Welcome to the audio ministry of Clifton Park Community Church with Pastor Dave Bissett. Now, let's join Dave as he teaches from the Word of God. Now let us take up the very Word of God which we have in our English translations in our Bibles. 1 Samuel in the Old Testament in chapter 3. 1 Samuel chapter 3 in Lord willing we're looking at the whole chapter the account of the Lord's call upon Samuel. And as he calls the very young boy to be a prophet, he closes out and confirms the prophecy that Eli the priest was to be deposed. So I'm going to read the chapter. And it's easy to wander. I encourage you to follow along closely in your own Bible and to take note. Notice the qualities of the young Samuel that seem to rise from the text. And as you hear the judgment upon Eli, know that God keeps His Word. If we wander and are faithless, He will take note and deal with that. In Eli's case, it's most severe. But it ends with much encouragement. 1 Samuel 3, I'm reading from the English Standard Version. The boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days. There was no frequent vision. At that time, Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. The lamp of God had not gone out yet. And Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel. And he said, here I am. And he ran to Eli and said, here I am, for you called me. But he said, I did not call. Lie down again. So he went and lay down again. And the Lord called again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, here I am, for you called me. But he said, I did not call. My son, lie down again. Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore, Eli said to Samuel, Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, Speak, Lord, for your servant hears. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. And Samuel said, speak for your servant hears. And the Lord said to Samuel, behold, I'm about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle on that day. I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I'm about to punish his house forever for the iniquity that he knew because his sons were blaspheming God and he did not restrain them. Therefore, I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever. Samuel lay until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But Eli called Samuel and said, Samuel, my son. And he said, here I am. And Eli said, what was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you, So Samuel told Him everything and hid nothing from Him. And He said, it is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him. And Samuel grew. And the Lord was with him. And let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the Word of the Lord. May the Lord bless all who read, hear, believe and obey His Word. Amen. Amen. We're celebrating the Reformation today and we look back from October 2019 to October 31st, 1517. I'm not going to bring up Luther and nailing his 95 Theses to the door at the church in Wittenberg, although I just did. Because the Reformation really had its genesis a bit earlier. The work of God had been creeping forth and beginning to dawn 50, 60 years before. There are places where John Wycliffe, for instance, the Morning Star of the English Reformation, and William Tyndale, people who said, we need to get God's Word into the hands of God's people. Wycliffe called the Morning Star of the Reformation. There were some like the Waldensians, Peter Waldo. We don't even know if that's his exact name, but Peter Waldo in Europe, even before Wycliffe, leading people from dead churches and going through religion as wrote, leading them into communities up in the hills and the mountains and teaching them from God's Word. There's a beautiful logo, a woodcut, that became kind of a symbol for the Waldensians. And when I found out about it 20 some years ago, I kind of made copies of that and thought it might make a good family crest for the Bissett Home School. So it's a candle, and the backdrop is a cabin, a candle, and around it are these stars. And it says, in, this is Latin, in tenebrous lux, in the darkness light. I have a copy of that on my desk. I love just looking at that. Because this world can seem so spiritually dark and corrupt and ignorant of the things of God, it just goes about its business. But God's Word, God's people, the pulpits of God's churches are like lampstands. And the truth goes forth, and there is light even in the darkness for God's people. As the Reformation took hold, a related phrase, post-tenebrous lux, after darkness light, became one of the bywords of the Reformation. Now that God had brought His light after the darkness, the light was to continue to shine. In fact, after Martin Luther, as he started to age, there was a young theologian named John Calvin, a pastor in Geneva. He advanced the Reformation. And in the city of Geneva, they adopted, as the city's motto, post-Tenebris lux. The city did. I can't imagine changing the seal of the city of Clifton Park to read that. That would be pretty neat. But the city of Geneva even put it on its coins. You can Google this and see coins from Geneva from the 1500s that say post-Tenebrix Lux upon them. You can also see those words over a gate at one of the entrances to Harvard University. It was adopted as the motto of Geneva, and they just didn't use it as a motto. They prescribed, the church council prescribed, how many times there ought to be sermons in Geneva. There were three on Sunday and three during the week. Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Six sermons a week, they said. We need God's Word in Geneva. Post-Tenebrix looks. Where there is no light, it's pretty dark. Such was the case in ancient Israel as the period of the judges was coming to a close. People didn't know it was about to close, but it was about to close. And the book of Samuel tells us about the new era that God was bringing forth when he would lead them under a king like David and Solomon and set up further prototypes for the coming King, the Lord Jesus Christ. He would gather His people. And some people call Samuel the last of the judges. Some people call Samuel the first of the prophets. He's a great transitional figure. And here in this season where there wasn't much coming from God, the Word of God was rare in those days. He raises up young Samuel and gives his word to this newly formed prophet. You may be a teenager thinking of what you're going to do with your life. What do you want to be when you grow up? Those questions get a little old when you're a teenager. I still use it as much as I can to steer and to ask, but can you imagine God coming and commissioning you? I think Samuel was happy to just be a servant and an up-and-coming priest in the tabernacle there in Shiloh. But God says, no, you're going to be my spokesman. And he moved Samuel from the role primarily of priest into the office of prophet. And we get to see how this works. And I think that the grand thread of this whole chapter is how God works through his word. and how God calls us to be faithful with that Word. There's much encouragement here. And it's interesting that the lamp is mentioned early on in eyesight of Eli. Eli was going blind, so Samuel was there. And it was Samuel who tended the oil lamp in the house of God because Eli couldn't see if it went out. So Eli's in his regular place. Samuel was sleeping in the big room near the Ark of God. and keeping an eye on that lantern that was to be burning all night until dawn, according to Exodus. And although the text is making reference to the time of night or the pre-dawn hours, saying that that lamp had not yet gone out. In other words, the sun hadn't yet risen. I think that's almost metaphorical language. As God composes his word and gives us an insight into what he's doing, he is not worried about the lamp in the temple, but he is going to light a lamp through his prophet who will say, thus says the Lord, first to Eli and then to God's people, then to the king and beyond. So let's look at this first section. There's at least three or even four sections, depending how you see the narrative of the text unfolding. It's a narrative. It's in storyline sequence, this historical account. And it starts with setting the stage. The boy Samuel, he's still a boy. This could be a word used for a young person, or right up through puberty to early teen years. But he's very young, and so boy is the appropriate term. even though he's been ministering and doing priestly work for a couple of years at least. He's there. And Eli's old. And here comes the action in v. 4. The Lord calls to Samuel. He says, here I am. He doesn't know that it's the Lord calling him. The lamp. Let me back up a little bit. Samuel's my second major point. Let me talk about the lamp a little bit more. I said it's a physical object and a metaphor for the chapter. In Scripture, a lampstand is a metaphor for the Bible. It's a metaphor for Scripture. I just want to make sure we have that background. It's used not only here in chapter 3, but in 2 Samuel 21-22, it's used explicitly as a metaphor. Where David says we can't allow harm to come to the priest of God, lest the lamp go out. He didn't say harm to the building. He said harm to the one who's the prophet and priest, or we won't be hearing from God. So he protected the priest of his day. We know explicitly from one of our favorite Psalms, 119. I'm always thankful that Ed pushes Psalm 119 for us. Do you know verse 105? Great memory verse. Do you need a memory verse today? How long has it been since you had a memory verse? Make it a memory. Psalm 105. Thy Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. What's the reference? Psalm 119 verse 105. Of course, if you pick up a paraphrase like the Living Bible, it'll say God's Word is a flashlight. So that's too much of a paraphrase for me. But it's a light to where we are and a light to where we're going. Where we should go. That's the way the Bible speaks of Scripture and its important rule. Why was it rare in this day? Let's also mention that. Why was it rare? The word rare means simply highly valued. Ooh, I haven't seen that in a long time. Here comes something highly valued. Precious. Why was it rare? Well, as we would hear in centuries later through the prophet Amos, that the Word of God is often rare because God has withheld it due to the sin of God's people. In judgment, He can create a famine, not just of food, but a famine of His Word. Let me tell you what Amos says in chapter 8. Amos 8, verses 11 and 12, he prophesied. And this comes much later than Samuel, but it illustrates the principle. Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread nor thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea and from north to east. They shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it. The days are coming, declares the Lord. Following the book of Malachi in the Old Testament, there's a period of 400 years of silence before the Lord called kind of an interesting fellow named John to go out by the Jordan to dress like a prophet and to tell it like it is. Prepare the way of the Lord. 400 years of silence from God. Does this happen? Yes, it happens. I think it can happen in a locale. It can happen in a country. I think it should grieve us when we now look to Europe, or to Germany in particular, where the Reformation is so famously said to have begun, and see the rampant prosecution of Christians. Not politically or legally, but socially. the absence of Christianity where it once flourished. Yes, God can turn to other places. By the way, God's Word is flourishing in South America. God's Word is flourishing in Africa. There are even many strong, growing biblical churches in Cuba, and in Iran, and in Iraq. God is on the move. and He is not committed to one political system or one piece of property, but rather to His Kingdom's cause. If there's a failure in America and people don't heed the Word that we have been so richly blessed with, will He give us an appetite for it? You can see people can starve due to lack of food. People can starve also due to a lack of appetite. They won't eat. God can send a famine of His Word and give those who don't want it just what they want. The lamp of God's Word. I wanted to mention at the close of this first heading, we have the Word and the Spirit. You as a believer have more of the spoken words of God than Samuel ever saw, than Moses or David had. You have the inspired written Word of God and, get this, and you have the Holy Spirit who inspired the Word indwelling you to illumine your mind and to bring to your remembrance what Jesus said and to give you understanding. The psalmist could pray, Lord, open my eyes that I might behold wonderful things from out of your Word. We have the Spirit ever with us. We don't need a vision in the night for the Lord to call, David, David, or call your name. We have these pages. We open them and can read the word of God. I hope you're doing that daily. What a privilege we have. Paul would write to the church in Colossae in chapter 3, 16, and he would exhort them, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Let the Word of God dwell within you richly. What fills your heart and your mind? You know, if you're watching TV and one of those stupid commercials comes on, whether it's the singing toilets or something else, And you can't even change the channel fast enough and the jingle's stuck in your head. You can't get it out. It's dwelling. The Bible desires to dwell in your mind and in your heart. To be something you turn around over and over. What was that verse the pastor said we should think about? Psalm 119 verse 105. God's Word is a light to my and a lamp to my path." We'll flip those two nouns around. It's supposed to help me where I am and where I'm going. Meditate on God's Word. Think on God's Word. Let it dwell richly within you. And as many of us teach and share God's Word with others, I remind you of what Paul wrote to Timothy. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of Truth. this past week as 40 men studied how to handle God's Word in our workshop here at the church. A big segment of that, half the time is spent in a small group around a table with 7 or 8 other guys. You bring your homework and you set it on the table and others say, where do you see that in the passage? How come you didn't say anything about verse 7? And we talk to one another, and if you're not teachable, it's a pretty uncomfortable hour. But for those of us who love God's Word and try to be teachable, we want to present ourselves as those who rightly handle the Word, not being ashamed. So if you teach, if you share God's Word with another, be careful how you do that. And understand the great privilege you have. Okay, now on to the call of the prophet. The call of the prophet here in 1 Samuel 3. The Lord called Samuel. And he said, here am I. And Samuel runs out of the room. Okay. We'll get to Samuel in a second. Let me start with the Lord. The Lord calls to Samuel and Samuel runs out of the room three times. Hey, Sam, Samuel, over here. I think what we see right off the bat, and I don't want anybody to miss it, boys and girls, do you know, God is very gracious. Mom and dad, we can sometimes lose our temper. Do you think God ever loses His temper? Not in a sinful way. Sometimes He comes to the end of His patience and He says, OK, the end is coming. But He is gracious. And He's trying to reach Samuel. And then He understands that Samuel does not grasp what's going on. And I'm sure God lets this unfold, not only for Samuel's profit, but for ours, so that we can see how gracious God is in bringing someone into service as his prophets. God could have made himself very plain to Samuel with the first word. A brilliant light, a burning bush. He could have done just about anything, but he does it this way, a slow unfolding for this young person. And that's a reminder, don't rush God's revealing. He may have a plan specifically for you that he's going to make known, but it may come slowly. But here, I just want to point out his graciousness. His graciousness continues because after that third time, I think it's the Lord who takes his finger and stirs the heart of Eli. Okay, I'm going to reach out to Samuel through this man who's a mess and I'm about to judge. But Samuel respects him and trusts him. I'm going to use Eli to tell Samuel how to respond. God is graciously at work in our lives. And God can take imperfect people and teach you spiritually. I know it's hard sometimes to learn from that relative who's a fellow believer because you see the warts in their lives. You see the problems in their lives. But God can speak through imperfect people. He uses Eli. Dr. Mary Evans points out in her commentary Eli's graciousness is most certainly presented as a contrast to Saul's later attempt to do all in his power to prevent the gifted young David from taking over. Nevertheless, God uses Eli. He uses Eli to tell Samuel what to do. Later on, when Eli gets the prophecy he submits, it's the Lord's will. It's God who graciously orchestrates this call to Samuel in all these circumstances. Notice that the prophet God is calling is willing to obey. He's willing to obey. He'd never really heard God's Word before like this. He had this impression he knew someone was calling him, and he was willing to respond. He hopped up each time. It's the middle of the night. It's late in the morning. How many teenagers jumped right out of bed? Well, I don't want to stereotype all teenagers. I'm sure there's one somewhere that gets up early. Samuel is getting up. and responding quickly and obediently to the call he thinks is his master. He's willing to obey. And he also has a heart that's willing to hear. Because when he's told what to do, there's a voice that keeps speaking. Well, Samuel, this is what you say. Speak, Lord, for your servant hears. Now, just a little bit, a couple of footnotes, because I know some of you are digging deeper into the text. Did Eli know that this was the Lord himself appearing to Samuel? I'm not sure. Later on, Eli simply says, what did he say? Eli had been confronted, if you remember the previous chapter, some man of God showed up out of nowhere, we don't even know his name, and said, Eli, you're a goner. So Eli's wondering, maybe another man from God is visiting the temple or calling through the window. And he didn't know exactly what the Lord was doing, but he knew that God was in the circumstance. So he tells Samuel, Respond this way. Speak, Lord, for your servant hears. And it's capital L-O-R-D. Submit to the Lord. And that's what Samuel's willing to do. He realizes that all of a sudden he's the one on the front page. He's the one being spoken to. Not Eli. You talking to me? But he's willing. He's willing to hear. God opens his word. to those who are willing. If you're reluctant and you open your Bible and say, oh, I've got to go to work, but let me find a verse before I get in the car. What's a verse? What's a verse? Come on, let me get a verse. You're reluctant. You're just being religious. I think God's going to wait to speak until you're serious. Until you're open. Your heart is in it. Samuel had exhibited a heart for the things of the Lord for a long time. And it's at work here. So the Lord speaks to him and gives him this heavy message. Tell Eli, I'm going to do what I said I was going to do. And it's going to happen. And there's no turning back. It's concluded. Very heavy words. How does Samuel respond? Let's look thirdly at the work of the prophet here. The work of the prophet. Samuel feels the weight of the Word. Samuel feels the weight of the Word. He's quick to obey, but you know, when he hears this Word and he knows it's a message for Eli, he lies down. He's right there in his bed still. Maybe he sat up. Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears. A servant wouldn't typically come to their feet in the presence of someone. He may have stood up. And I'm not sure what to make of it. I'll just be really honest. When it said on that fourth visit in v. 10, it says, the Lord came and stood. In addition to the words, there was a manifestation. And we know in the Old Testament when the Lord manifests Himself, sometimes they call that the angel of the Lord, which means messenger of the Lord. And many times, it's a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. If God's going to appear and take shape, it's the Son of God who comes. Before His incarnation, He can appear. He's timeless. He's the beginning and the end. The Alpha and the Omega. Jesus can appear. I don't fully understand it all, but that's what I believe. And so the man, the Lord Jesus Christ appears. The Lord God appears. in that sacred room to Samuel. There's something to be seen and someone to be heard. That's all we do. And Samuel says, speak, for your servant hears. Before he speaks, he lies down. He feels the weight of the Word, that heaviness. In verse 15, Samuel lay until morning He probably only had an hour or so to feel the weight of that, but when it became morning and the duty called, he was due to fall. He rose and went to it. But I think that phrase that he laid down expresses some sort of thoughtfulness, some sort of sense of responsibility. Whoa, what do I do with this? It's often difficult for the recipient, English Standard Version Study Bible to receive God's initial revelation. Look at Moses in Exodus 4 and Isaiah in Isaiah 6. What was Isaiah's response? Whoa. I'm a man of unclean lips. How can I be here? Moses, Lord, can't you send somebody else? Samuel has that moment of heaviness. You know you've got the right guy when he fears and trembles at the Word of God, the last chapters of Isaiah. This is the one to whom I will look. He who trembles at My Word. That's Samuel. Eli had taken the Word of God rather tritely, I think. But not Samuel. He feels the weight of the Word. Delrath Davies says, Samuel's call highlights the burden, pressure, conflict, and pain of the Word. Sometimes I wish I could convey that to you on a Sunday night. A lot of simple ways to slap together an outline and go to bed early. Or put on a game. But if you tremble before God's Word, it's the audience of one that concerns you the most. Burn the midnight oil. Stay up and get it right. He who teaches will behold to a higher count. I pray that I never forget that. He feels the weight of the Word. I also see here that he has compassion for others. What does that phrase mean when it says Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli? What kind of fear is that? Did he have any reason to think that Eli would harm him? No. No, that's his sons. His sons were the wild guys. He loved Eli. He served Eli. He saw the man's weaknesses. He probably didn't know the previous testimony that the Lord was judging him. And so this comes as a huge shock. Your mentor, your stepfather in the faith, so to speak, your parents are gone. This is Eli. I'm going to judge him. And there's no turning back. I think Samuel's afraid to tell Eli because of his heart of compassion. It's hard to tell someone they're wrong. It's hard to tell someone they have sinned and hurt someone badly. Can you imagine what it's like to tell your spiritual mentor he has sinned against God? I think he feels compassion here. I think there are parallels with other characters in the Bible. Perhaps one illustration will help you. Do you know how Paul writes in Romans chapter 9? Yes, Romans 9 gets into some deep theology, for sure. But it starts because Paul has this heartache for his fellow pinsmen, the Jews. He has a message to say, you guys are out of step with Jehovah. You've missed the Messiah. God is going to write you off and He's going to graft in all these Gentiles. The people you think are dogs. You guys have blown it. Listen to how Paul feels about his people as Romans 9 begins. I opened the Acts 9, sorry. I won't paraphrase it. But Paul writes to the Romans and bears his heart. Here's what he says. I'm speaking the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. But it is not as though the Word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel. Samuel feels the weight of the Word. Samuel has compassion. Paul had compassion. His heart was in it. I long for you to understand God's Word even as I long for me to understand God's Word. And that includes bringing the hard things to you. It is easy to stand as a preacher and to make people feel guilty. It's a little harder to get them to see their need for repentance and the good that's beyond that. I hope preachers don't make people feel guilty just to get the power rush, but because of why it matters. that we can step through that guilt into repentance and joy once again. Dale Ralph Davis, a preacher I thoroughly enjoy. I've met him. He's so succinct. And here he puts my feet to the fire as a preacher. He said this, if a preacher never places before you, never places you under the criticism of God's word, never tells you your own sin, but only smothers you with comfort, you must wonder if he's a phony. Yeah, the preacher never touches where it hurts, or unmasks the infection of sin, or prescribes the treatment that might sting. Preachers are to comfort the afflicted, but they're also to afflict the comfortable, if that's called for. They've got to get that right. So the work of the prophet, he feels the weight of the world. Word. He has compassion for others. And then he faithfully handles the Word. He wasn't about to tell Eli right away, but Eli asks, what do you hear? Tell me all and tell me all or it's all going to be on you. So he puts young Samuel under a curse. He has to tell. And Eli's made it easy for him to tell. And he tells it all. Isn't that what the Scripture tells us? Verse 18. So Samuel told him everything. and hid nothing from Him. He didn't soften it. He didn't mince words. Oh, how'd it go last night? Fine. Did you hear from somebody? Yep. He laid it out. He laid it out. With the conviction we would later see in the prophet Nathan who took his finger at the chest of David and said, Thou art the man. A prophet is faithful in handling the Word. Samuel's already learned, says Dr. Baldwin, Samuel's already learned that his words will not always be easy either for him to speak or for his hearers to receive, but Samuel will continue to deliver God's message without fear of consequences. And he will help establish the rule of God's Word in the land. He's a worthy young man. faithful with the Word. Are we faithful? Paul writes to Timothy in one of his epistles, the pastoral epistles, the apostle writing to the pastor, and gives him a lot of explicit direction. In 2 Timothy 2, there's a beautiful phrase telling Timothy to work especially with faithful and teachable men. Do you know it? 2 Samuel 2. My page is not turning. He says, and what you have heard from me in the presence of witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Faithful. You don't want just somebody to listen to you. A lot of us are good listeners, and then we walk away. You want to find someone faithful who's going to learn and then pass along. And further, Paul writes to Timothy 2 Timothy 2 verse 15, do yourself to present yourself as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed. You need to be faithful and to work with faithful men. And that's what happens. Samuel tells Eli the whole thing. Samuel's not responsible for enforcing the Word of God. It will happen. Samuel's responsible for telling the Word of God. Not softening the blow. Fudging? Leaving out? Part of the Gospel? He tells it all. And Samuel grew and became established in the land. It says from Dan to Beersheba. Pull out your little maps. Tell yourself that's from the north to the south. The fullness of the land. That is a great word of encouragement and hope. When God's Word comes and people handle it faithfully, others are going to be blessed. Samuel grows, but it's for the good of God's people. When a pastor is faithful in his pulpit, whether here or there, the people are encouraged and God's Word is the authority in the land. Do you see how that's worded in the end? The Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the Word of the Lord. It's not that Samuel's becoming big by his natural gifts or his personal charisma or his social media advancement team. It's the Word of God that God uses to make himself great. Three exhortations as we wrap up this morning in the form of a question. Number one. Do you believe God's Word? Do you believe God's Word? You've heard today that's how God's going to bring change, through His Word. That's how He changes churches. That's how He changes countries. That's how He accomplishes His purposes in the world, through His Word. We all love what Isaiah says in Isaiah 55. We have a portion of that in the front of our bulletin each and every week so people would understand God's offer of salvation. Seek the Lord while He may be found. But it's Isaiah 55 that also talks about God's Word. So shall My Word be which goes forth out of My mouth. It shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing which I send it. God's Word will never fail. Sometimes it's mission is simply to confirm someone in their sinfulness, in their hardness. Oftentimes it comes to provoke repentance. Sometimes it comes to strengthen faith or embolden a witness. God's Word is the instrument of the kingdom. Do you believe it? Is it precious to you? Do you feel the hunger pains when you don't have God's Word? You miss your devotions by the end of the day. Can you tell something's missing? I made the mistake of leaving out my most important allergy pill the other day. And you wake up and my eyes are all... All it is, I forgot that one little pill. I like that pill. It's very helpful. I'm not so sure about the other ones. But God's Word, do you believe it? Do you hunger for it? Let me ask you further a similar question. Do you trust God's Word? It's a deeper question. You believe it, but do you entrust yourself to it? Is God's Word sufficient? Or do I need other stuff? Is God's Word effective? Will it work? I think those are some of the questions we need to ask. And not by the sermons of modernity that tell you if you buy these gadgets or do these things or adopt the political correct language that your life is going to be better. I would suggest that walking in the light of God's Word is the best way not to stumble. Trust God's Word. Psalm 19. Verse 11, which talks about the glories of God's Word, says, Moreover, by Your Word Your servant is warned. In keeping them, there is great reward. Psalm 19. Final question this morning is very important. Do you share God's Word? Do you share God's Word? There is a darkness about us. God has awakened you. You may not be Martin Luther. You may not be John Calvin. But in your own little way, you can be like Johannes Gutenberg. Do you remember Johannes Gutenberg? Have you heard of the Gutenberg Bible? That's famous because Gutenberg created the modern printing press. He was a former goldsmith, and he used his understanding of metallurgy to create better typeface so that when you made impressions, you could do it multiple times, multiple times. You could have a press that worked faster and made many more copies from one original. The Gutenberg Press. And this is the mid-1400s. And he had a partner in business who was a specialist in paper. I love it. A marriage made in heaven. I don't know their spiritual background, but the Gutenberg Press was ready when those 95 theses needed to be shared. Or when the sermons about grace alone and faith alone, the sermons about the authority of the Word, even if the Pope said you could buy your way out of hell, the authority of God's Word was able to be multiplied through that printing press, through a vocational printer who did his work. Do you share? You don't have a printing press. Some of you have a smartphone. Some of you are very much engaged in social media. But you know what? Those phones also have another button that says you can actually call someone to have a voice conversation. You can spread the word. You can say something. You can share something. We're big on panic and police. See something, share something. You see sin. You see someone groping in the darkness. Light a light for them. Say, hey. It looks like you're struggling today. How can I pray for you? Or you can say, call on the name of the Lord. God hears those who call on Him. You can encourage someone. You can use a Scripture. You need to share God's Word. I didn't say, will you share it? Because I think we all will. We all have a mindset, yeah, I would do that. No. Do you? Because a lot of us don't. Do or don't. What's it going to be? May the Lord stir us to continue the reformation work. To make the Gospel plain. Soli Deo Gloria. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word to young Samuel and the Bible account of it. We thank You for Your mercy and Your patience with him and with us. Father, we're not always faithful handlers. We're sometimes too timid. Our compassion sometimes keeps us from speaking because we think it spares the feelings of someone. Father, help us to be Christ-like and compassionate in every word that comes out of our mouths, but may we be faithful with the truth. May we speak the truth in love very carefully, very clearly, in the right setting at the right time to your glory. Father, continue your work. Our land needs your word. Brighten the lamps, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.