Welcome to Refinery Life Australia.
Today we start a new series titled The Doctrine of God.
Today we are talking about The Call of God.
Prayer
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Text
1 Samual 3:10 AMP
10 Then the Lord came and stood and called as at the previous times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”
Scripture Reading
1 Samual 3:1-14 AMP
The Prophetic Call to Samuel
3 Now the boy Samuel was attending to the service of the Lord under the supervision of Eli. The word of the Lord was rare and precious in those days; visions [that is, new revelations of divine truth] were not widespread.
2 Yet it happened at that time, as Eli was lying down in his own place (now his eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see well).
3 and the [oil] lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was,
4 that the Lord called Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.”
5 He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call you; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.
6 Then the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know [or personally experience] the Lord, and the word of the Lord was not yet revealed [directly] to him.
8 So the Lord called Samuel a third time. And he stood and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli understood that it was the Lord [who was] calling the boy.
9 So Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and it shall be that if He calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Then the Lord came and stood and called as at the previous times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”
11 The Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will ring.
12 On that day I will carry out against Eli everything that I have spoken concerning his house (family), from beginning to end.
13 Now I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the sinful behavior which he knew [was happening], because his sons were bringing a curse on themselves [dishonoring and blaspheming God] and he did not rebuke them.
14 Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the sinful behavior of Eli’s house (family) shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
Introduction
Awakened from sleep, the boy Samual herd someone calling his name.
Thinking the aged priest Eli had called, Samual ran quickly to his bedside, but Eli had not called.
After the third time this happened, Eli realised that the voice must be the voice of God.
He told the boy to listen well and, if the voice came again, to say, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”
When the voice came the fourth time, Samual did as he had been instructed.
The message he received from God was not a pleasant one.
Eli’s blasphemous sons were about to be punished, and so was Eli because he had not restrained them.
This ancient story reflects a simpler view of life than ours.
God still speaks to people.
God calls us even now.
Let’s look at several pointed questions.
- When does God cal?.
- God calls when our hearts are impressionable and tender.
This is true in the time of childhood, especially so when a child has been nurtured in the things of God.
This was true of the boy Samual, who had never known anything else.
This is true in a tie of sickness, which teaches us our weaknesses and dependance on God.
This is true in a time of sorrow, for sorrow is one of God’s great ministers.
This is true in a time of disappointment and defeat.
B. God calls when we have reached the end of our rope and know we have.
It has been truly said, “Our extremity is God’s opportunity.”
C. God calls when we seek His face.
The first tenet of biblical religion is that God, not us, took the initiative to bring about our salvation.
Yet everywhere the Bible encourages us to approach God, to call on His Name, to seek His face.
Those who seek God’s face will hear God’s call in their souls, Daniel 10:12 says, Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.
2. Why does God call?
A. God calls to offer salvation for or sins.
Christians are referred to in the New Testament as “the called” in Romans 8:28.
We find such phrases as “the called of Jesus Christ” in Romans 2”6, “the called according to His purpose” in Romans 8:28, and “called to be saint” in 1 Corinthians 1:2.
The meaning of all this is that God took the initiative in our salvation.
We are to call on the name of our Lord because He first called us.
B. God calls to judge us.
God’s call often comes as His response to human wickedness, to announce His judgement.
When God called Samuel in the night, He gave him a message of judgement on Eli and all his house.
Do we think God will be soft and sentimental about our sins, like some doting earthly parent, and fail to judge us because of our sins?
Not so!
His judgements are sure.
C. God calls to humble us, to remind us of His sovereignty.
The moral foundations of this universe rest on this inflexible fact.
A silent power, rigorous and sure, works certain retribution reward, as the case may be.
Let us not think the sovereignty of God will be set aside just because we may not believe in it.
The nature of this universe does not change to suit our whims.
God is in charge whether we realise it or not.
Things are not slipping out of His hands.
D. God calls to enlist us in service and to assign to us tasks.
God commissioned certain people to act as His prophets.
But God’s call to enlistment does not come only on the high len]vel of the prophets.
He also calls ordinary people like you and me into His service to do ordinary tasks, and sometimes extraordinary tasks.
If God has called you to serve Him, if God has assigned you some task, that job ay get done without you.
But your failure to enlist will spoil His plan for you, for nobody else can do what God had intended for you to do.
3. Who does God call?
- God calls nations and leaders of nations.
There is no better illustration of the fact of God’s sovereign rule in history than in the references to Cyrus, king of Persia.
In Isaiah 44-45, Israel is in captivity, but their captors, the Babylonians, have fallen before Cyrus and the rising Persian Empire.
It is God’s purpose, we learn here, to use Cyrus as an instrument to restore the Jews to their own land.
He even referred to Cyrus as “My anointed.”
B. God calls churches to do His will.
Acts 13:2 says, While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for the work to which I have called them.”
This call came to a church.
C. God calls individuals to do His will.
In His call, God’s point of contact is the individual.
There is no other door, no other way.
Nations, parliaments, institutions, and churches are all made up of individuals.
If God knocks at their doors, He must knock at the door of individual hearts.
When He has something He wants done, He calls on an individual.
4. Where does God call?
- God calls us where we are.
God called Paul on the road to Damascus as he neared the city.
He called Isaiah in the temple as he pondered the nations sad predicament brought on by King Uzziah’s death.
B. God calls us in the course of our daily work.
He called Amos from following the flock.
He called Elisha from following the plow.
C. God calls us even when we are trying to run away.
Elijah lost heart and left his post of duty, but God found him in a cave on Mount Horeb and asked “What are you doing here Elijah?”
God called Jonah, who fled from his call, but God’s voice found him and brought him back to his task.
We may try to hide from God, but we cannot escape Him.
5. What responses does God receive when He calls?
Every person must answer for themselves.
- We may ignore His call.
Through conscience, God’s call is constantly breaking in, calling us to follow Him, to serve Him, to honour Him, to worship Him, and we so often ignore Him.
B. We may reject His call.
Some do so deliberately, stubbornly.
Others do so painfully, sorrowfully, but the result is the same.
The rich young ruler who came to Jesus considered Jesus’ terms of discipleship and rejected them.
So we read “He went away sorrowful”, nevertheless, he went away.
C. We may accept God’s call.
We may say yes to Him.
The towering mountain peaks in the history of revelation have been those who have heard God’s voice saying as in Isaiah 6:8, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Conclusion.
Let me make this matter very personal.
Let me leave it at your very doorstep.
Christian friend, God is calling you as an individual.
What will you do about it?
What will your response be?
Unsaved friend, God is calling you.
He is calling now.
Don’t turn Him away.
Instead, hear His voice and respond to Him.
Will you do it?
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer.
Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
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