The Desire Of The Church

Perspective is the prize of the dreamer (Col. 2:8 & 2:15).

If we anticipate great things of God, we shall attempt them.

If we attempt great things for God, we shall accomplish much.

Let your dreams be equal in size to God’s abilities.

1 Samuel 1:1-18

Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name [was] Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:

2 And he had two wives; the name of the one [was] Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, [were] there.

4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:

5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.

6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.

7 And [as] he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.

8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? [am] not I better to thee than ten sons?

9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.

10 And she [was] in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.

11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth.

13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.

14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.

15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I [am] a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.

16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.

17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant [thee] thy petition that thou hast asked of him.

18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more [sad].

It is a fact that Barrenness is a reproach (family, friends, strangers).

Hannah was shamed and unfulfilled in her role as a wife.

Hannah refused to be comforted with words and love.

Nothing could produce satisfaction like the birth of a baby.

I am the Home Bible Study Director for our church in Sydney.

I love and believe in Home Bible Studies.

I regret deeply not giving a Home Bible Study for over a year.

I feel unfulfilled as a saint in not having had reproduced myself.

The fact remains that no souls can be won without teaching!

Hannah turns to prayer for relief, prayer that cannot be ignored.

James 5:16 Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Psalm 126:5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

Psalm 126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves [with him].

James 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

James 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

I’ve noticed that all human earth-shaking revivals have begun with prayer.

The Great Awakening of 1740.

The Second Great Awakening of 1825.

The Asuza Street Revival of 1906.

The Outpouring of the Holy Ghost on Pentecost, 33 AD.

They all began with a desire, and they all turned to God.

We say that the hellfire is more terrible than the Ebola plague.

We say that our message is more important than the cure for AIDS.

We say that heaven is better than the billion dollar sweepstakes.

The question is, “If we believed it, would other people do so as well?”

2 Corinthians 3:2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:

Our message is an intangible one, but our lifestyles declare its value.

True, the Jews seek a sign, we might not reach them.

True, the Greeks seek wisdom, we might not reach them.

We preach Christ crucified – but that is no guarantee of offense!

1 Samuel 1:19 And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her.

1 Samuel 1:20 Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, [saying], Because I have asked him of the LORD.