Which Church Did You Choose?
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Intro
Intro
Evil is everywhere. There is evil everywhere.
In this first chapter of 1 Samuel we can immediately notice that evil is everywhere, even in the house of the high priest, even in Shiloh, the place where the ark of God was located.
The Bible says that Hophni and Phinehas were the priests of the LORD (1 Samuel 1:3). These sons were wicked men.
There is no place on earth that is immune to the attacks of the enemy.
Don't forget that Satan is the prince of this world:
I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me,
According to the Word of God this earth is the Devil's hunting ground:
And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”
Even during the last supper we notice the presence and action of Satan:
As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”
Application. This should invite us to never let our guard down.
The book of 1 Samuel. The book of 1 Samuel belongs to the historical books of the Old Testament.
It is a book that talks about kings and prophets, tribes and nations, but it is also a book that starts its narrative with the description of a very particular family: 1 husband and 2 wives.
Elkanah. Perhaps Elkanah took Peninnah as his second wife because Hannah did not immediately bear him children.
The fact is that Elkanah had 2 wives.
Two women profoundly different from each other, who may also represent 2 types, 2 models, 2 ideas of church.
Sermon's Outline. It is important to have a correct ecclesiology, based on the Word of God, because it is in the church that all theology occurs.
Where should we see Christian love and forgiveness applied if not in the church of Jesus?
Where should the gifts, charisms and ministries of the Holy Spirit be manifested if not in the church of Jesus?
Where should the fruit of the Holy Spirit grow in the life of the believer if not in the church of Jesus?
Could we expect respect in relationships, forgiveness, compassion, humility in the society in which we live?
This is why it is of fundamental importance to have clear ideas about what the nature of the church of Jesus and its mission is.
“We need ecclesiology—the doctrine of the church—to clarify our minds, motivate our hearts, and direct our hands. We need ecclesiology so that we can be who and whose we really are.”5
Michael Goheen (professor of Mission Theology)
A local church is a real-life embassy, set in the present, that represents Christ’s future kingdom and his coming universal church.
Jonathan Leeman (author and editor)
We will therefore compare these two women as if we were comparing 2 types of churches:
The Jewel Church (Peninnah);
The Grace Church (Hannah).
N.1 - The Jewel Church
N.1 - The Jewel Church
Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.
1A. A large church (1 Samuel 1:4).
1A. A large church (1 Samuel 1:4).
Peninnah has many sons because the writer of 1 Samuel uses the plural.
Many believers rely on numbers to choose their church, sometimes even pastors.
There is certainly nothing wrong with being part of a large church.
The problem arises when the choice of our church is based on numbers alone.
A church may have a very short muster-roll (membership list), and yet it may be very dear to God, who thinks more of quality than of quantity, more of obedience than of numbers.
Charles Spurgeon
Smyrna. Jesus praises the church of Smyrna even though it had little strength:
I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
1B. A gifted church (1 Samuel 1:4).
1B. A gifted church (1 Samuel 1:4).
Peninnah provided Elkanah with both male and female children.
The atmosphere, the environment that the “Peninna Church” guarantees you is engaging and stimulating.
In many churches the programs, the talents, the different ministries are the strong element that attracts many people.
The problem. Yet just as Elkanah was distant from Peninnah, similarly those who are attracted to the gifts that a church offers will never be able to establish a healthy relationship with that church.
In fact, their relationship is based on a "religious transaction": the church will provide you motivational messages, angelic voices, programs for children of all ages, etc., and the congregation will donate offerings and tithes.
1C. A blasphemous church (1 Samuel 1:6).
1C. A blasphemous church (1 Samuel 1:6).
When the moment of adoration comes Peninnah's real intentions emerge: Peninnah attacks Hannah.
This woman puts herself in front of Hannah’s eyes and begins self-celebration.
This is blasphemy. Peninnah celebrates itself.
Many so-called churches have stopped celebrating, glorifying and exalting the Name of Jesus and have started glorifying themselves, their talents, their programs, their logo, their building, their ministry.
Unfortunately, many churches are lapsing into self-celebration, selfexaltation.
We want to exalt only the name of Jesus. Praise and honor belong only to Jesus.
What we accomplish, as individuals and as families and churches, is only by the grace of God working in us.
Paul address this true to the Corinthians:
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.
To all those who pathetically think of appropriating the glory that belongs only to Jesus, I want to remind them of what Revelation says:
Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
N.2 - The Grace Church
N.2 - The Grace Church
“Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”
2A. A steadfast church (1 Samuel 1:7).
2A. A steadfast church (1 Samuel 1:7).
Although Hannah had to face the humiliations of Peninnah every year, in Hanna we see the traits of a church eager to see souls saved.
My desire is to be part of this kind church which, year after year, season after season, desires to see souls transformed by the grace of God, a church longing for children!
They are so lost that they need saving, but they are also so lost that they need seeking.
Christ The Seeker And Savior Of The Lost, Volume 58, Sermon #3309 - Luke 19:10
Charles Spurgeon
There is no better test of our spiritual state and condition than our missionary zeal, our concern for lost souls.
God’s Sovereign Purpose, 31
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Welsh Preacher and Writer)
2B. A scandal-proof church (1 Samuel 1:15-16).
2B. A scandal-proof church (1 Samuel 1:15-16).
The priest Eli did not understand what was happening to Hannah and rebuked her and treated her badly (1:14).
Eli was her spiritual leader, the high priest. Eli was a point of reference for her and for all the people of Israel, but the behavior of this priest was to blame.
Yet Hannah is not discouraged by the insult she received.
Application. The Church of Jesus may run the risk of being damaged by the very people who should protect and care for it.
Hannah represents the church that overcomes the scandal because her identity is not founded on a leader or a pastor, but in Christ Jesus who is the foundation of the Church itself.
I desire to belong to a scandal-proof church, because it is founded on that cornerstone that men have rejected and that is Jesus:
So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.
2C. A church with an everlasting fruit (1 Samuel 1:19)
2C. A church with an everlasting fruit (1 Samuel 1:19)
We don't know what happened to the sons of Peninnah, but we know a lot about the son of Hannah:
Hannah’s son was the last judge of Israel;
Hannah’s son was a prophet of the Lord;
Hannah’s son was the one who crowned David king of Israel.
Hannah’s son is Samuel.
The fruit of Peninnah served to validate her relationship with Elkanah, but the son of Hannah, the fruit of her womb brought glory to God.
This is the church I want to choose for myself: a church that bears fruit to the glory of God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
One wife is as good as another (1 Samuel 1:2). Apparently there are no differences between these two women.
For many people, one Church is as good as another because in the end God is one...
There is a profound spiritual and doctrinal difference between Hannah and Peninnah.
We do not want to build a Peninna-style Church!
We do not want to cultivate in our hearts the desire to belong to the Jewel Church. We are not eager for what the Peninnah Church offers us.
Our membership is in the church of Hannah, a church eager to see people saved, able to stand despite scandals and whose fruit will be eternal and will bring glory and honor to Christ Jesus the King of kings and Lord of lords.
