Steven Furtick - All Those Times You Didn't See
I have a sneaking suspicion that we have a lot of visitors today. How many of you traveled to visit with us today? God bless you. Well, that’s the whole church. I could just preach what I preached last week, because it’s all visitors today. We’ve got about a hundred of our eFam heart and soul from all over the world. Thank God for y’all. It’s been mentioned, but I didn’t get down on it yet. They’re baptizing today over 600 people at all of our locations. You said «500,» but I heard six. It might be seven by the time God gets through. Yeah, look at that. That’s going to be amazing. And there’s still time for you to sign up as well, if you believe God is calling you to be baptized today. It would be an awesome step of faith for you to take. Go down in that water. Leave your shame. Leave your sin. Leave it all behind. The mercy of God is wide, and he can make you a new creation.
Well, today, just like any other day, I’m going to open my Bible and share with you, but it is not just like any other day. This is a special week. This is the final week of one of my favorite series that I ever preached before in my life. The series was called Called, and we’re finishing it up today. We’ve talked about so many Bible characters. (Y’all can bring it down a little bit. Thank you.) We’ve talked about Abraham and Moses and Martha and Simon (Simon Peter). We talked about… Who else? Do y’all remember? Jacob, Martha, Saul (the artist formerly known as Saul who became Paul, the great apostle).
Today, we only have one person left to talk about. One thing that I think is kind of cool about this series… You’ve kind of gotten an overview of a lot of the different Bible stories through that. I might put out a book called Called one day just with these stories, because it was based around everybody in Scripture that God called their name, but he called it twice. So, «Martha, Martha,» «Moses, Moses,» «Abraham, Abraham». Today, we’re going to do the final person, «Samuel, Samuel». Now, my challenge is I don’t know how much of this story you already know. If you’ll turn in your Bible to 1 Samuel… See, there’s a whole book called Samuel, so I can’t share everything. There’s actually a sequel, too, 2 Samuel.
I asked one of our church members, «How much do you know about Samuel»? I was trying to figure out how much background to fill in. She said, «The only thing I know about Samuel is that he spent the night in the lions' den». Not Samuel. That’s Daniel. So, touch your neighbor and say, «We’ve got a lot of catching up to do». You’re a little behind. But I love that, man. I don’t ever want you to feel intimidated coming to this church because you don’t know all these Hebrew and Greek words. I don’t know them either, and I paid to go to school to learn them. I have to look them up every week to preach them to you. The Christian life isn’t about how much of the Bible stories you can quote or how spiritual you can look, but it’s just about trusting God from this day forward in your life with all that you have. So, it doesn’t matter to me if you know this story or not. I actually think if you don’t know the story, you can hear it fresh sometimes, and it puts you at an advantage.
So, today, I want to take us to one verse to start out, and it’s 1 Samuel, chapter 3, verse 10, for the final sermon in my Called series. I’m so glad you made it out for this today. The Word of the Lord says… First Samuel 3:10: «And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, 'Samuel! Samuel! ' And Samuel said, 'Speak, for your servant hears.'» Isn’t that a cool Scripture? «And the Lord came…» How many want the Lord to come today? How many want the Lord to come today into your home? How many want the Lord to come today into your emotions? How many want the Lord to come? «And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, 'Samuel! Samuel! ' And Samuel said, 'Speak, for your servant hears.'» Today I want to talk to you (here’s my subject) about All Those Times You Didn’t See.
Father, open your Word that we might behold your wonder and your glory, and perhaps show us something today that would be so specific that we would not miss your presence in this moment. We thank you for being God in every season of our life, and I thank you now for the «right now» word you are going to speak. In Jesus' name, amen.
You may be seated. And why don’t y’all bring out my screen today so I can do a little teachy preachy, preachy teachy. Any country music fans in the house? I heard a country songwriter say something the other day that I thought was an appropriate opening for our sermon time together.
So, he’s a Grammy-winning country songwriter. He has written many #1 hits. He’s about 57 years old. He’s been at it a long time. He was in an interview, and he started explaining to the younger songwriter who was interviewing him why he still cuts his own grass with a push lawn mower. He said, «I still cut my own grass. I’ve won all these Grammys and Billboard awards and CMA awards, but I still cut my own grass with a push mower. I go out there, and I sweat, and I cut the grass. My neighbor said to me one day, 'Why do you still cut your own grass? Surely, you can afford somebody to do that for you and do something more valuable with your time, like write another hit song or win another Grammy.'» And he said, «No, I definitely could, but the reason I still cut my grass myself is because it is one of the only, if not the only thing left in my life that I can do and see an immediate return on with my eyes. It’s one of the only things left, if not the only thing left, in my life…that the grass can look bad one minute and better the next».
«Songwriting isn’t like that,» he said. «I might write a song today, and five years later, somebody records it on their album, and that’s assuming it even gets recorded. Cutting the grass, I can cut a row right now and smell it and see it and bask in it». Every man who likes to cut your own grass, say, «I did that». «I did that». That grass might grow back in three days, but for the next three days, let the Devil know and let those grass blades know, «You can’t grow back yet, because I just cut you down. I did that».
You know, in songwriting, the most successful songwriters of all time who end up in the Songwriters Hall of Fame don’t get every song they wrote recorded. That means they’ll go in and write a song the best they can, and it will never, ever even see the light of day. In fact, keep this statistic in your mind the next time you hear a song on the radio, that for the professional songwriter who writes a song every day, Monday through Friday (that’s about 200 songs per year, which most of these professional writers will write 200 songs a year), only one of those will end up being on the radio if they’re lucky. That is a successful statistic. Of course, many more write thousands and they’re never heard, but for every one you hear on the radio, 199 were written, but they didn’t get recorded. Not even did they not get released or on the radio; they didn’t even get recorded 199 times out of 200.
So, that means that 199 times that a songwriter shows up to work, they know they’re going to fail that year, hoping for the one time that maybe something will happen that’s special and we can see the result of it. So, he said, «The way I deal with this failure rate is I cut my grass. I don’t have to wait five years for the grass to go down. I cut it. I look at it. I cut another row. I look at it. It is one of the only things left in my life that has a visible and immediate return, so no matter how many Grammys I win, I’m always going to cut my own grass». «Why are you talking about this, Pastor Steven»? Because I wish serving God was like cutting grass. That’s what I wish. I wish serving God, preaching sermons, was like cutting grass. I wish I could watch sin go down lower while I was preaching to you today.
You know how powerful that would be if I could see your shame going down like grass? Just cutting it down. Just mowing down all of the bad mindsets as you’re cutting grass. Don’t some of you wish that parenting and raising kids was more like cutting grass? Come on. Where I could see that I took that bad attitude and cut it down, and it might grow back, but I can cut it again in a week, and at least for three days you’re not going to talk back to me. But kids aren’t like that, so in the meantime, you’ve got to buy a lawn mower and cut the grass, because most of the efforts you make in your life that will be the most valuable will be the least visible at first. Most of the efforts you make in your life that are the most valuable will be the least visible at first.
This is contradictory to every cultural impulse we have that encourages us to post every time we work out. If you post every time you work out as proof that you work out, I don’t think you’re working out right, because the proof you work out should be you when you don’t work out. We will see it when you’re not working out. But if you’re only posting to show us that you worked out, I’m afraid you’re distracted from the real benefit of the workout. That is a side rant. In the text I read you from 1 Samuel, chapter 3, verse 10… It is one of those amazing moments in the life of a prophet named Samuel. Samuel, of course, would go on to be the prophet who would anoint the first king of Israel, whose name was Saul. He would also anoint the replacement for Saul, whose name was David, because while Saul was the people’s choice, David was God’s choice.
When Saul was anointed to be a king, he didn’t even want to be a king. In fact, God didn’t even want his people to have a king. He wanted to be their king. He was their king, but they wanted a king like the other nations. Samuel would go on to anoint not only David, but he would go on to administer justice all throughout the kingdom of Israel in his reign. He would go from Dan to Beersheba yearly and seasonally in a circuit in order to administer justice. See, in the time before the kings, they had judges who were appointed by God seasonally. In other words, they were not necessarily going to be there for long, but they were given a job to do to bring the people back to God in the way that they could as deliverers. Samuel was the last judge, and he anointed the first king. So, we begin to see that his life is a very transitional moment in the nation.
But the Bible says in 1 Samuel, chapter 3, verse 10, that one night, as he was sleeping in the temple at his usual place, the Lord came and called to Samuel, and he said his name, «Samuel! Samuel»! Now, reading this on the surface, it’s a really good story about a man who hears God’s voice and responds. On the surface of this story, we see Samuel as somebody who really gets it right the first time. You can’t do much better than that. «And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, 'Samuel! Samuel! ' And Samuel said, 'Speak, for your servant hears.'» By the way, interesting sidenote. The name Samuel sounds like the Hebrew for heard by God. The reason he was named Samuel was because his mother had trouble getting pregnant, and when she finally got her baby, she named him Samuel because she felt like, «God heard me finally».
So, she named him as an answer to her prayer, and he becomes the answer to the entire nation’s prayer for somebody who can bring the presence of God back. The thing you’re praying about is bigger than the prayer you’re praying. She’s praying on one level for a baby, and God is thinking on another level to raise up a prophet. She’s praying that she might have a son, but God is preparing to send someone to anoint a king. It all starts right here when the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, «Samuel! Samuel»! What got my attention about this was how it said the Lord was calling as at other times.
I don’t know if you noticed that, but when it says he called as at other times, it made me want to back up and see what was happening in the rest of 1 Samuel, chapter 3. If you go all the way back to the beginning of 1 Samuel, chapter 3, you get a pretty great story that I want to share with you today about what was happening at the moment that God called Samuel. I believe there are some people here that God has brought, and he is calling you, and he has been calling you, but you do not yet recognize that he’s calling you, so you are calling it something else. God is calling you to a deeper level of faith. You don’t yet recognize that God is calling you to a deeper level of faith, so you just call it «The Devil is attacking me».
God is calling some of us in this season to increase our service, but we don’t recognize that God is calling us to increase our service, so we call it «People are taking us for granted». When you don’t know that it’s God calling you, you call it what it’s not. When you can’t see it immediately, you call it what it’s not. So, you do something and you think it was worthless. What if it was not worthless what you did? What if it was just in the womb getting ready to come forth? I will show you this from 1 Samuel, chapter 3, verse 1. The Bible says, «Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli». What does that mean? It means he was in a place where a man was in charge.
«And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision». But he was doing what he was supposed to do, even though the place where he was was not reflective of the values he believed. The Bible says Eli was a very bad priest who had two sons named Hophni and Phinehas who were doing all kinds of things in the temple that they shouldn’t have done. Not only were they taking the sacrifices the people brought for themselves, but they would sleep with some of the women who came to volunteer at the temple. Eli, their father, was more concerned about his sons being happy than he was about God being holy. He was more concerned about not ruffling them than he was about being right with God.
And all of this is happening in the temple, which is, of course, not the temple that would later be built. It was a tabernacle. It was a portable structure that was set up until the temple would be built. But Samuel was there ministering to the Lord as a boy in the presence of Eli. «And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision». So, notice this. You have to notice this. Before Samuel went on to do all of the great things we would see him do, he was doing stuff nobody saw in a situation he didn’t want to be in, and because he was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli, God was able to honor his service, even though the situation he was in was not the situation he would have chosen to serve in.
I’m saying this just in case you hate your job. I’m saying this just in case you hate your apartment and your landlord. I’m saying this just in case you hate having to go to chemo right now, but you still have to go. I’m saying this just in case you are in a season you did not select. But to know that Samuel was able to minister to the Lord, and the Lord was able to mature him, because as he ministered to God, God matured him. Sometimes where you want to be and where you are don’t match, but there is a ministry where I am if I will do what I’m called to do where I am. And I know what I’m talking about, because this is not the first church I served in. I served in a church before this church that was falling apart. As the church was falling apart, a group of men came to me and said, «You should be our pastor,» because they wanted their pastor gone.
When he said it to me, a part of me thought, «That could be cool». They started saying all this nice stuff, like, «When you preach, it reminds us of Billy Graham». Wow! Talk about an exaggeration. Talk about a sales job. But it sounded kind of good. I listened to him for about 20 minutes. I was driving home, and when I got home, Holly was home from teaching school. She was teaching seventh grade at the time, and she was waiting on the porch. We were newlyweds. You know, second year of marriage, third year of marriage, something like that, and still working through all of this. As soon as I saw her on the porch, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, «You go on that porch, and you make a vow with your wife right now that you will not do anything that will dishonor this pastor. You do not skip any of the steps I want to use to develop you. You do not sow anything you do not want to later reap in your life in this situation».
And I’m going to tell you this. I think the first important ceremony I did with Holly was our wedding day, and I think the second most important ceremony I did with her was on our porch that day, where I decided, «As we are planted in this church, we will make a decision that while we were here, even if we hate it here in certain ways, even if there are people trying to get in our heads and in our ears and tell us, you know, if we just angle and position like this…» I think that was our moment with God where God was seeing could he trust us with you. I’m not saying I’m perfect, baby, but I got that one right. I got that one right. Can you imagine if I would have got stuck in scheming? Can you imagine if I had gotten stuck in trying to steal something that wasn’t even mine? Can you imagine if I would have let that affect me?
I’m not saying this because I don’t think you should leave this church. I’m saying this because I wouldn’t have been able to start this church if I had listened to what they said. So, when I look at the camera and say, «Welcome our eFam all around the world,» I am very well aware that the ministry we have today is largely connected to all those times you didn’t see where we could have done something we shouldn’t have done and didn’t do. All that from verse 1, and Samuel isn’t even in the lions' den yet. He’s just ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. «And the word of the Lord (watch this) was rare in those days». You’re like, «Not anymore. We’ve got the Word of God. I’ve got it on my phone. I’ve got it in English. I’ve got it in Spanish. I’m learning a little Spanish».
A little Duo… What’s it called? Duo… Dua Lipa? (I know. I’m just trying to make you cringe. I know it’s «Duolingo,» Abbey.) The Bible says, «The word of the Lord was rare in those days». Not because he wasn’t willing to speak, but because he couldn’t find people who were willing to listen. When God finds one person who will listen to him, really listen to him, watch what he can do. «The boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision».
You know, in those times, they didn’t have great Bible books like Galatians or the gospel of John. Jesus had not yet come, and it was like God stopped showing up. It was like God stopped showing up to meet with them. They were still doing sacrifices, but it was rare that they really heard from God. And I think it’s rare that we really do. Not because of the lack of access to God’s Word, but because of the lack of attention we give to it. It’s never been easier to have the Bible in your ear. Right? Like, right now, I could be listening to 1 Samuel 3, and you wouldn’t even know it. But it’s what’s in your other ear. (I had that on noise cancellation. That was a really weird experience just now. I couldn’t hear anything.) Isn’t it like that? Got the Word of God in one ear, the world in another.
The Word of God in one ear, and a constant feeding frenzy on my phone in the other. And this isn’t a message about «Put down your phone,» but I just want to point out some similarities, that the word of the Lord was rare, and there was no frequent vision. Now look. The Bible says, «At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. The 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. Then the Lord called Samuel…»
Wait a minute. Verse 10 says he called to Samuel as at other times. So watch this. For everybody who is frustrated because you feel like you didn’t get it right the first time, watch what God is willing to do to call Samuel. «Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, 'Here I am! ' and ran to Eli [who was the priest, who was his authority, who was the only one he knew to go to] and said, 'Here I am, for you called me.' But [Eli] said, 'I did not call; lie down again.'» «Go back to bed. Do you need some melatonin, boy? Get some sleep». It says the lamp had not yet gone out, so this is in the middle of the night. «So he went and lay down. And the Lord called again, 'Samuel! ' and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, 'Here I am, for you called me.' But he said, 'I did not call, my son; lie down again.' Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him».
So, what I see here in this passage, if we can bring it together for a moment, is a man who would go on to preach God’s Word to the entire nation. First Samuel 4:1 (put it on the screen) says that Samuel’s word, in the fullness of time, came to all Israel. Look at that. In the fullness of time, Samuel’s word came to all Israel. The entire nation heard his words. He spoke for God. He spoke of righteousness. He spoke of repentance. The entire nation heard his words, but before the nation could hear him, he had to learn to hear God. There are some things in your life right now that before God can do externally what you want to see him do externally, there are some things you have to learn internally so that you can hear God so they can hear you, so that you can get it on the inside so God can do it on the outside. There are some things we are waiting for God to manifest, and God is waiting for us to mature.
The Bible says he was just a boy. He was a called boy but just a boy. He was an anointed boy but just a boy. He was a boy brought from a barren womb, but he was just a boy. But he was more than a boy, because he was a boy that God had appointed to be in a place that God had assigned him to do a task that God had appointed at a time that God had designated. Now, in the meantime, he does not yet know the Lord, but that does not mean he will not know the Lord. I want to say this to everybody who’s discouraged right now about your «not yet» situations in your life. «You know, I’m not really yet able to deal with this. I’m not really yet able to flow with this. I’m not really yet certain about this». It ought to encourage you to know that the one who spoke the Word of God to the entire nation started out not yet knowing the Lord. And watch this. He didn’t yet know the Lord even though he lived in the church. He did not yet know the Lord even though he served in the tabernacle.
«For the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him». «And the Lord called Samuel again the third time». How many times will God talk to somebody he wants to call? As many times as it takes. Oh, I thought you’d be happy about that. I thought you’d celebrate that, because sometimes I don’t get it right the first time. Sometimes my first response is not my best version. Sometimes I don’t show up like I wanted to, and now I find myself in regret. But it makes me feel good to know that even if I get on the wrong ship, God will put a fish outside the wrong ship (that’s Jonah, not Daniel or Samuel, but I’m going to preach about all these people today), because it really doesn’t matter how fast you can run; it matters how much faster God is to get to you and bring you back.
I’m calling somebody back today. I’m calling somebody back today, back to your right mind, back to your first love, back to your original intended design, back to it. Because God said, «I’ll call you back. I’ll call you back. I was trying to get your attention, but you didn’t listen. I’ll call you back». «I was trying to get your attention, but you ran to drugs to stuff the hole you should have filled with me, but I’ll call you back. Where you’ve been putting those drugs, I have a deposit that I want to put, and after I deliver you from what you put in my place, I’m going to do something you would not believe if I told you». He called him again, and Eli finally got it. He said to Samuel, «Go, lie down, and if he calls you…» «I think this might be God. If he calls you…»
He should know this, by the way. He’s the priest. He should not be guessing that this is God’s voice, but sometimes those who have walked with God the longest are the weakest in their ability to perceive him. He said, «I think this might be God, so here’s what you need to do». «Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.'» Which is so cool, because now we know that Samuel means heard by God. Since he was the answer to the prayer his mother prayed, since she was heard by God, now the one who was the answer to her prayers is learning to hear the God who heard her. Ooh, I just love that. Just let me sit in that for a minute. They heard his words, and he heard God’s words, because he had a mom who prayed and God heard her words. Let me give you your Mother’s Day sermon early. God heard you. He heard you. He heard you. Can I show you this? This is so crazy to me.
Hannah, who was the mom of Samuel, was also the wife of a man named Elkanah. (Are y’all bored with all this background? I love this stuff. I live for this stuff. I want to show you this stuff. I live for this stuff.) This woman had a very difficult decision to make, and so do you. Here’s the decision she had to make: «Am I going to keep going to the house of God even with a broken heart? Am I going to keep bringing this before God»? Because she couldn’t have a child. What made matters worse in 1 Samuel, chapter 1, is that the Bible tells us her husband… Now, her husband loved her. Elkanah loved her, but he also had another wife, which was common in those days. Her name was Peninnah. So, Elkanah would try to make up the difference when he would go to Shiloh to sacrifice. They would travel, like, 20 miles to go sacrifice every year.
The Bible says (verse 5), «But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb». So, he’s trying to do what men do, fix situations that we can’t fix. Verse 6 says, «Her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. So it went on year by year». It went on year by year. «As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her». This other woman, Peninnah, the other wife, who was able to have children, would provoke Hannah year after year and make fun of her, mock her, and post all of her pictures of her beautiful Mother’s Days with all of her kids. She would provoke her year after year. «As often as [Hannah] went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat».
I’m giving you this situation for a reason, because I need you to understand something about Samuel and something about you, but in order to understand Samuel, you have to understand something about his mother Hannah, and that is this: Year after year, she could not have a baby. They would go and sacrifice, and she would pray, «God, give me a baby». Peninnah would have another baby, and she would have none. The next year rolls around. «I’m going back again». She would go, she would pray, she would ask God, and she would sacrifice. «God, please give me a baby». [0:34:00] Now, you might not be praying for a baby today. You may be praying for one of your children that you already have. You may be praying for a certain thing you need God to do in your body. You may be praying about a mental illness. You may be praying about a way that you want God to give you clarity. It’s been kind of foggy.
So, I need you to put yourself in the situation of Hannah today and not just think about, «If I have a kid or if I don’t have a kid». This represents all of those things in our hearts that we carry with us where there is an empty space, but we keep going to the house of God anyway. What blessed me about Hannah is what blessed me about Samuel. Let me explain. If you fast-forward to the time we read about in 1 Samuel, chapter 3, verses 1-11, Samuel is a boy now, not a baby, so eventually, God gives Hannah what she asked for, a baby, but she had to take the baby back to the temple and dedicate him to the Lord, because that’s what she vowed she would do. «If God gives me a boy, I’ll give him to you, Lord. I’ll let him serve you».
So, after she had weaned him, she took him and put him there in Eli’s temple, which she knew was corrupt, but she had no other choice. She had to trust God that «God is going to take care of this even though I can’t». She had to trust God that «I’m sending my kid to this crazy school, and I know what goes on there, but I know the God who goes before my kid that I’m sending to this school». In giving her child to God, it meant she spent almost every day of her life away from this boy. Now, God ended up giving her five other children, because you will never outgive God. You will never outgive God. You will never outgive God. You’re whining and crying about that little $20 you loaned your friend this week. You didn’t loan it to them; you loaned it to the Lord, and the Lord will pay back with interest those he can trust with his substance.
Every year, she would go to see Samuel, her boy who she gave to God. She would bring with her a little ephod, which was what the priest would wear, a little linen ephod that she had made custom for him. She’d have to kind of guess how big it should be because she hadn’t seen him for a year. So, if you were to see Hannah going to the temple at this point in her life, you would see a proud mother. «Mother of a future prophet» her bumper sticker would have said. You would have seen her with her little ephod that she had made for him. «Oh, he’s growing up so much. Here’s the new ephod». You would have seen her going to the temple and sacrificing and being blessed and seeing her boy. But what about all those times you didn’t see when Hannah went to the temple year after year after year with her rival in one ear and God in the other and her rival saying, «Why do you keep serving a God who won’t even bless you with a baby? Look at how blessed I am».
Now, I know people don’t say that to us directly, but don’t they make us feel that way sometimes? And yet she went. Notice what it says in verse 7. This is the real verse I want to preach about. It says that Hannah… You’re like, «You said you were preaching about Samuel». I can’t preach about Samuel without preaching about Hannah, because I think what Samuel did was based on something Hannah did that he never even saw. Before he was even born, his mom would go to the temple year after year. «As often as she went up…» (Circle went up.) «As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her». Stop and let’s break this down. Back to the top of the verse. It went on (circle went on) year by year.
«As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, [her rival] used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept…» (Circle wept.) Here’s my whole message in a sentence: she wept, but she went up anyway. Listen to me. This might be the word to snatch you out of despondency. This might be the word to shake you out of lethargy. Hannah wept, but she went up. God did not silence her enemy, but she went up anyway. God did not give her her prayer request, but she went up anyway. And she went up weeping. She went up, and while she would go up she would weep, and when she would get there she would weep, but it went on year after year, and she went up. So, I see a picture in this text of a woman who was willing to keep coming back.
«Even if I don’t see the thing I ask God for, I’m going back, not by sight but by faith». I see a picture of every person who is in this church right now feeling unrecognized, feeling insignificant, feeling like life is not cutting grass, and you are sowing seed, and you are not seeing anything right now. I want to remind you that you can go up weeping. You can go up hurting. You can go up confused. You can go back. Samuel heard the voice of God and thought it was the voice of Eli. He went to Eli, but God said, «Wrong guy. Go back». Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. You can have all your fancy definitions of faith that you want, but I think sometimes real faith is just as simple as «Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back».
You go back and do it again. You go back and love them again. You go back and serve again. You go back and drop it again. You go back and pray again. You go back and thank him again. You go back, and you go back, and you go back, and you go back. Are y’all getting the point? Samuel learned how to do this through something a woman did that he never even witnessed. Her persistence led to his purpose. The only reason he had it in him to go back to Eli, no matter how many times it took… «I heard you call. I’m coming back». «Go back and lie down». «I’m coming again». «Go back and lie down».
Where did he get the persistence to keep coming back like that? Because he had a mom. Because he came from a womb that was barren. Every time she tried to have a baby, she couldn’t. Every time she tried to conceive, she couldn’t. But she kept crying out to God, and she cried until she conceived. She came back until she conceived. She prayed until she conceived. I am preaching to somebody today who has become convinced that God is not with you. The Devil is a liar, because that same woman who left the temple all those years with an empty womb came back one day carrying a priest’s robe. If you’ll go back enough times… All those times you didn’t see, when she went back and prayed anyway, when she went back and sacrificed anyway, when you showed up at work and smiled at hateful people anyway. Go back smiling, and you shall come home rejoicing.
Touch seven people and say, «Go back». As many times as you’ve got to do it, go back. Pick up your Bible again. Go back. I know the Bible was dry the last time you read it, but there shall be showers of blessing upon you in due season. Go back! Isn’t that amazing, Holly? She stayed there, and she prayed. Give them verse 15. Verse 15 is so anointed, we’ve got to go to verse 12 to get to 15. Give them verse 12. Verse 12 says that when Hannah was there praying, she continued praying before the Lord. She continued praying before the Lord. She continued praying before the Lord. Did God not hear her the first time? No, God heard her the first time. God just understands something called due time. Due time.
Everybody say, «Due time». Not D-O time…D-U-E time. Due time. It means God knows when Samuel needs to show up. God knows when her womb needs to open. God knew how to give her an enemy to keep her praying. God knows when it needs to happen. God knows when to start the wheel turning. God knows when to fill you back up again. God knows when they need to say «No,» when they need to say, «Yes,» knows when to shut a door, knows when to open a window, knows when to tear off a ceiling. God knows! It’s almost like Hannah read Galatians 6:9. Galatians 6:9 says, «And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season…» What season? Due season. What season? Due season.
Now high-five three people and say, «I’m doing good». I’m doing good. Put it in the chat. «I’m doing good. I’m doing good. I’m doing good. I’m doing good». «Yeah, but you don’t have your baby yet». «I’m doing good. I’m doing good». «Why»? «The Bible told me in Galatians 6:9, 'Let us not grow weary of doing good.' So, I’m not feeling good, but I’m doing good. It doesn’t look good, but I’m doing good. I can’t see the grass going down right now. I can’t see the money coming up right now. I can’t see the season changing, but there is a due season, and I know what to do. I know what to do. I’m going to do good. I’m going to praise his name. I’m going to worship him right here. I’m going to pray like I believe the answer is already in the temple, lying on the bed. He heard me. He hears me».
Shake your neighbor and say, «I’m doing good». I’m doing good till due season. I’m going to sow till I see some grass. I’m going to cut it down and let it grow back. The word of the Lord will not fade. The grass fades, the flower fades, but the word of God will stand forever and ever. Somebody shout, «Forever»! For our light and momentary afflictions are producing in us a far exceeding weight of glory. That’s amazing. That’s amazing. All those times you didn’t see. I see Hannah coming with her ephod again for her baby. It was all those times you didn’t see her coming with no baby clothes that made her produce a son whose words would come to Israel. They heard his words because he heard God’s words because God heard her words.
And you’re telling me your life doesn’t matter? You’re telling me you’re thinking about killing yourself? You’re telling me you almost thought about not coming to church today? The Lord can speak to you, and you can say, «Speak, Lord. Your servant hears». You can’t hear if you’re not here. That’s why I keep coming. I don’t know if I showed you, but his mom did something before he was born that was instilled in him even though she wasn’t the one raising him. And he came back to Eli. «What did you say»? «It wasn’t me». «Okay. I guess I’ll try that again». I think sometimes we make it too complicated. Sometimes all God wants to say to you is «Let’s try this again. Let’s try this again, you dummy. Let’s try this again». (That’s the Lord’s nickname for me.) It’s all those times you didn’t see.
I think it’s amazing that Hannah was able to leave her son with the Lord, don’t you? A little boarding school action never hurt a kid. But I think what’s even more amazing than the fact that she vowed and gave him to the Lord when God gave her a baby… I think what’s even more amazing than what she did when God gave her a baby is what she did when God didn’t. I think sometimes the greatest faith in your life is that you come back from temptation when God doesn’t take the temptation away but gives you the grace to stand up under it. I think it’s when you pray for God to send you the relationship and he doesn’t and you press into him that much deeper. I think it’s when you ask God to change the other person’s behavior and he doesn’t, so you change your approach.
I think it’s when you ask God to take the strain off of you and he doesn’t, so he puts the strength in you. I think what Hannah did was amazing, that she gave her baby to the Lord when he was born. I think it’s even more amazing that she kept going while waiting on God. I’m done preaching. You can stand to your feet, because the Lord had a word for somebody today. How many of you have had times in your life where you’ve seen God do something amazing for you? You praised him for those times, and you should, but I also want you to learn how to praise him for all the times you didn’t see. That he was doing… Mm, I can’t get off of it. …doing something for a due season. The important thing would be… Look.
When God finally spoke to Samuel in 1 Samuel, chapter 3, verse 10, he said, «Speak. I hear you, God». And verse 11 says, «The Lord said to Samuel, 'Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone [in Israel] will tingle.'» It would be a devastating thing. Eli and his two sons would both die in the heat of battle so God could raise up another, because God’s transitions are not always pretty. But in the process of verse 11, he says, «Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel that will make everybody’s spine tingle, ears tingle, two ears tingle». This is going to be so big. God is going to do something, but if Samuel had been born at any other time, he could not have been the one God used to bring the change about.
So, every year that Hannah went to worship that she thought God was ignoring her, God was not ignoring her; God was positioning her to bring forth from her womb what the nation needed. Sometimes it’s not about what we want; it’s about due time. What God does is his business. What I do until he does is worship. Tiff, come, please. I just saw this while I was preparing today. Right now, in this moment, she can lead you in worship spontaneously without any lyrics on the screen, without any planning. I did not tell her I would call her. I did not prepare her I would call her. I didn’t do any of that, but I just called her. «Tiff, Tiff». I didn’t even have to call her twice. She just came.
Right now, with your hands lifted in worship, lead them for one minute, just one minute in worship, whatever flows from your heart. Just do it right now. Come on. Clap your hands and thank God. So let me tell you. Why can she do that? Because she did that. She did that since she was a little girl. Her dad is a pastor and an amazing man. I met him. When I met her mom and dad, I was like, «I get it. I get why you’re awesome». But then they told me stories how she used to be in the church alone, hours and hours and hours, pounding four chords on a piano, just singing till God came. Somebody said to me the other day… They said, «When Tiff sings, God comes».
And I knew what they meant. That sounds bad if you just take it out of context, because God is always here, but I knew what they meant. What I loved about it and why I called you out here is I want all of them to get a picture of their life, to realize that it is what you did until this season that made you able to do what I just called you to do in this moment. So, it’s wonderful. It’s a great picture, because you’re doing things right now that seem insignificant. You feel all alone right now. You feel like it doesn’t matter right now. You cut the grass, and it grows back higher, and you go, «God, why am I even bothering»?
But remember there is a due season. What God does is his business, and what you do until he does is worship. So, when God calls you… When God called Samuel, he was ready, because he had ministered to the Lord. Maybe God has you in a season of your life where you’re ministering to him.
It’s not about people appreciating you. It’s not about people acknowledging you. It’s not about comparing yourself to other people. It’s not about your rival in your ear telling you how you should be farther along. It’s not about your insecurity. It is about what you are doing until due season. They shall walk and not get weary. They shall walk and not faint. That’s what happens when you wait on the Lord. It’s because she did it in a church alone that she can do it in this room today. I’m trying to say God is preparing you. God is preparing you. Would you hug three people and tell them, «Wait on the Lord»? Wait on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. Do not grow weary in well doing. You shall receive in due season.