On Friday at the opening of our Bible School I shared a little bit about God’s call with the children and the adults. For this I used Samuel answering the call as a young boy…
1 Samuel 3 (New International Version)
The LORD Calls Samuel
1 The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.
2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place.
3 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.
4 Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.”
5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
6 Again the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD : The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
8 The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy.
9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
11 And the LORD said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.
12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end.
13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them.
14 Therefore, I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’ ”
15 Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision,
16 but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.” Samuel answered, “Here I am.”
17 “What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.”
18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the LORD; let him do what is good in his eyes.”
19 The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground.
20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD.
21 The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.
The message was purposely simple. I am of the opinion that simpler and straightforward is always better for children and adults alike. At the end of the day it is the Holy Spirit who takes the Word and ‘activates’ in in our hearts.
I started by asking what a ‘call’ means and then I covered the following points quickly and conversationally (by this I mean that I talked with them and not at them). Here are the points for my future reference:
v. 10 … what does Samuel do here?
v.19 …Didn’t let it fall to the ground… he listened, he lived it and he shared it.
v. 20 & 21
Samuel answered the call and God was with him and used him in a powerful way.
This is our prayer and our plan for this School year… for each one of you. That you will hear God’s voice, that you will answer the call and that you will be used powerfully by Him.
