SERMON SUMMARY
Sunday, June 17,
2007
The Year of the Invitation : The Eyes of the Fathers Grow Dim
Sermon given by Senior Pastor, Dan Tabolt
We are living in
a day when the very image of a father has become for many very distorted.
Negative images come up with many words in our day such as, ‘car salesman,
lawyers, politicians, and sad to say, even father. The days of, “father
knows best”, has had a redefining. Almost a prophetic disruption of the
condition of many fathers is when he is called the “old man”. It is this
condition that best defines the problem with most men never becoming new
in Christ and therefore unable or unwilling to become true fathers. So
today on this Father’s Day, not only would I like to look at the role of
the fathers in our lives, but on the role of the father in each
generation. It is the responsibility of each generation’s father to carry
the baton of faith, to guard the treasure, and at the proper time, to turn
over the responsibility to the next generation of fathers.
1 Samuel 3:1 Samuel's New Generation
Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the
LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. 2 And it
came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when
his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, 3 and before the
lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God
was, and while Samuel was lying down,
4 that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, "Here I am!" 5 So he ran
to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." And he said, "I did not
call; lie down again." And he went and lay down. 6 Then the LORD called
yet again, "Samuel!" So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I
am, for you called me." He answered, "I did not call, my son; lie down
again." 7(Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word of the
LORD yet revealed to him.)
8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to
Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you did call me." Then Eli perceived that
the LORD had called the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie
down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say,'Speak, LORD,
for Your servant hears.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. NKJV
10 Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel!
Samuel!"And Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant hears."
11 Then the LORD said to Samuel: "Behold, I will do something in Israel at
which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 In that day I
will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from
beginning to end. 13 For I have told him that I will judge his house
forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves
vile, and he did not restrain them. 14 And therefore I have sworn to the
house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by
sacrifice or offering forever."
15 So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of
the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called
Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son!"
He answered, "Here I am."
17 And he said, "What is the word that the LORD spoke to you? Please do
not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything
from me of all the things that He said to you."
18 Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he
said,"It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him."
19 So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words
fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that
Samuel had been established as a prophet of the LORD. 21 Then the LORD
appeared again in Shiloh. For the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in
Shiloh by the word of the LORD. NKJV
I. A Right Picture of History
Most people’s view of history is not much more than three years. What
happened last year, what is going to happen this year, and what should
happen next year. Without a proper view of the full picture of time and
history we will lose our perspective of the value of our lives.
Really in this story we have the influence of three generations. We have
Eli and Hannah, who was the mother of Samuel, and then Samuel, who is the
focus of the Word of God at this point in history.
1. Who was Hannah? We have the story of Hannah and her faithfulness to the
Lord in Chapters 1 & 2 of 1Samuel. The main thought I would like to bring
forth about Hannah was her desire not to be barren. May we all as
Christians and as a generation so not want to be barren that we would seek
the Lord the way she did.
II. Eli’s Eyes Grow Dim
As long as man has recorded history, there has been a misunderstanding of
the gap between generations. We have even named the phenomenon, “The
Generation Gap”. Roughly put, it is the struggle of one generation loosing
its center stage place in time and seeing a new generation - that does not
see things quite the same way - beginning to take center stage.
Remember that Eli was once young.
I remember once reading about the struggle recorded way back in ancient
Egypt where a father essentially wrote, speaking of the next generation,
“What is the world coming to?”
'The old is better.' ???
Luke 5: 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new
wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be
ruined. 38 But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are
preserved. 39 And no one, having drunk old wine , immediately desires new;
for he says, 'The old is better.'" NKJV
1. The Old Father here is Eli.
a. Sad failure of Eli fathering.
b. Judgment on the unfaithful father and sons.
c. The Time of Samuel. God always has a seed and a plan.
2. The Old Man could have become a New Man and New Creation in Christ.
a. The Priesthood of the home.
b. The Prophet in the house.
c. The DNA of the family line.
III. The Bright Eyed Samuel
We see in this story, a place for all the components of Eli, Hannah, and
Samuel. It is however, Samuel’s day to hear the word of the Lord. He heard
the word, but did not understand it. It took the seasoned Eli to help him
understand what the word meant.
10 Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel!
Samuel!" And Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant hears."
1. The Word to My Generation.
Ps 81:10 I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt;
Open your mouth wide , and I will fill it. NKJV
Gen 45:5 God sent me before you to preserve life NKJV
Have you received the Holy Spirit since you where saved.
Isa 2:3 3 Many people shall come and say, "Come , and let us go up to the
mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us
His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth
the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. NKJV
2. It is Time to Take Your Place in History.
19 So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words
fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that
Samuel had been established as a prophet of the LORD. 21 Then the LORD
appeared again in Shiloh. For the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in
Shiloh by the word of the LORD. NKJV
Deut 31:22 Then He inaugurated Joshua the son of Nun, and said,"Be strong
and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the
land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you." NKJV
Jesus says to the church of every generation, “I give you the keys”. It is
the people in every generation that have received the revelation of Jesus
Christ. It is time that the Lord would reveal Himself by the word of the
Lord.
A tape recording
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Abundant Life Fellowship
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Boonville, NY 13309-0022
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