← ArchiveWho's Your KingWho’s Your King: Famine and Fullness (1 Samuel 3:1-2)DateFebruary 6, 2023SpeakerDr Josh BurnhamText1 Samuel 3:1–2Passages in this sermon1 Samuel 34:59John 1217:07Luke 223:05TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Thank you. Okay, welcome to the Gathered Church, which today gathers at Bethel Baptist.0:30My name is Josh, one of the pastors here at the church, and I have the joy of opening the Word of God with you. If you've been with us for more than two weeks, you know that we will be in the book of 1 Samuel. If you are new here today, guess what? We are in the book of 1 Samuel. So join me in the Old Testament, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, chapter 3, this morning.0:53I will be reading from the Christian Standard Bible. Samuel is the book... Uh-oh. This is... I'm actually hooked up today. This is not on me. Samuel is the book in Scripture that introduces to us the monarchy, the idea that God's people will have a king.1:21Now, we won't see the king arrive until much later in the book of 1 Samuel. But before God gives his people a king, he gives them something better. God gives his people himself, which is greater than any king, anyone sitting on the throne. Think about that as we read the Scriptures today. Before we do, I want to tell this story that many of you can relate to. Is it me?1:49Tell me where to stand. Right here. Okay. I'm preaching like this. See if I put my hammers in my pocket, that'll work. Okay. See, that's not a good preaching technique, but if it... Hold on.2:16Hold on.2:25Okay. Are we better? I preach like this. Have you ever gone to the grocery store on an empty stomach? If you have, this is probably the closest you will come to having an outer body experience. Because strange things happen when you live life on an empty stomach. For instance, you walk by the candy aisle and you actually believe that the Skittles will help you taste the rainbow.2:50You walk through the cereal aisle and you see Lucky Charms and you think they are magically delicious. And then you see the frosty flakes and you say, I'm so hungry. They are great. And you think in your mind and they'll never turn soggy.3:18Things begin to change when you live on empty. You walk by the Jell-O aisle and you think there's always time for J-E-L-L-O. Things change when you live on empty. Your shopping habits change. But when you are full, you gain a new perspective. And in 1 Samuel, we will find a people who are living their lives on spiritual emptiness.3:48And when you live a spiritually empty life, you live in a way that you would normally not. So as we read this portion of Scripture, think about emptiness. Think about fullness. And in a moment, I think Eric's going to change my microphone.4:16You want to do that right now? Before I read the Bible? Testing, testing. There we go. It's going over my other ear. So if my right ear is smaller and it falls off, just forgive me.4:40There we go. What would our lives look like if we lived in spiritual fullness and not emptiness? That is exactly where this portion of Scripture hits us. So as we read, open your Bible to 1 Samuel chapter 3 and I'll be reading simply verses 1 through 2. The boy Samuel.5:05The boy Samuel served the Lord in Eli's presence. In those days, the word of the Lord was rare. And prophetic visions were not in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of the Lord was located.5:24Let's pray. Father, as we open your holy word, would you open our hearts to know you, to trust you, and to follow you.5:47Lord, help us live in the land of abundance, not in the land of spiritual famine. Lord, this is our prayer. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Today's message is entitled, Famine and fullness.6:16Now, you might know this passage of Scripture, well, much like Moses before him and Isaiah after in Jeremiah. This is where Samuel is called to know God and be known by God. Now, this young lad, though, has a lot going against him, as we'll see shortly. Now, the Bible describes the scene this way. In verse 1, it says, In those days, the word of the Lord was rare.6:45Now, rare is a biblical word that describes something that is precious, that is valuable, esteemed. So, that's the first thing we need to contemplate in our lives. God's word must be precious to us. It must be precious. And we understand that thought in nature and in life. For instance, the rarer a commodity, the more valuable it becomes.7:12This is the reason that silver today sells for $23 an ounce, but gold for $1,900 an ounce. And if I gave you the choice of gold or silver, you would choose gold because you would say, Pastor, that is a more precious metal. It is rare. It is valuable. And in the same way, how much is God's word much more valuable to our souls? In those days.7:42Now, for the astute Bible reader among us, you would recognize that phrase. The word of the Lord was rare. Why? They had the Ten Commandments. They had the Law of Moses. They surely heard the stories of Joshua and Caleb, these mighty men of God. Where the voice of the Lord was a constant in society.8:11So, where did the famine begin? Why did God's word become rare? Although not laid out specifically in 1 Samuel, we see context clues. In those days. You see, Judges, the book which is closest to Samuel in historical context, reminds us about those days. The book of Judges says it this way.8:41In those days, the same as verse 1, there was no king in Israel. Not a bad issue. However, Judges says this. In those days, there was no king in Israel. Every man did what was right in his own eyes. You see, the day of Samuel's spiritual drought were the same days of the Judges. And church, let me remind you of this. A society without moral restraint is a community that will not and cannot hear the word of the Lord.9:10Do you want spiritual drought? Then you do what you want. And you will find that you live in a place of spiritual famine. Which always leads to confusion. Why is our world confused today? Because we are living without moral restraint. We are living in those days once again.9:38Now, before we point fingers and say, ah, we would never do that. Let me remind you that it is your heart which is the greatest barrier to hearing the word of the Lord. Your heart, my heart, is the greatest hindrance that we have from hearing God's word. But we'll see the remedy shortly. To this spiritual famine, a self-righteous person would say, okay, pastor, I know the answer.10:06We will go to church more. We will sing louder. And if we sing louder, then God will hear us. We will try harder. We will sacrifice the burnt offering. We will kill the fatted calf. We know what to do. We have read Leviticus. But what if I told you that hearing the word of the Lord is not dependent upon your efforts?10:34One scholar said it this way. He said, if the word of Yahweh was rare, it means that the word from Yahweh was rare. If a word does not come from Yahweh, there will be no word from Yahweh. Man cannot coerce, manufacture, manipulate, or produce that word.10:58You see, Israel had the Torah, but they suffered from spiritual deafness. Spiritual deafness. And spiritual starvation in our lives might not come from the absence of food. There are times where you walk around on an empty stomach, not because the cupboard is bare, but because you have not eaten.11:25And the same can be true spiritually. God has given us his word. He has given us one another together to spur each other on to love and good works. So there are times in our life that we walk around empty and it is not God's fault. He has set the table. And we have refused to eat.11:53But church, let me remind you, during a famine, we find God's mercy again. During a famine, there's a spiritual drought in the land, but where do we find Eli? He was lying in his usual place, which I think is God's way of saying he is lying in the bed of emptiness. Where is Samuel? He is lying down in the temple of the Lord.12:24Where? Okay, 1 Samuel, chapter 3, beginning in verse 2. Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, comma, where the ark of God was located. In the midst of spiritual emptiness, this young man was lying as close as he could get to the presence of God.12:46God's lamp was burning by his bedside. So in the midst of spiritual drought, we find God's mercy upon this young man's life. So let's read what happens. Verse 4. Then the Lord called Samuel. Where was Samuel?13:15Pause. Where was Samuel? He was lying near the ark in a place where he could see the presence of God, hear the presence of God. And that's what happens. And he answered, here I am. So he ran to Eli and said, here I am. You called me. And Eli would do what I would do at midnight or later. I did not call you. Go back and lie down. So he went down and he lay again.13:46Once again, the Lord called Samuel. Samuel got up, went to Eli and said, here I am. It's 3 o'clock. You called me. Samuel said, I did not call you, my son. Go and lie down. Verse 7. Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord.14:10Because the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. Once again, for the third time, the Lord called Samuel. He got up. He went to Eli and said, here I am. It's 4. Rise and shine. You called me. So Samuel said this.14:34So Eli said this to Samuel. He understood that the Lord was calling. And he said, go and lie down. If he calls again, say, speak, Lord. Your servant is listening. So Samuel went. And he laid down in his place. And the Lord stood there. And called as before. Samuel.15:04Samuel. Samuel. And Samuel responded. Speak. For your servant is listening. And the Lord said to Samuel, I am about to do something in Israel that would, everyone who hears will shudder. On that day, I will carry out against Eli everything I have said about his family from beginning to end. If I told him that I am going to judge his family forever because of the iniquity he knows about. His sons are cursing God. And he has not stopped them. Therefore, I have sworn to Eli's family that the iniquity of his family will never be wiped out by sacrifice or offering.15:33Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Lord's house. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision. But Eli called him and said, Samuel, my son, here I am. What was the message God gave to you? Eli asked, do not hide it from me. May God punish you and do so severely if you hide anything from me that he told you.16:02So Samuel told him everything and did not hide anything from Eli. Eli responded, he is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks is good. Out of this place of spiritual scarcity, the Lord called Samuel. I think it would be wise for us to ask this question.16:32Will God's call succeed? Because apparently they don't know God's voice. And it's the reminder that, friend, the Lord's call is powerfully effective and always leads to a response. God's call is powerfully effective and always leads to a response.16:59Jesus said in John 12, as for me, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself. When Jesus, the Lord called you to know him and to follow him. Do you want to know if God has called you to be in a relationship? Yes. Look to the cross. That is God's declaration that you can know him, that you can repent of your sins and find forgiveness for the first time.17:29The cross of Calvary is God's call is powerfully effective. But make no mistake about it. To ignore God's call is to reject his invitation of grace. And your rejection is a response.17:57The Lord's call is effective and leads to a moral response for every person sitting here, for every person that has come before, and for every person that will follow us. God's call is powerfully effective. God's call is powerfully effective. It calls all men and women to response. But we see God's call is also powerfully patient. When Yahweh spoke to Samuel, we see the kindness and gentleness of a loving father.18:25How many times does God call Samuel?18:40At least four. And if you count Samuel, Samuel as two, there's five, right? And it's to remind us, listen, some of us need to hear this because some of us, some of us are hard of hearing. And we think God has called me once and he has given up on me. Samuel would say, Josh, he at least has four more. God is patient with us. Peter, a man that understood hard-heartedness and brashness and rashness and difficulty.19:09Peter, the man that denied Jesus three times but was restored three times. Peter reminds us of this, church. The Lord does not delay his promise as some understand delay, but he is patient with you. Not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. Samuel would say, Josh, church, God is not delayed, but he is patient.19:39Even when you don't know who's calling, if you would simply say, speak because your servant is listening. God's patience in our lives disarms our fears and leads us to repentance. Praise God that his mercy is more. We see in Samuel that the powerful call of the gospel softens your hearts.20:09Here I am with Samuel's response in the middle of the night. If I'm honest, if God speaks to me at 1 a.m., I don't think this would be my response. It would be, not now, Lord. I have some more hours to sleep. And then we'll do business. But it is the gospel call upon our life that softens our heart.20:39It was Samuel's openness and readiness to serve God that would enable him to respond. You see, one thing that we see is that the Bible says that Eli did not yet know the Lord. That Samuel did not yet know the Lord. You see, the same thing is said about Eli's sons. That they did not know the Lord, but there was no yet in their life.21:07Because they did not have an openness and responsiveness to the call of the Lord. True faith is always expressed in your response to the Lord. If you say, well, Pastor, I get it. How can I respond? How should we respond to the Lord?21:34I think Samuel gives us a beautiful blueprint. We should simply say, Lord, here I am. This is the heart and the cry of a young man who longs to be close to the Lord. It's the response of open-handed obedience and surrender. John Calvin says this. He says, faith brings a man empty to God that he may be filled with the blessings of God.22:00How do we come to the Lord? We say, God, I come empty-handed. But here I am. And it is the Holy Spirit by the precious shed blood of Jesus that fills us once again. The powerful, effective call of the Lord. And then we see this in verse 19.22:31Samuel says, speak, Lord. Your servant is listening. Verse 19. Samuel grew. And the Lord was with him. And he fulfilled everything Samuel prophesied. Now, does that verse sound familiar? Can you think of any other young person in Scripture that says this person grew in wisdom and in stature with both God and man?22:54The Son of Man, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, Luke 2, 5, 2. And for our students, scholars would say that's the only verse in Scripture that describes Jesus' teenage years. That he grew in wisdom and in stature. You see, now we see the Lord's purposeful spirit.23:21Samuel grew. It's a word that means to become great. To grow physically, but also mature spiritually. Ephesians says it this way. That the Lord's good work in your life equips you until you all reach unity in the faith. And in the knowledge of God's Son, growing into maturity with the stature measured by Christ's fullness.23:45Think about that. Ephesians says that one day you will grow to maturity. So for the immature in our midst, there is hope for us. But God does not measure our maturity by our standard. He measures our maturity by the standard of Jesus Christ.24:14And one day, I will be presented before God the Father by Jesus the Son. And he will say, God, I have matured, Josh, not a little bit, but to the measure of fullness by my redemption that was poured out on the cross. This is God's purposeful spirit upon you. And spiritual maturity, as we see in Samuel's life, is directly connected to our sensitivity, to God's call, and your responsiveness to his word.24:44See, growth is not determined by how much of the Holy Spirit you have, but by how much of you the Holy Spirit has. What a simple phrase, isn't it? What would your life look like if the only thing you purposed to do today was to say, Josh grew.25:12Grew in faith, grew in faith, grew in responsiveness, grew in soft-heartedness to the ways of the Lord. The Lord's purposeful spirit is upon all who know him. And then we see this. Samuel grew, and the Lord was what? What a beautiful, simple, small phrase, but we should not miss the importance.25:42This is never said of Saul. Do you know the king that the Bible says that God was with? It might not surprise you that this is the same king that the Bible says had a heart for the Lord. This man was a man after God's own heart.26:11It was said of David that the Lord was with him. Church, I can't think of any more glorious promise in my life than to know that the Spirit of the Lord is with me. And if you forget that truth from Samuel, listen to the words of Jesus Christ. The last words that he gives his disciples in the book of Matthew. He says, and remember, some of you know it, and lo.26:40If you don't know what lo means, it means remember. And remember, church. Jesus says, I am, I'm with you. And you say, well, Jesus, when are you with me? He says, I am with you always. Well, what happens when things get bad? And my world falls apart.27:09And Jesus says, Josh, you don't understand. I am with you always. Even to the end of the age. And the Lord was with him. That is the beautiful promise of the Holy Spirit in us. Charles Spurgeon said this, and I love this quote.27:39He said, God with us. It is hell's terror. Satan trembles at the sound of it. God with us. It is eternity's sonnet. It is heaven's hallelujah. It is the shout of the glorified. It is the song of the redeemed. It is the chorus of the angels.28:07It is the everlasting oratorio of the great orchestra in the sky. This is the greatest reward of new birth. God is with you. So rampant was corruption in Shiloh that we, anyone could ask, can anything good come from Shiloh?28:35Verse 21, the Lord continued to appear because he had revealed himself to Samuel by his word. And Samuel's words came to all of Israel. In a world where the word of the Lord was rare and not even the priest recognized God's call.29:02Suddenly, we have this glorious reminder that God is speaking again. That God is present again. How does this happen? You see, I believe that God placed Samuel in Shiloh as a reminder of his mercy because God doesn't make mistakes. And I believe geography is holy proximity.29:32God could have put Samuel in Jerusalem or Salem at that time. God could have placed Samuel in Dan or in Beersheba or maybe in Tarsus or Alexandria or another well-known city. But God placed Samuel in Shiloh30:00where the Lord and his voice was rare. You know what Jesus would say about this? He would say in the garden, Father, I am not praying that you take my disciples out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world just as you and I are not of the world.30:28If you have surrendered your life to Jesus, your presence in the world is a reminder to those who are starving that Jesus is the bread of life. Samuel, your presence in Shiloh is a reminder that God can still speak and that sacrifices can be offered again and that people can be responsive again.30:57And so if you look at your world, your neighborhood, your family and you say, well, Josh, you don't understand how dark it is. But you don't understand that God has put you there as a light. And you are the reminder that we don't have to walk around in starvation because God sent his son to give us abundant life. You are God's reminder of mercy.31:25Brooklyn, are you still here? Raise your hand, Brooklyn. I'm right here. Brooklyn, your baptism is a reminder to a starving world that they can be saved. And if you have given your life to Jesus Christ, your testimony is a reminder to a starving world that people can follow Christ by fleeing their sin and confessing him as Lord. So if you are living in Shiloh,31:53you are a reminder of God's powerful call and his wonderful patience. The Bible says in Samuel's words came to all of Israel. But I thought these were God's words. And now the Bible is saying32:22that these are Samuel's words? I think that the Lord's word had so captivated Samuel that it was virtually indistinguishable who was speaking. Have you been captivated by the grace of Jesus Christ in a way where others would say, Josh, is it you or is it God speaking? Because you have been so enamored32:50with the mercy of Jesus upon your life that I can't tell the difference. May we have hearts of fullness and not famine. And as I read Samuel's story, I ask myself, Josh, when was the last time I had a here am I moment? When was the last time that you heard God call you? And when you responded,33:23Lord, here I am. Listen, that is not simply a one-time call to salvation because God does not call us and leave us deaf. God does not call us out of the land of emptiness and leave us famished. God has given us his word and given us his spirit where he is constantly calling us. He's constantly working in us. That we would wake up daily, we would come to his presence33:53and say, God, here am I. So what about you? When was the last time you heard God's call in his voice? And you said, Lord, speak because this servant is listening. Maybe you've never ever heard34:21ever heard the call of God upon your life. And you have not enjoyed this day because you are uncomfortable. And you are miserable in your sin. And you say, I don't know what's going on, but I don't like it. Well, let me give words to what you are going through. That is what the Bible34:50would call the call of conviction upon your life. It's a miserable feeling because God wants you to know that if you remain in your sin, you will be and stay miserable. But if you would say no to your sin and say, speak, Lord. Your servant is listening. The Bible calls that repentance that you can be saved.35:17And maybe for the first time, whether you are here in person or listening at home, you would say, Pastor, I need to give my life to Jesus because what I am doing on my own is not working. I've tried. I've tried harder and nothing I do works. I would say you get it because salvation is not us trying harder. It is Jesus35:48taking our place and earning a righteousness that you and I can never earn. And when we, by faith, trust in Christ, He gives us His righteousness and He takes our sin and He makes you whole again. If you need to respond to God's call for the first time, I'm going to invite you to pray this prayer right where you sit. And if that makes you36:18uncomfortable, good. Because I would rather you be uncomfortable in your sin and enjoy the presence of God for the first time and to leave you happy and joyful in a life that leads to destruction and to hell. You can pray a prayer that sounds something like this. Father, I have failed you. I'm tired of living in those days when I did what was right36:45in my eyes. Lord, forgive me. I believe that Jesus is your son. I believe He died on the cross. I believe He rose again. And I trust that He did it for me. And Lord, today, for the very first time, I will follow you37:15no matter the cost. Speak, Lord. For the first time, your servant is listening. If you pray that prayer with an authentic heart, the Bible says whoever believes in their heart and confesses with their mouth will be saved. And God is doing something for the first time that is new and fresh37:44and fresh in your life. And we want to celebrate with you. Brooklyn would say this, your next step of faith is a step of baptism to show the world externally what God has done with you internally. If you need to take that step, you can fill out a Connect card, you can reach us online, you can say hello in person. But we want to celebrate what God is doing in your life. in a moment38:14as a church, we are going to celebrate the Lord's Supper together. If you have confessed Christ as Lord and you have already been baptized, I'm going to invite you during the song of response to come and get the elements. Our deacons are going to serve you. So deacons, you can go ahead and come to the front and go to the back.← Previous in Who's Your KingWho’s Your King: R-E-S-P-E-C-T (1 Samuel 2:12-16)Next in Who's Your King →Who’s Your King: Where Is Glory? (1 Samuel 4:1-2)More sermons on 1 Samuel →
