Being Available

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1bMne_fjzDiJiuPUQOG60iIt8_3QnhuxWvV1wIeXtAgQ/edit?slide=id.p1#slide=id.p1

Recap

Last Tuesday we talked being available through the use of three stories.

Martha and Mary (being too busy to just sit and listen to Jesus)

Two men who wanted to follow Jesus, but needed time to finish their own errands (Luke 9:57-62)

And a young rich man who held on to his possessions over the kingdom of God (Mark 10:17-22)

Now each of these stories showed us obstacles toward being available to God, but maybe today we talk about a good example of what it is to follow God and what it takes to follow God. Today we talk about Samual.

Samual was the last judge of Israel following his mentor and Judge Eli.

Now a judge for Israel was a person that God chose to help Shepard Israel, defend Israel, and act as spiritual leaders. We know from the book of Judges that not all of these men and women were outstanding and some were very flawed, and yet god would use them for his glory.

A great idea that God can use anyone, but a story for another time.

Samuel was the last of these Judges. Let’s read from God’s word

1 Samuel 3:1-10

How often do you think this is happening to us? We get a feeling that just won’t go away. We have this urge, but dismiss it so quickly. Maybe we think it is something or someone else?

1. God’s call is real and persistent.

We see that in this story, that the call of God was real and persistent. When Samuel continuously went to Eli, instead of turning to God, there was no anger. There was not impatience, or expectation. We do not know how many times it would have taken Samuel to realize that it was God speaking.

God remained and called to Samuel until he answered. He did not call him foolish or silly. He simply called him as though a Shepard beckoning a scared lamb.

God will continue to call. There is no limit to the number of times that God is going to call your name. There is no set number of times before he simply moves on. You are not going to annoy him while you try to figure out the call.

But here is the catch, the call might not be a voice in a temple or church calling out your name. It might not be an angel coming down from the heavens with a mighty trumpet calling you. It might not be a dream or a vision of the future.

It could be something small. When you see someone sitting alone, and you feel the urge to go sit with them or call them over to your table. That could be God calling your name. When you start to randomly think about someone who may need an extra prayer. That could be God calling your name.

But why don’t we hear it. Why don’t we physically hear the voice of God telling us what to do? That’s a great question. Many very smart people have thought about this for a very long time and honestly, I am not sure we have an answer.

It could have been that miracles and physical presence was needed in the bible to give the new religion credibility. We know these events happened now, so we don’t need that anymore.

Others argue that we see them everyday, but prefer to explain them by nature and science and not give create to the creator of both nature and science. The human race has gotten “too smart” and all the marvels of this world can be explained.

Some argue that miracles happen ever day, but they are more personal and internal since the savior or his disciples are not actively walking around performing these overt acts. This could be when you get better after a terrible sickness or maybe you survive a car crash. We actually thank god everyday for things that seem to work out. We thank him when money shows up that we need. We thank him when you are having a rough day and someone is nice to you. We thank him when you are so very tired, but you still find a way to make it through the day. Just because we don’t see the supernatural, we don’t see the blind man gain his sight, doesn’t mean that God’s hand is not actively working in our lives. We just have to stop comparing it to the past and instead look for it in our present.

We May be too Busy

Or maybe we are just too loud or far to preoccupied or busy with life.

In 1 Samuel, Samuel is laying down in a temple to God.

The prophet Elijah talked to god through a soft whisper (1 Kings 19:11-12). In psalms we see passages like

Psalm 37:7 “Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him…

Isaiah 30:15 “For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “You will be delivered by returning and resting; your strength will lie in quiet confidence. But you are not willing.”

when is the last time you really just stopped to be with God? Not a quick prayer before eating? Not bowing your head when told, but gone away from the busyness of life. Completely cut yourself off from the world to just talk to him?

It is hard right? Especially with these (phones.) We tend to fill every single second of our day with noise.

Not to say that if God wanted to, he couldn’t just become a deafening booming voice, but time and time again he says, come to me. Seek me out. Are we actually doing that?

We see in this passage that Samuel was a good student. It was late and he was being called and he went to his teacher over and over again. But it was not the voice that was calling him.

So I ask, when you do feel that urge to go and talk to someone who seems lonely, or receive a little help when you do not expect it, or feel a guiding urge during a test that you were not quite sure about, who do you run to?

Do you chalk it up to luck? Randomness? Do you pat yourself on the back and think that you are responsible because of your actions? God calls, he speaks, but for most of us we have a hard time realizing who is speaking.

2. We have to be like Eli

Teachers and staff, believers in this room. We have to be Eli. We have to look for the signs that people are being called or that their hearts are searching and we have to mentor them. We can not be dismissive. We have to be diligent. We have to believe even when it “gets in the way of our own rest or happiness.”

We see a perfect example right her in 1st Samuel. Eli is old and it is very late at night. Samuel comes in and wakes him up. Not once, but three times. Three times he was woken up by this boy. Each time he was treated with gentleness. There was no scolding. There was no yelling about how Eli’s rest was being interrupted and that clearly the boy was being disobedient or making up stories. Eli listened.

What does this look like in the classroom or at home? What behavior happens over and over again and it is just dismissed? How many times does a child have to interrupt you before you get annoyed or even angry? What if God is speaking to that child and they are simply seeking answers.

Eli could have just as easily said, “Foolish boy! I am asleep. I will not call for you tonight. Do not come and bother me again!” What could have happened if that were the case?

Instead Eli listened and was patient. But even Eli didn’t understand at first. He served faithfully for 40 years as a judge and it took a moment for him to realize the voice of God.

We are not going to understand all the time. That is why it is so important as believers to always be patient and kind. Always.

Early faith is so fragile and it is so confusing. So much to grasp. It is our job to be Eli. At four in the morning, when you are woken by a student, our job is to be patient and listen. When you are in the middle of PACE work, a flag is raised but the question seems off or out of place, our job is to be patient and listen. When we are busy with all the requirements of running a school or doing homework and someone interrupts, our job is to be patient and listen.

It might be nothing. It might just be words. But it could be searching. It could be Samuel not understanding who or what is calling and searching for the person they trust to help guide them.

3. Respond

As believers, we have to be available. We have to remember what we are fighting for. We have to listen and be patient always.

We have to show that we have Jesus. We have to live like we have Jesus.

Then, just maybe, when people start to hear God’s voice in their life, they will seek us out. They will NOT seek you out just because you are a teacher, an older student, or because you say you are a Christian. Those that do not know God want answers or to be shown, the same way that Eli showed Samuel.

We must be equipped to show them so they can respond the same way that Samuel.

If we can make God truly known to them, just maybe they will respond. Just maybe they will then make themselves available to God.

Maybe then they will say, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”