神同在的秘诀•对神执着
撒上三：19;7:3-13
1Sa 3:19 撒母耳长大了，耶和华与他同在，使他所说的话一句都不落空。
1Sa 7:3-13 撒母耳对以色列全家说：「你们若一心归顺耶和华，就要把外邦的神和亚斯他录从你们中间除掉，专心归向耶和华，单单地事奉他。他必救你们脱离非利士人的手。」 (4) 以色列人就除掉诸巴力和亚斯他录，单单地事奉耶和华。 (5) 撒母耳说：「要使以色列众人聚集在米斯巴，我好为你们祷告耶和华。」 (6) 他们就聚集在米斯巴，打水浇在耶和华面前，当日禁食，说：「我们得罪了耶和华。」於是撒母耳在米斯巴审判以色列人。 (7) 非利士人听见以色列人聚集在米斯巴，非利士的首领就上来要攻击以色列人。以色列人听见，就惧怕非利士人。 (8) 以色列人对撒母耳说：「愿你不住地为我们呼求耶和华我们的神，救我们脱离非利士人的手。」 (9) 撒母耳就把一只吃奶的羊羔献与耶和华作全牲的燔祭，为以色列人呼求耶和华；耶和华就应允他。 (10) 撒母耳正献燔祭的时候，非利士人前来要与以色列人争战。当日，耶和华大发雷声，惊乱非利士人，他们就败在以色列人面前。 (11) 以色列人从米斯巴出来，追赶非利士人，击杀他们，直到伯甲的下边。 (12) 撒母耳将一块石头立在米斯巴和善的中间，给石头起名叫以便以谢，说：「到如今耶和华都帮助我们。」 (13) 从此，非利士人就被制伏，不敢再入以色列人的境内。撒母耳作士师的时候，耶和华的手攻击非利士人。
God is with us when we pray. We read about Eli, his two children and Samuel from 1 Sam 2 to 7. Eli and his children are priests.
1Sa 2:12 以利的两个儿子是恶人，不认识耶和华。
The two sons of Eli are worthless men, they didn’t know God.
They took the portion of the sacrifice without following the law of God. They also committed the adultery with the women who came to sacrifice. This is the same with those who abuse their position in the church today.
Eli admonished his sons but he didn’t stop them. Eli’s attitude is not to do evil but he didn’t try to do what was right. He should have removed his sons from the altar. God took this seriously. God sent someone to tell Eli he honoured his sons more than God.
1. 执着于“神有在” Take hold of God’s presence
1Sa 2:30 因此，耶和华以色列的神说：『我曾说，你和你父家必永远行在我面前；现在我却说，决不容你们这样行。因为尊重我的，我必重看他；藐视我的，他必被轻视。
The Israelites carried the Ark of Covenant into war hoping God would be with them. But God didn’t help them. When Samuel became priest, God’s hand was with the Israelites and attacked the Philistines.
God’s presence brought a change in our hearts, our finances and the church ministries. It’s different when we are in God’s presence.
Why do some Christians feel weak?
Eli’s took God lightly when they didn’t take God’s sacrifices seriously. They didn’t accord to God the honour He deserves. They were not afraid of committing sins.
We need to realize that God is in our worship, the church, the cell group and the family. Be punctual to worship. VIP can come late. We need to be early. We cannot let God wait for us. If we are late for God, He may be late for us. The same applies to leaving a service. The VIP leaves first. We should not be to eager to leave at the end of the service. Don’t be a mere spectator in a worship service. Don’t be affected by others.
A church in Hong Kong has 6000 members. When it’s time to begin worship, the door is locked. Those who came late will have to watch the TV from outside or join the next worship.
A ringing phone in a service can take away our focus. We are only in the church once a week. When we take a call during a service it shows we take the call to be more important than God. When we see someone doing that (taking a call) don’t keep quiet like Eli. Tell them to take the call outside.
2. 执着于神交托你的事 Take Hold of God Given Responsibility
1Sa 2:18 那时，撒母耳还是孩子，穿著细麻布的以弗得，侍立在耶和华面前。
1Sa 2:21b 那孩子撒母耳在耶和华面前渐渐长大。
1Sa 2:26 孩子撒母耳渐渐长大，耶和华与人越发喜爱他。
Samuel started to minister to God when he was young (1 Sam 2). We read that he began to know God in 1 Sam 3. The means he started serving God following Eli’s instructions even before he knew God personally.
God gave us the responsibility to share the Gospel and to take care of our family. We must be faithful to the task given to us. We need to surpass the expectations.
Samuel didn’t just follow Eli’s examples. He exceeded Eli’s work in his faithfulness.
We need to take seriously whatever task is given to us, however insignificant it might seem.
A Korean church asks air stewardess to teach their ushers how to bow to greet visitors.
We don’t need to do a lot of things. Getting 6 100% is better than 10 60%. We must be willing to do less if it allows us to concentrate and do well in what we do.
3. 执着于一心向神 Focus on God
When our heart is with God, the world becomes a battlefield that God will fight for us.
When our heart is in the world, it becomes battlefield where we have to fend for ourselves.
When we only let God take charge of a small portion of our life, then God can only fight the battle for us in this small portion.
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