Here I am, Lord
Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-10
1 Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in
those days; there was no widespread revelation. 2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli
was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see,
3 and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was,
and while Samuel was lying down, 4 that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I
am!” 5 So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”
And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down.
6 Then the LORD called yet again, “Samuel!”
So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did
not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 (Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word
of the LORD yet revealed to him.)
8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here
I am, for you did call me.”
Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie
down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.’”
So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”
It took three times for Eli to realize and understand that it was the LORD Yahweh that
was calling to Samuel here. Samuel was the old priests servant so when he heard his
name called he went to serve his master. You see, even though he did not yet
recognize the voice of God, you can see that he had a willing spirit by the way he
responds. Can you imagine if this happened to you in the middle of the night? Maybe
the first and second time you would get up, but by the third time would get up again
and go wake up your boss who’s already told you twice that he’s not calling you?
Samuel, it seems, doesn’t even question. He doesn’t even think about the fact that he
may end up looking silly, once again.
As I said, he was there to serve Eli the priests. But Eli had a problem. It was his
sons. They had become wicked priests who were taking advantage of the people.
So, what did that have to do with Eli? He was not using his authority as their father to
restrain them; he didn’t want to tell them no. That’s probably a whole sermon in itself
but we won’t be digging in to that one today. I just wanted to give you some
background so you’d understand the dynamics of what’s happening here. So, finally
Samuel replies to the One who is really calling him in a way that sort of reminds me of
a young Miriam (Mary) who would become the mother of Yeshua; that youthful
willingness to serve that comes from innocence and trust. Samuel listens but it’s not
good news, in fact, it’s a bad prophecy against the house of Eli his master.
1 Samuel 3:15-20
15 So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And
Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!”
He answered, “Here I am.”
17 And he said, “What is the word that the LORD spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me.
God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to
you.” 18 Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the
LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”
19 So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20
And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of
the LORD.
Although it was difficult, Samuel heard the voice of God and responded by doing what
was required of him, and Yahweh blessed him richly for it. It never says that Samuel
wants fame. It shows that he was a willing servant, but God exalted Him to be a
prophet to all Israel second only to Moses. He was destined to prophesy before kings
and he seems to have never lost that willingness to serve. Let’s contrast that.
Jonah 1:1-3
1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh,
that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah
arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a
ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish
from the presence of the LORD.
Quite a contrast, huh? Jonah hears the voice of God and is not willing. In fact, he
takes off in the opposite direction. He does everything he can to keep from doing
what the LORD Yahweh has purposed for him. He takes off on a ship going the
opposite direction. Then he volunteers to be thrown overboard, once again trying to
circumvent the LORD Yahweh through death.
Jonah 1:11-13
11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the
sea was growing more tempestuous.
12 And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm
for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued
to grow more tempestuous against them.
14 Therefore they cried out to the LORD and said, “We pray, O LORD, please do not let us
perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O LORD, have done
as it pleased You.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased
from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the
LORD and took vows.
It would be very easy to mistakenly think that Jonah was doing something honorable
here by sacrificing himself to spare the lives of the sailors, but he isn’t. What do you
think he could have had the sailors do differently that would have achieved the same
result? Maybe, turn; repent. If he would’ve said it was happening because he wasn’t
heading to Nineveh, do you think it would have been their choice to throw him into the
raging sea? They clearly had no desire to do such a thing because even when he
suggested it they ignored that option. Then when they finally did feel that they had no
other option (because he hadn’t given them one); they begged the vengeful God they
thought Yahweh was not to hold Jonah’s innocent blood against them. Sure they
feared YHWH, just like they feared their other gods, but did they really know Him?
They were not living in the information age as we are today. What way would they
have to ever know that they hadn’t just killed a man? Jonah couldn’t call them from
Nineveh and say, “Guess what?” These men likely went to their graves believing they
had killed him.
No, Jonah was not a willing servant but he still fulfilled God’s purpose, as Samuel had.
But instead of being exalted, instead of becoming a great prophet like Samuel, we don’
t hear anything else about him. In fact, the book of Jonah ends with him being angry
at God. How much different could it have been if he had been a willingly servant?
The Lord is not a respecter of persons, if He called to Samuel and He called to Jonah;
He is calling to you. Have you heard Him and responded?
Proverbs 1:20-23
20 Wisdom calls aloud outside;
She raises her voice in the open squares.
21 She cries out in the chief concourses,
At the openings of the gates in the city
She speaks her words:
22 “ How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?
For scorners delight in their scorning,
And fools hate knowledge.
23 Turn at my rebuke;
Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.
Wisdom calls but there is another voice we must contend with.
Proverbs 9:13-18
13 A foolish woman is clamorous;
She is simple, and knows nothing.
14 For she sits at the door of her house,
On a seat by the highest places of the city,
15 To call to those who pass by,
Who go straight on their way:
16 “ Whoever is simple, let him turn in here”;
And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,
17 “ Stolen water is sweet,
And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know that the dead are there,
That her guests are in the depths of hell.
We have both the voice of wisdom and the voice of foolishness calling. To which one
are you listening? The voice of God and His wisdom is sure. He has made Himself
clear to us and nothing He says to us now will contradict His word. The Bible is your
plumb line to keep going the right way. The way of the foolish will go against the word
of God at every turn. If you feel led to do something and it goes against something in
the Bible, do like Joseph did and run from it. It cannot be good for you if it goes
against His word. How do you know God’s word? You must read it. If you don’t, you
are ignoring the voice of wisdom and be sure that you will fall for the voice of
foolishness. I am constantly telling you how important it is to read your Bible like a
book. That’s how important it is. You cannot get what you need by reading bits and
pieces, here and there. You may say, but what about the believers that don’t have
access to His word; who live in places where it is illegal to possess His word and get by
on a few memorized verses or torn out pages. With God all things are possible and
He, through His Spirit, gives them what they need. They desire to have His word.
They would give everything to have it readily available like we have it today. The fact
remains that you have access so if you chose not to read it, what is that really saying
about your desire to seek Him with you whole heart, mind, strength, and soul?
Isaiah 65:1-2
1 “I was sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I was found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’
To a nation that was not called by My name.
2 I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,
Who walk in a way that is not good,
According to their own thoughts
God is calling to us. Though we may not have asked for Him or sought Him out.
Though we, like our parents, have been rebellious he is reaching out His mighty hand
to us and saying, “Here I am”. Will we respond to Him with willingness or ignore Him in
rebellion? Will we walk in the way He says is righteous or will we seek to find our own
way apart from Him and His righteousness?
Romans 6:16 - Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are
that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to
righteousness?
Whom will you obey?
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: July 8, 2007
Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-10
1 Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in
those days; there was no widespread revelation. 2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli
was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see,
3 and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was,
and while Samuel was lying down, 4 that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I
am!” 5 So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”
And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down.
6 Then the LORD called yet again, “Samuel!”
So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did
not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 (Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word
of the LORD yet revealed to him.)
8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here
I am, for you did call me.”
Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie
down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.’”
So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”
It took three times for Eli to realize and understand that it was the LORD Yahweh that
was calling to Samuel here. Samuel was the old priests servant so when he heard his
name called he went to serve his master. You see, even though he did not yet
recognize the voice of God, you can see that he had a willing spirit by the way he
responds. Can you imagine if this happened to you in the middle of the night? Maybe
the first and second time you would get up, but by the third time would get up again
and go wake up your boss who’s already told you twice that he’s not calling you?
Samuel, it seems, doesn’t even question. He doesn’t even think about the fact that he
may end up looking silly, once again.
As I said, he was there to serve Eli the priests. But Eli had a problem. It was his
sons. They had become wicked priests who were taking advantage of the people.
So, what did that have to do with Eli? He was not using his authority as their father to
restrain them; he didn’t want to tell them no. That’s probably a whole sermon in itself
but we won’t be digging in to that one today. I just wanted to give you some
background so you’d understand the dynamics of what’s happening here. So, finally
Samuel replies to the One who is really calling him in a way that sort of reminds me of
a young Miriam (Mary) who would become the mother of Yeshua; that youthful
willingness to serve that comes from innocence and trust. Samuel listens but it’s not
good news, in fact, it’s a bad prophecy against the house of Eli his master.
1 Samuel 3:15-20
15 So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And
Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!”
He answered, “Here I am.”
17 And he said, “What is the word that the LORD spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me.
God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to
you.” 18 Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the
LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”
19 So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20
And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of
the LORD.
Although it was difficult, Samuel heard the voice of God and responded by doing what
was required of him, and Yahweh blessed him richly for it. It never says that Samuel
wants fame. It shows that he was a willing servant, but God exalted Him to be a
prophet to all Israel second only to Moses. He was destined to prophesy before kings
and he seems to have never lost that willingness to serve. Let’s contrast that.
Jonah 1:1-3
1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh,
that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah
arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a
ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish
from the presence of the LORD.
Quite a contrast, huh? Jonah hears the voice of God and is not willing. In fact, he
takes off in the opposite direction. He does everything he can to keep from doing
what the LORD Yahweh has purposed for him. He takes off on a ship going the
opposite direction. Then he volunteers to be thrown overboard, once again trying to
circumvent the LORD Yahweh through death.
Jonah 1:11-13
11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the
sea was growing more tempestuous.
12 And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm
for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued
to grow more tempestuous against them.
14 Therefore they cried out to the LORD and said, “We pray, O LORD, please do not let us
perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O LORD, have done
as it pleased You.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased
from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the
LORD and took vows.
It would be very easy to mistakenly think that Jonah was doing something honorable
here by sacrificing himself to spare the lives of the sailors, but he isn’t. What do you
think he could have had the sailors do differently that would have achieved the same
result? Maybe, turn; repent. If he would’ve said it was happening because he wasn’t
heading to Nineveh, do you think it would have been their choice to throw him into the
raging sea? They clearly had no desire to do such a thing because even when he
suggested it they ignored that option. Then when they finally did feel that they had no
other option (because he hadn’t given them one); they begged the vengeful God they
thought Yahweh was not to hold Jonah’s innocent blood against them. Sure they
feared YHWH, just like they feared their other gods, but did they really know Him?
They were not living in the information age as we are today. What way would they
have to ever know that they hadn’t just killed a man? Jonah couldn’t call them from
Nineveh and say, “Guess what?” These men likely went to their graves believing they
had killed him.
No, Jonah was not a willing servant but he still fulfilled God’s purpose, as Samuel had.
But instead of being exalted, instead of becoming a great prophet like Samuel, we don’
t hear anything else about him. In fact, the book of Jonah ends with him being angry
at God. How much different could it have been if he had been a willingly servant?
The Lord is not a respecter of persons, if He called to Samuel and He called to Jonah;
He is calling to you. Have you heard Him and responded?
Proverbs 1:20-23
20 Wisdom calls aloud outside;
She raises her voice in the open squares.
21 She cries out in the chief concourses,
At the openings of the gates in the city
She speaks her words:
22 “ How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?
For scorners delight in their scorning,
And fools hate knowledge.
23 Turn at my rebuke;
Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.
Wisdom calls but there is another voice we must contend with.
Proverbs 9:13-18
13 A foolish woman is clamorous;
She is simple, and knows nothing.
14 For she sits at the door of her house,
On a seat by the highest places of the city,
15 To call to those who pass by,
Who go straight on their way:
16 “ Whoever is simple, let him turn in here”;
And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,
17 “ Stolen water is sweet,
And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know that the dead are there,
That her guests are in the depths of hell.
We have both the voice of wisdom and the voice of foolishness calling. To which one
are you listening? The voice of God and His wisdom is sure. He has made Himself
clear to us and nothing He says to us now will contradict His word. The Bible is your
plumb line to keep going the right way. The way of the foolish will go against the word
of God at every turn. If you feel led to do something and it goes against something in
the Bible, do like Joseph did and run from it. It cannot be good for you if it goes
against His word. How do you know God’s word? You must read it. If you don’t, you
are ignoring the voice of wisdom and be sure that you will fall for the voice of
foolishness. I am constantly telling you how important it is to read your Bible like a
book. That’s how important it is. You cannot get what you need by reading bits and
pieces, here and there. You may say, but what about the believers that don’t have
access to His word; who live in places where it is illegal to possess His word and get by
on a few memorized verses or torn out pages. With God all things are possible and
He, through His Spirit, gives them what they need. They desire to have His word.
They would give everything to have it readily available like we have it today. The fact
remains that you have access so if you chose not to read it, what is that really saying
about your desire to seek Him with you whole heart, mind, strength, and soul?
Isaiah 65:1-2
1 “I was sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I was found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’
To a nation that was not called by My name.
2 I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,
Who walk in a way that is not good,
According to their own thoughts
God is calling to us. Though we may not have asked for Him or sought Him out.
Though we, like our parents, have been rebellious he is reaching out His mighty hand
to us and saying, “Here I am”. Will we respond to Him with willingness or ignore Him in
rebellion? Will we walk in the way He says is righteous or will we seek to find our own
way apart from Him and His righteousness?
Romans 6:16 - Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are
that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to
righteousness?
Whom will you obey?
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: July 8, 2007
