Sing a hymn now. Just remain
seated. The Word is like a fire to melt,
my heart so cold, It's power is like a hammer felt,
And breaks this stubborn heart of stone. God speaks again, His word reveals, For sinners slain, forgiveness
by His blood it tells. Give eyes of faith, all ways
to see The Word's great truth and mystery In heavenly light
show your eyes to me Dear Lord, my thanks I give to you ? For
your inspired and holy word ? ? My reverence and allegiance to you
? ? It claims the mighty throne of God ? Now let's all stand
together. We'll sing the hymn that's on
the back of your bulletin. Christ has blessings to impart,
grace to save thee from thy fears. Why art thou afraid to come? Why afraid to tell thy case? He will not pronounce thy doom. ? O His majesty be great ? ? Yet
His mercy is no less ? ? Though me thy transgressions hate ?
? Jesus wills for thy distress ? ? Raise thy downcast eyes and
see ? Numbers to his brow who surround, These were sinners
once like thee, Ought have full salvation. Please be seated. Thank you, Tom. I've had the blessing over the
years to visit a lot of grace churches. And I know I'm prejudiced,
but I think I'm I'm right. We've got the best song leader
of any church. I'm so I'm so thankful. I really
believe that. We thank you, Tom, appreciate
you so much. Let's open our Bibles together
to 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. I was thinking this morning that,
and this is not part of the message, if it is true, that much of the
person that we become is shaped in the early years of childhood,
and I believe it is, then it is equally true that no one as
a group has more influence in this world than mothers. That's true. And I'm thankful for our mothers. And I think we have some great
ones here. I know it's not scripture, but there are
a lot of things in scripture about motherhood. When Paul wrote
to Timothy, he said, remember, the scriptures that you learned
as a child from your mother, Lois, and your grandmother, Eunice,
and how they are able to save you. So Timothy had learned the
scriptures from his mother and his grandmother. We think about,
we've been looking in the book of 1 Samuel and thinking about
Hannah Samuel and what influence Hannah had on Samuel and what
influence Rebecca had on Jacob and what influence Ruth and Naomi
had on Obed. This is the influence of mothers
teaching their children at a very young age the importance of the
scriptures and the gospel and and having them under the sound
of the gospel. I really do believe that it's
the most influential group of people that there are in the
world. And we're thankful. Fathers, don't expect that on
Father's Day. 1 Samuel chapter three, you have
your Bibles open. We'll begin reading at verse
11. And the Lord said to Samuel,
behold, I will do a thing in Israel at which both the ears
of everyone that heareth it shall tingle. In that day, I will perform
against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his
house. When I begin, I will also make an end. For I have told
him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which
he knoweth, because his sons made themselves vile and he restrained
them not. And therefore, I have sworn unto
the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged
with sacrifice nor offering forever. And Samuel lay until the morning
and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared
to show Eli the vision. Then Eli called Samuel and said,
Samuel, my son. And he answered, here am I. And
Eli said to Samuel, what is the thing that the Lord hath said
unto thee? I pray thee, hide it not from
me. God do so to thee and more also
if thou hide anything from me of all the things that he said
unto thee. And Samuel told him every wit
and hid nothing from him. And he said, it is the Lord. Samuel said that, Eli said that,
it is the Lord. Let him do what seemeth him to
do. Good. This Bible is a book of Christ. It is a gospel story told over
and over and over again with different characters but all
representing the same truth. Hophni and Phinehas were unfaithful
priests. They were the sons of Eli, who
himself was a descendant of Aaron, Aaron being the high priest under
Moses. And Eli now, assuming that responsibility,
had sons that were unfaithful. They had robbed the part of the
sacrifice that was to be offered up as a burnt offering, robbing
Christ of his glory in salvation, that being a picture of the sufferings
that the Lord Jesus Christ went through on Calvary's cross. And
they took that offering to themselves. They robbed from the people parts
of their offering, which was their peace offering. And so
in robbing Christ of his glory, they had robbed the people of
their peace. And because of their unfaithfulness,
God now sends a message through Samuel to Eli telling him that
judgment is necessary. He says in verse 14, the iniquity
of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever. The sacrifices that you've made
are not going to be sufficient to satisfy the judgment of God. A man must die. A man must die. That's what God's
saying to Eli. And both Eli's sons die at the
hands of the Philistines. And when Eli hears about the
death of his sons and that the Philistines have taken the Ark
of the Covenant, Eli falls over dead. Eli's name translated means ascension
or to go up. We know that when the Lord Jesus
Christ was put into the tomb after his death that God was
satisfied with the sacrifice that he had made in putting away
all the sins of all of God's people. And that the evidence
of God being satisfied with the sacrifice that Christ made is
the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is his resurrection
from the dead. He could not allow his Holy One
to see corruption. He was pleased with what his
son had accomplished. And so we look in faith to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ as the hope of our salvation,
knowing that he has provided to his father everything necessary
for the salvation of his people so that it is not of him that
willeth nor of him that runneth. It is of God that showeth mercy
and all that God requires All that God requires from you and
from me, the Lord Jesus Christ provided. And the only thing
that God will accept is that which Christ provided. After our Lord's resurrection,
he appeared to the apostles for about 10 days after that. and clarified to them what had
happened. And then he takes them to the
Mount of Olives and he ascends back into glory. He said, I go
and prepare a place for you. And he takes his rightful place
at the right hand of the majesty on high. And God, the father
says to him, sit down here at my right hand until I make all
thine enemies thy footstool. You and I come into this world
at enmity with God because, like Hophni and Phinehas, we have
robbed Christ of His glory and we have stolen the hope of peace
by our own sin. We have become vile in the eyes
of God as a result of our fall in our father Adam and as a result
of our sin. And God is saying to our high
priest, a descendant of Aaron, the one glorious priest of his
people, I'm gonna send judgment against your house. And a man
must die in order to satisfy my justice. And these sacrifices
of bulls and goats are not going to be sufficient. The wages of
sin is death. Like all the stories we read
in the Bible, this is a message of salvation. This is a message
of hope. Eli being a type, the one who
ascended back into glory, the one who took with him the names
of those for whom he lived and died, the one who is seated at
the right hand of the majesty on high, in whom we have all
the blessings of God. He receives a message from his
father. Death is necessary for the sins
of your children. and I'll be satisfied with nothing
less." Notice in our text in verse 11,
and the Lord said, and that's all faith needs. All faith needs
is what saith the scriptures. What has God said? It doesn't
matter what the preacher thinks. It doesn't matter what another
person thinks. It doesn't matter what man has
written in his creeds and confessions. What say the scriptures? That's
the only thing faith needs. God's people just want to know
what God says. Everything else is just an opinion. And the Lord said to Samuel,
behold, I will do a thing in Israel. This work of redemption,
this Penalty for sin is done in Israel and for Israel. And the scriptures tells us in
Romans chapter 11, that when the Lord Jesus Christ has finished
his work, all Israel shall be saved. All Israel shall be saved. Oh, what hope we have. that the
Lord Jesus Christ would accomplish the salvation of his people.
I'm gonna do a thing in Israel. Those outside of Israel have
no interest in what I'm going to do. They have no profit in
what I'm going to do. I'm going to do this for my people. Behold, Verse 11, I will do a
thing in Israel at which both the ears of everyone that heareth
it shall tingle. Now when I read that, I automatically
thought about what the Lord said to Timothy about the false prophets
and about the men of this world who will gather about them men
who will scratch their itching ears. Men want to hear about
what they can do in order to earn their salvation. Is there
not a prayer that I can pray? Is there not a work that I can
perform? Is there not a decision that I can make? Is there not
something that I can do? And so the false prophets tickle
those itching ears and they tell people what they want to hear.
But that's not the word here. The word here is to tremble.
The word here is to shake. Those who hear what I'm going
to do in Israel are going to be moved by it. It's not going to be something
that will tickle their itching ears. It's not something that
will fancy their interest or their pride or, you know, something
that they can contribute. It's going to shake the very
foundation of their life. And that's one of the ways that
we know we've heard that God has This listening, this hearing
ear, look what he says, I will do a thing in Israel at which
both the ears of everyone that heareth it shall be moved. The hearing ear and the seeing
eye are both from the Lord. If God doesn't cause us to hear,
we're not going to hear. He's the one that has to unstop
the year. He's the one that has to enable
us to hear his voice. And everyone that hears his voice
are going to be moved. You ever, I know you have, been
with somebody and you heard something, you say, wait, did you hear that?
It was just a faint sound. Did you hear that? That's the
opposite of what's being said here. No, this sound is going
to be so loud that it'll wake the dead. When the Lord Jesus
Christ in John chapter 11 went to the graveyard where Lazarus
had been buried and had been dead for four days, the scripture
says that he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. That's the way this voice is
going to be. When you hear this voice, you know you've heard
something. It's not, well, I wonder if that's what he really meant.
You know what he meant. This thing is going to shake
the very foundation of those who hear it. It's going to raise
them from the dead. It's going to break down all
their defenses. When God speaks, when this thing
that God does is spoken to the heart by the Spirit of God, and
that's what we're talking about here. We're not talking about
an audible voice. This is a whole lot louder than an audible voice.
This is the spiritual ear that God gives. And all the if, ands, and buts
that men give to the gospel, objecting to the truth of who
Christ is and what he has accomplished, go away. They go away. When Joshua brought the children
of Israel a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ as our Joshua, across
the river of death, the Jordan, into the promised land, The scripture
says that they marched around the city of Jericho seven times
silent. They didn't say a word, they
didn't blow a trumpet, they didn't make a sound. Can you just see
the children, the people of Jericho on the city walls watching this
troop? go around their city, around
and around and around, wondering what in the world are they doing?
And then Joshua, God had told Joshua on the seventh day, you
have the people cry with a loud voice and you have the trumpets
blown. And when that happened, what
happened? The defenses of Jericho came
down. The city, the scripture says,
fell flat. And that's what happens when
this thing that God does is spoken to the ear of God's people. It takes away all their defenses.
It causes them to raise from the dead. It gives hope. It gives hope. When the Lord
Jesus Christ was hanging on Calvary's cross, the scripture says he
cried with a loud voice. It is finished. Father, into
thy hands I commend my spirit. Is there anything else we need
to hear? Is there any other word of hope that comforts a sinner's
heart than to know that the Lord Jesus Christ He said, I came
to do the work of my father. And then in John chapter 17,
he said, Father, I have finished the work which thou hast gave
us me to do. What was the work? To save his
people from their sins. That was his work. And he cried
with a loud voice from Calvary's cross in his dying breath. It is finished. Father, into thy hands I commend
my spirit. And what the Lord Jesus Christ
was saying to his heavenly fathers, Father, I am confident that you're
going to be pleased with the work that I've accomplished. This voice that comes from God,
that causes the ears of God's people to, as our King James
Version says, tingle. makes sense of all the prophecies
of God. When the Lord was hanging there
on Calvary's cross between the third and the ninth hour, at
noon the sky was blackened. At noon he was forsaken of his
father. At noon, the full, the full darkness
of all the sins of all of God's people were placed on him at
high noon. And to testify to that, God blackened
the sun. Didn't shine for three hours.
And in those three hours, our Lord cried again with a loud
voice. And he said, my God, my God,
Why hast thou forsaken me? All the promises of God are yea,
yes, and amen, sure, in the Lord Jesus Christ. This prophecy given
to us by King David was looking forward a thousand years to what
the Lord Jesus Christ would do when he was forsaken of his father,
when he was made sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him." This is the fulfillment of all the prophecies. In Revelation chapter 5, the scripture says that John
saw the book of God, the Lamb's book of life, sealed within and
without And the angel asked, the angel cried, is any man worthy
to open the book? And no man was found worthy to
open the book. And John began to weep. And the
scripture says, and a strong angel cried out and said, weep
not, weep not for the lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed
and he is able to open the book. A strong angel with a loud voice
made that cry. And then later on in Revelation
chapter seven, that same angel cried with a loud voice and said,
salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne. This judgment that was pronounced
against Eli, the high priest, Because of the sins of his children
is the judgment of God pronounced upon the Lord Jesus Christ because
of the sins of his children. God said. Israel is going to hear. They're
going to hear. All their defenses are going
to come down. Those who are dead and their trespasses and sins
are going to be made alive. They're going to see for the
first time in their lives when the Lord spoke to my heart and
revealed this glorious truth to me. My whole Bible was rewritten
all of a sudden. Well, that's about Christ. That's
about Christ. I thought that was just doctrine.
I thought that was just a historical story. I thought that was a good
life lesson that we were supposed to take from that. That's about
Christ. And that's what this loud voice does. It reveals the
Lord Jesus Christ in all the scriptures. So that beginning
with Moses and the Psalms and the prophets, he expounds unto
them those things concerning himself. This is a picture of
the gospel. This is the salvation of sinners.
This is the hope that God says no longer, no longer will the
sacrifice of bulls and goats will be sufficient to satisfy
my justice. A man must die. A man must die. Notice in verse 12, in that day
I will perform. I will perform. This is not going to be an attempt
to save. This is not going to be an offer
to save. This is not going to be a partial
sacrifice that might become effectual if we do our part. I'm going
to perform it. everything necessary for the
salvation of my people. When I pour out the full fury
of my wrath on Eli for the sins of his sons, I'm going to perform
justice. Turn with me to Psalm 119, Psalm
119. Look at verse 105 in Psalm 119. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
and a light into my path. Now the Lord Jesus Christ is
called the light of the world and he's also called the living
word and he's revealed in God's word as our light. I have sworn and I will perform
it. that I will keep thy righteous
judgments. I am afflicted very much, quicken
me, O Lord, according unto thy word, except I beseech thee the
free will offerings of my mouth, O Lord, and teach me thy judgments. Now, this is this is the words
of Christ. David is writing this, but he's
writing this prophetically of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the
Lord's saying, I'm making myself a freewill offering. You and
I can't make a freewill offering. He makes himself a freewill offering. He gave himself freely. No man
took his life from him. He laid his life down for his
sheep. in order to satisfy the judgment
of God. Look at verse 109, My soul is
continually in my hand, yet do I not forgive thy law. The wicked
have laid a snare for me, yet I erred not from thy precepts. Who can say that? The wicked
have laid a snare for me, but I've erred not from thy precepts.
The only way that you and I can say that is in Christ. In Christ,
we've kept all of God's law. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believes. Thy testimonies have I taken
as a heritage forever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
I have inclined my heart to perform thy statutes always, even unto
the end. Here's our hope. God says to Eli, I'm going to
perform this judgment. I'm not going to, I'm going to
finish the work. Romans chapter 4, speaking of
Abraham, who staggered not at the promises of God, being fully
persuaded that he was able to perform that which he had promised. That's what faith does. Faith
believes that God is able to perform that which he has promised. Faith comes to God as that leper. who said, Lord, I know that you
can make me clean if you will. Whatever you will is gonna happen.
What does the false gospel say? The false gospel says, God, I
know you want to save everybody, but I know that your hands are
tied until you get my approval. That's really what it boils down
to. And that's not faith. Faith believes, as Abraham believed,
that he was able to perform that which he had promised. What did
he promise? The salvation of his people.
Romans chapter 7, Paul said, to will is present with me. I want to do God's will. I want
to keep his law. But how to perform that which
is good, I find not. I can't perform it. I cannot
perform that which God requires. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? Thanks be to God through Christ
Jesus. We are free. He has performed
it. Psalm 57 verse 2, I will cry
unto the God most high, unto God that performeth all things
for me. Oh, brethren, I'll say it again.
Every single thing that God requires of me and you, the Lord Jesus
Christ provided, and God only accepts that which he provides.
Faith looks to him for all our righteousness, all of our justification,
all the punishment for our sin. We're just like Hoffney and Phinehas. Oh, look, look, look at verse,
look at verse 12 again. And in that day, I will perform
against Eli all the things which I have spoken concerning his
house. And when I begin it, I will also
make an end of it. Seems like every project I take
on, I leave something undone on it. I'm sure a good shrink
could find something wrong with me on that. But I mean, I was
sitting in my study last night looking down at the baseboard
and there's a section of baseboard about this long that's been missing
in my office for 20 years. Everything else is finished in
there. One little piece of baseboard. I just can't seem to ever get
anything finished. Always leave something undone. The Lord said, when I begin it,
I'm going to finish it. I'm going to finish what I start. The work of redemption began
in eternity past, when God the Father made a covenant with God
the Son in the covenant of grace, God the Holy Spirit entered into
that covenant promise, we can't conceive of eternity past. We think about it. I mean, the
word past is not sufficient to describe it. It's just eternity. There never was a time when God
had not. That's when it began. You see,
even the word began has time attached to it, doesn't it? But in our limited way of thinking,
that's when our salvation began. And when the Lord Jesus Christ
became the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world and
he promised to be the surety of his people to his father,
that could never not be done. He said, what I began, I'm going
to finish it. I'm going to I'm going to finish the judgment.
The Lord Jesus Christ knew what was going to have to happen in
order for that work to be finished. He knew that he was going to
have to become the object of his father's wrath. He knew that
he was going to be forsaken of his father on Calvary's cross.
He knew all those things. But he said what I begun, I'm
going to finish. And he that began the good work
in you will complete it until the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's not going to lose one of
his sheep. He's not going to stop. He's not going to give
up on anybody, on any of his people. Being confident of this very
thing, Paul said in Philippians chapter 1 verse 6, he that hath
begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of
his coming. I'm going to finish it. I'm so thankful for that. I am just as much in need of
him finishing the work as I am of him beginning it. I am just
as much in need of him keeping me as I am of him saving me.
I must be kept. He must continue to do the work
of salvation. Look at verse 13. For I have
told him that I will judge his house Oftentimes we read those last
words of David in 2 Samuel 24 when David, on his deathbed,
said, Think with me for a moment. Those words being spoken by the
son of David. The Lord Jesus Christ saying
to his father, although my house may not so with God, your sons
have sinned and you did not restrain them. Could God have restrained
Adam in the garden? Sure, he could have. He could
have restrained, could have stopped him. Was Adam fully responsible
for his disobedience? Yes. Did God merely permit it
or allow it? Was it just something that God
said, okay, I'll let it be? No, God purposed it. God ordained it. God ordained
the fall. Why? Because there was so much
more of God's glory to be known than what Adam knew before the
fall. Adam walked with God in the cool
of the day. Adam fellowshiped with the Lord
but there were aspects of God's grace and his glory and his righteousness
and his justice and his love And all the attributes of God
are demonstrated most clearly at the cross, when Christ became
the sacrifice. And so though we are fully responsible
for our sin, let no man say when he sins that God made him do
it. For God can tempt no man to sin, neither is God tempted
to sin. But we all sin when we're drawn
away of our own lust, and when lust is conceived, Sin bringeth
forth death. That's all on us. It's all on us. But here's the
hope, brethren. God's purposed it. God ordained
it. For his glory and for our good. What will we know about grace?
What will we know about forgiveness? What will we know about love?
What will we know about justice and righteousness if it wasn't
for sin? The father is saying to his son, you didn't restrain your sons. When they were in the garden,
you didn't stop them. and they've become evil in the
sight of God as a result of their sin. And your sacrifices of bulls
and goats is no longer sufficient to satisfy my justice. The high
priest has to die. A man must die. Justice must
be satisfied. And the Lord Jesus Christ, the
holy, harmless, separate from sinners, higher than the heavens,
Son of God, is the only one sufficient, the only one sufficient for our
salvation. Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3 says,
when he had by himself purged our sins, he sat down at the
right hand of the majesty on high. Oh, he did it all by himself. Look at our text. Verse 13, for I have told him
that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knoweth.
because his sons made themselves vile. We have some understanding of sin when we're able to say
with brother Job, behold, I see something now I've never seen
before. I've heard something from God that I never heard before.
Everything about me is vile in the sight of God. Everything about me is sinful.
I am undone. I'm a man of unclean lips. I
live among a people of unclean lips. I cannot redeem myself. I have stolen from Christ his
glory and salvation. I have robbed myself and others
of peace by my sin. I've got to have a man, I've
got to have God's justice satisfied. I've got to have him to perform
and to finish what he started. When the Lord Jesus Christ came
into this world, the angel said to Joseph, you shall call his
name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. What I have begun, I will finish. I have sworn it and I'm going
to perform it. I'm going to accomplish it. I
will do it. I will do it. And faith just
believes that. Faith hangs all its hopes on
the sacrifice that the Lord Jesus Christ made. It doesn't look
to anything else or anyone else. It doesn't look to will or works
or effort or anything. Hebrews chapter 10 says, sacrifice
and offerings thou wouldest not. All those sacrifices. That's
what God said. Look at the end of verse 14.
And therefore have I sworn unto the house of Eli at the iniquity
of Eli's house shall not be purged without sacrifice nor offering
or by sacrifice or offering forever. These sacrifices and offerings
that you're making are not going to be sufficient to satisfy God's
justice. A man must die. Sacrifice and offerings thou
wouldest not, but a body thou hast prepared for me. Burn offerings
and sacrifice for sins he had no pleasure. Then said I, lo,
I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me, to
do thy will, O God. And the Lord Jesus Christ was
obedient to his Father, even unto death, even the death of
the cross. There's the sinner's hope. What else do we need? This is the hope of salvation
that God has given to us in this glorious story. And we'll close with verse 18.
Look at verse 18. And Samuel told him every wit. Eli said to Samuel, tell me everything
God said and don't leave a word out. If you don't tell me the
truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, might that judgment
fall on you?" And no man has ever stood to declare the gospel without feeling
the weight of that. Paul said, I did not hide from
you anything that God has told me. And God's people are like Eli,
tell me every wit, whatever it is, don't leave anything out. And so Samuel tells him every
wit and hid nothing from him, verse 18. And Eli said, it is
the Lord, it is the Lord, let him do that which seemeth him
good. Paul said, in me, that is in
my flesh dwelleth no good thing. When that rich young ruler came
before the Lord and said, good master, what must I do to inherit
eternal life? The Lord Jesus said, why callest
thou me good? Why do you call me good? You
know, there's none good, but God. And the Lord wasn't denying
his deity. He was confronting this rich
young ruler with who the rich young ruler had no idea that
the Lord Jesus Christ was God. You called me good but only God's
good. Do you realize who you're talking
to? Let him do what seemeth good. He's the only one good before
God. When Moses asked the Lord to
see his glory in Exodus 34, the Lord said, I'm gonna, there's
a place near me. and there's a cleft and a rock,
and I'm gonna hide you in that cleft, and I'm gonna place my
hand over it, and I'm gonna cause my goodness to pass before thee. There's the goodness of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ passing by. Oh, he was in Jericho one
day, and there was a blind man by the name of Bartimaeus who
cried, Jesus, son of David, have mercy upon me. The Lord's passing
by, they told him. The Lord's passing by. He wasn't
going to give that, waste that opportunity. No, no, no. Lord
have mercy upon me. Those who understand that justice
must be satisfied and that no amount of sacrifice or offering
will do. Only the death of the high priest
will be sufficient. We'll say with Eli, it is the
Lord. It is the Lord. Let him do what
seemeth to him good. Our heavenly father, thank you
for another glorious revelation of our high priest and the sacrifice
that he made for his children. Lord, might we find our hope
in him. By your grace, we ask it in Christ's
name. 31, let's stand together, spiral
hymnal. We repeat the last two lines
in each verse. The voice of grace and glory
in our dying Savior's pride, Branding rocks and hills asunder
and the veil to break. It is finished! It is finished! Our victorious Savior cried!
It is finished! It is finished! Our victorious Savior cried! It is finished. See God's pleasure
prospered in us. it is finished Oh all justice demanded, finished
all required by law, finished all portrayed and promised in
the shadows of the law. It is finished, it is finished,
how meanly all. It is finished, it is finished. Thou believed, rejoice with all. Jesus lives, our salvation when
He died upon the tree. Righteousness and full redemption
for His loved and chosen seed. It is finished! Hallelujah! Praise the Lamb of
Calvary! It is finished! Hallelujah! Praise the Lamb of God!