Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee, would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. I invite you to turn with me
this morning to 1 Samuel chapter 3. Our text is going to be the
first 10 verses. It says, And the child Samuel
ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord
was precious in those days. There was no open vision. And
it came to pass at that time when Eli was laid down in his
place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see. 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, that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, here am I. And
he ran unto Eli and said, here am I, for thou called me. And he said, I called not, lie
down again. And he went and lay down. And
the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to
Eli and said, here am I. For thou did 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. And the Lord called Samuel again
the third time, and he arose and went to Eli and said, Here
am I, for thou did call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord
had called the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel,
go lie down and it shall be if he called thee that thou shalt
say, speak Lord, for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and laid
down in his place and the Lord came and stood and called as
at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, speak for
thy servant heareth. Our subject today is the call
of salvation. We're going to look at Samuel's
call. Verse one says, the child Samuel
ministered unto the Lord before Eli and the word of the Lord. The word of the Lord was precious
in those days. The word of the Lord was precious. How precious it is. It's precious
in the sense that it's very hard to find. It's very hard to find. It's rare. The book of Amos chapter
8 verse 11 says, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God,
that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread,
nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. If we hear the words of the Lord,
that's a precious thing. It's getting to be where fewer
and fewer Bibles in the world still possess the words of the
Lord. We talk about an assembly that meets together in truth
as opposed to an assembly that meets together falsely, a false
assembly. What's the difference? The word
of God. Where the words of God are, there's
truth. Without the words of God, all
that's left is a lie, that's it. The word of God, it's precious. It's precious because it's so
rare and it's precious because in the word are hid all the secret
things of God. Listen to Romans chapter 16,
verse 25 says, now to him that is of power to establish you
according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ according
to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the
world began, but now is made manifest by the scriptures. Faith, saving faith, cometh by
hearing the word of God. And this word is precious, precious. Now it says in our text, verse
1, the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. Samuel's mother, Hannah, gave
Samuel to the service of the Lord when he was a young child. He literally grew up in the church. He grew up in the temple. That's
wonderful. That's wonderful. His mother
put him there And we're about to see how the Lord greatly blessed
that. We need to be in the house of the Lord. Our children, if
they have any hope of salvation, they must be under the sound
of the word. They must be under the gospel,
the word of God. But just because a person, even
a young person, is active in the church, that does not mean
that person is a believer. Nor does it mean that person
is saved. Chapter 2 here in 1 Samuel, chapter
2 verse 18 says, Samuel ministered before the Lord being a child,
girded with a linen ephod. Moreover, his mother made him
a little coat and brought it to him from year to year when
she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The Lord give
thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the Lord.
And they went unto their own home. And the Lord visited Hannah
so that she conceived and bare three sons and two daughters.
And the child Samuel grew before the Lord." He grew before the
Lord. Now look at chapter 3, verse
1, it says, And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before
Eli. He ministered unto the Lord.
But look at verse seven with me. It says, now Samuel did not
yet know the Lord. Neither was the word of the Lord
yet revealed unto him. Samuel did not yet know the Lord. How can this be? He grew up in
church, ministering unto the Lord. A person can say, I've
been in church all my life, literally all my life. I've been sitting
in that pew all my life. It's worn away, it's conformed
to my body. I've been a part of every ministry
here. I hit up the men's ministry or I hit up the women's ministry.
I've been a deacon in this church for 30 years. Can a man be a
deacon or a pastor in a church all his life and not yet know
the Lord? Verse 7 says, Now Samuel did
not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet
revealed unto him. The Word. Verse one said the
Word was precious in those days. Precious. I believe Samuel knew
the Word was precious. I do. I believe he read the Word. I believe he knew the laws. I believe he knew the doctrines,
the rights, the wrongs, the good, the bad. But it says the word
of the Lord was not yet revealed to him. A person can read this
Bible cover to cover and until the Lord unlocks the mystery,
all they'll see is a guide to better morality. That's all a
person will see is a guide to better morality. But if the Lord
Jesus Christ ever reveals the secret, then a person can read
this Bible cover to cover and all they will see is Him. Him, He said, search the scriptures. They are they which testify of
me. It says in our text, the child
Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli, and the word of the
Lord was precious in those days. There was no open vision. And
it came to pass at that time when Eli was laid down in his
place and his eyes began to wax dim that he could not see. And
ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord where
the ark of God was, Samuel was laid down to sleep. Hannah, his
mother, put Samuel where the Ark of God was. What does the
Ark represent? Well, turn with me over to Hebrews
chapter 9. Hebrews chapter 9 verse 1 says,
Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine
service and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made,
The first, wherein was the candlestick and the table and the showbread,
which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the
tabernacle, which is called the holiest of all, which had the
golden censer and the Ark of the Covenant, overlaid round
about with gold, pure gold, royal gold. wherein was the golden
pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables
of the covenant. This ark of the covenant had
three things inside it. It had a pot full of manna, that
heavenly bread, the bread of heaven that came down to earth.
Our Lord said, I am the bread of heaven. I'm the living bread. And it had Aaron's rod that budded
just a stick that budded life was in that stick. It didn't
have a root. It was his own source of life
and the tables of the covenant. the two tables of stone that
the Lord wrote the Ten Commandments on. The Law. The Law. The Living Bread, the Source
of Life, and the whole Law was kept in this Ark of the Covenant. Verse 5 here in Hebrews 9 says,
"...and over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy
seat." On this Ark was a mercy seat. It says, of which we cannot
now speak particularly. Now, when these things were thus
ordained, the priest went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing
the service of God, but into the second went the high priest
alone. Once every year, not without
blood, which he offered for himself and for the errors of his people.
What does the Ark of the Covenant represent? The Lord Jesus Christ. Hannah put Samuel where the Lord
Jesus Christ was. Did the Lord bless that? His
mother put him where Christ was, where Christ was proclaimed,
where Christ was glorified. Did the Lord bless that? Well,
verse two says, it came to pass at that time when Eli was laid
down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim that he could
not see, 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, that the Lord called Samuel. The Lord called Samuel. Mercy has just come to Samuel. Grace has just been given to
Samuel. Righteousness and peace have
just kissed Samuel. And he's about to be notified
of all this. Salvation is of the Lord. Conversion
is just notification. That's all it is. Verse 4 says,
The Lord called Samuel. This call is issued to every
single one of God's people whom he saved. Listen to Romans 1. Verse 1 says, Paul, a servant
of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle. Verse 6 says, among
whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ. Verse 7 says, to
all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints. This is a calling. It's not a
decision. It's a calling. Romans 8 verse
29 says, Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called. And whom he called, them he also
justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. Listen to Romans 9. Verse 23
says, And that he might make known the riches of his glory
on the vessels of mercy, which he had aforeprepared unto glory,
even us whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also
of the Gentiles. Let me give you one more. 1 Corinthians
chapter 1, verse 26 says, For you see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble, are called. But God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise. And God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty. And base things of the world
and things which are despised hath God chosen. Yea, in things
which are not, to bring to naught things that are. Salvation is
of the Lord. It's His choice whom He calls. Well, our text says the Lord
chose to call Samuel. And for a person who's confident,
if you're listening to this and you're confident, the Lord has
never called me. I've never heard the call. I
want us to look at three questions. Number one, is this call of salvation
real? Is this real? The second question
is, how will I know if the Lord is calling me? And the third
question is, what is the call unto? All right. The first question, is this call
real? Our text first Samuel three verse
one says there was no open vision. Now there have been times that
the Lord has been open visually and audibly. This was not one
of those times, just like right now. This was not one of those
times. But verse four says, the Lord
called Samuel and he answered out loud, here am I. Something has to seem pretty
real to you for you to answer out loud. I'm in here. Verse five says, and he ran unto
Eli and said, here am I for thou called me. And he said, I called
not lie down again. And he went and lay down. He
said, you called me Eli. And Eli said, no, I didn't call
you. Eli didn't hear anything. Was it real? We just read where Paul said,
I was called to be an apostle. We remember his story, don't
we? When the Lord called him, it was so loud and so real to
him. It knocked him off his horse.
Ask Paul, is it real? But do you know that all those
men around him, they heard something, they said it thundered, but they
didn't hear him. They didn't hear Christ. This
call is particular. It's individual. It's not a general
call. And every person whom he calls
will tell you it's real. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed. Peter said, this is not a cunningly
devised fable. This is real. Our second question
is, how will I know if the Lord is calling me? Well, first, this
call normally takes place over a period of time. Although we're
looking at Samuel's experience, we're not waiting for an experience.
Verse four says, the Lord called Samuel and he said, here am I. And he ran unto Eli and said,
here am I for thou called me. And he said, I called not, lie
down again. And he went and laid down and
the Lord called yet again. He called again. Great is thy
faithfulness, Lord unto me, that he would call me once. Oh, that
he would call me twice. Verse 6 says, The LORD called
yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose 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. And the Lord called Samuel again
the third time. And he arose and went to Eli
and said, here am I for thou didst call me. Usually this call
happens over a period of time. Samuel didn't know the Lord was
dealing with him. Samuel heard something and he went to Eli.
And then he heard something and he went to Eli. And during that
time, Samuel had to start questioning what he's hearing. What am I
hearing? I know I'm hearing something.
Am I hearing this right? Am I hearing things? It says
all this was happening before the lamp of God went out in the
temple. I believe he was probably reading
the word in bed. And I believe the Lord did all
this through the word. That's how he speaks, through
his word. Over time, a person is going to start searching the
scriptures to see if these things be so. See if these things I'm
hearing are so. All this running he's doing.
Every time the Lord called, Samuel went running. He's running here. He's running there. He's looking
for the answer. He's not going to find it. Not
like that. Samuel kept running to Eli. Eli's
not the one who called him. We don't go to a man. We don't
look to a man. The Lord is gonna use a man,
a preacher, but a man in and of himself, he doesn't have the
answers. We don't go to man. Well, through all this running,
through all this searching, not finding any answers, not finding
any relief, not finding any rest, feeling a burden grow stronger
and stronger. Finally, the Lord is going to
do with Samuel what he does with every child he calls. He's going
to get him to a place. So he doesn't know where to turn. He doesn't know what to do. It's
called lost. Lost. Then the Lord is going to open
his ears to hear a preacher. Preach the word. He's going to
hear for the first time, like his ears have been unstopped.
He's going to hear the word of God. The end of verse eight in our
text says, Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel,
go lie down. Stop running. Stop running here. Stop running there. Stop searching
every wind of doctrine. You're looking in the wrong place.
You're seeking the wrong thing. Go lie down. Verse nine says, and it shall
be, if he call thee. If he call thee. Salvation is up the Lord. It's
his call. if he called thee, if you ever
hear the Lord's voice through his word. This is how you'll
know you've been called. Verse nine says, thou shalt say. This will be your response. This will be your evidence. Thou
shalt say, speak, Lord. For thy servant heareth. Speak, Lord, for thy servant
heareth. Our third question is, what is
the call unto? The first thing it's unto is
silence. You speak, Lord, I'll just listen. It's a call to subjection. You're my Lord. I'm your subject. It's a call to service. Speak
Lord for the servant hereth. Servant. What is the call unto
obedience? Obedience. The end of verse nine
says, Samuel went and laid down in his place. This is not a call
to action. This is not a call to arms. This is a notification that your
warfare has been accomplished. It's over. It's finished. Rest. This is a call to spiritual
rest. This is a call to spiritual peace. Peace with God. It's a notification
Christ has made peace. This is a call to spiritual life. Live. Verse 9 says, 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 and the Lord came. The Lord came. How amazing the Lord would come
to a center. This is a call to an audience
with him. This is a call to an acquaintance
with Him. This is an introduction to a
relationship. Verse 10 says, And the LORD came,
and stood, and called, as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak,
for thy servant heareth I pray the Lord would call someone.
I pray the Lord would call me. I want to be called again. Lord,
speak to me. Please, Lord, speak to me. Thy servant heareth. If you have never heard the voice
of the Lord Jesus Christ, cry out unto him. Call on him while
he is near. Cry, Lord, speak to me, thy servant
heareth. If you ever hear his voice through
his word, it's a call unto salvation. Someone asked the question one
time, does the Lord speak out loud? When he calls, does he
speak out loud? And a preacher wisely said, no,
It's much louder than that. Much louder than that. Speak, Lord, thy servant heareth. I pray the Lord would speak to
us. Until next Sunday, may the Lord bless his word to our hearts. You have been listening to a
message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace
Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, you can write
to our physical mailing address at 905 Yadkin Street, Kingsport,
Tennessee 37660 or log on to our website at kingsportsovereigngracechurch.com. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning at 10.30
a.m. and 6 o'clock p.m. Wednesday
evening at 7.30 p.m. Please tune in next Sunday morning
at 8.30 for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.