Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/reformedheritageco/sermons/68555/how-the-lord-secures-the-ministry-of-his-word/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. [1:00] 1 Samuel 3. [1:30] 1 Samuel 3. [2:00] 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. [2:40] 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. [3:18] 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. [3:30] 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. [3:42] 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. but the word of the Lord stands forever. Isaiah 40. And no word from God shall be void of power. [3:54] Luke 1. Would you pray with me? Lord, we ask that by the Holy Spirit that is with your people gathered in your name, you will reveal yourself, reveal the word of God, God the Son, Jesus Christ, the glory of the triune God through the scripture that you've given us today. [4:22] Amen. Well, if we love something, we secure all that it needs to thrive. [4:35] Think of something you love and all you've done to secure everything that we'll need in order for that thing to thrive under your care. We discover this wonderful little invention called a watering bulb and it's a bulb made out of glass with a little tip that goes in and what you do is you fill it up with water and you stick it in the soil of a potted plant and then you can leave for a few weeks if you need to travel and you've secured the water that that plant will need to thrive. [5:07] What a great invention and why did it take us this long to come up with that. If you love your plant, you'll secure for it what it needs to thrive, water. Well, the Lord loves you and me. [5:20] He loves his people and what we need to thrive is his word. Psalm 119 declares this, sustain me by your word that I may live. [5:32] If I don't have your word, I die. The Lord loves you and he has secured for us the ministry of his word. [5:44] He's done this throughout every generation. So beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus, my prayer this week in preparing is that you will be able to see through this passage, 1 Samuel chapter 3, how the Lord secures the ministry of his word. [5:59] how the Lord secures the ministry of his word for his people whom he loves. First, let's see the portrait of a wordless minister. [6:13] Here's a man meant to be a minister, but he's serving without the word of God. It's a wordless ministry. 1 Samuel chapter 3, verse 1 says, Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. [6:28] So still in focus right now is Eli as the high priest. We're told in those days or under Eli's ministry, the word of the Lord was rare or scarce. [6:44] There was no widespread revelation. Visions were seldom under Eli's ministry. Verse 1 makes a direct link between the word of Yahweh and Yahweh manifesting his glorious presence to his people. [7:02] You see that simple connection? It's a statement of fact. Like, in those days, rain was rare, therefore there were few green plants. The Hebrew word for word, the word of the Lord, it's used eight times in our little passage. [7:19] Eight times, so it's the clear theme of 1 Samuel chapter 3. We're told the word of the Lord was not breaching forth. [7:31] A word-for-word translation of verse 1 would be this. The vision of God's word was not breaking through. God's word in the spiritual realm is ever-present, ready, awaiting the divine decree to be sent forth to breach or break through into the created realm. [8:01] We're told in 1 Samuel chapter 7 verses 3 and 4 that in this time, all Israel was told to put away their idols and to serve the Lord only with their whole heart. [8:13] See, the word of God was ready to break through, to be breaching forth unto them, but instead their hearts were divided and given to idols in this time. [8:26] One commentator observed, God had withdrawn the light of his word and allowed his people to wander in the darkness that they apparently preferred. This is the portrait of a wordless ministry. [8:40] This principle remains true today that where the word of the Lord is rare or seldom, seldom used. We should not expect to see God's glory breaking through. [8:55] Now, would you look at chapter 3 verse 21 to see the end of this little passage, the other bookend, with those same two truths connected to one another but in the positive. [9:08] So, 1 Samuel chapter 3 verse 21, it links the two positively. The Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh. How? By the word of the Lord. [9:20] Same connection. So, really, this chapter is a transition. It's showing how do we go from days of darkness under Eli into days of light under Samuel's ministry of God's word. [9:32] How did God do it? Well, we read in verse 2 that it came to pass. In other words, here's how we go from the end where the word of the Lord is spread among the whole nation and how we got there from verse 1 where it's rare. [9:46] And here's the story. Now, it doesn't get straight to what God did. It actually sets up the setting as if painting a picture with words to describe Eli, the minister under whose regime Israel was wordless without the word of God. [10:02] Look at verse 2. Here's how it's painted. Eli, was lying down in his place. His eyes had begun to grow so dim he could not see. Verse 3, before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was. [10:21] How is Eli portrayed? A blind priest laying in his own place as darkness creeps over the people of God. [10:32] But God's light, it still burns in the place where he is, where he meets them. The instructions for God's people were very clear. [10:43] One example is Deuteronomy 4, 9. Teach God's word to your children and to their children after them. Deuteronomy 11, 19. Lay up these words of mine, God said, in your heart and in your soul. [10:54] Well, Eli had not restrained his sons and not only in his own household was there darkness and sin ruling. [11:08] Sadly, the nation of Israel was characterized by that same darkness. God's word is the lamp unto our feet. Psalm 119, 105. [11:20] So a wordless life must be as dark as a fireless candle. God's word is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, Hebrews 4, 12. [11:33] But a wordless church, it will fail to cut out the sins of our lives. A wordless ministry has to be as nourishing as a foodless plate. [11:47] To our visitors and to those who might be listening to this later, if you and I put ourselves under a wordless ministry or if Reformed Heritage Church stops being about the ministry of God's word, we will starve spiritually. [12:07] But we're told that the one who eats every word that comes from the mouth of God shall live, Matthew 4, 4. If we neglect to minister God's word to ourselves, to our families within this church, God will raise up others who will do that. [12:24] He will raise up other faithful churches. He secures the ministry of His word. May we be part of that. Do we desire for God's glory to breach forth, to break through among us? [12:37] That's what we're here for every week, right? We want to see God's glory. Then we can't let His word be rare among us. We see the portrait in Eli of a wordless ministry. [12:50] But here's the contrast. We see how the word of God did come and minister. The setting in verse 3 is a contrast to how Eli was painted. [13:00] Look at verse 3. Before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, there, Samuel was lying down. [13:12] The word of the Lord called Samuel. See, Eli slept in his own place, but we're told Samuel was lying down in the tent of meeting in the presence of God near the ark. [13:25] The ark was a visible reminder of God's covenant. Just like the Lord's table is a visible reminder to us that God is with us and His covenant endures. [13:38] We're told Eli's vision was dim. He was going blind. But in describing Samuel, we're told that the lamp of God had not yet gone out. [13:48] The ark of the covenant was still visible to him. The ark of God's presence. Samuel had been lost in darkness under Eli's ministry like most of the nation. [14:02] Look at verse 7. We're told Samuel did not yet know the Lord. Why? Here's that connection once more in verse 7. Because the word of the Lord was not yet revealed to him. [14:15] He didn't yet know God's voice. Can you think back to those dark days in your life when you did not yet know the voice of the Lord? [14:28] And it makes sense without knowing the voice of the Lord that when he hears his name called Samuel, Samuel, this youth stands up and goes running to Eli. He only knew of God and God was always mediated to Samuel through the priest. [14:47] Never directly. Notice how this is repeated a few times. In 1 Samuel chapter 2 verse 11 we're told the child ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest. [14:58] Eli's always right there associated. And in 3.1 the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. Not direct knowledge or relationship with Yahweh himself. [15:14] Maybe there are some of you here like Samuel as a youth. The word youth is the same word to describe the age David was when he killed Goliath. [15:25] He was a youth most likely middle school age. It's the same age Mary was when the Lord revealed himself to her. And maybe there are some of our youth who only know the Lord through someone else. [15:37] You know of the Lord. Maybe you only know of him through dad or mom or grandparents like Samuel through Eli. But do you know the Lord? [15:50] Has he revealed himself to you through his word? You notice how the Lord calls Samuel. Samuel goes to Eli. Eli. The Lord does it again. Samuel, Samuel. [16:02] He goes to Eli again. Isn't it wonderful what this reveals to us about God? God's not in a hurry. God will secure the ministry of his word. [16:15] God is so patient and so kind. God gives us time to learn his voice. He gives us time to receive him and understand a bit more of him by faith. [16:32] How does the Lord then secure Samuel as a faithful minister of his word? How does God do it? Look at verse 10. [16:43] the Lord the third time came and stood and called. [16:55] You see the setting. It's the menorah like a tree with seven branches and a light on each one of them and there's the visible covenant. [17:08] it. This represents the presence of God with sinful people by blood sacrifice. And it's the Lord himself Yahweh who comes and stands and ministers his word. [17:25] The Lord made his glory break into the realm of experience. Yahweh stood inside the tent of meeting and he called this young one by name. [17:40] The word of the Lord came and revealed the Lord to Samuel. Another translation for verse 1 1 Samuel 3 1 is this. [17:54] God's word was rare or it could be translated God's word was precious. I'm learning by the experts this is the beauty of the Hebrew language. It's poetic and mysterious in that sense that it can have so many different meanings depending on the light shed upon it. [18:12] In other words God's word was not completely gone but rare. Remember the light had not quite gone out in the tabernacle symbolically. There was still an anonymous man of God that stood and preached to Eli in the previous chapter. [18:28] And the word of the Lord was still rare. It was still precious. The word of the Lord he became precious. to those few who received him by faith. [18:38] Those few to whom he revealed himself. Is the word of the Lord precious to you? As it became to Samuel on that night in the tent of meeting Dale Ralph Davis commented when God's word has free reign among God's people this is a sign of God's grace to them. [19:01] Not a building not programs but if the ministry of the word stands at the heart of the church's life then they are rich in the grace of God. The word of God becomes precious to us. [19:15] Romans 10 how will they believe in him in whom they have not heard faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Has the word of God become precious to you? [19:29] Precious to your faith? can you see the light of God? John 8 12 Jesus said I am the light of the world. [19:43] He who follows me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life. The Lord secures his word among true Christians by making himself precious to them and making his word sweet. [20:00] the Lord came and ministered. I want you to see next how the Lord ministers his word to powerful effect. [20:14] See the power of God's word in its effects. We can measure the force of air by rotations it affects on windmills. [20:26] If you drive across the plains where it's flat and the wind comes really strong you see all those huge white windmills. You can measure the amount of wind in an area by the rotations each one of those is spinning at. [20:38] So the wind is the cause and the spinning is the effect. Now notice these causes and effects of how powerfully God ministers his word. We see in verse 10 the Lord came stood and called. [20:52] What's the effect in verse 10? Samuel answered speak for your servant hears. The Lord reveals himself with his word and the Holy Spirit causes you to hear his own voice and see his revelation by faith and to know him. [21:12] Psalm 19 7 says the word of Yahweh is perfect. What's the effect? Converting the soul. John 6 44 No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him. [21:28] Michael Horton's comment is this God's word does not merely impart information it actually creates life. It's not only descriptive it's effective to it's God speaking and when God speaks God is acting. [21:46] God effectually called Samuel God drew Samuel to know him. In John 10 3 Jesus declares I am the good shepherd and the good shepherd calls his own sheep by name his sheep hear his voice. [22:02] God calls you by name do you hear his voice? If you hear his voice you follow the good shepherd. [22:15] For Samuel this meant taking a very hard step of obedience next. We're told the Lord gave Samuel his message and this was a message that any preacher would tremble to deliver. [22:30] Look at verse 14. Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever. [22:44] We're told in verse 15 that Samuel lay down until morning and opened the doors of the house of the Lord pulled back the curtains of the tent and Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. [23:00] We're told by the end of this chapter that this youth had become a prophet over all of Israel. What does it mean to be a prophet? It means to speak for another. [23:11] In Exodus 7 1 Aaron is called a prophet for Moses. So now this youth Samuel is being a prophet of Yahweh. [23:22] He's the one who's supposed to speak on behalf of Yahweh and deliver this difficult message. Not only was the message difficult, the audience was extremely hard. This was Eli who had essentially raised him as his dad. [23:36] This was the high priest over all of Israel. In verse 16, Eli called Samuel my son. Well then maybe this was God's grace. [23:46] Eli threatens Samuel with a curse and then he does it. Think about that curse even. What if every preacher who had to preach the gospel had that curse back on them? [23:59] By God's grace we don't. May all the curses you're about to preach be on you if you don't give it all. One commentator said we'd be more brave too if we were threatened with a curse before being asked to preach. [24:13] We can be encouraged though like Samuel was at the ministry of the Lord in the words of R.C. Sproul as a reminder God has entrusted to us the ministry of the word not its results. [24:25] So what is the power of God what's the change it affects? So Samuel preached his first sermon in verse 18 we're told Samuel told Eli all of God's words and hid nothing from him because Eli and his sons had not stored up God's word in their hearts they had sinned grievously! [24:48] against God but God secured the ministry of his word through a youth Samuel stood and preached the wrath of the holy God against sin what did it affect? [25:05] By the power of God ministering through the Holy Spirit and his word we're told in verse 18 the reaction Eli says it is Yahweh let him do what seems good to him the word of God is powerful we can see the power by the effects you remember that refrain the end of judges there's no king in the land let everyone do what seems good to them Elkanah tells Hannah that go do whatever seems good to you Eli tells her that about her prayer may you get whatever you prayed for you see the reversal now this is the powerful effect of the! [25:52] It is Yahweh Eli says in verse 18 let Yahweh do what seems good to him it's the powerful ministry of the word being applied with power to have a great effect a reversal I think in Eli this is a gracious recognition Yahweh must be king Charles Spurgeon boiled down the contrast we see in difficult passage like this of God's word where it's wrath upon Hophni and Phinehas these wicked sons of Eli but grace to Samuel and to those who will heed God's word Spurgeon said from the word of God I gather that damnation is all of man from top to bottom and salvation is all of grace from first to last he that perishes chooses to perish but he that is saved is saved because God has chosen to save him amen verse 19 the Lord was with [27:09] Samuel that's what his ministry was defined by the Lord was with him and what's the effect of Samuel having the Lord with him God let none of his words fall to the ground God only gave him to preach what was from God's word from God himself and it ministered powerfully and he only preached what God had given him and the result is none of the words returned void or were void of power nothing fell to the ground psalm 19 verse 8 the commandment of Yahweh is pure enlightening the eyes as the word of God goes out over all of Israel we move from darkness to light the Lord secured the ministry of his word in the effect look at verse 1 of the very next chapter 1 Samuel chapter 4 verse 1 the word of God through Samuel came to all Israel from north to south how is it that the [28:15] Lord rules over his people it's by his word this is always how the Lord has done it this is how he does it still he rules over his people by his word Jesus said in John 10 4 the good shepherd goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice if you know the voice of Jesus you follow him and you love his words Psalm 119 verse 10 more to be desired are they than gold yea than much fine gold sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb the Lord secures the ministry of his word in power over his people by making himself precious and his word the word of grace foiled against the wrath of God sweet and precious to his people well fourth and finally for today let's see how God's word still ministers to his people let's see how [29:17] God's word still ministers to his people today how many verses do you see in chapter 3 1st Samuel chapter 3 21 verses and then if we include the first part of the very next verse which I think goes with this theme 4 1 we got 21 to 22 verses even in our English copy the way that the verses were given so what would be the midpoint of 21 or 22 verses we're at verse 10 or 11 and this is a significant statement I believe right at the center of this passage in verse 11 the Lord said behold I am doing or I am enacting to use this word it can it can take to be this I am committing or I am keeping or I am offering a word in all Israel at which both the ears of everyone who hear it will tingle God is saying that I am doing something right now and the tense in the original language is not that I'm about to do and it's over but I am continuously enacting keeping promising committing offering a word [30:35] I judge now and you'll see my wrath but I will secure a ministry to you of grace forever how does God do this he's keeping his covenant and offering grace to his people he's showing them how this promise he made way back that there will be a seed from Eve and a seed through Abraham he says I am committing my word again to my people I am enacting redemption through the king that I promised to Abraham and to Moses I am offering myself my word to become flesh to tabernacle to dwell among my people forever that's the thing I am doing in all of this glorious history in John 1 14 the word the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us we have seen his glory the glory of the one and the only son from the father full of grace and truth [31:35] Hebrews 1 3 the radiance of the glory of God the exact imprint of his nature is Jesus Christ the word in a body Jesus Christ became the great king that his people have always needed and always lacked and it was the ministry of Jesus to bring the word of God to make it break through into the created realm as the king the great fulfillment Jesus Christ loved God's word I believe Jesus Christ meditated on God's word day and night he thought about God's word pondered it in his heart and he kept it and it kept him from sinning against God according to his human nature how do I know Jesus did this because in Deuteronomy 17 this was the law and Jesus made himself under the law the king over his people shall have the word of God with him he shall read it all the days of his life that he may not turn aside from all the Lord has commanded in his life [32:49] Jesus Christ loved God's word you know he grew up poor so he would go to the synagogue and he would sit under the rabbis and memorize it and hold on to it and from his memory without a copy like we have the Lord Jesus cherished the word of God the word of God was precious to him and he is the word being revealed through the scriptures that he was cherishing on behalf of his people dear friends brothers and sisters the Lord he is here too he is with his people his presence is with the people of God in the gathered congregation we get to see him in our midst calling us I want to show you this in Revelation chapter 1 would you please turn to Revelation 1 in 1st [34:08] Samuel 3 10 we saw how the Lord came the Lord stood and the Lord called from the presence of his covenant the tent of meeting with the lamp stand illuminating him breaking through into the created realm so Samuel could experience him we read in Revelation 1 starting at verse 9 John one of his disciples now writing to the churches historic churches in Asia Minor his eyewitness account I John both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ who is on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God see John was a minister of the word of God like Samuel but for the church and he was not martyred like all the other disciples but he was banished to an island called [35:12] Patmos for ministering the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus verse 10 he says I was in the spirit on the Lord's day and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet saying I am the alpha and the omega the first and the last and what you see write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia to Ephesus to Smyrna to Pergamos to Theatira to Sardis to Philadelphia and to Laodicea so this vision the Lord breaking through to be written down as scripture and circulated among the churches and it's circulated to us still today in verse 12 he says I turned to see the voice that had spoken to me see it was first the voice the word of God like a trumpet and he turned and he saw the vision of God himself breaking through and having turned [36:17] I saw seven golden lampstands and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the son of man the son of man is the great prophecy from Daniel of Jesus Christ standing among the lampstands ministering proclaiming his word look at his reaction the powerful ministry of God in verse 11 Jesus declares I am the alpha and the omega the first and the last what's the effect verse 12 when I saw the voice that had spoken to me and he describes who Jesus is look at verse 17 for the effect when I saw him I fell at his feet as dead but he laid his right hand on me saying to me do not be afraid for I am the first and the last I am he who lives and who was dead and behold [37:19] I am alive forever more amen and I have the keys of Hades and of death the Lord Jesus is alive the Lord Jesus broke through as the word of God to Samuel and called him the Lord Jesus loves to do this under the ministry of his word everywhere around the world to stand among the lampstands of his churches his spiritual presence with his people applying the gospel message by the power of the Holy Spirit calling each one to believe in him by faith and to respond like Samuel did speak for your servant listens the Lord secures true worshipers for himself we prayed for our brothers and sisters in northern Africa second largest unreached people group don't have the word of God in their language don't have a church at which to hear the gospel and this is why we pray for them and this is why as a church we want to be a small part in supporting that because through the ministry of his word [38:28] Jesus Christ will stand with the gathered people and he will reveal himself to them and the Holy Spirit will apply that with power and he will call to himself worshipers he will secure a ministry of his word to those people for whom he died he will not fail in his mission has God desired has God made you desire to see more of him that he will reveal himself to you in a powerful way if he's done this it's his grace to you it's that gentle patient calling you by name growing that desire over time speak Lord for your servant listens we open his word we ask him to speak to us we as a church we desire for God to reveal himself to every people nation and tribe and we do our part as we can to pray for the work that's going on in those parts of the world and to raise up and send and support missionaries who can translate [39:35] God's word so those people will have the ministry of the at Reformed Heritage Church we long for God to reveal his glory to us amen so with his help we will continue to make this a word filled ministry that he can be greatly magnified and glorified beloved congregation of the Lord Jesus God has always been preparing a people for himself you see how he did it then he's doing that now the Lord does this by using the word of God through the Holy Spirit to show us Christ in all of scripture God's glory breaching forth breaking through to us in Christ the Lord has secured this amazing ministry and we get to be part of it let's thank him for this and ask him to do so with power for his glory amen