Spirit Empowered Church Part 4: Man on a Mission

Spirit Empowered Church

Part 4: "Man on a Mission"
1 Samuel 3
Pastor Ray-Ann Dela Fuente
August 23, 2026

Introduction:
Welcome to another exciting Sunday here at the River of Faith! Today we are in weeek four of our new series I entitled "Spirit Empowered Church".

In this series we are going to re-train ourselves of our Vision, Mission, and Purpose. August is our anniversary month and we are celebrating our 21st year anniversary. Today I want to speak to you about your calling!

Vision Satement:
A spirit empowered church committed to give the people of San Diego the best opportunity to come to Christ and be transformed by His amazing Love.

Mission Statement:
We are committed to invite people to COME to Christ.
We are committed to LIVE according to the Word of God.
We are committed to SHARE the gospel to the whole world.

Purpose:
Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Evangelism, Ministry

God prepares those that He calls and to those He calls, His voice becomes clearer and clearer. There is no doubt that God has a calling for all kinds of people, but he has a specific call for those who belong to Him. As Christians it should be our inner most desire to seek out God's calling in our lives. Our journey only began when we gave our lives to Christ, it continues on as we learn and become a disciple but it takes on a new mission when we receive our call.

"Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the LORD by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the LORD were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon. One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God. Suddenly the LORD called out, “Samuel!” “Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?” He got up and ran to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?” “I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So he did. Then the LORD called out again, “Samuel!” Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?” “I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go back to bed.” Samuel did not yet know the LORD because he had never had a message from the LORD before."
1 Samuel 3:1-7 NLT

Main Pointers:

1. In a time where revelations are rare, we must familiarize ourselves to the voice of God.

A. Hearing the voice of God is not just a matter of listening but a heart of discerning.
B. Samuel was given to Eli by his mother Hannah as she kept her promise to the Lord. Samuel later became one of the greatest prophets in all of Israel but he had to learn the voice of God first.
C. "To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand. This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’"
Matthew 13:12-15 NLT

2. God's calling always comes with two things, His preparation and your participation.

"So the Lord called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. "Here I am. Did you call me?" Then Eli realized it was the LORD who was calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, "Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, 'Speak, Lord, your servant is listening'. So Samuel went back to bed. And the LORD came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.” Then the LORD said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them. So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.” LORD Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle as usual. He was afraid to tell Eli what the LORD had said to him. But Eli called out to him, “Samuel, my son.” “Here I am,” Samuel replied. “What did the LORD say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me!” So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back. “It is the LORD’s will,” Eli replied. “Let him do what he thinks best.”
1 Samuel 3:8-18 NLT

A. The message that God gave Samuel was a pure test. First, God had to teach Samuel to familiarize with His voice. God also used Eli to help Samuel recognize God's voice and to answer the call.
B. Ultimately the message had to be delivered. That was the assignment and Samuel felt scared at first but with much boldness he delivered the message to Eli. Eli was not stranger to the Lord so he accepted freely his fate.
C. “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the LORD. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the LORD by sailing to Tarshish."
Jonah 1:2-3 NLT

3. God alone confirms the call.

"As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable. And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD. The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh and gave messages to Samuel there at the Tabernacle."
1 Samuel 3:19-21 NLT

A. Read this passage very carefully. It did not say that all of Israel confirmed Samuel as a prophet from God, it says explicitly first that the "Lord was with him" and that is why everything he said proved to be reliable.
B. “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me. When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."
Matthew 10:16-20 NLT

Conclusion:
The greatest discovery of our lives should be the day that our calling was as clear as the sun! The day we realize that God calls us for a purpose and to answer that calling should be the greatest honor to know that we will bring glory to His name. Never stop pursuing your calling. Hold on to it and be faithful. Finish the race! Be spirit empowered!!!