Mt. Zion Church of the Holy Spirit - Sermons
When A Cry Brings Forth Life
1 Samuel 1:20 — "Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, ‘Because I have asked him of the Lord.'"
In 1 Samuel 1, we find the nation of Israel in a very sad state; they are a people under a corrupt priesthood. Instead of being under shepherds after God’s own heart, they are under shepherds who care nothing about the Lord or His people, who are using their position to take advantage of the people and to fulfill their sinful passions. 1 Samuel 2:12-16 tells us that it was ordained by the Lord that after the people made sacrifices to the Lord they were to take the meat and put it in a boiling pot. Then, the priest was to take a fleshhook and dip it into the pot and whatever meat came out on the fleshhook was to be the priest’s portion. The scripture tells us that the priesthood, the sons of Eli, ordered the people to give them raw meat to roast over the fire. They scorned the people, "We want raw meat to roast, for we will not have sodden flesh." Verse 17 tells us that the people began to despise the worship of the Lord through the giving of sacrifices, because the sons of Eli made it very grievous. In 1 Samuel 2:22-24, we see that Eli’s sons were indulging in immorality with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle. We see in 1 Samuel 4, the sons of Eli are married; thus they are blatantly committing adultery in the eyes of the Lord. So again, we see this corrupt priesthood using their position to take advantage of the people and to fulfill their sinful passions.
AS A RESULT, THE LIFE AND THE PRESENCE OF GOD WAS SLIPPING AWAY FROM HIS PEOPLE.
1 Samuel 3:1,3a — "And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision…And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was…"
Because of this corrupt priesthood God could not speak to His people. God cannot speak through unclean vessels. A pure, life-giving word has to come from a pure heart. Also, the lamp of God symbolizes the very life and presence of God; this corrupt priesthood was causing the very life of God to slip away from His people.
BUT THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE TO SEE: IT WAS NOT THEIR SIN THAT MADE THEM CORRUPT PRIESTS BEFORE THE LORD, IT WAS NOT THEIR SIN THAT WAS STEALING THE LIFE FROM GOD’S PEOPLE; IT WAS BECAUSE THEY HAD NO HEART FOR GOD.
1 Samuel 2:12 — "Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord."
This priesthood was steeped in sin and corruption because they did not desire an intimate walk with God.
UNDERSTAND: YOU CAN BE A PHARISEE, LIVE BY THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF MORALITY AND STILL PRODUCE DEATH!
When Jesus walked the earth in the flesh, the nation of Israel was under another corrupt priesthood, the Pharisaical priesthood. This religious sect separated themselves from anything that appeared to be unclean. The very name Pharisee means "Separated One." But when Jesus roamed the countryside of Israel, the land was plagued with death, diseases and demon possession. Beloved, it is so easy to point our fingers at the Christians in the church living a worldly lifestyle and say "You are the cause for all the death and lifelessness in the church!" But the truth is, if we are a Pharisee, a people who live by the highest standards of morality, but our hearts are not hungry and seeking after the Lord, we are just as much the cause for the lifelessness in the church. There are multitudes sitting in “holiness” churches but they are starving for life. Only intimacy with Christ can produce life!
BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS, GOD IS NOT GOING TO LEAVE HIS PEOPLE WITHOUT LIFE AND HIS PRESENCE.
In 1 Samuel 1, though the life and the presence of God was slipping away from His people, God had a remedy. What was that remedy? It was a barren woman desperate for life, a barren woman crying out for life to be formed within her! Through much adversity and hardship, God put a cry in a woman’s heart for life.
1 Samuel 1:2,5b,6 — "And Elkanah had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other was Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children…but the Lord had shut up her womb. And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb."
In this scripture we see that Peninnah, because of her jealousy, caused Hannah much grief for many years. It was in Hannah’s adversity that she began to cry out for life to be formed within her.
HOWEVER IN THIS PLACE OF ADVERSITY, ELKANAH, HER HUSBAND, TRIED TO COMFORT HER.
Many times when there is such a divine hunger and desperation placed in our hearts by God for the life of Christ to be formed within us, many well-meaning saints want to comfort this hunger. Here is what we need to see. Elkanah’s name in the Hebrew means "God has redeemed and obtained." Overall, when we are feeling barren and crying out for life, Elkanah’s comfort is this: "You need to lay down this burden and rest! God has redeemed you and has obtained for you a perfect righteousness in Christ! You do not have to carry this desperation upon your heart! You are redeemed and righteous!" In response, though, there is a cry evolving from our hearts: "I know this! I know I am righteous, pleasing, and beautiful in the eyes of God! It is not condemnation that I am feeling, but it is such a hunger for Christ to be formed in me! I know that I am pleasing and acceptable to God, but there is such a desperation in my heart for life and fruitfulness!"
HANNAH WANTED THE TRUTH OF THE MEANING OF HER NAME TO BE A REALITY IN HER HEART.
Hannah’s name in the Hebrew means "Grace." The cry of Hannah’s heart is, "My name is grace, but I want more than just the name. I want to see its power working in my life." Hannah symbolizes the saints in the church who have a cry in their hearts; the cry is, "So many claim to be saved by grace but I see no change in their lives! I do not see the life of Christ shining through their lives! Grace only seems to be a name! I do not want to be like the multitudes in the church who go through their whole life just saying, 'I am saved by grace,' but I want to see the fullness of its power working in my heart, changing me from glory to glory, making me fruitful for the glory of God!” Hannah represents those Christians who do not want to go through their whole life standing up on testimony night and giving the same testimony, "I am just a sinner saved by grace." As wonderful as this testimony is, the Hannahs of the church desire to have the testimony that says, "Grace is changing my heart everyday that I walk with God. I thank God that I am saved by grace, but even more so, I thank God that I see change in my heart. In areas that were once so barren, I see the seeds of His word blossoming and producing fruit for His glory."
IN TIMES OF DESPERATION, WHY IS GOD ALLOWING HIS PEOPLE TO FEEL THE BARRENNESS OF THEIR OWN HEARTS, TO FEEL THE LIFELESSNESS THAT WE WOULD HAVE IF WE DID NOT POSSESS HIS PRESENCE?
1 Samuel 1:10,11 — "And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, ‘O Lord of hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look upon the affliction of Thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget Thine handmaid, but wilt give 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.'"
Out of desperation for life to be formed in her, Hannah made a great surrender to the Lord by fully giving her son to Him. Then she went even further - promising to make him a Nazarite, making her surrender more intense by going even further in consecrating her child to the Lord. Because he would be a Nazarite, she vowed that no razor would cut his hair. Long hair for a Nazarite was a visible symbol of separation to the Lord, and a visible symbol to the world around them that in every way he was wholly separated to the purposes of God. Why does God allow His people to feel the barrenness of their own hearts? In our hearts sometimes we hold onto things that God is asking us to surrender because we are afraid of losing them. It very well could be that we will lose them, because it may not be God’s plan for our lives to have them. Even though there may be struggles to let go of certain things if we truly love the Lord, then deep down in our hearts there is nothing more important to us than having the life of Christ formed in us. In the times of feeling the barrenness of our own hearts, a sincere cry rises out of our hearts: "Oh God, I have such a desperation in my heart that the life of Christ be formed in me! I have such a hunger in my heart to possess His life! I lay everything down on the altar; all that You are asking for, I give it to You! Just let me be fruitful, and let the nature of Christ touch every part of my being! Consume everything of self, and let the life of Christ possess and be seen in every part of my being! God, I do not want anything of self to remain; leave nothing untouched by Your hand! I fully consecrate every part of my being to You!"
WHEN THE SINCERITY OF OUR CRY HAS TOUCHED THE LORD, HE COMES AND REMOVES THE BURDEN OF OUR DESPERATION AND PUTS A DIVINE REST IN OUR SOUL.
1 Samuel 1:18b — "So the woman went her way …and her countenance was no more sad."
These anointed times of desperation in our hearts can be so intense, but God will come and lift it and put a rest in our hearts. His presence comes to our hearts with an assurance that He has heard our cry, and He will be faithful to answer it. With that assurance comes a divine rest.
1Samuel 1:18b — "So the woman went her way and did eat…"
These times of divine desperation are only for a season, and then Christ will come to that hunger in our hearts and fill it with Himself; Christ will soothe that hunger with the bread of His presence. Understand that in God’s counsel, He will allow this hunger to return when it is needed. Why? For the Christian, the issue of righteousness is settled. Christ has made us fully righteous in God’s sight, because Jesus' righteousness is a perfect righteousness. God will not allow His people to get so comfortable with this truth that we become complacent, where we do not care about being fruitful. When we become comfortable to the point that we become complacent, it is easy for other affections and desires and agendas to start gripping our hearts again. If we start becoming complacent, God will stir up this hunger and desperation again.
WHEN THIS DIVINE DESPERATION COMES TO OUR HEARTS, WE HAVE A GREAT ASSURANCE.
1 Samuel 1:19b,20 — "…And the Lord remembered her. Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, ‘Because I have asked him of the Lord.'"
Samuel’s name means, "Heard by God." When this hunger that is divinely placed in our soul by the Spirit of God causes us to cry out for the life of Christ to be formed in us, our assurance is that this is one prayer God will always answer. He passionately desires that His Son be fashioned and seen in the lives of His people. The Bible says, "O taste and see that the Lord is good," and it is when lost, desolate and hungry hearts taste of the fruit that is in our lives, that they know that God is good and merciful and kind.
LET US CONCLUDE WITH THIS:
1 Samuel 3:19-21 — "And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh; for the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord."
Hope returned to the nation of Israel, because God had a consecrated vessel He could speak a life-giving word through. Because of the consecration of one man, the life and presence of God was available to anyone who truly desired the Lord. As Americans, we see the darkness that has engrossed our nation, but in the midst there is still a harvest that is plentiful. There are hearts that are ready to respond and be changed by the love of God. The good news is, God is raising up a people who have fully consecrated themselves to Him, who are filled with His life, and who can speak an anointed, life-giving word and see lives changed.