Wedding Poem

I was asked to lamenate a piece of paper.  Having just done it, I find that it is a wedding poem written to the future daughter in law, thanking them for taking their son and reminding her that marriage is Gods design.

Samuel the first three chapters

I preached on the first threee chapters of 1st Samuel in church today with the emphasis on chapter 3 the call of Samuel. I hope it was of benefit to the families

A surpise

I got out of bed this morning slightly earlier than usual because it was hot.  The phone rang. It was an internal ring tone.  I picked it up and to my surprise and delight it was D.  She needed access to a computer. Her plans had changed and she had to spend the night on site.  I gave her access to my computer so that she could plan a journey to Edinburgh.  However, she needs to be in Manchester early tomorrow morning,  and she asked me to take her.  I agreed to do so. It will be difficult and tiring but I am really pleased to see her again and helping her is a delight. 

I trust that I will be awake enough at 11am to preach tomorrow on Samuel

1st Samuel 2:30

It is in 1st Samuel 2:30 that we read "Therefore, the lord the God of Isreal declares, I promise that your house and your fathers house would minister before me forever, but now the lord declares, far be it for me.  THOSE WHO HONOUR ME, I WILL HONOUR. but those who despise me will be disdained

Samuels name

She named him Samuel because, “I asked the lord for him” Evidently that is what Samuels name meant, I expect that Samuel throughout his life was very conscience of that name.  He would have known that the reason he was born was because his mother asked the lord for him and God granted her request. 

1st Samuel the first three chapters

Ist Samuel chapters one to three, emphasis on chapter three

We are told that Elkanah had two wives.  One was called Hannah and the other Peninnah.

Peninnah had children, Hannah had none

Each year Elkanah would go up to Shiloh to sacrifice to the lord where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests to the lord

Everyone would have known these men as they were meant to be Gods representatives to the people.  They were entrusted with responsibility and should have honoured God.  We shall see how they despised that responsibility and suffered the consequences. 

Year by year they publicly sinned and it must have seemed like God would do nothing about it.  WE now know that God is not mocked.  God disciplines, and God had a plan, and that plan involved an as yet un born child.  They could not have seen that as Elkanah came every year that he would father the child whom God would use to bring about the discipline that would fall upon them

God was angry with them and they should have known it.  They choose to be foolish.

In our own day God has decreed that a man may have one wife. In those days God had not yet decreed that, so it was alright for Elkanah to have two wives.

However, Peninnah mocked Hannah for being childless.  Hannah would have felt like a complete and utter failure as a baron woman was commonly thought to be under Gods Judgement.  This was in fact not true as Hannah would be used of God to give birth to the child who would honour God and bring about his judgement.

It is not for us to judge others.  We do not always have the full picture, but God does.

What Elis sons did at Shiloh was a disgrace, yet it was at that same place that Hannah prayed,

She was in deep distress as she prayed and she would have a son, and God would take away her disgrace. 

In my opinion, it is not likely that this was a single prayer.  I think a woman in so much distress would pray persistently.

She vowed in her prayer that is God gave her a son, she would give that son back to the lord all he days of his life, and no razer would come upon his head, ( like Samson, an nazarite)

Eli saw her praying, but only saw her mouth move.  He thought she was drunk.

She told Eli that she was not drunk, she was praying in great anguish.

I note that she did not tell Eli exactly what she prayed for, but Eli said, “Go in peace and may the God of Isreal grant what you have asked of him”.

That is what she did.

MY OPINION

I think that Hannah took what Eli said as a reply from the lord.  She knew that what she had asked for in due time would be granted to her, and she had confidence in the lord

Do we pray persistently?  Do we have confidence that the lord will grant what we ask of him?  I think the lord answers persistent prayer, perhaps not always in the ways and means that we expect or imagine, but he does answer.  I think that it is because of prayer that I left Dunfermline to come here to Join OM and in turn because of that, I came to this church.

If we were to read chapter 2 we would find that when Samuel was born, Hannah did not neglect prayer once she had what she asked for.  She prayed in thanksgiving to the lord, and she carried out her promise and gave the boy over to the lord.

Christian parents may not physically give their children over, but I am sure that you parents in your hearts, give them to the lord, and that you persistently pray for them.

We now come to chapter 3

Samuel ministered to the lord under Eli ( the very same priest who had said to his mother, may the lord grant what you have asked) 

By now, Eli did know that Samuel was the answer to Hannahs prayer, because when she presented the boy to him, she told him what she had prayed for that day, and here was the lord answer.  She had the son she asked for and now she was carrying out her vow by handing him over.

We now come to the passage I have chosen, 1^st Samuel, chapter 3.

We are told that in those days, the word of the lord was rare.  ( Not completely unknown)

Surely if God were to speak, it would be to an adult, a priest, but no, the lord spoke to Samuel, while he was still a child.

I say to the children, God may not speak with an audible voice, but he does speak and it is usually through the bible, and he speaks to all of you and says that he wants you to trust him like Samuel did.  He wants you to accept Jesus as your saviour and here is a chance to do it now.

Samuel, did not know the lord, but he heard the voice and assumed that it was Eli calling his name.  Samuel was lying down before the Ark of the Covenant.  It was that ark that had travelled with them thought the wilderness for 40 year and it was a reminder of the presence of God, so that in that sense when Samuel lay down to sleep, he was in the presence of God.

We may not realise it, but in our day, we are in the presence of God all the time.

God called out Samuels name, and Samuel thought it was Eli.  He went to Eli and said, “Here I am, you called me”.  In so doing, Samuel like any good boy was seeking to do as he was told, so when he heard the voice calling his name he went to Eli in obedience.

It is good for children to be obedient to their parents. It is even better to be obedient to God.

On each occasion, Eli said he had not called him and to go back to sleep, but on the third occasion Eli realised that it was the lord calling the boy.  Eli still had enough understanding of the lord to know that God was calling the boy.  We saw that in those days the word of the lord was rare, and Eli realise that this was one of those rare occasions. 

You can just imagine it, Samuel goes to Eli three times and each time Eli says, I did not call you.  Samuel must have heard the voice calling his name and said to Eli you did call me!!!! and said that more emphatically each time.  Samuel would have realised that the voice was not his imagination, and on the third occasion, Eli realised that to.

Eli knew that the lord would keep calling the boy, until he responded.  So Eli instructed Samuel in what to say.  He told him that if he called again, to say “SPEAK LORD FOR YOUR SERVANT HEARS”  notice how in that reply, Eli instructs Samuel from a very young age to be like a servant.  A servant is humble and obedient.  A servant also listens to his master and Samuel was being told to listen to what God had to say.

MY OPINION

I imagine that Eli was curious to know what the lord had to say.  He knew that a word from the lord was rare and so it would be significant and that God was going to do something.  We know that Eli was well aware of the behaviour of his sons.

In obedience Samuel did as Eli said, and when the lord called his name a fourth time we read in 1^st Samuel 3:10-14 what the lord had to say.

These words would not have seemed very encouraging to a young child, but the lord entrusted them to Samuel, but they were directed against his mentor Eli

Perhaps in the morning Samuel hoped that Eli would not ask the dreadful question, “What was it that he ( The lord) said to you?

I think Eli could see that Samuel was afraid to tell him, for Eli was his mentor and when Samuel told him, Eli would feel terribly hurt

So to encourage the boy to tell him and to tell him the truth, Eli says, “ Do not hide it from me, may god deal with you be it ever do severely if you hide from me anything he told you.”

Eli knew what God would do for God had already told him.  Eli had not responded to the warning God had given him. He had not disciplined his sons and now the punishment God had promised was about to happen and God had chosen a child to tell him”

It was still in obedience both to God and to Eli that Samuel told him everything god had said to him.

In verse 18 we see that Eli, having heard the word that the lord spoke to Samuel, accepted it. He knew that he was in the wrong and should have disciplined his sons because their behaviour was known throughout the land and would have brought the lords name into ill repute.  #

God guards his name, his holy and in erring reputation jealously.  He will not have it profaned.

Eli would have known that, so he says, “He is the lord, let him do what is good in his eyes.”

You see that Eli acknowledged that he IS! the lord.

We to, must acknowledge that he IS! the lord also.

SHILOH

God spoke to Samuel at Shiloh, the place where God should have been honoured, but was disgraced by Elis family. 

It was at Shiloh that Hannah prayed and receive the assurance that she would have a son

It was at Shiloh that god continued to reveal himself to Samuel and to the nation and thus, Shiloh that place where God was despised, became a place where God was honoured.

The letter

I sent a letter off today to make further enquiry into ICC.  I have had a look at the subjects and penciled in six.
1) world Mission
2 ) God and the world
3) New Testament Introduction
4) Old testament introduction
5) Understanding Romans
6) Old testament prophecy

There will be more contact next week

Yet more parables

Luke chapter 15

We have looked at Parables that involve closed doors. 

We have looked at Parables about nature

We now look at parables about LOST and FOUND

WE are told that the tax collectors and sinners were gathered to hear Jesus, but the muttered against him saying, “The man welcomes sinners and eats with them”  This in one way was true, but they failed to recognise their own sin.  They were certainly proud and self righteous.

It against this attitude that Jesus tells three parables.

The Parable of the lost sheep

The Parable of the lost coin

And the parable of the lost ( Prodigal) son

APART FROM BEING LOST WHAT DO YOU NOTICE ALL THREE PARABLES HAVE IN COMMON?

(PAUSE)

THEY ALL SPEAK OF REJOICING

The shepherd rejoices with his friend about the sheep that was lost and he has found

The widow rejoices with her friends for the coin that was lost and found

The father rejoices over the son who was lost and found

We are told that there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

Have you ever thought you caused God and the angels to rejoice?  This chapter says we do when we repent.

The pharasees and scribed looked upon the tax collectors and everybody else with disdain.  They were filth

They thought themselves so much better.  They did not rejoice over sinners who repented.  Jesus is saying they should. In fact he is giving us a report from home because the presence of the father is his home and he tells us that at home there is rejoicing every time just one person ( can you imagine it just one) repents.

The scribes and pharasees probably realised he spoke against them and in my view the Son who stayed at home, who complained to his father, who would not celebrate, who would not even come into the house is just like the scribes and pharasees.  He thinks he deserves more because he has not behaved like his brother, but he should have been rejoicing.

Some weeks ago, Diz reminded us that fathers at that time did not run. It was not dignified.  However this father was so full of joy to see his son restored that he ran to him. 

Notice to how jesus communicates with crowd.  He draws them in, v4 by asking what man of you? Or suppose one of you has a hundred sheep.

Presumably some of the people gathered would have been shepherds. They would often have gone looking for lost sheep.

The ladies in the crowd would have lost coin at some stage

And many of the men in the crowd would have been fathers.

He told stories that related to their own experience, and would challenge them to be more godly, or confront them with their ungodliness.

When I started this series, all I wanted to do was look at a few parables and draw some simple messages.  However, in the couse of doing this, I have discovered how God has kept and is still keeping a promise to me, and I suppose that if we were to discuss it, we would discover that he is keeping a promise to all of us

After he told the parable of the sower, in Mathew 13: 11-12, he gives this promise and warning.”The knowledge,of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven,has been given to you, but not to them.  Whever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

I used to wonder what this meant, but it is so obvious.  It is the knowledge of the kingdom of heaven and if you have that. If God has revealed himself to you and given you that, then you will get more. In fact, I find that it is a need. I want more and I get it.  God is keeping that promise to me.

The warning is to those who do not have this knowledge, ( but think they do) What they do have will be taken and I have seen this.    I have said there are those I know who walked with the lord, but it did not last, and what they once had is gone.

However the joyful thing is we will have more if we are faithfull

As a young man, I was very close to an old woman in my church.  I loved her, her name was Mary Allen. 

She came from Belfast, and she loved the lord with all her heart and had served him for many years before I met her.

One of my most moving memories of her was that one day, I was in her home and she told me how she prayed for me and she said, Lord, George is growing in grace”  I was and still am very moved by that remark. She could see that God was causing me to grow in knowledge of him, and I trust that he still is, and I trust that you are able to say likewise. 

Amen

Study to show thyself approved unto God

Today was a special day for me. It has been agreed that I can study theology over three years on a distance learning basis and a budget has been set for it.  I have prayed for this and it is here.  Some details need to be sorted out, but the main decisions have been made and in the background MW conducted some research for me which seems to have produced a result and I am so grateful to him as right now I am just up to my eyes in work and doing the research would have been stressfull.

It will not be WEST. It is more likely to be ICC

I am so pleased

Two more parables

Today we are going to look at two parables from nature.

Mathew 13:1-23

The parable of the sower

Have you ever thought of the parables as frightening?

When jesus is asked why he spoke in parables he says it is because in seeing and hearing they will not see or hear and understand

However to the disciples these things are revealed to them and they are told plainly what the meaning is.

The parable of the sower more than implies that many will hear the word of God and apparently respond to it but the roots are not deep.  That would mean that many of the large crowd would not have comprehended what he said.  We know it was a large crowd because the passage says so, he got into a boat to speak to them.

He warns that to those who have, more will be given ( what a blessing)

To those who have not, even what they have will be taken away ( what a curse and a warning)

Jesus says the people hearts are caloused.  This was Jesus talking to them, not you or me, It was jesus pleading with them, yet he says their hearts were caloused

The disciples some of whom were fishermen would have understood this image from caloused hands from handling fishing nets.  Their hands would have had hard skin and he himself probably had hard skin from doing carpentery.

The people were not able to see that in their midst the prophecy of Isaiah was being fulfilled

We find the prophecy in Isaiah 6:9-10

He then explains the parable

The seed sown along the path, is when one hears the word of God and the devil snatches it away ( they do not understand)

The seed in the rocky ground is one who receives the word with joy but the roots are not deep.  When trouble or persection comes, he lasts only a short time

The seed among the thorns is one who hears the word, but it is choked because of worries of this life and wealth choke it

The seed that fell on good ground and produced crop is the man who hears the word and understands it and endures and he goes on to bear much fruit.

I am sorry to say, that there are people I once knew, who once walked with lord. People I looked up to and admired, but you will not find them worshipping the lord today. 

This has stood as a warning to me.  I do not want to be like them, but at the time when they walked with the lord, I did.

Pehaps you to, have known people that you admired and loved, but who also no longer walk with the lord.

The parable of the fig tree luke 13 1-15

Those of you who were present last time Diz led devotions, will recall that he described a fig tree as very large and it bears fruit for about 10 months of the year.

Lets consider the circumstances in which Jesus told this parable.  Some people told Jesus about the Galilleans, whose blood Pilate mixed with their sacrafices.  This would have been an anathema

In fact jesus speaks not against pilate or the romans, bu against them

He poses a question “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other galileans because they suffered this way?

I conclude from the fact that Jesus started by putting this question that those who told the story thought that the Galileans who suffered this way were worse sinners than Galileans who did not.

I think that if we are being honest with ourselves, we all judge others and think that some people are worse sinners than others.  Surely God will punish them severely, but not us as we are not as bad as them.

This is not the truth

Jesus turns it upon those speaking to him and says “Unless you repent, you to will perish”

He then tells the story of the fig tree.  I remind you that Diz told us that a fig tree bears fruit for 10 months of the year, to it is reasonable to suppose that the man looked at it when he would have expected it to be full of fruit.  Not only did it not bear fruit, it had not born fruit for three years.  Therefore he had lost 30 months of fruit.

He spoke to the man who tended the vineyard and told him to cut it down

The man says sir, leave it for one more year and I will dig round it and fertilise it and then see if it bears fruit, it not then Cut it down.

The parable is left open ended. The story has yet to be finished. 

Did it bear fruit or not?

I think the story is left without a conclusion, because the story is still being told.  It was up to the hearers of the parable to respond by repenting of sin.  We are not told if they did or not, and likewise in our own time, we still need to repent and as long as there are still sinners who need to repent, and lord has not returned, so the story still goes on

We have to finish the story, HOW are you doing in your part, finishing the story?