Hearing God's Voice

1 Samuel 3:1-18 // Kevin Moore // Celebration 2021.06.26

(Transcript Below)

Post-Message Discussion:

1) At this moment in your life, what stage in this journey do you think you are located?

- Ignorance: I don’t know God yet, OR I know God but don’t know what His voice sounds like.

- Recognition: I know God and His voice but haven’t taken time to truly listen attentively to Him.

- Active Listening: I hear God’s voice clearly speaking to me, but I haven’t taken the necessary steps to obey.

- Obedience: I’ve learned to recognize God’s voice, I’ve made time to listen attentively to Him, and I’ve obeyed His guidance by the power of the Spirit.

2) Compared to the past, have you moved closer to or further away from hearing God's voice and obeying his guidance?

3) Depending what stage you are in now, which stage would you like to move into? What are one or two small steps you can take to accomplish that?

Transcript:

1 Samuel 3:1-18

1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. 6 And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.

13 And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” 15 Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”

INTRO

One morning in February of 2016, my third year of college, I slept through my alarm, missing my 8am class. This time in my life was plagued by busyness—I was volunteering in a research lab, working at a coffee shop, doing ministry with Campus Crusade, and applying for hospital internships, all on top of my full class load studying bioengineering. To say I was exhausted would be an understatement. I wasn’t just busy, I was over-busy—or as some might even say, pathologically busy. If I ever did take time to slow down, it was because I was forced by someone else or more likely by my own body, which was the case on this particular day. It seemed my body just really needed that extra two hours of sleep. Around 10, I got up, and without another class until later that afternoon, I grabbed my bible and sat on my patio to spend time in the word trying to hear God’s voice.

Hearing God’s voice—in other words, waiting in silent meditation until God gave me some thought or feeling—was something I had been trying to practice regularly that year, but again, I rarely made the time to actually sit down and do it. This time, I sat for a while after finishing the passage I was reading, probably for 30 or 40 minutes in silence, alone with God. For the preceding month, I had been having little thoughts that becoming a doctor—the pre-med track—wasn’t actually for me, even though I was really excited to pursue it. But I had no idea what God had in store. I wrote in my journal, “Father, guide me. Allow your Spirit to take full control over my life. Tell me what to do about my future and Medical school. I don’t want to be swayed by emotional experiences, but I do want to be moved by experiencing your presence. Rest on my soul, Father. Show me the way.” After what seemed like ages of waiting in silence, this thought popped into my mind: “leave the pre-med path, give up your backup plan of pursuing a career in photography, and take my gospel to the world.” This voice in my head—even more so a voice deep within the center of my soul, my heart, my innermost being—was full of joy and authority. An overwhelming sense of peace washed over my body, and I knew immediately God was with me and speaking to me. I was so confident this was God’s voice that on that very day, I moved my class schedule around, removing the pre-med classes, and I told many of my close friends and family that God was calling me to become a missionary.

At this point in my life, I had come to the point of being able to recognize the voice of God, to actively listen to that voice, and to obey that voice by the power of the Holy Spirit. But it definitely wasn’t always that way. It took me many years to move from ignorance to recognition to listening to obedience. And I think this little story about the child Samuel being awoken by God in the temple is a perfect illustration of the process of learning to hear God’s voice. For Samuel sleeping next to the Ark of the Covenant, this happened really quickly, in the span of just one night. But for us, it might take longer to truly grasp how to hear and obey God’s voice.

In this passage, we see Samuel moving from ignorance to recognition, from recognition to active listening, and finally from active listening to obedience.

STARTING IN IGNORANCE

Let’s look back at the beginning of the passage, from verse 3: 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.6 And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

As we can see here, God is clearly speaking. In this specific case, it seems he is even speaking audibly. But because Samuel does not know the voice of God, he thinks that the voice is Eli calling from the other room. Verse 7 even makes it clear that Samuel did not yet know God.

This reminds me of another story in the Old Testament—the story of Jacob’s ladder in Genesis 28. Starting from verse 12 after Jacob falls asleep, it says: 12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”

In this case, unlike speaking to Samuel in an audible voice while he was awake, God speaks to Jacob through a dream—a vision of angels ascending and descending a ladder from heaven to earth. What strikes me here is not so much what God has to say to Jacob, but rather Jacob’s response: “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” Surely the Lord was in that place, and Jacob didn’t even know it. Surely the Lord is in this place. Let’s ask ourselves: do we truly, deeply know that? Are we aware of his presence?

Before Eli instructs Samuel, and before Jacob sees this vision in his dream, each was ignorant of this fact: God was there, in that place. He was already working, and he was ready to speak to them. I think back to my own journey of learning to hear God’s voice. Like Samuel, I was ignorant of God’s voice for a long time—even after I had decided to follow Jesus. It’s kind of a silly example, but I had a junior high girlfriend, and I remember hearing a voice inside my head saying at times, “this relationship isn’t good for you right now, you should break up with her,” but I didn't really recognize that voice as the voice of God. Because I didn’t recognize the source of the voice, even though I heard the words floating through my head, I didn’t truly listen. And of course, since I didn’t truly listen, I had no opportunity to obey. The story ends with that girl breaking up with me instead—and to be honest, even at the young age of 14, she was more in tune to God’s voice than I would be for quite a while. I actually ended up learning a lot from her about walking with Jesus.

IGNORANCE TO RECOGNITION

So all this being said, what is needed in order to hear God’s voice? First, the ability to recognize that voice. Let’s look back at Samuel’s story to see how he moved from ignorance to recognition. Starting in verse 8: 8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”

What is different about this time? Not much has changed on God’s end—he has simply repeated Samuel’s name for a fourth time. The main difference this time, though, is that Samuel has been taught by someone with experience of hearing from God—he has been informed that this particular voice he is hearing is probably the Lord trying to get his attention. Eli says, “if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.” Because of this short instruction from Eli, Samuel is able to move from ignorance to recognition.

What do we have in common with Samuel in this process? First of all, a hugely important component of hearing and recognizing God’s voice is being in his presence. Samuel, who didn’t have the Holy Spirit because he was living in Old Testament times, was proximally close to God’s presence which resided inside the ark of God, as it says in verse 3. This ark of God, or ark of the covenant, was a holy box carried around by the Israelites as part of the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God, and was eventually placed in the temple where Samuel is lying. By the time Jesus walked the earth, this ark was placed in the portion of the temple called the Holy of Holies behind a thick curtain where only the High Priest could enter just once per year. This priest was the only one in the world with direct access to God. However, as we learned on Good Friday, when Jesus was crucified on the cross, that heavy curtain was torn from top to bottom, allowing every believer to access God directly. This point is so important, so we can't miss it! Every believer has access to God because of the work of Jesus on the cross. We don't need a priest or a pastor to talk to God for us or to give us God's messages (though of course God does still use them prophetically in this way). In 1 Peter 2, we are called "living stones [that] are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood." We are all now priests with access to God. This message isn't just for the pastors, the missionaries, and the worship leaders—it is for everyone who follows Jesus.

After the curtain tore, Jesus was resurrected and later ascended up into Heaven, sending as his replacement the Holy Spirit to live inside us and be our guide. With the ascension and outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Jesus gave us exactly what we need to participate in that direct access to God, and also exactly what we need to be transformed. Hearing God’s voice is all about relationship and transformation. Becoming closer to Jesus in intimate friendship and becoming more like Jesus. So, for us living in post-ascension time, the presence of God is always with us in the form of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. If we have chosen to follow Jesus and committed our life to him, that first component is already fulfilled—God is always with us.

But, like Samuel, even if God speaks, we may not recognize he is the one speaking. We may need an Eli giving us that simple instruction to listen once more and be available to listen. I hope I can be that for you all tonight—to encourage you to listen closely to what God has for you.

However, in this day and age, that is a lot easier said than done. We are continuously facing the trifecta of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Those voices so often drown out voices of truth and peace in our lives. We are so easily distracted by our jobs, our phones, our relationships, our worries, our personal hopes and dreams, even our church ministry! I think of myself especially in my early college years—I was so extremely busy that when I finally was able to find space for listening to God, it was due to oversleeping and my body saying, “please stop!”

Here’s a story I adapted from a pastor that is reminiscent of C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters. Imagine Satan’s head demon teaching the lower demons how to attack Christians.

“Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds. Tempt them to spend money excessively. Persuade them to work for long hours, 6-7 days a week and 11-12 hours a day. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family breaks apart, soon their home will offer no escape from the pressures of work. Overstimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still small voice. Entice them to play music or podcasts whenever they commute to work. To keep their phones, TVs, and computers going constantly in their homes. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ. Even in their vacations, let them be excessive. Have them return from their time off exhausted, disquieted, and unprepared for the coming week. Don't let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders, but glue their eyes to their screens instead. Let them be involved in ministry and evangelism, but crowd their lives with so many good causes that they have no time to seek power from Christ. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause.”

This story illustrates the voices of the world, used by Satan to distract us and drown out the voice of God so we don’t even have a chance to recognize it. All we have to do is check our screen time on our iPhones or devices, and we’ll realize how much attention we place on other things. The average smartphone user touches his or her phone 2,617 times every day for an average of 2 and a half hours—and for millennials, it’s double that!

So, first there is the noise of the world distracting us, and then there is the flesh. Paul tells us in Romans 7 that there is a war of desires within us, between our spirit and our flesh. He credits his own sinful flesh when he says “For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” Paul makes clear that, even if we have the Holy Spirit inside of us, the flesh is still present and actively working against us. He implores us in the next chapter to set our minds on the spirit rather than the flesh. “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” When we begin to set our minds on the flesh instead of the Spirit, we can easily fall into self-condemnation. In the midst of his suffering, Job says “Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me.” We forget about God’s grace and mercy and believe the lie coming from our fleshly selves that we are worthless. As the saying goes, “we become our own worst critic.”

And of course, on top of all these things, Satan himself, the devil, can even further crowd our heads and hearts with thoughts of condemnation. Often, as Jamie Winship says, “Satan only tells you stuff [about yourself] that you already believe. It takes no faith to ever believe anything Satan says to you. Satan says to you, “you’re an idiot,” and we go “I know.” “You’ll never accomplish anything great.” “I know.”” Satan is simply reinforcing the fleshly thoughts we have about ourselves because of sin. And in addition to condemning thoughts, Satan also implants thoughts that lead us astray. Think back to Genesis 3 in the Garden of Eden. Satan, the serpent, says to Eve, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” He will take God’s original word and twist it to push us off the path God has set out for us.

When this missionary, Jamie Winship, is teaching how to hear God’s voice, he begins with a prayer asking God to silence the voices of the world, the flesh and the devil. He says, “You can hear a lot better when the voices that you’ve been listening to your whole life are quiet. They’ve been there your whole life telling you you’re not worthy, something’s wrong with you, what you think to do is stupid, that you’re never going to accomplish it. It’s produced in you fear, guilt and shame to a degree that fear guilt and shame are your identity. So you can’t hear that inner voice which is your identity—your spirit in conjunction with the living God, the Holy Spirit inside you.”

So, this process of moving from ignorance to recognition of God’s voice is of utmost importance, but it is also really hard when other voices are crowding in around us. In the midst of our loud world and busy lives, even though striving to hear God’s voice can be difficult, we should be comforted by Jesus himself as he gives this parable in John 10: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” We, as the sheep of Jesus, the good Shepherd, do know His voice. When it comes, we will know it. We must learn to flee from the stranger, the enemy who is coming in to try to steal our attention and devotion, and seek to listen only to the voice of the Good Shepherd.

Unlike the voices of the world, the flesh, and the devil, God’s voice will be loving, not hateful; encouraging, not discouraging. It’s words will always align with God’s written word in scripture, because God never contradicts himself. His voice will be convicting, but not condemning. In its conviction, it will offer a path of new life, not a path of destruction. It will tell you to hate the sin that dwells inside you, but not to hate yourself. It is a grace-filled voice that will affirm you as a child of God who is seated in the heavenly realms at his table.

RECOGNITION TO ACTIVE LISTENING

As we begin to recognize the beautiful voice of God, we must then move from recognition to active listening. In other words, directing our full attention to what God has to say. Let’s look back at the passage, from verse 10: 10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel...” and Samuel listens to God give him this prophecy.

Samuel returns to lie down, this time ready to listen intently to what God has to say to him. The simple words he echoes from Eli’s mouth are so powerful: “Speak, for your servant hears.” Not until Samuel has (1) recognized God’s voice and (2) placed himself in a posture of active, attentive listening does God deliver this prophetic message. We, also, if we hope to truly listen to God’s voice, must not only create space where the voices of the world, the flesh and the devil are silenced, but we must also cultivate a heart posture that says “Speak, for your servant hears.”

This is why we stress times of silence and solitude and meditation with God in our churches. We cannot just passively expect to escape the voices around us— we must actively fight for silence in our lives so that we might hear the voice of our Creator and Savior. In Yamabukicho church, we have a quiet time of reflection for 10 minutes each Saturday, where people are able to look back at their week, see what God is doing, and hopefully listen to his voice guiding them forward. At our prayer gatherings on Wednesdays, we take five or ten minutes of silence to empty our minds and hearts of the busyness and worries of the day and ready ourselves not just to speak to God, but also to hear from him. We often say the words, “I place myself in your presence” as a way of showing God we are ready to receive his words spoken over us. When we take communion together, we have a time of silence where we are examining our hearts and asking God to point out sins we have not yet confessed. And of course, we hope that each person in our church takes time daily to read God’s word, meditate on it, and pray—if possible, not just by talking to God, but also by sitting in silence to see if he has something to say back to us. All these practices are not meaningless repetitions—they are meant to silence the voice of the enemy and guide us into the presence of God so we can listen to him with our full attention and receive power to obey.

ACTIVE LISTENING TO OBEDIENCE

The final step in this process of hearing God’s voice is moving from active listening to obedience. Let’s look back at the passage, right after Samuel hears the prophecy from God. Starting from verse 15: 15 Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”

If you remember the prophecy God gives Samuel, it would not have been an easy thing to tell Eli, someone in spiritual leadership above him! If Samuel is to obey God, he must tell Eli that God is about to bring punishment upon his house, and that “the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” Wow. Thankfully, in this case, Eli is wise enough to urge Samuel to speak whatever words God spoke, and so Samuel does obey. But if Samuel had not obeyed, the entire process of learning to recognize God’s voice and then listen attentively to that voice would be meaningless. If those words had stayed pent up inside Samuel, they would’ve done much more damage to him than good. But because he obeyed God and shared this prophecy, he was able to be used by God and had the privilege of joining in God’s work. And this first step of obedience led to God speaking to him and using him more and more. The next couple verses in Samuel 3 say, “And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD.”

In contrast, I think of the story of Jonah. The first three verses of Jonah chapter 1 say, “1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.' 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.” Here, it seems that Jonah has no problem recognizing God’s voice, and it’s pretty clear he listened attentively and knew exactly what God wanted. His problem was neglecting to move from listening to obedience. He doesn’t only decide not to go to Nineveh, but he actively flees God’s presence in the other direction to Tarshish.

The great thing about this story, though, is that God still gets his way. Even though God’s messenger Jonah is disobedient, God still finds a way to bring him back to Nineveh by sending a storm and a great fish to swallow him up. After this traumatic experience, Jonah does obey—even if reluctantly—and gets to play a part in Nineveh’s repentance and God’s compassion. So we see here that God’s will being done is not dependent on our obedience; however, our enjoyment of and participation in God’s will is dependent on our obedience. If Jonah had obeyed the word spoken to him clearly by God in the first place, he would have been spared much pain and anguish, and he could have joyfully partaken in God’s plan to save the Ninevites, rather than doing it begrudgingly.

I think back to my own story. After hearing that initial call from God to “give up pre-med and take the gospel to the world,” I could’ve responded in fear. I could’ve walked the other way, in pursuit of the financial stability and academic prestige I had once sought after. For much of my life up until that point, I think I was like Jonah in recognizing and listening to God’s voice but deciding to walk the other direction, away from God’s presence. I remember hearing God say, “this is a way you’re sinning” and knowing so clearly that the Spirit was convicting me, but making the decision to run away from God and continue in sin rather than repent. I am grateful that by the time God asked me to leave my personal dreams behind, the Spirit had done such a work in me that I was ready to say “yes.” I was ready to obey and run towards the place God was calling me rather than away from it. After my initial calling to the mission field, I spent 9 months continuing to seek God’s will on where specifically to go, who to work with, and when to start. He didn’t reveal it all at once, but that process of diligently seeking to recognize His voice, listen to his words, and ultimately to follow Him faithfully, resulted in my own sanctification. And not only was I sanctified, but I was able to joyfully participate in God’s plan to see his Kingdom come in Japan, to see disciples made and to see his church built here. If I had disobeyed, God’s plan to bring redemption to Japan would not have been thwarted. But because of my obedience, I’ve received great peace and joy knowing I am in the place God so clearly asked me to be five years ago and asks me to remain today. And, after all, as I said before, hearing God’s voice is all about relationship. Learning to recognize His voice, setting aside time and space to listen attentively, and asking for power and boldness to obey that voice are all means to an end. That end is intimate friendship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

So, let’s all take a moment. Where are we on this journey of hearing God’s voice? Do we need to move from ignorance to recognition? From recognition to active listening? From active listening to obeying? There is no shame in any one of the stages, because God’s grace abounds. He is not going anywhere. If you have chosen to follow Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit inside of you living together with your own spirit. He is ready to say your name, to tell you how loved and precious you are, and to guide you on in a life of radical obedience and abundant joy. Tell him you are ready.