Here I Am!
1 Samuel 3

Last week, we started talking about the difficulties of growth. We looked at Hebrews 5, where Paul tells the Hebrews about the growth process of a spiritual Christian; how as babies, just like human babies, spiritual babies can thrive on milk. It is acceptable and healthy to. But as the person matures, more is needed. We graduate from milk to solid food. Kindergarten to primary school to secondary school.

Tell me, most of you play instruments. Can you remember the first time you decided you wanted to play that instrument, and then picked it up and played it? How many of you got it perfectly correct the first time? OR think about when you get a new pet. The first (few) times, your new dog/cat won’t really recognize your voice when you call it. It takes time for the pet to get used to you and you to get used to your pet.

1. Samuel was unable to recognize God’s voice at first.

Look at our chapter. How many times does God have to call Samuel before he realizes it is God? THREE times. It is clearly God who calls Samuel the first time but he thinks it’s Eli, so he goes to him. God calls him a second time and he thinks it’s Eli once again, and goes to the wrong person again. This is a good example of how we won’t get it right from the start. It takes us a few tries before we get it right!

Samuel was known to be one of the greatest prophets in the OT and in the bible. He was truly a man of God after his own heart who was used by God to relay His messages to the people. He was His vessel, but in the beginning, he wasn’t perfect like everyone else in this room.

Our American society is teaching young people to be in control of everything. Everything has to be perfect; we have to know exactly how something’s going to happen and how something is going to plan out. We don’t know how to let things happen naturally anymore. We don’t let ourselves be rookies anymore. We have to be perfect from the beginning.

Now, these probably aren’t what Samuel was feeling at this time, but it’s a good thing to observe. Look at the interaction with Samuel and God at this time even though Samuel doesn’t really know what’s going on.

2. Samuel replied with “Here I am!” even though he didn’t fully realize what was going on.

What a beautiful response to the Lord’s call. Here I am. This simple yet absolutely beautiful response points to a complete surrender and giving up of oneself for another person (in this case, God’s) call. When he responds with this, he is essentially putting himself completely at the disposal of another person. I am here, so you can assign me tasks that you want me to do. I am here, so that I can do whatever you need me to do. Whatever you want, whatever you need, I am here.

It’s not only that though. Samuel is not only saying “I’m here at your disposal so have your way with me”, but also that “I will do whatever you ask.” How open, vulnerable, and utterly submissive is this? Today’s people and society will look upon this and call anyone who models Samuel’s mentality and attitude as “foolish”. How dumb are you to put yourself in that low of a position so others can take advantage of you? 바보 is what they will call you.

I think, at least from my limited studies of this passage, tells me that Samuel responded pretty quickly. He responded right away. There was no hesitation, no overthinking, no considering the pros and cons, nothing to measure how much it would benefit Samuel and be comfortable for him. He didn’t think that. He reflexively responded “Here I am” to God’s calling his name, and it is one of the most beautiful scenes in the entire 66-book bible.

When the Lord calls us, is it that He does it because He knows that we can; that we have all the power; ability; force of will (motivation); resources to accomplish whatever task He has in mind? NO. Is He calling us because He doesn’t know where we are, or think that we may have gone away somewhere else? NO.

God calls us – and this is the CRUCIAL part of the entire message today – simply because he wants to know if we are listening and willing. This is God’s ONLY condition.

Samuel is only a child in this passage, but he is on the same list as other great men of faith who respond to the call of God in the same way.

• Abraham (when God is about to test Abraham to sacrifice Isaac in Genesis 22:1) - Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.
• Jacob (Genesis 46:2) - And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!” “Here I am,” he replied.
• Moses (God reveals Himself to Moses for the first time… at this time, Moses doesn’t Him because he grew up as an Egyptian – Exodus 3:4) - When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
• Isaiah (Isaiah 6:8) – Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
• Ananias (Acts 9:10) – In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered.

What happens then when you become so available and willing to offer yourself to God? God begins to do real things in you…and through you.

3. God put words in Samuel’s mouth as he grew up and stayed with him as he did the tasks as laid down by God.

Verse 19: The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. WHY?

Because of Samuel’s attitude and response in verse 10: Speak, for your servant is listening. This response is one given by a child, nonetheless. And not just any child; a child who again in verse 7 did not yet know the Lord; the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. This scripture alone doesn’t tell us much about Samuel except for the fact that he was so obedient. The picture I get from Samuel in this chapter is just how pure and innocent he is. He’s not like foolish-innocent either, but a way that embodies a good and right character.

But because he was like this from the beginning, without even knowing what God was calling him for or what was in store for him… (you know, because as humans it is especially difficult to go into something not knowing; we don’t like big surprises, we like to know what is coming so we can be prepared). God chose Samuel for that reason. Samuel was really good at loving God even though he didn’t really know him yet. Do you know how that’s shown? Through his obedience.
Can you imagine completely obeying and surrendering to someone (or something) that you don’t really have a full idea of? It would be terrifying. If I didn’t know who or what it was that I was giving a significant power to, you’d better believe that I would run the other way.

We don’t really know why God waited until this time to reveal His word unto Samuel. I was thinking this when I was preparing… why didn’t God reveal it sooner? He knew that Samuel would be so obedient and open. God is so all-knowing, that he even knew everything about us before we were born. He knew each moment of our lives, every part of our existence, He wrote before we were even conceived. Yet, I grappled with this question – why did God wait this particular time, 3 times to be exact, to reveal Himself to Samuel?

And the answer I got was this. He purposefully hides his plans.

God purposefully doesn’t reveal all the part of His plan from the start. It’s like our life is a giant 1,000 piece puzzle. We have the picture on the box, so we know how it’s going to look like ultimately. But the process is difficult. Only the artist of the puzzle knows what the finished product is going to look like. It’s not our job to know what that’s going to be or how it’s going to play out before it’s finished. We don’t know which piece will be put together after which piece. But God does. And therefore, He’s the only one that needs to know that plan.

By doing this, God is teaching us how to grow in character, perseverance, and how to patiently wait on God’s timing. Guys, waiting is not a bad thing. Being imperfect in the beginning is not a bad thing. We are so hard on ourselves; it’s heartbreaking. Even some of the things that you guys go through, I can’t imagine just how hard living day by day must be. Some more okay than others, but as a general rule. Society right now has their eyes on us. On Christian leaders. Teachers. You guys. The people who are getting ready to take over the next generation of Christ’s soldiers. There is so much responsibility before you, lots for you to bear and struggle through. But don’t forget – God is on our side. He is on your side. He is a living, breathing, loving, intelligent God. The enemy is smart too. But he’s got nothing compared to God.

ABBA – story from Matt Chandler

God was with Samuel before he was born. He was with all of us before we were all born and given names.

Close with quote from Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline.

“I’m so grateful I didn’t wait until I was perfect to pray for others. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have begun. Every seeming failure lead to another process; Christ was my teacher”.