Brother Gary Wednesday Evening 12/3/14

Brother Gary Wednesday Evening 12/3/14

Hannah was in bitterness of soul. 

1Sa 1:10  And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.

She was concerned and more than concerned. She was disappointed and crushed.  Peninnah made life miserable for her.  As we journey through life there will be occasions where people make life miserable for us.  We will feel like we are in bitterness of our soul.  We will be crushed and disappointed.

The journey of life is going to lead every one of us to a position of being crushed.  It is there where we make the choice, “Am I going to fall upon the rock and be crushed or take the attitude, I’m going to press my way on no matter what?”  They will be crushed and broken anyway.

Luk 20:17  And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?

Luk 20:18  Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

She took Samuel after four years to Shiloh.  She took him to Eli and said,

1Sa 1:26  And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD.

1Sa 1:27  For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:

1Sa 1:28  Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.

If we gain audience with God we can rest assured that He answers prayer.

I was here praying:  it is vital; I didn’t live in DS Warner’s age or the age of the apostles.  We are here today.  One of the greatest challenges that we have is to unplug ourselves from the influx of information so that we can stand before God and pray without being interrupted or our mind filled.

I am not against modern technology but we want to use it according to the will of the Lord.  God knows what you are going to meet tomorrow.  God begins to prepare us however much ahead of the crisis so that we don’t fall apart.

We have been alone with God and as Isaiah taught, we have had things moved around in our life by the presence of God.

For this child I prayed:  he that goes forth weeping… shall doubtless come again with rejoicing.

I believe if we pray and hold onto God for the burdens that we have, the greatest is for souls.  There are other needs, but the greatest is for the salvation and sanctification of souls, that we shall be as Hannah.

God has answered my prayer:  take courage.  We serve a God that answers prayer.  We live in a society that makes fun and light of God.  We live in a society of religious people that carry on and don’t have a changed life.  Don’t let that change you.  Keep right on serving God and go right on.

I am here to give Samuel back to God:  we want to have a burden for souls and do our best to help them get saved, sanctified, and nurture them, but “God I want to give this back to you.”

He worshiped the Lord there:  Samuel was sent of God.  God gave him to Hannah.  At a very crucial time in the history of the church in the Old Testament, God had a chosen vessel.

1Sa 2:1  And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.

1Sa 2:2  There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

1Sa 2:3  Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

1Sa 2:4  The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.

1Sa 2:5  They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.

1Sa 2:6  The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.

1Sa 2:7  The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.

1Sa 2:8  He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them.

1Sa 2:9  He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

1Sa 2:10  The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

My heart rejoices:  I don’t know how many children Hannah had before she came back with Samuel.  They had a total of seven children.  She was there rejoicing and giving back to God.  I am not saying that all the details of Hannah’s life were perfect but she knew she had an answer to prayer.

My horn is exalted.  She was talking about Jesus, whom she didn’t know, but in her heart she knew that God had done a miracle for her.

My voice rises above the voice of my enemies:  We are going to be visited by the voice of the enemy.  He talks loud, non-stop, and as a voice of authority.  He knows how to give a downer.

I rejoice in thy salvation:  The enemy that she might have been referring to was Elkanah’s other wife.  You and I have an enemy.  We may not be able to stop the one that tries to discourage you, but don’t let the enemy take your praise.

What God has done, be thankful for.

1Sa 2:2  There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

It is a wonderful thing that we serve a Holy God.  There is no other God like Him.  She told of how the pillars of the earth are the Lords.  She went on to say, God set the earth on the pillars.

You say, “I have never seen any of the pillars.”  They would not have to be visible to be mighty; that is how God is. 

God never has any trouble with his equilibrium.  I sometimes stagger around and have a hard time getting everything right.  God really knows balance.  We need to have God help us to have balance.

God has balance and order in His life.  When I check the weather, it tells me when the sun will come up and when it will go down.  They guess how warm it is going to be and how cold it will be.  They don’t understand God.  He will always keep men baffled.  They tell you it will be thirty and it isn’t they will tell you it is going to snow and the sun will shine. 

God is a God of order.  He has the earth moving just right and tilted just right.  He knows what He is doing.  We thank Him for it.

Talk no more exceedingly proudly.  There is some people that the only thing that is going on is what they are doing.  Hannah had experienced that way back then.  Men haven’t changed very much neither have women. 

1Sa 2:3  Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

God is a God of knowledge and weighs your actions.  This really struck me.  God has a scale.  Your actions speak really loud.  My actions speak really loud. 

The bows of mighty men are broken.  Just like 1100 years before the birth of Christ.  God has a way of quenching every fiery dart.  If someone has evil in your mind toward you, the worst thing that you can do is feel sorry for yourself.  The best thing you can do is gain audience with God.

1Sa 2:4  The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.

We know that the only protection for children today is God and His Word.  Unless the newspapers are all lies, our times are bad.  We as a church need to be in a position to seek God.

They that stumble are girded with strength.  As Annie Flint who was orphaned twice in her life time wrote, “When we have exhausted, our horde of resources; He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.” 

All the saints labor to be in shape for Sunday, to be our best and to have our strength as renewed and as much gathered together as we can.  We guide our affairs to be the best we can while our company is there.  Sister Alice had those children for three or four days but God gave strength.

1Sa 2:5  They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.

This is how it is.  When people think that they have it all together they will end up so empty.  When they realize, “God I am so thirsty!  As the hart panteth after the water brook.”  Our soul is so thirsty for living water.  There is no other source to get that but from God, from worship, from reading the Word of God and praying, from songs in Zion.

They that were hungry ceased:  When God brings His word, one scripture can give you strength and anointing.  Barren hath born seven.

1Sa 2:9  He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

1Sa 2:10  The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

He will keep the feet of His saints.  Pray every day that GOD will keep your feet; that your feet will be shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace, and that God will direct your feet as He would have them to be.

God will take care of the adversaries.  He will give strength to His king:  I believe that God moved upon Hannah with the spirit of prophesy and she know that God would send the King of kings, the Lord of lords… His anointed.

If your burden tonight is one that has positioned you as Hannah to come into His presence and to pray in such quietness, needing divine intervention so bad, let me help you to know: God hears those prayers.

Bot not only does He hear prayer, He answers prayer.  After He answers, let us rejoice and be glad.