Overcome By Listening Series

OVERCOME BY LISTENING TO GOD

1 Samuel 3:1-16

Introduction

There are so many different voices we listen to when we need help. There is that inner voice, the one we talk to when we are alone. There is the voice of friends - who may/ may not be Christians. There is the voice of experts - offering up wisdom … or not! There is the voice of experience - which we often ignore! There is the voice of the Enemy - who is never silent. There is the voice of God - the one we should listen to above all

1 John 5:4 “…For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”

In this series we have learned that We Overcome By ….

Trusting God in the chaos

Obeying God even when we do not understand

Turning to God for Redemption when we fail

Rejecting the inner reluctance to following His call

Trusting God to Provide when we see no answers.

(Each of those sermons is available to view on Forsythe Church of Christ YouTube Channel!)

In our text we will learn that we overcome by listening to God.

In 1 Samuel 3, we see a young man who both heard and listened. Samuel was a child of promise - His parents Elkanah and Hannah. You might remember that Hannah could not bear a child and prayed that if God would give her a child she would dedicate him to God. She brought him to Eli to raise. Eli might not have been the best choice - his sons were given to blasphemy and running wild, without correction from Eli. When Samuel hears the Word of the Lord, God’s word is troubling - but this becomes the kind of message that he becomes accustomed to bringing. Samuel becomes a major figure in the story of the Old Testament because he listens to God and he faithfully delivers the message. This text gives us three truths about listening to God in our lives.

1. When There Is No Message From the Lord, Chaos Reigns (1 Samuel 3:1-3)

What a disastrous time for Israel. (1 Samuel 3:1 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.)

The time of the judges has mostly been a failure due to rebellion and wild, brutal living while ignoring God. Eli is a debilitated priest. (1 Samuel 3:2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place.) Eli is nearly blind and is quite old - but that’s not all of his problems. His sons have blasphemed God by forcing themselves on women who come to the temple to worship and by eating sacrifices that didn’t belong to them. Eli speaks to them, but has no discipline.

Biggest problem: There has been no message from God. A few centuries later, the prophet Amos will warn of a famine not of bread or wine but of the hearing of the word of the Lord (Amos 8:11). Proverbs 29:19 NLT “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.”

There is a message of hope in this disaster, though (1 Samuel 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.). Samuel is near the place representing the presence of God and the lamp has not yet gone out - it is in the early morning hours before daybreak. In this time of darkness, there is a glimmer of hope.

God always keeps the door open for repentance. No matter what you have done in your life, God has the light on for you … He wants you to come home. If sin has brought chaos into your life, it’s time to let the Word shed some light on your situation and be a lamp to your feet!

Isaiah 9:1 “…That time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. …There will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles ...will be filled with glory."

Never give up on God, He never gives up on us. There is always hope.

2. When God Calls, Are We Answering?

1 Samuel 3:4-10 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.”