John, I'm not sure if you're going to be able to see because you left your glasses here, so Good morning. It's good to see everybody this morning and to come before the presence of Our Lord and Savior to hear His word for us this morning So I'll ask if you're able to please stand with me as we honor the reading of God's word this morning reading from first Samuel chapter 1 chapter 2 story verses 1 to 11 Hannah's prayer And Hannah prayed and said my heart exalts in the Lord my strength is exalted in the Lord My mouth derides my enemies because I rejoice in your salvation There is none holy like the Lord. There is none besides you. There is no rock like our God Talk no more so very proudly let not arrogance come from your mouth For the Lord is a God of knowledge and by Him actions are weighed The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength Those who are full have hired themselves out for bread But those who are hungry have seized to hunger The Baron has born seven, but she who has many children is for Lord The Lord kills and brings to life He brings down to Shio and raises up the Lord makes poor and makes rich He brings love and exalts he raises up in the poor from the dust He lifts the needy from the ash he to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor For the pillars of the earth are the lords and on them he has set the wall He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness For not by my shall a man prevailed The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces Against them he will thunder in heaven the Lord will judge the ends of the earth He will give strength to his king and exalt the power of his anointed And Elkana went home to Rama and the boy ministered to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest Let us pray We exalt you this morning Lord for all the things that you have done for us And as we come to hear your word this morning we pray that you would Open our eyes to see in our ears to hear and hearts to believe that which You are speaking to us this morning We pray in your holy name. Amen Please be seated Allow me to start this morning with a series of questions for all of us And as we've shared testimonies and hard what the Lord is doing in most of our lives. I ask you Are you rejoicing this morning and if you are what is your reason for rejoicing what is your reason Forgiving thanks to God See for most of the times we give thanks for the things that he has provided for us for the things he has done for us For the tangible things that we see And here And are able to identify in our lives. They are blessings that have been poured on our lives by God But my question this morning is If you know this God that has done so much for you If you know him Do you have a reason to thank him for his character For his nature For his attributes I like the way the West minister catech is in question number four Answers the question what is God it says the God is a spirit Infinite Eternal and unchangeable in his being his wisdom power Holiness justice goodness And truth that is who God is that's his his nature You see knowing who God is and knowing God's nature his his attributes and his character was recently now for a broken hearted Burned woman and to rejoice in God It's a reason for you and I it's a reason for us To rejoice We know from the story when we look at verses one to four of Hannah's prayer that she Earlier had described our heart as a troubled heart But now as we get into chapter two we realize that Hannah is a fully transformed Change the woman she says my heart exalts the Lord It's an introduction that shows us the personal joy that Hannah experiences because of the relationship that she has with Yahweh And then she says my mouth derives my enemies using an animal metaphor I mean, it's a sift Hannah is saying that her mouth is wide open to devour her enemies But in this case her mouth is not wide open to devour her enemies It's not open in cursing or in bitterness It's open in praise of the God who has answered her prayer to bear a child It is open in giving thanks to God for his salvation It is deliverance that he has she has received from God that helps her to burst into thanksgiving to God And Hannah is not using language that was not known to God's people that's not known to us either She's echoing language that was used by the people of God when they were rescued We we know of the song of Moses in Exodus chapter 15 verses two Moses and the people of God cried and say this The Lord is my strength and my song And he has become my salvation This is my God and I will praise him my father's God and I will exalt him We wonder why Hannah is using such a strong language such animal metaphors to describe her to describe her deliverance It's because she's rejoicing in the Lord's salvation She sounds more like an army of victorious army She sounds more like a soldier coming home from battle than a woman who just had a baby doesn't she And the reason is this Though she might not know it she's telling us something that she has no idea of what's going to happen in the future Because her prayer her song is a divinely inspired prayer And the impact of Hannah's deliverance and salvation goes beyond who she is it goes beyond her In the end as we shall see Hannah will be sounding like a prophet But the Lord God is now the focus of our hearts Confident joy why because she says he alone is holy What is holiness being set apart that God is set apart and separate from me from humanity That God is in him. There is no sin in him. There is no impurity that he is perfect in all his ways This message to the wicked to those who do not know God to those who do not believe in him. It's terror But for those who know God like Hannah, it's a message. It's a source of joy and of comfort Is it is God's holiness a message of comfort to you this morning Her joy is firmly rooted in the singular holiness of who God is of Yahweh She's a woman who appreciates the uniqueness of God his holiness just like Moses again going back to Exodus chapter 15 verses 11 Moses cries out cries out and says that there is none like him There is nothing to compare with our God. There's no power none holy like our God He is safer than any other. He's an incomparable God She praises God for his holiness, but she praises God because he alone is strong. He is the rock of ages This is what made the people of God Israel be so incomparable so long as they remain faithful to God Nothing could touch them The rocks that other gods depended upon were not as strong and to be trusted as Israel's rock Again, she uses to describe the strength another animal metaphor I remember when I was taking care of my father's cattle when I would see a cow Charging with with horns with with this head held high. I would run as fast as I could because I knew that was Danger that was coming see the horn in the in scripture signify a strength Again, as I described a horn of an animal. It's his glory and power when it's held high Perhaps in triumph after going another animal into submission That is strength Hannah remember had prayed a praying great anxiety and vexation Now she says our horn is raised up by the Lord because of a visible vindication For her against the koa of penina, but also because now she she is a bear of many children that will continue to be her strength So she praises God for his holiness for his strength Also because he's a wise God. He's all he's all knowing She described God as one who is not an abstract religious idea that God is related to us and to his creation That he knows all things is absolutely nothing that can be hidden from God That's why she says human arrogance is a form of pretence because why would you pretend to know what you know when God is the one who knows all things The proud she says must cease to speak why because they reject and deny the uniqueness of who God is And how do they do how do they do so they do so by expressing their self-sufficiency Their self-centeredness, their self-confidence penina is a confident woman She describes the self as one who is able to bear children, but who's given you the ability to do so Hannah knows that all come from the Lord because he's all knowing God He is holy He's strong He's wise, but he's also a just God a God of justice because all human actions must be weighed in light of this God in light of a God who knows all things Something for us to ponder this morning as we describe this attributes of God himself Do we ever find ourselves in times of prayer where we extensively focus on God's character his nature and who he is And praise him for all the things that he has done not just because he has acted but because of who he is Because he is holy because he is powerful because he is strong because he is wise Or do we just go through our laundry list of prayers and we cry out just like Hannah did and asking God to do this and that for us and yet we forget Who God is See, I think this morning God wants us to be reminded of this he wants us to be so overjoy With who he is and with what he has done that we overflow with thanksgiving We overflow with craze enjoyed this is all God and we rejoice and find comfort in his holiness in his power his wisdom His justice so praise him for who he is We don't only praise him for his character Again, we praise him as Hannah shows us the way here For his provision for us looking at verses four to eight. We see Hannah listing things here that generate human pride So to speak But when those things are weighed when those things are shown in the light of who God is They look so different. It's a beautiful contrast of how God apportions different conditions for his people She says something so powerful in here she says that it is God alone that can raise Dead into life and so the question for us is this if this is our God who is able to raise the dead to life What is it that the broken hearted cannot hope for in a God who brings life out of death?
She says he makes the weak strong He fills the empty and the empty become full. He increases the lonely and diminishes others He makes the poor rich and brings low and raises up He does great things for those who are lowly and supports the earth as God the creator He sustains it no one else only God the sovereign Yahweh. He is the one who sustains the earth But even more that this is a God who is more than able to change and reverse the circumstances Of all conditions of all humanity. He determines poverty. He determines riches That all things are under his control We might think that our governments or the military or someone else is in charge of what we see It's alive because God is in perfect control That is how hand-of-viewed life. Is it the same for us? Is that how we view Life that the sovereign God is in charge is in control of all things and if it is How does that affect how we view wealth and poverty live and death joy and sorrow? How do we view those things in life of knowing who is in charge of our life? Hannah is here rejoicing not in Samuel though. She was grateful that she had a child She's grateful and she is rejoicing in the Lord. She looks beyond the gift that she has received from God And she gives praise to the giver of all gifts Because that is important. She rejoices in salvation deliverance of our God Question for us this morning. There is a whole lot of questions this morning. Are we poor? Guess who makes us poor? God makes us poor. That's what Hannah is telling us It's a good reason for us to rejoice when we're poor and to be content And to make up our minds to our condition. Are we rich? God makes us rich A great reason for us to be thankful to our God and to serve him with cheerful heart And even more to give and to do good with the abundance that God gives us Another question Do you believe that God is present in your life this morning working in all ways because he is fully in charge whatever you're going through Do you believe that God is fully in control of your life answering every prayer though it might not look as you think or as you might wish That God is present Guiding you and providing for you in every way imaginable You believe that I love what Matthew 10 49 reminds us that not even a spare a force to the ground that's not that's apart from the careful watch of our Heavenly Father Do you think God cares for you more than he cares for spare
Where in our life this morning do you need to be reminded that God is truly at work That God is bringing life out of death He's giving you joy out of your sorrow He's giving you hope even in your despair Because you think you see just like me when I look around and see all the brokenness in my own life And in the world that surrounds me. I wonder if there is any hope for me I wonder if there is any hope for this nation for this country for the wall I wonder if God is more than able to change things around and reverse my circumstances all of our circumstances Is there hope for our governments? Is there hope for the migrant crisis in Europe where people are dying and children dying? Is there hope for poverty in our inner cities and all over the world? Is there hope for those who have been seeking for jobs and not knowing where the next paycheck is going to come from? Is there hope for broken families those people that are trying to be united with their sons and daughters that have wandered away from faith? Is there hope for the moral decay in our community as we struggle with homosexuality and abortion and shootings in our schools and universities and hospitals and movie theaters? Is there hope for Israel and Palestine for people filled with hatred for one another? Is there hope for racial reconciliation not just in America but every single country that has to deal with stuff the same way that we deal here Is God able to reverse for circumstances? You see Hannah tells us that he God raises up the poor from the dust She's the one who lifts the needy from the ash heap and he makes them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor Do you believe that? I like what Bill Arnold says in his comment through the Hannah's song points to the future And anticipates God's power to answer friend to reverse one's fortune You believe that God is more than able to reverse your circumstances Because lastly when you look at verses 9 to 11 We see another reason we need to be rejoicing this morning That is because Hannah is telling us that this is a God who is more than able to preserve his saints, his people We have no idea when Hannah made this prayer this song She might have done so when she dedicated Samuel in shallow Or she might have done that when Samuel was born The important thing is this That our prayer becomes a prophecy that has implications not just for her But for the world history for us This is a woman who is filled with confidence And God is preserving his people And how does he do that? He protects them from the evil one She shows us that God is a victorious God That the winners in the end are not the mighty and the strong and the powerful The winners in the end are the faithful ones Are those who trust in the Lord It's a warning There's a subtle warning in there that shows us that if you set yourself against the Lord You will face defeat Because strength is not found in military power It's not found in honor It's not found within us But it's found in the sovereign God Yahweh himself He is the one who gives strength to whom he wills He is the one who thunders from heaven and judges the earth He's a God who overthrows his adversaries and extends his kingdom The kingdom that a king The anointed one of the Lord Hannah is here being guided by the spirit of God To see that a king is coming A kingdom is coming It's going to be set up and be ruled by the Lord's anointed I love the song that we sang this morning during the opportunity Behold our king, one of my favorite sovereign grace songs Behold our king seated on the throne He is coming He has already come No doubt Hannah had in mind the prediction of David the king Whom God and his horn was exalted by God himself And he was given victory over so many wars that he had to go into But we know The perfect king that would come or the king that would come after David was greater It was better And his kingdom was going to be more elastrous And more everlasting than the dynasty of David And the everlasting kingdom built on the Lord's anointed And my side It is he or whom the angel of save to marry He will be great Luke chapter 1 verses 32 We see not yet his kingdom right now We might not see all the things put under him But we see him crowned with joy and honor And we wait for his appearing one day Because you see One day the longings of many generations The prophecies that have been made in the old and the new testament The prayers and the longings of many Hannah's to wait for a king and the kingdom to be set up One day it shall be made true when the Lord returns And how I pray that he may come quickly I hope that's your prayer as well And as he preserves his people he clothes and with strength He fills them with strength Versus 10 be makes reference of the horn again Which I think is the inclusio as writers call it Going back from the beginning into the end And then bringing everything all together And then she makes a reference to a king Isn't it funny or astonishing that Hannah is actually speaking over a king When we know from history and from reading this passage Israel does not have a king There is no king Saul has not been even We don't even know anything about Saul at this moment And yet she makes a point He is a king The Lord's anointed You know the word she uses there The Lord's anointed is the Hebrew word for the Messiah It's the Greek word for Christ or Christ We can only speculate that maybe she thought Maybe my son Samuel because of his Extra honorary circumstances of his birth Maybe maybe God has some great things from him When he grows up Of course we know he does But we know the truth We know that Mary would later sing this beautiful song In Luke chapter 46 Versus 55 and astonishing resemblance Of Hannah's song Which to me is a confirmation That the deliverer of the Messiah of God's people Is the Lord's anointed the Messiah himself That is the prediction that Hannah is giving us And then we see verses 11 A simple yet very simple observation of how Samuel Grows or is left behind in the in Shiloh Growing in stature and knowledge of God And I think it's a clear indication that true strength Is derived from a relationship With God That's where Samuel gets his strength And so this prophecy is about the kingdom of Christ It's about a kingdom of grace Which Hannah speaks to Notice how Hannah does not in this prayer Which is a prayer of thanksgiving For the gift that she got She does not mention Samuel She does not mention Her son You know why? Because it's a celebration of God It's a celebration of the Son of God Who comes to deliver us Who comes to rescue us Who comes to make the weeks strong That's what it's all about That he is the one who is sustaining us That it is God who is defending us from all of our enemies That he is the one who is subduing all of our enemies Until he returns That we are safe In his mighty arms In conclusion I think this is such a beautiful prayer for us to make every single day of our life Such a beautiful song for us to sing you see because It's a prayer of adoration From desperation to jubilation It's a shadow of the final joy that will come upon God's people It's a foretaste of what's to come It's a final deliverance that we await in Christ Jesus As he exalts those who are brokenhearted Those who are his people I love the way John sees this vision in Revelation chapter 41 Verses 1 all the way to 9 I'm just going to read a few verses As John sees the vision of the New Jerusalem and he says And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying Behold the dwelling place of God is with men He will dwell with them and they will be his people And God himself will be with them as their God He will wipe away every tear from their eyes And death shall be no more Neither shall there be mourning No crying No pain anymore for the former things have passed away So this morning I encourage all of us as we go through our brokenness Whether you own personal struggles in brokenness Or the brokenness that you see in the world In our weaknesses In our imperfections In our loneliness In our sorrow And all manner of trials And things that we might face in our life We can rejoice We can rejoice because we know it is in God's nature to provide for us To answer our prayer It is in God's nature not to leave us on our own That he remains faithful even when we are faithful That he is always there for us And that his kingdom will be fully consummated one day When he returns for his second coming So you can rejoice We can rejoice this morning Because we will be fully delivered We will be fully exalted He is your salvation He is your deliverable Blessed be the name of the Lord Amen, let us pray We thank you Lord Jesus this morning That you remind us that we can rejoice We can magnify your name With all the things that we have Because of who you are You are awesome You are great You are holy You are powerful You provide for us in ways that we cannot even understand Would you make this message Be true for us this morning We may exalt you We may honor you because we believe and yell To finally deliver us And exalt us We pray all this in Christ's name Amen