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Hearing from the Lord… (3 things)
And God will return and speak to His people – bring revival to our nation!
1st – Listening to the Lord…vs. 1-3 Read: I Samuel 3:1-3
1st – In those days messages and visions from the Lord were rare… vs. 1
God can speak to His people in a number of different ways…
God can speak through messages – like He did through Moses…
Exodus 33:11– “The LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to a friend.”
God can also speak through visions – like He did through the Prophet Daniel…
Daniel 2:19 – “That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision.”
But in the days of Eli – there were no messages / and no visions from the Lord…
Not because God was not speaking – but because they were not listening!
When was the last time you heard of God talking to someone – or God giving a vision…
The days of Samuel are just like today – a Word from the Lord is rare…
God still wants to speak to His people – but the question is who is listening…
From the moment we get up – to the moment we go to bed we are busy…
We tend to be so busy in life we rarely have a moment to sit and listen to the Lord…
And then we wonder why God is silent – He is not silent / we are not listening!
2nd – One night after Eli – who was almost blind – went to bed… vs. 2-3
The Lamp of God – the Menorah – had not yet gone out…
The Menorah was never to go out at night – Exodus 27:20-21
It was always to be light leading into the presence of the Lord – Holiest of all…
Eli was no longer diligent in keeping the flame alive – he went to bed…
He was a ‘part time’ priest – he only served the Lord when it was convenient…
God does not want us to be ‘part time’ Christians – He wants us to be on fire for Him!
Hebrews 12:29 – “For our God is a consuming fire.”
Imagine if you had a caribou – young and strong – but who would not obey orders…
Or if you had a band new tricycle – that would only start when it wanted to…
A tool is only effective when it submits itself to the master’s commands….
If we only follow the Lord when we want to – we are not much use to the Lord…
If we want to be used by the Lord – we need to be on fire for the Lord!
3rd – Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle – near the Ark of God…
The Ark held the 10 commandments written on stone…
It was meant to keep the most important of all treasures – the Word of God!
The cover for the Ark – was called the ‘Mercy Seat’ – the foot stool of God…
It was there – from on top of the Ark – God would speak to His people…
Exodus 25:22 – “I will meet with you… speak with you from above the mercy seat.”
Samuel never left the presence of the Lord – even while sleeping – he was ready…
If you only turned on your phone for 5 minutes a day – miss a lot of texts…
If you left your cell phone at home – you would not know if someone called…
For that reason we like to have our phones always on / always with us…
You never know when God is going to speak to us – we need to be ready…
We need to keep our Bible close at hand – in case God sends us a message…
Keeping in constant prayer – just in case the Lord gives us a call!
I Thessalonians 5:17 – “Pray without ceasing…”
2nd – Recognizing the voice of the Lord…vs. 4-10 Read: I Samuel 3:3-10
1st – The Lord called out – ‘Samuel – Samuel!’… vs. 4-5
Samuel immediately jumped up and ran to Eli – assuming He was the one who called…
But Eli told him he had not called the boy – he should go back to bed…
We see here the character of Samuel – I am sure he was sleeping soundly…
If Samuel had stayed asleep – we likely we not be reading about his life today!
But he did not hesitate when he was called – he was ready to do anything!
Too often when God calls us – we ask Him to come back tomorrow…
God does not need us – He will get His work accomplished with or without or help…
The question is do we decide to be blessed by taking part in the work God is doing…
When God comes knocking on our door – are we ready to jump up and go…
Or are we too busy to answer – too lazy to care – or too afraid to step out…
We never hear the names of those who do not follow – only those who do!
2nd – A second time the Lord called – and Samuel ran back to Eli… vs. 6-7
Eli again told Samuel it was not him – he should go back to bed…
This was the first time the Lord has spoken to Samuel…
And he did not yet know what the voice of the Lord sounded like…
What does the voice of God sound like…
Elijah was a prophet to the Northern tribes of Israel during the reign of King Ahab…
The people of Israel had all forsaken God – and begun worshiping false gods…
Elijah faced off against 400 prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel…
Two sacrifices – two alters – the one whose God lit the alter was the true God…
God won the contest – and Elijah put to death the 400 prophets of Baal…
Jezebel – the wife of King Ahab – heard what Elijah had done…
I Kings 19:2 – “May the gods also kill me if by this time tomorrow I have failed to take your life like those whom you killed.”
Afraid for his life – Elijah ran to the mountain of God – Mt. Sinai…
The Lord spoke to Elijah there a the mountain…
There was a mighty wind – but the Lord was not in the wind…
An earthquake – but the Lord was not in it / a fire – but the Lord was not there…
Then there was a still small voice – and the Lord spoke to Elijah!
We often get the idea the voice of God is like Mt. Sinai – thunder and lightening…
What does God sound like – II Kings 19:12 – a still small voice – gentile guidance…
We have to learn to sit – wait – and listen – or we will miss the voice of the Lord!
3rd – The Lord called third time – and Samuel ran again to Eli… vs. 8-10
The 3rd time Eli realized it was the Lord who had been calling Samuel…
He instructed him – next time someone calls say – ‘Yes Lord I am listening’…
So Samuel went back to bed and the Lord called again…
Samuel did as Eli told him – ‘Yes Lord Your servant is listening…’
I am sure Samuel had his doubts – was he really talking to God / or just the night air
But Samuel was willing to step out in faith – as a result he heard from the Lord…
There have been many times I wondered if the Lord was speaking to me…
Was I hearing my own thoughts / or from God – how to tell the difference…
If you are wondering if that ‘voice in you’ is the Lord or just you…
Step out and try – if it does not work / no fruit – then it was not from God!
To be honest at least half the time I ‘step out in faith’ – nothing happens…
But half the time GREAT things happen – because it is from the Lord…
And if we never step out and try – we will never know!
Also God will never contradict His Word – I Corinthians 14:32…
If you think God is telling to rob the local store – you are wrong…
If you think God told you to live with the guy before getting married – wrong…
If ‘God says something’ to you contrary to His Word – it is not God speaking!
3rd – Sharing the message of the Lord…vs. 11-21 Read: I Samuel 3:11-21
1st – The Lord was going to do something shocking in Israel… vs. 11-14
God was going to bring judgment on the house of Eli just as He had promised…
Sometimes what God has to say to us – is not that easy for us to hear…
God spoke to Ananias – and told him to go and tell Saul about Jesus – Acts 9…
I am sure Ananias was thrilled to hear from the Lord – but not at what he heard…
Acts 9:13 – “‘But Lord,’ exclaimed Ananias, ‘I have heard about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem!’”
There is a sweetness to hearing from the Lord – God is speaking to us!
But what if God is telling us to confront the sin in the life of a friend/family…
Along with hearing from the Lord – comes the responsibility sharing His Word!
Judgment because of the sins of Eli’s sons – and because Eli did not punish them…
And there was no longer a sacrifice that would cover their sins…
Meaning without a change of heart – there was no ceremony that could save them…
Isaiah 1:11-16 – “‘I am sick of your sacrifices,’ says the LORD… ‘Wash yourselves and be clean! Let me no longer see your evil deeds.’”
People think if they come to church Sunday – they can live like the devil on Monday
Sunday service does wash away Mondays sins – God looks at the heart!
2nd – Samuel laid back down (no more sleeping)… vs. 15-18
First thing in the morning he opened the doors of the house of the Lord…
Where Eli let the light go out – Samuel opened the door to let the light back in…
There are only two options in life – draw people to Jesus / or take them away…
Samuel was afraid to tell Eli what God had said to him…
But Eli called for the boy – and told him to tell him EVERYTHING the Lord has said…
If Samuel held anything back – ‘let the Lord do to you what He said – and worse’…
The suggestion is that Eli knew that the Word from the Lord was not a good one…
People know what they are doing is wrong – they know they are sinners…
But they do not like to think about it – so God will use us to remind them…
We might be hesitant to tell them – afraid of how they will react…
But caring for someone means you cannot let them go on in their sin…
Sin destroys lives – it is not loving to let someone destroy themselves…
Proverbs 27:6 – “Faithful are the wounds of a friend…”
A true friend is one loves you enough to tell you when you are wrong!
Samuel told Eli everything and Eli said – ‘It is the Lord – let him do what seems good…’
I have to think that if Eli had repented – disaster could have been avoided…
Why else would God tell Samuel – a prophet had already warned Eli…
Yet even with this final warning – Eli still did nothing – did not repent…
God is patient – longsuffering – giving time to repent and turn back to Him…
God waits to punish sin only because He loves the sinner – II Peter 3:9
God gives time us time so we can choose to repent and be saved…
Do not mistake His ‘patience’ for ‘acceptance’ – thinking God will not judge…
God is not mocked – Galatians 6:7 – if there is not repentance sin will be judged…
3rd – Samuel grew – and the Lord was with him… vs. 19-21
Everything Samuel said was helpful to the people of Israel – and full of wisdom…
So that from Beersheba in the south – to Dan in the far north…
All of Israel knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet / man of God…
And the Lord gave messages to Samuel – began a revival in Israel…
It was then that the Lord appeared again at Shiloh / Tabernacle…
The suggestion is the Lord had not been there at the Tabernacle…
But all it took to bring God close again – was one man willing to listen!
We live in a community where the presence of God has been forgotten/lost…
But all it takes is for one person being willing to listen – follow God…
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