Go! And Listen: When God Speaks, Do You Listen? Series

Go! And Listen: When God Speaks, Do You Listen?

INTRODUCTION

When God speaks… do you listen?

Most people hear noise every day, but very few actually listen.

A few years ago, a violinist stood in a busy railway station in Washington D.C., playing exquisite classical music. Nearly 1,100 people walked by. Only seven stopped for more than a minute. What none of them knew was that the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most accomplished musicians in the world, playing one of the most difficult concert pieces ever written… on a violin worth millions.

The music was glorious, but the people were distracted.

And I wonder…

How often does God speak, and we walk by distracted?

1 SAMUEL 3:1–10 (NLT): “Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the LORD by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the LORD were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon. One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God. Suddenly the LORD called out, ‘Samuel!’ ‘Yes?’ Samuel replied. ‘What is it?’ He got up and ran to Eli. ‘Here I am. Did you call me?’ ‘I didn’t call you,’ Eli replied. ‘Go back to bed.’ So he did. Then the LORD called out again, ‘Samuel!’ Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. ‘Here I am. Did you call me?’ ‘I didn’t call you, my son,’ Eli said. ‘Go back to bed.’ Samuel did not yet know the LORD because he had never had a message from the LORD before. So the LORD called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. ‘Here I am. Did you call me?’ Then Eli realised it was the LORD who was calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, ‘Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, “Speak, LORD, your servant is listening.”’ So Samuel went back to bed. And the LORD came and called as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel replied, ‘Speak, your servant is listening.’”

Samuel lived in days described as spiritually dark:

“messages from the LORD were very rare” (v. 1).

The Hebrew word for “messages” is ?????? (dabar) — meaning a word, a declaration, a revelation. It wasn’t that God was silent; Israel wasn’t listening.

Samuel is young. Eli is old and physically blind — but spiritually blind also. Yet God chooses to speak to a boy lying on the floor of the Tabernacle.

This is grace. God initiates the conversation. And God still does.

1 — GOD IS STILL SPEAKING TODAY

Hebrews 1:1–2 (NLT):

“Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son.”

God’s fullest revelation is Jesus Christ Himself. The Greek word for “spoken” here is ?a??? (laleo) — not whispering, not hinting… but clearly declaring.

We live in a world overflowing with noise — notifications, screens, routines — but God still speaks through:

His Word

His Spirit

His people

His providence

His creation

The problem is not divine silence.

The problem is human busyness.

John Piper: “God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.”

We see so little, yet God is so active. Piper reminds us that God’s voice often moves quietly, faithfully, powerfully — beneath the surface. But only the listening heart will recognise it.

2 — TO HEAR GOD, WE MUST BE WILLING TO RESPOND

Notice Samuel’s posture:

He runs. He gets up. He moves.

Three times he says, “Here I am!”

James 1:22 (NLT): “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says.”

The Greek verb p???? (poieo) means to act, to carry out, to obey. Hearing without obedience is spiritual self-deception.

In Samuel’s day, the priesthood was corrupt (Hophni and Phinehas). Hearing God carried responsibility. God doesn’t speak simply to inform us — He speaks to transform us.

God speaks to guide us…

But He also speaks to correct us, confront us, redirect us.

Are you willing to obey even before you know what He will say?

Charles Stanley: “Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.”

This is faith. This is discipleship. God doesn’t give us the full roadmap — He gives us the next step. Listening means stepping forward.

3 — THE POSTURE GOD BLESSES: “SPEAK, LORD, YOUR SERVANT IS LISTENING.”

Samuel’s response shows humility, surrender, readiness. The Hebrew word for listening is ?????? (shama‘) — meaning more than hearing; it means hearing with the intent to obey.

John 10:27 (NLT): “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”