My Mouth is Enlarged

7/30/2019 My Mouth is Enlarged

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1 My Mouth Is Enlarged Over My Enemies 7/22/2012

1Sa 1:1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount

Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu,

the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:

1Sa 1:2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the

name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had

no children.1Sa 1:3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to

sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli,

Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.

1Sa 1:4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah

his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:

1Sa 1:5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah:

but the LORD had shut up her womb.1Sa 1:6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret,

because the LORD had shut up her womb.

She is a woman wanting a baby, because that is what every woman

wanted. She is very specific. She wants a baby boy to give to her

husband. Hanna vowed a vow and said: O LORD of hosts, if you will

indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not

forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son...

Look at what she is doing. She is totally putting herself in submission to

God. She is recognizing that the thing that is on her heart is well beyond

her power to rectify. She cant remedy the situation. She cant do a thing

about it. Up to this point in the normal relations between her husband and

herself, there has been on conception. There has been no baby.

he has now gone the way of some of his predecessors in Scripture andtaken unto himself a second wife who will raise up seed, but we find in

chapter one he had a very special love for Hannah and yet she could not

provide for him what he wanted and so he chose another wife and this

woman had had babies and was now provoking Hannah


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The second wife knew that her husband Elkanah loved the first wife

Hannah better and so Hannah had the love, but the other lady had the

babies. And so you had this bitter contest to the point where Hannah

could take it no longer. And look at what she does. When she gets to the

point of breaking and it is so serious, she makes a vow unto God.

She said, I am afflicted. God, look upon me. I am your servant. And Iwant you to remember my affliction. And, God, if I can read

between the lines here, remember me. I feel like you have forgotten me.

Dont forget me. But, God, in accordance with my specific prayer, give

me a baby boy. I love the fact that she is specific in her request.

Lord, as you give me the desire of this prayer, I am going to honor you by

way of fulfilling my vow. then I will give him to the LORD all the days

of his life.

Now this is powerful, one of the things that will bring confidence

into your prayer life and enhance it in my own prayer life is when we

know that our prayers are set for the glory of God. When it is clear in our

soul that we are not asking God to do something for us that will pull us

away from him, that we are not asking the Lord to do something that will

be spent selfishly upon ourselves as James said, consumed upon our

lusts.

She is sensing that there is an unrighteousness at work in the home where

this woman is provoking her. Hannah knows her own heart. What a

powerful thing when you know your heart is right with the Lord and you

are seeking to please him and yet the wicked and the ungodly around you

are prospering while you are being denied and you are saying finally at

this point, you are saying, Lord, this isn't really about me. There is asense of unrighteousness here and I am thirsting and hungering for an

upright situation.

God, if you will just make this right, I will release it back to you.


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She is in the tabernacle area. It is the time of the sacrifices and the Bible

says that she continued praying before the Lord. Eli observed her mouth.

Eli is the high priest. He is not the most outstanding minister. He

has got a lot of issues. He is watching her pray. The Bible says Hannah

was speaking in her heart. And only her lips moved and yet her voice was

not heard.

Typically prayers in that day were offered standing up and they were

offered audibly. And a lot of the times in that day women didnt really

pray in public. So this was a very strange thing that Eli was witnessing,

but I love the fact that Hannah wasnt concerned about what the culture of

the tabernacle, you know, rituals were. This is woman whose heart is

bursting, strong with a desire that she can do nothing about and shedoesnt care what anybody thinks. And she is somewhere in solitude and

quietness and she is moving her mouth as she prays to the extent that Eli

looks at her and says, Woman, did you come here drunk? Have you been

drinking?

Here is a woman that is being denied. She is doing a righteous thing by

seeking God. She is misunderstood in the process of doing it. She is

accused of doing something wicked and yet she doesnt fly off the handle.

She doesnt turn any outward bitterness. She is not frustrated. She is not

upset. something and she doesn't lash out. She simply says, No, my

Lord, being very respectful to Eli. She says, I am praying. I am asking

God to give me a man child.

And Eli hears that and he sees this womans heart and he says, May it be

unto you according to your prayer. God will give you this child.

It is a powerful thing. Let me just add this very quickly. Sometimes whenGod doesnt give you what you want when you want it, there is a risk of

you becoming bitter, especially to other people who are casually receiving

the very thing you are being denied. Unanswered prayer is fertile ground

for envious hearts.

Make up your mind when you see other people blessed in ways that you

are not blessed, you are going to rejoice for them.


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In chapter one verses 20 and then 23 through 28 we see an undeniable

affirmation. God answered and he was remembered, verse 20. It says:

And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his

name Samuel, forshe said, I have asked for him from the LORD.God often does not acquiesce to our schedule. And not only do we have

to trust his nature, we have to trust his timing. And he is never late. I

know that is hard

Now there is a lot of debate about what his name exactly means. It literally

means I have been heard by God. From barren to praying to broken

hearted to being afflicted, feeling like she is forgotten and then all of thesudden conceiving and in a short time she knows that she is carrying the

baby. And so for nine months she is rejoicing and thinking and protecting

and nurturing. And when the child comes forth, what is her first thought?

Her first thought is: God heard me. God was listening to me.

Well, Hannah rejoiced and she remained yielded. This is where the going

gets very tough in my opinion. Verse 23, 24 and 25. The Bible says:

So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. And

when she had weaned him, she took him up with her...

That is referring going back to the tabernacle, more than likely three years

later. The weaning period at that time kids were usually three years old

before they stopped breast feeding.

...and she brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. And the child

was young.9

Do you remember what the verse said? She vowed a vow. She said, Give

me that boy and I will give him back to you.

Three years at her breast, three years teaching, three years teaching, three

years training, three years of looking into that babys face, three years of

those eyes looking into mommas eyes, three years of bonding. And the


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time came when she had to turn that baby boy over to Eli and over to the

service of the tabernacle. And she didnt flinch.

She didnt fall in love so much with the blessing that she forgot the one

who gave it.

Can I ask you just to do a heart inventory? Have you released all the

goodness that God has poured in your life? Have you released that back to

him? I can think of a lot of material areas. Of course we see that all the

time when we talk about money and possessions and serving the Lord, but,

listen. He has given you time. He has given you physical ability. He has

given you relationships. He has given you influence. He has given you

money. He has given you life. I think one of the worst crimes that wemight commit against God is taking all that he has given and saying,

Mine. And we live forlesser things.

Hannah stands as a tremendous example of what it means to keep your

commitment. And the child was young. At three years old momma takes

the little boy by the hand, walks him to the tabernacle about 15 miles

presents him to Eli as we are going to see here in a minute and

she knows she is going home without him. And I dont know that there

could be a harder test for any woman, any man than to turn over your

precious child and say, He is the Lords. It is one thing to do it when

they are 18. It is another thing to do it when they are three.

As Hannah rejoiced and remained yielded, we see that Eli the high priest

listened and he fulfilled his role. They went up and they offered

appropriate offerings. It says they slaughtered the bull. They brought thechild to Eli. That is the Jewish offerings and celebration during the time of

the feasts and the sacrifices. And listen to Hannah. She uses a very

reverent title for Eli when she calls him, my lord, little L.

Oh, my lord, as you live, my lord, I am the woman. I am the woman who

was standing here in your presence.


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For this child I prayed. Here he is, Eli. And the Lord has granted me

my petition that I made to him.

Listen. I am not reading, Feel sorry for me, Eli. This is the worst day of

my life. AI am

reading praise. I am reading glory. I am reading great anthem ofcelebration. Though her

heart had to have been breaking in one sense as a mother, she is giving

God the glory.

I have lent him to the LORD. As long as he lives, he is lent to the

LORD. We have sacrificed and now I leave my son. Raise him in the

service of the Lord.

Samuel would ultimately become the spiritual leader of Israel. It was

It was Samuel who anointed David the king, Samuel who anointed Saul as

the king, Samuel who poured blood, sweat and tears into the life of Saul

only to see Saul spurn it and then had to confront Saul.

you never know what God will do when you release something to him.

And I am going to tell you. When you release what ever it is, the thing you

think you cant release, because I dont know that Hannah had anything

else that would have been more difficult to release to God, but she kept

her vow.

I want to encourage you to start praying earnestly. God, show me what to

release, because these times are tight and the whole climate around you.

The American climate is causing people to fear and clutch and keep and

horde and guard We are becoming more and more individualistic and weare becoming more and more paranoid and

Quit hording your time. No matter what, you lose time. Time is

never kept. It is either wasted or invested. So quit hording your time for

you. Start investing it. Stop hording your money for you. Start investing

it. You ought to give some here as a covenant member. What I am

telling you is invest in the kingdom, invest in people.


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Hannah gave the most precious thing she had unto the Lord and you

would think she would go home sad, but lets just get to chapter two, an

unashamed celebration. I love this.

The carnal view could be Hannah having this child and she is still living inthe same home with the husband and the other lady and Hannah could

have made it all about Hannah. Hannah could have thumbed her nose.

Hannah could have mocked back.

Hannah could have danced in the presence of that other wife with this

baby boy. She could have done that. She could have matched the carnality

of the other woman with herown carnality. She didnt do that.

What did Hannah do? She took what began as private prayer and became a

receivedblessing and she didnt make it about her. She turned it into

public praise and she sang a song.

I want to look at it and I want to ask you how fresh is your praise.

this is a lady who just turned over the most precious thing she had

probably ever received in life. And she doesnt go home kicking the

stones feeling sorry for herself. This is what she says.

1Sa 2:1 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD,

mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine

enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.

Notice we dont find her talking to the other woman, but we find her

talking to God about the other woman.

There is none holy like the LORD; there is none besides you; there is no

rock like our God.

What is the focus of Hannah? Not on the loss of Samuel, not on what

could have been, not on if only I could, but now that she has gone. She

just turned him over. She doesn't get him back. She sees him, makes him a


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little coat and that is a precious little sermon of itself, but she turns her son

over and this is what she goes away singing.

In the Lord, again, in the Lord, your salvation, holy like the Lord, none

besides you, no rock like our God.

That is faith. That is wisdom. That is selflessness.

Listen. You walk on this terrestrial ball long enough, you are going to

experience some loss. And human flesh is so angled that if you are not

proactively fighting it, your understanding and valuation of God, your

praise of him, if you are not careful, your praise and your valuation of

Gods worth is going to go down as you experience lossbecause you are going to view God through your experience. If you dont

fight that, that is what is going to happen.

And the devil is in no hurry. If he can just chip away at that in your life,

just chip away at it every now and then, a little loss in your improper

response, another little loss in your

improper response. Finally you will start living like a victim. You will

start feeling betrayed by God. And over there unnoticed, but hissing his

little laughter is going to be the enemy because he has helped you to forget

the goodness of your God.

And Hannah she just starts off on stanza number one. It is all about you,

Lord.

I mean, we dont find a trace of regret in what she is saying.

Some of this is written a little bit sideways, but it is written to that lady inthe house.

How do I know? Well, look at the words.

Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth;

for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.14


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Do you know what she is saying here? She is saying, God saw the whole

thing. God was superintending it. While you were running your mouth

against me, my God was looking and waiting and working and God saw

all the actions and God has vindicated

me. she was down and now she is able to say, My God has made it

right. I want to encourage some of you that are around people thatprovoke you, people that have no decorum, they have no love for you.

They take pleasure in your discouragement, in your pain and defeat. And,

unfortunately that is a reality. We live in a world like that.

I want to encourage you to start praising God with all of your might,

because I am going to tell you something. But I do know it is going to be

balanced out The record will be set straight. The scales will be balanced.

So you know what my recommendation is? Just leave it all to God. You

dont have time

for vengeance. You dont have time for bitterness. You dont have time to

sit around and

stew in your own silly juices. You have got time to praise God and redeem

the time and

make the most of the time and give him the glory and you cant do that if

you are

consumed with your enemy. And when God gives the victory, that is when

you give him

the praise.

I am going to tell you something, I have done that a time or two where I

am a fighter. I

had a friend encourage me before the service and say, Jeff, God doesgreat things when

your back is up against the wall and he wants you to be a warrior, and

was really

encouraging me. And I thought to myself, yeah, that is a great thing when

I am walking


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in the Spirit, but when I am walking in the flesh I am just like, Look, son,

lets get it on.

Come on. I mean, I dont do it with my fist, but I do it verbally. Yeah, I

am not big

enough to do it with my fist and get away with it. I used to be able to run

faster than myenemy. I cant even do that anymore. But my point is this. I have learned

to bite my

tongue. I have learned to take false accusations. I have learned to let the

lies just be lies. I

have learned the hard way. It used to be so important to me that my name

was set

straight. I used to fight for my own honor. I used to spend a lot of timedefending myself.

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I used to run down a hint of a rumor against me. I am going find out who

said it and find

out what they said, because I wanted to make sure that Jeff Lyle was right.

You get exhausted doing that as a pastor and eventually you have to give

up. And I want

to tell you something. I am not gloating. I am just telling you how it

works. I had to let

some things go for a couple of years and I don't take really any pleasure

personally in

this, but I had an adversary that just about killed me. And there was

nothing I could do.Persuaded a lot of people that I was something other than I was and there

was nothing I

could do, nothing. And I had to let it go and I lost my name in a lot of

peoples eyes. I

lost my testimony. I lost friends. There was nothing I could do until God

exposed my


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enemy and left it undeniable that his character was not worthy to be

trusted. I had to wait

for God to do that.

I am going to tell you something. Personally I dont like the whole

situation at all,because somebody had to lose, but I am going to tell you. I could have

made it worse.

And by Gods grace I didnt.

Why am I telling you all that? Because some of you all are very close to

that same

situation and you are just going to have to let it go. You are praying aboutit and you are

saying, God, give me wisdom.

Here it comes. Vengeance belongs unto the Lord. Let it go. Hannah did

and then she

says:

God is a God of knowledge and by him actions are weighed.15

So notice her faith. It takes faith to leave your adversary to the Lord. I

mean, can we be

pragmatic about this? Do you really think you are going to handle that

adversary better

than the Lord will? Let me tell you what you might do. You will handle it

more quickly,because God is as patient with your enemy as he is with you and the

longsuffering of God

is given to your enemies so that they will repent just like God gives you

patience and

longsuffering and opportunity to repent. We are all about justice when it is

the other guy


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that needs it. We are all about mercy when it is us that needs it. I want to

tell you

something. God loves your enemy just like he loves you. He may not

approve of what

they are doing, but, brothers and sisters, let the mercy of God fall on those

that opposeyou. That is what will change them.

And so Hannah, once God had vindicated her, she gave the praise to the

Lord about it.

Notice her favor. And this is important. I am just about going to wind this

thing up here,but I want you to get this. Look in verses four through eight with me.

Read this.

The bows of the mighty are broken.16

15 Ibid.

16 1 Samuel 2:4.

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Now that is a reference to her enemy. She said, Those big mighty bows,

they just got

snapped.

...but the feeble bind on strength.17

That is a reference to her.

Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread.18

That is a reference, that is a metaphor depicting her enemy.


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... but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.19

That is what she is saying God has done for her. Remember how hungry

she was for the

boy? Her hunger is satisfied.

The barren has borne seven.20

Now get this. This is powerful. She is talking about herself. How many

children had she

had up to this point? One. Do you know what she is saying? She is

saying, That onebaby feels as if God has blessed me with a quiver full of them. She says:

The barren has borne seven.21

In case you are wondering, she had a total, I believe of six children, never

seven, but she

is speaking of the completing of God there.

... but she who has many children is forlorn.22

What is being described there? Hannah took greater holy satisfaction in

her one child

than her opponent had in all of her children and her opponent didnt have

the pleasure of

knowing that those kids were a blessing from God while Hannah did.

She says:

...those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne

seven...23


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She puts in a very dogmatic statement.

The LORD kills and brings to life.24

17 Ibid.

18 1 Samuel 2:5.19 Ibid.

20 Ibid.

21 Ibid.

22 Ibid.

23 Ibid.

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We have already discussed that he is sovereign over life.

...he brings down [to the grave] to Sheol and raises up. The LORD makes

poor and

makes rich; he brings low and he exalts.25

Do you get her theology? She has got some great theology. Some Baptists

cant even

come to terms with this. Look, he is sovereign.

Hey, let me just throw this out there. Some of you were never meant to be

beautiful. I am

not being funny. I was never meant to be gorgeous. It is just not going to

happen. Shortand pale and balding is not really going to make Forbes top list of great

looking guys. It

just wasnt my destiny. I will likely never be wealthy. Some of you will

never be

wealthy, yet you are pursuing it because you have assumed that you are

supposed to be


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wealthy. Some of you were never meant to be wealthy. Some of you will

be paycheck to

paycheck until you die and that is Gods will. Why? Because God makes

rich and God

makes poor. And yet we assume that we are going to be in the rich crowd.

How do you know? How in the world do you know that? Be content with

such things as

you have. And so the Bible is saying here that God determines the...

Listen. Go down to verse number seven.

He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heapto make them

sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.26

What we are learning here is that God reserves the right to do a role

reversal whenever he

wants to. That involves bring the crowd low and exalting the humble

upward.

Hannah was favored. It is a word that, I think, has been abused in our

modern times,

because it has been cheapened and the favor of God is seen in a lot of

superficial ways,

but I want to tell you something. I want the favor of God on my life. As a

matter of fact, I

cant live without it.

Hannah endured the pitiful state of being that she was given by God when

she was barren

and she just took her barrenness to God. And you must. You need to take

your lowly


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estate to the Lord. You need to bring it to him and if he has put that desire

in your heart

for him to bring about a reversal and you know your heart is set that when

your

barrenness becomes blessing you will do the same thing with your

blessing as you didwith your barrenness. You will give it back to God. And that is the kind of

confidence

you can have in your prayer. Why do you want to be favored? Why do you

want to be

blessed? Why do you want to be exalted? Why do you want to be

increased?

24 1 Samuel 2:6.

25 1 Samuel 2:6-7.

26 1 Samuel 2:8.

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You have tot think through these things. And the mindlessness with

which we beg God

for blessings it is no wonder he doesn't just give them to us on first

request. You know

why? Because if he gave you most of what you ask for the moment you

asked for it, all

you would think of him... you would be the spoiled child. We are all

familiar with spoiled

children and their only word they ever say to their parents is, Give me.

I have told you this before. I had a good friend and we used to say that to

him. He always

had whatever we wanted. And we would say, Give me, give me, and he

always said,


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Give me got shot. That was his way of saying, Shut up. Quiet. I am

sick of your

begging.

James tells us. He says, You have not because you ask not and then

sometimes you ask,but you don't receive it because you ask amiss that you may consume it

upon your own

lusts.

And so we need to think through. Hannah, she had settled. She said, God,

you give me

what I am asking for and I am just going to give it right back to you.

And so she was favored and then in verses nine and 10 where we will

finish up, notice

her footing, because she has still got a life to live. This is just a season in

her life. It

wasnt the full extend of her life. She looks future and she says:

He will guard the feet of his faithful ones.27

Now you just stop there. That ought to encourage the fire out of you.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in

his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD

upholdeth him with his hand.28

I dont know exactly where the path is going to go. I dont have a clue

some days. I know

where I am walking right now. I dont know where God is going to take

you. I dont even

know where God is going to take me. But I know one thing. When I read

my Bible and I


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come across statements like this that he is going to guard the feet of his

faithful ones, I

say, Thank you, Lord, that I dont have to know what you are going to do

tomorrow. But

I do know that today and when I am walking tomorrow, you are going to

guard myfaithful feet.

As a matter of fact, let me take it a step further. He makes the feet to be

faithful. Oh, I

have got some decisions and some obedience that I am accountable for,

but I am going to

tell you something. I cant even be faithful without him guarding myfootsteps. And then

she says this.

...the wicked shall be cut off in darkness.29

27 1 Samuel 2:10.

28 Psalm 37:23-24.

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And listen to that last part right there, verse nine.

For not by might shall a man prevail.30

That just... wham, that slams right into the thinking of our culture, becauseeverything in

your culture is training you to be stronger, to be more powerful, to be

bigger, to be... you

know, you just... the idea of America is that we just inflate over time until

we rise and we


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expand and we are this big, impressive, powerful being that just happens

to be the

opposite of what Scripture teaches concerning what the fulfilled life is.

The fulfilled life

says that those who are brought low in humility and contrition are the ones

who Godexalts.

We exalt ourselves, God says, You do that and I am going to have to

bring you down.

Isnt that amazing? Because everything tells you to exalt yourself,

improve yourself,better yourself, live for yourself. And God says, No, dont do that,

because I will have to

bring you down in order for me to bless you.

...not by might will a man prevail.31

Let me just sum this up. There are some things that you and I are praying

about and

wanting in life. There are some things that we are becoming desperate for

and I think that

there is an appropriate desperation that is necessary in your life and mine,

but dont think

that it is on you to make it happen. It is not your power. It never was. It

never can be.

You have got to... and this is what can be so frustrating in our day,because we really

arent adept at living in Gods power. As a mater of fact, some people are

confused by

the whole concept.


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Well, what does that mean, Jeff? Does that mean I just sit around and do

nothing and I

wait for the holy zap from heaven and all of the sudden I am in?

No. I believe this. I believe that it is an exchange. I believe that... and I

dont know whatbegins it and I would assume God takes the initiative, but as you begin to

live in his

power where you know you can, you start off loading your power and the

more you

renounce of your own trust in self and the more you renounce of your own

selfish fleshly

confidences, the more room there is, the more capacity you have for Godto bring his

power into your life. And when I say bring it, I just dont have the

appropriate words to

describe the process. It is spiritual. And quite honestly it is supernatural.

It is not

quantifiable. And if you have to explain it, it is probably more of you than

you think. All

I know is this. When I humble myself and lower myself and empty myself,

I find that I

am more filled. I find that I am more pleased. When I renounce my own

wisdom I find

myself being made more wise. When I crucify my own appetites, I find a

holier

29 1 Samuel 1:9.30 Ibid.

31 Ibid.

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development of hunger in me. When I say not to the treasures of this

world and their


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desire to own me, I find that my life is enriched in ways I couldnt

understand. Why?

Because it is God.

Brothers and sisters, when that begins to happen in your life and mine

shout it.

Let me give you five things and I am just going to read them and then we

are going to

pray and then I am going to leave this with you. Five lessons learned from

Hannah

tonight. The first one is this.

It is a good thing to make a vow unto God as long as you keep that vow.

Get it out of

your mind that vows are bad. Breaking vows are bad. Vows unto God are

good.

Second thing, some prayers are to remain private and only made public

knowledge when

they are answered by God. Can you please keep some things just special

between you and

God? Just do that. There are just some things that I believe God wants just

between you

and him. I am the worlds worst at keeping a secret. I will tell my wife,

Here is what we

are going to do at the church. Now dont tell anybody, because this is

going to be big.

And the next week in the pulpit I just blurt it out. She always teases me

about that, but

listen. There is just some things that are just supposed to be you and God.

When he gives


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the answer, tell everybody. Keep the petition private, not everything, but

some things.

Keep the petition private, but the praise public.

The third thing. When God blesses you with receiving the answer to your

prayers,immediately, as soon as you know he has given it, in your heart and your

mind

immediately release it back to him. That doesnt even necessarily mean

that you lose it.

It just means you are willing to because the experience of him hearing and

answering was

really the prize, not the actual thing. That is relationship.

So when Hannah got Samuel she never thought she would keep Samuel,

but she loved

him.

By the way, this teaches you to love the God of the blessing more than the

blessing from

God and that is important in your life and mine.

Fourth thing, God determines the final positions in life. Do you remember

what he did?

He said the high will be brought low. The low will be brought high. Those

who are down

and out today may be up and in tomorrow. Never envy the wicked. Never

rejoice in themisery of others, even your enemy. Roles can be reversed in a day. There

ought to be

nothing in your heart and mine that gloats when your adversary is made

low. It ought to

humble us. We can be grateful to God for his righteous balancing of the

scales. But that


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is not about you. That is about him. And so lets be wise and remember

that he

determines the final positions in life.

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And, by the way, yours isnt determined yet. Your spiritual standing is

determined, but I

am saying where you are today may not be where you are tomorrow. So

be wise.

And then the last thing, give God the public glory when he grants you the

answer to yourprayer. Make it known to many that God has given you your desire. Tell

as many as

possible. Write down the details to preserve the moment. Tell your

children and your

grandchildren often. Pass the heritage down. Take them through the

process. They may

not appreciate it at age eight, nine or 14. Tell them anyway. Tell them this

is what God

did. I promise you they may not rejoice in it like you do, but they will not

forget it when

you are gone.

Leave your faith deeply imprinted upon your children.

Can you bow your head with me this evening?

My Mouth is Enlarged

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