CALL TO CONFESSION

Luke 9:23-24

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Wonderful Savior, 

We thank you for your wondrous grace and love in bearing our sin in your body on the cross. May your cross be to us the tree that sweetens every bitterness in our lives; the rod that blossoms with hope and beauty; the vine that connects us to you, the only source of all our strength. We have died with you, have risen with you, and are even now seated with you in heavenly places. Yet we find that sin continues to have great power over us in our daily lives. Selfishness is in the very fabric of our flesh, and we struggle to choose love for others over pleasing ourselves. When we do manage to serve others, we often take pride in our own good conduct. Father, forgive us for the self-gratifying and self-exalting lives we lead.

Jesus, thank you for leaving the glory of heaven to do the will of your Father and for rescuing us. You denied yourself the adoration you deserved to enter a world full of people who would reject you. You willingly carried the enormous burden of our sinfulness throughout your life. You lived a life of self-denial and sacrificial love for others, always obeying your Father. We thank you for your radiant robe of righteousness that replaces the filthy and shredded rags of our attempts to be good. You took our sin to the cross and paid the full price we owed, so that we could be free from bondage to sin and death, and from our relentless self worship. We are so thankful for this immeasurable gift.

Holy Spirit, we have been given a cross to carry before we wear the crown of glory. Remind us that Jesus has carried that cross already for us, and he will surely carry it with us from day to day. Increase our joy in the cross of Christ, and our wonder and admiration for all that was accomplished there, until our hearts melt and our self-worship gives way to delight in our salvation and our wonderful Savior. We pray in the name of our glorious Redeemer, amen.

“Take a few moments to personally confess your sins to the Lord.”

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

“Hear these words of comfort and assurance.” 

John 10:27-29

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

• When was the last time God's word came alive to you? 
• When a passage convicted you, stirred you to action, moved you to worship and marvel at your Savior? 
• Now, imagine living in an age when that experience was rare; when years passed without a clear sense of God’s voice, when spiritual leadership was corrupt and the heavens seemed silent. 
• That’s exactly where we find ourselves in 1 Samuel 3. 
• It opens with a sobering statement of the spiritual reality of the day: the rarity of the Word of the Lord and the exact moment God chose to break His silence. 
• You might feel like God is silent. You pray but nothing happens. You read Scripture but find the words fall flat. 
• We’re going to discover that even in the darkest spiritual silence, God is at work. 
• Our main theme is: Even when God seems silent, He is faithful and he’s looking for responsive listeners. 
• May we all be filled with a desire and hunger to hear from God and the courage to respond as he speaks to us through His Word. 

1 SAMUEL 3:1-21

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.

• This is a dark chapter in Israel’s history summarized at the end of the book of Judges, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). 
• The nation had descended into moral chaos and spiritual apathy. 
• But the crisis is compounded by the specific spiritual crisis: “The word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.” 
• The word “rare” means “scarce.” The sense is that of the scarcity of a precious stone that is of great value. 
• God was not speaking with any frequency and the people were left to grope around in the darkness. 
• The previous chapter gives us the reason. 
• The sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were corrupt priests who dishonored the Lord, treated the offering of the Lord with contempt, were sexually immoral and greedy. They were worthless men who did not know the Lord. 
• And Eli had failed to restrain them, even though he had the authority to do so. 
• When spiritual leadership is compromised, revelation ceases. 
• This is similar to the threat the prophet Amos delivered to the people of God a couple of centuries later.
• Amos 8:11-12 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. 12 They 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.”
• Amos warned his hearers that their rebellion will result in God’s silence. And that's what Israel was experiencing. 
• There is a definite connection between the rarity of the word of the Lord and the utter failings of the priesthood.
• The priests were tasked with bringing the revelation of the Lord to the people. 
• But God would not speak often to such a priesthood as was found at Shiloh.

• Can you think of anything worse than God’s silence? 
• We have the inspired, sufficient, inerrant Word of God, the Holy Scriptures. 
• We don’t live in that famine! Every time you open your Bible, God opens his mouth! God is speaking! 
• But some of you might feel like you are in a spiritual drought. Take encouragement today, that even in the darkest night, God is at work and still speaking. 

• There is a bright spot in all of this darkness.
• V1 contains the fifth statement we've heard about Samuel and his activities at Shiloh. (2:11, 18, 21, 26, 3:1)
• 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.
• The writer gives us some significant details that carry symbolic weight. 
• Eli’s eyesight was failing. That is to be expected as Eli was old.
• But with the statement that there was “no frequent vision,” Eli’s dim vision was also a reflection of the spiritual reality. 
• He was lying down in his usual place.  Samuel in contrast, was also lying down, but in the temple of the Lord. 
• The temple was where the Lord met with his people. It was where one would expect the word of the Lord to be given. 
• The writer is reminding us that this is also the place that housed the ark of God. 
• The ark of the Lord in the tabernacle is a reminder of God’s covenant commitment to Israel and what his covenant demands. 
• And “the lamp of God had not yet gone out.” The lamp, the menorah, was supposed to burn continually (Ex. 27:20-21). That it had not gone out yet suggests that it was still night.
• The lamp was the only light in the temple. It was a symbol of God’s presence, his light in the darkness. 
• It was flickering, but it had not been extinguished.  God had not abandoned his people. There was still hope! 

• While the nation slept in spiritual darkness and the priesthood in shambles, this young boy remained faithful at his post. 
• Let's be reminded of what faithfulness looks like in dark times. 
• It looks like showing up. 
• Being where God has placed you and doing what God has called you to do. 
• Samuel didn’t know this would be the night that God would show up and speak to him. He was just being faithful in his ordinary service to the Lord. 
• If you feel like your small acts of obedience and service are insignificant and unnoticed, Samuel teaches us that God notices the faithful few. 

• In this darkness, something remarkable was about to happen--God was calling Samuel. 
• Notice it is the Lord who initiates the encounter. 
• What happens is all by divine sovereign initiative. 
• Samuel hears a voice calling him and he runs to Eli thinking that is who was calling him. Who else would be calling him? 
• But notice his energetic response. He ran to Eli. It was immediate and fast. 
• Eli responds that he didn't call him and to return to bed.
• It happens a second time. Then a third time. 
• Neither of them understood yet what was happening. 
• V7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 
• These words are almost exactly the same as the critical words spoken about Eli’s two sons—they did not know the Lord. (2:12)
• But in their case, that was part of the description of them being “worthless men.” (2:12)
• In Samuel’s case, there is one significant difference, he did not YET know the Lord. 
• They didn’t know the Lord because they had rejected knowledge of God by their contempt for the Lord.
• Samuel did not yet know the Lord because the word of the Lord had not YET been revealed to him. 
• Why didn’t God just make Himself unmistakably known to Samuel?
• Because he was training Samuel to recognize his voice. God was working gradually, patiently and persistently, teaching Samuel to discern his voice. 

• It took Eli a bit to realize what was happening. His eyes were dim but he was not completely blind. He finally perceived that it was the Lord calling Samuel. 
• He tells young Samuel what to do if it happens a fourth time.  “This time, if he calls you say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’”
• V10 and the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
• This time the Lord’s voice was accompanied in some special way by his presence.
• Samuel responds, “Speak, for your servant hears.”
• The silence of God at Shiloh had at last been broken and finally, there was a servant at Shiloh who was hearing.
• God was calling the young boy Samuel to be his prophet. 
• This is like the double name calling of Moses in Exodus 3.
• Every time this happens in Scripture, it marks a momentous shift in purpose and a divine work the Lord will do through that person. 
• The writer wants us to know unmistakably that God is calling his prophet to speak his words and to make his words known again. 

• Samuel’s response is how we should all respond when we hear the word of the Lord. 
• This is the mark of a true disciple: humility, availability, and submission. 
• This is the posture God is looking for in each of us. 
• Not a casual or critical approach to Scripture.
• But a humble, submissive heart that says, “Speak, Lord, whatever you say, I’m ready to hear and obey.” 
• Samuel’s whole life was shaped by this one moment of surrender. 
• When God called, he answered. 

• Samuel was probably a teenager at this time; maybe as young as twelve and God called him. 
• Don’t underestimate what God can do with our children. 
• He can and does call them at a young age. 
• This is why it’s important to instruct them in the Word and mobilize them to serve. 
• Parents, are you teaching your children to recognize God’s voice in Scripture?
• You never know when God will speak to their heart and call them to himself. 

• Samuel receives a severe pronouncement of terrifying judgment. 
• The judgment will be so shocking that people’s ears will ring. 
• God is going to do everything he told Eli he was going to do through the man of God who came to bring him the news of judgment. The Lord was going to punish his house forever for the sin Eli knew was taking place and his failure to restrain his wicked sons. And God said that the sins of Eli’s house cannot be wiped away by atoning through sacrifice. 
• Eli’s punishment might seem harsh and extreme to us. 
• But Eli is not being judged by man’s standards but by a holy God. 
• He is the God of knowledge by whom all actions are weighed. 
• He is holy and he takes sin seriously. Especially the sin of his leaders. 

• The word to Samuel about Eli’s house doesn’t mean there are sins beyond the scope of forgiveness. No sin is too big for the grace of God and the blood of Christ to cover. 
• Eli’s sons had despised the very sacrificial system meant to cover sin.
• But if you despise the cross of Christ you reject the only means of salvation.
• Thank God for the lavish grace and mercy we have received in Christ! 

• Samuel laid in his bed until morning and he was afraid to tell Eli all that he had heard. 
• But this is the burden of the prophet of the Lord, he has to speak words that will crush and break hearts. 
• Eli calls Samuel and insists he tells him everything the Lord showed him. And Samuel does. 
• God’s messengers must speak God’s truth, even when it’s difficult, even when it’s costly, even when it’s unpopular. 
• If you speak on behalf of God, you must speak everything God’s word declares. 
• Paul charges Timothy in the NT to be faithful to preach everything in God’s word for there will come a time people will not want to hear sound doctrine, they won’t want to listen to truth. So they’ll find teachers who will tickle their ears, and scratch their itch for novelty. (2 Tim. 4:1-4)
• Are you willing to speak the truth in love to a family member or a friend or a co-worker, who is wandering and who needs to hear about Christ? 
• Are you willing to be bold for the truth before a culture that desperately needs to hear the gospel? 

• Eli’s response to the terrifying news is one of submission. We don’t know how much time had passed since the man of God brought him the word of judgment, but he would never have forgotten it. 
• “It is the Lord, Let him do what seems good to him.” He accepts the rightness of God’s judgment. 
• He bows to God’s sovereign justice knowing it will bring personal loss. 

• Samuel now knew the Lord, the word of the Lord had been revealed to him and the consequences of that are summarized in the remaining verses of this chapter. 
• God called Samuel to be his prophet and now Samuel is recognized as a prophet as he begins his ministry bringing God’s word to God’s people. 
• God was with Samuel and did not let any of his words fall to the ground. 
• That is the mark of a true prophet, all of his words come to pass. 

• The entire nation recognized what God was doing through Samuel. 
• When God speaks through an anointed messenger, people know. 
• The drought is now over. The silence has been broken. God is speaking again. 
• The Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

• Israel was in a desperate leadership crisis. And what did God do about it?
• He sent his Word. He raised up a prophet. 
• What do we need most in a crisis? We need His Word! 
• Don’t neglect the word of God. 
• You want to hear from God? You want to know his will? Then read and study and meditate on his word. 
• Saturate your life with Scripture and have confidence in his word. 

CONCLUSION

• Today, we don’t need another Samuel.
• We have something better—the greater, true and faithful prophet of the Lord, God’s final Word in Jesus Christ.  
• Hebrews 1:1-4 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
• Through Jesus, the silence between God and sinners is forever broken. 
• The question isn’t whether God is speaking, he’s spoken loud and clear in His Son. 
• The question is: Are we listening?
• It’s hard to hear someone when you’ve stopped listening.

• God is speaking to us right now. 
• He’s speaking through this text, through His Word, and through His Spirit. 
• He’s calling you to listen and obey. 
• Maybe he’s calling you to faithfulness in ordinary places, like Samuel. 
• Maybe he’s calling you to speak a hard truth in love. 
• Maybe he’s calling you to stop wandering and come home. 
• Whatever He’s saying to you, will you answer like Samuel? 
• Will you humbly submit and say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.” 

APPLICATION AND REFLECTION

In light of today's message....

• What did I learn about the gospel?
• How can I apply what I learned about the gospel to my life?
• With whom can I share the gospel this week?