Let the Weak Speak
Part 25 – Samuel – Sow Seeds of Sonship
Remember – the purpose of this series is to release the potential that is within us to build successful ministries, kingdom businesses, and to be world changers who really make a difference in this world. That will always involve change but we don’t need to panic because all of the change God requires from us is by way of exchange. And so we simply come to the place of exchange – the Throne of Grace – where we have the opportunity to trade our weakness for his strength!
We are no longer wearing ourselves out chasing signs and wonders – we are signs and wonders and so we are destined to be the most exciting thing that is going on wherever we are!
Isaiah 8: 18
18 Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me!
We are for signs and wonders in Israel
From the LORD of hosts,
Who dwells in Mount Zion.
Joel 3: 9 – 10
9 Proclaim this among the nations:
“Prepare for war!
Wake up the mighty men,
Let all the men of war draw near,
Let them come up.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
And your pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’”
IT’S TIME TO LET THE WEAK SPEAK! LET THE WEAK SAY, “I AM STRONG!”
We have been going through the Hebrews 11 “Hall of Faith” and looking at the lives of some of those listed there who although they were far from perfect were successful in overcoming the weaknesses of their flesh and fulfilling God’s purpose in their generation by faith!
In the past few sessions we continued doing what the writer of Hebrews does and began to race on through the rest of the folks that are mentioned here who all overcame their weaknesses by faith and saw the supernatural strength and power of God manifested in and through their lives! So far we have looked at Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, and David.
Hebrews 11: 31 – 40
31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. 32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again.
And so what about Samuel?
1 Samuel 3: 19
19 The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD.
Although nothing Samuel said from the LORD ever failed to come to pass it would appear that his children didn’t follow in his footsteps.
1 Samuel 8: 1 – 3
1 Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.
It seems that Samuel’s sons were at least in part to blame for the elders of Israel demanding a king to reign over them. No matter how godly a person is they can’t make the decisions for the next generation. All they can do is faithfully sow the word in the lives of their children and stand in faith believing that eventually the seed will come up fruitful. The Bible says that if we bring up a child in the way they should go that when they are old they will not depart from it. Although it is not necessary for anyone to stray there are times when a young person wanders from the paths of righteousness and it is often only through the experiences of life that they are eventually turned back to the LORD and the foundations that were laid in their lives!
Regardless of how far you might see your children move away from God never let what you see move you from your stand of faith that is based upon what God says!
Proverbs 22: 6
6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
When he is old he will not depart from it! We need to believe that the seed sown will come up in due season! During Solomon’s reign you actually find Samuel’s grandson ministering with music. Always believe God to leave an inheritance of faith to your children’s children!
LET THE WEAK SAY, “I AM STRONG!”
Psalm 78: 1 – 8
1 O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old-
3 what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.
5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers
to teach their children,
6 so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.
8 They would not be like their forefathers—a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.
We should always sow seeds of sonship in the lives of our children – reminding them that they have a spiritual inheritance. Just like the prodigal they should always know that there is something worth coming home to – that there is always more than enough back at Father’s house!
Just like Samuel we must believe that every word is a seed and that those seeds will come up in due season!
We live in a day of no moral absolutes. According to the ethos of our modern age there is nothing absolutely right and there is nothing absolutely wrong – there is no black and white, just shades of grey!
We live in a day of relativism. If you ask someone if something is right or if something is wrong you don’t often get a “yes” or “no” answer. They will say, “It depends on how you feel about it – it depends on the circumstances!” But the Bible (our manual for life) clearly states, “Let your yes be yes, and your no be no!” (Matthew 5: 37)
If you ask a lot of people if it is right or wrong to have sex outside of marriage they might say, “Well as long as they are in a committed relationship…or… as long they practice ‘safe sex’ (the only safe sex is called marriage!)…or …as long as no one is being hurt by it….”
We must be “yes” and “no” people! We must bring a clear word from God that is unaffected by the modern trend towards political correctness and moral relativism. We must bring a consistent message to our children regarding what God says is right and wrong and then model that for them in our own lives!
LET THE WEAK SAY, “I AM STRONG!”
In 1940 someone conducted a survey of the seven biggest problems in schools in the U.S. The same survey was repeated in 1990.
1940
1. Talking in class
2. Chewing gum
3. Making noise
4. Running in hallway
5. Jumping the queue
6. Wearing improper clothing
7. Refusing to put paper in the waste basket
1990
1. Drug abuse
2. Alcohol abuse
3. Pregnancy
4. Suicide
5. Rape
6. Robbery
7. Assault
Every year there is a massive national drive in the U.K. to raise money for the charity “Children in Need”. But money is not what children need! The Bible tells us what they need!
1. NURTURE – the process of bringing up or training
Ephesians 6: 4
4 And you, fathers (parents), do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training (nurture) and admonition (earnest advice) of the Lord.
The primary thing that our children need is LOVE. Love is a giver, but love is also a restrainer. When someone wants to train a plant they place restraints on it by tying it to a support and guiding it in the direction that they want it to go. If this is not done the plant will go wild. It is the same with our children. If we don’t want them to go wild then we must place restraints on them. This is what God did in the garden. He told Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God wasn’t trying to keep something from Adam he was trying to keep Adam from something – DEATH!
A lot of folks think that the answer to the problems of our age is education. The problem is that modern education has been virtually stripped of any reference to faith and has been hijacked by secular humanism, and so our children are now robbed of their innocence at the earliest opportunity and trained up in the religion of self.
secular humanism – humanism, with regard in particular to the belief that humanity is capable of morality and self-fulfillment without belief in God.
Instead of teaching children that they are created in the image of God and therefore accountable to him they are encouraged to fashion a god in their own image and become accountable to no-one but their own appetites and desires.
It is essential that we as parents or as older believers turn back the tide of humanistic ideology in the lives of our children by allowing the Holy Spirit to raise God’s standard of faith and righteousness in our homes and in our churches.
In these days of “subjective reality” our children need to know that “If it feels good – do it!” is not to be recommended as a philosophy for life – it is actually a recipe for disaster!
True reality is always objective in that it has a definite purpose beyond ourselves and so we must train our children to have one primary objective – to live for God and fulfil the destiny that he has planned for them!
2. ENCOURAGEMENT – to give courage, confidence or hope, or support to
Colossians 3: 21
21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
AMP
21 Fathers, do not provoke or irritate or fret your children [do not be hard on them or harass them], lest they become discouraged and sullen and morose and feel inferior and frustrated. [Do not break their spirit.]
A critical and judgmental attitude will crush a child and close their spirit.
Rather than just legalistically hammering them with the “you shall not’s” (which are important) we also need to encourage our children into the “you can’s” and the “you shall’s”! Life is for living! They can enjoy real life! We should help them to discover their God-given gifts and talents and encourage them in the development of them.
We should encourage our children in their walk in the Spirit and help them to grow into the effective ministers of the kingdom that is the most exciting life imaginable!
Often those who turn away from God are the ones who were legalistically hammered into religious conformity. No wonder they ship out – there is no power or life in that mess!
Then there are the so-called PK’s (Preacher’s Kids) who are often placed on the frontline with their parents and have unrealistic expectations placed upon them at a tender time in their lives.
3. EXAMPLE – a person regarded in terms of their fitness to be imitated
The best way to train a child is by example. The example we set is what we are asking to be imitated. Jesus said, “Follow me!” He was saying, “Be my disciple, learn from me, imitate me!”
1 Peter 5: 3 (Amplified)
3 Not domineering [as arrogant, dictatorial, and overbearing persons] over those in your charge, but being examples (patterns and models of Christian living) …
When we fall into the trap of “Do as I say and not as I do” then our children are turned off. They cry “hypocrite” and become hardened and rebellious.
Our children need to see in our lives that living for God is fun and exciting! They need to see us as signs and wonders! They need to see us living for God and witness the rewards and benefits of that relationship manifesting in our lives. The only truly effective way to lead is by example. It is important that we go to our children’s level and lead them upward and onward! This is what Jesus did and still does with us!
4. DIRECTION
Psalm 127: 3 – 4
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.
Our children need to know that their lives are not aimless and without purpose. They need to know that they are a part of the solution and not a part of the problem. We must train, equip, and invest in them. Our children will go in the direction that we point them as we nurture, encourage, and set the example for them.
Many people today talk about their children as though they are more of a burden than a blessing! Where is that pointing them! Our children need to be trained up as worshippers in spirit and in truth (accuracy). They have to be taught that they have a destiny to fulfil – that their lives have purpose and that they have a destination to aim for!
There will always come a time when we must release our children into the world and so that is why we must point them towards the target – just like a warrior releasing an arrow!
Psalm 127: 5
5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
Who are “they”? They are the children who have been trained, equipped, and released!
We must always point our children to Jesus!
Hebrews 12: 2
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith
looking, apharao – signifies undivided attention, looking away from all distractions in order to fix one’s gaze on one object.
Our children need to know that they are the sons and daughters of Almighty God and that they have a direct line to their heavenly Father! It is our responsibility to sow the seeds of sonship in their lives that will grow into a fruitful relationship with their Father in heaven.
This must be done with our natural children and with our spiritual children. Nurture, encouragement, example, and direction have all been made available to us in the new birth. We may have been born first time around into a dysfunctional family but we have been born again supernaturally into the family of God where everything that we need has been provided.
Samuel’s sons may have gone off-track but his grandson was a minister of music during Solomon’s reign and so some of the seed that Samuel sowed came up fruitful even if it appears to have, at least temporarily, skipped a generation.
Remember – we are not moved by what we see but we move things by what we say! The words we say are the seeds we sow! And so let’s sow seeds of nurture, encouragement, example, and direction so that our children are signs and wonders and the most exciting thing that is going on in their generation!
LET THE WEAK SAY, “I AM STRONG!”