The Bible says in 1st Samuel chapter number 2 verse 1 and Hannah prayed and said my heart rejoices in the Lord My horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies because I rejoice in my salvation There is none holy as the Lord for there is none beside thee neither. Is there any rock like our God? Talk no more exceeding I talk no more So exceeding proudly let not arrogance he come out of your mouth. I For the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him, actions are weighed. And that's what I want to preach on this morning. By Him, actions are weighed. You know what God's interested in? Your actions. You know what God looks at? He's weighing your actions. And I believe there's some things here in Miss Hannah's life, Lord, that she did that help us, amen, in our life, amen. I believe if we exercise the same thing, I believe we can bring some honor to God, amen, and be pleasing to the Lord. Not only pleasing to the Lord, but I'll tell you what, just like that verse says, do those things that are pleasing in His sight. You know, if God's looking at your life, one of the things He's looking at, and I know the Bible talks about how that You know, the Lord keeps track of our words, our idle words, and whatnot. But also, I believe the Lord a lot of time, He's paying attention to what you say, and if you keep what you say. Amen. Because a lot of times today, we live in a world where they say talking is cheap. You get to the point where you say certain things, and then it just, you don't back it up, you don't stick with it, it don't mean anything. And I mean, I didn't live in the days when a man's word was his bond. I didn't live in those days. Some of you did. You grew up in those times and you understand what it was when a man said something, he was just going to do it. The day I grew up, that's not the way things are. It ain't like that anymore. I mean, today the people, what I always kind of make the joke is about how folks say this, you know, Lord willing. It's kind of their spiritual loophole to get out of stuff, amen. They'll say, I'll do this and I'll be there, Lord willing. But that's just kind of their spiritual loophole to get out of something, amen. And so I don't know about you, but this verse right here, this phrase, what caught my attention, actions are weighed. The Lord is weighing your actions. He's checking out what you said. Amen, and I wrote down some things and hopefully it'll be a help to you. Let's go, Lord, in prayer. Thank you, Lord, for this time. I pray your blessing on, Lord, the rest of this service. Lord, sure good spirit this morning, and thank you, Lord God, for our brother here, Lord God. And I pray you bless him, his ministry following all that he does for you, Lord. And God, I pray now that you bless this time around your word, Lord God, and shut us in every care, worry, and distraction. And fill me your spirit, Lord, and give me the right words to say. Lord, I want to be a help. here and I pray God that you get the honor and glory out of this in Jesus name I pray amen by him actions are weighed God is weighing your actions and and I believe this year that a lot of times God rewards those actions We can say things to the Lord, Lord, I'm gonna do this. But then when you follow through with it, I believe the Lord is honored by that, amen. And the Lord a lot of times looks at your life and man, those actions that he do, my God rewards those things. And let's get a look at this thing here about Hannah. What things did she do that got God's attention, amen? What things did she do that man, when God weighed her actions, what did God look at in her life? And I want to point out some of those things this morning. First of all, I want to say this here about Hannah. I believe this here. Number one is that she was loyal without having anything at all. She was loyal without having anything. Say, what do you mean by that? The Bible describes Hannah as a woman that was barren. She didn't have any children, but yet she was married to a man who had two wives. And this other woman that he was married to, this other woman says about her that she had other children. She had daughters and sons. Yet, I don't know how frustrating that would be, but I'll tell you what, man, this woman who had a desire to be a mother, I don't think she just married this man just to be his wife. I think she married him to have children, and that was her desire. That's something that she wanted. Amen. She expected to have children down the road. She expected to raise a family. She expected to be a mother, but she didn't have that. And she every day she had to get up and on the other side she calls the adversary There's another woman that uh had children and men it would bother her not only was she had a woman that had Children and she didn't have any but she had a husband who had divided affections. Amen See that man was disobeying the scripture. The scripture said this here. No man can serve two masters But anyway, he had to amen And anyway, I mean she had a husband with divided affection And every day she would compete for his affection. And yet at the same time, she had to divide her time with somebody else up there. Not only that, but I mean, there was all these things you do. The Bible says she had gone up yearly to the temple. They went up there every year and she ate and made an effort sacrificing, did all these things. You know what? She did not have a child. She did not have anything. She did not have what she desired. She did not have what she prayed. And she did not get what she wanted. But you know what you find out about her? She was loyal without having anything. When God weighed her actions, He looked at her and saw a woman that did not need to have everything in her life. He saw a woman that didn't have to have her way, that didn't have to get what she wanted all the time. He saw a woman here that didn't need to be bribed. You know what? She's going to be loyal. She's going to be faithful. She's going to stick with it without having what she needed in her life. Amen. I'll tell you what this morning. You know what our actions today to God we can say Lord. I'm gonna be there for you I'm gonna do this, but you know what a lot of times people the only reason that they're faithful They're loyal because of some benefits or some blessings and some good things that come in their life I'll tell you what this morning man. Let your actions show to God. You're gonna be loyal. You're gonna be faithful with or without anything Yes, I like to sing the song I have been blessed and God is good to me, but I'll tell you what I'd like I want to be faithful to him regardless Amen, I mean God don't have to bless and bribe me to follow him. I want to follow him regardless That was that was uh, that was Hannah here Hannah the Bible says about her she didn't have anything but she was low anyway Yeah, we live in a day and age of spoiled brats Amen. I mean, they got children they're raising, giving everything, and I tell people, I said, man, make it a good practice to tell your children no every now and then. Even when you want to tell them yes, just tell them no. Amen. I know this is the South, and I've been around the Southern folks a lot, and it's really easy for them to tell their kids yes to everything. Amen. Especially grandchildren, isn't it? If I get on that one, that'd be sacred cow, he'd kill the whole meeting right there. But anyway, nonetheless, I'll tell you what, today, we don't, you know what, this woman here, she didn't have everything, but she was loyal. Loyal to her husband, faithful to go yearly, faithful to do whatever, you know why? Because man, by her, she was showing her action, was showing to God, I'm still faithful, I don't need everything. You know, today, like I said, we look for all the good. Well, as long as the Lord blesses and as long as the Lord does this for me, why does it matter? I should be faithful anyway. Young people here make up your mind. You can be faithful to church regardless Man, you may not get everything you want in life You may not get man the the best of life the best job or the best of anything You may not get everything the way you wanted it man in your mind You may have your whole life planned out and this is what I want from the Lord This is how I want to serve God. This is where I want to serve God This is how I want it your whole life may be planned out in your mind and it may not work out that way Let me encourage you something this morning, man. Just be faithful to God regardless It may not work out the way you wanted it may fall through it may fall apart, but be loyal be faithful Be dependable be someone that can be counted on and so you know what it doesn't matter man If there's a bribe if it doesn't matter if there's a blessing involved it doesn't matter if I get my way I'm gonna be faithful She was loyal without anything Not only that, I want you to see another thing about her actions here. Number two, she not only was low without enmity, but number two, she leaned upon the Lord for her provision. The Bible says there, the Bible says she rose up and she went over there and she began to pray and verse 10 and 11, she wept under the Lord's sword, she vowed a vow. And she said, Lord, if you give me this, then I'll give it back to you. You know what I see right there? She leaned upon the Lord for her provision. I want to encourage, you know what's been a blessing in the work of God to me through the years growing up in Christianity? Is learning to lean upon the Lord for what I need. You know, as a young man, man, I mean, as a child in the house, man, my parents provide everything I needed. Thank God for that. Amen. I thank God for my dad who worked hard so that me and my sisters, man, we could have a lot of things, amen. I know there's a lot of times that they did without so we could have something, man, so we could have nice clothes, so we could have school, clothes to go back to school in so that we could have, man, certain things, and amen, and I'm thankful for that, amen. I'm thankful for the food that, man, my mom cooked, amen. I'm thankful for, man, the house that my dad built us, and I'm grateful for all that, amen. Man, as I became an older man and started serving the Lord, man, I learned, man, to pray about things. And man, you know, it was a blessing. God began to provide things that I needed in my life. And now I begin to pray over specific things that God would provide. And it was just kind of things not really major, but man, to me it was major. Lord, I'm looking for a job, Lord God, and I'd like to have a job that, Lord, I don't have to miss church. Man, next thing you know, you end up with a job. And then next thing you know, just small things like that. And then getting into the ministry, working in the ministry. Man, being called to preach. And then from there, Lord, would you provide this? And then to see the Lord provide a little bit of this. And then those things just grow through the life of Christianity. Man, I mean, you get in the church there, Lord, we could use this, Lord God, and then, man, after having a family, Lord, could you provide this? And through the years, asking the Lord for more, and you know what's been a blessing there, man? Lord, I'm learning to trust in you. I appreciate using my parents, I appreciate using the pastor, I appreciate using the church, but Lord, ultimately, it's not just them, Lord God, it's you, you're the one that's providing. You have multiple sources that you give to me through Lord, and I just want to say thank you Hey, man, I this woman here Hannah man. She went to the Lord. She learned to lean upon him for her provisions She said men Lord if there any if I'm gonna ever get anything, it's not my husband. Don't give it to me It's not the doctors gonna give it to me Lord. It's you the one who give it to me. I You young people, man, learn that this week, man. It's good to have good parents. It's good to have parents, grandparents that got money in their pocket. But ultimately, man, let it be the God of heaven tonight. Let it be the God tonight that created the universe that will provide for you. Learn to trust in Him. Because when the money runs out and when the family's gone and there's no one else behind you, I'll tell you what, God will still be there. God will never, man, come up short. God will never, man, take back. And I'm thankful today. God is always going to be there for us. Amen. You young people, learn, man, to put that faith and take it out of, man, just other people and put it into the God of heaven this morning. Man, God will always come through for you. I haven't completely lived that verse, but I'm in the process of living the verse. And the process of that verse is this, I have been young, now I'm old, and yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread? Yeah, young people, let me tell you something. Those of you that grew up in church around here, let me tell you something. I was young, and I seen how God took care of my dad. I seen how God took care of them older Christians and them older preachers. But I'm here to tell you something. Man, by 41 years old next month, I tell you what, I have not seen God forsake us. I haven't seen the righteous be forsaken. I haven't seen to have to beg anywhere. God has come through, not only for them. He's come through for me. God has provided immediate time. That's the God you serve, the God that our grandparents and our parents served, and that the God that had been provided for them, the God that answered their prayers. That's the God that we have. And if we're gonna go forward as a church here, man, that's the God we're gonna trust. God, Lord, you provide for us. Lord God, I don't care where it comes from. I don't care who you use. God, I'm praying that you provide it. You be the source. I'll tell you what, man, that's where Hannah did. My Bible says her actions were weighed. And her actions were that, you know what? I'm not just depending on this husband. Amen. Amen. You know, he probably could have been insensitive, kind of a jerk type of person. You know what he said to her? He said, am I burying you in 10 sons? Amen. I mean, just some of the things he said there, man, you kind of get the idea that he might not have really been into this thing. He could have, man, she said, I need a son. Can you pray over me? He said, man, it ain't me. You know, look at this woman right here. She's got several kids. It ain't me. You know how guys are, amen or amen? We say dumb things all the time. Sometimes we say a dumb thing just to aggravate the other person, amen? We know it's going to aggravate them and get them irritated, but we'll say it anyway. But you know what she said? It ain't going to be him, it's going to be God. Don't you see she's not only loyal without having anything, but also don't you see she leaned upon the Lord for a provision. Then number three, notice here how she left her burden with the Lord. Verse 18, the Bible says, she got to praying there from verse 10, and she had that conversation with Eli there, and Bible's read going down there, going back and forth. And then notice down there in verse number 18, and she said, let thy handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, did eat, and notice there, her countenance was no more sad. That's right. Amen. Up until that point, she was burdened. Up until that point, she was bothered. But right now, you know what she did? She left her burden with the Lord. What do her actions show her? Do the actions show to her from here on out? You know what? I'm not going to care of this no more. It's not going to bother me. I ain't going to worry about it. I'm leaving it with the Lord from here on out. How many times we bring something to God and then we pick it right back up and carry it again. This week, man, we come and, Lord, help me with this, help me with that. Then we get right up and then we go back and we carry it right back to our seat, carry it right back out to our car, carry it right back to the house, carry it right back home with our family, carry it right back everywhere else in our life. You say, well, it just don't seem like, man, I got nothing out of preaching this week. You know why? Because you didn't leave it with him. Hannah here, man, she, there was one day, Bible says she yearly went up there. So it wasn't just a one time thing, man, there was times, and one time she just got tired, I don't know if she got tired or sick of it, or one time she just said, no more from here on out. But one time she got a hold of God and left it there with Him. And when she went back, the Bible says she was no more sad. No more was she going to worry about it. No more was she going to ponder. No more was she going to be all burned up with it. She said, Lord, this is with You. And if anything is going to happen, it's with You from here on out. God, I'm putting it in Your hand. You know what I found out? There's some things you just have to leave with the Lord. There's something in this life that you can do nothing about. And for those of us men here, you know what, man, we get real frustrated when we can't fix something. Amen. As men, man, we, men, we're kind of, I guess we're fixers. We like to fix things. You know, the lady will tell us, you know, this, this, that, and the other problem. Then I say, here, let me fix it. No, I just want to tell you. No, I just don't want to hear. I want to fix it. We just like to fix things. Church members come. Preacher, can we talk to you? Well, let me fix it. Kids come to you, pray, my dad, this is how this is. And what do you tell them? Let's fix it. Men at work, let's fix it. Let's figure out how to fix it. That's all we do. And you know, we invent problems to fix too. Amen. And there's some of you real good at inventing problems, amen. But you hadn't invented no solution, but you invented a lot of them, amen. You said, there's a line with that. We should be slaying the streets. We don't know if there's a line, but you said there's one. There's no, wasn't it, they say the slothful man said there's a line without which I shall be slain in the street. Now you have no proof there's a line out there. You just invented one. But you know what? I think a lot of times we're so used to fixing things, you know what we don't, what's hard for us to do? Just take something and then put it in God's hand and leave it with Him. That's not our nature. There's things we want to have a solution, we want to have a hand in fixing it. I learned years ago, you know, God will let you fix a lot of things. He'll let you. And then you wonder why, man, why is God blessing them folks? A lot of things those folks do, they just put it in God's hand. I learned, if you're going to last in the Christian life, if you're going to last, not burn out, you got to take a lot of that and just put it on God and say, Lord, you have to act upon it. Because if you don't, then I don't know what I can do about it. I can sit there and fret over it all night long. Or Lord, I can put it in God's hand and then get up and be no more sad. Amen. Some people today, like I said, I think they like to be in that perpetual sadness. Maybe because of the pity they get or the attention that garners them or whatever. They like that. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be sad all the time. Amen. I don't want to be pessimistic all the time. Every now and then I'd like to expect a pony. Amen. If you weren't here that night, you need to get that and understand that thought there. Tell you what, man, there's some time and we just got to leave our burden Lord and you'll know you leave it because it changes your account. That verse says it right there, verse 18. The Bible says her countenance was no more sad. Everybody around her knew that, man, something was different. Why? Because she said, I'm no longer going to be a part of my life. It's not going to plague me. I'm not going to worry about it. Give it to God. I'm going to put it in His hands, my faith, and God acts upon it. Amen. If He doesn't, amen. Either way, it's out of my hands. I'll tell you what sin you're struggling with, you got to do the same. Man, if you're struggling with sin this morning, there's some of them things, man, you've got the foot of God's hand and God's gonna take it out of your heart, take it out of your mind. And man, you'll get some victory over it. And I want to encourage you, you're struggling with stuff, man, don't give up on it. Well, I'm just gonna pray once over this thing. It's a battle, it ain't a one-time thing. You say, oh, I just, I'm so frustrated by going to altar over the same thing. I'll tell you what, man, go as many times as you feel you need to. Go yearly to the feast every year. But I'll tell you what, there should be one day where you get up and walk away and say, that ain't gonna bother me no more. Amen. That ain't gonna bother me, ain't gonna get the best of me. And then man, you know what? Man, you know what's a blessing? Down the road, you go back and look at it and say, man, that thing has not bothered me in a long time. I thank God for that. Amen. Praise the Lord, man, that ain't even part of my life no more. Amen. She left her burden with the Lord. Number four, I want you to see something else, another part of her actions here. Notice here, number four, she loaned to him what she loved. In verse number 28, the Bible says this, Therefore also I lent to him the Lord, lent him to the Lord as long as he lived, and he shall be lent to the Lord, and he will worship the Lord there. By him actions are weighed. The actions of Hannah, what did she do? She loaned to the Lord, she loaned to him what she loved. I mean, I don't know about you, but man, that's, that would be something very difficult. Man, anyone's ever struggled with having children that you can look at that and understand that and understand the way that some of us can't and say, my goodness, something you love and want it so bad. Now you just turn right around and give it back to God. She loaned the Lord what she loved. You know, I found out, I found out that's how you keep things. I found out in the Christian life, that's not how you keep things, but also that's how you strengthen things. That's how things are preserved. You give the Lord and say, Lord, you have to do that. Now, I mean, Lord, this is for you from here on out. My life is yours. Amen. What are you giving him, man? I'm Lord, I'm loaning it all to you here. Amen. Lord is from here on out. It's yours. And this is something I really genuinely love and appreciate and I like and The Lord God, I want you to know how much I value you because of all the value I place on this, I'm putting it on you now. See, we can tell the Lord how much we love Him and how much we enjoy Him, but what have you let go to the Lord? See, man, this was something that she bore. This is something that she raised. This is something she nurtured. This is something she, man, dressed. This is something, man, she took care of for a few years. It might have been one thing, day of birth, to kind of give him up like some folks do for adoption and whatnot. That might have been one thing, but man, to have that for, I don't know, four or five years, two, three years, I don't know how long it was, but you know there's years involved there? And I mean, days going by, I mean, man, at least a thousand plus days, a thousand plus mornings waking up that child. A thousand plus mornings dressing the child. a thousand plus mornings, man, enjoying that child, that day, and then, man, I mean, telling stories, teaching it to talk, to walk, and teaching it everything, and then all that time invested, all that good chunk of your love and emotion put on there. And one day, you have to walk that child up there to the temple, I mean, the tabernacle, excuse me, and then let go of what you love and say, Lord, I'm here now to be yours. I don't know about you, daddy. That would not be easy. You know, I was reading my Bible this morning in Luke chapter 8. It always catches me now. Maybe it comes to you different, but it always comes to me different. That verse there where Simon and where the Lord is in Simon's house and that woman comes and breaks her box in the Lord and talks about there and the Lord says to whom little is forgiven the same loveth little. You know, you read that portion there. I kind of think of it that way, man. You know, we got saved younger. I grew up around church, man. We didn't build up a credit or a debt of sin like some of you folks that got saved in the 20s and 30s and 40s. We didn't build up a long list of sin like y'all did. And maybe there is something to that about having a hard time loving God. I know I struggled with that growing up. And that was something I always prayed for. Lord, let me fall in love with you. And I always, in a way, in my heart, I kind of, maybe not, I don't know if the right word is envy, but my dad, my dad and Brother Charlie and these older men of God, I kind of envied their love of God, because they loved God in a way that I can't. I'm like, man, Lord, they love you for all that sin you saved them out of. And the way it frustrated me, because I'm thinking, Lord, So, Bro. Mark said, we were saved out of dirty diapers or something, man, that's what we were saved from. And that's just kind of like, what do you mean? Our debt that we owe to the Lord, we didn't look at it being a lot. But then I began to realize, man, fall in love with God, here's a picture of that. There's things in our life, young people, that we raise, we bear, that become very valuable to us. And you know what we do with it? We take that and we give it to the Lord. And it's our way of showing God, Lord, how much I love you, Lord. Lord, this is something that is very valuable to me. Lord, I have a future of what I wanna do, where I wanna go, who I wanna be with, and Lord God, how I like my life to live out. But God, I'm gonna take all that and I'm gonna put it on you And Lord, I've loaned you my future, rest of my life, you do whatever you want with it. Lord, there's some talent you've given me, Lord God, there's some gifts you've given me, Lord God, and there's some things you give me, Lord, and I'm gonna put it all on you from here on out. Lord, help me to have that kind of love for you. She loaned, man, she loaned the Lord what she loaned. That's her actions. Her action was showing to God how much she loved her Lord. You young people, man, what have you taken that you love very dearly in your life and given to God? Amen. Something you hold valuable and high esteem. Something that's, man, to you has no price tag on. Something you say, man, you know what? I really like this. You ever just put that on God? Say, God, this is yours from here on out? God, this is something I really like, I really enjoy. And Lord, it ain't sinful, it ain't bad. It's just, it's part of my life. But God, I want to put that all on the Lord right now. Amen. That's a good way to show you that you love him. Because man, he knows the value it is and what it means to you. Amen. Man, there are certain things in my life, man, that Lord knows, man, they mean a whole lot to me. And many times I've struggled through prayer at night or Some were off by myself, God, Lord, this right here. And I'm a man, put this with you. And then I trust in you from here on out, man. And Lord, I love you, Lord God. I want Him to know. By Him, actions are weighed. Her actions showed that she loved Him. Her actions showed that she trusted Him. Her actions showed that she could leave her burden with Him. Her actions showed that she'd be faithful regardless. But last of all, let me say this here. Look at chapter number two. Hannah prayed and said, my heart rejoiced in the Lord. My horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth is enlarged over my enemies because I rejoiced in thy salvation. There is none holy as the Lord. There is none beside me. Neither is there any rock like our God. Talk no more. I mean, she gets into bragging on God. You know what her action is? Last of all, I want to say this. She loudly prays the Lord. She said, her mouth was open and large. Her horn was exalted. I mean, she's just letting it out. The world knows. Amen. Now your actions, man, every now and then, y'all just let the Lord know. Let the world know. You know, it's a blessing, man, to see people shout and praise the Lord and just enjoy God and the things of the Lord. But I mean, and we're not doing it for another, but I'm doing it for the Lord to let the Lord know, man. And let Him know how good He is, man, how much I love Him. And I just brag on Him every now and then, amen. Mark got to brag on the Lord last night, amen. I said, man, amen. Go on, go on, amen. But they showed that thing the other night, man, about he's my king. I tell you what, every time I hear it, it fires me up. And I mean, had no way how to go, man, had no predecessor, you know, have no successor. And I mean, just the things they said, man, I said, I will write all that down in somewhere, man, just get full of it and read it out, amen, somewhere, I don't know. Tell you what, man, time we can just loudly brag on our war. Why I actually tell him we love him my mouth. I want him to know I love him But also man, I want my action to show lord. God will live for you and enjoy you So once again the verse says by him actions are weighed now we say a lot of things with our mouth We should make a lot of commitments but God's over there weighing the actions and Over there, God is looking through the daily pattern of life. God is looking over the habits formed through your lifestyle. God is watching all that. And you know what he's doing? From those things, he's taking up and he's weighing them. He said, you said this, but here's your daily habits, your daily routine, and your way of life. And it's, you know, your words are a lot more than your actions. He said, because your actions ain't matching what you said. Amen. You know what I like? I like for my actions to speak a lot louder than my words. I want God to look at my daily life. I want God to go back and take the books out and go by years and examine and say, you know, your actions are showing me that you can be trusted. Your actions are showing me that you'll be faithful. Your actions show me that, man, you love me. Your actions show me that, man, you'll be there. He said, Matthew's something, man. If we was to put your actions and your words on a scale this morning, which would outweigh the other? Would actions outweigh or would it be your words that outweigh?