The Word of the Lord

Many of you may have heard one of these two pledges at least once from a pastor. The first pledge is from one of the largest churches in America. The second is not quite as famous but is catchy to use before a sermon.

“This is my Bible: I am what it says I am; I have what it says I have; I can do what it says I can do. Today, I will be taught the Word of God. I'll boldly confess. My mind is alert; my heart is receptive; I will never be the same. I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever-living Seed of the Word of God. I'll never be the same! I'll never be the same, in Jesus' Name.” Joel Osteen

“I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God’s Holy Word. I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path, and I will hide its words in my heart so that I might not sin against God.” Homer Grice, a Southern Baptist minister

Today, I want to address a topic that is close to my heart, and that is the Word of the Lord. I will not stand before you claiming, “Thus sayeth the Lord” or “The Lord told me to tell you…” even though I firmly believe that God still communicates with and through many ministers. However, this is a realm where a significant amount of deceit and misrepresentation exists.

In their eagerness, Christians may grasp onto anything and label it as the Lord’s message. The Bible is not a tool for amusement like an Ouija board. It is a guide to be comprehended within its own context.

In the narrative before us, we witness a significant absence of the word of the Lord. It had become so scarce, almost to the point of silence. This scarcity is underscored by the events leading up to 1 Samuel, where we are told in Judges 21:25, 'In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.'

When individuals act according to their own understanding, that leads to disorder. When there is a lack of effective leadership, that signifies a state of spiritual darkness. That darkness is directly linked to the fact that the word of God was increasingly muted.

In almost every generation, we can identify God's silence as a recurring feature. Amos prophesies that there will be a famine of hearing the word of the Lord in Amos 8:11. We see the silence of God followed by an awakening or revival time and time again.

At the height of the Soviet Empire, Bibles were removed and burned and had to be smuggled into places, and where to get a portion of the Scriptures meant a tremendous amount to many of our brothers and our sisters. Just to have a Bible in your hands is an honor and a privilege.

Many of us here today would love to hear the Word of the Lord proclaimed and planted in our hearts, yet we don’t want to get too serious about it. I know we live busy lives; I am right there with you, trying to figure out how to gain more time in the 24-hour day. The time has never changed, but our priorities have changed.

I know that we would all like to hear God speak to us, or distinguish God’s voice from all others. However, listening to God in these times is challenging simply because there is too much noise.

What sounds of life are impairing our hearing?

First, there is avoidance. We can’t hear what we don’t see. By ignoring a problem or denying one that exists, we simply look in another direction. Give you an example, you go grocery shopping from a distance you noticed a person who you knew but really didn’t care for because of something that happened years ago. You pretend that you didn’t see them and walked up a different aisle. You avoided the possibility of a conversation. You simply didn’t want to take the chance of talking about something that was uncomfortable. In the process you also negated an opportunity for reconciliation.

There are also sounds of guilt, resentment, failure, and shame. We cannot hear God's voice when we have blocked forgiveness from setting us free. We have to stop letting petty fights destroy our relationships with one another. Forgive people! You are not perfect, and they are not perfect, so forgive them!

The one noise that seems to ring the loudest and keeps us deaf is fear. Fear grips us to the point where we can’t move or think.

Ironically, Samuel hears a message that says the house of Eli will fall and give way to the rise of new leadership. It was a harsh message, but it was also the truth. The voice of God calls us away from fear and invites us to respond in faith.

Samuel heard God's voice calling him to speak during a difficult time. His calling focused on the truth and gave hope to people in despair. God is calling us, too, to silence the noise that discourages us, loudly sing words of forgiveness, broadcast messages of peace, and work toward the harmony of the sounds of life.

We now have the beautiful words of life, the Word of the Lord. God’s Word shouldn’t be rare in our time. It should be the lamp to our feet to light our paths. This means we hear it to make it part of our lives. Hearing God’s Word is essential for our spiritual health and eternal lives.

His Word guides us in a world that wants us to hear a different kind of word. Paul tells Timothy, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will…turn away from listening to the truth.” But God gives us a word that says, “Listen, Lord, your servant speaks.” A word that runs counter to everything that God says in His holy and infallible Word.

Anyone can hear the voice of God. Samuel did, only because he slept near the arc of the covenant. In other words he “hung out” at the local synagogue. When we are willing to stay close to the church, to “Hang out” where the word of God is spoken, we give God opportunity to speak. Another way to look at the story of Samuel is to consider the voice he heard as a voice of authority. Until now, Eli was his authority. Three times, Samuel thought Eli was the one calling him. But, Samuel had come of age and now he had a new authority, the voice of God.

There comes a point in all our lives where the authority of our parents, mentors, or roll models must yield to the one true authority. We depend on the authority of others to direct our lives. They, however, will not be with us always. To be true to ourselves, to be authentic human beings, we too come of age and turn our ears to God, listening for our own personal call and tuning in to the voice of God.

The voice of God calls us to be free of whatever holds us back and live with the assurance that God is with us. The voice of the God is the one, clear, still, small, loving voice that speaks with compassion and righteousness.

When tuned into that voice we are not distracted by other distorted sounds. When tuned into the voice of God we are willing to take risks and be open to the newness only God can give.