Sermon Notes Courtesy of Tamala R. Maddox, Ph. D.

45 – My Momma Prayed for Me

1 Samuel 1:27-28
Hannah is a real mom who had real challenges but she had faith in a real God. When you have faith in a real God you’ll receive real blessings.

Hannah’s life. Married to a man with two wives. Other wife could have children and made fun of Hannah. Passing in an heir to your husband was very important. Hannah was not able to bear children. V. 6 Hannah was barren because The Lord had shut up her womb. Hannah was a good, Godly woman. She wasn’t being punished. Why would God shut up her womb?

Judges 17:6 tells us what was happening in Hannah’s world. In those days Israel had no king and it was bad. God knew he needed a good leader for Israel. So God shut up her womb.

Hannah, discouraged and disappointed, prayed. What do you do when there’s trouble in your life. The problem she was asking Him to solve, He had created. Sometimes God doesn’t solve your problem is because you haven’t learned your lesson and won’t come to Him. She made a promise to God. She prayed so hard in the temple that Eli asked how long she was going to come to the temple and pray drunk.

Promise: If you give me a baby, when he is born I will give zoom back to you. Firstborn child belonged to The Lord anyway in Israel but at the age of one, the child could be redeemed. Hannah was promising not yo redeemer child back from God.

The child was Samuel. He was left with Eli at the temple when he was weaned. Samuel became the high priest of Israel and he was one of the last judges. This was a judge and a preacher because his momma prayed for him. Eli didn’t have his house in order. The Lord told Samuel to replace Eli.

Samuel led them out of immorality and back to the study of God’s Word. God compared Samuel’s righteousness to that of Moses. Why? Because his mother had prayed for him.

God opened her womb and she had three more sons and two daughters.

How can you be like Hannah?

I. A Godly mother believes in the power of prayer

God validated everything she asked for.

II. A Godly mother gives her children to God.

She knows what each child needs. She intercedes for each one.

III. A Godly mother wants what God wants  for her children.

IV. A Godly mother keeps her word to God.

Sermon Notes courtesy of Tamala R. Maddox, Ph.D.

45 – Believe It Or Not
John 20:26 – 29

belief – an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists

How do you make the difference be belief and doubt

skepticism vs. faith

Doubt is not the opposite of faith

Unbelief is the opposite of faith

Doubt might lead you to unbelief but is it not the opposite of faith

Numbers 13:
How to deal with doubt……
God said I’m going to give it to you. He has already said it is the Promised Land.
You just need to navigate there.
Spies saw the same thing. Majority report and minority report was completely different. The land was plush and plentiful. 10 spies saw only the giants. Joshua and Caleb followed their faith and became a part of the majority.

Stop putting God on your template.

Typically, your faith will put you outside of the common perception. It will not lead you with the majority. Easier to follow a fellow than to follow in faith.

The two spies tried

Faith path or path of unbelief (path of fear). This didn’t make God happy. When God is pleased with your faith, he resources/validates your faith.

There is nothing God is unable to do.
It was not the giants in the land, it was their doubt of God’s ability to deliver the land.

When God promises you something and you focus on the things you have to do, you’re doubting God.

When we doubt, we’re saying God is unable.

A ship is safest in harbor but that’s not what ships are made for. A Christian is safest taking the easy way out but that’s not what we were made for.

Doubt can lead to a revelation of truth.
John the Baptist – John inquired whether or not Jesus was the Messiah; John asked “Are you the one or should I look for another”

Doubting is not just about unbelief, it is about having two different possibilities and not knowing which one to believe.

God will resource your faith.

John believed in Jesus all the way until death.

You must confront your doubts. Can’t pretend they don’t exist. When you don’t confront, you’re actually living in fear.

Didymus, Thomas, unless I can touch his hand and unless I can see the proof, I will not believe He is appearing.

Doubt comes from the Latin word duos (two). Means you have two thoughts.

Numbers 11:23 Do my hands wax short? If I said it, it’s true.

Doubt is not negative. Unless it leads you down the road of unbelief.