Breaking Barrenness
Through Hannah's story, the sermon teaches that the Lord can turn every barrenness in one's life into fruitfulness by aligning one's motives with God's and taking a sacrificial vow.
E.A. Adeboye preaches on the story of Hannah from 1 Samuel, highlighting how she turned her barrenness into fruitfulness through faith, sacrifice, and aligning her motives with God's. Despite facing years of childlessness and taunting from her rival, Peninnah, Hannah's deep desire to serve God and meet the needs in His house led her to make a sacrificial vow that was granted by God, resulting in the birth of Samuel and five additional children. Adeboye encourages believers to seek God's intervention in breaking every form of barrenness in their lives by aligning their motives with God's will, making sacrificial vows, and preparing for a change.
Text
MEMORISE: 'Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.' (1 Sam 2:3)
READ: 1 Samuel 1:1-11, 19-28
This New Year, the Lord will turn every barrenness in your life into fruitfulness in Jesus' Name. Let us see how Hannah broke her barrenness of many years. She was the first wife of Elkanah. God knows how many years they were married before her husband felt he could no longer continue without a child, so he married Peninnah, who had children for him, and that was the beginning of Hannah's nightmare.
Hannah cried her eyes out, because Peninnah deliberately vexed and taunted her over her childlessness. At the peak of it all, going to Shiloh became quite unappealing, as it appeared everything was calculated to annoy her. She had reached her Marah and there appeared no way out.
Then one day, the Lord opened her eyes to see what was going on in the temple. Eli the Priest was ageing and backslidden. His sons, who ministered as priests, were ridden with all kinds of atrocities- greed, fornication with the temple ushers, with-out the fear of God in their hearts. Hannah saw a vacuum in the priesthood. Eli's sons were there, yet there was no real priest of God to take over from Eli. 'Ah!' she cried. 'What can I do?'
Beyond her barrenness Hannah saw the need in God's house. 'How can I meet that need?' she asked herself. 'Oh, if God could give me a male child to be groomed to take over from Eli, so that God's people would be served.' So she made a vow to this end. And God granted her desire and gave her Samuel.
She then took him to the temple and return home alone. Several times she would probably call her son to send him on petty errands, before it would dawn on her that he was not at home, but at the temple many miles away. Even though she had a son, she still lived like she had none. The result of this sacrifice was five additional children, besides being the mother of one of the greatest prophets of at time. If Hannah could break her barrenness, you can too. Align your motives with God's. Take a sacrificial vow. Ask the Lord in faith and prepare for a change.
ACTION POINT
Ask God to grant that every cause of barrenness in every area of your life,
be broken and destroyed in Jesus' Name.
Sermon Outline
- I. Introduction
- A. Hannah's story of breaking barrenness
- B. The Lord's ability to turn barrenness into fruitfulness
- II. The Problem of Barrenness
- A. Hannah's experience of childlessness
- B. The taunting and vexation from Peninnah
- III. The Solution - Seeing the Need
- A. Hannah's realization of the vacuum in the priesthood
- B. Her desire to meet that need
- IV. The Sacrificial Vow
- A. Hannah's vow to dedicate her child to God
- B. The result of her sacrifice
- V. Conclusion
- A. Aligning motives with God's
- B. Taking a sacrificial vow
Key Quotes
“This New Year, the Lord will turn every barrenness in your life into fruitfulness in Jesus' Name.” — E.A. Adeboye
“If Hannah could break her barrenness, you can too.” — E.A. Adeboye
“Align your motives with God's. Take a sacrificial vow. Ask the Lord in faith and prepare for a change.” — E.A. Adeboye
Application Points
- Align your motives with God's by seeing the need in His house and taking a sacrificial vow.
- Ask the Lord in faith and prepare for a change in your life.
- Break every cause of barrenness in your life by dedicating yourself to God.