Hear His Voice
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1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;
4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.
5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.
6 And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.
9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
Introduction
Introduction
It was a dark day in Israel when Samuel was born. Judges like Samson and Gideon had ruled Israel for over 300 years, but whenever one died Israel backslid and went into captivity.
The people had gotten away from God.
The ministry was corrupt.
There was no channel to hear directly from God.
9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
They had Moses law, but they had no vision to apply it, no prophet to bring light for their hour.
This day is a lot like that day:
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
And we seen so much of that, and it’s gone on so long, until, today, the Word of the Lord is a rare thing, that someone can come and say, “THUS SAITH THE LORD.”
Now, we’ve had a lot of impersonations of that. Satan is really on the job. And many years gone by, people were afraid to say that unless it was the Lord. But, today, they just don’t care. 58-1005M - "Hear His Voice"
There are so many other voices today.
Bro. Branham identifies “the voice of pleasure”
Today we have “influencers”
Everybody wants a show on youtube or instagram.
Young ladies will show off their bodies, try to act cute on camera so men will notice them.
Even some of them claim to be Christians and be raised in Christian homes. Christian parents wouldn’t allow their sons and daughters to be eye candy for perverted men.
That voice is strong.
Tik tok pulls you in for hours, reel after reel. It’s a voice, an influence in your life.
No wonder Bro. Branham cried so hard against Elvis Presley, he was a voice, an influence.
Even those voices which are not evil in themselves still drown out the voice of God in our lives.
You need to make time to hear the voice of God.
If I was a young person who was struggling with temptation, or wasn’t sure I had the baptism of the Holy Ghost, I’d be at this altar every chance I got saying “Lord speak to me”.
I need to hear your voice or I’ll perish.
(Bro. Branham at the supermarket. Girl with pants and makeup)
She said, “You remember, I never got in until six o’clock this morning.” And she wasn’t over twelve years old.
Now, Jesus, at twelve, which was our example, said, “Don’t you know I should be about My Father’s business?”
No wonder the Voice of God is a rare thing today. It’s smothered out, by so many different voices, so many things that dim and take away. It’s got to a place until it dulls our senses, until we can’t hear the Voice of God. 58-1005M - "Hear His Voice"
Samuel was a 12 year old young man, according to Josephus, when God called him.
God can call you too. He wants to speak to you, but the voice of God has been dulled by other voices.
Samuel waited on the Lord. When he called him he waited to hear what He had to say.
Men that waits upon God, comes into His Presence. And to come into the Presence of God is just like going out early of a morning, when the dew and the honeysuckles are all sweet. When you come in the presence of a person like that, you know they have been with God. 58-1005M - "Hear His Voice"
A person who is hard and angry all the time, needs to spend some time in His presence.
So many things to dull the senses of the people today! Oh! But in the midst of all that, in spite of every dulling and every voice that’s in the world today! Some of them, pleasure voices. Some of them are sinful voices, to lure the people.
But in the spite of every bit of that, the Truth of God still remains, “He that will hear My Voice and come after Me!” Men and women who will hear the Voice of God: God still waits to speak to every individual that will open their ears to hear God’s Voice. 58-1005M - "Hear His Voice"
(I once had this quote hanging on the calendar in my office)
Pastor, don’t you never get too busy but what you can stay in the Presence and listen for His Voice. God always keeps His Word.
And no matter how bad the times may be, how much your church may teach against it, Jesus Christ is still willing to speak that still small Voice to anybody that will listen for Him. He is still ready to do it, if we just quieten ourself. 58-1005M - "Hear His Voice"
Every one of you people who profess to be Christians, get yourself quiet before Him. Don’t let the washing hinder. Don’t let the work hinder. Don’t let nothing hinder. Don’t let nobody know what you’re doing. Just go before Him.
Get up in the woods somewhere. Get out on the side of the road. Go into the secret closet and close the door. When the kids gets at school, there get down on your knees. You’ve heard all kinds of voices everywhere, but just get down and stay there until those voices are silenced and you begin to lift up.
It’ll change you. It’ll make you different, like It did this little Samuel. 58-1005M - "Hear His Voice"
Moses was 80 years old when he heard His voice.
He saw a bush, burning but not consumed. Something supernatural.
The presence of the burning bush made a different man out of Moses.
Five minutes in the presence of that bush changed Moses forever.
It’ll make a different man and woman out of you, if you’ll just stand still long enough to hear His Voice, like Samuel did. Stand still. Don’t be excited. If you want something of God, ask Him; then stand still and listen, see what He’s going to say about it.
Just open up your heart, say, “What about it, Lord Jesus?” Just stay there. If He doesn’t answer the first five hours, then wait another. If He doesn’t answer today, then He’ll answer tomorrow. If He doesn’t answer this week, He will next week. Stay there till He answers.
Hear His Voice speak back, in your heart, and say, “Yes, I’m the Lord that healeth thee.” Then it’s all over. You can settle then. See? “I’m the Lord Who forgives all thy sins.
Now go and sin no more. I don’t condemn you.” Then you can go free. You’re all right. But you want to be sure that you heard that Voice speak. Moses heard It. He was a changed man. 58-1005M - "Hear His Voice"
When we find ourselves getting cold and indifferent, we need another burning bush experience, to clear out all the dross, so we can hear His voice.
Isaiah was a young man when he heard His voice.
He was friends with King Uzziah, who had a great influence over his life. He gave him everything he wanted.
One day Uzziah died.
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: The whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
We can get so self righteous, but when we come into His presence, we realize we need to be cleansed.
Isaiah got desperate.
And when you get desperate about this thing, something will take place. You’re not desperate enough. “Oh, well, I joined church. That settles it.” But you have to be desperate about it. You have to really need God.
Jesus said, “Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
But as long as you’re satisfied with the things of the world, how can God ever speak to you? You say, “God never spoke to me.” Why? He wants to. But you’re too filled up with the things of the world. 58-1005M - "Hear His Voice"
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
“Who will go for Us?” said the Voice. “Who will go? Who is willing to stand in the breach, amongst this bunch of theologians? Who will go in this day, and claim that I’m still God?
Who will go and condemn their uncleanness? Who will tear down their denominations and build the powers of the living God again? Who will go?” 58-1005M - "Hear His Voice"
Before he could go he had to be changed.
Every one of us is a lived voice! Let the coal of the fire of God touch your lips, so you can speak truth in a world of lies.
Paul was about 30 years old when he heard His voice.
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
At high noon, he was knocked off his horse, and he found out his man made religion was wrong. The voice of God spoke through the pillar of fire.
His name was changed from Saul to Paul, and he was sent to give his life preaching to people who he wouldn’t even eat with previously.
I’m so glad there is an open vision today.
If your vision is contrary to the Word, you are listening to the wrong voice.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Peter heard His voice, and it made him eat differently. It changed his attitude towards the Gentile church.
9 But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
What God has cleansed is his church. Don’t you call that common and unclean. Be careful what you say about God’s people.
We get criticism for being pentecostal in our worship.
God, I wish He would take a bunch of preachers in this valley here, and let them know that we’re not crazy, we’re not holy-rollers, a bunch of trash. It’s the Spirit of the living God. And men and women are drunk on His goodness.
It’s not witchcraft or mental telepathy. It’s the Spirit of the living God. Turn loose of your traditions, elders, and listen to the Voice of the living God. It’ll change you. You won’t become one of the persecutors. You’ll want to be one of them.
If you can pass the barriers of all your doctrines, until you can float into His Presence yonder, something will take place. You won’t believe the days of miracles is past. You’ll believe that they’re right here, because one will be performed on you, sure, to change a man.
That’s what the Voice of God always does. It changes men and women and makes them what they should be; not what the schools and teachers has made, but what God has patterned them for. 58-1005M - "Hear His Voice"
Bro. Branham heard his voice when he was a child, like a whirlwind in a tree:
I heard His Voice when He said, “Don’t smoke, or drink, or defile your body with women and so forth. There’s a work for you to do when you get older.” 58-1005M - "Hear His Voice"
Lazarus heard his voice:
43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
Where is His voice today? Not in that body, but in the Bride body.
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
I was dead once, in sin and trespasses. You were dead in sin and trespasses. But it was the Voice of God that said, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, I’ll give you rest.”
I’ve seen the Voice speak to the cripple, straighten him up. I seen the Voice of God speak to the blind, and his eyes come open. To the dying, cancer ridden, to the leper, see them return back in flesh, in the perfect health again.
I’ve seen Him speak to the alcoholics, and neurotics, and the off-cast, and the skidrow bunch, and they become ladies and gentlemen, and saints of the living God, because the Voice of God spoke. That’s what we listen for, today. 58-1005M - "Hear His Voice"
One day all will hear His voice.
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Today, if you will hear His voice, you will be identified in the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Samuel responded to the voice he heard. “Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth”.
Why did he respond? He had made up his mind, that was the voice of God.