Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20011202.htm

1 AND 2 SAMUEL: GOD'S SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS IN OVERSIGHT
Part VI: Rearing Godly Leaders Out Of Spiritually Ungodly Environments
(1 Samuel 2:11-3:21)
  1. Introduction
    1. Around the world, the Christian community has a noticed and is expressing the need for godly leaders.
    2. However, the world's societies are becoming darker and darker in the spiritual sense, making it more difficult to rear godly leaders out of such an ungodly environment.
    3. God demonstrated how godly leaders can be reared even if the environment is spiritually destitute, and that is seen in the rearing of the great spiritual leader, Samuel as follows:
  2. Rearing Godly Leaders Out Of Spiritually Ungodly Environments, 1 Samuel 2:11-3:21.
    1. Due to his mother's vow to loan Samuel unto the Lord at His temple if she were to bear him, Samuel was set up to be raised in a godless environment, 1 Samuel 1:11, 20, 27-28; 2:12-17, 22-36.
      1. Hannah had been blessed by God with Samuel in response to her prayer for a son, 1 Sam. 1:11, 20.
      2. Since that prayer had included a solemn vow of Hannah's turning her son over to God at the temple to be a lifelong Nazarite, Samuel was destined to grow up on the temple site, 1 Samuel 1:27-28.
      3. However, the sons of the High Priest, Eli who was to finish rearing Samuel were wicked men due to the lack of strong parenting on Eli's part, 1 Samuel 2:12-17.
      4. In fact, their wickedness and Eli's failure to control his sons led to God's sending a prophet to denounce Eli's house in divine judgment, 1 Samuel 2:22-36.
    2. However, Samuel continued steadfastly to mature in the Lord as a strong, spiritual leader, 1 Sam. 3:19-21:
      1. We learn from 1 Samuel 3:19 that as Samuel developed into a man, God supported all the prophecies Samuel made as His mouthpiece to the nation Israel.
      2. Consequently, the entire nation of Israel that routinely visited the temple site and encountered Samuel came to realize he was God's messenger unto them, 1 Samuel 3:20-21.
    3. Thus, in examining Samuel's development, we find the ingredients overcoming his godless environment to produce his leadership were his mother's consistent godliness and God Himself, 2:18-21; 3:1-18:
      1. Samuel developed to spiritual leadership in spite of his godless environment in part by the exampling and then teaching of his mother on a consistent walk with God, 2:18-21:
        1. We know Samuel's mother, Hannah was godly by her faith in God for a son, 1 Samuel 1:11.
        2. But beyond her deep faith in God was a consistent WALK with Him: (a) Hannah followed up her vow to the Lord -- as difficult as it must have been for her as a mother -- to part with her young, newly weaned boy when he was 3 years old, 1 Samuel 1:11 with 1:24-28. (b) Hannah then praised God even while parting with Samuel as evidence of a consistent walk with the Lord, 1 Sam. 2:1-10.
        3. Hannah's consistent WALK with God was effective in influencing SAMUEL to mature in God: (a) Though Hannah returned from the temple to live with her husband, Elkanah, every year she returned to keep in contact with her son, Samuel, 1 Samuel 2:11, 19. (b) Each year she returned, she gave Samuel a new priestly linen ephod, something that would have influenced this growing boy to keep on serving the Lord consistently, 1 Samuel 2:19.
      2. Samuel was reared in part by the influence of God's own direct influence upon him, 3:1-18:
        1. Samuel lacked a good father figure in Eli as seen his failure with his own sons (2:12-17, 22-36)
        2. He also lacked a strong father in his birth father, Elkanah as seen in his failure to deal well with the abuse he as a leader tolerated Peninnah to exercise against Samuel's mother, Hannah, 1 Sam. 1:4-6.
        3. However, God communicated directly with Samuel to offset the failure of Eli, giving Samuel prophecy to direct to Eli of judgment for his failure as a father, 1 Samuel 3:1-18.
Lesson: For a godly leader to be reared in an imperfect environment, ONE parent HIMSELF MUST example and then teach a consistent with God, and GOD will do the rest, 1 Corinthians 7:14.

Application: (1) The BEST thing a parent can do to rear a godly leader is to walk with God himself! (2) The SECOND best thing he can do is to walk with God CONSISTENTLY! (3) The THIRD best thing he can do is to TEACH his child to copy himself! (4) God then adds the finishing touches!