Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20061126.htm

BIOGRAPHIES OF BIBLE SAINTS
I. Hannah - Ministering As An Individual To Influence A Needy World
D. Step Four - Making An Impact With CONSISTENT Godliness
(1 Samuel 2:11-26 et al.)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Though we have learned in our past series of messages on the life of Hannah, the mother of Samuel, about the need for faith in God, prayer and adherence to Scripture to affect our spiritually needy world for Christ, we may be wondering if there is something MORE we can do to make an impact. After all, we face a great degree of darkness in our spiritually needy world!

This deep degree of darkness is evident from an article I was given last Sunday in our Fellowship Hall after our morning service. It came from the Waterbury, Connecticut Republican-American paper and was written by Angelo Paul Ramunni, accounting professor at the University of Connecticut Waterbury campus.

Mr. Ramunni wrote: "A year ago, I found myself at a late summer barbecue with six or seven friends, all talking about the problems we face each day. Money and work were the big issues, but it was alarming to hear the subtle warnings in many of their marriages. Before long, everyone drifted off, and I found myself with a 12- or 13-year-old boy who had been sitting nearby, listening. I didn't know Tom well, but he turned to me and asked, So Mr. R., if I want to know what is right and what is wrong, where do I go to find out? Is there a Web site or magazine that I can read?'

I was stunned by his question. But I asked him why he wanted to know. Well, I was listening to what everyone else was talking about, and I don't want to mess up my life like they did.'"



Think of it! A young male teen in Waterbury, Connecticut asking for someone to tell him what was right and what was wrong as it relates to preparing himself for marriage so he won't get into marital problems when he becomes an adult. Yet, due to the darkness in and around him, he thought there was a web site or magazine with the answer, not a CHURCH or SPIRITUAL guide!



So, in view of the DEPTH of the spiritual darkness in our world, is there something MORE we can do to IMPACT our world for Christ BESIDES what we have learned so far in this series of messages on Hannah and her influence on Samuel?!



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "From this sermon series, I have learned that to impact our needy world as a believer in Christ, prayer, using the opportunities God brings along and heeding Scripture over even errant relatives is important. However, due to the DEGREE of darkness in the world, is there something MORE to be EFFECTIVE amid the darkness?!"
  1. Regardless of his mothers' INITIAL rearing efforts, Samuel faced GREAT SPIRITUAL hurdles to attaining GODLY ADULTHOOD:
    1. After Hannah turned Samuel over to Eli in accord with her vow to God (1 Samuel 1:11, 20, 26-28), Samuel faced terrible peer pressure against developing into godly adulthood, 1 Samuel 2:12-17, 22:
      1. Eli's sons who abused God's sacrifices and worshipers were set to impact Samuel with their low esteem of God's sacrifices, 2:12-17.
      2. Furthermore, they committed immorality with the women who served at the tabernacle door, leaving Samuel vulnerable to adopting their immoral values and practices, 1 Samuel 2:22.
    2. Also, Samuel lacked a good father figure in Eli, 2:23-25; 3:12-13:
      1. Eli had spoken to his vile sons about their evil deeds, and he had even warned them about divine judgment, 1 Samuel 2:23-25.
      2. However, God Himself criticized Eli to Samuel, revealing Eli had failed to back up these verbal stands by also restraining his sons from doing evil, meaning Eli as a father had failed to enforce upright behavior in his sons by punishing them, 1 Samuel 3:12-13.
  2. Yet, though under a poor father figure in Eli, Samuel served God, grew in His ways and gained favor with God and man, 2:18, 21, 26.
  3. The REASON Samuel STAYED so GODLY was the IMPACT of the CONSISTENT GODLINESS of his PARENTS and the LORD:
    1. Samuel's PARENTS CONSISTENTLY UPHELD godliness:
      1. The little "coat" (KJV) ["robe" NIV, ESV] Hannah made each year for Samuel was a me'il, a white shawl with a hole in the center for the head that fit over the body and was worn by those who served in the temple (1 Chron. 15:27a), 1 Sam. 2:19; Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 408, 1354; Theol. Wrdbk. of the O. T., v. I, p. 520. [The High Priest wore a violet me'il, Ryr. St. Bib., KJV, ftn. to Ex. 28:31-35.]
      2. Samuel also wore an outer white ephod, or a "two-piece, sleeveless garment, held . . . [in] by a . . . belt . . . and joined at the shoulders by straps" that was worn "almost exclusively by the priest," 1 Sam. 2:18 with 1 Chron. 15:27b; Ibid., ftns. to Ex. 28:6-14 and 1 Sam. 2:19. [The High Priest wore a multicolored ephod, Ex. 28:6.]
      3. So that her young son would STAY upright in CONTRAST to Eli's UNDISCIPLINED sons, Hannah TRAINED Samuel by REGULARLY making for him a CLEAN PRIESTLY shawl to STRESS his LIFELONG ACCOUNTABILITY to GOD! (2:19).
    2. Samuel's PARENTS CONSISTENTLY EXAMPLED godliness:
      1. In contrast to Eli's immoral sons, Samuel's parents functioned in the temple faithful to their marriage vows, 1 Samuel 2:19, 22.
      2. In contrast to Eli's profane sons, Samuel's parents reverently worshiped God in bringing the yearly sacrifice, 1 Samuel 2:19.
    3. Then, GOD Himself reinforced this consistency by Samuel's parents:
      1. God instructed Samuel in righteousness, 1 Samuel 3:2-4, 11-14.
      2. God Himself continued "parenting" Samuel, 1 Samuel 3:19-20:
        1. God persistently gave Samuel visionary guidance so that all his prophetic utterances would keep coming to pass, 1 Sam. 3:19.
        2. God's persistent work with Samuel resulted in all Israel coming to recognize he was called of God to be His prophet, and that as people from all over Israel in time traveled to the temple, 3:20.
  4. Indeed, such rearing efforts by his parents coupled with divine involvement had a LIFELONG effect on Samuel (as follows):
    1. So great was the impact of his parents' consistent work with him that Samuel was buried in his parents' hometown, 1 Sam. 25:1 & 2:11!
    2. Even when Samuel's spirit was called up after death [in God's grace] by the witch of Endor, Saul identified him from the me'il he wore, the apparel his mother would long before make for him (1 Sam. 28:14 where "mantle" KJV or "robe" NIV, ESV is me'il in the Hebrew; Ibid., Kittel, p. 452)! Samuel had worn that priestly shawl all his life as a symbol of his loyalty to the calling before God that it represented!
  5. Samuel IN TURN anointed DAVID as KING, which led to the KINGDOM of our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Sam. 16:1, 13; Lk. 1:30-33.
Application: To impact our world for Christ, (1) having trusted in Christ for salvation (Jn. 3:16) to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit for power (Acts 1:8; Gal. 5:16-23), may we (2) CONSTANTLY LEAN on the Spirit to (a) LIVE and (b) PROMOTE godliness, and see God make us GREATLY EFFECTIVE even in GREAT darkness!

Lesson: By CONSISTENTLY living and promoting godliness, Samuel's parents INFLUENCED him unto LIFELONG godliness amid GREAT darkness, and that to the eventual blessing of their nation and WORLD!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

The article I began to cite from the Republican-American at the start of this sermon reports how Angelo Paul Ramunni, accounting professor at the University of Connecticut Waterbury campus had been asked by a young teen where on the Internet or in a magazine he could find information on what was right and wrong regarding marriage. This teen wanted to know this information so as not to end up in an unsuccessful marriage like the other adults he had witnessed!

Mr. Ramunni's article continued, noting the great lack of consistent mentoring such young males had seen from father figures as many men in America have put the gaining of money above their responsibilities to live and to mentor young sons to do what is right.

Ramunni wrote of this, noting: "I have spent 30-plus years working as a certified public accountant and have counseled many people in business. Many men have gone off to make their mark in the world, but too many have had a rough time of it . . . On the other hand, we have many men who have made a great deal of money and too many have gone off to spend it in ways that have put them and those closest to them at great risk. Financial success notwithstanding, I believe many of these men have had enough . . ."

I can only mirror Mr. Ramunni's conclusion in his article where he wrote: "Our men need help reconnecting with the core values that have made our nation, our families, our businesses and our communities great . . . They have to go back to the ultimate source of truth: God."

Amen!



May we as believers in Christ focus on our own walk with God, and then CONSISTENTLY LIVE and PROMOTE Scriptural righteousness in the power of God. That way, people around us who want and NEED to know the difference between right and wrong on all sorts of issues can gain it from US.



Then, like Hannah and her husband who so effectively lived and promoted godliness to the impressionable Samuel who faced a godless environment, we ALSO can impact our own "Samuels" for Christ to the eventual blessing of the WORLD!