Sunday A.M.
The Power of Commnitment
a look at verses one through three for our tax. Keep it open there to that chapter. This is known as the, the call of Samuel. Chapter one, record Samuel's birth. Chapter two speaks of his mother's commitment and dedication, but also goes into the life of Eli, the priest at the time and his sons and everything that is going on in their lives. And then chapter three opens with these words. And the child, Samuel, ministered unto the Lord before Eli. The word of the Lord was precious in those days. There was no open vision. It came to pass that time when Eli was laid down in his place and his eyes begin to wax them that he could not see. And air, the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord. Understand something there that is not saying that the lamp went out because that lamp was to never go out. I was saying it was very close. You ever seen a light flickering like it's about to go? Air, almost where the arc of God was in Samuel was laid down to sleep. I want to preach a message entitled the power of commitment, the power of commitment. Just as in Samuel's young childhood, we may see today that the word of the Lord is precious to us. Samuel was dealing with, there was no open vision and it says, and air, the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord. And just like in our day, air, the lamp of the Lord is there flickering. And there's a responsibility for that. It's going to take somebody to have some commitment. Father, I love you today. Thank you for your word. Ask you to help me to deliver the way you place it upon my heart and I want hearts to receive it accordingly. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. Read a book. Read several books by pastor Brian Cutshaw. He is a bishop in the church of God. He pastored one of the larger churches in Missouri years ago. And now he has a ministry where he equips pastors and church leaders. He's a wonderful writer and he wrote this in one of his books. One of the duties of the priests in the tabernacle was to make sure the light of the candlestick never went out. Why? It was a symbol of Christ and the Holy Spirit in that tabernacle. They had to keep fresh oil and wicks close by. The fire and the oil in the bowls, which represent the work of the spirit, the fire can only burn if it has a wick. The wick had to be burned, had to be trimmed and had to be trimmed daily. And who was to do that? The priest, according to Exodus 27 and 21, this majestic picture, this majestic golden candlestick, pristine oil, brilliant flame, depended on that tiny wick in order to give its light. The brilliance of the room is lost if the wick is not trimmed. The radiance of the holy place is never seen if the wick is not trimmed. The table of bread is never discovered. This tiny, free-floating wick, while barely noticed because of the flame, is absolutely key to keeping the holy place alive and lit. The wick among the virgin oil and pure gold is the only element of imperfection in this whole scene, yet it is absolutely necessary. The wick is the natural conduit needed to get the oil and flame to the room. Let me read that again. The wick is the natural conduit needed to get the oil and flame to the room. The wick can wear out, wear down, and even burn out. That is why it's necessary to trim it every day so the lamp will not go out. The wick is the minister. The wick is the minister. It is the imperfect path of which God transfers the supernatural into the atmosphere of the natural. We read that again. The wick is the minister. It is the imperfect path to which God transfers the supernatural into the atmosphere of the natural. It is the vulnerable, small conduit of transferred anointing. This tiny oil-soaked piece of straw and cotton allows the oil to get to the flame and the flame to get to the darkness. Here we find in 1 Samuel chapter 3 leading up to our text, we find that Eli was the priest of this time of Samuel. We know Samuel as we begin to study the Old Testament, you will not miss Samuel. You will not miss him because he is throughout that Old Testament. But Eli at this time was the priest of this time, so he represents the wick, not Samuel, not all the great men that followed him and not all the great men before him, now was Eli's time. He was the priest. He was the wick. It was his responsibility as we read there in verse 2 of our text came to pass to that time when Eli was laid down in this place and his eyes began to wax down that he could not see. Now this verse is not just speaking of a tired priest laying down for the night after a long day. He is speaking more than about just that evening. It was an explanation of what Eli, the priest of that time, what his life had become. It is not just talking about Eli after a long day and just I need to get some sleep and I am tired and my eyes are heavy. But no, this was the very scene of his life. It was a very detailed explanation of what Eli's life had become. He said I am tired. My eyes have waxed them. I cannot see. We find that he has been there. Have you ever been so tired that you have to rub your eyes? Did I see that or did I not see that? He was not just that way physically but he was that way spiritually. His son should have been working with him in the temple. They should have been there helping but what were they? They were not a help. They were the exact opposite of a help. They were more of a approach than they were a help. They were not committed to what they were supposed to be doing. Eli had grown tired. He had grown weary. He had grown worn. As we said there, as Brother Cutschall said there, about that wick, that if that wick can burn out, it is vulnerable and that wick can wear out, that wick can wear down and that wick can burn out. If Eli could give us an amen this morning, he would give us an amen. He was worn out. He was worn out. He was burned out. His son should have been helping him and they did not help him. They was reproach to him. They were reproach to the ministry. They were reproach to the people. Because of this neglect, because of the neglect of not just his sons but also the neglect of Eli, because he was possibly saying what is the use? He was not giving that daily attention. How do you know that? Because Scripture tells us in verse 3, getting a little ahead of myself, air, the lamp of God went out. But his sons should have been working with him. That neglect of the temple light was about to go out and they as a nation and they as God's people were in spiritual decay and they were in spiritual decline. Verse 1 tells us that there was no open vision. Verse 3 tells us in the air, the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of the Lord was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep. Samuel was introduced to us in chapter 1. We know Samuel. We begin to think about and look at Samuel. Those who have been in the church any amount of time, we know who Samuel is, don't we? He was the child for those who do not know who Samuel was. He was the child that you read in chapter 1 that was born to a barren mother, barren mother by the name of Hannah. And Hannah was known as a committed mother. And she is that committed mother. Hannah is the one that so many I have and many others have used her as the subject of mother's day messages for years. Why? Because of her commitment. Do you know that when people bring their child to be dedicated to the Lord when a baby is born and they bring that, it is following the example set here by Hannah in 1 Samuel. So Hannah was committed. That committed mother came. She committed her son Samuel that she had prayed. That son that she thought that she would never have. But God had a plan. God had a plan. God never intended for Hannah to stay barren. He just wanted to see how committed that Hannah would be to following the will of God. And you can read that encounter in 1 and 2 of 1 Samuel. But as you read there, also notice Eli as he is there, his lack of understanding what it was to be passionate about the will of God. Understand as you begin to read in chapter 1 and chapter 2 as Hannah is there and she is weeping and she is praying. Eli's lack of discernment in that moment of this struggling mother. It adds to exactly what chapter 3 opens up with where Eli was in his life. He was worn out. He was worn down. He was about to burn out. Chapter 2 tells us why all of that was coming about. And in chapter 3 shows what happens as Hannah showed up just a little bit before that and said to Eli, here's my son Samuel. I've committed him to the Lord. Therefore that means that he is going to serve here in the temple. Therefore that means that he is going to be your intern. He is going to be your minister. He is going to do whatever you need him to do. Ain't that right boy? That's basically what was happening there. Samuel had no choice. When I was a kid, I had no choice. Sunday came. It wasn't, are we going to church today? That was no question. There was no question about that. We knew what we were doing and there was no, well I don't want to. We did it. It says the child, Samuel, the child, Samuel, he had no understanding. He's scripture makes it clear. He did not even know God yet, but yet the child Samuel worshipped and served the Lord in the presence of Eli. He didn't know what the man, he didn't know what he was doing. He just knew that it was a responsibility that had been placed upon him. It was a commitment that his mother made and his mom said, I've made a commitment and you're going to follow through on that commitment and Samuel did it and we don't read that Samuel was kicking and screaming. We don't read that Samuel said I'm not going to do it. He didn't, this was not a child of our day. It says, I don't want to. No, Samuel followed through on what he was supposed to do and he served the Lord. Did Samuel necessarily want to hang out with an old dude in temple while his friends were out there doing whatever his friends were doing? Samuel was obviously a mama's boy. He wanted to be with mom. Mom would come and visit him. But don't you think that Samuel would much rather be at home? I would. He's laying here and it's it's weird noises that's going on in that place. He's hearing crinkling and cracking and all of this through the night because as far as we know, it's just him and Eli there and he's committed. She committed him to minister to God to the Lord in the temple before Eli. In doing so, she was making a commitment and that commitment was this. It was not so much a commitment to Eli. It was not so much a commitment to anything that was needed there. Maybe it was very clear to her and others that Eli was not ever thinking that he was supposed to be. And maybe it was not a secret to those. Obviously it was not a secret to what Eli's boys had become. So her commitment was this. It was doing to making a commitment that they had made as Christians according to Leviticus 24 one and two in that that commitment. We know that scripture as we just read that it was the priest's responsibility to keep the wick trimmed and burning because that was the conduit, right? That was the conduit in which the flame would light up that temple. But it was not. It was not the priest's obligation to supply the oil. Hannah knew that she made a commitment to make sure that a lap of God would continue the burn in the temple. And she understood it. Here was the responsibility. If you don't fully understand it, you can read it here. I'll read it to you in Leviticus 24 one and two. Lord spake unto Moses, saying command the children of Israel that they bring unto the pure oil all of beaten for the light to cause a lamps to burn continually. So the priest's responsibility was to trim the wick. The priest's responsibility was to keep the things of the temple. But none of us are without responsibility. He was he had to make himself committed to do that. But also, if there's an expectation for the minister to hold to his commitments, Hannah understood that she had a commitment to keep and she had to bring something to the service and she had to bring something to the work of the Lord. And she did not take that responsibility lightly. She didn't just commit to God until her answer came. She wasn't just committed to God until baby Samuel was born. She was committed to God before he was born while she was barren and after he was born. She held to that commitment. But she, you know, what she did, she went beyond bringing pure olive oil though. That was a responsibility to everyone. But Hannah made a commitment to God to say, if you will give me a child, I will commit him to your work. And it's better not to make a commitment to God than to not keep the commitment that you made to God. Hannah understood that well. So she maybe one day she was bringing her oil to the temple. And she says to Eli, I'm bringing my oil to the temple, but I'm also bringing you this one. I'm bringing you my son. I'm committing him to the work of the Lord. I like to explain to people during baby dedication, it don't work that way anymore. Will dedicate your child, but you take them back home with you. They don't stay with me. I wouldn't mind it. But sister Amy with, well, I don't know. I probably would mind it anymore. I'm getting old, went beyond. She went beyond doing that. She brought that baby, that child. She was a child at this time to minister to Eli in the temple. Why? Same reason she brought the oil. Same reason she brought the oil. Think about that. The importance of coming from a prayer closet to the church house. What scripture is doing here in this story is telling us that is just as important to dedicate our family to the work of a Lord is it is for us to bring the anointing that we get from the presence of a Lord in our private prayer time. What are you bringing? I've preached that before. What are you bringing to the house of a Lord? Some say, well, I brought my notebook and my pen to take notes. I brought this. I brought that. I brought my Bible, but they were to bring oil. And not only did she bring oil, she said, I brought my child and I brought my my young child, my son. Even with young Samuel, though, being committed to serving Eli and serving the house of a Lord, all those areas. Think about this. This is a child. Young child had no raising. He was not a priest son. His father was not into lineage to be a priest. His mom, far as we know, did not come from that lineage. He didn't understand how all of that worked. There was a man, brother Lamar Chapman preached a message one time about Joshua and how Joshua was Moses minister and how he followed him. And every time Moses went to the top of the mountain, it was Joshua halfway up the mountain. Every time that Moses would go into the presence of a Lord, it was Joshua. And he preached a heart stirring message of this. It should have been Gersham. You know who Gersham is? Most of the son. It should have been his son. Here it should have been Eli's son serving in the temple. These grown men should have been serving in the temple, but yet they were out doing whatever they were doing. We won't go into everything that they were doing, but you can read it. It was horrible what they were doing. And they were doing that and this young child was left there. And some would say that's too much for a young child to deal with. It's too much for him to even think that young Samuel was going to make a difference in that scene. That young Samuel was going to be able to fulfill everything that those men, those young men should have been fulfilling. There was no expectation from Hannah to think that her son was going to turn things around because Samuel had no ability. He didn't even yet know the Lord. He had no potential within himself. Nobody would look at Samuel and say he's going to turn things around. But nobody also would look at little David. Why Goliath is standing in the valley and say that he's going to roll a great victory for Israel. No expectation there. She just said, do what I brought you here to do. And she positioned her child. She positioned young Samuel. Listen, mom. Listen, dad, we can't have any expectation that our child is going to be this or our child is going to be that. But it is up to you. It is up to me to put our children in a position that they can hear the call of God. They can hear what the Lord is saying unto them. It is our place and our position to know and have no expectation. No expectation. I don't have an expectation for little Myla to be able to fulfill the position that was vacated by adults. There's no way that we would expect that. But we place them in an opportunity to learn ministry. We place them in a place that what if the Lord is calling them? If just think if Hannah would not have brought Samuel to the temple, if she wouldn't have followed through on her commitment, do you realize that your children's future commitment depends on the commitment that you make today? A few years ago, this young man broke my heart. This young man told me, he said, I know pastor, I know we've missed a lot of church. He said, I don't know what to do about it. He said, my baby girl got up last Sunday morning, we said, we're going wherever they were going to lake, to beach or whatever. And this little child looked at daddy and said, daddy, I want to go to church. Well, we're not going to church today, babe. We're going over here. And she literally had a meltdown, brother Paul. And she said, I don't want to go there. Imagine that a child said, I don't want to go to the beach or I don't want to go to the lake or I don't want to go to the park. I want to go to church and I want to sing about God. And I want to, a baby's telling a daddy, I want to go there. I said, son, why didn't you just take that baby to church? Take that baby to church. There's a generation of children today that they want to be in the presence of the Lord, but they don't understand what it is to be in the presence of the Lord. Why? Because mom and dad have no commitment. Oh, but fortunately for Samuel, his mom had a commitment and she followed through on that commitment. Gracie and Noah's commitment to the Lord is dependent upon mine and Amy's commitment to the Lord. Oh, committing our ways, committing our children. It was not just something that we did. It was not just something we did when we handed our child over to our pastor. I believe it was Brother Shannon Conner that we handed Noah to and Brother Steve DeBose that we handed Gracie to. We didn't commit our children. We didn't commit Noah to Shannon Conner. We didn't commit Gracie to Steve DeBose, but they were that priest, if you will. They were that Eli of that time. They were that Minister of that time and that church. We were pastoring when we had known we were youth pastoring when we had Gracie, but we committed them to the work of the Lord. And we made some commitments there that we would raise them that we would teach them at home. And when they got to church, they would know how to possess these vessels in holiness and godliness. They would know how to act in the house of God. They would know how to respond to the things of God. Oh, and thank God, because of that commitment, a couple of worshipers have arrived. A couple of worshipers has arrived. I'm not bragging. I'm just telling you that when we commit, when we make a commitment and we follow through with that commitment, that's in somebody. Somebody needs to hear this. There's a generation waiting on you to follow through on what you committed to do. And so Hannah brought him there with no expectation. Just serve the Lord. Just, Eli tells you to sweep the floor, sweep the floor. He tells you to take out the trash, take out the trash, just do whatever needs to be done. So he did that. Obviously, he did that well, but it still was not enough, was it? Because young Samuel ministering in all those neglected capacities, the lamp was still about to go out, according to verse three. Why? Eli wasn't taking care of the wick. And in all the things that Samuel was doing, Samuel could not take care of the wick. Why? Because that was Eli's responsibility. That was Eli's responsibility. And Samuel had not yet been called by the Lord. So he was not in the position to do that verse four says, and the Lord called Samuel and he answered, hear him out. Now here in verse four, he thought he was answering Eli. I mean, that was his response. Samuel, yes, sir, hear him out. What do you need me to do? The mid-matter field was in the middle of the night. What do you need, sir? It's a good kid. He was ready. He was response. Pastor Paul bought me a Bible. I had spoke about an evangelist years ago that came to our church that had the red letters in the Old Testament, the red letters of God, written in, they're in red in the Old Testament as well. And I was telling him about it. And he went out and found it a few years ago and gave it to me. It sits on my desk and I, I flipped over there this one. I said, I want to see this. So I flipped over chapter three. And there are those first few verses that we read here in verses one through ten. There's only one word that's in red, Samuel, Samuel. Now if Samuel was writing this, that would not have been in red because he thought it was Eli. So we read there, the word of the Lord came on to Samuel. He said, here am I. He thought it was Eli. They called him. But his willingness to answer to call is what said him in place to do what God called him to be. It did not matter if it was God or not. Samuel respected it. It did not. He didn't know. I don't know. Maybe he realized the things he was about to know. But maybe he didn't fully understand everything that Eli was neglected and everything that was going on. He was just a child. But when Eli spoke, Samuel said, yes, sir. He learned commitment. He learned commitment. He thought it was Eli. So he said, hear him out. He was willing to answer that call. But Eli explained to him, wasn't me calling you, sir. Wasn't me calling. Matter of fact, you woke me up. If I, maybe he lost hand. If I called you, I did it in my sleep. Go lay down. I don't need anything but sleep right now. I'm tired. I'm worn out. It wasn't me. Second time. Son, I told you it was not me. Third time Eli realized God's speaking to this child. Maybe Eli was saying, I wish God would speak to me. I remember when God spoke to me like we don't know. But he told him, he said, explained to him, he said, it's the Lord calling you, son. And when he calls you, you answer him the same way. Same respect, same answer that you gave me. When you thought it was me, you do that. The Lord's calling you, son. In verse 10, and the Lord came and stood and called, has it other times. Samuel, Samuel, then Samuel answered, speak for thy servant, serve it here. And the things that the Lord spoke to this child, everything that you read in chapter two, the Lord spoke to Samuel. Everything that was going on with Eli and everything that was going on with his sons and everything that was going to the nation, he spoke to Eli and then, excuse me, he spoke to Samuel. Samuel woke up the next morning and said, I ain't saying nothing. And Eli comes to him and said, Lord, what did the Lord say to you, son? I don't want to say it. But Eli told him, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to speak what the Lord has spoke to you to speak. He did not give it to you to keep inside speak it. And I, I, I gained a lot of respect for Eli, know all that he faced and all that he went through and, and all that took place. And he knew that he did what he did. He neglected what he neglected. And now he was going to have to pay the price. And he knew that it could not continue the way that it was continuing, but he never thought that God would use a child, never underestimate the conduit in which God will use, never underestimate the conduit in which God will use in that moment. So God spoke to this child. I recall many years ago, no, it was probably we had not long been here as pastor, I don't think. So no, it was probably nine, 10 years old. And we was on the way to school. One morning, I don't remember all the details of the conversation. But I was just talking with Noah and, and begin to share with him, you know, my desire to be a man of God and do what God's coming to do and all those kinds of things. And I said, I don't want to come up short in any area. And I saw no that nervous twitch. The Lord was speaking to him to say something. And I looked at him and I said, you got something to say, son? Yeah, but I don't want to say it. I said, go ahead. And he spoke it. And he said, what do you need to say? And he said, you're kind of falling short in this area. Whoa, you're falling short. And I knew immediately that was not my little boy that was God using that conduit to speak to me. I could have said, hush, you're grounded. Don't talk to me like that. Or I could respond. I could respond in prayer. And I had to do that just like Eli was ready to do the same thing. He was in that position. So how did all of this come about? How was, how was Samuel laying in that bed that night ready to hear the voice of what he thought was Eli only to find out. It was a voice that was about to change everything for him. Because when we began to look at young Samuel here, we just see a child. We just see someone there because of Hannah's commitment. And because of that, Samuel was put in a position to be used by the Lord. 1 Samuel chapter 3, 19, and 20 tells us, and Samuel grew. And the Lord was with him. And it let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan, even to bear, she even knew that Samuel was established to be the prophet of the Lord. Get this now. Because Hannah had expectation. She was not accepted of the fact that she was going to stay barren. She expected that God was going to work a miracle and she was going to see a victory. She had expectation. She stayed committed and she prayed. God answered and he blessed her. But ultimately it was all in God's plan. All in God's plan. It was bigger than Hannah being barren. It was bigger than Hannah wanting to sign up because just as much as Hannah wanted to sign up, God wanted to give her a sign up because it would be that sign that he would use to transform the season that the children of Israel was in. Could it have been Eli's boys? Absolutely. Could it have been Eli? Absolutely. But they were not committed. Hannah was committed and she instilled within her young son, Samuel, that commitment. When Paul is ministering to young Timothy and he's talking to him, he said, I see something in you and I first saw in your grandmother and then I saw it in your mother and now I see it in you. And what was that that he saw in young Timothy? It was a commitment. It was a desire. It was a longing. It was a yearning. Understanding andointing does not get passed in the genes. Genetics does not pass commitment. Oh, but we see that commitment. And we say, I don't want to be like Mike. I don't want to be like Bo. I don't want to be like Taylor or whoever it is. But I want to be like that man of God. I want to be like that woman of God. As our previous general overseer said, all my heroes have always been preachers. Samuel said, I want to be like that man of God. I want to be that man of God because of that commitment. The temple was on its way to restoration. Why? Just because his mother dedicated him to the Lord didn't make Samuel the man of God that he became. Just because you walked that baby down, the eye on went through the ceremony and handed him to a pastor one day or handed her to a pastor one day. That does not guarantee. That does not guarantee anything. You got to follow through on that commitment. They have to follow through on that commitment. And so it did not make him. He had to be committed to the work and the call of the Lord. He had to be committed to doing what the Lord had called for him to do. Understand something about Samuel. We are introduced to Samuel. And this story is a young child who had not yet known the Lord. We know that Samuel was pretty much many say that others were used in prophecy but Samuel was the first prophet. The first one to really carry that prophet of seer or overseer or prophet. But do you realize that Samuel was not just a prophet? Before he was a prophet, he served in the position. He took Eli's place. He was the priest. He was a priest and he was a prophet. He fulfilled those obligations and those responsibilities. But not only was he a priest and a prophet, Samuel was a judge. So he was priest, prophet and judge. All of this came from a barren womb. All of this came from a mother weeping underneath a bush. And the man of God looking at her and say woman, why you been out drinking all night? And she said, no, sir, this is not strong drink. It's a desire of my heart wanting God to move, wanting God to move in my life. And she said, if God will give me a son, I will commit him to the Lord. And not only did he give her a son, he gave the children of Israel, a priest, a prophet, a judge, a man of God, one that was going to step on the scene and turn things around for them, not because of who he was, but because he was committed to the ministry. He was committed to serving the Lord, the light thyself, the psalmist said, in Psalms 37, four through six, the light thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light and thy judgment as the noon day in closing this morning. Understand this, we need men and women like Samuel and Hannah. We need some servants like that. We need priests and pastors, not so much like Eli got in his later years, but there's a potential for that burn out, burn out. What if somebody else would have committed to what Hannah committed to long before Hannah did? Nobody did that. Eli's boys doing what they're doing, others saw that, but none of them stepped up and made the commitment to say Eli needs some help. Eli is struggling over there. No, a lot of that came back on Eli. I can't believe that he would let his boys do that. I can't believe that he would let them get away with that. Yeah, he was wrong. He was wrong. But others, we don't know what others were doing. We don't know how big the congregation was or anything else. But Hannah said, I'm willing to help. I'm committed to helping. I'm committed not only to helping, but I'm committed to give you daily help. Here's my son. I've committed him to the work of a Lord and there's no better place for him to serve than right here in the temple. Whatever you need him to do, he's willing to do it. Whatever you need us to do, we're willing to do it. Eli, we can't begin to fathom what you've been facing, what you're going through, but we can see burn out in your eyes. We can see that you're worn down. We can see that your eyes are down. We can see that you're getting up in age. We can see you've been neglecting yourself. You've been neglecting your duties. Don't know why. Don't understand why. Not for us to know. That's between you and God. We don't know what your ultimate demise is. We don't know what you're going to become. Just like as a pastor, we don't want anybody to fall out under our watch. It should be the same the other way that Hannah said, I don't want you to go out like that under my watch. Because if if you're neglected and your life is neglected and there's nobody fulfilling the ministry that you need to keep that wick burning, ultimately what's going to happen is the lamp's going to go out in the house of God. And I know the Word of God well enough to know Pastor Eli, that's not supposed to happen. So I brought a little bit more than my oil today. I brought you my child. I brought you more than my oil than my child. I'm bringing you my full support because I understand my responsibility. Please do whatever you have to do to stop neglecting your responsibilities. But I'm going to do everything that I can to help fulfill my responsibilities. Hannah is saying me and my boy is going to be committed. Samuel didn't know what all that meant. But one on one late evening, one late evening, all he heard was his name called. All he heard was his name called. Listen, all that we're doing, all that we're doing, we can't call our children. We can't put our children anywhere. But all we're doing is to make sure that one late evening, when God speaks and he calls out their name, they wake up, they look up and they begin to say, here am I. Here am I. If we stay committed, don't underestimate the power of commitment. Don't underestimate the power of consistency. Be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding the work of a law. You think that it's not, it's not accomplishing anything. Nobody sees those children see it. They see what you're doing. They're seeing they're here what you're saying. And they're wanting to see an example. And how many would say this Eve this morning, I want to be that example. I want to be committed like Hannah. I want to be committed like Samuel. I'm going to take upon myself who could be committed to the house of the Lord. Eli wasn't everything that he was supposed to be. Their commitment wasn't Eli. Listen, your commitment is not to me. I'm trying to be everything I'm supposed to be. But I'm an imperfect conduit. I don't desire for you to see this insignificant wick. If you look up here and you see the wick, then I have to do some trimming. Because what you should be seen is a flame of fire. So that my ministers would be a flame of fire. That takes the oil. Just as much as it takes me trimming, it takes you being committed to bring the oil. Just as much as it takes me, not getting worn down and wore out and taking care of myself, it takes your commitment as well. And what we're seeing here is there is power and commitment. And I can stay committed and you can stay committed. But ultimately, what it's going to take is all of us staying committed to cause the lamps to burn continually. As you stand with me, I want to ask you this question this morning. Will you show that kind of commitment? Will you show the kind of commitment that will bring restoration to the house of God? Will you show the kind of commitment to bring restoration to your family, to your home, to your life, to your church, to the kingdom of God? Only you can answer that question. But remember what Psalm has said. Psalm 37 verse 5, first part of the verse, the way that is done, commit thy way to the Lord. How many will make their way around this altar this morning, either with hands raised or in balloting and humility, saying, Lord, I'm committed. I'm committed to your will. I'm committed to your way. I'm committed to the work of the Lord. I'm going to commit myself to the house of the Lord. I'm going to commit myself to prayer. I'm going to commit myself to tithe and offering. I'm going to commit myself to every attribute of ministry, committing myself to be sure to the lamp never goes out. That there's always a light shining in this community. I'm committed, Lord. Father God, I pray that you would touch the hearts of those who desire to be committed, every obstacle in every stronghold and every stumbling block that the enemy puts in their way, give them the power to overcome that they can follow through with their commitment. We ask it in Jesus name.