Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1938-09-01
lkAPRO OWED s
UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL
CUNDAy
CcHCOL Lesson
By HAROLD L. LUNDQUIST, d. D.
Dean Of The Moody Bible Institute
of Chicago.
@ Western Newspaper Union.
Lesson for September a
SAMUEL: SPIRITUAL REVIVAL

SAMUEL: SPIRITUAL REVIVAL
LESSON TEXT Samuel 1913.
GOLDEN TEXT-Prepare your hearts
unto the Lord. and serve him only.
Samuel 7:3.
PRIMARY ToPIC-when Samuel Was Old
JUNIOR TOPIC-When Samuel Grew Old.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
What Price Spiritual Revival?
"Revivals are costly. The spir-
itual awakening which our country
so much needs must begin with
a spiritual deepening which the
church so much needs. There is
price to be paid Strange gods
must be put away, gods of worldly
pleasure, worldly ambition, love of
ease and disqualification. It is the
unwillingness to pay the price that
keeps us from the richness and pow
err of the full spiritual life" (Prof.
L. M. LowelD.
Israel had come to the place
where the people recognized that
they were on the brink of national
disaster. They knew they had
come to the end Of the trail, and
were ready to do something about
it.
I. Return Unto the Lord v3.).
Samuel appears in his first public
ministry to call on his people to
return to the Lord. Back Of that
public act is the history Of cody
life and devoted service to the Lord
and to His nation. Such man
can consistently urge others to turn
to God.
The response of the people was
wholehearted. They were thorough
ly sick of their sin and separation
from the favor of God. The earnest
of their sincerity was their obedi-
ence to the admonition of Samuel
that they turn from idolatry.
II. Put Away False Gods wv. 3, A..
Israel had learned from their
heather neighbors to worship their
false gods. These they must put
away if God was to be able to bless
them. The same prerequisite to
spiritual revival exists today. But
some may say, we do not worship
heather gods. Perhaps not, and
yet one is astonished at the close
similarity between the ritual and
worship of some secret cults and
orders and the ancient religions of
heathendom.
The fact is that we have set up
many new gods-money, fashion,
social position, and what not. The
command needs to go out again
through Gods messengers, "Put
away the foreign gods"
III. Gather Together and Pray
wv. 5, g..
Spiritual life thrives on the gath
ering together of Gods people. The
crisis in Israel was met by a great
convocation of the people. We need
to revive the great soul-stirring
religious gatherings of generation
ago.
81 will pray" said Samuel. He
was a great intercessor. (See /
Sam. 15:11; Ps. 1915; Jer. 15:1.)
Revival never comes without his
tory of faithful intercession on the
part of those whose hearts are
really burdened. Ask yourself,
How much have really prayed for
revival in my church, my commu-
nifty, and my nation? If I should
begin to pray in earnest, would not
God hear me and answer?
Nv. God Will Save Us ". 81.
"Behold, the Lords hand is not
shortened that it cannot save, Meth
er his ear heavy that it cannot
hear" lisa. SGD. 'Thus saith the
Lord have I no power to de-
liver?" lisa. SOL, q. God saved
Israel and delivered them out of the
hands of their enemies. The Phil
istines, seeing them gathered to-
gether to pray, assumed that they
were preparing to fight and at
tackled. In the previous battle at
that very spot Il Sam. 4:1-10) Israel
had fought with the weapons of men
and been. disgracefully defeated.
Now they fought with the weapon
of prayer and faith in God, and,
great was the victory.
America is valiantly battling
against the social and economic
problems of these distressing days,
but one fears that all too often the
weapons are those of the arm OF
flesh which will fail us. Let us look
up instead of to one another. "God
will save u.s. ". 81.
v. Ebenezer ". 12).
Our forefathers, familiar with the
truth of Scripture, used biblical
words in naming their children. The
present generation all too often
know the names simply as the
strange signatures on old letters.
The word "Ebenezer" might well
merit bit of revival itself. Here
Israel had met a disastrous defeat.
They were broken by it and had
become an almost hopeless people
Now God had given them victory
in the very same spot and they.
raised a stone of remembrance OF
Gods help. The word "Ebene7er'
means "stone of help" but also car
r;ac ,,,;fI, ~ fha MEANING 0f SamuePS