2021 – Year of the Lord’s Favour – Samuel | Sunday Service | Mar 14, 2021

We are blessed with yet another Sunday to worship and praise our Lord, Christ Jesus.

We will continue with our ongoing series, “Lord’s Favour”.

We have heard about Favour of God upon Samuel. There are few things we can learn from the life of Samuel.

Now 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.

Samuel’s mother, before Samuel was born, she had been praying and asking for a child who she would dedicate to the Lord. And Samuel was born and served as a judge in Israel during resistance with then Philistines. God used Samuel and lifted him up.

And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord .

Samuel was blessed with God’s favour that he even anointed the two kings of Israel.

Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy clothed with a linen ephod.

And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you children by this woman for the petition she asked of the Lord .” So then they would return to their home.

Throughout Samuel’s life, he loved God and feared God. Samuel allowed God to work in his life.

So what are the lessons we can learn from the life of Samuel? Sometimes we go out of our way to fulfull the material needs of our children. But what about their spiritual needs? Samuel’s mother dedicated Samuel, and so we need to do as well. We need to dedicate our children to God in order to seek God’s favour.

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

The Greek word for the word Church is “ἐκκλησίᾳ (ekklēsia)” which literally means body of the faithful. We need to be committed to the Church and keep fellowship with fellow believers.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

The bible says that the Church is the bride of Christ and that we are the body of Christ. We need to understand that we need to be connected as the body of Christ and as community through fellowship.

Now 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.

The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord ; they flourish in the courts of our God.

Samuel was planted inside the house of the Lord and he flourished.

Here the term mentioning planted isnt talking about the garden plantation. It means rooted strongly and firmly in the Lord. The word of God is like water, so once planted, we need to keep warwring and watering.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

We need to be committed and God will keep us falling away, because His favour will be upon us. The Bible says many people will walk away, however there are chosen ones where they will carry forward the vision and the mission of God.

Dear Church, do you seek favour of God? Do yiu seek Gods presence and favour rest upon you and your children? If your answer is yes, then there are two very inportant things you can do.

We hope you are encouraged with today’s message.  We look forward to see you again next Sunday. God bless!