People have a tendency to listen only to what they want to listen to…
Keith Downing shared a story about his Uncle Dick. Apparently his uncle noticed that every time he ate his favorite food, chitlins, his foot pained him immensely that evening. The family physician confirmed his suspicion of pork-induced gout, and when my uncle returned home from the doctor’s office, my aunt asked him how the appointment had gone. Uncle Dick plopped off his shoes and replied, "The doctor said I’m going to have gout about 3 times a week."
APPLY: People have a tendency to listen only to what they want to hear. The Bible even tells us that. God’s Word informs us that "The heart is deceitful above all things."
In Ezekiel, God complained that "these people have ears to hear but they never hear eyes to see, but they never see" (12:2).
But God knew people would be like that… and so repeatedly thru scripture you can hear God say: "Listen to me! Listen to me!"
· Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day,
that you may learn them, and keep, and do them
· Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
· Hear, O Israel the word which the LORD speaks unto you
· Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak…
and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth
· JESUS SAID: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me
· JESUS SAID: He that has ears, let him hear.
Why does God want us to listen?
· Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey/ so that it may go well with you
· Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will
make an everlasting covenant with you, [even] the sure mercies of David
What God’s saying is = I want to bless you. I want to give you what your heart desires… BUT I can’t if you won’t listen.
Now let’s review…
1. God wants us to hear His voice
2. And God wants us to hear His voice because that’s the only way we’ll receive all the blessings He wants to give us
3. But we struggle with this because our hearts are deceitful (that is, we hear only what we want to hear, and we tend to put our priorities above His)
Even the most righteous do this occasionally because even the most righteous has a deceitful heart. How do we heal the deceitful heart? How do we protect ourselves from this disease and open ourselves up to the full blessings God wants to place in our lives?
1st look with me to I Samuel 3:3-4
"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. Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, ’Here I am.’"
Where was Samuel when God 1st called his name? He was lying down in the Temple of the Lord where the Ark was.
Now, I believe that every word of Scripture is there for a reason. For example, in this passage, God could simply have said: “Samuel was sleeping” BUT God goes into detail. It’s as if God is saying: "I want you to know WHERE Samuel was sleeping."
If I’m right, why would God give us these details? I believe it was because God wanted us to see that when Samuel heard God’s voice he was sleeping NEXT to God. In Other Words: Proximity is critical: If you’re gonna hear – you’ve gotta be near.
James 4:8 tells us "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you."
ILLUS: My wife & I will be in the Dining room and she’ll be sharing something she feels is important. I, however, don’t like to just sit around and listen. I’ve got to be doing something – straightening the furniture, straightening the desk. I’ll even drift into the kitchen and begin putting away dishes in the dishwasher, etc. Then it might occur to me that I need to do something in the back room, or in the den (about 4 rooms away)… and she’s still talking. And she gets frustrated (pause) – go figure!
Why does my wife get frustrated? Because she knows - if I’m not in the same room – I’m probably not listening to her anymore.
If you’re going to hear God’s voice; if you’re going to know His will - you’ve got to be in the same room as He is. That’s why Church attendance is critical. That’s why Bible Study is essential. Jesus said: "Wherever two or more are gathered in my name - there I am in the midst of you."
Another, but no less critical activity that places you "in the same room, is prayer. I’m not just talking arrow prayers or emergency prayers… but a "sit down and spend time with God" type prayers.
So, the first thing we need to work on is "being in the same room" with God.
2ndly, we need to work on our priorities.
There will be times when listening to God will be inconvenient. Reread vss. 8 & 9.
"The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, ’Here I am; you called me.’ Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, ’Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place."
ILLUS: Those who know me best know that there are 2 things you don’t mess with. You don’t mess with the food on my plate, and you don’t mess with my sleep. Had I been Samuel and heard my name being called (act it out… progressively getting more frustrated and angry “Whaaat!”)
For me to continually be woken from sleep is inconvenient - I don’t like it. Those who are wise don’t do it. But I suppose God could if He really wanted to.
God often calls us to things that
1. don’t fit our schedule
2. don’t fit our agenda
3. don’t fit our ideas of what should be done
ILLUS: We have a neighbor boy. He’s a brat. He’s insolent, arrogant, disrespectful, a troublemaker. There have been times that I have thought of what I might do if met this kid in a dark alley when no one could witness my response to his rude behavior. But you know what the word of God tells me to do???
In Luke 6:27-36 Jesus tells me: "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full.
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."
I don’t like to think about doing that… it’s "inconvenient." But, if I’m going to grow up to be like my Father in heaven - I better learn to be inconvenienced.
Lastly, in order to hear God, I have to give God permission to speak to me.
In I Samuel 3:9 & 10 we’re told Eli’s advise to Samuel. His advise? Give God permission to speak.
That’s great advice, but it’s odd Eli should give it. Eli hadn’t listened to for years.
In vss. 12-14 God tells Samuel "At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family— from beginning to end. For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them. Therefore, I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’"
The reason God gave His message to Samuel was partly because Eli had refused to listen
CLOSE: If you’re going to hear God, you’ve got to give Him permission to speak to your heart… and that’s not always easy, particularly when our hearts often deceive us. But once we make that decision, it can change our lives.
Scott Harrell tells the story of Roy. Roy had regularly attended church as a child, but was raised in a bizarre, legalistic church family that warped his life. At church, his dad was a pillar, active in the church and even served as a deacon, but at home dad was an abusive monster.
As soon as he could, Roy bolted from the church and wanted nothing to do with it. He was a crude, rude man who looked out for number one. He didn’t pretend to be one thing at church, while he was something else at home, he didn’t pretend at all. Roy was a scoundrel and a
cheat, and he didn’t care who knew it.
When he turned 60, Roy started coming to church again. He’d walk in late, sit on the
back row and listen for a while, but would always leave before the service ended. Brother Scott
would try to witness to Roy, but Roy wouldn’t have anything to do with the gospel or those
hypocrites down at the church.
But he kept coming to church. Listening and watching, but mostly watching the people.
Within a couple of years, God got a hold of him, and changed Roy’s life. "The people loved him
to Christ." Bro. Scott said, "today he is a sweet loving man."
Roy’s transformation took sixty years, but it began when he sat down next to God and began to listen to what the Heavenly Father wanted to tell him.
Have you been listening to the Father?
