Caller ID

intro - recap scripture before this. Talk about who Samuel was maybe...

intro - move toward who Samuel was

Child of Hannah…whom she prayed for in the temple, promising him to God’s service (Eli heard her thought she was drunk)

After this moment in our text today, he became the very backbone of Jewish heritage and worship while living under the Philistines. This lead him to fulfill several roles that were normally separate. You see, he wasn’t just a prophet, he became known as the last Hebrew Judge, the first Prophet, and the annointer of Kings.

That being the case, I think it appropriate to see how such an important part of God’s plan here on earth was able to answer God’s call in his life.

1 Samuel 3:11–15 NIV

And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them. Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’ ” Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision,

1 Samuel 3:1–10 NIV

The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 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. Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 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. 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.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 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. 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. The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

1 Sam 3:11-

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1 Sam 3:1----

pray

[telephonepic]

When I was a kid, when the phone rang, you ran to get it. I would answer the phone, even at a very early age, knowing that it was probably not for me. There was just some excitement about answering the phone. So every time it would ring, my sister and I would make a bee-line to the phone, hoping to get there first and answer it.

We were excited, I think, because there was no way to know who was on the other line. So you never knew if it would be a great surprise or a bill collector!

As I got older they started coming out with other devices, though. Little boxes that could show you the number that was calling. Even the early cell phones had them. They would light up and show you all the digits. But back then, they didn’t show you the name, just the numbers. You still had to know the number to know who was calling. Sometimes you had some friends around, and maybe they knew the number, and could tell you who it was, so you could answer it.

It isn’t greatly different now. Some calls just show the number, and you need to know it if it isn’t in your contacts to know who it is.

When I was in Cleveland this past summer on mission, my phone started showing me the names of even those other numbers. Not only that, it showed me if it was a telemarketer or not! It was really pretty cool.

But the point is, how nice is it to know who is calling you? Sure it takes away a little of the excitement of calls, but it is so good knowing who is calling.

That is really the frame that we should put this text in today. You see, Samuel was being called; both literally and figuratively! God was calling him, but he didn’t have God in his contacts yet, so he didn’t know the number! So like us, he went to his friend and asked if he knew the number.

You know how that goes…so he gets a second call, same number! So he goes back to his friend, who is now equally annoyed and alarmed, and in that moment, Eli realizes just what we know even today! If someone calls you, and then calls you right back, it is probably important! And whether you know the number or not you better answer!

So Eli coaches him up, and Samuel answers when God calls again. And he answers in the only way that we should ever really answer God!

..but Samuel was being called; literally and metaphorically! God called him, and he didn’t know the number! So he thought Eli was calling to him…[do the second time, this time he thought was being messed with…finally Eli realizes that he doesn’t have the new cell phone with the names in the caller ID, so he gets him going in the right direction…]

...What does that have to do with our scripture today? Well it better have something to do with it, or I didn’t do my job very well…but Samuel was being called; literally and metaphorically! God called him, and he didn’t know the number! So he thought Eli was calling to him…[do the second time, this time he thought was being messed with…finally Eli realizes that he doesn’t have the new cell phone with the names in the caller ID, so he gets him going in the right direction…]

Speak, O Lord. Your Servant is listening...

Just like when we answer the phone, whether we have our Caller ID working or not, Samuel answered the call by listening!

I mean, you don’t pick up the phone and just light into talking, right? No you listen first! And that is just what Samuel did, and what we are called to do as well!

We are called by God to listen. In fact, generally speaking, when a human calls us on the phone, they want to talk, which implies that we are to listen. Being called is all about listening, church. Samuel knew that, and we need to know it too.

But even saying that leads me to a very practical question.

How do we know if God is calling? What can we use for our Caller ID?

Lucky for us, God is pretty consistent! We can read how He speaks to His servants time after time in His word. One that sticks out the most to me is the call of Elijah, late in his life.

[talk about what Samuel did…once he realized who was calling, he immediately began listening!....talk about us doing that....maybe a story…move toward asking the practical question…how do we know it is God calling. What can we use for our Caller ID.

So Elijah had killed all these prophets of Baal. And after that, the King told Jezebel about it, and Jezebel said, “May the gods punish me terribly if by this time tomorrow I don’t kill you just as you killed those prophets.”

…setup text below with very brief overview of Elijah and running to hide. Talk about God calling once, but then sort of hanging up and calling back....

Pretty heavy stuff. So Elijah runs from trouble, and confrontation, and he hides in a cave.

Such a powerful image of our lives, church. We hide in caves too sometimes. We are afraid of God’s call and don’t answer sometimes.

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then, while Elijah was hiding, the Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

1 Kings 19:9 NIV

There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Why are you hiding?

[1kings19here]

Church, God, more often than not, speaks to us in that gentle, persistent whisper. That soft but consistent tug at our hearts that demands that we answer. God isn’t in the business of just barking orders at us. He doesn’t yell at us every step to take! Both of these texts attest to that!

[girls in soccer…how the coaches tell them every move to make…even on fridays…]

…no God doesn’t bark at us like that, and hand us every step. God demands that we listen for Him and then find Him; not in the whirlwinds, or the earthquakes, or the fires of this life - but in the still small voice of a loving Father that persistently calls for us to come.

Why are you hiding, church?

What are we afraid of that causes us to run from the task of living our lives for Christ? What causes us to forget all the love and provision that has been set aside for us? What makes us think that God is so far away that we could never hear Him?

What makes us hide in those caves?

Do we forget the cave that our Savior came out of? The call that He answered for us? Do we forget the power that lives in us now that Christ has defeated the grave?

Samuel would tell us that answer is simple. It is the company that we keep.

Harken to (elijah being called in a similar way by God)…If we surround ourselves with other believers, then we are more likely to hear the voice of God...

Harken to (elijah being called in a similar way by God)…If we surround ourselves with other believers, then we are more likely to hear the voice of God...

Caller ID? We dont’ have God in our contacts so we don’t know what His number is....maybe start with that???

Harken to (elijah being called in a similar way by God)…If we surround ourselves with other believers, then we are more likely to hear the voice of God...

[pichere…samuel waking up Eli]

You see, Samuel only heard the call as being God when the company He kept pointed it out. Elijah as well, if we allow for fear to be a companion, only heard God because he was desperate to hear from Him! But it isn’t just in our time of need that we have our Caller ID working, and need to be listening for God. No we need to do that every moment of every day!

And easiest way to be sure your caller ID works, church, is to surround yourself with people who know God’s number!

[brief anecdote about friends knowing who is calling you…]

You see, those people around you clue you in to what is happening in your life. And more than that, we learn from those people we value and surround ourselves with. We become like the people we hang out with.

So you have to be careful to surround yourself with people who know God’s number! Don’t get me wrong, you can and should have friends from all walks of life, but there must another group, set aside, one that you lean on and speak to often that knows God’s voice, that knows God’s number, that has God on their caller ID, and can help you when you need to get in touch with Him - and especially, when He needs to get in touch with you!

[picofchurchhere]

....We pick up the habits of those people we surround ourselves with (story about all my IT friends maybe? Or high school?

That is what church is all about.

But understand, I don’t mean the “come when you can” kind of church that is so popular these days. Listen, every church, ours included, is come when you can! That is just a given. But we have twisted the entire idea of the body around that we think we should just be able to sneak in occasionally and here an inspiring speech and go home refreshed! But that isn’t at all what the church is for!

Unfortunately, that is only a salve that makes us feel better about our faith. It just lets us feel like we checked off another box.

That kind of church experience is only a salve that makes us feel better about our faith. It just lets us feel like we checked off another box.

Hebrews 10:24–25 NIV

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

No church is intended to be for us that inner circle of friends; that ever present support structure that gets us in touch with God.

It’s not that we are any closer to God, though, but when we gather together in a genuine and authentic way, wanting to know God, we become tuned in to God because of the mutual dedication to our Savior!

In other words, we feed off each other. And that’s a good thing.

[picof the 5 hornsmen]

When I was in college, I had a group like that, but not a spiritual one - a musical one…[talk about getting better....then move it towards a spiritual thing…]

I was always the one giving advice and helping the others out when life got hard. I became, a sort of de-facto pastor for them, and didn’t even know it! But just as important, church, is the fact that while all that was going on, God was calling out to me! Even my professors saw it, and played their part...

IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR PLANS GOD IS CALLING! IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR PRIDE, OR WHATEVER IT IS WE THING WE NEED GOD IS CALLING! BUT CHURCH, THE ONLY WAY THAT WE WILL EVER EVENTUALLY BE ABLE TO ANSWER, IS IF WE ARE PLUGGED IN TO THE CALLER ID HE GIVES US! AND THAT ISN’T JUST CORPORATE WORSHIP! THAT IS THOSE INTIMATE, AND UNBELIEVABLY IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS THAT ARE FORMED IN SMALL GROUPS - BIBLE STUDIES, VOLUNTEER INTERACTIONS, SUNDAY SCHOOL, TEAMS, WEDNESDAY NIGHT ACTIVITIES - ALL THOSE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE PASS BY EVERY WEEK! IT IS IN THOSE MOMENTS WHEN PEOPLE INVEST IN OUR LIVES, AND WE IN OTHERS, THAT GODS VOICE BECOMES CRYSTAL CLEAR.

[pic of elijah in cave]

The whisper that we have trouble hearing, becomes a shout we can’t avoid any longer.

But just like Samuel, it can’t happen unless we are investing in our relationships with others, and surrounding ourselves with people who know God. This body is blessed to have each and every person here, and a good many more who aren’t here today! And church, every person here is intended to have a role in the lives of every person. This isn’t just a social club! This is a gather of the very body of Jesus Christ! Here, in these relationships, we are able to hear his voice clearly!

But it won’t happen if we don’t invest in each other.

[cellphone]

And if we don’t invest in each other, then we will likely never hear God’s voice as clearly as we need to.

God is calling us, church, just as He called Samuel. And we need to get our Caller ID working. Get invested in the church, and in your faith life.

Surround yourself with people who know Him.

Invest in those relationships by opening yourself to their counsel.

And when you see that God is calling you, you will, like Samuel, be able to say - “Speak, O Lord, Your servant is listening.”

Invitation

....We pick up the habits of those people we surround ourselves with (story about all my IT friends maybe? Or high school?

Not only that, but our friends can drown out the noise sometimes. That can be good if we have good friends, tuned in to God, or very bad if we don’t.

End of the story has Samuel telling a hard truth to Eli, but he could take it because he knew that Samuel loved him and loved God...

Move the sermon towards surrounding yourself with Believers so that you can hear the word of God in your life. You can hear his voice. Emphasize the practical side of going to church church suffer Church outings Sunday school getting involved.