The world we live in today is not the world our grandparents lived in and it certainly will not be the world our grandchildren will live in. They will live in a completely different world and age. The world has seen many different ages. It has seen the stone age, the bronze age, the iron age, the Middle Ages, the industrial age and now the information age. The last few decades have witnessed incredible advances in communication because of the internet. We have become so dependent on the internet that there was panic and chaos about two months ago when some undersea fibre-optic cables off the African coast were cut or damaged. The reason for the panic and chaos was because almost everyone today uses an I-phone and depends on the internet. Many businesses rely on the internet to advertise and transact business through Mobile Money, Internet banking, credit and debit cards. The internet has also become a major source of information by means of social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, X, Messenger, Tik Tok, and Instagram. The internet, however, has both positive and negative effects on people depending on what a person reads and watches on the internet. Every person has to decide what to focus on while browsing the internet just as with the radio and television a person decides what frequency to listen to or what channel to watch. The most time spent on the internet today is to play games, watch movies and receive and share information that is often deceptive and far from the truth. All the advances in information technology are nothing compared to God’ means of communication. God speaks the truth directly to the spirit of the right person at the right time. Today, unfortunately, we are paying attention to so many different voices that we cannot hear the voice of the Lord.
Jesus says “My sheep know my voice”. His followers know His voice, listen to His words and obey Him. Unfortunately, many people today do not know the Lord and cannot hear His voice. What they know and listen to are the smart phones, tablets and laptops. They focus on what the world and the devil are saying rather than on what God is saying. How do you begin your day? Is it with God? We can use the I-Phone and tablet to listen to God’s Word but is that how we use it? Most people use the I-phone first to access and share information on social media platforms before doing anything else. This is the reason why the world is able to drown out the voice of God because it appeals to what a person desires and not what God desires. Instead of first seeking God and His Kingdom, we are more concerned about worldly things such as money, wealth, fame and power. The most important activity is to put God first, especially when going through trials and difficulties.
God is always speaking today but are we listening? He speaks to us as we read and listen to His Word. He speaks to us as we pray, as we sing or listen to godly songs, and as we praise and worship Him. In the time of Samuel “the word of the Lord was rare and there was no widespread revelation”. The people could not hear the voice of God due to the corruption of spiritual leadership and the disobedience of the people. The sons of Eli, the priest, showed their lack of respect for the holiness of God by eating the parts of the animal sacrifice reserved for God and by sleeping with women at the entrance of the Tabernacle. Their transgressions disqualified them from serving the Lord. God needed a new prophet to replace Eli and Hannah met God’s will when she prayed and promised to dedicate her son, who was yet to be born, to the service of God. Hannah fulfilled her promise and Samuel served in the tabernacle under Eli, who taught him what he had failed to teach his own sons. At God’s appointed time He called Samuel by name. At the time Samuel was not familiar with the voice of the Lord. Eli, after some time knew it was the Lord calling him and told him how to respond to God’s call. We cannot even imagine how Eli must have felt when he realised that God would no longer speak to him directly but through Samuel.
The sons of Eli knew about God but showed no respect for Him because they did not know Him. God only speaks to those who know Him because only those who know Him will listen to Him and obey Him. We can know about God and still not know Him and this is the problem with many people today, even Church goers and leaders. Knowing about God and knowing God are two different things. Knowing about God is knowledge; knowing God is relationship and fellowship. God created man in His likeness and Adam and Eve enjoyed an intimate relationship and fellowship with Him till sin led to their spiritual death, separation, and loss of fellowship. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for sin to restore our relationship with God for “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive”. (1Co 15:22) In Christ the believer receives a new spirit and a new identity. Jesus Christ took our place on the cross and bore the full judgement of God on sin so that we could take His place. He became our sacrifice for the sin offering. Under the Old Covenant the sacrifice for the sin offering had to be repeated over and over again because the judgement of God on sin was far greater than the sacrifice. It pointed to the need for a better sacrifice, a perfect sacrifice that would not have to be repeated. It pointed to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. There Jesus Christ after He had exhausted all the judgement of God on sin cried out “It is finished”. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was far greater than the judgement therefore there is no longer any need for a sacrifice. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is more than sufficient to pay the price for our past, present and future sin. We are not saved because of anything we have done but are “saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God”. (Eph. 2:8)
Jesus Christ was made sin with our sinfulness that we might be made righteous with His righteousness, a righteousness that had never known sin before. The believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit since he has been made righteous and received a new, holy, and perfect spirit. We must see ourselves as God sees us and believe the words of Jesus that “the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist”. (Matt. 11:11) The Holy Spirit came upon the Old Testament saints at different periods but He now resides in the believer. The presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit makes believers God’s beloved children. When Christ died on the cross one of His last words were a quotation from Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46) Jesus was forsaken and rejected and could not call God Father so that we might be accepted as God’s beloved children who can come to Him and call Him Father.
The Holy Spirit is the One who confirms the Word of God and leads a person to make a right response to Christ. In the case of Samuel, He was the One who made him restless, miserable and unable to sleep until He responded the right way. In the case of Naaman, he was the One who led him to deal with his preconceptions and pride that was a hindrance to his healing. Naaman was about to walk away because things had not happened the way he expected as we often do today. We also, often come to God with a preconceived idea of how we want God to act and so instead of first listening to Him and obeying Him, we tell Him want to do and how to do it. “In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.” (Heb. 1:1) God has not stopped speaking to us but are we listening?
Let us listen to the words of God. They are spirit and life and obeying them leads us into the abundant life that is His will for all believers. Let us not miss out on God’s Word and power to transform our hearts and lives, so that we can enjoy our lives the way God designed it to the praise and glory of Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
