Hello again. You would be turning
in your Bibles with me to 1 Samuel chapter 2. It's a privilege to
be here again. I'm thankful you'd have me. Good
to get to see some of you again and get to know some of you more.
We're thankful to be here. It's a privilege to preach the
gospel. And I was talking to my brother
Sunday about this, and I want to speak to the heart
to God's people. I want Him to bless you and teach
something and comfort, and I want that to happen. But I want Him
to be pleased with the message. And if it's His message He's
pleased with, that will please His people, won't it? I want
to look this morning at a common prayer for this evening. Common
prayer. This is a prayer of Hannah. Jude
said, I write to you of that common salvation. This is something
that's common among the Lord's people. Not that it's a dime
store common or you can find it on a shelf somewhere, but
this is the same. Same from old and the same now.
And the Lord had gave Hannah a trial to teach her something
and to make her pray. I wouldn't have done it that
way. Would you have done it that way? I was reading in Psalm 103
the other day and it says, Psalm 103 verse 7, He made known His
ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel. Did you
catch that? He showed Moses His way, but
that physical nation of Israel saw Him do things. I don't just
want to see the Lord do something. I want to know Him. I want Him to give me understanding. I want to know Him and understand
Him. If you want glory in something, glory in this. And know and understand
me. That's what I want. I want to
know His ways. That mountain genius said one
time, he said, if I had the power of God, I would change everything. I'd change every trial that come
about. I'd change the weather. I'd change everything if I had
the power of God. If I had the wisdom of God, I
would change nothing. Nothing. That's a hard thing
to pray. That's why we pray for our brethren. I won't pray, Lord,
keep this trial on me until you accomplish what you sent this
trial for. So give me the cliff notes. Make
it quick, make it easy. I'm quick learner, just tell
me plain. But my brethren will pray that for me when I'm too
weak to. And I'll pray that for you. I'll
mourn with you and I'll weep for you. Like Job. Job cried
and he shaved his head and he hit the ground. He praised God
in it. Lord, keep a trial on the people
and keep a sickness or whatever it is. Until they see Christ
in it. Until they worship God in it. That's saying, Lord, Your will
be done. That's hard to pray. That's why I pray for one another. Hannah learned how to pray, didn't
she? Hannah learned how to pray. What does a sinner pray about
after they ask for mercy and they ask for grace and the Lord
gives it? We begin in our life after the
Lord saves us, we finally know Him, we know what we are, and
we have petitions. We ask Him things, don't we?
And as that life goes on, and those years pass, and we see
through a glass dimly, but we see a little bit more. We see
men walking as trees. We know what that first atom
was. We know that all mankind's fit for burning. But we see a
little bit more as time goes on. Those petitions turn into
praise. Through experience that's gained,
and patience that's gained through those trials, we start saying
thank you. We start saying thank you. We
start praising the one that granted life. It says in 1 Samuel 2,
verse 1, and 1 Samuel 2, 1. I'm fortunate in my Bible, I've
got most everything we're gonna look at on this page and this
page. You may have turned just a little bit, but I'll try not
to have you turn too much tonight. 1 Samuel 2, verse 1. And Hannah
prayed. Hannah was praying again. Did
you know that? Everybody says, oh, well, this is 1 Samuel 2,
this is Hannah's prayer. Well, that's her second prayer.
We don't say that often, do we? She prayed again. She had a new
creation in her. Life had been put in her when
she was barren. And she prayed. We tell a lot
about a person about their heart by their prayer. We tell a lot
about them. Ananias prayed, didn't he? And
the Lord told him, He said, Hey, there's one down here named Saul
of Tarsus. He's praying. Go to him. And Ananias was on
us. He said, Lord, I've heard about this fellow. He's a man
like me. He's a man like you. He's a human,
wasn't he? He said, Oh, you've got to give me grace to do this.
And they said, Behold, he prayeth. Not he's saying prayers. Not
he's going through some pre-canned responses. He's praying to me.
You'll know it. You sit in the back and listen
for five minutes if you need to. You'll be fine. Go to him,
and he went, didn't he? Hannah prayed the first time
for her child. She was buried. She couldn't have children. She
had a husband. His name was Elkanah, and he
was a good husband, but whenever he knew his wife, there was no
life in her. That's something, God has to
teach that. This isn't just a lady that couldn't have a baby. Her
whole life she planned what she would do with children. I'm gonna
have this many kids, I want this many boys, I want this many girls.
And she didn't know anything was wrong with her. Everything
was just fine. Then that husband that loved
her came, you see the picture. That husband that loved her came
to her and knew her and she realized at that point she was barren.
That's when she found out there was no life in her. You get that? There in chapter 1, verse 2.
It says, and speaking of Elkanah, he had two wives. One of them
was named Hannah, and the other named Pananah. And Pananah had
children, but Hannah had no children. She didn't have any children.
I thought of Eve. The Lord said, I'm going to multiply
your sorrow in childbirth. And she said, okay. And she never
had a baby. She didn't know what he was talking,
that's this world. The Lord said, there's gonna be judgment. And
they go, oh, okay. That's so ignorant. Ignorance
is not bliss. For the first time, her husband
come to her, he knew her, and she had no children, she was
barren. And Hannah knew she was barren. She did not know that
before. But she started learning she's barren, and she learned
her husband loved her. It says in verse four, and when
the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave offering, he gave to
Peninnah, his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, and
he gave portions, but unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion, for
because he loved Hannah. But the Lord had shut up her
womb. The rain falls on the just and unjust. The just and unjust,
their corn grows and they eat it. The Lord's good to all mankind,
isn't He? He is. But this loving husband,
though he gave a portion to all those that was under his control,
he loved Hannah. And he gave her a worthy portion
because he loved her. But the Lord had shut up her
womb. And He had convinced her of that. She knew she was barren.
She knew that her husband loved her. And that's what the Holy
Spirit does. That's the work of the Holy Spirit.
It's what's picturing. That's what the Lord said, when
He has come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness,
and of judgment. The Lord's got to come to us
and show us we can't make life in ourselves just because we
want to, and that He's righteousness, and that this whole shooting
match is done. All judgment's been satisfied
in Him. And whatever He does is right. He's a judge of all
earth, isn't he? Hannah prayed for life to be
in her. And just like you, and just like me, and just like David,
and just like Rahab, this is common. That means it happens
among all the Lord's people. Lord, save! That's what that sweet psalmist
of Israel said, wasn't it? What Peter said when he started
thinking. Lord, save! And straightway the Lord took
his hand out. Put life in me. I'm dead in trespasses
and sins. I'm barren. I can't give myself
life. Nobody else can give me life. Mommy and daddy can't give
me life. You have to. You have to. Doctrine just wouldn't
do it. Doctrine wouldn't do it. We needed
to be the product of love. That's what the scriptures talk
about, benevolence. Benevolence. That's the life-giving act of
a husband and wife, benevolence. Not just talking about doing
it, it was doing it. I don't need to talk about the
Lord saving sinners, I need to be saved. I don't need to talk
about life being put in me, I need life in me. And He's got to do
it. It says in verse 6, 1 Samuel
1 verse 6, And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to
make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb. Penana
was picking on her. And as he did so year by year,
when she went up to the house of the Lord, so she provoked
her, before she wept and did not eat. And then said Alcina her husband
to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? Why eatest thou not? And why
is thy heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten
sons? Didn't just finding the right
place that preaches the right doctrine good enough for you
He's going to prove himself, isn't he? I appreciate the doctrine
of election. I do. I'm thankful for it. But I want eternal life with
the God of election. You see the difference? I appreciate
perseverance of the saints. That's great. I love it. I preach
it, don't I? But I must be the one that the
Lord keeps. There's a difference there. So
Hannah prayed. She didn't say, she wasn't setting
up a nursery and saying, well, someday, you know, she wanted
life in her. She didn't just talk about it.
And so verse nine, so Hannah rose up after they had eaten
in Shiloh and after they had drunk. Now Eli, the priest, sat
upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord. And she was
in bitterness of soul. She's low, wasn't it? Naomi,
grace. She said, call me not Naomi.
He called me Mara. That's Mary now. Everybody's
called Mary. She was in bitterness of soul and prayed unto the Lord
and wept sore. And she vowed a vow and said,
O Lord of hosts, if thou would indeed look on the affliction
of thine handmaid, and remember me. Remember me. Heard that before too, haven't
we? Lord, remember me. And not forget thine handmaid,
but will give unto thine handmaid a man-child. There's a man I
need. Is there a man you need? Then
I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and
there shall no razor come upon his head. He's gonna be your
servant, that's what that means. And poor Eli was sitting there,
and her lips weren't moving. Her lips were moving, but there
wasn't so much sound coming out, and she was just kind of mumbling.
And Eli thought she was drunk. He'd seen a lot around. I see
a lot around. the building that we meet in too. You'd be amazed
what happens in a church parking lot. And he thought, oh boy,
you know. And Hannah answered, verse 15,
look here at verse 71, 15. And Hannah answered and said,
no, my Lord, I'm a woman of sorrowful spirit. I've drunk neither wine
nor strong drink, but I poured out my soul before the Lord.
That's groanings. That's things that can't be uttered. As a Holy Spirit, you ever prayed
that? Instead of saying, well, Lord, here's our petitions for
the day, but just went, ah! Good place to be. Lord may give
us the year, huh? She said, don't you think I'm
playing religion like I have my whole lot? I've poured out
my soul to God. Verse 17, and Eli answered and
said, go in peace and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition
that thou hast asked of him. And she said, let thine handmaid
find grace in thy side. So the woman went away and did
eat, and her countenance was no more sad. Peace was given
because God's the grantor of petitions, isn't He? He hears
His people, He hears His child. And so she asked the Lord for
a child, and He gave her one. It sounds so simple. I'm not
asking for a Cadillac or Mercedes Benz, right? But there's been
things in my life I said, Lord, would You do this? Please, would
you give us to these people or to me or to my wife?" And he
did. And I'm shocked when he does.
I ought not be. He said, if your father knows
you had need of it before you even asked, but you asked now.
I'm going to do this for you, but you're going to inquire of
me. I ought to ask without ceasing, shouldn't I? If you're barren,
if you're lifeless, and you see you can't give yourself life,
pour out your soul unto the Lord. Or if, I think the Lord's dealt
graces for me before. I need grace today. Not something
that happened 10 years ago, not an experience, not a message
I heard before, not one I liked a whole lot. I need grace today.
Ask him. If it's in your soul to desire
that and be thirst and hunger, pour it out. He'll reign from
heaven above, won't he? He'll show mercy, he delights
to show mercy. Like that thief on the cross, just like Hannah
here, he said, Lord, remember me. And he said, today, you'll
be with me in paradise. That man ought to have the most
assurance that any believer in the world faces ever. God looked him in
the eyes and said, here soon, buddy. Just a minute, you're
gonna be with me in paradise. Well, verse 19. They rose up
in the morning early and worshiped before the Lord and returned
and came to their house to Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah, his
wife, and the Lord remembered her. Wherefore it came to pass,
when the time was come, about after Hannah had conceived, that
she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, because
I have asked him of the Lord. She asked the Lord for a son,
and she got one. She named him Samuel, because
I asked the Lord. He gave it to me. He gave it
to me. Hannah was going to wait to go
up to Shiloh to worship again, and give Samuel to the Lord once
he was weaned. She will lend him to the Lord.
But don't think that she took a six-month-old baby up to give
to Eli. Look here in verse 24. And when
she had weaned him, she took him up with her, three bullocks
and one effa of flour and a bottle of wine, and brought him under
the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young. The
child was young. There was three weanings that
took place. This was real typical back then. It's been common knowledge.
Everybody had known it. But I don't. I had to learn.
You probably know, but I'll tell you anyway. There were three
weanings that took place. First, they had to be weaned
from the breast. They didn't have bottles back then. As they
gave suck, they were weaned from suck. They were weaned from breastfeeding. Then they went on to dry nurse
until about age seven. That was common practice in the
kindergarten side, first grade or so. They had a dry nurse there
for them to keep them. Then they were weaned out of
childhood. About 12 years old. About 12 years old they were.
And now they represent that as a bar mitzvah in Jewish culture,
don't they? That seems too young to just
go take a child and drop it off at the temple to serve God. See
ya. 12 years old, bye. Wasn't there another 12 year
old that was in a temple and told his mother, said, I must
be about my father's business? Rex read in a study back then,
there was a 12 year old that was deathly ill. And the new
paragraph begins, and there's a woman with an issue of blood
that had an issue for twelve years. And the Lord heals her,
and it goes back to that one that was twelve years old. The
Lord might be teaching us something here, huh? Twelve years. Then
verse 25, And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli.
And she said, O my Lord, as thy soul liveth, my Lord, I am the
woman that stood by thee here, praying unto thee, Lord. You
ever done that? You ever told your brethren?
You remember a couple years ago when this was going on? Oh, I
asked the Lord this, and you know what the Lord did? It was
better than I could have imagined. He sent that trial, and now I'm,
I was weeping then. I'm thankful for that trial now.
He did it. We tell one another that, don't
we? For this child, verse 27, I prayed, and the Lord hath given
me my petition, which I ask of him. Therefore also have I lent
him to the Lord, as long as he liveth, he shall be lent to the
Lord. That doesn't mean she was possessive and she's like, you
know what, I'm gonna do the Lord a favor. I like his fellow, I can tell
he's sharp. And I'm going to let the Lord
borrow him." No. He gave her that child. And what's
her language here is, it was his anyway. I had him. It's just that if the Lord is
going to let me see him, what do we bring to the Lord? His
Son, don't we? The Son that He gave us. And it's ruined by religion. Religion ruins a whole lot of
things. Give your heart to the Lord. Give your heart to Jesus.
Ah, it gives you goosebumps. But we do, don't we? Lord, this
is your heart. What about Simon that carried
his cross? Do you think, well, Simon, that was a really good
job. That was a gracious thing you did, carrying the Lord's
cross. He said, if there's anything good, I didn't do it. Christ
dwelt in me. We know that. We know it. We
don't just think it, we know it. He proves it to us, don't
he? Says verse 28, therefore also
I have lent him to the Lord as long as he liveth, he shall be
lent to the Lord. And he, you see that? Hannah was talking. Now watch
this, and he worshiped the Lord there. Which one of these he's
is that talking about? Was that Eli that worshiped the
Lord? Sacrifice of praise to the Lord, you betcha. You bet
he did. There's been times I've preached
and I've talked to my preacher friends and I get to watch the
Lord work. I get to see his acts. He says his ways here and I believe
him, but we also get to watch him act too. Watch him work. And that's precious and we thank
him for it. We thank him. I just throw the seat. Broadcast
it. He gives the increase and we
thank him, we praise him. Did he worship the Lord? You
bet he did. Would a believing man or woman
rejoice if their spouse believed? You that believe, if you had
a loved one, a father, a mother, a child, a real good friend,
your neighbor, somebody you really cared about, and God put life
in them and they praised God for it, for this being all His
work, wouldn't you be happy? Would you worship God for that?
You bet you would. We pray for that now in pain.
And when it happens, boy, there's tears of joy, ain't there? What
about Samuel? Was he one of the he's that was
worshiping? The Lord hadn't spoke to his heart yet. But he was
raised right. He was given a head knowledge,
wasn't he? And he was plenty old enough
to know what was going on when Mommy and Daddy was leaving.
He may not have been happy about that, but he was obedient. I
tell my children now, I said, you don't have to be happy with
what I tell you, but you're going to do it. As long as you're under
my roof, you're eating my food, you're going to do what I say.
If you want your own roof and your own grocery bills, go for
it. But while you're here, and Samuel was trained well and he
was obedient. Wasn't he? Now I've spent a lot of time
leading up to this, to her praying, but I wanted to give you the
situation. This isn't just something we read through so quickly. This
is human beings that God worked in and this really happened.
And just like everything else, it's unique to us. Our trials
are unique and our situations are unique, but the Lord works
in us. He does. God gave Hannah a child that
she asked for. Everybody rejoiced over what the Lord did. Now he's
12, 13 years old, and he's there at the temple, and she's gonna
leave him with Eli. And she's gonna give of her first
fruit. She's gonna give her only son.
What a privilege that would be. Abraham was taught that, wasn't
he? God spoke to Abraham, he said, you take thy son, thy only
son, whom thou lovest. Hannah loved him. And get thee
into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering
upon one of the mountains, which I will tell thee of. That'd be
a hard trial, wouldn't it? If we could see Christ in it.
God gave his only son for us. And the Lord told Aaron, he said,
I'm going to take you up on a mountain and I'm going to kill you and
your robes are going to come off of you and be put on your
sons. Last thing Aaron did on this
earth was being a picture of Christ for us. And nobody handcuffed
him and took him up top of that mountain. Lord said go and he
went, didn't he? Hannah here is bringing her only
son. They weren't killing Samuel, but he wasn't going to go home
with them. She said she's going to do this and they were going
to leave him there and they're going to go home and that room
that he stayed in, that room is going to be empty. They're
going to wake up the next morning and have breakfast and they're
going to set the table and that chair where he sat and that plate where
he ate off of, he ain't going to be there. Only two there at the table.
No one to help carry the firewood, no one to hug you whenever you're
sad. Now what did Hannah pray? That'd be hard. That's a hard
trial. Look here in chapter 2 verse
1. 1 Samuel 2 verse 1. And Hannah prayed and said, my
heart rejoiceth in the Lord. To go through such pain, the
Lord does that. He has to. So this is right. And my heart rejoiceth, not in
the trial, in the Lord. Did Hannah's rejoice, does her
heart rejoice in Elkanah? He was a good husband, he loved
her, he showed her he loved her, he was wise. She loved him, she
rejoiced in the Lord. Did her heart rejoice in Samuel?
He was an outstanding son, and he was gonna be used mightily
of the Lord. She appreciated her son, but
she didn't build a house around the children, did she? She didn't
rejoice in the gifts of the Lord, she rejoiced in the Lord that
gave the gifts. That's what she rejoiced in. And it wasn't just
one time a year. This wasn't once. It wasn't one
time a year. She didn't just rejoice in the
Lord on Tuesdays and Sundays. We go to church every Wednesday
and twice on Sundays, don't we? That's what we used to say when
I was a kid. This wasn't just sometimes or whenever our shadow
breaks those doors. It says, she rejoiceth. And Hannah
prayed and said, my heart rejoiceth in the Lord. This is a common
thing among the Lord's people. This isn't unique. to just to
Hannah. This is the same with the Lord's
people of old. This is the same with Rahab and
David and Hannah and the prophets. And it was the same with the
apostles. And it's the same with the church of old, five, six
hundred years ago. And it's the same today. And
I'll tell you what, if this goes on for another thousand years,
it's going to be the same then. We rejoiceth continually in the
Lord. That's what Paul wrote about.
He said, we're the circumcision which worship God in the Spirit
and rejoice in Jesus Christ. and have no confidence in the
flesh. They told that church at Philippi, they said, Rejoice
in the Lord always. Always. Peter said, Whom having
not seen we love, and whom though now you see him not yet believing,
ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. This is a hard and heavy trial
for Hannah. Yes, it is. But God was pleased to send that
trial of barrenness. He was pleased to send Penina
to pick on her year in and year out and make her sorrowful to
where she couldn't eat. The Lord did that. It pleased Him. And it pleased Him to give her
eternal life. and she continually rejoiceth
in him because of it. It says there in verse one, and
Hannah prayed and said, my heart rejoiceth in the Lord. Mine horn
is exalted in the Lord. That's my strength. My strength's
exalted in the Lord. How do you have strength to hand
over your 12-year-old child, Hannah? She says, the Lord did
it. Your son asked me one time, how was you able to leave Alaska? And I packed up my whole family,
we left Alaska, we got in an RV, and we drove all the way
across the country to New Jersey, and we settled there, because
that was my watchman, and I put my family under the gospel. And
your son said, how was you able to do it? And I said, it's easy.
And we was here at the conference, and I went to bed, and I laid
down, and I didn't sleep that whole night. I was sick. I was
tore inside out. I thought, oh man, he thought
like, oh, this was the easiest thing I ever did. That wasn't
what I meant. Next morning we met here for
the conference and I run to him and I said, buddy, I'm sorry
for what I said. He said, what are you talking
about? He didn't remember. And I said, when I said it was easy
to just up and pack my family up and move all the way across
the continent, I meant the Lord made it easy. I had no option.
He pigeonholed me and lowered me in the wilderness and put
up hedges of thorns. It was easy because I had to. It was His doing. Hannah, what
a wonderful thing you did. The Lord had me do it. Lord had
me do it, it wasn't me. And Hannah prayed and said, my
heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn, all my strength is
exalted in the Lord. My mouth is enlarged over my
enemies because I rejoice in thy salvation. Penanna was Elkanah's
other wife. Soon as Hannah realized that
she was bare and Penanna started in on her, And if the Lord convicts
someone of their sin, this cursed world notices it. And somebody's
going to have something to say about it. Somebody's going to
pick on somebody. And a brand new believer won't
really have the words, the right words to address it. They won't
have the experience to address it, but they're going to. That
their mouth is enlarged over their enemies. Because they have
something more important to say now. Don't they? Because they
rejoice in the God of their salvation. What? That's why they get mad.
They used to rejoice in decisions and picking the right place and
I've sorted out this gospel and I finally found the guy that
preaches the way I believe and all these things and nonsense.
And then God saved somebody and they said, God saved me. Well,
you denounced everything. You're saying them people that
preaches that false gospel ain't your friends no more. I ain't
saying that. I hope God saves them. I'm saying he's the God
of salvation. I'm the sinner. He's the Savior.
That's offensive. Well, we got something to say,
don't we? My mouth's enlarged because of him. We rejoice in
Christ our Lord, our salvation, the one who gave life. Hannah
was the Lord's and she had a work of grace done in her heart. But how much did those Old Testament
believers really know? That comes up a question sometimes,
too. Well, she's a girl. How much could girls know? I don't pray like Hannah, do
you? I do. Boy, they knew what we know.
They knew the person. Not so much what, they knew who.
She knew who she believed. What is she really into? What's
common to all God's children. That's it. It says in verse 2,
there is none holy as the Lord. You're holy. You're holy, God. For there's none beside thee,
neither is there any rock like our God. Isaiah the prophet,
he saw the Lord high and lifted up, and the chair of him cried
out, holy, holy, holy. We just say it. As the Lord of hosts, the whole
earth is full of his glory. Hannah says, there's none holy
as the Lord. Do you say that? We do, don't
we? He's holy. There's a holy God
on His throne, isn't there? There's none besides Him. There's
no God like our God. Brother Montgomery said that
one time. Our God is God. It seems pretty
simple, but that's true, isn't it? Ain't nothing like Him. He's
God. He lives up to His name. And
she said, He's holy, and ain't nobody like Him. Old Nebuchadnezzar
knew that. He said, I bless the most, when
His mind comes to Him, He said, I bless the most high. I praise and honor
Him that liveth forever, whose dominion, it's an everlasting
dominion. This King, there ain't no end
of His kingdom. No end of His reign. And His
kingdom is from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants
of earth are reputed as nothing, and he doeth according to his
will in armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth, and none can stay his hand or say to him, what are
you doing? You hush your mouth, we're talking to God. He's holy.
Ain't nobody like him. She knew something, didn't she?
Did she have a good handle on this? Look at verse two. There
is none holy as the Lord, or there is none beside thee, neither
is there any rock like our God. What's Hannah saying? I've been
set on Christ the solid rock and all the other ground around
me. Everything I had going on before, everything I was worried
about, it's all sinking sand. I'm on Him. I'm on the rock. Moses asked the Lord, he said,
show me your glory. You're holy. That comes with
glory and I want to see it. Show me your ways, Lord. I don't
want to just see a tsunami. I don't want to just see creation.
I want to see the God of creation. And the Lord said, okay, I'll
be gracious to whom I'll be gracious. I'll show mercy to whom I'll
be. And when I was 16, boy, I was hung on that, and I'd take anybody
to task. I'd accept all comers. I'll fight
you tooth and toenail. And then the Lord showed me what
that glory was. It says in Exodus 30, the Lord
said, thou can't see my face for there shall none see me and
live. What's that mean? He's holy. He changes not. So what's the solution? How can
we be in his presence? How can we be given eternal life
to be in the presence of a holy God that we've sinned against?
She's a sinner just like me. We got that in common too. Not
I used to be, I am. Oh, wretched man that I am. Paul
had that in common, this one right here. What's the solution? He said in Exodus 33, 21, the
Lord said, behold, there's a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon
a rock, and it shall come to pass. That's his right hand.
That's a person, not a place. You get that? This isn't a physical
rock you can pick up. This is Christ, our rock. He
said, and it shall come to pass, for my glory passeth by. I will
put thee in the cleft of the rock, and I'll cover you with
my hand as I pass by. I'm gonna put you in Christ.
Well, that's glorious. And because he's just and the
justifier, that's holy. It's right. This is right. Well, I don't think that's right.
It don't matter what you think. God thinks it's right. That makes
it right. He doesn't do what's right. What
he does is right. He's God. Hannah said, I'm on a rock. She
understood something, didn't she? Well, what's our response?
If the Lord's done this, what's our response to His ability?
He's done something, what are we gonna do? We're gonna say
something. She's praying, this is a prayer, isn't it? Look at
verse three. Talk no more so exceedingly proudly. Let not
arrogance come out of your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by Him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are
broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. All
those that thought they had strength are going to come down. Those
mighty hills are going to be brought down, and those that
are low valleys are going to be brought up. Those that's in
myry pits, he's going to get up underneath them, underneath
their thigh, and pick them up and bring us up. And we're going
to be on something that's on the level. What's that? That's
the rock. Every one of us. I've been haughty, and God's
humbled me. And then there's times I feel
like I'm just in despair, and He's lifted me up, isn't it?
They that stumble or gurb a strength, verse five, and they that were
full have hired themselves out for bread. And they that were
hungry, they ceased, they were full. So that the barren hath
borne seven, and she that hath many children has waxed feeble.
The Lord killeth and maketh alive. He bringeth down to the grave
and bringeth up. I can't kill nobody. I can cry. People can't kill themselves.
They can try, but they fail before. I can't make anybody alive. You
can do CPR until you die. That don't mean nothing's gonna
happen. God does that. That's in providence and that's
spiritually and practically and any way you cut it, he does it. We'll confess that if he saves
us. The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich. He bringeth low
and lifteth up. Verse eight, he raises up the
poor out of the dust and lifted up the beggar from the dunghill
to set them among princes. and to make them inherit the
throne of glory, for the pillars of earth are the Lord's, and
He hath set the world upon them, and He will keep the feet of
His saints." I don't want to make decisions
of my own. I don't know what to do. I don't
want to pick what's right. I want God to be right, and I
beg Him to keep my feet. And if he ain't gonna go with
me, I don't wanna go. That's a nice thing to read sometimes,
but to be put in a position to say, I don't know what to do.
God, you keep my feet. And you know what he says? I'm gonna keep your feet. All right, I can go sleep tonight.
Now tomorrow I'm probably gonna need my feet kept, and I'm gonna
be back crying and praying to him on a petition. He will keep
the feet of his saints, he will. And the wicked shall be silent
in darkness, for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries
of the Lord shall be broken to pieces. Out of heaven shall he
thunder upon them. The Lord shall judge the ends
of the earth, and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt
the horn of his anointed. Is that us? We're His anointed.
The Lord said, touch not mine anointed. Do my prophets no harm. Well, who's our strength? Christ
is our strength. You know what He's gonna do?
Of all of us anointed, God's gonna exalt Christ. Give Him
preeminence above all things. How does that make you feel?
I tell you how it makes me feel, and I'll bet you dollars to donuts
how it'd make Hannah feel. I wouldn't have it any other
way. I wouldn't have it any other way. Lord glorify, Christ came
and said, Father glorify your name. What a prayer. That's it. Not a fancy, not fancy
says, not long, what? Father glorify your name. Hannah
says, you're gonna exalt the horn. You're gonna exalt the
Christ of all your anointed people. That's gonna happen. And I know
that for a fact. Christ is gonna get all the glory.
That's gonna happen. It's gonna happen. Well, what
happened in verse 11? And Elkanah went to Ramah to
his house, and the child did minister unto the Lord before
Eli the priest. Samuel was off serving the Lord,
and then every year Hannah, she would come up there to worship
to Shiloh, and she would knit him a coat. And you won't get
cold this year, Samuel. Mama loves you. Take this coat.
I gotta go back to work now. You keep set up here serving
the Lord. The Lord worked in Samuel and
did mighty things, didn't he? We don't know how long Hannah
lived, but she might have got to see her son grow up and serve the God that she loved.
I heard a man say that years ago. He said, I hope the Lord
takes my son and sends him to the far corners of this earth.
I don't ever see him again. And he preaches Christ out there.
And I thought, well, that sounds good. And now I have sons. Now
I got some skin in the game. And I hope the Lord raises them
up and gives them a new, puts life in them, gives them a new
heart and gives them a, makes them a voice in the wilderness
and sends them out and calls them my brethren and exalts Christ
in the far corners of this earth. I do. Before, in the past, people told
me, they probably told you, right? In personal life or business
life, they said, you've given up so much. to serve the Lord. You know, you don't miss Wednesday
night services. Whether it's ball games or work
or whatever, you're there every Sunday. And you go, if you travel,
you go to some place to where there's a gospel church and you
go there. You've given up so much. That ain't nothing. And
somebody told Hannah, Hannah, you gave up that boy. Like, he's
just sweeping floors up there right now, that first year's
pretty tough. She said, you didn't go get him. What are you doing?
You've just sacrificed so much. And she said, no, I ain't. I
haven't either. I got siblings that don't talk
to me no more. That's all right. You know what
the Lord said? He said, Mark 10. He said, verily, verily,
I say unto you, there is no man that's left house, or brethren,
or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands
for my sake and the gospel's sake. but he shall receive a
hundredfold. Now, in this time, houses and
brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecution,
with persecutions, and in the world to come will receive eternal
life. We've come here this weekend
and people just opened their homes up and every one of them
has said, you hungry, go in the fridge and get you something
to eat. Cups are over there, spoons are over here, do what
you want. Do anything you want. I have houses here. You have
a house in Humboldt, California. I've got a nice little Hyundai
that will get you all over that county. You drive it, put as many miles on
it as you want. I don't care. That's yours. I've lacked nothing. I love sailboats. Brother Don
loved RVs. I tried to give him mine, he
wouldn't take it. I've got to go sell a sailboat. We went out
on one and the owner of it, it's our family, said, do you want
to drive it or sail it? I said, yeah, I'd like to. And
they said, we'll go up front, we're going to eat, do whatever
you want. I said, Lord's good to me, isn't he? I've lacked
nothing. I've lacked nothing. Is that common to you? Hannah
wanted children, didn't she? And she prayed and she said,
Lord, give me a son and I'll give him to you. Now she ain't
got no children. Look down verse 21. 1 Samuel
2 verse 21. The Lord provided his son for
us. How shall he not freely also
with him give us all things? We'll be needing nothing. Well,
Hannah must have needed some children. 1 Samuel 2 verse 21. And the Lord visited Hannah so
that she conceived and bare three sons and two daughters. And the
child Samuel grew before the Lord. Samuel kept growing. He went on to do some other stuff,
didn't he? He went through all those sons of Jesse and every
one of them was looking really good. And there was that David.
And he got anointed David. What a privilege that was. He
had siblings too, huh? Now, rewind a little bit. How
did all this start? She was barren, wasn't she? What
a trial. She was picked on because she
was barren. What a trial. It was so bad she couldn't eat.
That's a fast the Lord gives. Eat something, I can't. Sleep,
I can't. Misery. God sent it and look
what he did with it. We're going to bless him, aren't
we? I hope it's been a blessing to you. Thank you all for having
us. In the trials that you're in,
as hard as it is, I pray God to keep the trial on you until
his blessing, he's chose, but with that trial comes to pass.
I pray his will's done and he's exalted and we thank him for
it. I do. Amen. Thank you.