The Faith Of Samuel Part 1

Israel wanted a king, and Samuel’s story shows what happens when a whole culture decides it knows better than God. We unpack the early life of Samuel through 1 Samuel, but we start where the story really begins: with Hannah, a woman of faith who prays through years of pain, makes a costly vow, and hands her miracle back to the Lord. If you’ve ever felt like your background, your season, or your family line limits what God can do through you, Hannah’s life pushes back hard.

We also bring the ancient text into a very current conversation about church, especially what we’re seeing with Gen Z. Yes, more young people are turning up, but many struggle to keep faith steady when they’re chasing a “move of God” without the foundations that sustain them. A live message from a pastor mate lands like a challenge to all of us: “All things are possible to them that believe… his word hasn’t changed.” We talk honestly about how to pursue God’s presence without turning faith into a feelings-only journey.

Along the way, we share a practical approach for anyone looking for a church community: don’t judge a church on a single visit, give it six consecutive weeks so you can truly see, feel, and discern whether it’s home. Then we zoom back out to the big Bible framework that explains Samuel’s world, the Old Testament covenant pattern of obedience, blessing, rebellion, consequences, and mercy. This is part one of the faith of Samuel, so grab your Bible and read ahead in 1 Samuel before next week.

If this helped, subscribe so you don’t miss part two, share it with a mate who’s rebuilding their faith, and leave a review so more people can find the series.

Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are in the world - Welcome to Grapevine Ministries.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:30

As we draw near the end of this particular series on faith, I thought I would um give the ladies something to um get excited about because uh from a biblical perspective now whenever God or even Jesus

Series Wrap And Samuel Preview

SPEAKER_00 0:57

is speaking about uh mankind in general, it is gender neutral, but as you may know, that there are many, many um people in the Bible, both male and female, that had significant roles and uh were very prolific in our timeline, you know, us being, you know, brothers and sisters in Christ, and we are the children of Abraham because of that bloodline. But in saying that, our last section that we're gonna speak to today is about the faith of Samuel. Now, wanted to Samuel talk about the rise and the fall of men of faith, um, and this is mainly due to the fact that um this was a time when mankind was thinking that they were smarter than God, and they decided that they wanted a king, you know. So, you know, be careful what you ask for, you know. When you're spending time in prayer and you're praying to God, be careful what you ask for because you might just get it. Um, and the reason I say that is that it says in the word of God that um that he will give us the desires of our heart, it doesn't say that he will give us what is best for us, he's given us what we want because we have free will. Now, I could go on about this for quite some time, but perhaps that's for another time. But I just want to start with with this here, and maybe it will help clarify itself as we go on. Now I've read through the entire Bible numerous numerous times, at least five that I know of, and once as a cover to a cover study guide, uh I won't mention which one it is, uh, but um it's it's difficult to find what what I've noticed. I mean, please correct me if I'm wrong, uh, but what I've actually found, it is difficult to find two full generations of families that follow the Lord and love the Lord. However, there are there are some, and they start with a woman of faith. Yes, ladies, you heard correctly uh a woman of faith, and so I didn't want you to be left out and thinking this was all about the guys, so um this is it. Um,

Women Of Faith And Hannah

SPEAKER_00 4:13

David and his son Somelon uh in Acts 16, a wealthy woman named Lydia believed, and her entire household did too. Also, Timothy, the Apostle Paul's disciple, was powerfully influenced by his mother and grandmother. So, grandmas, you're in there as well. These are beautiful examples, but as I have said, they seem to be very rare occurrences throughout the scriptures. So today, keeping the same theme of faith, we will talk about a second generation of loving the Lord. Samuel, the godly son of a faith-filled woman woman named Hannah. All right. Now I'm not going to um I'm not going to actually um I'm not gonna tell you this whole story, otherwise we'd be here all day. I I could do this another time for the ladies that want to hear about it. We continue in this podcast series, still focusing on the hall of faith, mentioned in the book of Hebrews, right? But to understand these men of faith, we need to go to the Old Testament, and this six section is all about Samuel. So looking at first and second Samuel, these um are originally written as one book but split into two pieces. Once again, I'm not going to um go into a full detailed explanation of this and why, but these books they're filled with remarkable stories, stories of great faith and courage, like the Prince Jonathan and his young armor bearer, stories of unbelief and rebellion, like Jonathan's father, King Soul, a gent he was very jealous, demonically inspired man who spoke of his last weeks. Today, our story is really centered on a great man of God named Samuel. Now, Samuel led the people of Israel through some highs and some lows. He serves as a shining example of what faith really is all about. So I'm gonna be begin reading in 1 Samuel 7, but before this, we need to introduce you to a faith-filled woman named Hannah. Just in case all you women think you have been totally overlooked, and I gave you a glimpse of a message and then went straight back to the guy. Okay? So this is it. I will and once again we see that who you are and where you come from has nothing to do with what you can achieve in Christ. Just let me say that again. Who you are and where you're from has nothing to do with what you can achieve in Christ. So, in other words, okay, don't try and make excuses about where you currently are in your walk with Christ or in your life or where you've come from. And I'm not saying that in a negative derogative manner, it it is it's a reality. I mean, because if you look through history and rather than me sort of like listing off a whole heap of people and then have you turn around and say, Oh, yeah, but that was back then, things are different now. I'll give you a little bit of an inside um modern um fact, okay? Do you realize that the um a lot of people listen to that? You're the Gen Z um group of uh people, you know, you've gone through the baby boomers and uh, you know, the all those other different clarifications. I can't remember them all, but Gen Z are now the most

Gen Z Church Hunger And Fragile Faith

SPEAKER_00 9:47

uh visited uh generation in church today. I'm serious, look it up, do your own research. Gen Z spend more time, a greater number, like I think it's over 56% of Gen Z people actually attend church of some kind or configuration in comparison to other generations. But strangely enough, although they um they are in greater numbers and in greater attendance, they lack the faith to walk their journey. So, in other words, they don't seem to be, it's not sustainable for them because one of the things I've noticed they want to feel the presence of God, they want they want to move the Holy Spirit, you know, and they're going with the inexpectation of that taking place. I got a pastor friend of mine, Pastor Gary Pratt, and he preaches all over the place. Um, but one thing I I hear him say over and over again, he's gone to churches where he's been asked to speak, and he's got there, and he goes, Spiritually, the church is dead. You know, there's there's no move of the Holy Spirit, that there's there's nothing um tangible to get there. And and I remember this because I'm going back many years when I very first started um my my my real proper Christian journey, it was when I came to a church here in Perth, West Australia, and that church was Victory Life Centre, right? Now, I mean I could say a lot of things about Victory Life Centre and the people in it, and the pastors and leaders and all that sort of stuff, but that is irrelevant. What I'm saying is the one thing that I noticed, and probably because that is the church where I was filled with the Holy Spirit, right? I could feel the presence of God when I went into that church. Now, when I attend that church, I don't feel that anymore. Why that's happened or who's responsible is again once irrelevant. But I I visited a church the other day and I had a reason because uh my son was uh getting um our grandson, um you know, he was being dedicated to the Lord. But I don't know whether it's because I hadn't been attending churches for a while, um actual church services in the house. I mean, I've been listening to a lot of it online and all that sort of stuff. But what I'm saying is that um what is the point I'm trying to say? Okay, the point that I'm trying to say, sorry, I got distracted because a text popped up on my phone, and strangely enough, it was from that pastor that I was just talking to, and this is what he just said. All things are possible to them that believe, start believing his word hasn't changed, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:42

Any of that?

SPEAKER_00 13:43

And that's a direct quote. This is live. All things are possible to them that believe, start believing his word hasn't changed, and if you can believe that his word hasn't changed, then you can feel the presence of God, you know, and that's that's what you're looking for, you want to see a move of God in the church, right? So, like I was saying, this church that I went to for my son's and my grandson's dedication is that they have this thing, it says, um I can't remember the exact quote, but it's something like about six six and C. Uh so when you're looking for a church,

Chasing God’s Presence In Church

SPEAKER_00 14:44

don't judge it on the first or the second visit. Do six visits to feel if that church is the right place for you and if you believe that is your home. Don't just go once, because several things can happen once or even twice when you go to a church. They could actually have a special theme on, or they can have a guest speaker, or they can have someone who is um teaching like a series like this, and you get somewhere right in the middle, and it doesn't make sense to you. So it's it's all about six consecutive weeks at a new church to see, feel, and sense if that's the right place that God wants you in. Alright. Now we're digressing. I uh I got back to uh talking about Hannah, alright? So that's where we're gonna start. Okay? But Hannah was faith-filled. So just in case you missed that and I got distracted. So, like I was

Hannah’s Vow And Samuel Dedicated

SPEAKER_00 16:09

saying, who you are and and where you're from has nothing to do with what you can achieve in Christ, just like David. David was a shepherd boy, and Jesus the son of a carpenter from a place

Six Visits To Find A Home

SPEAKER_00 16:27

where nobody ever come. And it's stated that in scripture. Oh, nothing good comes out of Nazarene. Hannah also was a nobody from nowhere's veal. I don't even know whether that's a real name, but she was nobody from nowhere of any significance. But her faith stands out above others, even God's priest Eli. After years of infertility, many tears and much anguish, in her desperate faith in prayer, God gave her a son. Just as a side note, never stop praying for the ones you love. After eight years, my daughter-in-law was finally blessed with a son just like Hannah.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

But we are not talking about our grandson, Lennox.

SPEAKER_00 17:35

It's about Hannah, who named her son Samuel. Now you know where I'm going. And through a vow to the Lord she gave his life over to the direct service of the Lord. Her son became that great man of God that has two books, not just one, but two books written about him and the influence that he had on other men in positions of power is phenomenal. So let's look at Samuel's growth. We pick up the story of Samuel's childhood, he stood out even as a boy. In 1 Samuel 226, now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in statue and in favor with the Lord and also with man. Hannah's prayer

Samuel’s Growth And Early Calling

SPEAKER_00 18:45

for a son invoking the Nazarite vow of consecration to the Lord had been answered very powerfully, and you can see that when you read through both these books. And any concerns we may have about Hannah's actions sending her son to Eli at a very young age to be raised by him are answered here. The Lord was at work in this boy's life, and that work continued to the end. See, one Samuel three, nineteen and twenty talks about how Samuel grew and the Lord was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Bathsheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. Well, I mean, it's you would think to a certain degree that is uh you know a big place to be set upon, but not really. This is the way it was with spiritual growth and leadership. It's generally obvious we don't need to post a resume. Others can see God at work in us, or they can see He is not. Samuel followed in his mother's footsteps, walking by faith with the Lord. But yes, there was always a but. In chapter four through to six, the wheels fell off once again for the Israeli nation. So the next three chapters, four, five, and six, making no mention at all of Samuel, were as I have said, were disastrous. Israel goes out to battle against the Philistines, and instead

Israel’s Crash And The Ark

SPEAKER_00 21:09

of trusting in the Lord, they trusted in a religious object, albeit a holy one, the Ark of the Covenant, Israel falls in battle and the Ark is captured, and Eli and his sons die according to prophecy. Only after Eli's death and a twenty-year period do we hear of Samuel again in 1 Samuel 7. I'd like to just make an important side note here, which I do a lot anyway. So I have I have I don't know what they call it, you know, uh writer's privilege or something. I don't know. Forget it, I'm rambling on. The Bible is split into two major parts, Old Testament and New Testament, or we could say old covenant and new covenant. The key word is the covenant. In several key places in history, God makes a covenant, an agreement, like a contract, and he made one with Abraham, he made one with Moses. And the nation of Israel.

Covenant Basics And The Old Testament Pattern

SPEAKER_00 22:29

He made one with David, all of whom we have spoken about in previous podcasts. The one to focus on right now is the covenant God made with Israel through Moses. Moses went up on the mountain, that's Mount Sinai, and he said, you know, it was complaining about what was going on in him. And God gave him the Ten Commandments which are represented in that covenant. Now the basic elements of the covenant are threefold, right? The Lord calls his chosen people of Israel to follow him, to love him, obey him, serve him, fear him. When you do, I will bless you in magnificent ways, joy, fruitful land, wealth, happiness. It's rather straightforward. Not easy, but straightforward. Then the Lord warns Israel, if you rebel against me, turn your heart from me, committing spiritual idolatry, worship other gods, then I will bring curses on you and your land. Wow. I would keep away from that. He says, I will turn my heart from you, even to the point of kicking you out of the promised land. That's pretty bold and it's pretty clear cut. But thirdly, the Lord gives a promise of mercy. If in your stubbornness you finally repent and turn back to me, then I will show mercy, I will forgive you, I will bring good to you, I will defeat all your enemies, and I will bring you back into the land. Sounds pretty simple and from a perspective of modernism, you would think that the you know, if you just follow those steps, you know what to do and what not to do. So if you understand these basic covenant, you know, principles, and remember this, you will understand much of the old testament. This circle, I call it a circle anyway. It's the circle of life. Yes, and I'm not gonna do a Lion King thingy, what's it? It's what happens over and over and over again in the Old Testament. I just want you to allow me to add my two cents worth. We all know this, but we just keep messing up. Thank God for your son Jesus Christ. So, 500 years after Samuel in 600 BC, the Lord sends his people, Israel, into exile for the final time. Then 600 years after that, Jesus Christ enters the scene into a world where the people of Israel are still largely under oppression and they're in a foreign foreign nation. And then we find the Roman Empire comes into play. So remember the essence of God's covenant to his people and the Old Testament begins to make a lot more sense. So, with that all said and done, let's go back to Samuel. Uh, if you've got your Bibles, turn to 1 Samuel 7. We pick up the story here as what I call the fall and the rise of the nation. Now, um, I really should end it there, and I know I said it, but I'm

Part Two Tease And Reading Challenge

SPEAKER_00 26:59

going to have to do part two of um the faith of Samuel. Alright, so until next week, I bid you adieu and do a little bit of light reading. Read through one Samuel and see if you can catch up to where we're at. Alright? Bye for now.