LIFE IN SERVICE
BIBLE PASSAGE: 1 SAMUEL 1:11; 2: 18-21, 26
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VERSE
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
EPEHSIANS
5:16
INTRODUCTION:
Let me ask you a question, when did
you start in the ministry? Let’s see who among here has been in the ministry
for so long and also who has just started. I’ve asked that because I have a
second question – “Have you thought that ‘Life in God’s Service’ is already
your life? This is a hard question
because you don’t know what will be your attitude in the next season of your
life but I know all of us would agree that is what we pray for, right? Bible
says in Psalms 27:4
“One
thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all
the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his
temple.”
To achieve this, Bible says in 2
Timothy 3:14, “But
continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of,
knowing of whom thou hast learned them;” DON’T JUST SAY that I’ll be in the ministry all
the days of my life, DO IT. Bible warns us, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” Pastors,
preachers, leaders and teachers of the Bible are not exempted to this. They
fail and so do we. Let’s always
remember that we can’t do it in this life without GOD.
In our passage today, you already know
the character we’re going to talk about. Just for recap, Samuel’s story began
with his mother Hannah who was a barren or childless woman. Hannah could not
have a child and became very distraught over the fact that she could not
conceive children. She begged God to give her a child and in return she would
place the child in his service. God honored her request and allowed her to
become pregnant. After she had given birth to Samuel, she took care of him for
the early years of his life. By the time Samuel was a teenager, he was given to
the care of a priest named Eli. Once he was placed in Eli’s care, he learned about God’s ways and by the time he was a
teenager God had appointed him to his future position as a prophet and leader
in Israel.
In Samuel’s service, we can see that
things weren’t always smooth in the service for God. Today, let’s learn some
lessons we can get from his service.
LESSON OUTLINE:
1. LIFE IN SERVICE HAS
NO AGE LIMIT
“And she vowed a vow, and
said, O Lord of
hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and
remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a
man child, then I will give him unto
the Lord all
the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.” (1
Samuel 1:11)
If you
notice at the last line of this verse, “…then I will give him unto the Lord all
the days of his life…” That caught my attention and I’ve come up to this
question – who among here wants her or his children to be found in the service
of the Lord all their lives?
But how
can parents do that if they, themselves, are not in the service? I imagine a
life of a family who takes the ministry for granted and that is a failure. For
sure, the enemy gives you so many hindrances in life in order for you to say “I
can’t commit on this.”
Parents
have the great responsibility in leading their children in the right path. This
should be the joy of all Christian parents, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth”
(3 John 1:4). One of the ways to be aware of spiritual matters in early age is
bring them in Sunday School, that’s the first step. At early age teach them the
Bible and don’t teach your kids principles which is against the teaching of the
Bible.
In Samuel’s case, Hannah, his mother, prepared him in the
ministry. The life of Samuel shows us that we can never be too young to serve
God. Surely, God has given us talents and the abilities that we can use to play
a role in God’s work. The words of King Solomon should ring true in our lives
today:
“Remember now thy
Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years
draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;” (Ecclesiastes
12:1)
Service at work or outside the church has age limit but in
God’s vineyard, there’s no age limit. We can serve GOD whatever age we have,
therefore, don’t say, “I am old I can’t make it in the ministry” because whatever
your situation or your age, there are ministries fitted for us in the vineyard.
2. LIFE IN SERVICE HAS
UPS AND DOWNS
God doesn’t promise that life in the
world is peaceful and so in the ministry but the best thing is, He’s with us.
In Samuel’s service had ups and downs:
v Samuel
received favor from God and man: 1 Samuel 2:26 “And the child Samuel grew
on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men.”
v God anointed
Samuel to the position of prophet and judge (1 Samuel 3:4-11)
v Samuel became
a famous prophet throughout Israel: 1 Samuel 3:20 “And all
Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a
prophet of the Lord.”
v Samuel led
the forces of Israel against the Philistines at Mizpah: 1 Samuel 7
v Samuel as
judge of Israel: 1 Samuel 7:15
“And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his
life.”
v Samuel was
rejected: 1 Samuel 8:7
“And the Lord said unto Samuel,
Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they
have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”
v God anointed
Saul as king and told Samuel about his decision: 1 Samuel 9:17 “And when
Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake
to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.”
v God told
Samuel to reject Saul as king: 1 Samuel 15:26 “And
Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the
word of the Lord,
and the Lord hath
rejected thee from being king over Israel.”
v Samuel
anointed David as king: 1 Samuel
16:13 “Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed
him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came
upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.”
We know that in the ministry has ups
and down and we can see that in the life of Samuel. Time comes that when people
see that he was no longer needed as a prophet and judge in Israel and they
wanted another. Imagine the feeling of rejection but God comforted him in 1
Samuel 8:7. So you see that’s part of the ministry.
Also, times
come that we are used the systems in the ministry and we are not careful in our
attitude and something caught you off guard. The enemy surprises you and you
need to be careful. Bible warns in 1 Corinthians 6:3
2 Corinthians 6:3 – “Giving no offence in any thing, that the
ministry be not blamed:”
Tagalog: Na di nagbibigay ng kadahilanang ikatitisod sa
anoman, upang ang aming ministerio ay huwag mapulaan;
Sad to hear to
see or hear that after 39 years in the ministry, you found yourself trapped in
the things you were not careful. It’s impossible to get out of that situation,
unless the power of God overshadowed that situation. We see pastors, leaders
and teachers are trapped and so everyone are not exempted. The enemy tries
everything in order for us not by God properly in the field of God’s ministry.
If you do your
best in the ministry and lean on God everyday of your life, the Bible
encourages us in 1 Corinthians 15:58 (Let’s recite).
3. LIFE IN SERVICE
MEANS ‘TILL THE END
We
need to realize the importance of redeeming the time. May I ask young people
here to stand. As young people in the Church, you will never know when your
life ends. You will never know what tomorrow will bring. Also, please stand to
those who are not young people anymore. The same is true for everyone. Planning
our lives apart from God is like aimlessly sailing in the middle of the vast
ocean.
We
need to develop a SENSE OF URGENCY. Remember that today is the first day of the
rest of your life. Each passing day brings us closer to God’s coming Kingdom.
It is a tragedy to chase the wrong things in life because, at the end, the only
thing that will matter is the relationship we build with God.
All
the physical things in this world will just fade away and be dissolved (II
Peter 2:11). With this being said, the Apostle Peter asked a question, “What
manner of persons ought you to be?”
Pastor
said, “I have heard a lot of older people in the church who wished they have
been called in the church in an earlier age. I am one of them. I have seen
first-hand the joy and blessings of living God’s way of life in a very young
age and how I wish that I was in the church during an earlier time.”
Each
day of our lives, we are getting older. There is no better way to spend the
prime of our years than to do God’s work. We should not delay answering the
call of God because each passing day we waste is an also opportunity to live a
blessed life.
“There is no better way to spend the prime of
our years than to do God’s work.”
I hear some young people that
they would serve God after finishing their studies; after they are stable
enough to start a family; and after they have enough money to be independent.
This is a HUGE delusion that Satan has cast on the minds of our young people!
There is no better time to serve God than TODAY!
Samuel had been in the
service since the day his mother offered him in the temple and until the day of
his death (1 Samuel 28:3).
CONCLUSION:
Have you asked
yourself, “How would you rather be found?” If time comes that your life ends
what are you doing? Bible says in Matthew 24:26,
“Blessed is that
servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.”
