Quote from Forum Archives on February 17, 2006, 11:33 am

Posted by: info <info@...>

E-pistle

Dr. Curt Scarborough, President
FreeWay Foundation February 17, 2006

"Speak, Lord, for Your Servant Hears"

(II Samuel 3:1-21)

Dr. Curt Scarborough

I. Concentration: on the contents of this chapter

1. Samuel ministered to the Lord by serving Eli; divine revelation

was rare at that time because of the sin of the nation's spiritual

leaders, v. 1.

2. One night God spoke to Samuel, who at first thought the voice

was Eli's; finally at Eli's instruction, Samuel answered the Lord's

voice saying, "Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears," vv. 2-10.

3. The Lord told Samuel that Eli and his sons would be removed

from the priesthood, just as the unnamed prophet had prophesied

to Eli earlier. (I Samuel 2:27-36), vv. 11-14.

4. At Eli's insistence, Samuel told him God's words; as Samuel

continued to mature spiritually, everything he prophesied came

to pass; all Israel accepted him as a true prophet of the Lord

because God continued to reveal Himself regularly to Samuel

at Shiloh, vv. 15-21.

II. Meditation: on the spiritual truths seen in this
chapter

1. In life's darkest hours, God comes and speaks personally to His

faithful servants, giving a vision of His divine purpose . . . of the

destiny He has planned for their lives.

2. God gave Samuel a prophetic word which already had been

proclaimed to Eli by another prophet; this confirmed to Eli that

the boy, Samuel, indeed had heard from the Lord.

3. Samuel bravely spoke the entire prophecy given to him by God,

even though the words foretold God's judgment of punishment

and death upon Eli and his family.

4. God spoke to Samuel not only through a voice in the night and

other visions and revelations; God also spoke to him through His

written word, v. 21.

III. Revelation and Applications: on the implications of
these spiritual truths

1. God brings light into the darkness . . . of a nation and of a human
soul;

His light is revealed to a faithful servant, and then through that person

to others. I need to let God's light shine into my heart and then through

me to bless others. (Matthew 5:14-16)

2. Words of prophecy from God are to be confirmed by the mouths of two

witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15; I Timothy 5:19). I need to judge prophetic

words based upon the truths of the Holy Scriptures and the enlightenment

of the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 4:15)

3. True prophets of God speak His words with clarity and with courage.
I

need to proclaim God's revealed truths fearlessly; yet I need to speak

always with compassionate love. (Ephesians 4:15)

4. God's words, clearly heard and faithfully proclaimed, always are
fulfilled.

I need to listen carefully for God's voice and faithfully proclaim it with

confidence . . . like a trumpet sounding "charge." (I Corinthians 14:8)

"Dad Vs. My Nanny"

Dr. Curt Scarborough

Contrary to popular opinion, I was NOT the meanest kid in the
family. That

dubious honor goes to a goat who came to live in our backyard in the late
1930's.

"Nanny" . . . that was her unimaginative name . . . was a very
"strong-willed child"

decades before James Dodson even thought about focusing on the family.

We had borrowed Nanny from Uncle John and Aunt May's herd (or
should

that be flock? . . . no matter). The doctor had prescribed whole goat milk
to cure

my chronic "puny's," and my mother served that odoriferous concoction in
dozens

of creative recipes. I choked down goat-milk cheese, goat-milk pudding,
goat-milk

ice cream, even goat-milk biscuits with goat-milk gravy!!! I managed to
gain only

a few pounds that year, but my profit margin was offset by my father's
deficit.

He lost more than 20 pounds chasing Nanny around the O.K. Corral!

Nanny was head-strong and stiff-necked . . . absolutely dead-set
against

letting Dad get anywhere close to her apparatus . . . much less enduring the
indignity

of quietly and voluntarily donating the contents of her udder for medicinal
purposes.

Folks came from miles around to observe the daily grudge-match between Dad
and

my Nanny. I should have charged a higher admission price than 10 cents, but
I did

manage to make out pretty well with the concession stand near the bleachers!

After about 45 minutes of head-butting, my dad (wearing his coal
miner's

hard hat) always found a way to corner that goat and hog-tie her to the
fence. Yes,

Nanny was hard-headed! But my dad was a stubborn bulldog who, like Winston

Churchill, fought with "blood, sweat, and tears." After all that churning
around, it

was a big surprise to me that Dad was able to squeeze any liquid at all out
of Nanny.

However, he did harvest daily a couple of quarts of "guttermilk." (For the
host of

uninformed readers, that's a word we coined: it's short for goat-buttermilk
. . .

look it up!)

Paul wrote: "Perilous times will come: for men will be . . .
headstrong

(stubborn)." (II Timothy 3:1-4) Moses scolded the children of Israel for
their

stubbornness; in fact, a stubborn and rebellious son was to be stoned!

(Deuteronomy 9:27; 21:18-21) Both Ezekiel and Isaiah prophesied woes upon

the stiff-faced, hard-hearted, impudent and stubborn Jewish nation.
(Ezekiel 2:4;

Isaiah 46:12).

The first Christian martyr, Stephen, was lynched by a mob in
Jerusalem

after he proclaimed: "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears!

You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you." (Acts
7:51)

Prayer for the Day: Lord, forgive my headstrong stubbornness and
hard-hearted

rebellion against Your divine will. Give me
"ears to hear"

Your voice, and a teachable spirit to obey
Your orders.

Pillsbury College & Seminary

Pillsbury College & Seminary is offering full tuition scholarships to the
first 100

Bi-Vocational pastors who register in 2006.

Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Simply fill out the
Registration

Form that you can find at www.pillsburycs.org <www.pillsburycs.org/>
and mail it along with a $50

registration fee and you will receive your first textbooks, instructions,
and an

examination within approximately one week. You will also be contacted by

your personal mentor . . . an ordained minister who has been assigned by

Pillsbury College & Seminary to assist you in earning your Bachelor of
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Studies Degree.

If your have questions, please contact drcurt@pillsburycs.org or telephone

us at (314) 739-1121.

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