Listening to God
November 3, 2013 Evening Service
Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK
Rick Boyne
Message Point: God speaks to us; we must be able to listen.
Focus Passage: 1 Samuel 3:1-10
Supplemental Passage: "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" (Psalms 46:10 ESV)
And He said, Go forth and stand on the mountain before Jehovah. And, behold, Jehovah passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke the rocks in pieces before Jehovah. But Jehovah was not in the wind. And after the wind was an earthquake, but Jehovah was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake was a fire, but Jehovah was not in the fire. And after the fire was a still, small voice. (1 Kings 19:11-12 MKJV)
Introduction: Two psychiatrists meet at their 20th college reunion. One is vibrant, while the other looks withered and worried. "So what's your secret?" the older looking psychiatrist asks. "Listening to other people's problems every day, all day long, for years on end, has made an old man of me." "So," replies the younger looking one, "who listens?" American Health, quoted in Reader's Digest.
I. Be Quiet
a. Samuel was quiet, in bed, and probably meditating on God’s word
b. Our lives are so busy and so loud that we can’t hear God
c. We must be ready to hear from God
II. Recognize God’s Voice
a. Samuel thought it was Eli calling him
b. We must know what the voice of God sounds like
c. We must be able to differentiate between God and the world/Satan/our desires
III. Listen & Obey
a. Samuel listened and remembered what God spoke to him about and was later recognized as a prophet
b. We must be willing to listen to what God has to say to us through His Word, His Spirit, or His people
c. We must be willing to obey what God would have us to do
Invitation:
