Samuel Heard God

How obediently do we "hear" God?

Text: 1 Sam. 3:9,10. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, `Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant hears."

      A. Often it is true that we only "hear" what we want to hear.

B.     If we have a predisposition against God or any part of His will, it will affect our "hearing."

1.      Those who are not "of God" do not hear Him.

2.      Jesus said to the unbelieving Jews: "He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God" (Jn. 8:47).

C.     How much better it is if we determine to have the attitude expressed in the words of young Samuel: "Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears" (1 Sam. 3:9,10).

D.     What is involved in this kind of attitude toward God's word?

I. REVERENCE TOWARD GOD HIMSELF

A.     How humble and respectful are we before God?

B.     Before we can have a receptive attitude toward what God says we must have a reverent disposition toward God Himself

1.      Eccl. 12:13 . Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all. TEV After all this, there is only one thing to say: Have reverence for God, and obey his commands, because this is all that we were created for

2.      Lk. 6:46. But why do you call Me `Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?

C.     We will be eager to hear God when we have decided, like the Macedonian brethren, to give ourselves to God in genuine respect –

1.       2 Cor. 8:5. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.

D.     Samuel’s sentiment was: "Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears" (1 Sam. 3:9).

1.      What we need is the respect that is due our Master.

2.      That will produce the submissiveness that comes from respect.

3.      Unfortunately, we sometimes are willing to "serve" God only in an advisory capacity!

E.     We ought to have the attitude of the servant Luke 17:10 "So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, `We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.' "

II. RESPONSIVENESS TO DIVINE TRUTH “This will be on the test!”

A.     Are we spiritually "autistic" -- so withdrawn into our subjective selves that we are unresponsive to outside communication, even from God?

B.     How "easily entreated" are we?

1.      " But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated," (Jas. 3:17 KJV). Cf. "willing to yield" (NKJV); "easily persuaded" (Alford); "ready to be convinced" (Knox).

2.      With respect to divine truth, do words like these describe us: tender, accessible, open, teachable, receptive, responsive, etc.

3.      The unresponsive heart is illustrated by:

a.      Pharaoh - Exo. 5:2; And Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go." Exo. 10:3. So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, "Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: `How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

b.      Jehoiakim - Jer. 36:22-24. Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning on the hearth before him. And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that the king cut it with the scribe's knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. Yet they were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments, the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words.

4.      The responsive heart is illustrated by Josiah - 2 Kgs. 22:19. "because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you," says the Lord.

a.       Cornelius - Ac. 10:33. So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded."

b.      Psa. 51:17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart-- These, O God, You will not despise.

C.     When God speaks, is there a "sympathetic vibration" within our hearts?

1.      Does God's word "strike a responsive chord" within us?

2.      Is our mind "attuned" to God’s mind?

3.      Going along with responsiveness to divine truth, of course, is unresponsiveness to the temptations of the devil: Song, Buried with Christ

1.      "Buried with Christ, my blessed Redeemer, dead to the old life of folly and sin; Satan may call, the world may entreat me, there is no voice that answers within"

2.      In practical terms, what does our "readiness to hear" come down to?

1.      Are we eager for study of the Bible ourselves?

2.      Do we honestly look forward to hearing preaching and teaching from the Bible?

3.      How do we respond to those who come to us in the Lord's name with something we need to hear?

1.      Paul asked, "Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth" (Gal. 4:16).

2.      Heb. 13:17. Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

D.     Jesus warned, "Take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken away from him" (Lk. 8:18).

III. READINESS TO OBEY GOD

A.     How eager and ready are we to obey God?

1.      Are we at God's "beck and call"?

2.      Are we ready and willing to "do His bidding"?

3.      A parent may issue this warning to a child: "I don't want to have to ask you a second time."

4.      How many "times" does the Lord have to ask us to do His will?

a.      Reluctance to obey God is illustrated by Moses - Exo. 4:1-12. Then Moses answered and said, "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, `The Lord has not appeared to you.' " So the Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A rod." And He said, "Cast it on the ground." So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. Then the Lord said to Moses, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail" (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you." Furthermore the Lord said to him, "Now put your hand in your bosom." And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. And He said, "Put your hand in your bosom again." So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh. "Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. "And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. And the water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land." Then Moses said to the Lord, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." So the Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say." But he said, "O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send."

b.      Readiness to obey God is illustrated by Isaiah - Isa. 6:8. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

B.     We should have a quite practical purpose for listening to God: we should be seeking "know how" in the matter of living more obediently before Him.

1.      If our Bible study is for mere curiosity, etc., we may not even see the answers to our questions when we find them.

2.      Whether we "recognize" the Lord's "voice" when we hear it depends greatly on our attitude.

a.       "If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority" (Jn. 7:17).

b.      Jn. 3:19-21 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

c.       2 Thess. 2:10-12 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

d.      It is as if God were asking, before permitting us to discern the truth:

1.      "Why do you want to know this?

2.      What do you intend to do with this information?"

C.     Our real degree of readiness to obey the Lord is indicated by whether we concentrate more on what we have to do or what we want to do.

D.     Genuine eagerness to do God's will includes a willingness:

1.      To do whatever He commands.

2.      To do it with our full strength.

3.      To do it without delay.

E.      "I made haste, and did not delay to keep your commandments" (Psa. 119:60)

Conclusion

A.     We ought to act on the song, "I will hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free"  

B.     We ought to be motivated by the kind of attitude Paul had.

1.      "Lord, what do you want me to do?" (Ac. 9:6).

2.      "So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also" (Rom. 1:15).

C.     We can be those who "having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience" (Lk. 8:15).