I think most everybody is aware that our family is buying a house, but if not, we're buying a house in Ockendenny, just at the top of the town. As you go into Ockendenny, first road on the left is Firth Road. And the house that we're buying there is to Firth Road. And God has just answered a lot of prayer for us to be able to do that. And so we're excited about that and looking forward to what God's going to do this next month as we transition to that property. But anyway, part of that is, renting, you're always wondering what if, and God knows, and if we had to continue renting, that would be fine. But what if the owner decides they want the house back or something like that, is one of the questions that we have. But another question is, why won't the landlord let me have a dog? And so now that we're buying a house that opens up a whole world of possibilities for us in the canine realm, at least the prairie dog. And so I just for fun this past week, I was looking online with different dog types and things and they have these dog surveys online and you can answer the survey. And it's kind of like those dating things, you know, find out who you're compatible with. And so it asks questions like, are you an energetic person? Obviously, if you're not energetic, you probably don't want a dog that's energetic. I'm going to ask you, do you like picking up pet hair? And I'm just curious how many people tick off, yes, I love picking up pet hair. Are you a frisbee thrower or a couch potato? Or do you like to hear a dog barking? Again, I just kind of scratch my head and go, who likes to hear a dog barking? But probably the question that is the question still in my mind is, are you really sure that you want a dog? Because that's a lot of responsibility, as Helen would attest to. But anyway, so I'm thinking about it. So I have criteria upon which I am considering what kind of dog. By the way, the dog types that that thing came up with, I looked at and I go, no, no, no, no, no. And I think I'll just kind of look at what's cute and what I like and try to find a dog. But the point is this, every time you seek to do something like that, you make decisions based upon criteria. And this morning, I wanna look at something that not, it's not something that we look for, but something that God is looking for. And the question would be this, does God have less criteria than you or I when it comes to choosing something? And I believe the answer is no. And when God's looking, in this case, for a man, He's seeking somebody to serve Him, as we'll see Samuel does. Samuel becomes a great prophet of the Lord, that as God does that, that He does so with scrutiny. He does so with an awareness. You know, the Bible says in Ezekiel 22, 30, I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it. But then as a preacher, I heard preach this message, said the four saddest words in the Bible, but I found none. Question, were there men? Yes. Why couldn't He find them? Because nobody measured up, because nobody was available, because nobody was willing to be that intercessor that would plead with God for God's people and stand in the gap against the wrath of God and coming against God's people and ask for God's mercy. As God looked, He couldn't find anybody. That's sad, but the reality is God was looking and God had scrutiny with which He was looking. 1 Corinthians 2 Chronicles 16 9, the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him. So God is again looking, and as he's looking, he's looking for somebody that has a heart that is right with God, and is perfect towards Him so that God would assist that person, meet that person's needs. And Isaiah chapter 6, the great passage where, again, another prophet of God is called into ministry, Remember, as Isaiah stands before God, he sees God high and lifted up, and he says, woe is me, for I'm undone, I'm a man of unclean lips, and mine eyes have seen the Lord. And remember, the angel does something. The angel takes tongs from off the altar, touches them symbolically to the lips of the prophet, in the symbolic purification of that man, so that when God says next, whom shall I send and who will go for us, that Isaiah can say, here am I, send me. because he's been prepared by God for that. Does that make sense? So God is looking, but God is scrutinizing. Even God's men are to look with scrutiny. In 2 Timothy 2.2, Paul told Timothy, and we're going to get to this in our study of 2 Timothy in Sunday School. But he said, the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. And so that Paul told Timothy, Timothy as you're discipling and training the church and working with the church, Timothy scrutinize and find those that are faithful to whom you can entrust the truth of God so that they can teach other people also. But you see there again, God looking God finding and the scrutiny of that. Now, why is it important that we find men? Why is it important that even today we find men? Well, it's important because of Luke 10 and verse 2, which says, the harvest truly is great, but the labors are few. Edinburgh, half a million people. Glasgow, three quarters of a million people. Scotland, 4.8 or maybe just over 5 million people. Now I think the population is the highest that it's ever been. 5.2 or something like that. How are those people going to hear about Christ? And they need to. It's because the Lord of the Harvest is needing to send men. The harvest is great, labors are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the Harvest that he send forth labors into harvest. You and I, as we come into these weeks of asking God to work in our church and different things are taking place, part of it is God raised up out of our church people that God, you can use. God, send forth laborers into your harvest field. Why again is it important? Romans 10 verse 13 says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That's awesome. That allowed me on the phone call that I spoke about earlier to say to that woman, look, anybody can get saved. Anybody, you know, your next door neighbor can get saved. You may look at somebody in this community and think there's no way they can get saved. Listen, they can get saved because whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. If that person will bow the knee before the Lord Jesus Christ and invite Jesus Christ to come into their heart and save them. You know, the Bible says that they'll be saved. That's a precious promise, isn't it? I mean, it's one of the best promises in the Word of God. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But listen, verse 14. How then shall they call on Him in whom they've not believed? How shall they believe in Him of whom they've not heard? How shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent? That takes us back to the original problem. God's looking for people that He can use to take the message of the Gospel to a world that needs it, but your neighbor's not going to believe in Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ died for them if they don't hear about it. That's what the Word of God says. So what we need, we need today, we need God working our hearts. God, call people into your work, your ministry, and God is, by the way, God is looking for people. As God looks at us this morning, as God looks at you this morning, does He find qualities which by His grace He can use for His glory? Otherwise, does He see somebody that by His grace, not of you, not of anything of you, not what you can do, but by His grace, does God see somebody He can take a hold of and say, I can use this person for my glory? And so this morning, we're in Samuel, looking at Samuel's call. And I want to just take Samuel as an example and ask the question, what did God see in this young man? What was there about Samuel that made him a great candidate for somebody to be used of God to give God's message to God's people? And let's pray, ask the Spirit of God to speak to our hearts and be considerate this morning. Let's pray. Father, I'm thankful for the opportunity that we have to study your Word. And I'd ask this morning that the Spirit of God would give guidance and grace and liberty to the Word of God as it goes forth. Paul, I challenge people to pray that the Word of God would have free course. And Father, we know Satan, he'd want the Word of God to fall to the ground. But Father, I pray it wouldn't. Father, I pray that it wouldn't be a waste of our time this morning to be in the house of God. But oh, I pray it'd be profitable. I pray, God, that you'd speak to hearts. I pray that you'd especially call forth laborers into the harvest field. Father, we need help. And I praise you for putting us here, and Lord, as a church and as a people, to reach this community and reach this area. But Father, the harvest is great. The laborers are few. And Father, there has to be a multiplication of those that would be willing servants for the Lord Jesus Christ. for the church to succeed. And so I'm asking, Father, that the Spirit of God would speak to hearts about being available and being what God you could use. And so help us to that end in this service. It's in Christ's name I pray. Amen. All right, so Samuel is our example. Samuel, by the way, is an unusual child. And he is, in our story here, he's just a child. He's maybe no older than even Chris. Chris, you're 10, right? How old are you? Nine? Okay, you're nine. Okay, Samuel might be that age. He's just a little boy in the house of God. And the way he got there was basically like this. His mom didn't have any kids. But she goes to the temple to pray, and as she's praying, Eli, the priest, looks at her and thinks she's drunk, because she's just kind of muttering. And he comes over to her and finds out, no, I'm a woman of a sorrowful spirit, and I'm not drunk. I'm just begging God to do something. And Eli says, may God grant your request. And God did. She became pregnant with Samuel. When Samuel was born, she decided because God gave her a child, she was going to give that child back to God, okay? And she does that in this way, 1 Samuel 1.25, they brought the child to Eli, the priest at the temple, the house of God, and she said, Oh my Lord, as thy soul liveth, my Lord, I'm the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord for this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition, which I asked of him. Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord, as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord." And he worshipped the Lord there. And so what she did, she brought this child Samuel to the temple to serve God in the temple. And obviously that's different than our culture, we would not expect anything like that today, but not only was it acceptable, it was God's plan. And so, she does this, so who's Eli as we read about him in the story? It's not his father, it's the priest, okay? Samuel, who's Samuel? Just a servant in the house of God. And so what is there about Samuel that made him useful to the Lord? Well, Samuel, first of all, he was a young man of conviction. Samuel had in his heart conviction. It's like that young man, Daniel. Remember Daniel, as Daniel was taken captive into Babylon, and all the other young people are eating food offered to idols. And not Daniel, Daniel looks at it and goes, I can't eat that, that was offered to idols. And he asks and gets permission finally to eat porridge instead of meat. And God blessed that, because Dan had a purpose in his heart that he would not defile himself. Well, I mean, can you imagine that today? A young person in our community saying, no, I'm not going to watch that. No, I'm not going to smoke that. No, I'm not going to drink that. No, I'm not going to go there. No, I'm not going to say that. Can you imagine? But Samuel was a young man of conviction. In chapter 2, verse 25, Eli said to his sons, and his sons were older than Samuel. But his sons were wicked. And he said to them, in chapter 2 verse 25, If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him. But if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding, they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them. On the other hand, you have Eli's own sons, and they are absolutely rebels against God. They're very wicked. In fact, the dream that Samuel's going to get at the end of our story, that we're not going to read about, as God speaks to him, is God revealing to him that God is going to judge Eli's family, and that in a day, Eli's going to lose everything. And that takes place as they go out to battle against the Philistines. Hophni and Phinehas, Eli's sons, are killed in battle. The Ark of God is taken in battle. And Eli, when he finds out about it, he's in his 90s, he falls off a wall, breaks his neck, he was sitting on the wall, falls off, breaks his neck, and dies. God's judgment came against Eli's family. But in contrast to the wickedness of these sons, the Bible says in chapter 2 verse 26, the child Samuel grew on and was in favor both with the Lord and also with men. And so he's living at the same time. Over here you got Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, and they're rebels against God. But on the other side, you've got a man of conviction, a young man, just a child that is honoring God. He's growing in favor with men and with God. Do you remember that Scottish Olympian, Eric Little? Remember him? Chariots of Fire was about him. He was Scotland's best hope in the 1924 Olympics and Britain's best hope for a gold medal. But his race was scheduled on Sunday, and what did Eric Little say? Not going to run on the Lord's Day. Again, I'd like to just stop and think about that. In our day, believers do anything on the Lord's Day. Has God changed? God hasn't changed. What's changed? Us. I mean, he took a stand. He said, no, this is God's Day. It's the first day of the week. I give God first place, and it's the Lord's Day. And no, even though it's the Olympics, and even though I'm the best hope for Britain, I'm going to honor God. He was vilified in the media. Even the king spoke against it. How could he betray his country by not running? Instead of in the 100 meter race, they put him in the 400 meter race, which wasn't his race. But he ran in it. And right before he got ready to run, one of the massage guys for their team came up to him and handed him a note. And guess what? That note had something from our story on it. because it was taken from what God said to Eli about his sons and what God also said about Samuel. And here's what God said. Wherefore, the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me forever. But now the Lord saith, be it far from me. For them that honor me, I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Okay, then that honor me, I will honor. Who's that? Samuel. Then that despise me, shall be lightly esteemed. What was given to Eric Little was that phrase, then that honor me, I will honor. And he ran that race, and he got the gold medal, and he got the world record. Okay? That's how God blessed this man. Obviously, the fact that we know Eric Little today shows that we understand that. But Little was a man of conviction. Samuel, what was Samuel? A man of conviction. This morning, as God looks at you, how's your conviction? See, Where's the generation that says, I dress like this because this honors God. I listen to this because this honors God. I watch this because this honors God. I go there or I don't go there because this honors God. Where's that generation that will stand and obey and please God no matter what? And so, he was the young man of conviction. Secondly, he was a young man of humility. He was a young man of humility. 1 Samuel chapter 2 verse 18 says, but Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child girded with a linen ephod. 1 Samuel 3 verse 1, the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli, and the word of the Lord was precious in those days. So Samuel, what's your great job? Your mom gave you to God, you're there at the temple. What's your great job? You know what my job is? I get up early and I get to the doors of the house of God before anybody else and I open them. I'm the last one there at night as the lights go out and close the doors and I'm a servant. All Samuel, was in that place was just somebody that, if something needed to be done, Eli would say, Samuel do it, and Samuel did it. It's just a servant. just a servant boy. I was preaching on something similar to this in New York City at a church that my wife and I ministered at right after we graduated from college and finished up university and grad school. We moved to New York City. And we were at a church that's on the backside of Queens in a place called Elmont. If you ever heard of Belmont Racetrack, Belmont Racetrack is right there in Elmont. I was preaching, I was back, it was on either deputation or furlough. I think it was on furlough, actually. It was just a couple of years ago. Yeah, it was. And I was preaching something about being a servant in the teen Sunday school class and how a servant doesn't care what it is. A servant just obeys orders. A servant does what needs to be done. It's not about glamour. It's not about getting a pat on the back and saying, hey, that's great. And I didn't realize as I preached that in the Sunday school hour how applicable It was going to be in the church hour, because in the church hour, we're sitting there in church, and all of a sudden, all these men are going out, and I'm like, what's going on? And it's a larger church, 160 people or so, and I saw the youth pastor. He went out too, by the way. Carl is now the pastor of the church. Anyway, another story. So they go out. After church, I found out what happened. And it was this, the sewer backed up into the toilets, and then into the hallway of the church. And these men had to go out and apply, some of the teens had to go out and apply some of the truth they just heard that day. Because a servant doesn't care what has to be done, if it has to be done, they do it. Now again, we think about how difficult it is in a lot of churches, and I praise God, our church, everyone sets up, takes down, does things that need to be done. but how hard it is to get people involved in ministry doing things that need to be done for the house of God. And so you think about, again, when God looks at me, does he see somebody that doesn't want to get their hands dirty, doesn't want to put in the time, the effort, or does he see somebody that's a servant? Remember what Jesus said? He said, he that will be greatest among you, let him be your servant. Jesus Himself didn't come, the Bible says, to be ministered unto, but to minister, right? Even the Lord. And so, what does God desire? God looks at us, He wants us to be like David, who said this, Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden look unto the hand of her mistress, so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that He have mercy upon us. What does God desire? God just desires us to be willing to say, hey, you know, if I can do something for God, that's what I want to do and be available to God. So we see that in Samuel. He was a young man of conviction. He was a young man of humility, just willing to do whatever God wanted him to do as a servant boy. And then he was a young man of submission, submission. Verse 3 says, "...and ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep." Alright, I think Samuel probably had a normal day of ministry. The Bible doesn't say it's an unusual day. Samuel had a holiday, and now it's time for him to go to sleep. No, it's just kind of a normal day that he's been working hard, and he talks about what's taking place in the temple. And so I imagine that Samuel's tired as he gets done. Then he's been looking forward to the last hour. You know, I get to go to bed in an hour. I get to go to bed in a half hour. You know, he's excited about getting into bed and laying down. And then, just as he lays down, What's he here? Samuel. Ah, you know, my voice is being called, my name's being called Samuel. And he gets up, and this is where you see his submission. His submission is with discipline. Verse 4. The Lord called Samuel, and he answered. And he doesn't know it's the Lord at this point. He thinks it's Eli, but he says, here am I. And we're going to find that he gets out of bed and takes off. Here am I. Are you one of those people that when you go to bed, I mean, it's going to take like an army or an elephant or something to get you out of bed? You get all cozy, and then you remember, oh, I forgot to do this. How hard is it for you to get up? The other night, Actually, since I wrote this message, I actually texted my wife. I already got in bed. Can you please check the doors, make sure they're locked? That's my job. It's a hard thing, isn't it? for us to get ourselves out of bed when there's something that needs to be done. And so we see the submissiveness of Samuel. He's not lazy. God wants him to do something. He's not going to stay in his bed and listen. If God wants you to get up and pray, are you going to get up and pray? If God wants you to get up and get to church, are you going to get up and get to church? If God wants you to do something, and I'm not just talking about when you're laying in bed, What's it going to take to get you to do it, if God wants you to do it? And so Samuel, he knows he's to obey his authority. Authority says, hey, and Samuel's getting up. So it's with discipline, but it's with immediacy as well. Samuel submitted with immediacy. Verse 5 says, And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I, for thou callest me. And Eli said, I called not, lie down again. And he went and laid down. But notice he didn't delay. Kids, can you imagine this? Mom or dad said, hey, come here. And you're like. You're running. That's incredible, isn't it? Especially in our day. Think about it. You've got to coax kids. Come on. If you don't, 10, 9, 8, 7. You've all heard it. Hopefully not in our families. That's hard. All Eli, well, Eli didn't. God did. But all he did was call his name. And Sam has got his running shoes on. He's like, I'm there, you know, he's going to get there immediately. There's a song, a Pastor Pirate song, that he's a children's ministry that does these stories and things. But he has a song that says this, to delay is to disobey. When God says, do this, and we sit on our hands and we say, not yet. You know what that is? It's disobedience, isn't it? And so what do we see about Samuel? Samuel's like, man, I got my running shoes on. That's what David said. I will run the way of thy commandments when thou shalt enlarge my heart. It's this today. If the Spirit of God spoke to your heart and said, I want you to do this, how long would it take you to do it? Because when God found a man in Samuel, he found somebody that when he obeyed, he obeyed with immediacy. He obeyed right away. Then he obeyed with consistence. Verse 6 and 7 says the Lord called yet again. Remember, he got back in bed. Eli said, it wasn't me. Go lay down. I didn't call you. And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel rose and went to Eli and said, here am I, for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not my son. Lie down again. Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. Now Samuel, again, he's just gotten back in bed. You know, Eli didn't call me. He's laying back down to sleep, and he's thinking to himself, maybe I'm hearing things. You know, I was going to sleep, and I heard Samuel, you know. He's wondering about that, and then he hears Samuel, and he's like, Samuel it's like no, I definitely heard my name called gets out of bed gets to Eli again That's consistency, you know as he's doing that he's gonna not stop here In obey, you know obedience is not one-off and that's good enough and that's me done. I'm an obedient person Obedience is again and again and again and again. It's consistency, isn't it? You know, it's not the case here, but what if Eli wasn't a good priest? And maybe Sam thought Eli's testimony or something, but what if Eli was not a good priest? honorable and was just being mean to Samuel. Just to be mean. What if it was something like that? You know that Samuel should have obeyed Him anyway? And you may have a situation in your life where you think, I can't obey because my authority is messed up. My authority is rude, they're unkind. Okay, so I can't submit to that authority that God's given to me in my life because of them. You know what the Bible says about that? It says in 1 Peter 2 verse 18, servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the forward. For this is thankworthy if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if when you be buffeted for your faults, you shall take it patiently? But if when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. All right, what's it saying? It's saying, if I've got a boss that's no good, but I still submit to that boss, I still obey that boss because I'm honoring God, that God says that is thankworthy. So, Samuel, his obedience is consistent despite the fact that it seems like Eli's off his rocker, what's going on? He's calling me and then he's saying, I'm not calling you, and it's like a yo-yo, and he's going back to bed. And so he obeyed with consistence, and then he obeyed with confidence. It says, And the Lord called Samuel again the third time, and he arose and went to Eli, and he said, Here am I, for thou didst call me. Now, he's just a child, but he's very confident, isn't he? I mean, he comes, he looks Eli in the eye, if he can see him, it's dark. Eli, I know you called me. He's so confident. You know, that's a wonderful thing in a young person, and I want to encourage our young people to emulate this. I really believe there was eye contact on the part of Samuel. That he's looking Eli in the eye and saying, Eli, I know you called me. You know, it's a very good thing in our day when you have a young person that's confident and obedient, that can look you in the eye and say, you know, they're just there with you in what you're trying to instruct them in. And so that's Samuel. Samuel is a young man of submission. He's got discipline, immediacy, confidence, and consistence. And think about, I mean, if you had that on your CV today, what a great thing that would be. And so God saw that in Samuel. Then he was a young man of favor. It says in verse 8, And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go lie down, and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Oh, it's been a yo-yo, hasn't it? Out of bed, back in bed, out of bed, back in bed, out of bed. Finally, he's there before Eli. He says, Eli, I know, I know you called me. Then Eli looks at him and goes, I know what's going on. It's God. God's rejected my kids, and God has chosen Samuel. And so, Eli perceives that there is a spiritual work that God is doing in this young man's heart, that at this point, Samuel doesn't even understand. Do you see that? The spiritual authority understands. It's God. God's calling you. You know, John Knox, you may not know this about John Knox, Because you think of John Knox, you think of a strong man that was fearless. Queen Mary said that she feared the prayers of John Knox more than invading armies. And you think, ah, brave man. Well, he was in St. Andrews when he was called to the gospel ministry. And the story is, Knox displayed an initial reluctance to enter the Christian ministry. And after receiving the pastoral call from the congregation, Knox burst forth into tears and withdrew from society for several days. The scene, says Thomas McCree, will be extremely interesting to such as are impressed with the weight of ministerial function and will naturally awaken a train of feeling in the heart of those who have been entrusted with the gospel. It revives the memory of those early days of the church when persons did not rush forward to the altar nor beg to be put into one of the priest's offices, when men of piety and talents deeply affected with the awful responsibility of the office, and with their own insufficiency, were with great difficulty induced to take on them those orders which they had long desired, and for which they labored to qualify themselves." All right, that's maybe some difficult things, but basically this, the congregation understood, as they looked at John Knox, John Knox is exactly who God desires to lead our congregation. John Knox, as he looked at himself, he didn't see it right then. although he would accept the responsibility that God had given to him. Does that make sense? There's times spiritually where somebody in spiritual authority will look at a young man or young lady and say, God's doing something. God has something there. And maybe understand the goodness of God at work in the heart of that person. I had a young man like that that God put into our church in Michigan that I had the privilege of discipling. I was like, wow, God is doing something significant in this young man's life. And I'm looking at it and saying, God has called him to preach. And within a couple of years, he was, as a layperson, preaching in this church. God did that. But I recognize that. I saw that. If God calls you to ministry, and I'm speaking to young people primarily, it's one of the greatest privileges there is. C. H. Spurgeon said, if God has called you to his servant, why stoop to be a king? See, I don't want to resign what God's called me to do to be the president. You might think, well, who would want to be the president anyway? There's nothing that, by God's grace, I envy and I think, oh, I wish I could do that. I'm so pleased to be doing what God's called me to do. Anybody that has the privilege of standing up and sharing the Word of God understands what a privilege it is to do what God's called them to do. And so we look at Samuel, he's a young man of favor because God is favoring him with his call. And so that's a privilege. And again, it could be something that you have as you make yourself available to God. But there's a young man of attention, all right? And verse 10, It says, and the Lord came and stood, and called as at other times. He says, Samuel, Samuel, then Samuel answered, speak, for thy servant heareth. All right, who's he talking to this time? He's not running to Eli. He just looks at God and says, God, I've never heard you before. Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. He's never had that relationship with God before, but when it's established, he's ready to listen to God. I was convicted of this. I thought about my Bible reading and my time in the Word of God and my heart before God. Are you somebody to whom God can speak? See, now, if you're in rebellion against God and you're keeping things in your life that you know dishonor God, displace God, you can't honestly say, speak, Lord, for thy servant here. You'd have to say, don't speak, Lord, because I will not listen. To be somebody like that, you gotta have an open heart to God and say, God, whatever, God, you want me to do, however you're speaking to my heart, God, I've got my ears on. It's what Jesus said as he'd preach, and everybody there needed the message. They all needed to respond, but he said this, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And so it would be that way today. I mean, you could listen to this message and you could discard it, or you could be somebody sitting here saying, speak, Lord, for thy servant hears. that God, I'm here today because I want you to speak to me. That was Samuel. Samuel was somebody listening to God. Then we find also Samuel, he was a young man of growth. Verse 19, it says, And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. Okay, Samuel, as God began to work in his life, you know what? He didn't stay a child physically, he matured, but he also didn't stay a child spiritually. Samuel grew as he ministered for the Lord. You know, the Bible says about Jesus at 12 years old, Luke 2.52, Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men. How old is Jesus? Same age as Benson. And he grew in wisdom and stature in favor with God and men. At Benson's age, he's standing up and speaking to men about God. Now, that's incredible, and I understand that's the Lord. But the point is this, as a child, Jesus was already maturing and having impact. You know, we've got a false idea in our day that you don't become an adult until 16, until 18, and that your teen years are wasted years that are to be discarded, and they're of none account, and you can't be mature in those years. That's our society. That's the way they think. But you know, that's not anything that the Bible speaks about. The Bible speaks about growing in wisdom and stature and favor with God and men. The Bible speaks about a child maturing and becoming a man. Samuel, in his youth, I mean, he's developing and men are looking at him and saying, you know what? That young man's growing again. So a young man of growth, somebody that is developing spiritually. But then, two more things very quickly. He was a young man of good testimony. Good testimony. Verse 20 says, in all Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord. I mean, all around the area, people were aware, there's something different about that guy. And I understand it's a different time period, and God was setting Samuel up to be a prophet, and that as a prophet, he was speaking as from God. But Samuel had a good testimony, so good that when it came to the end of his ministry, and King Saul is now on the scene, that Samuel says to all the people, he said, you are witnesses that from a child I have never robbed you or taken from you, that I've been obedient as a servant of God. And they said, we are witnesses. Again, I'd ask you today, how's your testimony? God's not going to use somebody with a bad testimony. In fact, the Bible says to be a preacher, that a bishop is to be blameless. That the character has to be such that nobody can say, that's an adulterer, that's a gambler, that's a fornicator, that's a curser, that's an angry person. That we have to have that testimony. You know, you're somebody, again, that God can use because you have a good testimony. And then lastly, Samuel was a young man of devotion. Verse 21, it says, And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of his mouth. You know, Samuel, after that, remember back in the beginning, the Bible says he didn't know the Lord until he said, Speak, Lord, for thy servant Herod. But then for the rest of his life, as Samuel grew in his walk with God, Samuel walked with God. He was somebody that had a devotion for God. Again, I'd ask us this morning, how's our devotion? I'm thankful for everybody that's here this morning, but how's your prayer time on your own? How's your Bible time on your own? Because God is looking for somebody to use, He's going to use somebody that has a close personal walk with Him. As you read biographies, I love reading biographies about what God's done, but you read about Hudson Taylor, or Robert Murray McShane, or George Mueller, Oswald Chambers, William Burns, and all these great men of God in the past, and over and over again, what you're impressed with as you read their biography is that they were men of prayer. What's that mean? They had a close devotion to God. Samuel did too. You know, again, does God see somebody in you whom He can use? As we look at that idea this morning, the need is great. I mean, the need is not diminished, the need is amplified in our day. We have a generation that is godless. Less than 10% that say there is a creator, is a statistic I just read. Adele sent me an article that I read in the Office of National Statistics. Less than 10%. It was 50% higher than that 10 years ago, the article said, or 8 years ago. We're in crisis days. So the need is great. All these people need to hear, but does God find in us somebody that He could use? Do we have conviction? Do we do what we do because it honors God? I dress this way, I go this place, I listen to this, I say this because it is what pleases God of conviction. Do we have humility, you know, serving and doing whatever God desires us to do? Are we submitted as the Spirit of God speaks to our heart? Are we somebody that responds very quickly? Even today, as we share the Word of God, may the Spirit of God speak to your heart. Is it, God, I will run the way of thy commandments when thou shalt enlarge my heart. If there's something in my heart that I need to deal with, God, I'll deal with it, even today. Are we a person that God has favored, that God's blessing us on because we're yielded to him and that God is working in our lives? Are we giving our attention to God? Are we growing in the Lord? Do we have a good testimony? Are we devoted to the Lord? Isaiah 6, 8, Isaiah's call. I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us? The need is great. Can God send you? And if He can't, then we've got to stop and go, God, what's wrong? What is there in my life that is hindering your desire to use me for your glory? Because we're praying to the Lord of Harvest. Lord, send laborers into the harvest field. Where are they? Where are they going to come from? They're going to come from our congregation. We need that. but the Spirit of God has to raise him up. But he's not going to just take anybody, but he's going to scrutinize, is God able to call us? Is God calling you? Let's pray. Father, I just pray that the Spirit of God will work in our hearts as we consider that truth this morning. Lord, I believe there's a lack, not just because we're not praying, but because we're not prepared. And Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit of God would give us grace to see the Lord of the harvest able to thrust forth labors into the harvest field. Father, you don't need people with a PhD. You don't need to have people that are academically astute. Father, what you need is people that are surrendered, people that are obedient, people that are yielded, people that really desire to please and honor God. And Father, it's our desire as a church that God find those people within our church and raise us up as a people that we would really stand for the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you, God, for your Word. Thank you for the blood of Christ. Lord, anybody here this morning that's not saved, certainly the first thing they need to do is submit to the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ for them and receive the Gospel, the Good News, into their hearts and accept Jesus Christ. And Father, it might be somebody here this morning realizes there's things in their life that need to change. And I just pray, God, give them grace to obey, give grace to yield, give grace to be consistent in their obedience to God. And Lord, just take your word and change lives. It's in Christ's name we pray, amen. Let's stand, please, we sing our hymn of invitation here. Have thine own way, Lord. Certainly that's our desire as a church. It ought to be our desire as an individual. God, have your way in my life. So let's stand, please, we sing 366. Have thine own way, Lord.