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"Listen up! Can You Hear The Voice Of God?"

I Samuel 3:1-10                                                                                               January 18, 2009

I imagine that there have been times in your life when you have really felt the need to have God
speak to you. I’ll never forget talking with one man who was facing a terminal illness. He had
always been close to God, but in the midst of his illness he felt estranged from him. He could not
hear God’s voice and it troubled him. Why wasn’t God speaking to him? There is a cute story told
about a help wanted ad and those looking for a job in a by-gone era.
Back when the telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance communication, a young man
applied for a job as a Morse Code operator. Answering an ad in the newspaper, he went to the office
address that was listed. When he arrived, he entered a large, busy office filled with noise and clatter,
including the sound of the telegraph in the background. A sign on the receptionist’s counter
instructed job applicants to fill out a form and wait until they were summoned to enter the inner
office.
The young man filled out his form and sat down with the seven other applicants in the waiting area.
After a few minutes, the young man stood up, crossed the room to the door of the inner office, and
walked right in. Naturally the other applicants perked up, wondering what was going on. They
muttered among themselves that they hadn’t heard any summons yet. They assumed that the young
man who went into the office made a mistake and would be disqualified.
Within a few minutes, however, the employer escorted the young man out of the office and said to
the other applicants, “Gentlemen, thank you very much for coming, but the job has just been filled.”
The other applicants began grumbling to each other, and one spoke up saying, “Wait a minute, I don’
t understand. He was the last to come in, and we never even got a chance to be interviewed. Yet he
got the job. That’s not fair!”
The employer said, “I’m sorry, but all the time you’ve been sitting here, the telegraph has been
ticking out the following message in Morse Code: ‘If you understand this message, then come right
in. The job is yours.’ None of you heard it or understood it. This young man did. The job is his.”
We live in a world that is full of busyness and clatter, like that office. Too often we are distracted
and unable to hear the still, small voice of God as he speaks to us. If you want to hear God you have
to tune into God’s voice?
What does God sound like? A movie came out featuring John Denver and George Burns when I was
a teenager. It was titled, “Oh God.” There was a lot of controversy, like there always is, when any
movie that makes reference to God comes out. But what strucvk me is that God talked to John
Denver through the radio and then later on as a real person. No one else could see him and that
caused problems, but once he got John’s attention, they kept talking.
The point is God needs to get our attention before we can begin to hear his voice. It isn’t a question
of whether or not God wants to talk to you. He does and he is talking to you right now.
John 8:47 "He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do
not belong to God."  That’s a little harsh but what I think John was suggesting is that if you don’t
hear God, then you aren’t listening. You are letting other things get in the way.
You know the first thing you have to do to hear God’s voice is tune In. That brings us to our text
today. Young Samuel is lying in the temple, the candles were flickering, and I is late, maybe 2 or 3 in
the morning. He is just dozing, in that place between sleep and consciousness. His mind’s probably
racing from everything he learned that day. Samuel is just a boy,  about 8 or 9 years old. He is living
with Eli, the priest. This was his lot in life. He was dedicated to the Lord from birth. So here he is
trying to get some rest and he hears somebody call his name. He runs to Eli and says, “Here I am,
what did you want?” Eli’s says, “I didn’t call you, go back to bed.” It happens and then again. By
now Eli understands what is happening. It happened to him. So he gives Samuel some instructions
and sends him back to hear from God.
You see, at the beginning, like John Denver in the movie, Samuel didn’t know what was going on.
He thought that Eli was calling him. He wasn’t tuned in to God. So he wasn’t expecting or listening
to God’s voice. But once he knew what was going on, that God wanted to speak to him, he took the
necessary steps to hear God’s voice.
So listen up. God wants to talk to you and its important that you tune in.

There is a story told about a Native American who was walking with a friend near Times Square in
Manhattan. It was during the noon lunch hour and the streets were filled with people. Cars were
honking their horns, taxicabs were squealing around corners, sirens were wailing, and the sounds of
the city were almost deafening.
Suddenly, he says to his friend, “I hear a cricket.”His friend said, “What? You must be crazy. You
couldn’t possibly hear a cricket in all of this noise!”
“No, I’m sure of it,” he says. “I heard a cricket.”That’s crazy,” said the friend.
Then Native American listened carefully and walked across the street to a big cement planter where
some shrubs were growing. He looked into the bushes, beneath the branches, and sure enough, he
located a small cricket. His friend was utterly amazed. “That’s incredible, you must have super-
human ears!”
“No,” said the man. “My ears are no different from yours. It all depends on what you’re listening
for.”
“But that can’t be!” said the friend. “I could never hear a cricket in this noise.” “That is not true. It
depends on what you’re listening for.”
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few coins, and discreetly dropped them on the sidewalk.
And then, with the noise of the crowded street still blaring in their ears, they noticed every head
within twenty feet turn and look to see if the money that tinkled on the pavement was theirs. “See
what I mean?” asked the Native American. “It all depends on what you’re listening for.”
If you are really tuned in to God, it doesn’t matter what’s going on around you, you can hear Him
speak.

Now God speaks to us in different ways. Just skim through the Bible and you will see how God
spoke to people in various ways.
He came to Adam and Eve directly.
He spoke to Noah from above.
He came to Abraham and faced him directly.
He spoke to Moses out of a burning bush.
He came to Elijah in a still small voice.
He spoke to Mary through an angel.
He spoke to Peter in a dream.
He came to Paul in a blinding light.
He spoke to John in a vision.

While God doesn’t necessarily reveal himself to us in those ways today, He does reveal himself in
various other ways. Today I am going to give you five ways that God may be speaking to you. So
listen up!
In Ephesians 4:11-12 it says “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ.”
Whenever you sit in a service like this you’re hearing from God. Now I have to tell you that this
thought is very humbling as a pastor. The truth is that Cal Lord is very witty or profound or even
spiritual. Yet we believe that somehow God can use the preacher to touch our hearts and give us a
word.
I have heard many of you say it over the years, I thought you were speaking directly to me.” When
you get that feeling you are having a “Samuel moment.” I’m not talking to you, but God has heard
your prayers and may be giving you a word.
Here is a second way to tune into God. Psalm 119:105 “says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a
light to my path.”
If you want to hear God speak, then pick up the Bibnle and begin reading.  I used to play a game
when I had problem as a teenager. It was like pin the tail n the donkey.  The truth is that hearing a
word from God is much more effective when you are doing daily readings and devotionals or
attending a Bible study.
Don’t know where to start. Pick up a copy of Our Daily Bread from the literature table. Go to a
book store and pick up a copy of one of Max Lucado’s books. They are great. If you can go online,
you can find both of these options and many more on their own websites. If you like the face to
face, then we have a new Bible study starting tonight. Join us at 6:00 p.m. Don’t think about it. Tune
in and do it.
Third, like with John Denver in the movie or Samuel in our text,  God speaks through the Holy
Spirit. We read in Romans 8:16 “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children
of God,”
This is also known as the inward witness or inward intuition. You get this sense that God is calling
you to do something. I call it God walking.
My story about the meeting someone at the casino.
Fourth, God sometimes, now I kow his is a tough one to believe, but sometimes God speaks
through the inward voice or the conscience. Romans 9:1 says “I tell the truth in Christ, I am not
lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,”
Have you heard of the “still, small voice”? This is it. It’s not real strong and overwhelming saying,
“DON’T DO THAT!” It’s your own spirit speaking to you and it mostly speaks in just a word or a
phrase. Maybe if you’re planning on doing something or going somewhere, the inward voice may
say, “Wait,” or “Not Yet,” or “Stop.”
Finally God may speak to you through one of the ways of old. You may hear his voice or have a
dream or see a burning bush or feel a glass wall in your way. I don’t know I you remember it or not
but God did this several times in the book of acts. He spoke to Peter and told him three men were
coming in Acts 10. He did it to Peter when he was going to go into Mesopotamia and he said no!
Now, if God speaks to you like this, it’s gonna seem a lot louder on the inside. It may even seem
audible, like you can hear it with your ears, because it is so strong. This rarely happens. But it does
and you had better listen up.
The point is this. God wants to talk to yo and he will find a way. But you need to be tuned in and
ready to listen. You have to open your ears, eyes and heart to him and be ready to receive his word.
So listen up and hear what God has to say to you. He is speaking to you right now.
Our verse of the week…  God has a plan for your life. He wants you to know it just like he wanted
Samuel to know. You are never goin to have that blessing unless you are ready and willing o receive
it and go with it.  So listen up and let’s go. Amen
Read other sermons by Dr. Cal Lord
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