A Prophet Called

Presented to:

Bethel Chapel Pentecostal Church

Auditorium Sunday School Class

Granite City, IL

19 May 2019

Updated: May 19, 2019

By:

Boyce Belt

A Prophet Called

Opening:

• Layton Timothy Mifflin
• Prayer

Text:

1 Samuel 3 (KJV) And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision. 2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; 3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; 4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. 5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. 6 And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. 8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. 9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

11 And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. 12 In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. 13 For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. 14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.

15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I. 17 And he said, What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee. 18 And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good.

19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

Introduction:

Samuel was born during a period of Israel’s history where every man did that which was right in his own eyes.  Judges 21:25 (KJV) In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.  Not only did they does this in their day-to-day living but it had corrupted the religious leaders and their worship.  They no longer followed the dictates of God as laid out in the Law given by Moses but now they lived as they saw fit.  Even worship had become a mix of pagan practice and true worship.  We find this happening repeatedly in their history.  When the nation would begin to turn to idols it did not stay outside the temple but would invade the very house of God and corrupt the worship there.  Proverbs 14:12 (KJV) There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

We live in a very similar time.  How many times have we heard statements such as, “It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you believe in something.”  Idol worship is pervasive in our land.  No, not so much the bowing down before statues but most commonly it is self that we worship.  Like Israel so many years ago we have brought our idol into the house of God.  Often our concern in church is to see what we can get for our god, self.

It was into this climate that God called a young man Samuel.  A man who would listen to His voice and then proclaim to the nation the words spoken to him by God.  Even so God desires to speak to men and women today who will stand and proclaim His Word throughout the land.  The problem is not that God is not speaking but rather than no one is listening.

1. The Voice of God (vv. 1-9)

1. Precious
2. Learned

1. Gideon
2. Shut out the clutter—In his book, The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer writes, “Lord, teach me to listen.  The times are noisy and my ears are weary with the thousand raucous sounds which continuously assault them.  Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to Thee, ‘Speak, for thy servant hearth.’  Let me hear Thee speaking in my heart.  Let me get used to the sound of Thy voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will be the music of Thy speaking voice.  Amen.”^[1]

3. Answered

1. There are two important lessons Mother taught me as a teenager.  Not because she lectured me or corrected me but because she caught me doing something right and reinforced it.  One night at church she saw that I did not get up from the altar immediately after finishing praying but stayed there reverently for a while.  She impressed on me the importance of waiting for God to speak to us as well as our speaking to Him.

2. A Message from God (vv. 10-18)

1. Heard—Hearing ears are by no means common things.  C. H. Spurgeon said, “Samuel was asleep, yet he heard God’s voice.  I know some people who are awake yet who have not heard it.  They sit listening to sermons with their eves wide open, yet they see nothing of the truth—and with their ears open, too, yet the voice of God never penetrates the secret chambers of their souls.”^[2]
2. Shared
3. Confirmed

3. A Man of God (vv. 19-21)

1. Guarded Words
2. Established by God
3. Learning by the Word

Conclusion:

It is important as we grow to remain sensitive to God, even if everyone around us seems deaf to His voice.  For this sensitivity to continue , we must continue meeting with Him regularly.  Make sure you spend at least a few minutes with God every day.  Not as a box to check, but as a relationship to cultivate.^[3]

Next Week: The Glory Departed—1 Samuel 4

Prayer