Sermon: "Speak Lord!" 1 Sam 3:1-10

Bible Passage:

1 The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.

2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place.

3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

4 Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.”

5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy.

9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Objective: The objective of this message is to introduce us to Samuel the prophet, His call and what it means for us today

Introduction: “But Are We Listening?” (SLIDE)

- Whether Old Testament or New, the desire for every prophet, man/woman of God, believer, and Christian is to hear God speak

- It’s clear in most respects that when someone says, “God told me…” that it carries more weight than anyone else

- Which is understandable because how can anyone counter when and what God says to a person

- True or false, right or wrong—the hope is that the person is truly hearing from God

- I, for one, am very hesitant to say, “God is telling me to do this, or God is telling me to do that”

- I think when it comes down to it; I don’t want to cast the blame on God when it’s something that I primarily want to do

- I can feel an unction that God wants me to go in a particular direction and say that “I believe God is leading me this way”

- But at the end of the day, I want to take the responsibility for failing to hear what God was saying and not blame Him

- So, when I think of the prophet Samuel and what we see in Scripture, I believe that it shows us that God, today, wants to speak to us through His Spirit

- We see the Lord calling out to Samuel three times in this passage before Samuel rightly responds

- Much further, God is showing us and emphasizing to us something important

- Jon Bloom (Author and Cofounder of Desiring God with John Piper) says this,

“When God repeats himself, pay attention. Repetition implies importance.”

- Which definitely makes sense

- Now, God is not under any obligation to repeat Himself

- Yet, we all should be thankful that there are times that He does so…for our benefit and His glory

- Where would you be—where would I be without Him speaking to us more than once and in words which we can understand?

- And, even further, where would we be without the living Word on our phones, in our laps, homes, and cars?

- All modes which are God’s primary way of speaking to us today

- And, here we have history recorded to give us an insight in what God initiated with one of the patriarchal prophets Samuel

- The same prophet whose mother Hanna prayed for his conception

- The same prophet Samuel who would go on in the later chapters to anoint Saul and then David

- Samuel wasn’t just anybody—he was a linchpin to Israel’s monarchy

- The successor to Eli who had quite another story;

- We find Samuel’s story, compelling, captivating, and necessary to our journey as Christ followers today

- Each one of us—as believers and followers of Christ—need to pay attention to what God is sharing through His Word

TRANSITION: Today, in regards to Samuel, let’s look at these three things:

- Hear.

- Seek.

- Listen and Be Ready and Willing to Obey.

Hear. (SLIDE)

1 The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. 2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

- One thing that many of us have is the natural ability to do is to hear

- This is something that I heard for years but never really sought to understand

- So, for your benefit and mine, I dove a little deeper…according to study.com,

Hearing is an involuntary process through which noise and vibrations cause the fluid in the ears to move, sending the sound to the brain.

- https://study.com/academy/lesson/hearing-vs-listening-importance-of-listening-skills-for-speakers.html#:~:text=Hearing%20is%20an%20involuntary%20process%20through%20which%20noise%20and%20vibrations,once%20it%20reaches%20the%20brain.

- It is a form of sensory input

- Many married men, during the NBA Finals, Super Bowl, their hobby or their favorite bingefest, may just HEAR their wives or

- Comparatively speaking many married women,

- Generally, when a husband is explaining every jot and tittle of the complexities of a car, engineering, or other techy things

- …May just HEAR their husbands

- But the conscious effort to understand on both men and women’s part may not fully be there

- Samuel was hearing God but not perceiving and understanding that it was God who was speaking to Him

- Have you ever experienced that?

- Maybe it wasn’t an observable, discernable voice but maybe it was “SOMETHING” tugging on your heart—pulling on your God-given convictions

- It could be that God was leading you in a certain way

- God may say it once, twice, thrice, and sometimes even more

- Only for us to overlook or bypass it

- Been there, done that…

- Remember Samuel was still young (maybe a teenager) and still learning from Eli who was the elder

- Personally, I believe that as much as we like to think that we should automatically be tuned into everything God says once we believe…

- We must accept that it takes growing and maturing

- At times, we’ll miss and sometimes we’ll get it right

- It’s all a part of the journey

- It’s all a part of the Christian life

- Truthfully, if we all heard from God CORRECTLY at every turn and juncture,

- We’d be right next to Jesus with a perfect relationship with the Father

- No, there are times that our humanity gets in the way

- Ideally, our walk should be linear—smooth with no bumps in the road

- Realistically, God knows us and our complexities/peculiarities

- And, when we don’t get it like Samuel in the beginning it’s not a matter of Him not loving us

- But more of Him growing us and giving us what we need and not everything that we want

- If He gave us perfect weather, sunshine and a nice breeze every day, I believe we’d get sunburnt maybe even dry out

- It would spoil us and make us bratty

-Yet, it’s the seasons of life—sowing and reaping; the cold and heat, the rain and sunshine that makes us complete

- Have you realized that rainbows come after the rain? And, always signify God’s promise to us

- Recently, I heard Pastor Dr. Tony Evans say this, I’m paraphrasing,

“Life is designed to mature you.”

- And, I’d add, “Also, to humble you”

- How many of us have gone off of what we THINK God said?

- And, later realized our mis-step(s)

- Hopefully, there’s more seasoned saints and believers that can provide us with wise counsel and timely input

- Though Eli was rebuked in the chapter before this; God still used Him to wisely redirect Samuel

Transition: And, Samuel, despite his age and maturity, didn’t stop at what He heard…

Seek. (SLIDE)

6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

- Samuel, the diligent, young man that he was and not having that direct encounter and revelation from God

- He wouldn’t let it rest

- Why? Partly because God would not let him rest

- God’s voice nudges Samuel not once, not twice but three times up to this point

- Each time, Samuel initially sought after what He thought was Eli

- He thought his elder and mentor was calling for him…beseeching him

- To be fair, Samuel could have let his youth get in the way—perhaps let it slide, get an attitude with Eli, or something along those lines

- Yet and still, patience is working in Samuel’s life along with teachability and humility in hearing God

- Isn’t it a wonder that Samuel at his age is demonstrating patience unlike some in our day and time?

- And, it’s not just with the youth of Samuel’s or our age that can be challenged in this aspect

- It can be with us older, not willing to or not apt to change parents, supervisors, friends, neighbors…fill in the blank

- John C. Maxwell once said,

“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.”

- And if we want to get biblical, Jesus said (Matthew 9:16-17),

16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

- Translation: there’s a great chance that our old ways won’t fit today’s church, its methods, or perspectives

- I’m not saying abandon everything from the past and throw tradition out

- However, I am saying that we need to, at the very least, be open to perhaps a more innovative, modern approach

- I’m of the mindset that we don’t need to abandon tradition for the sake of change

- But, we should be open to how God can move in a different way that can transverse and build across the generations

- As challenging as that may be…as gut wrenching as that may sound

- We recognize that there’s no formula to it

- Possibly, it’ll take a bit of tradition, a sprinkle of contemporary, and a smidgeon of gospel worship and practices

- But all in all; we’ll have to be open and be willing to seek that which may not be as familiar to us

- Which for me is a strength and a challenge because I can be a champion of routine

- Yet, I’m learning and growing—God’s not done with me

- And, in our passage, God is only beginning in Samuel’s life

Transition: Samuel has heard, sought, and now he’s ready to…

Listen and Be Ready & Willing to Obey(SLIDE)

10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

- On the other side of hearing, you have listening

“Listening…is purposeful and focused rather than accidental. As a result, it requires motivation and effort.” - Stand Up, Speak Out: The Practice and Ethics of Public Speaking

(https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_stand-up-speak-out-the-practice-and-ethics-of-public-speaking/s07-01-listening-vs-hearing.html)

- While hearing is a physiological process, listening is the focused and concentrated approach

- To listen, is to give direct, increased, sustained attention

- It takes effort and then to be able to respond accordingly: to carry out an action, command or direction

- That’s something entirely next level

- After the third time, Samuel gets redirected

- Instead of being told to go lie back down; Eli gives Samuel a different avenue to take

- Samuel must respond differently

- He must listen to give that different response

- It may seem to some that Samuel could have figured this out on his own

- But, Eli gives him the right counsel that Samuel needed at that time

- Samuel didn’t have to waste time trying this or that

- Scripture reminds us that (Eccl 9:17),

“Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person than the shouts of a foolish king.”

- Though Eli’s story doesn’t end well; he fit and filled God’s purpose for young Samuel

- It’s always amazing to see God use someone knowingly or unknowingly to reach you

- I remember God using someone named Edjuan and Deacon Robert Earby when we were in Arizona

- He used another brother an elder named Vester in Albuquerque, Deacon Raney in South Carolina

- Of course, He often uses my wife

- Samuel makes his way back, lies down and God calls out to him again,

“Samuel! Samuel!”

- And, He responds, in the way that we should,

“Speak, for your servant is listening.”

- There is so much that we can learn from Samuel

- He may have been a lot younger potentially than most of us but God can still craft our lives—

- Instilling wisdom, patience, discernment, and a willingness to obey

- Samuel may have uttered the words Eli gave him but when you follow the entirety of his story

- Those words were heartfelt and ran deep on the inside of him

- His life shows us readers and Christians that he was truly listening

- In Scripture, we see that he would go on to impact King David, King Saul and the entire Israelite people for God’s glory

CLOSING: As I begin to close, let’s endeavor to listen to God

- It’s hard to be a follower if we don’t listen, and hard to listen if we’re not seeking Him, and hard to seek if we don’t hear

- To be a Christian—Christ follower—it’s more than adding a title or tagline in our lives

- It’s about wanting to tune into what God is saying to us

- We hear involuntarily but we listen intentionally

- The truth is that Samuels need Elis; Davids needs Samuels—but we all need God to speak to us

- If we are going to walk this journey, we need to be ready to say those words, “Speak Lord, Your servant is listening”

- And, additionally, we need to be ready to obey what He tells us to do

- Will you pray with me?

Heavenly Father, I ask you to forgive me for all of my sins known and unknown, I renounce them all. Lord Jesus, come into my heart. I receive you now as Lord and Savior of my life. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He died for me and arose and sits at the right hand of God praying for me, interceding for me. Lord Jesus, I give you everything. I thank you for saving me, delivering me and setting me free, in Jesus’ name!