December 31 sermon Grow in Stature 1 Samuel

I’ve heard some New Years resolutions already. “As soon as the holidays are over, I’m going on a diet and losing some weight.” You notice it’s ‘after the holidays are over’, not right now. And there is no “exact” amount of weight to lose.

Some of the others I have heard (or made) in the past are ‘to spend more time with my family’, ‘keep the house clean’, ‘I’ll quit smoking’ – which should be a lot easier with the $1 a pack tax starting tomorrow.

But are those the resolutions the ones we need to make? Do we ever keep these resolutions anyway? How much weight did you lose when you started the last diet and how long did you stay on it?? Was it over a week later?
What are the New Years resolutions you have made for this year??

Let’s look at Samuel to see what he has resolved to do. Samuel was ministering before the Lord it says in vs 18. God had blessed Hannah and given her a child. Because of this, Hannah gave the child to the Lord to work in the temple. And Samuel was exactly where he should be. He was ministering in the outer court of the temple.

Samuel knew his place and did exactly as was his destiny. We learn in the next verse that his mother brought him a coat or apron each year.
Samuel could not work in the tabernacle because he was not a priest, so he worked in the outer courts and needed the proper attire to work in. And the boy Samuel grew in stature.

What does that mean? He became a deeper disciple. What we wish for the youth is what I wish for all of you too. As you study the scriptures, as you pray your prayers, as you live a holy life that Jesus himself would be proud of, you will grow in stature before the Lord and come closer to him.

What would be the alternative to Samuel and his spiritual growth? He was already a believer. He was actively seeking the will and guidance from the Lord. He understood that although Eli had made a few mistakes in his past, he was the leader for the tabernacle.

Then the alternative to Samuel would be spiritual atrophy. Basically if your not seeking God’s will and actively pursuing the spiritual disciplines such as prayer, meditation, scripture reading, etc, your spiritual muscle will slowly wither away. I know Carol can tell us about astronauts going into space, and how they must constantly work out because in space there is no gravity to give them any resistance.

It’s the same in the church. Unless you work your spiritual muscles, unless you are stretched, they will wither.
The apostle Paul says it well. You were once on milk like a baby, but now you must move up to meat. You’re no longer babies. He says to stop your crying and whining. Seek out the spiritual meat in your life and the life of your church so you and it can grow.

And grow you will. Vs 26 says Samuel grew in stature and FAVOR with the Lord. He not only grew his spiritual muscle, but also followed the will of God.
What about you? Are you still drinking milk? It doesn’t matter how old you are or how long since you said that prayer and became a Christian. You could have been saved when you were 8 and now at 88 you’re still on spiritual milk with flabby muscles.

Samuel understood what it took to be in the will of God. Do you? Do you go to the Lord in prayer that he would lead you each day? Do you read scripture each day to apply it to your life? The parents that are here brought there kids to church to raise them up as Godly children.

Do you seek to understand what scripture is saying or do you take what someone said 20 years ago as truth without investigating it yourself? Slavery was justified by using the scripture of “slaves obey your masters”. Women oppression was justified by the scripture from Timothy of women should sit down and be quiet in church and if they have questions to ask their husbands.
Samuel CONTINUED to grow in the presence of the Lord. It was not a “one day say a prayer” and that’s it, but every day Samuel’s spirit grew stronger.

Jesus was the same way as Samuel. He grew in wisdom and stature and divine and human favor. Jesus had his life in focus. He knew what he must do in life. “Why did you worry mother? Why did you take so long to find me? You should have known I was in my father’s house.”

There were no New Years resolutions for Samuel or Jesus. They went about the business they should. The will of God was their goal. And they saw they must grow up. In the movie “Talladega Nights” with Will Ferrell, Ricky Bobby always prays to baby Jesus. “dear lord baby Jesus”. His wife finally jumps in and says, “honey, Jesus did grow up. You don’t always have to call him a baby.” Ricky says “well look. I like the Christmas Jesus best, and I’m saying grace.”

I think that’s how some Christians get after Christmas. They don’t want to see baby Jesus grow up. They realize if Jesus grows, they must grow also. It’s so much easier to stay with the Christmas Jesus. The baby can’t make demands on us.
The baby can’t challenge us. The baby can’t stretch us farther than we want. And the baby doesn’t die on the cross so we don’t have to come to the foot of the cross.

But even Jesus understands how much we must grow. That’s why Luke puts in the story of when he is 12. Jesus grew in stature and understanding.
He understood he must be going about his father’s business. He understood he must seek out the will of God. He understood that life was new. And here we are rolling into 2007 and the new life it will bring. A couple years ago Linda gave a sermon on UMW Sunday about calling.

She said that “God’s call is not a one time thing and the call changes as our circumstances change. We must be ready to adjust as God asks us to serve in new ways.” That was relevant then as it is today. In 2007 there will be new ministries started here at the church. We will be reaching and touching more people.

God will make a difference in our lives and transform us….transform you (I hope you are ready).
The new year is upon us. With Christ a new life is within you. And with his love, the old old story can be told in a new way to new people. Like Samuel and Jesus, you must go about your Father’s business, continue to grow, continue to share, and I hope you are ready, because continue to help transform lives.