of this chapter is all about both a contrast and a problem. 87 00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:28,640 And so there is a contrast in this text, right? We have the life of Samuel, as young as he is, 88 00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:35,640 with all of his character and his relationship with God in a deep and sort of abiding contrast 89 00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:43,640 with Eli and how Eli has spoke about God. In fact, it begins before Samuel is even born. 90 00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:50,640 Hannah speaks to God, and she speaks to God as if she knows God where Eli simply talks about God. 91 00:37:50,640 --> 00:37:58,640 Hannah worships God in a song that echoes through the entire Bible all the way to Mary and her song of joy 92 00:37:58,640 --> 00:38:06,640 about the birth of Jesus. We'll see in the chapters before this that Samuel ministers before the Lord 93 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:12,640 and is growing in the presence of God while Eli's sons, it says in chapter 2, are worthless. 94 00:38:12,640 --> 00:38:23,640 We'll see God's judgment against Eli and his sons while Samuel, like Jesus, grows in favor with God. 95 00:38:23,640 --> 00:38:33,640 And so 1 Samuel chapter 2 ends with a prophet coming to announce judgment on Eli's descendants for how they have dishonored God. 96 00:38:33,640 --> 00:38:39,640 And if you look at 1 Samuel chapter 3 verse 1, now here is Samuel ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. 97 00:38:39,640 --> 00:38:49,640 And as we go through this chapter, what we find is that Samuel has been serving God, has been learning about God, has been close to God, living in God's house. 98 00:38:49,640 --> 00:38:56,640 But he doesn't yet know God, but this all changes in chapter 3. 99 00:38:56,640 --> 00:39:05,640 And one of the things that has stood out to me in this past week is this reminder through the life of Samuel that God uses those who are young. 100 00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:17,640 And this is such an important reminder, I think, both for those who are young and for those of us who have a little more, as Scripture says, advanced in years. 101 00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:28,640 If you think about it, and I love the kids being here this morning, and if you think about it, you sort of cover the first three chapters of Samuel in the age range of children we have this morning. 102 00:39:28,640 --> 00:39:37,640 From very, very little up until probably our oldest here are about the age when God speaks to Samuel. 103 00:39:37,640 --> 00:39:42,640 And so you have this sort of age range picturing of the life of Samuel. 104 00:39:42,640 --> 00:39:52,640 And one of the beautiful things about this text and the book of Samuel in these first three chapters is that God uses those who are very, very young. 105 00:39:52,640 --> 00:40:01,640 In fact, isn't that what Jesus says as people seek to keep the children away? He says, "Let the little children come to me." 106 00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:12,640 And also to adults, right? It's important for us to remind ourselves that it's not always about me and what I can do, but that God can use children as well. 107 00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:21,640 And so it's both an encouragement for the young and the old in the story of Samuel to see how God uses people. 108 00:40:21,640 --> 00:40:30,640 Now, the problem in our text is simply this: the word of the Lord was rare in these days, right? It's not very common. 109 00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:39,640 And what's interesting, if you go through the books that precede Samuel in your Bible, you'll find that God has spoken to his people. 110 00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:45,640 And he speaks to his people, and one of the ways is through the law recorded by Moses. 111 00:40:45,640 --> 00:40:50,640 And in Deuteronomy chapter 6, I'm going to read this. It might be very small. It's in your handouts as well. 112 00:40:50,640 --> 00:41:00,640 Moses is relating to the people what God has told him. And I want you to hear these words and then hear how the people are to treat the word of God. 113 00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:14,640 And so it says this: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, and these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 114 00:41:14,640 --> 00:41:20,640 You shall teach them diligently to your children. You shall talk of them when you sit in your house, 115 00:41:20,640 --> 00:41:26,640 and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign in your hand. 116 00:41:26,640 --> 00:41:33,640 They shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." 117 00:41:33,640 --> 00:41:40,640 And God, through Moses, will say, Moses is giving the people the instructions. He says, "Love God with every part of your being, 118 00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:49,640 your heart, and your soul, and all of your strength, right? In how you think, and in how you feel, and in how you act." 119 00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:55,640 And then notice what he says. He says, "You've got to teach it. You've got to teach this Word to the children." 120 00:41:55,640 --> 00:42:01,640 And you've got to talk about it, right? As you're sitting at the table, as you're walking down the road, as you're falling asleep at night, 121 00:42:01,640 --> 00:42:07,640 as you're waking up in the morning, attach the Word of God to your life. 122 00:42:07,640 --> 00:42:13,640 And the picture here is behind them is a sign on your hands. So when you look at your hands, you see the Word of God. 123 00:42:13,640 --> 00:42:19,640 And between your eyes, so when you look out, you see God's Word. And as you walk out your house, you see it on your doorpost. 124 00:42:19,640 --> 00:42:26,640 And as you walk in your front gate, you see the Word of God. That God's people aren't just to have heard the Word, 125 00:42:26,640 --> 00:42:33,640 but they're to bring it into their life, share it with their children, and have it fill every area. 126 00:42:33,640 --> 00:42:38,640 When they sit down, when they stand up, when they walk, when they go out of the house, when they come into the house, 127 00:42:38,640 --> 00:42:46,640 while they're eating dinner at bedtime and at breakfast time, the Word of God is to fill the lives of God's people. 128 00:42:46,640 --> 00:42:58,640 Basically, it's everywhere. And if we were to evaluate Israel in the time of Samuel, based on this criteria, here is what we would find. 129 00:42:58,640 --> 00:43:04,640 In those days, there was no king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in his own eyes, right? 130 00:43:04,640 --> 00:43:10,640 God says, "Put my word before you," and they put themselves before the Word of God. 131 00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:15,640 And what's in front of their eyes, here, is whatever they wanted to do. 132 00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:22,640 And it's not just a "them" problem, it's an "us" problem. How many of us just see something, and we chase after it? 133 00:43:22,640 --> 00:43:31,640 And we desire it. Rather than being filled and surrounded with the Word of God in our life, we say, "Oh, I want that." 134 00:43:31,640 --> 00:43:38,640 And we go there, or we seek that, or we plan for this other thing. 135 00:43:38,640 --> 00:43:42,640 And we don't have time this morning, but God's given them other reminders. 136 00:43:42,640 --> 00:43:46,640 There's monuments to His goodness at the Jordan River. 137 00:43:46,640 --> 00:43:49,640 The sacrifices they're called to make to God. 138 00:43:49,640 --> 00:43:54,640 The Levites dispersed throughout the land, teaching the people, the priests in Shiloh. 139 00:43:54,640 --> 00:43:58,640 God has spoken to Israel, and they have not listened. 140 00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:02,640 Now, there are spots of brightness through all this darkness, Hannah. 141 00:44:02,640 --> 00:44:10,640 The unknown prophet in chapter 2, but as a whole, the spiritual trajectory of Israel is kind of circling the drain. 142 00:44:10,640 --> 00:44:12,640 It's not going well. 143 00:44:12,640 --> 00:44:25,640 And these words regarding the word of the Lord and the fact that it was rare, and that there was no frequent vision, are words of judgment by God. 144 00:44:25,640 --> 00:44:32,640 God says, "You haven't listened." And His judgment against Israel is seen in His silence. 145 00:44:32,640 --> 00:44:38,640 We'll see it in the life of Saul in 1 Samuel 14 and in 1 Samuel 28. 146 00:44:38,640 --> 00:44:46,640 He asks God, and God does not respond. Amos will say it this way, "Speaking of the silence of God is the judgment of God." 147 00:44:46,640 --> 00:44:57,640 "Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but hearing the words of the Lord." 148 00:44:57,640 --> 00:45:02,640 And if we look at this, and we say, "How does this happen?" 149 00:45:02,640 --> 00:45:21,640 How do you go from loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, mind, writing it on your hands, and having it before your eyes, and on the doors of your house, and talking about it when you're eating breakfast, and walking down the road, and eating, how do you go from that to this? 150 00:45:21,640 --> 00:45:27,640 What brings this about? How does this happen? 151 00:45:27,640 --> 00:45:34,640 One of the easiest ways for this to happen is to take the Word of God for granted. 152 00:45:34,640 --> 00:45:46,640 Where we simply think, right, it's always here. I'll always have it. I'll never have to worry about running out. I can go to it when I need it, and we take the Word of God for granted. 153 00:45:46,640 --> 00:45:55,640 We just get used to it sort of being adjacent to our lives. We're not feeding on it, but we know it's there if we need it. We take it for granted. 154 00:45:55,640 --> 00:46:06,640 So this happens, not in a spiritual sense, but in a physical sense. If you spend any time at Costco, you go and you find something you like and find something you love. 155 00:46:06,640 --> 00:46:15,640 And if you're not familiar with this, this is my Costco tip of the day. If there is something that you love at Costco, and you go to pick it up, 156 00:46:15,640 --> 00:46:23,640 and there on the sign, there's a little asterisk in the corner. It's referred to as the Costco Death Star, and it means they're not restocking that item. 157 00:46:23,640 --> 00:46:28,640 So there's items that you love, and you walk in, and you go, "Whoa, this is gone!" 158 00:46:28,640 --> 00:46:36,640 And I'm not going to see it again for however long until they decide to restock it, whereas the week before, you're like, "Oh, we have plenty of that at home. I don't need it." 159 00:46:36,640 --> 00:46:52,640 This is the attitude, I think, it's so easy for us to begin to bring to the Word of God. It's always there. It's always near us, and we don't take the blessing of God 160 00:46:52,640 --> 00:46:58,640 and bring it into our life. We just sort of leave it near us. This is what happens in Israel. 161 00:46:58,640 --> 00:47:04,640 In fact, you can kind of trace it from parents to children to grandchildren in Israel. 162 00:47:04,640 --> 00:47:12,640 The first generation sees and hears God's good work. The second generation takes God's good work for granted, 163 00:47:12,640 --> 00:47:21,640 and the third generation disappears from the service of God, and it's the same with our world today. You see it in churches. 164 00:47:21,640 --> 00:47:27,640 You come to a generation that's excited for God. You come to a generation that takes God for granted, 165 00:47:27,640 --> 00:47:33,640 and then before you know it, the third generation has walked away entirely. 166 00:47:33,640 --> 00:47:39,640 But this happening of leaving behind the Word of God isn't just come from us taking it for granted. 167 00:47:39,640 --> 00:47:46,640 We can become distracted and ignore the Word of God. So yesterday we went to the farm crawl. 168 00:47:46,640 --> 00:47:51,640 It was great, 10 million degrees. Probably still a little dehydrated. 169 00:47:51,640 --> 00:47:55,640 Just for your information, they're moving the next one to October, which I think is a wise idea. 170 00:47:55,640 --> 00:48:01,640 And we were there, and there's a pair of draft horses, Doc and Dale, Persia on horses. 171 00:48:01,640 --> 00:48:08,640 They weigh in at about 2,000 pounds a piece, so together you've got two tons of horse. 172 00:48:08,640 --> 00:48:14,640 And we were over talking to Levi, the owner of the draft horses, and he gets them all harnessed up, 173 00:48:14,640 --> 00:48:19,640 and he's getting ready to move them over to the wagon that he's going to be taking people out to watch the cattle drive in. 174 00:48:19,640 --> 00:48:24,640 And if you've ever seen people move draft horses, they sort of throw the chains over their shoulder, 175 00:48:24,640 --> 00:48:30,640 and they hold the reins, and they kind of walk them over to where the wagon is. 176 00:48:30,640 --> 00:48:37,640 And there was a lady at this event with a big floppy sun hat who had no situational awareness, 177 00:48:37,640 --> 00:48:41,640 and was just, she might be one of the most annoying humans I ever met. 178 00:48:41,640 --> 00:48:46,640 He's getting the horses, he's backing them up, and she walks over right in front of him, 179 00:48:46,640 --> 00:48:55,640 and stands just across the wagon tongue, just oblivious, just looking at the sky, and the trees, and looking out over the landscape. 180 00:48:55,640 --> 00:49:02,640 And here he comes with 4,000 pounds of horses that need to be where she is. 181 00:49:02,640 --> 00:49:07,640 And her just distracted by everything that's around her. 182 00:49:07,640 --> 00:49:17,640 How easy is it for us, as Christians, to ignore all of God's gifts and blessings? 183 00:49:17,640 --> 00:49:20,640 We're looking at something else, and we're looking over here. 184 00:49:20,640 --> 00:49:26,640 One of the ways in which we leave the Word of God behind in our life is not just taking it for granted, 185 00:49:26,640 --> 00:49:34,640 but being distracted by something over here or over there, rather than keeping our eyes on what truly matters. 186 00:49:34,640 --> 00:49:42,640 Our attention shifts, and the next thing you know, we find ourselves separated from the Word of God. 187 00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:46,640 We can also abandon the Word of God for our own desires. 188 00:49:46,640 --> 00:49:52,640 We had a dog like this once, right? Comes from a loving home, has a nice bed, air conditioning, 189 00:49:52,640 --> 00:49:58,640 plenty of food, water, a trash can that we frequently forget to put the lid on top of, like an all-you-can-eat buffet. 190 00:49:58,640 --> 00:50:04,640 And some of you remember this, every Sunday morning for a few months, you're all coming to church, 191 00:50:04,640 --> 00:50:10,640 and I'm chasing a dog down the street because as soon as the screen door opened, he was off like a flash. 192 00:50:10,640 --> 00:50:19,640 All of the good things provided for him, safety and comfort, and all the food, but something out there drew his attention more. 193 00:50:19,640 --> 00:50:24,640 And how many of us find ourselves in the same way? 194 00:50:24,640 --> 00:50:34,640 James says that we are tempted when our own desires, and we begin to follow those rather than what God has called us to do. 195 00:50:34,640 --> 00:50:39,640 All the good gifts of God, and here we are just zooming right out the door. 196 00:50:39,640 --> 00:50:44,640 We get to 1 Samuel chapter 3 and verse 1. 197 00:50:44,640 --> 00:50:51,640 The word of the Lord was rare in those days, and there was no frequent vision because we have taken for granted, 198 00:50:51,640 --> 00:50:54,640 been distracted, and we followed our own desires. 199 00:50:54,640 --> 00:51:02,640 And at the heart of all of it is taking our eyes off the goodness of God. 200 00:51:02,640 --> 00:51:08,640 So what happens when the word of God is absent from our lives? 201 00:51:08,640 --> 00:51:10,640 Let's take a look at verses 2 and 3. 202 00:51:10,640 --> 00:51:17,640 "At that time, Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 203 00:51:17,640 --> 00:51:25,640 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." 204 00:51:25,640 --> 00:51:31,640 The first thing that happens when God's word is absent from our life is that it begins to get dark. 205 00:51:31,640 --> 00:51:40,640 Notice it talks about Eli's eyesight, that he hasn't been able to see good, that his eyes have begun to grow dark. 206 00:51:40,640 --> 00:51:48,640 And while this is true about his physical condition, this is also a reference to his spiritual condition. 207 00:51:48,640 --> 00:51:57,640 That over time, and through the actions of his children and his enjoying the benefits of their sin rather than correcting them, 208 00:51:57,640 --> 00:52:06,640 Eli hasn't just stopped seeing with his physical eyes, his spiritual eyes have grown dark as well. 209 00:52:06,640 --> 00:52:14,640 And the lamp of God here is a picture that at night in the tabernacle, the lamp of God would burn from sunset to the morning. 210 00:52:14,640 --> 00:52:21,640 And so this happens in the middle of the night. We know it's the middle of the night because it says the lamp of God had not yet gone out. 211 00:52:21,640 --> 00:52:27,640 And while this is about a physical lamp, isn't that the danger for Israel at this moment? 212 00:52:27,640 --> 00:52:37,640 That the light of the goodness of God in their lives was growing dim, and it seemed like it might go out. 213 00:52:37,640 --> 00:52:42,640 Not only does it get dark, but we become distant from God. 214 00:52:42,640 --> 00:52:50,640 Notice what it says, "Eli was lying down in his own place, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark was." 215 00:52:50,640 --> 00:52:57,640 That Eli, when it gets time to go to bed, he heads off into his own room, into his own comfort, somewhere over there. 216 00:52:57,640 --> 00:53:03,640 Commentators aren't sure what's happening, but some of them think that maybe Samuel just kind of finds a place to sleep. 217 00:53:03,640 --> 00:53:13,640 Right? And he chooses to sleep here. Maybe he's given to attend the lamps, to wake up a couple times during the night, make sure the lamps are still lit. 218 00:53:13,640 --> 00:53:18,640 But what you notice in the physical description, Eli sleeping over here, Samuel sleeping here. 219 00:53:18,640 --> 00:53:25,640 Right, it's also a picture of the physical description. These are real physical events, but it's also a real spiritual reality. 220 00:53:25,640 --> 00:53:34,640 That Eli, over the course of his life, has grown distant from God while Samuel is still close to his presence. 221 00:53:34,640 --> 00:53:46,640 And when we become distracted, and when we become the people who take God's word for granted, and when we become the place where we chase after our own desires, two things happen. 222 00:53:46,640 --> 00:54:00,640 One is, it gets dark. And secondly, we get distant. And as 1 Samuel chapter 3 continues, we don't just see darkness and distance in the physical condition, in the physical location. 223 00:54:00,640 --> 00:54:10,640 We see it in the reality, in the spiritual reality of Eli's family. God will say this to Samuel for the second time in this book. 224 00:54:10,640 --> 00:54:24,640 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, that for Eli the future is darkness and distance. 225 00:54:24,640 --> 00:54:34,640 I'm going to read a longer section, and it's probably going to be small on the screen, so if you want to follow along in your Bible or on the handouts, I'm going to read verse 4 down through verse 10. 226 00:54:34,640 --> 00:54:39,640 And to hear this hope that is in the midst of the darkness in the distance. 227 00:54:39,640 --> 00:54:48,640 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, "Here I am," and he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me," but he said, "I did not call, you lie down again." 228 00:54:48,640 --> 00:54:59,640 So he went and lay down, and the Lord called again Samuel. 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." 229 00:54:59,640 --> 00:55:08,640 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. 230 00:55:08,640 --> 00:55:15,640 And he arose and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 231 00:55:15,640 --> 00:55:22,640 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down. If he calls you, you shall say, Speak, Lord, for your servant hears." 232 00:55:22,640 --> 00:55:28,640 So Samuel went and lay down in his place, and the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times. 233 00:55:28,640 --> 00:55:36,640 Samuel, Samuel. And Samuel said, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." 234 00:55:36,640 --> 00:55:44,640 We might be able to relate to being awoken in the middle of the night, sometimes by our kids or by our grandkids. 235 00:55:44,640 --> 00:55:56,640 But in these verses, what we find is for those who are in the dark and for those who are distant, God is providing a way for his people. 236 00:55:56,640 --> 00:56:04,640 And I love how this text plays out. And there's so much about this that we could talk about. I'll just say this. 237 00:56:04,640 --> 00:56:10,640 In terms of Scripture, Samuel is called in the same way that Abraham and Moses are called. 238 00:56:10,640 --> 00:56:18,640 People who had a deep and abiding impact on the nation of Israel. It's rare to find God coming to someone and using their name twice. 239 00:56:18,640 --> 00:56:27,640 But in the case of Abraham, Abraham, or Moses, Moses, or Samuel, Samuel. But his call also doesn't just echo them. 240 00:56:27,640 --> 00:56:40,640 It echoes the call of Isaiah being before the Lord. And in the darkness, and in the spiritual distance of the people of Israel, God is doing something wonderful. 241 00:56:40,640 --> 00:56:45,640 Let me show you what happens in this. I want to begin in verse one, and then we're going to take a look at the end of the chapter. 242 00:56:45,640 --> 00:56:52,640 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. 243 00:56:52,640 --> 00:57:03,640 And there was no frequent vision. Look at how this chapter ends. After God brings this message of judgment, Samuel brings it to Eli. 244 00:57:03,640 --> 00:57:09,640 Eli probably does the one right thing in his life and tells Samuel not to hold back with the word of the Lord. 245 00:57:09,640 --> 00:57:14,640 And listen to the results of Samuel meeting God in that darkness. 246 00:57:14,640 --> 00:57:21,640 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground. 247 00:57:21,640 --> 00:57:28,640 And all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. 248 00:57:28,640 --> 00:57:36,640 And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord. 249 00:57:36,640 --> 00:57:49,640 So we go in this chapter from the word of the Lord, no frequent vision, to the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord. 250 00:57:49,640 --> 00:58:03,640 In the span of this night and in the coming days and months, we've gone from darkness and distance to people in the entire nation of Israel seeing and hearing the word of God. 251 00:58:03,640 --> 00:58:12,640 And maybe we say, "I wish that God would do this in my life. I wish that God would speak to me." 252 00:58:12,640 --> 00:58:22,640 In Hebrews chapter one, it says this: "Long ago, in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets." 253 00:58:22,640 --> 00:58:30,640 Fathers like Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Isaac, Samuel, Isaiah, Amos. 254 00:58:30,640 --> 00:58:35,640 Through the songs of David, God spoke in many times and in many ways. 255 00:58:35,640 --> 00:58:39,640 He spoke to our fathers by the prophets. 256 00:58:39,640 --> 00:58:43,640 But look what happens next in verse two. 257 00:58:43,640 --> 00:58:49,640 "But in these last days, He has spoken to them. 258 00:58:49,640 --> 00:58:59,640 Now He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things and through whom He also created the world." 259 00:59:00,640 --> 00:59:05,640 Here's what I would have us know. First of all, we don't have to be afraid. 260 00:59:05,640 --> 00:59:08,640 We live in a dark world. 261 00:59:08,640 --> 00:59:13,640 And the church, I think, sometimes feels this more deeply than it others. 262 00:59:13,640 --> 00:59:21,640 We see the darkness of brokenness, the darkness of sin, the darkness of rebellion against God, the darkness of hopelessness. 263 00:59:21,640 --> 00:59:32,640 And it's easy for us to feel like we're small, and we're weak, and we're afraid, and we can't do anything about it. 264 00:59:32,640 --> 00:59:42,640 And I want us to know that in this darkness, we do not have to be afraid. Look at how John's Gospel begins. 265 00:59:42,640 --> 00:59:49,640 The light shines in the darkness. This is Jesus. And the darkness has not overcome it. 266 00:59:49,640 --> 00:59:57,640 This is a demonstrable truth in your life, right? Walk into a room at night in your house that's dark, and turn on the light switch. 267 00:59:57,640 --> 01:00:05,640 And it's not this fight between light and dark, where maybe if the light's strong enough, it can overcome the darkness. 268 01:00:05,640 --> 01:00:11,640 When you turn on the switch that powers the light in a dark room, the darkness disappears. 269 01:00:11,640 --> 01:00:21,640 And for us, if we are walking in the light, and we are with the light, and if we are with Jesus, 270 01:00:21,640 --> 01:00:29,640 it doesn't matter how dark and broken this world is, there is hope. The darkness cannot overcome the light. 271 01:00:29,640 --> 01:00:41,640 The second thing we find is the darkness of your sin and your distance that you feel from God in Christ is not the end of the story. 272 01:00:41,640 --> 01:00:52,640 Matthew chapter 1. We read this all the time at Christmas. "You shall call his name Emmanuel, and he will save his people from their sins." 273 01:00:52,640 --> 01:00:59,640 That word "Emmanuel" Matthew has in parentheses, which means "God with us." 274 01:00:59,640 --> 01:01:10,640 That Jesus steps into the darkness of your sin and brokenness so that you can be brought into the light. 275 01:01:10,640 --> 01:01:17,640 That when we see the darkness of the world, that if you are in Christ, you do not have to be afraid. 276 01:01:17,640 --> 01:01:26,640 Because Jesus is the light, and he calls us to share that light in a world that so desperately needs us. 277 01:01:26,640 --> 01:01:33,640 But if you are in the place where you say, "I relate more to Eli than I do to Samuel." 278 01:01:33,640 --> 01:01:45,640 I relate to that darkness and this distance. I want you to know that Jesus came to be near you, to be with you. 279 01:01:45,640 --> 01:01:50,640 And not just to sort of walk beside you, but he came to bring you out of that darkness. 280 01:01:50,640 --> 01:01:57,640 To lift the weight of your sin, and to bring you into the light that you've been so afraid of. 281 01:01:57,640 --> 01:02:05,640 And to save you from your sins, so that you can walk with him. Let's pray. 282 01:02:05,640 --> 01:02:12,640 Father, I thank you for Jesus and for grace. I thank you for the goodness that you have brought into our lives. 283 01:02:12,640 --> 01:02:17,640 I just ask that as we look at the world in which we live, and we see the darkness that is present, 284 01:02:17,640 --> 01:02:24,640 that you would remind us that, first of all, there is light that overcomes this darkness. 285 01:02:24,640 --> 01:02:32,640 And that it comes from you. And help us and strengthen us to reflect that light into this world. 286 01:02:32,640 --> 01:02:38,640 And I ask for those who feel dark and distant from you, 287 01:02:38,640 --> 01:02:46,640 that you would let them know that all the running and the hiding and the excuses, 288 01:02:46,640 --> 01:02:51,640 that you have come to save them, to bring them out of sin, into righteousness, 289 01:02:51,640 --> 01:02:59,640 out of fear and into hope. I thank you for Jesus. It's in his name we pray. Amen. 290 01:02:59,640 --> 01:03:03,640 I'm going to stand and sing about God's grace. 291 01:03:03,640 --> 01:03:15,640 Let's pray. 292 01:03:15,640 --> 01:03:27,640 I rest my soul on Jesus. When the mountains shake. 293 01:03:27,640 --> 01:03:41,640 I put my trust in Jesus the moment I awake. 294 01:03:41,640 --> 01:03:55,640 And when my soul is lost at sea, He will be my rock. 295 01:03:55,640 --> 01:04:09,640 My vision be in Christ alone. This grace is all we've got. 296 01:04:09,640 --> 01:04:23,640 His love is like the mighty ocean. His love for me will never stop. 297 01:04:23,640 --> 01:04:36,640 His arms are strong enough to carry me through it all by the grace of God. 298 01:04:36,640 --> 01:04:51,640 So I, upon His shoulders, safely brought this far. 299 01:04:51,640 --> 01:05:03,640 The helper of my helpless soul, the King of broken hearts. 300 01:05:03,640 --> 01:05:16,640 His love is like the mighty ocean. His love for me will never stop. 301 01:05:16,640 --> 01:05:29,640 Though His arms are strong enough to carry me through it all by the grace of God. 302 01:05:29,640 --> 01:05:41,640 When breath grows still and night draws near, I will not be afraid. 303 01:05:41,640 --> 01:05:58,640 I know the plans He has for me, don't finish at my grave. 304 01:05:58,640 --> 01:06:10,640 His love is like the mighty ocean. His love for me will never stop. 305 01:06:10,640 --> 01:06:27,640 Oh, His arms are strong enough to carry me through it all by the grace of God. 306 01:06:27,640 --> 01:06:39,640 We will be back Wednesday night going through the book of Colossians next Saturday is our men's breakfast the 20th at 9 a.m. 307 01:06:39,640 --> 01:06:52,640 And coming up the last Sunday of the month, two Sundays from now, we're going to have a meal following our Sunday morning service. 308 01:06:52,640 --> 01:06:57,640 I'm going to go ahead and pray, and we'll read a verse of Scripture and we'll sing the doxology. 309 01:06:57,640 --> 01:07:02,640 Father in heaven, thank you for allowing us to be here together this morning. 310 01:07:02,640 --> 01:07:08,640 I thank you for Jesus. I thank you for grace. I thank you for the hope that you bring into our lives. 311 01:07:08,640 --> 01:07:12,640 Just help us to walk in your hope and in your word and in your light. 312 01:07:12,640 --> 01:07:15,640 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 313 01:07:15,640 --> 01:07:19,640 Verse we begin with, before the sermon in the time of communion, 314 01:07:19,640 --> 01:07:24,640 God is our refuge and strength, a very precious help in trouble. 315 01:07:24,640 --> 01:07:31,640 Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth gives way and the mountains are moved into the heart of Jesus. 316 01:07:38,640 --> 01:07:40,640 Amen. 317 01:08:08,640 --> 01:08:10,640 Amen. 318 01:08:38,640 --> 01:08:40,640 Amen. 319 01:09:08,640 --> 01:09:08,800 Thank you.