January 15th, 2012
Epiphany 2
1 Samuel 3: 1-10
Dear Friends in Christ,
Does anything like this ever happen at your house? You are telling the family a story like the fact that Tim Tebow threw for 316 yards last week, ironic, isn’t it? And one of the boys will say, “Dad, mom just told that story before dinner, weren’t you listening?” Or I will tell one of the kids to put their plate away or pick up their clothes and I get the proverbial, “you never told me to do that.” Believe me, I’ve been there; it took my parents five times to remind me that the garbage needed to go out. It may have been midnight but it always got out.
Communication and listening can be a beautiful thing when we are actually doing them. Miscommunication and not listening can lead to all kinds of problems. In our text God is speaking to the young boy Samuel. It is not about dishes or garbage. It is about the plans God has for Samuel and the work He has for him to do. But there is a problem. Samuel does not recognize the voice of God? Ever have that problem? Sure we do. Let’s do our best to listen in the next few minutes as God tries to . . .
“SPEAK THROUGH THE SILENCE”
There are so many voices in our lives. How do I know which is God’s? Maybe I’m hearing a parent’s voice, or a spouse’s voice, or my own. How do I recognize God’s voice? The same way I know my parent’s voice or my wife’s voice when they call – I’ve heard it before. I recognize it because I’ve spent time listening to it. And I was ready to listen.
Jesus says, “He who has ears, let him hear” (Luke 8:8). Paul says, “Faith comes from hearing” (Rom. 10:17). God wants to talk to you, and you can hear him if you just put your faith ears on. You need to tune in your attitude to receive God’s voice. God is always speaking, but you can’t hear it because your attitude is on the wrong channel. When God speaks, you turn up the volume to something else. Samuel had the volume down in three ways: he had an open mind, he took quiet time to listen, and he was ready to do what God said.
Samuel’s mind was naturally open, but he had never heard God’s voice before. Why? Maybe he didn’t know it was possible for God to speak directly to him. So many people don’t believe God wants to talk with them, so they don’t listen. They are not in the Word or among God’s people in a church. They’ve made up their mind about God and decided to do what they want. They’d rather play God than be godly.
Pride says we don’t need God. Anger says we hurt and God doesn’t care. Question: “Where was God when my son died?” Answer: “The same place he was when his Son died on the cross.” When we hurt, God hurts with you.
We know we need to slow down and schedule time with our Lord. We seem to plan everything but time with God: vacations, doctor’s appointments, ball games, and meetings at work. God gets the leftovers. This is another reason why many never hear God speak; we are in too big of a hurry. Samuel ran, not walked, to Eli when he heard the voice. Samuel told him to go back, lie down, and listen.
Some people want to hear God as long as he hurries up and we can get back to life. A sermon longer than 30 minutes seems to be a sin. How much of this sermon will you remember by this afternoon, or tomorrow, or Friday?
We say we believe the Bible, but how many of us memorize even one verse a week? Why would you believe something you aren’t willing to learn? We memorize what we care about.
Sometimes I respond to God’s Word by working to improve an area of my life. Then a few months later, nothing has changed. Have I really listened? No. You don’t really listen until the Word changes you.
God talks to people who have an open mind, who take time to be quiet and listen, and who are ready to hear and obey. Only when Samuel was ready to listen (faith) did the Lord tell him what he wanted him to do (works).
“Will you please tell me in a word,” said a Christian woman to a Pastor, “what your idea of consecration is?” Holding out a blank sheet of paper he replied, “It is to sign your name at the bottom of this blank sheet, and let God fill it in as he will.” Jesus issues the same challenge: “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). What do you need to throw away, or stop doing in order to continue to hear your Lord? The Word of God can change you. Try doing what is says without knowing the outcome, without worry, pride, or fear.
God lies awake at night thinking of you and me. He forgives me before I ask and orders his life around mine. He loves me just they way I am. He longs to embrace me through his means of grace. He waits by the phone to hear from me and hangs on to every word, emotion, and tone I might express in prayer. He wants me to be with him and all my brothers and sisters in Christ in a loving relationship. Do I want that? If I do, then I will be where he is on earth quietly listening to his Word. “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him” (Hab. 2:20) The New Testament temples where we rest like Samuel are not made with humans hands, but out of paper and ink, bread and wine, water, and people. As a Christian you are the temple of God, a letter of God, and a unique expression of his love in Christ for all people.
Students’ homework proves how well they hear their instruction. Do some homework. Do one thing in response to God’s message of love for you this week. Join a Bible study, start memorizing a Bible verse a week, have quiet time every day for 5, 10, 15 minutes, committing to praying regularly with a friend. Something! Don’t let God’s loving voice be wasted on you. Go to his Word with the attitude of Samuel, “Speak, for your servant hears.” (I Sam. 3:10)
Amen.
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