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Bishop B. Manjoro Dunamis
Last week we started talking about knowing God. We discovered that one can talk about God or serve God yet without knowing. Looking at the life of Samuel we learnt that even though he was called, the Bible says he did not yet know the Lord. Today we take a step closer as we discover the key and importance of knowing God. Read on.“And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.” 1 Samuel 3:6-11

I have a pastor in our church that was there in the early days of the church. He would carry his children one in arm, one on shoulders, one, holding by the hand as she walked. Wife would be carrying some bags and things as they came to a Sunday service walking on foot from the bus stop to the Cathedral of Faith.

He was there helping, sacrificing in the construction of the Church and keeping the premises. The church is finished now and very beautiful and he is excited with the contributions and sacrifices he made back then. Imagine going to the same man and say to him Haaa Mr so and so let’s leave the church, the church is not treating us well? You won’t win in that proposal.

He will tell you to walk away from him and keep quiet. Do you know why? He knows where the vision came from; he knows how we laboured to put up a place of worship for God.

He didn’t just hear of it or read from magazines or saw on DVD’s — he was there. He experienced it. When the roof of the church once fell while we thought we had covered much ground and started again — he was there.

You can’t win easily over such a man. He will just look at you and say kana wada kubuda church buda wega! Because he knows the struggle he went through for the vision. When you see him drive his double cab don’t be jealous of him, he came a long way.

When you know something, it can’t easily be taken away from you. If you struggled for it you value and treasure it with all your heart.

Back to our text verse 7 says because Samuel did not yet know the Lord. But he had stayed and served at the church for a long time? Munhu anoita sei mufundisi asingazivi Mwari? To preach is one thing! To know whom you are preaching is another thing! Samuel is a good example. Imagine God coming and saying Samuel, Samuel yet he didn’t know it’s the Lord?

Yet he has been serving Him all the while?

What makes you get a position is not that you know the Lord No! Surprised?

What makes you get a position is your gift. The gift makes way for you and you get a position. People are attracted to you and get to notice and respect you. Because of the gift you have. But what you need to stay in the position and function effectively is something else.

You now need to know and seek the face of the God that gave you the gift! You now need to know the God you are serving. You need to know the God that called you. Samuel, Samuel, the Lord calls.

He was called in a backslidden church yet he grew to be a great man of God who made much impact in Israel. We even have 1st book and 2nd book of Samuel in the Bible. What had happened? Someone knew the God he had served since his youth.

He encountered and had an experience with the God of Israel. As 2017 is winding up there is a big challenge. As a child of God you have to struggle for relevance.,If you shine with the gift put on you, it’s good, but remember, He who put the gift on you or made you a gift!

If you keep running in the gift without seeking to know the Giver of the gift you will become irrelevant in the race of life!

For with God all things are possible Mark 10:27