Leaving a Legacy: Faith, Generosity, and Biblical Literacy

Devotional

Day 1: Generosity as a Legacy of Faith

Generosity is more than just financial giving; it is about investing in the future of our community and leaving a legacy of faith for the next generation. At Harvest, the focus on the Legacy Center exemplifies this commitment, aiming to provide a state-of-the-art facility for youth. This initiative is a testament to the importance of serving Christ and the community, ensuring that the values of faith and service are passed down. Generosity, therefore, becomes a means of building a lasting impact that aligns with the mission to serve both God and others. [31:47]

"Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." (Hebrews 13:16, ESV)

Reflection: Consider a way you can invest in the future of your community this week. How can you contribute to leaving a legacy of faith for the next generation?

Day 2: Engaging with the Living Word

Despite unprecedented access to the Bible, biblical literacy is at an all-time low. Understanding and applying the teachings of the Bible is crucial, as it is not just a historical document but a living guide for our lives. The Bible was written for us, not to us, and engaging with it can transform our lives. By delving deeper into the Word of God, we can find guidance, wisdom, and inspiration for our daily lives, allowing us to live in alignment with God's will. [41:15]

"For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." (Romans 15:4, ESV)

Reflection: Identify one area of your life where you need guidance. Spend time this week reading the Bible and seeking God's wisdom for that specific area.

Day 3: The Transformative Power of Prayer

Hannah's story in 1 Samuel illustrates the power of fervent prayer and the importance of remembering God's blessings. In her deep anguish, Hannah prayed for a child and was blessed with Samuel, whom she dedicated to the Lord. This narrative teaches us that prayer is a powerful tool for communicating with God and that naming our blessings can help us remember that it is God who provides. By acknowledging God's blessings, we can cultivate a heart of gratitude and trust in His provision. [47:35]

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." (Romans 12:12, ESV)

Reflection: Take a moment to list three blessings in your life today. How can you incorporate gratitude and prayer into your daily routine to remember God's provision?

Day 4: Discipline as an Expression of Love

The story of Eli's sons highlights the necessity of discipline and the consequences of neglecting it. True love involves correction and guidance, and God's discipline is a sign of His love, ensuring we stay on the right path. By embracing discipline, we can grow in our faith and character, aligning ourselves with God's will. Discipline, therefore, becomes an expression of love that helps us become the people God intends us to be. [57:02]

"For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." (Hebrews 12:6, ESV)

Reflection: Reflect on an area of your life where you need discipline. How can you invite God's guidance and correction to help you grow in this area?

Day 5: Trusting in God's Unique Plan

Israel's desire for a king like other nations highlights the danger of conforming to the world. As God's people, we are called to live differently and trust in His timing and provision. The story serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of wanting what others have without considering God's unique plan for our lives. By trusting in God's timing, we can embrace our identity as His people and live in a way that stands out from the world. [01:15:23]

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2, ESV)

Reflection: Identify an area where you feel pressure to conform to the world. How can you trust in God's unique plan for your life and stand out as His follower?

Sermon Summary

In today's gathering, we explored the importance of leaving a legacy of faith and the significance of biblical literacy in our lives. We began by discussing the unique way we give at Harvest, emphasizing the importance of generosity and the various ways to contribute, including our focus on the Legacy Center, which aims to serve the next generation by providing a state-of-the-art facility for our youth. This initiative is a testament to our commitment to leaving a legacy of serving Christ and our community.

We then transitioned into the third season of our "Binge the Bible" series, focusing on 1 Samuel. This book marks a pivotal transition from the era of judges to the era of kings in Israel's history. We discussed the importance of understanding the Bible not just as a historical document but as a living guide for our lives. Despite the unprecedented access to the Bible today, biblical literacy is at an all-time low, and our goal is to inspire a deeper engagement with the Word of God.

In 1 Samuel, we see the story of Hannah, who, in her deep anguish, prayed fervently for a child and was blessed with Samuel, whom she dedicated to the Lord. This narrative teaches us about the power of prayer and the importance of remembering God's blessings. We also examined the failures of Eli's sons, highlighting the necessity of discipline and the consequences of neglecting it. The story of Samuel's calling reminds us that God speaks to those who take the time to listen.

As we moved through chapters 4 to 8, we saw Israel's struggles with the Philistines and their desire for a king to lead them, despite God's desire for them to stand out as His people. This desire to conform to the world around them serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of wanting what others have without considering God's timing and plan for our lives.

Key Takeaways

1. Generosity and Legacy: Our giving is not just about financial contributions but about investing in the future of our community and leaving a legacy of faith for the next generation. This aligns with our mission to serve Christ and our community. [31:47]
2. Biblical Literacy: Despite having more access to the Bible than ever before, understanding and applying its teachings is crucial. The Bible was written for us, not to us, and engaging with it can transform our lives. [41:15]
3. The Power of Prayer: Hannah's story illustrates the power of fervent prayer and the importance of remembering God's blessings. Naming our blessings can help us remember that it is God who provides. [47:35]
4. Discipline as Love: Eli's failure to discipline his sons shows that true love involves correction and guidance. God's discipline is a sign of His love, ensuring we stay on the right path. [57:02]
5. Stand Out, Don't Blend In: Israel's desire for a king like other nations highlights the danger of conforming to the world. As God's people, we are called to live differently and trust in His timing and provision. [01:15:23]
** [75:23]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:30] - Introduction to Giving
[03:45] - Legacy Center Vision
[07:20] - Starting Season 3 of Binge the Bible
[12:00] - Importance of Biblical Literacy
[15:30] - Overview of 1 Samuel
[20:00] - Hannah's Prayer and Samuel's Birth
[25:00] - Eli's Sons and the Need for Discipline
[31:47] - God Speaks to Samuel
[41:15] - Israel's Struggle with the Philistines
[47:35] - Israel Demands a King
[57:02] - The Consequences of Conformity
[67:34] - Stand Out, Don't Blend In
[75:23] - Trusting God's Timing
[80:45] - Invitation to Trust in Jesus

Sermon Clips

"Which I think is a great lesson for all of us to learn because we have a tendency to, when we're at our lowest, to cry out to God, God, if you will rescue me from this, if you will help me in this, if you'll get me through and do this for me, God, I'll serve you. And then God gets you through and He rescues you and He gives you what you've been asking for and then somehow we get prideful enough to think that we did it on our own and we forget what God did for us and like Hannah, I think sometimes we need to take the blessings that God has given us and we need to name them the blessing that God gave me." [00:46:31] (46 seconds)

"Now, I'm going to do a quick... I really debated whether I was going to do this or not, but I'm going to do a quick quiz because I want to know that what we're doing, actually, you're taking home and at least retaining some of it. So, we're going to do a quick quiz over previous seasons. So, if you haven't been here, don't worry because all of the Bible scholars in the room that have been here for all of the seasons thus far, they'll answer these questions. I'm sure of it. Okay? So, let's start. Question number one. Can anyone tell me the three C's of Genesis? The three C's of Genesis. I'll give you the first one. The first one is creation, covenant, and captivity. I heard somebody say it. Captivity. Creation, covenant, and captivity. Question number two. Where did Moses get the Ten Commandments from God? Mount Sinai. Thank you. All right? Now, here's one. Leviticus is to help us focus on the what of God? The law or the holiness of God. Now, Numbers tells us about years in Israel's history. Who can tell me what was happening in Numbers? What were they doing? They were wandering in the wilderness. In Joshua, what was the first city that was conquered? Jericho. I heard it right over here. All right? How many judges did God appoint for Israel? Twelve." [00:32:23] (117 seconds)

"And who can tell me the primary purpose of Ruth was to understand the concept of the kinsman redeemer? That's right. All right. All right. I did that. Hopefully, you go back and brush up on some notes that you took. And if you didn't take any notes, hopefully, you'll start now and start taking some notes. Because I believe that all of this study is incredibly important for us to understand the overarching themes of the Word of God. So today, we're embarking on the first part of 1 Samuel. We've come to the end of Judges where we learn that the absence of godly leaders, in the absence of godly leadership, people suffer moral chaos. Because leadership matters. Come on." [00:34:20] (54 seconds)

"Now, who was it written to? It was written to the nation of Israel. Everything up until this point has been written to the nation of Israel. Why? Because we're under the Old Covenant, and under the Old Covenant, God is dealing with the nation of Israel. The church is not birthed as the people of God. The Jews and Gentiles are not, you know, at birth as a church until Acts chapter 2. And Jesus doesn't begin on the scene until Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the scripture, right? And so we see that. So as of right now, these books are being written to the nation of Israel because that's who God is dealing with. Now, the purpose of 1 Samuel is to help them transition from the time of judges to the time of kings." [00:37:49] (49 seconds)

"Three major players in the book of Samuel. Number one, Samuel, who would have guessed that one, right? If he ain't a major player in the book that's written about him and by him, it's probably an issue, right? But Samuel, and then he's followed by King Saul, and then probably one of the most popular, most famous Old Testament characters, King David. Everybody knows about King David. They know about David and Goliath. They know about David and all of his running around and doing all the things that he was supposed to be doing and then coming back to God. Everybody knows the story of David, but we don't get to David without first coming through Samuel. So, I want you to look at the timeline." [00:39:06] (52 seconds)

"Samuel grows, he gets to about age three, he's winged from dependence on Hannah and she dedicates him to the Lord as she said she would. that takes us to chapter two. Are you with me? Chapter two we're going to call prayer and prophecy. It's Hannah's prayer but it's a prophecy against Eli's household. We're going to jump on down to verse 12 1 Samuel 2 and 12 the Bible says Eli's sons were scoundrels. one translation says they're good for nothing and they had no regard for the Lord. One translation says they did not know the Lord. Now here Eli, understand the way this works is Eli was a priest and from the priestly lineage comes the next generation of priests and so from Eli he has two sons Hophni and Phinehas and Ferb and he sorry that was a horrible joke I had to make it right Hophni and Phinehas and so they inherit the priesthood the problem is they were good for nothing and they didn't know God. How many of you realize that's a pretty bad recipe for church leadership right and here's what's going on is they're not stewarding the offerings well they're taking more than they're supposed to literally they're robbing from God there's financial misuse they were sleeping with women who were coming to worship there was sexual abuse right and the issue is is their father Eli who is the priest does absolutely nothing about it the most he does is he questions their motives he's what are you doing why are you doing it but he never disciplines them what he should have done is he should have removed them he should have disciplined them and he should have discipled them Eli wasn't being a good father he wasn't being a good priest or a good influence he was physically present but influentially parentally emotionally absent let me let me pause here because that's too much of an issue today" [00:47:06] (168 seconds)

"because there is a need for godly men to raise up and be fathers not only in the natural but also in the spiritual I could get lost there I'm not going to do it I'm going to keep moving forward because we've got a long way to go chapter we don't have time you don't know how much notes I got chapter 2 continues chapter 2 continues and a man of God shows up doesn't say exactly who he is but basically he looks at him he says you love your sons more than you love God why haven't you done anything man that's pretty hard and verses 34 and 35 says this it says and what happens to your two sons Hophni and Phinehas will be assigned to you they will both die on the same day man I'm not gonna lie that's a prophecy I don't want to get you know what I'm saying and it goes on it says I will raise up for myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in my heart and mind I will firmly establish his priestly house and they will minister before my anointed one always can you guess who that priest is Samuel here's the takeaway from this section discipline is love discipline is love" [00:50:27] (93 seconds)

"God speaks to those who take time to listen. So I would ask you, when is the last time you didn't just get up in the morning and run around getting dressed and getting in the car and jetting off to work and giving your list of things you need God to do, but when's the last time you've actually stopped, paused, and listened for God to speak? That leads us to chapters 4 through 7. Now, chapters 4 through 7, we're just going to call them trouble with the Philistines because what we see in chapters 4 through 7 is a reminder of what happened in Judges. Now, if we're going to get it, we need to take a step back for a moment. So, how many of you remember Judges 21 -25? The Bible says this, In those days Israel had no king, and everyone did as they saw fit. There was this cycle. You can go ahead and put up the cycle of Judges. Is that right? They would rebel." [00:57:22] (69 seconds)

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