The gift of a child

Sermon notes from Sunday 24 May 2014

1 Samuel 1 verses 21 - 28

At this particular point of time in history, Israel was at a very dark point. Eli was the priest who God raised up to represent himself to the people and receive petitions from the people.  Chapter 2 verse 12 Eli’s sons were following a false God “they knew not the Lord” spiritually speaking. Today the same is true.  In verse 17 we see the people were coming with their offerings to the Lord, looking to the sons of Eli “for men abhored offering of the Lord”.  In verse 22 we see the great immoral plight on the nation of Israel but a tremendous thing happened when God did bring deliverance through a child.  What an encouragement to us today. Children need the Lord today. The Lord can reach down today and bring forth his own child. Remember Andrew.  As the people followed Jesus on the mountainside he was concerned about the people having nothing to eat whilst Philip was concerned that there would not be enough food. The only person Andrew found was a little boy. Look what it says in verse 24. Hannah speaking of Samuel "and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh and the child was young".

A precious child.  Every child is precious to the Lord. “but whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18 verse 6)  Remember the day Jesus met the woman and children coming out of the town. They were interested in bringing their children to see Christ. The disciples put up their hands said no more the Lord has no time for these but Jesus said “suffer little children and forbid them not to come unto me for of such is the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19 verse 14) Probably Samuel was about 8/9 years of age when he was taken up into the house of God. It is good to bring our children with us to the house of God. This little one here, for Hannah as she looked at him, this was answer to her prayer. She got before the God of heaven and prayed for this child, the deepest longing in her heart was that she would have a child. Not for a mansion, great wealth and health. She prays for a child. This was the longing of her heart. Is the longing of our heart to see our children saved? He was the most precious thing Hannah had. She is bringing him to the house of the Lord. She is now going to give him to the Lord. That is a sacrifice she had to make. She asked for him by prayer and said she would give him back to the Lord. Isaac the son of Abraham was loved deeply by Abraham but God asked Abraham to offer him as a sacrifice to the Lord. Abraham never thought anything about it. He said whatever you want Lord I will do. He was willing to place him on the altar as a sacrifice for God. That Hannah would take the most precious thing and give it to the Lord. Am I willing to give it to the Lord? Am I willing to give my time to the Lord? That is precious. So many things to clamour in to our days, so many people to see and do. Time is precious. Are we willing to say in the morning "my time is in your hands, my finances are in your hands, Lord if there is something you want from me am I willing to give it to you?  Hannah was willing to do it. Verse 27 "for this child I prayed." A challenge to us this morning. The children of our Sunday school are precious. The Lord has given that child to us that we might teach them the word of God. He sees something in Sunday school teachers, something he could trust. As a church we need to see the great preciousness of our children. Hannah saw the preciousness of this child and she prayed for this child. Jonah's attitude kept him from saving the people. The Lord called him to go to Ninevah but he got into a ship and decided to go another way. He hated the Ninevites with a passion. Jonah didn't see this people as the Lord saw them. He saw them as poor people, blinded people, ignorance spiritually on their hearts. Jonah didn't share the vision God had for Ninevah. He tried to go the other way. "What shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" That is how precious the children are. Are you fulfilling what God has placed on your heart today?

A privileged child. To have a mother who loved him so much she would do everything she had to see him serving the Lord. What a privilege it is for us for a door to be opened.  Cornelius was told to send for Peter “for he will tell you words whereby you might be saved.” Samuel was a privileged child. The angel came to his mother and told her she would have a child, revealed God's plan for her life. Remember Manoah’s wife?  She was so excited by the news when she told her husband Manoah she would have a child. Manish realised his own inability and acknowledged it before the God of heaven, “he intreated the Lord and said “O my Lord let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.”. He wanted to hear the angels voice. God allowed His messenger to come again. They shared their inability and wanted to know how to raise this child. As parents what a responsibility we have. When we trust the Lord as Saviour that changes things again, there is a new dimension, we need to show them something of the life of Christ and what could do for them. Maybe like Manoah we can ask the Lord to help us to teach our children. Ephesians 6 verse 4 “fathers do not provoke your children to wrath but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”  Paul says. Do not only teach them but set the example to them. Samuel was prayed for, born into home where mother knew the Lord. Moses was also a privileged child. His parents feared the Lord. We need to do all we can to reach children with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They are at an age so important in their lives instrumental in moulding and shaping them. Some of them will grow up to hold good positions in society. Sadly some will get involved with the wrong company, end up in prison. We are teaching those little lives, we need to be sure we can reach them with the gospel.

This child was presented. Verse 22 what great patience and sacrifice that she came with that day. This was great day in any family, in the nation of Israel. Elkanah gathered up all the family to go to Jerusalem for the yearly sacrifice. Hannah went too. Back to the house of the Lord. The children's work takes patience, not easy. That is why need to pray for the Sunday School teachers and thank God for them. There is a lot of sacrifice involved in the work, time set aside in preparing the word of God. Sacrifice and patience is required. There will be many a time when things don't go as should, many disappointments. Time has to be taken to go out and bring them in, go out on the doors, sacrifice to set time aside to do all that. Hannah was prepared to take her child to the house of God.

A profitable child.  1 Samuel 2 verse 26 "and the child Samuel grew on and was in favour both with the Lord and also with man".  Hannah didn't know what would happen from the time she left him in the temple. God raised him up to be used to bring the nation back to God. We don't know who we are instructing. Moses lay in the basket until his mother and father could hide him no longer and pushed him out into the river bed. God drew the attention of Pharaohs daughter to the basket. As she looked at him something struck a chord in her heart. God had his hand on Moses' life, to be of use.  He had a role for this child. God has a hand on children we teach. God will use them to bring revival back to our province. David Livingstone was proof of that as was D L Moody.