“The Samuel Church” Episode #1 > My theory has been we are in a time of the “PUSH-BACK”! There is a Samson anointing from God to be like the bull in a china shop and push back against the leviathan of our time. The Book of Judges says Samson was to be the “BEGINNING” of Israel getting free from the Philistines. My question has been, if Samson is the “BEGINER”, who is the “ENDER”? Where must this move of God go as it passes from Samson if it is to be successful? Or do we sleep with Delilah and end up blind and chained to a milstone?

For a time I have believed it is a three man relay, but now I think I’m wrong on that. This is why I have waited to talk about the Samuel Church in any depth as I have still been seeking God and searching scriptures. I plainly see the torch being passed to Samuel, but then I thought it went from Samuel to David. However, we will see God gave Israel complete deliverance and peace through Samuel! Mission accomplished! Promise kept!

I now see Samson as the beginning of their deliverance and Samuel as the “completer”. And then…because Israel never learns…as Samuel ends, the enemy begins again! And eventually David comes into the picture for a final deliverer leading to the reign of Solomon. Oh what a tangled web we humans weave. And we might see a glimpse of the Millennial 1000 Year reign of Christ in this scenario.

It may take two or three episodes to share this, and so we begin: 1st Samuel 7:3 > “Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your hearts to the Lord, and serve Him only, and He will deliver you out of the hands of the Philistines.”

However, Samuel’s story does not start here. How he got to the place that all of Israel was coming to hear his words and seek him for deliverance from their fierce enemy was not a path anyone would predict. Like many things with God, when we look ahead we see an impossible situation, and when we look back, afterwards, if we’re honest, we see miracles.

First of all, Samuel should not have been born. His mother, Hannah, was barren. She had tried for years to have a child, but it always failed. It became obvious Hannah had some kind of condition preventing getting pregnant, and there was no reason to believe that condition would change, but she was a prayer warrior.

But now the plot thickens. Not only did she have the physical condition of a barren womb, but you could say the Temple/Church had become barren too! The temple and altar she went to pray at was completely defiled in sin! Spiritual conditions were bad and only going to get worse! Here was poor Hannah in need of spiritual uplifting but the Church was as low as a snake’s belly itself! And, of course, God was aware of this. God was hurting too, just like Hannah.

God ends up using Hannah’s bareness to solve the bareness in His temple, but it would be a deliverance years in the making. Hannah desired a baby! God desired a true Prophet, and a miracle deal was struck! Hannah prayed in a defiled temple, under a defiled priesthood, at a defiled altar, but her own broken heart broke through all that darkness to reach the broken heart of God!

How many prayers had she prayed? But it only took one more! That last one! What if she had stopped before praying that last prayer? What if she had stopped before reaching such a state of brokenness? It would seem, her tormenter, Peninnah, was actually doing Hannah a favor in her tormenting. God will use what the enemy means for bad to our good! As promised!

This episode is about the dark condition God’s Church was in at the time God needed a man for the the torch to pass from Samson, a process Samson had begun, but now be passed to another who would complete the task! But things looked really bad. Eli, the head priest at that time was like ninety years old, fat, and going blind! Well past his prime, and his sons had turned completely to evil.

Eli’s sons had turned to all the the things Satan always offers, because he only has these things to offer. A love of money, bribery, sexual immorality, laying with the women, lies, pride, arrogance, you name it! And in all this, Hannah gets pregnant and then gives her only child to this temple as promised to God! The young lad Samuel gets dropped right into a spiritual pit!

I don’t know about you, but I feel a kindred spirit to Samuel. When I look back at what the Church of America has been for some decades now, I see a spiritual pit we need to climb out of! And all that can be shaken will be shaken! And it’s coming soon! It’s already beginning! The horses are running! And if the footmen have wearied thee, how will you run with the horses?

(God did give Hannah more children, in case you’re wondering.) God is always good.

It’s gonna get worse before it gets better. Keep pushing Samson! Push against those pillars with all you got! Keep praying Church! The shaking has only begun!

How bad is it going to get? Well…I can tell you this…on the day the torch passed to Samuel all hell was breaking loose! The temple was destroyed and Samuel likely barely escaped with his life! I may be reading between the lines some, but all in one day, the Israelites are in battle against the Philistines. The battle is not going well, so the Israelites call for the Ark of the Covenant to be brought to the battlefield.

Always before, when that Ark showed up, the power of God showed up and Israel would win! But not this time. I wonder why? Things had gotten SO bad! SO worldly! SO defiled! Not only were the Israelites defeated, but Eli’s two sons were killed on the spot and the Ark captured by the enemy! It don’t get no worse than that, because that meant the power and presence of God had left that temple! And the Church at that time labeled ICHABOD! The glory of the Lord has departed! Would you attend a Church with that label over the door?

A messenger runs back to Eli at the temple, because remember, Israel was not a “man-king led nation” at this time. They were a Theocracy. Priest led. No king other than God-King. But if you’re priest led and the priest no longer hear God, which is what the case was, and we will show that, what do you think is going to happen?

The messenger runs from the battlefield to Eli. He reports the battle is lost! Your two sons are dead! AND THE ARK OF THE COVENANT HAS BEEN TAKEN BY THE ENEMY!!!

Eli falls “backwards” off his log and instantly dies. Samuel is now suddenly in charge and the enemy is probably on the way. Congratulations young Samuel, you’ve just been promoted! There’s no pay raise, there is a lot more responsibility, you’re likely about to be killed, but here’s the title to your new position anyway. Good luck!!! I’m outta here!

Yeah, I don’t think Samuel thought he was having a good day at that time. There was no happy ceremonial band playing in his honor. All was bad news! But God was doing a work and things were about to change in a big way. The temple no longer hearing God, was being destroyed and a young man who heard God was given the torch. Samuel may not of understood at that moment, but clarification would come quickly. Here are some of the scriptures showing how things had been.

Consider these scriptures: 1st Samuel 3:1 > “Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. The word of the Lord was rare and precious in those days; there was no frequent or widely spread vision.” (Amplified version).

Note: The word of the Lord was rare and precious in those days because there was very little revelation coming from God! No one to hear His voice! God is always speaking but is anyone listening and speaking it out to the people? That’s a Prophet.

Chapter three is where Samuel begins hearing the voice of the Lord. God has a man who can hear Him again. But Samuel never heard the Lord’s voice before. He did not know God was speaking to him. He goes to Eli three times! He thought Eli was calling for him.

In verse eight it says, “Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.”

Imagine that. God is not speaking to the head priest. He’s by-passing him to speak to a boy! Eli can no longer hear God! And his sons certainly won’t! They are not interested. They are too busy having their fun. And like all flesh, they will soon be dead!

Eli tells Samuel, the next time you hear that voice, you say: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

Each of us, as followers of Christ, should be able to say those 7 words. “Speak, LORD, for your SERVANT is LISTENING.”

LORD – SERVANT -LISTENING.

Once we finish revealing this Samuel Church, we will be teaching about “L7D” — “Living in the 7th Day”. Those 7 words are the essence of living in the 7th Day, God’s Sabbath — God’s REST— God’s peace and power. Our Promised Land, a land of Promises, i.e. Faith! The faith of Abraham. Father of our Faith!

To be continued.