Wednesday, January 23, 2008
By Faith... Samuel, Part 1 of 10
TEXT: "What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets" (Hebrews 11:32).
IDEA: Samuel lived for God at a terrible time in the history of Israel.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that it is possible to stand up against the culture of your day and make a difference.
Do you know many people who are named Noah? When you meet them, do you find it hard to remember their name?
Do you know anyone by the name of Abraham or Abe? Do you find that name easy to remember?
Do you know many boys or men who are called Samuel or Sam? This is a more common name. Do you think that people immediately associate Samuel with someone in the Bible?
I. He is well known but little known.
He has two books of the Bible named after him. Do you think parents would have named their boys after him if he didn’t have two books in the Bible named after him?
He is also mentioned in Hebrews 11:32 along with several other judges (Samson, Jephthah, Gideon) and obviously is singled out as a person of faith. Why do you think he is listed with the judges?
II. What do we know about the times in which Samuel lived?
He appeared at a time when both the priesthood and the people were in spiritual decline.
He comes at the end of the period of the judges. What kind of period was that?
He was a priest. What do you know about the priesthood in Samuel’s time?
The people were once again immersed in idolatry, 1 Samuel 7:3.
III. Samuel made a difference for God in a difficult age.
He was called by God when he was still just a boy, 1 Samuel 3.
He almost single-handedly brought some spiritual vitality to the nation.
“Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord” (1 Samuel 3:21).
He himself was a leader of integrity in the midst of leaders with almost no integrity, 1 Samuel 12:3-4.
He began schools of the prophets to train people for godly leadership.
