WEBVTT 00:00:02.250 --> 00:00:05.250 Welcome to the Life Bible Church podcast. We 00:00:05.250 --> 00:00:07.669 want to thank you for joining us today, and we 00:00:07.669 --> 00:00:10.169 hope you find today's sermon impacting as you 00:00:10.169 --> 00:00:12.689 listen to it wherever you are in your daily walk. 00:00:12.949 --> 00:00:15.929 To find service times and watch messages online, 00:00:16.210 --> 00:00:20.109 see our website at lifebiblechurch .org. Now, 00:00:20.129 --> 00:00:25.050 enjoy this week's message. All right, well... 00:00:25.570 --> 00:00:27.429 Most of you probably know who I am, but just 00:00:27.429 --> 00:00:29.489 in case you don't, I'm Pastor Brad's wife. He's 00:00:29.489 --> 00:00:32.289 out of town ministering at a church, so please 00:00:32.289 --> 00:00:35.350 keep him in your prayers. But there was a need 00:00:35.350 --> 00:00:37.869 for someone to fill the pulpit, so here I am. 00:00:39.329 --> 00:00:45.810 Thank you. It's always an honor to share the 00:00:45.810 --> 00:00:48.829 word. About two and a half months ago, my husband 00:00:48.829 --> 00:00:51.390 and I were on a little getaway. We try and get 00:00:51.390 --> 00:00:54.009 away the first of the year just to hear God for 00:00:54.009 --> 00:00:57.460 our church. This year was a little bit more difficult 00:00:57.460 --> 00:01:05.760 because we are in a major situation, step of 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:08.739 faith, where with the riverbank, there's a lot 00:01:08.739 --> 00:01:10.840 of things, a lot of pressure has been coming 00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:13.980 against us personally as pastors and the church. 00:01:14.340 --> 00:01:19.560 And so to hear God in a way of trying to clear 00:01:19.560 --> 00:01:22.439 out all of the distractions was very difficult. 00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:26.079 Anybody relate? You're going through a season 00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:28.739 where you just feel like God is testing your 00:01:28.739 --> 00:01:32.000 faith and it's a difficult season and you don't 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:34.980 like it. It's easy to wanna hear what you wanna 00:01:34.980 --> 00:01:40.659 hear so that you can use God as a way to kind 00:01:40.659 --> 00:01:42.700 of get you out of the pain and the suffering 00:01:42.700 --> 00:01:45.280 or we're just not sure what's happening. And 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:48.819 so the Lord gave me this word and he led me to, 00:01:48.920 --> 00:01:53.030 sorry, sound team, am I okay? All right. He led 00:01:53.030 --> 00:01:56.549 me to the book of 1 Samuel. And the title of 00:01:56.549 --> 00:01:59.750 my message this morning is called The Womb Where 00:01:59.750 --> 00:02:03.689 God Works Miracles. Learning from Hannah's hidden 00:02:03.689 --> 00:02:07.450 journey of surrender, silence, and destiny. We're 00:02:07.450 --> 00:02:10.710 gonna talk about Hannah in the Bible in 1 Samuel. 00:02:10.930 --> 00:02:14.550 And I wanna talk about how God works in hidden 00:02:14.550 --> 00:02:19.310 places. And there's been probably the entire 00:02:19.310 --> 00:02:22.979 journey of our church. Even the location of where 00:02:22.979 --> 00:02:27.560 we are is not exactly in a place where most people 00:02:27.560 --> 00:02:29.939 can find us. We've had pastors and ministers 00:02:29.939 --> 00:02:31.539 and leaders come to our church and they'll be 00:02:31.539 --> 00:02:33.860 like, where are all the people? Like, where do 00:02:33.860 --> 00:02:36.360 they come from? There's no people. You drive 00:02:36.360 --> 00:02:38.819 these roads and all you see is a bunch of sheep. 00:02:39.460 --> 00:02:42.599 And it's true, but we're sheep, right? And they're 00:02:42.599 --> 00:02:44.180 like, where do they come from? And honestly. 00:02:45.080 --> 00:02:47.020 You know, they will say, man, if your church 00:02:47.020 --> 00:02:49.219 was in a big city, you'd be three times the size 00:02:49.219 --> 00:02:50.860 and it would be happening. And you guys would 00:02:50.860 --> 00:02:53.259 have all this great, you know, you'd have all 00:02:53.259 --> 00:02:55.520 these ministries and everybody would know about 00:02:55.520 --> 00:02:58.860 you. And, but the Lord was like, no, that's, 00:02:58.860 --> 00:03:02.699 that wasn't what God's plan was. He put us in 00:03:02.699 --> 00:03:06.400 a little town by a river that one day we would 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:09.460 be fighting for our life. And so here we are. 00:03:09.819 --> 00:03:12.539 And so God began to speak to me this scripture. 00:03:14.030 --> 00:03:16.530 the story about Hannah. And we might get a little 00:03:16.530 --> 00:03:18.789 vulnerable today. Is that all right? Just get 00:03:18.789 --> 00:03:20.849 a little vulnerable. Let's just like take off 00:03:20.849 --> 00:03:24.349 the filters. Just relax. Just you're in my living 00:03:24.349 --> 00:03:26.330 room. We're just going to have a family conversation. 00:03:27.210 --> 00:03:31.710 Amen. Deuteronomy 29, 29 says the secret things 00:03:31.710 --> 00:03:36.330 belong to God and the hidden things. And sometimes 00:03:36.330 --> 00:03:39.449 we don't understand. Many of you probably have 00:03:39.449 --> 00:03:43.180 experienced seasons of being hidden. and you 00:03:43.180 --> 00:03:46.020 see other people, and you see other lives, and 00:03:46.020 --> 00:03:48.780 it's difficult, and we compare ourselves. But 00:03:48.780 --> 00:03:51.120 I want to give you an understanding and revelation 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:55.979 of the beauty of the hidden place. Before God 00:03:55.979 --> 00:03:58.280 unveils his greatest works, he often chooses 00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:02.479 to conceal them. There is always seasons of hiddenness 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:06.620 that come before deliverance. Times of obscurity 00:04:06.620 --> 00:04:10.500 precede advancement and a period of secrecy before 00:04:10.500 --> 00:04:13.800 revelation. So we want the deliverance, we want 00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:16.139 the advancement, we want the revelation, but 00:04:16.139 --> 00:04:18.279 we don't like the obscurity, we don't like the 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:20.800 hiddenness, and we don't like that place where 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:25.120 God keeps us a secret. But that has to happen 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:29.959 before the shift. In God's design, what is hidden 00:04:29.959 --> 00:04:33.980 is not forgotten. You are not forgotten. You 00:04:33.980 --> 00:04:37.720 are not forgotten. And then when you hear that 00:04:37.720 --> 00:04:41.139 and you think that in your mindset, you have 00:04:41.139 --> 00:04:43.839 to realize you have to make a shift and think 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:47.500 about those hidden places the way God does. Because 00:04:47.500 --> 00:04:50.339 that's what gets us in trouble. Is there's always, 00:04:50.459 --> 00:04:52.899 even I'll just be really real with you this morning. 00:04:53.779 --> 00:04:57.259 I put my phone on do not disturb because I was 00:04:57.259 --> 00:05:00.540 getting text messages during first service. And 00:05:00.540 --> 00:05:04.360 it was. messing with my mind. And then a few 00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:07.360 people got up and walked out. And then some people, 00:05:07.420 --> 00:05:09.160 more people got up and walked out and someone 00:05:09.160 --> 00:05:10.959 looked like they were sleeping. And I was like, 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:13.040 this is so boring. No one's listening to me. 00:05:13.279 --> 00:05:16.079 It's not a good message. It's so dry. And I'm 00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:17.980 getting all of those thoughts while I'm trying 00:05:17.980 --> 00:05:21.319 to stay on track is to preach the message. So 00:05:21.319 --> 00:05:24.269 I'm just telling you it happens. I get it. Right? 00:05:24.389 --> 00:05:27.069 We can be sitting in that space, but we have 00:05:27.069 --> 00:05:29.769 to know the truth. If I sat down and stopped 00:05:29.769 --> 00:05:31.550 preaching because those voices were in my head, 00:05:31.610 --> 00:05:32.970 you guys would be like, what is wrong with you? 00:05:34.410 --> 00:05:38.230 Amen? So we don't listen to those voices. We 00:05:38.230 --> 00:05:43.569 keep going. Moses was hidden before he led. Joseph 00:05:43.569 --> 00:05:46.930 was hidden before he ruled. David was hidden 00:05:46.930 --> 00:05:49.350 before he reigned. Esther was hidden before she 00:05:49.350 --> 00:05:52.730 was crowned. And Jesus was hidden for 30 years 00:05:52.730 --> 00:05:57.379 before, the cross. Ecclesiastes 3 .1 says, for 00:05:57.379 --> 00:06:00.939 everything, there is a season. We all probably 00:06:00.939 --> 00:06:05.079 know that scripture, but do we believe it? Because 00:06:05.079 --> 00:06:09.240 we like to purpose the seasons. We like to tell 00:06:09.240 --> 00:06:12.860 God, like we get a word, but then we like to 00:06:12.860 --> 00:06:18.519 advance that word, make that word happen, or 00:06:18.519 --> 00:06:23.250 put our own interpretation on that word. But 00:06:23.250 --> 00:06:26.449 we have to submit that every life begins in a 00:06:26.449 --> 00:06:31.829 hidden womb. Concealment is protection and preparation. 00:06:32.290 --> 00:06:36.589 It's not punishment. It's not punishment. It's 00:06:36.589 --> 00:06:41.329 preparation. And when the Lord led me to this 00:06:41.329 --> 00:06:43.610 message, he said, this is where the church is 00:06:43.610 --> 00:06:48.500 at. As Life Bible Church, which is you. With 00:06:48.500 --> 00:06:50.779 everything going on around us, everything that 00:06:50.779 --> 00:06:54.740 we're facing, we're in a womb. We're in a womb 00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:59.040 for the next generations. When that wall went 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:04.720 in, our engineer told us most walls are 40 -year 00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:08.240 walls, 50 -year walls. This is a lifetime wall. 00:07:09.139 --> 00:07:11.740 He told us, he said, I don't know, Brad. but 00:07:11.740 --> 00:07:13.860 this is a lifetime wall. He said, the way it's 00:07:13.860 --> 00:07:15.899 going in and the materials, he says, this will 00:07:15.899 --> 00:07:19.060 stand for every generation until the Lord returns. 00:07:19.500 --> 00:07:23.060 That is an amen. Now we may have had to walk 00:07:23.060 --> 00:07:26.100 through some tough things, but a lifetime wall 00:07:26.100 --> 00:07:31.300 is worth it. So when it hurts, God is still working 00:07:31.300 --> 00:07:34.800 behind the scenes. Okay. There's pain. I'm sorry. 00:07:35.459 --> 00:07:39.139 I'm going to lead us through a little bit of 00:07:39.139 --> 00:07:42.060 suffering message I can't hardly help myself 00:07:42.060 --> 00:07:44.519 but I feel like everything about our journey 00:07:44.519 --> 00:07:47.360 with the Lord we have to embrace suffering and 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:49.160 we have to have an understanding of suffering 00:07:49.160 --> 00:07:51.519 there's a doctrine of suffering out there when 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:54.620 I took biblical basic doctrine and taught it 00:07:54.620 --> 00:07:57.199 we actually had a class on the doctrine of suffering 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:01.319 you're like what that's not right no because 00:08:01.319 --> 00:08:03.879 those are parts of the bible that we don't often 00:08:03.879 --> 00:08:07.680 like to study we like to put those away We like 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:12.920 the messages that really make our soul feel good, 00:08:13.019 --> 00:08:17.279 but we are to be a people that are not soul -driven, 00:08:17.399 --> 00:08:21.939 but spirit -led. Amen? Similar to the hidden 00:08:21.939 --> 00:08:24.740 place, God also works tremendously through suffering. 00:08:24.899 --> 00:08:28.819 Suffering is not a sign of divine absence. Often 00:08:28.819 --> 00:08:31.300 it is the hidden place where God is preparing 00:08:31.300 --> 00:08:35.250 resurrection life. You can't have resurrection 00:08:35.250 --> 00:08:39.370 life if you don't have a death first. And we 00:08:39.370 --> 00:08:44.230 can get really church eyes. I don't know if that's 00:08:44.230 --> 00:08:46.909 a word. We can get really churchy, religious. 00:08:47.889 --> 00:08:50.710 Oh, victory, resurrection life. Come on, God 00:08:50.710 --> 00:08:54.250 is good. Amen. Yeah, that's good. But we don't 00:08:54.250 --> 00:08:56.909 understand that in order for that, we have to 00:08:56.909 --> 00:09:02.279 die. Your death. might look different than someone 00:09:02.279 --> 00:09:04.820 else's. Your suffering is going to look different 00:09:04.820 --> 00:09:07.240 than someone else's. Your womb and what you're 00:09:07.240 --> 00:09:09.419 carrying and what God is birthing through you 00:09:09.419 --> 00:09:11.899 is not going to be the same as someone else's. 00:09:11.940 --> 00:09:15.419 And we can't compare. We have to embrace the 00:09:15.419 --> 00:09:18.259 fact that we belong to God and what he's doing 00:09:18.259 --> 00:09:22.559 in our life is for a purpose beyond you. Beyond 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:25.000 you. I'm a very selfish person. I will admit. 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:29.110 I know I'm selfish. I hate it. And every time 00:09:29.110 --> 00:09:31.029 I think I'm not gonna be selfish and I'm gonna 00:09:31.029 --> 00:09:35.029 think differently, I end up being selfish. And 00:09:35.029 --> 00:09:37.169 I will kind of like have my self pity party with 00:09:37.169 --> 00:09:40.250 the Lord and I'm like, man, they and he and her 00:09:40.250 --> 00:09:43.889 and it and she and da, da, da, da, da. And the 00:09:43.889 --> 00:09:47.389 Lord's like, you're selfish. Like what? You're 00:09:47.389 --> 00:09:50.009 selfish. Okay, because I'm thinking about me. 00:09:51.350 --> 00:09:55.570 If you're thinking about you, any part of you, 00:09:55.669 --> 00:10:00.539 I'm sorry to say. You're selfish. Let's just 00:10:00.539 --> 00:10:04.480 admit it. All right, moving on. We're done with 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:07.340 that. Put that on the altar. Blood of Jesus. 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:10.299 But you know, let's help each other not be selfish. 00:10:11.019 --> 00:10:14.480 All right. All right, let's look at Psalms 139. 00:10:14.519 --> 00:10:16.919 David describes about this hidden place. My frame 00:10:16.919 --> 00:10:19.679 was not hidden from you when I was made in the 00:10:19.679 --> 00:10:21.659 secret place, when I was woven together in the 00:10:21.659 --> 00:10:26.159 depths of the earth. We were woven. God wove 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:30.220 us in a dark and hidden place. What if he's still 00:10:30.220 --> 00:10:35.200 doing that with our spirit? In the natural, we're 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:37.940 formed and we stay in a hidden dark place for 00:10:37.940 --> 00:10:42.840 nine months. But God is beyond, is not looking 00:10:42.840 --> 00:10:46.039 for us to just have. our birth and here we are 00:10:46.039 --> 00:10:48.460 now we get to live on this earth doing all the 00:10:48.460 --> 00:10:50.460 things we want living all this life for myself 00:10:50.460 --> 00:10:53.659 God's like no you're a womb and I need to birth 00:10:53.659 --> 00:10:55.980 a lot more through you and so now there's going 00:10:55.980 --> 00:11:00.919 to be seasons months maybe years maybe Many years 00:11:00.919 --> 00:11:04.379 where your spirit man is going to be hidden and 00:11:04.379 --> 00:11:08.100 I'm weaving and I'm working to birth out of you, 00:11:08.139 --> 00:11:10.279 to birth out of you all of the things of the 00:11:10.279 --> 00:11:12.320 kingdom and the things that I have planned. He 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:17.639 needs us to be wombs and not look at that womb 00:11:17.639 --> 00:11:24.700 as a tomb. God often disguises wombs as tombs. 00:11:25.159 --> 00:11:27.539 What appears closed, barren, painful, or final 00:11:27.539 --> 00:11:31.220 is not necessarily a place of death, but a place 00:11:31.220 --> 00:11:36.639 of gestation. Jesus gives us this in John 16, 00:11:36.700 --> 00:11:39.519 21. When a woman is in labor, she has sorrow. 00:11:39.740 --> 00:11:42.720 But when the child is born, she no longer remembers 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:45.299 the anguish for the joy that the human being 00:11:45.299 --> 00:11:49.480 has been born into the world. You know, the baby 00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:52.950 in the womb did nothing. to bring themselves 00:11:52.950 --> 00:11:56.429 into the world. It was not painful. They just 00:11:56.429 --> 00:12:02.549 grew, right? Happy. Some of them come out screaming 00:12:02.549 --> 00:12:04.590 because they don't, they want to go back. They're 00:12:04.590 --> 00:12:07.250 like, what's happening? I come out and saw lights 00:12:07.250 --> 00:12:10.769 and everything in my face. That's how you came 00:12:10.769 --> 00:12:17.809 out. Screaming, not happy. Who went through the 00:12:17.809 --> 00:12:22.950 pain? The mother. The mother went through the 00:12:22.950 --> 00:12:26.889 agony. The mother experienced the pain. Church, 00:12:26.889 --> 00:12:31.830 Jesus went through the pain for you. You didn't 00:12:31.830 --> 00:12:34.850 suffer the labor. Now we work out our salvation 00:12:34.850 --> 00:12:38.529 through fear and trembling, but your birth, sometimes 00:12:38.529 --> 00:12:42.210 we question and we get in these places with God 00:12:42.210 --> 00:12:45.169 where we're questioning and we wonder, we have 00:12:45.169 --> 00:12:49.129 doubt and unbelief. God birthed you. I'm a mother 00:12:49.129 --> 00:12:51.629 and the pain that I went through to have children, 00:12:51.730 --> 00:12:57.029 like I would never not adore and love and surround 00:12:57.029 --> 00:12:59.509 myself with my children because that was work. 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:03.200 A lot of work, and it's still a lot of work. 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:06.500 I still feel like I'm in labor sometimes. Right, 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:09.759 moms? Right, dads? And the kids are like, just 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:11.600 living their best life. And you're like, you 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:14.879 don't understand what I had to do for you. And 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:18.799 so God is like, why do you question me? I birthed 00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:21.980 you. I've labored for you. We did nothing to 00:13:21.980 --> 00:13:24.519 bring ourselves into the kingdom other than say 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:27.669 yes and believe. And he's still, the Bible says, 00:13:27.730 --> 00:13:31.769 Jesus is still making intercession for us. He's 00:13:31.769 --> 00:13:34.710 still birthing. He's still, and so we have to 00:13:34.710 --> 00:13:37.789 get this mindset that everything we're going 00:13:37.789 --> 00:13:41.210 through starts with a season of womb and labor 00:13:41.210 --> 00:13:44.889 and pain before it's birthed. And then he goes, 00:13:44.909 --> 00:13:49.149 it's time to do it again. So, Life Bible, we're 00:13:49.149 --> 00:13:53.490 doing it again. All right, let's get to Hannah. 00:13:54.129 --> 00:13:57.659 In 1 Samuel, Chapter one, I believe Hannah is 00:13:57.659 --> 00:14:01.519 a beautiful picture of hidden suffering turned 00:14:01.519 --> 00:14:06.879 transformation. She embodies this truth. So it 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:09.259 says in 1 Samuel chapter one, verses one through 00:14:09.259 --> 00:14:12.299 three, there was a certain man of Ramatham Zophim 00:14:12.299 --> 00:14:15.360 of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:19.279 Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:24.340 of Tohu, son of Zuth and Ephrathite. I'm telling 00:14:24.340 --> 00:14:29.700 you, I had to practice a lot. Somebody told me, 00:14:29.700 --> 00:14:31.679 just say a bunch of names that you can't understand. 00:14:31.740 --> 00:14:35.320 I said, nope, I am gonna say these names. I even 00:14:35.320 --> 00:14:37.639 was practicing. Remethaim Zophim, right before 00:14:37.639 --> 00:14:40.879 I got up here. I'm just being honest, all right. 00:14:41.220 --> 00:14:44.039 He had two wives. The name of one was Hannah. 00:14:44.120 --> 00:14:48.080 The name of the other, Peniah. Peniah had children, 00:14:48.220 --> 00:14:51.409 but Hannah had no children. This man used to 00:14:51.409 --> 00:14:53.889 go up year by year from his city to worship and 00:14:53.889 --> 00:14:56.549 to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, 00:14:56.649 --> 00:15:00.110 where the sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas were 00:15:00.110 --> 00:15:03.169 priests of the Lord. We'll learn as we explore 00:15:03.169 --> 00:15:06.429 Hannah's life that she's one of many barren women 00:15:06.429 --> 00:15:11.029 in the Bible. Rebecca, Elizabeth, Sarah, whose 00:15:11.029 --> 00:15:17.190 wombs that God opened at crucial moments in redemptive 00:15:17.190 --> 00:15:20.779 history. often to bring forth strategic children. 00:15:21.580 --> 00:15:26.960 There has to be in us. Maybe someone next to 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:30.960 you, someone in the body or a friend of yours 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:33.059 is being really used of God and you're watching 00:15:33.059 --> 00:15:35.639 their giftings just flourish and they're growing 00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:38.279 and they're doing all these great things and 00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:42.480 you just feel like nothing's happening. Where's 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:48.000 my place? I'm just sitting. I don't fit in. Do 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:50.440 I even have a ministry? Does anybody even notice 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:54.720 me? I'm just raising kids right now. I'm wiping 00:15:54.720 --> 00:15:58.019 snot off noses and up in the middle of the night 00:15:58.019 --> 00:16:01.080 and waking up to puke. It's like, why can't I 00:16:01.080 --> 00:16:04.019 be prophesying and teaching a class on a Wednesday 00:16:04.019 --> 00:16:07.039 night? And why am I not being used? God, it's 00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:12.919 not fair. Well, maybe it's the time of a womb 00:16:12.919 --> 00:16:18.019 season and barrenness that is not death. but 00:16:18.019 --> 00:16:20.840 gestation. Let's look at the prophetic language. 00:16:21.019 --> 00:16:22.980 I think it's important. Why do we read these 00:16:22.980 --> 00:16:25.259 names? Why are they even listed in the Old Testament? 00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:28.080 Well, they're there because names have meaning. 00:16:28.600 --> 00:16:31.340 When a name was given to a person, it was very 00:16:31.340 --> 00:16:34.070 significant. They have They mean names, places, 00:16:34.190 --> 00:16:37.110 bloodlines, all hold significant weight in their 00:16:37.110 --> 00:16:40.169 meaning. So like my daughter, I named her Jessica 00:16:40.169 --> 00:16:43.370 and her name means the wealth of God. So I don't 00:16:43.370 --> 00:16:45.809 go around and go wealth of God. Hey, wealth of 00:16:45.809 --> 00:16:49.330 God. Hey, wealth of God. I don't say that out 00:16:49.330 --> 00:16:52.250 loud, but back in that culture, when you said 00:16:52.250 --> 00:16:55.230 a name, people didn't hear the name, they heard 00:16:55.230 --> 00:16:59.190 the meaning. So names were significant. You didn't 00:16:59.190 --> 00:17:02.899 want the name like Jabez, which means pain. Every 00:17:02.899 --> 00:17:04.940 time someone said his name, that's why he wrote 00:17:04.940 --> 00:17:06.759 that famous scripture. He said, Lord, let me 00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:09.640 not cause pain. Let my name be reversed. Let 00:17:09.640 --> 00:17:13.359 there be a blessing all of my days. And so sometimes 00:17:13.359 --> 00:17:16.599 you got a name that you don't like. So names 00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:18.720 in the Bible were very significant. Even before 00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:21.200 Hannah prayed and Samuel was born or led Israel's 00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:23.680 revival, names already carried a prophetic and 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:27.259 significant meaning. So the story opens in Rema. 00:17:29.050 --> 00:17:33.230 which means the double heights of watchmen. So 00:17:33.230 --> 00:17:37.589 not just God is watching, but double, double 00:17:37.589 --> 00:17:40.650 layer, double heights, not just one level, but 00:17:40.650 --> 00:17:45.509 another level of watchmen. Hannah lived in the 00:17:45.509 --> 00:17:48.569 hill country of Ephraim, which means double fruitfulness. 00:17:49.769 --> 00:17:52.809 So here she is experiencing a barren womb, but 00:17:52.809 --> 00:17:56.250 she's living in a land that means double fruitfulness 00:17:56.250 --> 00:17:59.269 and they worship at Shiloh, which means the place 00:17:59.269 --> 00:18:02.349 of rest. So the land seemed to speak volumes 00:18:02.349 --> 00:18:07.809 even before her womb opened. It foretold a bountiful 00:18:07.809 --> 00:18:11.130 harvest. What happens is we get so caught up 00:18:11.130 --> 00:18:13.690 in comparison and our own selfishness and our 00:18:13.690 --> 00:18:16.569 own self -pity that we're not realizing the land 00:18:16.569 --> 00:18:20.829 around us is speaking. What is the prophetic 00:18:20.829 --> 00:18:24.569 message? Maybe that will change the trajectory 00:18:24.569 --> 00:18:28.470 of how I see what God is doing in my life. But 00:18:28.470 --> 00:18:32.210 I get caught up in looking ground level. I got 00:18:32.210 --> 00:18:35.210 to go to double watchmen. I got to go to the 00:18:35.210 --> 00:18:37.269 land of fruitfulness. And that's got to be the 00:18:37.269 --> 00:18:39.849 place and the place of rest, which is our worship. 00:18:41.150 --> 00:18:44.890 So the father of Samuel, Elkanah, means God possesses. 00:18:44.890 --> 00:18:48.279 God is in charge. His father, Jehoam, means womb 00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:50.980 compassion. He incredibly cares about our wombs. 00:18:50.980 --> 00:18:54.119 And his father before him, Elihu, means he is 00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:58.940 my God. So in this place where Hannah is experiencing 00:18:58.940 --> 00:19:03.460 no children, she's living in a generational home 00:19:03.460 --> 00:19:05.279 where number one, where the great grandfather 00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:09.279 is, he's my God. He cares about my womb and God 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:12.839 is in charge. And he possesses, I'm living in 00:19:12.839 --> 00:19:15.539 a land of double fruitfulness, and I'm worshiping 00:19:15.539 --> 00:19:20.940 at a place of rest. Wow. Perfectly setting the 00:19:20.940 --> 00:19:24.579 stage. Mercy, grace, fruitfulness, and covenant 00:19:24.579 --> 00:19:26.920 are already at work, quietly orchestrating events 00:19:26.920 --> 00:19:30.819 before Samuel's birth. Hannah's name means grace. 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:35.180 He is kind. I think it's important to understand 00:19:35.180 --> 00:19:37.140 a little bit of the historical background of 00:19:37.140 --> 00:19:39.480 what was going on in the nation at the time of 00:19:39.480 --> 00:19:42.900 Samuel's birth. Israel's spiritual condition 00:19:42.900 --> 00:19:45.299 at Samuel's birth marked the end of the Judges. 00:19:45.339 --> 00:19:47.180 So when you read through the Old Testament, it 00:19:47.180 --> 00:19:49.400 goes the book of Judges, and then it goes right 00:19:49.400 --> 00:19:52.839 into 1 and 2 Samuel, and you go into now the 00:19:52.839 --> 00:19:55.599 prophets and the kings and all of that. Without 00:19:55.599 --> 00:19:58.440 a king, people acted according to their own will. 00:19:58.619 --> 00:20:03.369 Oh, does that sound familiar? Oh, no. That's 00:20:03.369 --> 00:20:05.609 not who we are. That's not our generation. That's 00:20:05.609 --> 00:20:07.650 not our culture, right? It's not even in the 00:20:07.650 --> 00:20:13.289 church. We don't act according to our will. I 00:20:13.289 --> 00:20:14.849 like preaching on the floor because I can like 00:20:14.849 --> 00:20:18.869 get up close and personal. The book of Judges 00:20:18.869 --> 00:20:21.049 describes the cycle of sin, oppression, cries 00:20:21.049 --> 00:20:23.670 for deliverance, temporary peace, and a relapse 00:20:23.670 --> 00:20:27.170 into sin. By Samuel's birth, the nation was spiritually 00:20:27.170 --> 00:20:32.049 exhausted. This period was characterized by moral 00:20:32.049 --> 00:20:35.289 fragmentation, weak tribal unity, corrupt priesthood, 00:20:35.329 --> 00:20:39.049 and the absence of constant prophetic leadership. 00:20:39.309 --> 00:20:42.890 God is restoring the prophetic in the house of 00:20:42.890 --> 00:20:46.490 God. Yeah, it's messy. Yeah, it speaks to things 00:20:46.490 --> 00:20:49.589 that we don't wanna hear. Yeah, it exposes. Yeah, 00:20:49.730 --> 00:20:52.910 it challenges. Yeah, it makes me ticked and frustrated. 00:20:53.170 --> 00:20:54.890 Well, it's your flesh and your soul, but your 00:20:54.890 --> 00:20:58.130 spirit is rejoicing. Because it's like it's time 00:20:58.130 --> 00:21:02.309 that we bring the prophet back. And Samuel is 00:21:02.309 --> 00:21:04.710 the beginning of this, the first prophet to be 00:21:04.710 --> 00:21:08.869 born, to come on the scene. And coming at a time 00:21:08.869 --> 00:21:17.369 when it feels like a tomb. But it's not. Everyone 00:21:17.369 --> 00:21:21.519 doing what is right in their own eyes. Eli the 00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:23.640 high priest, when Samuel was born, had two sons, 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:25.900 Hophni and Phinehas. They were worthless men 00:21:25.900 --> 00:21:28.819 and disobeyed God. They stole from sacrifices, 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:31.640 committed immorality at the tabernacle and despised 00:21:31.640 --> 00:21:34.240 God's offering. Worship at the tabernacle of 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:37.779 Shiloh had been polluted. This is critical because 00:21:37.779 --> 00:21:41.359 Samuel's birth occurred during a priestly failure 00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:45.559 and a national spiritual decline. But God is 00:21:45.559 --> 00:21:50.099 on the move and he's cleansing and he's removing. 00:21:50.759 --> 00:21:53.279 The background now is setting the stage for God's 00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:55.880 hidden work to be accomplished. God often raises 00:21:55.880 --> 00:21:59.900 up his most chosen servants in the darkest of 00:21:59.900 --> 00:22:03.759 times. You know, I was so encouraged when the 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:05.619 Lord led me this. He said, you have to change 00:22:05.619 --> 00:22:11.880 the way you think. We think loss. We think everybody 00:22:11.880 --> 00:22:14.440 else is succeeding and what's happening to us. 00:22:14.859 --> 00:22:17.099 Our church is crumbling. Not our church, but 00:22:17.099 --> 00:22:19.039 the riverbank is crumbling and all these things. 00:22:19.140 --> 00:22:20.579 I mean, I'm telling you, Brad and I have had 00:22:20.579 --> 00:22:22.519 all these thoughts and we've wept before the 00:22:22.519 --> 00:22:26.220 Lord. We're like, God, what do we do? This precious 00:22:26.220 --> 00:22:30.079 church, this precious people. And the Lord is 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:33.480 like, you know what? It's dark, but I am raising 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:37.019 up a light. And in the darkest of times, that 00:22:37.019 --> 00:22:40.759 light is the brightest. Amen? All right, let's 00:22:40.759 --> 00:22:42.980 look at Hannah's life. Three keys from Hannah's. 00:22:43.319 --> 00:22:45.880 testimony. You guys doing okay? You with me? 00:22:46.019 --> 00:22:50.920 All right. Number one, Hannah's pain. First key 00:22:50.920 --> 00:22:54.039 that we learned from her testimony, a tomb that 00:22:54.039 --> 00:22:58.819 was actually a womb. He is the God who conceals. 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:02.380 First Samuel one, now six through eight, and 00:23:02.380 --> 00:23:05.059 her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate 00:23:05.059 --> 00:23:07.880 her because the Lord had closed her womb. So 00:23:07.880 --> 00:23:11.980 it went on year after year. You guys have some 00:23:11.980 --> 00:23:14.509 rivals. Some provoking that feels like it goes 00:23:14.509 --> 00:23:18.210 on year after year after year. Don't look at 00:23:18.210 --> 00:23:21.349 the person next to you. As often as she went 00:23:21.349 --> 00:23:23.789 up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke 00:23:23.789 --> 00:23:28.730 her. Therefore, Hannah wept, would not eat. Elkanah, 00:23:28.730 --> 00:23:30.390 her husband, said to her, Hannah, why do you 00:23:30.390 --> 00:23:32.289 weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? 00:23:32.549 --> 00:23:35.150 Am I not more to you than 10 sons? I think it's 00:23:35.150 --> 00:23:38.309 important to understand that that provoking happened. 00:23:40.759 --> 00:23:45.039 As she went up to the house of the Lord. How 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:48.160 often do we get provoked in the house of the 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:52.740 Lord? And what does it do? We get provoked enough. 00:23:53.559 --> 00:23:57.039 We get offended. We don't like something. What 00:23:57.039 --> 00:23:59.279 are sometimes the first words? Well, I'm out 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:01.279 of here. I'm not going to go to that church anymore. 00:24:01.880 --> 00:24:03.519 I'm not going to be around that person anymore. 00:24:03.660 --> 00:24:05.039 I'm going to just take a break. I'm going to 00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:08.599 pull back. No, she did not. And this is the lesson 00:24:08.599 --> 00:24:11.539 we have to understand. If that birthing of the 00:24:11.539 --> 00:24:14.039 Samuels that are to be born in this generation 00:24:14.039 --> 00:24:16.960 are gonna come out, we have to be willing to 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:19.660 go to the house of the Lord year after year, 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:23.880 even in the midst of the provoking, even in the 00:24:23.880 --> 00:24:26.480 midst of the irritation. Sometimes it's the Holy 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:29.299 Spirit that does it and sometimes it's people, 00:24:29.400 --> 00:24:33.289 but it's all part of God's plan. Aren't you happy 00:24:33.289 --> 00:24:37.450 loving this message today? Hallelujah. Give me 00:24:37.450 --> 00:24:41.690 a smile, smile. So, all right, let's keep moving 00:24:41.690 --> 00:24:44.269 on. So verses nine, 10 and 13, after they had 00:24:44.269 --> 00:24:46.970 eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah arose. Now 00:24:46.970 --> 00:24:48.950 Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside 00:24:48.950 --> 00:24:51.490 the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. She was 00:24:51.490 --> 00:24:53.910 deeply distressed and wept to the Lord bitterly. 00:24:54.109 --> 00:24:57.869 Hannah was speaking in her heart. Only her lips 00:24:57.869 --> 00:25:01.250 were moving, but her voice was not heard. Therefore, 00:25:01.349 --> 00:25:04.029 Eli thought her to be a drunken woman. Sometimes 00:25:04.029 --> 00:25:07.950 there is no words. There's no way to express 00:25:07.950 --> 00:25:11.609 that type of prayer. And we're misunderstood. 00:25:13.529 --> 00:25:15.970 Sometimes we feel like our voice has been taken 00:25:15.970 --> 00:25:21.069 from us. Amen. I've been through two vocal surgeries. 00:25:21.329 --> 00:25:23.690 A lot has had to change in the past eight to 00:25:23.690 --> 00:25:26.990 10 years of my personal life. And everything 00:25:26.990 --> 00:25:30.789 that... every tool that I use to sing and talk, 00:25:30.890 --> 00:25:33.349 I've had to retrain myself. And there's been 00:25:33.349 --> 00:25:36.329 many times that I've had to put in the ground 00:25:36.329 --> 00:25:39.950 again, the seed of the dreams and what I love 00:25:39.950 --> 00:25:43.150 to do and release it so that the next generation 00:25:43.150 --> 00:25:47.779 can do it. But if I fought for the platform I 00:25:47.779 --> 00:25:50.180 used to have 25 years ago in the beginning of 00:25:50.180 --> 00:25:52.660 the pioneering, there would not be a Jackie up 00:25:52.660 --> 00:25:55.660 there, a James, an Emily, a Bryce, an Alicia. 00:25:55.940 --> 00:25:59.200 I could go on and on. I have to let things go 00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:02.000 for the next generation. And so there's seasons 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:04.599 sometimes where the Lord has to silence our voice 00:26:04.599 --> 00:26:09.099 because there's a birthing about to happen. From 00:26:09.099 --> 00:26:11.119 all appearances, Hannah's circumstances seemed 00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:14.079 hopeless. Her womb was closed. Her rival thrived. 00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:17.759 Her rival was having children and she was not. 00:26:18.579 --> 00:26:20.619 The priest misunderstood her and her husband 00:26:20.619 --> 00:26:22.900 cared for her deeply, but he could not ease her 00:26:22.900 --> 00:26:25.160 suffering. The Bible says that in verse five, 00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:28.819 the Lord had actually closed her womb. Sometimes 00:26:28.819 --> 00:26:33.900 we turn to spouses, friends, family to be the 00:26:33.900 --> 00:26:39.460 ones to ease our suffering. And God is wanting 00:26:39.460 --> 00:26:42.359 us to lean into him because that suffering has 00:26:42.359 --> 00:26:46.869 a purpose. When God allows something to close, 00:26:46.970 --> 00:26:49.390 he's not always removing life. He's concealing 00:26:49.390 --> 00:26:55.049 it until the time. Say time. Time he knows best. 00:26:55.670 --> 00:26:58.750 We've all had words, right? I would say whether 00:26:58.750 --> 00:27:00.950 you've had a word in the congregation or someone 00:27:00.950 --> 00:27:02.269 has come up to you and given you a prophetic 00:27:02.269 --> 00:27:04.829 word or the Lord's spoken to you. And when we 00:27:04.829 --> 00:27:10.750 get these words, our normal reaction is to focus 00:27:10.750 --> 00:27:12.829 on the word and think about how we're going to 00:27:12.829 --> 00:27:16.039 make this word happen. And we're looking, oh, 00:27:16.220 --> 00:27:20.700 I even opened up a, um, ugh. What is it? A fortune 00:27:20.700 --> 00:27:23.579 cookie and the paper in it. It's a confirmation 00:27:23.579 --> 00:27:27.000 about my word. We're looking for it under every 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:29.720 rock, in every door. We're looking for it on 00:27:29.720 --> 00:27:33.539 billboards and stickers on the back of cars. 00:27:33.660 --> 00:27:35.579 It's like, we're just looking for the confirmation 00:27:35.579 --> 00:27:37.559 that this word and I'm just gonna take this word 00:27:37.559 --> 00:27:40.140 into action and I'm gonna be a great star and 00:27:40.140 --> 00:27:42.559 God's gonna use me. We have all these things. 00:27:42.599 --> 00:27:45.759 Come on, am I the only one that does that? All 00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:51.150 right. But God said, no, God is in control of 00:27:51.150 --> 00:27:55.009 the time. If we take the time out of God's hands, 00:27:55.230 --> 00:28:02.470 we can abort the word. I was in a season, I can 00:28:02.470 --> 00:28:05.910 relate so well to this. For 12 years, we could 00:28:05.910 --> 00:28:11.069 not have children. 12 years, God had closed my 00:28:11.069 --> 00:28:14.119 womb. And there was prophetic words. There was 00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:16.299 prophets that came to the church that kept prophesying. 00:28:16.299 --> 00:28:20.059 We even got prophesied twins. A lot of prophetic 00:28:20.059 --> 00:28:23.339 words. A lot of people praying. A lot of dreams. 00:28:24.400 --> 00:28:30.380 And year after year, nothing. Nothing. And 12 00:28:30.380 --> 00:28:33.759 years later, when the miracle happened, a complete 00:28:33.759 --> 00:28:37.980 and total shock, because I had at the 10 -year 00:28:37.980 --> 00:28:42.269 mark said, God, I give this to you. Our family 00:28:42.269 --> 00:28:44.569 is a family of three and that is what you've 00:28:44.569 --> 00:28:49.410 planned and that's okay. And two years later, 00:28:49.450 --> 00:28:53.089 God did a miracle. And I remember when I read 00:28:53.089 --> 00:29:04.269 the test, I fell to the floor and wept. Because 00:29:04.269 --> 00:29:08.809 I was like, I thought I suffered secretly that 00:29:08.809 --> 00:29:11.839 I had done something. Because the Bible talks 00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:18.500 so much about barrenness in a negative way. And 00:29:18.500 --> 00:29:20.740 when the Lord led me to this message, he said, 00:29:20.779 --> 00:29:23.720 I want you to understand something. There was 00:29:23.720 --> 00:29:27.579 not, you did not do anything wrong. I was waiting 00:29:27.579 --> 00:29:32.660 for you to birth the next generation. Our girls 00:29:32.660 --> 00:29:35.980 are 13 and a half years apart, a generation apart. 00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:40.920 And God was preparing what I didn't know I couldn't 00:29:40.920 --> 00:29:50.819 see. And so I want to convey to you that if you 00:29:50.819 --> 00:29:54.140 feel like there's the answer of the no and you're 00:29:54.140 --> 00:29:56.460 waiting and nothing's happening and nothing's 00:29:56.460 --> 00:29:59.380 shifting, don't think that you're doing something 00:29:59.380 --> 00:30:03.609 wrong. You have to surrender that to the Lord 00:30:03.609 --> 00:30:06.829 and believe that God is concealing it until the 00:30:06.829 --> 00:30:11.289 time that he knows his best. And we have a redhead 00:30:11.289 --> 00:30:13.869 beautiful daughter and we all love Miss Jessie 00:30:13.869 --> 00:30:21.230 Jo. Well, I hope you all do. I love her. He gave 00:30:21.230 --> 00:30:23.609 me a redhead on top of it. That is so beautiful. 00:30:23.869 --> 00:30:27.259 Just a sweet little kiss from heaven. So to Hannah, 00:30:27.299 --> 00:30:30.720 her womb looked like a place of shame, a place 00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:34.059 of loss, a place of unanswered prayer. But heaven 00:30:34.059 --> 00:30:37.559 saw something else. Heaven saw a womb transformed 00:30:37.559 --> 00:30:40.200 into a sacred space where a prophet was born, 00:30:40.299 --> 00:30:44.440 destined to guide Israel's future to listening 00:30:44.440 --> 00:30:48.500 and following God. Listen, the nation stopped 00:30:48.500 --> 00:30:53.059 listening to God. There was corruption in the 00:30:53.059 --> 00:30:56.230 house of the Lord. And what if that's what's 00:30:56.230 --> 00:30:59.690 happening now? God is birthing. He's looking 00:30:59.690 --> 00:31:04.950 for a people that will birth Samuels, that will 00:31:04.950 --> 00:31:08.589 say, I am going to follow God. I'm going to listen 00:31:08.589 --> 00:31:13.109 to God, not my version of God. I could go off 00:31:13.109 --> 00:31:18.089 on that, but I won't. There's safety in a multitude 00:31:18.089 --> 00:31:23.220 of counselors. And so the key is that God is 00:31:23.220 --> 00:31:27.099 wanting to release Joel over us where it talks 00:31:27.099 --> 00:31:30.059 about, in the last days, I will pour out my spirit 00:31:30.059 --> 00:31:32.559 on all flesh. Come on, it's time that we be a 00:31:32.559 --> 00:31:35.819 prophetic people, everyone prophesying, everyone 00:31:35.819 --> 00:31:37.619 declaring the word of the Lord, but it has to 00:31:37.619 --> 00:31:41.059 be the word of the Lord, okay? Not the word of 00:31:41.059 --> 00:31:44.420 your soul and not the word that you want to be 00:31:44.420 --> 00:31:47.240 said with your timing. the word of the Lord. 00:31:47.299 --> 00:31:49.920 So we have to go through the tomb time for that 00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:52.460 to happen. This became the very platform that 00:31:52.460 --> 00:31:55.079 God would use to display his glory to his people. 00:31:55.759 --> 00:31:57.980 What Hannah experienced as barrenness was not 00:31:57.980 --> 00:32:00.539 a tomb. It was a womb. Even though in her mind, 00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:03.500 she had considered her womb to be dead. It was 00:32:03.500 --> 00:32:06.519 living and alive, waiting for God's timing. Come 00:32:06.519 --> 00:32:09.019 on, I want you to hear me say that. There's things 00:32:09.019 --> 00:32:11.440 in your life that you have to say, Lord, it's 00:32:11.440 --> 00:32:15.059 not dead. My womb was not dead. God knew the 00:32:15.059 --> 00:32:18.680 timing for the next child to be born and what 00:32:18.680 --> 00:32:22.240 life Bible needed. I could tell you more, but 00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:24.359 I'm not going to. That's not my message today. 00:32:24.460 --> 00:32:27.380 But God has unraveled so many things about his 00:32:27.380 --> 00:32:30.700 timing with me. And you know what? I have had 00:32:30.700 --> 00:32:34.200 to surrender a lot of my own mistakes thinking 00:32:34.200 --> 00:32:37.059 that I heard God when I really didn't. I heard 00:32:37.059 --> 00:32:41.970 my soul. Your soul can want something so much 00:32:41.970 --> 00:32:49.309 that it can sound like God. With the Lord, we 00:32:49.309 --> 00:32:51.230 must keep in mind that he does not see suffering 00:32:51.230 --> 00:32:54.250 the way we do. Our human nature wants to avoid 00:32:54.250 --> 00:32:56.390 it at all costs. However, God uses suffering 00:32:56.390 --> 00:32:58.789 to produce the depth of faith and reliance on 00:32:58.789 --> 00:33:01.529 him. If gemstones and precious metals like pearls, 00:33:01.609 --> 00:33:04.650 diamonds, gold, and silver could talk, they tell 00:33:04.650 --> 00:33:06.710 us about their amazing journeys that they've 00:33:06.710 --> 00:33:09.619 been on to become so beautiful, valuable, and 00:33:09.619 --> 00:33:12.700 wanted. Factors such as heat, pressure, irritation, 00:33:12.880 --> 00:33:14.900 and time represents the challenges that they 00:33:14.900 --> 00:33:17.319 encounter during their formation. Ultimately, 00:33:17.359 --> 00:33:20.200 these demanding conditions yield results of exceptional 00:33:20.200 --> 00:33:24.480 worth. Often adorning royalty, these materials 00:33:24.480 --> 00:33:27.559 derive their significance from the rigorous transformations 00:33:27.559 --> 00:33:33.619 that they endure. I want to be a ruby. You want 00:33:33.619 --> 00:33:36.380 to be a ruby. You want to be a diamond. You want 00:33:36.380 --> 00:33:39.549 to be a pearl. Hannah's sorrow was born from 00:33:39.549 --> 00:33:42.009 the brokenness of polygamy, a form of marriage 00:33:42.009 --> 00:33:44.569 where one person is married to more than one 00:33:44.569 --> 00:33:49.549 spouse at a time. That's rough. Though permitted 00:33:49.549 --> 00:33:51.730 under the old covenant, scripture still says 00:33:51.730 --> 00:33:53.970 it was a breeding ground for strife and sorrow. 00:33:54.150 --> 00:33:57.690 And she lived in a constant place of rivalry 00:33:57.690 --> 00:34:01.190 and jealousy. Hannah's grief was genuine. It 00:34:01.190 --> 00:34:04.910 was not sinful. And that's the key that even 00:34:04.910 --> 00:34:07.589 God had to show me. He said, your grief, there 00:34:07.589 --> 00:34:10.349 was not a sin that caused your womb to be closed. 00:34:11.530 --> 00:34:15.429 It was a time where you were crying out and preparing 00:34:15.429 --> 00:34:20.070 with me what I have purposed. From the beginning 00:34:20.070 --> 00:34:22.710 of Genesis, God wove into a woman's heart the 00:34:22.710 --> 00:34:25.929 desire to carry and nurture a child. For Hannah, 00:34:26.050 --> 00:34:28.909 the holy longing became a deep ache, a quiet, 00:34:28.969 --> 00:34:31.690 relentless emptiness, not just the absence of 00:34:31.690 --> 00:34:34.389 a child, but the promise, the presence of a promise 00:34:34.389 --> 00:34:40.889 she could feel but not hold. All right, let's 00:34:40.889 --> 00:34:42.809 look at some keys within Hannah's pain. I gotta 00:34:42.809 --> 00:34:44.829 move along, but I'm gonna give you a few keys. 00:34:44.949 --> 00:34:48.710 Number one, let trials cultivate the fruit of 00:34:48.710 --> 00:34:52.690 the Spirit. Galatians 5, 22 through 23, you're 00:34:52.690 --> 00:34:55.429 all familiar with that. Also James 1, 2 through 00:34:55.429 --> 00:34:58.269 4, write both those scriptures down. In the waiting, 00:34:58.269 --> 00:35:01.969 God shapes patience, faith, gentleness, and self 00:35:01.969 --> 00:35:04.989 -control. Number two, trials serve as opportunities 00:35:04.989 --> 00:35:08.599 for growth. Spiritual growth as demonstrated 00:35:08.599 --> 00:35:12.960 by Hannah's life. Romans 8 .18 and 2 Corinthians 00:35:12.960 --> 00:35:17.260 4 .17. This momentary light affliction, which 00:35:17.260 --> 00:35:20.780 affliction is pressure, crushing, trials, refers 00:35:20.780 --> 00:35:23.760 to something being squeezed, is preparing us 00:35:23.760 --> 00:35:26.980 for an eternal weight of glory. I don't have 00:35:26.980 --> 00:35:29.780 time to go over the four things that affliction 00:35:29.780 --> 00:35:31.300 represents, but I'm gonna tell you this. When 00:35:31.300 --> 00:35:34.280 you read a scripture like this, this light momentary 00:35:34.280 --> 00:35:37.320 affliction is preparing us for the eternal weight 00:35:37.320 --> 00:35:42.860 of glory. So when we measure affliction, we often 00:35:42.860 --> 00:35:45.059 measure our affliction against someone else's 00:35:45.059 --> 00:35:48.440 affliction. And it's heavy. Come on, affliction 00:35:48.440 --> 00:35:52.619 means pressure, crushing, squeezing. That's heavy. 00:35:52.800 --> 00:35:56.170 Why does the scripture call it light? because 00:35:56.170 --> 00:35:59.349 we're to measure it against the weight of glory. 00:35:59.750 --> 00:36:02.809 So you take a scale out, you put glory on one 00:36:02.809 --> 00:36:04.869 side and you put your affliction on the other 00:36:04.869 --> 00:36:09.630 side, the glory is gonna by far measure the heaviest. 00:36:10.070 --> 00:36:13.570 So in every area of our life, whatever you're 00:36:13.570 --> 00:36:16.210 facing, whatever affliction, pressure, crushing, 00:36:16.389 --> 00:36:19.110 jealousies, insecurities, self -pity, low self 00:36:19.110 --> 00:36:21.679 -esteem, you can't hear God, bitterness. whatever, 00:36:21.820 --> 00:36:24.340 I could go on and on. You can't measure your 00:36:24.340 --> 00:36:27.039 affliction against someone else's affliction. 00:36:27.179 --> 00:36:29.360 You have to measure it against the weight of 00:36:29.360 --> 00:36:32.840 the glory of God because that affliction is the 00:36:32.840 --> 00:36:35.920 preparation so that you can receive the weight 00:36:35.920 --> 00:36:39.860 of the glory. There's purpose. It's not just, 00:36:40.019 --> 00:36:43.159 oh, my life is rough and everybody else is getting 00:36:43.159 --> 00:36:46.860 a better, has a better path and has a better 00:36:46.860 --> 00:36:49.199 family and a better generation and all these 00:36:49.199 --> 00:36:51.679 things have happened to me. No, God does not 00:36:51.679 --> 00:36:54.619 waste anything. Your affliction is preparing 00:36:54.619 --> 00:36:56.800 you because of the weight of the glory isn't, 00:36:56.800 --> 00:37:00.099 you can't even compare. And so you have to measure 00:37:00.099 --> 00:37:04.199 it against the weight of the glory of God. Paul 00:37:04.199 --> 00:37:07.300 doesn't minimize affliction. He maximizes glory. 00:37:08.090 --> 00:37:10.630 When eternity is considered, suffering becomes 00:37:10.630 --> 00:37:16.869 light because glory is infinitely heavier. Despite 00:37:16.869 --> 00:37:19.050 all this, Hannah's pain did not make her bitter 00:37:19.050 --> 00:37:22.369 towards God. It made her desperate for him. And 00:37:22.369 --> 00:37:24.869 this is exactly where God does his greatest work. 00:37:25.210 --> 00:37:28.050 The second key to Hannah's testimony is Hannah's 00:37:28.050 --> 00:37:32.849 prayer. The womb or desperation births destiny. 00:37:33.050 --> 00:37:35.550 Hannah's grief drove her to the temple of God, 00:37:35.650 --> 00:37:40.190 not away from it. Don't let your grief, don't 00:37:40.190 --> 00:37:42.889 let your season drive you away from the house 00:37:42.889 --> 00:37:46.619 of God. Let it drive you to the house of God. 00:37:46.699 --> 00:37:49.639 Number two, it stripped her of religious performance. 00:37:50.039 --> 00:37:53.119 It made her so desperate that this image that 00:37:53.119 --> 00:37:55.840 she was trying to portray and trying to imitate 00:37:55.840 --> 00:37:58.260 someone else, it stripped her of it because of 00:37:58.260 --> 00:38:00.480 her desperation. That's what God wants to do 00:38:00.480 --> 00:38:03.780 in all of us. It caused her to pray agonizing 00:38:03.780 --> 00:38:07.260 prayers from her spirit, not her soul. Sometimes 00:38:07.260 --> 00:38:10.440 we start in the spirit. I've done that. I do 00:38:10.440 --> 00:38:13.099 still. I start in the spirit, but I gotta get 00:38:13.099 --> 00:38:15.280 in. I'm sorry, I start in the soul, but I gotta 00:38:15.280 --> 00:38:18.219 get to the spirit. Those agonizing prayers, the 00:38:18.219 --> 00:38:20.659 suffering, the pain, the disappointment, but 00:38:20.659 --> 00:38:23.780 I gotta get out of that and into the spirit. 00:38:24.380 --> 00:38:28.460 It caused her to move from her confession of 00:38:28.460 --> 00:38:30.119 doubt and unbelief and fear to the confession 00:38:30.119 --> 00:38:33.119 of faith. Hannah did not conceive Samuel casually. 00:38:33.360 --> 00:38:38.000 She conceived him through tears. She conceived 00:38:38.000 --> 00:38:40.599 him through misunderstanding. She conceived him 00:38:40.599 --> 00:38:43.440 through prolonged waiting. And she conceived 00:38:43.440 --> 00:38:48.280 him through full surrender. 1 Peter 1, six through 00:38:48.280 --> 00:38:50.880 seven, just write that scripture down. Psalms 00:38:50.880 --> 00:38:54.320 126, five. Though we sow in tears, we shall reap 00:38:54.320 --> 00:38:57.860 with shouts of joy. Her tears were not weakness, 00:38:58.019 --> 00:39:02.619 they were labor pains. Labor pains. So let's 00:39:02.619 --> 00:39:04.739 look at some keys within her prayer. Number one, 00:39:04.780 --> 00:39:08.340 know your source. Just like Hannah, she turned 00:39:08.340 --> 00:39:13.230 to the Lord of hosts. She wasn't looking for 00:39:13.230 --> 00:39:17.250 help from people. Sometimes, yes, the suffering 00:39:17.250 --> 00:39:22.590 comes from people, but our source is the Lord 00:39:22.590 --> 00:39:26.750 of hosts. And we turn to him and we recognize 00:39:26.750 --> 00:39:30.090 that people cannot help our suffering and they 00:39:30.090 --> 00:39:32.250 cannot define our suffering because they're trying 00:39:32.250 --> 00:39:35.949 to define their own. 1 Samuel 1, 10 through 11. 00:39:36.090 --> 00:39:38.210 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord 00:39:38.210 --> 00:39:40.409 and wept bitterly. She vowed a vow and said, 00:39:40.530 --> 00:39:43.510 O Lord of hosts, if you will look on the affliction 00:39:43.510 --> 00:39:48.369 of your servant, come on, your servant, we should 00:39:48.369 --> 00:39:51.389 be praying that, and remember me and not forget 00:39:51.389 --> 00:39:55.750 your servant, but will give to your servant a 00:39:55.750 --> 00:39:58.949 son, then I will give him to the Lord all the 00:39:58.949 --> 00:40:01.670 days of his life and no razor shall touch his 00:40:01.670 --> 00:40:06.610 head. Number two, pour out your soul honestly. 00:40:06.769 --> 00:40:09.909 God can tolerate our bitterness and our tears 00:40:09.909 --> 00:40:13.889 and our confusion. He values your honesty over 00:40:13.889 --> 00:40:18.070 pretense. He values our honesty. That's the transition 00:40:18.070 --> 00:40:22.110 of the soul being poured out and moving into 00:40:22.110 --> 00:40:26.010 that place of the Spirit. Prayer is not just 00:40:26.010 --> 00:40:28.530 speaking, it's an acting, yielding oneself that 00:40:28.530 --> 00:40:30.449 was precisely the nature of Hannah's prayer, 00:40:30.550 --> 00:40:33.610 a complete surrender of your soul. You need to 00:40:33.610 --> 00:40:37.190 write that down. Lord, I wanna go to a place 00:40:37.190 --> 00:40:39.230 where I have a complete surrender. You guys know 00:40:39.230 --> 00:40:42.929 what the soul is? You probably do, but I'll tell 00:40:42.929 --> 00:40:47.110 you anyway. Mind, it's our mind, it's our will, 00:40:47.130 --> 00:40:51.570 and it's our emotions, and it's eternal. Okay, 00:40:51.570 --> 00:40:54.320 our flesh, thankfully, is not eternal. You know, 00:40:54.340 --> 00:40:57.179 as it ages and changes and all that, that's not 00:40:57.179 --> 00:40:58.980 eternal. You'll have a beautiful body in heaven. 00:40:59.380 --> 00:41:00.840 Sometimes I have to close my eyes and think, 00:41:00.900 --> 00:41:02.360 what's it gonna look like? What am I gonna look 00:41:02.360 --> 00:41:04.500 like in heaven? It makes me feel better about 00:41:04.500 --> 00:41:08.179 how I look now. But our soul is the area of our 00:41:08.179 --> 00:41:11.320 mind, the area of our will, and the area of our 00:41:11.320 --> 00:41:15.619 emotions that like to drive the car. And like, 00:41:15.679 --> 00:41:18.300 you know, most of us, maybe they're like a five 00:41:18.300 --> 00:41:20.860 -year -old. or seven -year -old, or 12 -year 00:41:20.860 --> 00:41:22.539 -old that think they can drive their car because 00:41:22.539 --> 00:41:24.400 they've watched you drive. So because you drive 00:41:24.400 --> 00:41:26.219 and I've watched you drive, I can drive. No, 00:41:26.219 --> 00:41:29.500 I don't think so. But that's what happens. And 00:41:29.500 --> 00:41:34.300 so we pour our soul out in honesty to the Lord 00:41:34.300 --> 00:41:37.760 and he brings us in alignment to the spirit. 00:41:38.820 --> 00:41:42.420 We don't stay living in that place of the soul. 00:41:42.519 --> 00:41:44.699 I know you understand, you guys got this. Number 00:41:44.699 --> 00:41:49.280 three, stay humbled and surrendered. Stay humbled 00:41:49.280 --> 00:41:51.159 and surrendered. Hannah's journey reaches its 00:41:51.159 --> 00:41:54.219 deepest and most transformative moment in the 00:41:54.219 --> 00:41:58.119 union between her prayer and her vow. Her prayer 00:41:58.119 --> 00:42:02.019 is the outpouring of a desperate heart. Her vow 00:42:02.019 --> 00:42:06.739 is the surrender of a yielded heart. The outpouring 00:42:06.739 --> 00:42:10.000 of a desperate heart. And we can't just stay 00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:13.519 at the prayer church. We have to go to the vow. 00:42:14.860 --> 00:42:17.440 And that's where it moves to the surrender of 00:42:17.440 --> 00:42:20.079 the yielded heart. Together, they form the womb 00:42:20.079 --> 00:42:22.940 in which God conceived destiny. What looks like 00:42:22.940 --> 00:42:25.940 a tomb of loss or barrenness is often the womb 00:42:25.940 --> 00:42:29.900 where God creates his greatest works. Number 00:42:29.900 --> 00:42:32.559 four, Hannah's prayer was not polished or performative. 00:42:32.860 --> 00:42:35.880 It was a soul outpouring. She did not hide her 00:42:35.880 --> 00:42:39.300 anguish. She brings it raw before God. You've 00:42:39.300 --> 00:42:42.980 got to get raw before God. You have to get robbed 00:42:42.980 --> 00:42:46.320 before God. I've told my children, I said, listen, 00:42:46.460 --> 00:42:49.280 and I learned this from my mother, when I would 00:42:49.280 --> 00:42:53.159 wanna go tattle or have a problem or I would 00:42:53.159 --> 00:42:56.340 complain or I just didn't like my life in the 00:42:56.340 --> 00:42:58.559 moment, my mom would say to me and I tell it 00:42:58.559 --> 00:43:00.199 to my girls, I've told it their whole lives, 00:43:00.340 --> 00:43:03.659 you go tell the Lord about it and then we'll 00:43:03.659 --> 00:43:06.760 talk. But I want you to go tell the Lord. And 00:43:06.760 --> 00:43:08.260 I've taught them that from the time they were 00:43:08.260 --> 00:43:10.219 little. I've been doing that since I was young. 00:43:10.219 --> 00:43:11.679 I know you've all heard this story, but it's 00:43:11.679 --> 00:43:15.559 important that you go. How many times? Parents, 00:43:15.699 --> 00:43:19.000 tell your kids the same. Send them to the Lord. 00:43:19.039 --> 00:43:22.360 Teach them how to pour their soul out to God. 00:43:23.559 --> 00:43:26.719 Number five, she knew where her soul could find 00:43:26.719 --> 00:43:30.320 rest, even in the midst of her pain. Psalms 62, 00:43:30.519 --> 00:43:32.699 one through two. My soul finds rest in God alone. 00:43:32.900 --> 00:43:36.360 My salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock 00:43:36.360 --> 00:43:39.219 and my salvation. He is my fortress. I will never 00:43:39.219 --> 00:43:41.880 be shaken. I love that verse. I wish I could 00:43:41.880 --> 00:43:44.300 preach a message on that verse. He is my rock. 00:43:44.380 --> 00:43:48.199 Sometimes we call people our rock. We say, well, 00:43:48.260 --> 00:43:50.059 he's my rock or she's my rock or da, da, da. 00:43:50.300 --> 00:43:56.139 No, he's my rock. Sorry. I don't like that though. 00:43:56.280 --> 00:43:58.500 I will never be shaken because I'm standing on 00:43:58.500 --> 00:44:02.659 the rock and I'm not alone. I'm not alone. You're 00:44:02.659 --> 00:44:05.000 not alone. Number six, Hannah's prayer is marked 00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:08.059 by perseverance, a persistent, unrelenting cry 00:44:08.059 --> 00:44:13.159 that refuses to quit. Come on, when we came face 00:44:13.159 --> 00:44:15.079 to face with this riverbank situation, we were 00:44:15.079 --> 00:44:19.719 told $10 million just to potentially save it. 00:44:20.599 --> 00:44:23.559 But you have to get permits and they may or may 00:44:23.559 --> 00:44:28.079 not. I mean, $10 million, but when we were told, 00:44:28.199 --> 00:44:29.800 we were like, we're not gonna quit. We're not 00:44:29.800 --> 00:44:31.659 gonna quit. We don't know what we're doing. We 00:44:31.659 --> 00:44:32.840 don't know where it's gonna come from. We don't 00:44:32.840 --> 00:44:35.000 know what's happening, but we're gonna keep advancing 00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:39.139 as Riverbank is, you know, losing ground. And 00:44:39.139 --> 00:44:41.179 then God sends this miracle of someone that can 00:44:41.179 --> 00:44:44.099 do it for 2 .5 million. That's a lot of money, 00:44:44.159 --> 00:44:46.820 but take 2 .5 in comparison to 10 million. Light 00:44:46.820 --> 00:44:51.139 affliction, the weight of glory. Come on. There's 00:44:51.139 --> 00:44:53.639 still affliction, but the weight of glory. And 00:44:53.639 --> 00:44:57.980 we rejoice. over 2 .5 million. We would have 00:44:57.980 --> 00:45:00.000 never rejoiced over 2 .5 million had there not 00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:04.300 been a 10 million. Just saying. All right. Third 00:45:04.300 --> 00:45:06.940 key to Hannah's testimony. You guys doing all 00:45:06.940 --> 00:45:09.800 right? Take a deep breath. We're getting there. 00:45:10.780 --> 00:45:14.019 Number three. So we had Hannah's pain, Hannah's 00:45:14.019 --> 00:45:17.340 prayer. Number three, Hannah's promise. The surrender 00:45:17.340 --> 00:45:21.059 that secures the breakthrough. It's important 00:45:21.059 --> 00:45:24.079 we understand that. Our surrender. Even though 00:45:24.079 --> 00:45:27.139 we don't see the breakthrough yet, it secures 00:45:27.139 --> 00:45:30.460 the breakthrough. Now comes the moment of faith 00:45:30.460 --> 00:45:32.900 after Eli says, go in peace, the God of Israel 00:45:32.900 --> 00:45:35.639 will grant your petition. Hannah's countenance 00:45:35.639 --> 00:45:40.860 changes before her circumstances do. She's a 00:45:40.860 --> 00:45:43.159 living example of this. Believe that you have 00:45:43.159 --> 00:45:46.579 received. Hannah becomes a living portrait of 00:45:46.579 --> 00:45:49.980 sorrow plus persistence, plus faith, plus surrender. 00:45:50.590 --> 00:45:52.449 One of the most striking elements of Hannah's 00:45:52.449 --> 00:45:55.369 story is that she was willing to give back what 00:45:55.369 --> 00:45:59.789 she had waited for. God often asks us to return 00:45:59.789 --> 00:46:03.349 the very miracle he gives us, not to remove it, 00:46:03.429 --> 00:46:09.050 but to secure it. When God gave us the miracle 00:46:09.050 --> 00:46:12.730 of Jesse Joe, and we had waited a long time, 00:46:12.869 --> 00:46:15.429 and I knew that the Lord knew that my heart would 00:46:15.429 --> 00:46:20.039 start to become so... tied to this miracle child 00:46:20.039 --> 00:46:23.619 that it would potentially compromise my relationship 00:46:23.619 --> 00:46:27.440 with him. And he asked me one day, some of you 00:46:27.440 --> 00:46:29.500 have heard this, but I'm going to say it because 00:46:29.500 --> 00:46:32.340 I think it fits with our message. He asked me, 00:46:32.360 --> 00:46:39.019 she was about two and a half. And he said, what 00:46:39.019 --> 00:46:42.320 if my plan for her is to only live to be the 00:46:42.320 --> 00:46:45.440 age of three and you only have her for three 00:46:45.440 --> 00:46:49.059 years? And I take her home because heaven needs 00:46:49.059 --> 00:46:53.860 a little redhead. I was like, what? At first 00:46:53.860 --> 00:46:56.059 I was rebuking the enemy thinking it was demonic. 00:46:57.179 --> 00:47:00.760 And the Lord's like, no, I wanna know. Am I enough 00:47:00.760 --> 00:47:06.639 for you? Would you still love me? Would you still 00:47:06.639 --> 00:47:10.719 serve me? Would you still do all that I've appointed 00:47:10.719 --> 00:47:14.000 you to do? If three years old and I took her 00:47:14.000 --> 00:47:16.659 home, Would you still thank me for the miracle? 00:47:16.960 --> 00:47:20.639 Would you still testify? And would I be as much 00:47:20.639 --> 00:47:25.119 to you as I was before and more? And I wrestled 00:47:25.119 --> 00:47:27.679 with that. But I knew that God was putting me 00:47:27.679 --> 00:47:29.880 into a Hannah experience. And he said, you give 00:47:29.880 --> 00:47:34.699 her back to me. I will secure it. And so he didn't. 00:47:34.699 --> 00:47:37.239 She's here and she's, praise God, she's going 00:47:37.239 --> 00:47:39.260 to live a long life. I believe that as long as 00:47:39.260 --> 00:47:44.340 she obeys. Children, obey your parents and the 00:47:44.340 --> 00:47:46.559 Lord for this is right. And it is a promise of 00:47:46.559 --> 00:47:50.559 long life. You all got that? Amen. All the kids, 00:47:50.719 --> 00:47:54.460 right? I preach at Gen Church. Sometimes we have 00:47:54.460 --> 00:47:58.260 to enforce those little verses, right? All right. 00:47:58.880 --> 00:48:03.099 So her vow was breathtaking in its costliness. 00:48:03.199 --> 00:48:06.659 1 Samuel 1 .11, she just says, Lord, I give him 00:48:06.659 --> 00:48:09.000 back to you. I read that scripture already. This 00:48:09.000 --> 00:48:12.780 was not an emotional bargaining for... for Hannah, 00:48:12.960 --> 00:48:16.579 this was consecration. And church, that's what 00:48:16.579 --> 00:48:18.659 the Lord told me as I was preparing this message. 00:48:18.719 --> 00:48:21.420 He said, you're in a season of consecration. 00:48:22.559 --> 00:48:26.659 And so God's cleaning out, he's shaking, he's 00:48:26.659 --> 00:48:28.719 removing. Some of you have been experiencing 00:48:28.719 --> 00:48:33.699 it, right? And God is working to consecrate us 00:48:33.699 --> 00:48:39.559 and to prepare us because there's life to come 00:48:39.559 --> 00:48:42.500 out of us. She was not manipulating God. She 00:48:42.500 --> 00:48:45.699 was aligning herself with his purpose. This is 00:48:45.699 --> 00:48:47.340 something the Lord has had to teach me, and we 00:48:47.340 --> 00:48:50.760 need to remember this. This life within me, she 00:48:50.760 --> 00:48:53.780 said, this life within me is not mine. It belongs 00:48:53.780 --> 00:48:59.039 to God. Now, we may not be pregnant and having 00:48:59.039 --> 00:49:01.940 an actual natural baby, but you need to say that 00:49:01.940 --> 00:49:07.920 of yourself. This life of what I represent is 00:49:07.920 --> 00:49:12.780 not mine. It belongs to him. And wow, if we could 00:49:12.780 --> 00:49:15.820 all be in that place, that's the consecration. 00:49:15.940 --> 00:49:18.719 In John 10, 18, Jesus said this, no one takes 00:49:18.719 --> 00:49:23.539 my life from me. I lay it down of my own free 00:49:23.539 --> 00:49:26.960 will. Her surrender is real, tangible, and costly. 00:49:28.460 --> 00:49:30.780 A few keys within Hannah's promise. I'm just 00:49:30.780 --> 00:49:32.440 going to give you these really quickly. Number 00:49:32.440 --> 00:49:35.480 one, receive God's word with faith before you 00:49:35.480 --> 00:49:40.619 see the answer. Receive God's word. Believe means 00:49:40.619 --> 00:49:44.539 to trust, perceive, visualize the answer, receive, 00:49:44.699 --> 00:49:48.059 take hold of it, and conceive. Completed action. 00:49:48.280 --> 00:49:51.800 Faith is present tense reception, not future 00:49:51.800 --> 00:49:55.159 tense hope. Present tense. We believe we receive 00:49:55.159 --> 00:49:58.340 the answer before we even see it, and this aligns 00:49:58.340 --> 00:50:01.420 with what Hannah did before she held her baby, 00:50:01.460 --> 00:50:04.940 before even conception. She received it inwardly. 00:50:05.360 --> 00:50:08.159 Number two, recognize your influence. You might 00:50:08.159 --> 00:50:10.679 feel like you're not seen just like Hannah, but 00:50:10.679 --> 00:50:14.260 our faith has the power to create the next Samuel. 00:50:14.360 --> 00:50:18.019 Do not lose your faith. Do not get discouraged. 00:50:18.300 --> 00:50:21.260 Do not get sucked into the dark season and the 00:50:21.260 --> 00:50:25.039 womb season. Hebrews 11, 39 talks about the great 00:50:25.039 --> 00:50:27.940 cloud of witnesses and those that died in their 00:50:27.940 --> 00:50:30.340 faith. They're cheering us on. They're going, 00:50:30.480 --> 00:50:32.699 look, we can't cross the finish line till you 00:50:32.699 --> 00:50:36.210 get here. Why are you taking? so much time. Stop 00:50:36.210 --> 00:50:39.289 wasting the time on yourself. We want to cross 00:50:39.289 --> 00:50:41.530 the finish line. The greats have gone on before 00:50:41.530 --> 00:50:44.949 us, church. You're part of that. We're part of 00:50:44.949 --> 00:50:49.809 the great assembly. God is positioning our church. 00:50:49.969 --> 00:50:52.889 This affliction, this season that we're in is 00:50:52.889 --> 00:50:56.090 preparation. Some of us may not receive it in 00:50:56.090 --> 00:50:59.719 this lifetime. There may be things that God has 00:50:59.719 --> 00:51:01.619 promised you that you're just to pray in, but 00:51:01.619 --> 00:51:04.039 it's gonna come in the next generation. But your 00:51:04.039 --> 00:51:07.460 faith is gonna cause you to line the heavens 00:51:07.460 --> 00:51:10.780 and prepare and be prepared for when the victory 00:51:10.780 --> 00:51:14.139 and when we cross the finish line together. So 00:51:14.139 --> 00:51:16.880 we're not in this journey alone. Heaven is in 00:51:16.880 --> 00:51:19.739 it with us. Get your mind off yourself. Get your 00:51:19.739 --> 00:51:22.480 mind out of this world. Get it off the news and 00:51:22.480 --> 00:51:25.280 get it on the kingdom. Come on, get it on the 00:51:25.280 --> 00:51:27.519 kingdom because heaven is cheering. Cheering 00:51:27.519 --> 00:51:34.380 us on. I love it. Heaven's cheering us on. Number 00:51:34.380 --> 00:51:37.619 three, keep your vows, integrity, manners. God 00:51:37.619 --> 00:51:40.139 honors those who keep their word. A promise made 00:51:40.139 --> 00:51:43.579 to God is a sacred thing. Hannah kept hers and 00:51:43.579 --> 00:51:46.639 history was shaped by her obedience. If we wanna 00:51:46.639 --> 00:51:51.079 have the ushers begin to prepare the table, we're 00:51:51.079 --> 00:51:53.400 gonna take the table of the Lord together. Three 00:51:53.400 --> 00:51:55.760 ways that God responds to Hannah. Number one, 00:51:55.780 --> 00:52:00.320 multiplication. Listen to this. What is released 00:52:00.320 --> 00:52:04.360 to God is never lost. What is surrendered is 00:52:04.360 --> 00:52:08.000 never wasted. And what is given back is multiplied. 00:52:08.739 --> 00:52:11.860 Hannah, after she gave Samuel, gave birth to 00:52:11.860 --> 00:52:15.420 five more children, three sons and two daughters. 00:52:15.719 --> 00:52:21.940 And that is the beautiful picture of grace. Galatians 00:52:21.940 --> 00:52:24.400 6, 9, in due season, we will reap if we do not 00:52:24.400 --> 00:52:29.260 give up. Number two, miracle working power. Hannah's 00:52:29.260 --> 00:52:32.679 pain made her desperate. Her prayer is the cry 00:52:32.679 --> 00:52:35.179 that brought an open heaven and her promise was 00:52:35.179 --> 00:52:40.119 the surrender that secured the miracle. Hannah 00:52:40.119 --> 00:52:43.119 illustrates that the greatest breakthroughs occur 00:52:43.119 --> 00:52:46.119 when three things happen. Number one, desperation 00:52:46.119 --> 00:52:52.320 meets surrender. Number two, faith meets obedience. 00:52:53.440 --> 00:52:57.139 And number three, our deepest longings are placed 00:52:57.139 --> 00:53:00.599 back into God's hands. Her life teaches us that 00:53:00.599 --> 00:53:02.539 the womb of surrender is never a place of loss. 00:53:02.619 --> 00:53:06.800 It is the birthplace of legacy. The last one, 00:53:06.880 --> 00:53:10.380 the great legacy. When Samuel was born, it was 00:53:10.380 --> 00:53:12.880 not merely the end of Hannah's suffering. It 00:53:12.880 --> 00:53:15.900 was the beginning of something greater. And that's 00:53:15.900 --> 00:53:17.900 what you have to understand. What's going on 00:53:17.900 --> 00:53:21.000 in your life, whether you're birthing another 00:53:21.000 --> 00:53:24.170 child, or you're birthing something that you 00:53:24.170 --> 00:53:27.190 have been waiting for and not received the answers, 00:53:27.429 --> 00:53:31.369 what you don't know is God is working the legacy 00:53:31.369 --> 00:53:35.610 of the next generation in you. And that something 00:53:35.610 --> 00:53:38.969 greater than you, God is doing. And that's where, 00:53:39.030 --> 00:53:44.190 if we're not careful, We will get so caught up 00:53:44.190 --> 00:53:47.309 in ourselves. We can't forget how much God values 00:53:47.309 --> 00:53:50.650 our journey, even when we face sacrifice, trials, 00:53:50.969 --> 00:53:53.550 release, disappointment, loss, even moments of 00:53:53.550 --> 00:53:56.449 shame, delay, and hiddenness. These experiences 00:53:56.449 --> 00:53:59.909 are all part of his preparation for us to become 00:53:59.909 --> 00:54:03.170 the vessel through which the divine plan of God 00:54:03.170 --> 00:54:10.309 is born. Amen. We're gonna prepare our hearts 00:54:10.309 --> 00:54:13.690 to take communion this morning. Hannah's story 00:54:13.690 --> 00:54:16.090 shows us that God does his deepest work in hidden 00:54:16.090 --> 00:54:20.190 places. We need to trust God in the silence of 00:54:20.190 --> 00:54:25.289 surrender with what we love the most. If you 00:54:25.289 --> 00:54:29.989 just close your eyes with me, I wanna talk about 00:54:29.989 --> 00:54:36.230 this. Sometimes God, not sometimes, most of the 00:54:36.230 --> 00:54:43.179 time, God puts us in places and he keeps us hidden 00:54:43.179 --> 00:54:48.679 because it's a season, thank you, of surrendering 00:54:48.679 --> 00:54:52.199 what we love the most. It's easy to feel self 00:54:52.199 --> 00:54:56.760 -pity or loneliness, but we must believe in him 00:54:56.760 --> 00:55:00.900 before we see the promise. Nothing surrendered 00:55:00.900 --> 00:55:04.420 with God is wasted and nothing placed in God's 00:55:04.420 --> 00:55:12.820 hands fails to bear fruit. And it's time. Some 00:55:12.820 --> 00:55:16.260 of you have been in a place where you feel like 00:55:16.260 --> 00:55:21.300 your life is in a tomb, a closed door, a silent 00:55:21.300 --> 00:55:24.420 heaven, a barren season, an unanswered prayer. 00:55:25.219 --> 00:55:27.940 But what if it's not a tomb? What if it's a womb? 00:55:28.360 --> 00:55:30.860 What if it's the place you've labeled death is 00:55:30.860 --> 00:55:34.519 actually divine gestation? Hannah thought she 00:55:34.519 --> 00:55:37.019 was carrying shame, but heaven knew she was carrying 00:55:37.019 --> 00:55:40.219 a profit. You may feel your caring disappointment, 00:55:40.380 --> 00:55:43.679 but heaven may be forming destiny. Jesus said 00:55:43.679 --> 00:55:46.300 in John 12, 24, unless a grain of wheat falls 00:55:46.300 --> 00:55:49.920 to the ground and dies, it remains alone. But 00:55:49.920 --> 00:55:53.320 if it dies, it bears much fruit. God, we're willing 00:55:53.320 --> 00:55:58.199 to be that grain of wheat. We're willing to die 00:55:58.199 --> 00:56:02.559 so that we're not alone. So that our life, is 00:56:02.559 --> 00:56:05.739 not what we want it to be, but it's formed for 00:56:05.739 --> 00:56:09.619 you, God, for the next generation, the next season. 00:56:10.420 --> 00:56:13.619 Lord, I'm asking as we all come before you this 00:56:13.619 --> 00:56:17.019 morning and we prepare to take the table of the 00:56:17.019 --> 00:56:20.679 Lord, we realize that you're not asking for perfection. 00:56:20.739 --> 00:56:24.500 God, you're asking for surrender. And so today, 00:56:24.599 --> 00:56:28.219 Lord, we give you our dreams. We give you our 00:56:28.219 --> 00:56:33.150 timeline. We give you our children. We give you 00:56:33.150 --> 00:56:37.250 our ministry. We give you our reputation. And 00:56:37.250 --> 00:56:42.469 God, we give you our unanswered prayer. Lord, 00:56:42.530 --> 00:56:46.389 we come to this table and we remember the most 00:56:46.389 --> 00:56:52.530 beautiful sacrifice. And we do this in remembrance 00:56:52.530 --> 00:56:55.369 of you, that you allowed your body to be broken 00:56:55.369 --> 00:56:58.530 and your blood to be poured out. You withheld 00:56:58.530 --> 00:57:02.719 nothing. You surrendered so that our salvation 00:57:02.719 --> 00:57:07.039 could be secure. Thank you for your surrender 00:57:07.039 --> 00:57:13.039 that we will be eternally saved. So God, in all 00:57:13.039 --> 00:57:17.760 of our hearts today, you don't know the Lord 00:57:17.760 --> 00:57:22.719 this morning. You've not experienced personal 00:57:22.719 --> 00:57:25.300 relationship with him. I just would ask if you 00:57:25.300 --> 00:57:29.590 just slip your hand up. I want to make sure that 00:57:29.590 --> 00:57:33.389 you have an opportunity to just say, Lord, I 00:57:33.389 --> 00:57:35.449 invite you into my heart. Maybe you need to do 00:57:35.449 --> 00:57:38.590 it again. Maybe there's been a season of you 00:57:38.590 --> 00:57:43.829 just pulling away. He birthed us. He went through 00:57:43.829 --> 00:57:46.230 the pain. He went through the labor. He poured 00:57:46.230 --> 00:57:49.510 out his body. And that's why we take the table 00:57:49.510 --> 00:57:52.949 of the Lord, to remember what he's done for us. 00:57:58.559 --> 00:58:02.539 We are so grateful for those who tune in each 00:58:02.539 --> 00:58:05.380 week and have given generously to this ministry. 00:58:05.840 --> 00:58:08.619 If you would like to give, click the link in 00:58:08.619 --> 00:58:11.519 the episode description below. You can also help 00:58:11.519 --> 00:58:13.920 us by subscribing to this podcast and sharing 00:58:13.920 --> 00:58:17.219 it with your friends and family. Lastly, if you 00:58:17.219 --> 00:58:19.440 are in need of prayer, send us a text message 00:58:19.440 --> 00:58:25.099 at 541 -625 -1365. We would love to pray with 00:58:25.099 --> 00:58:25.300 you.