Speak, Lord, For Your Servant Is Listening

By: Stan Mast

Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 3

April 19th, 2009

We’ve all heard stories about mentally unstable people who claim to hear God’s voice. How many awful things have been done by people who think God told them to stab or shoot or bomb? And most of us know very religious people who claim that the Lord of the Universe speaks to them all day long with crucial advice like, "Turn left at the next intersection and you’ll find a parking space." So my subject matter for the next several weeks might fill you with skepticism. But I ask you to suspend judgment until you’ve heard what I have to say. You see, I want to explore with you the whole idea of listening to God Is listening to God a sign of insanity or a mark of deep spirituality? On the one hand, the pages of the Bible are filled with people who heard God speak, who, in fact, carry on lengthy conversations with God. On the other hand, the wards of mental hospitals are also full of folks who think they hear God, who alarm their friends and relatives by carrying on animated conversations in an empty room. It is a delicate matter, but an important one. I say that it is important because of what Jesus said in Matthew 4:4. "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." That’s how Jesus lived, and so must we. Indeed, listening to God’s voice is at the heart of solid Christ centered spirituality. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that "everyone who hears these words of mine and does them" will have a life that can withstand all the storms of human existence. Now right up front I must speak a word to all of you who are saying, "God doesn’t speak to me that way. In fact, I’m not at all sure God speaks to anyone that way anymore. After all, we have the Word of God in written form now. Many Christians say we don’t need God’s direct speech, because we have the Bible. The words of the hymn, "How Firm a Foundation," say it well. "How firm a foundation you saints of the Lord is laid for your faith in his excellent word. What more can he say than to you he has said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?" In other words, many Christians believe in what theologians call a closed canon. No, I am not talking about a big gun with its muzzle sealed shut. I’m talking about the idea that the Bible is the final and authoritative Word of God to the human race. It contains all of God’s revelation to the humanity. I’ll tell you ahead of time that a careful biblical study of hearing God’s voice reveals that God spoke to Noah and Abraham and Moses and Samuel and the others at a crucial juncture in God’s plan of salvation. God spoke to them as he did something new. Noah heard God’s voice as God renewed a corrupt earth, Abram as God initiated his covenant of grace, Moses as God created Israel as his covenant people. God spoke to Noah and Abram and Moses and other Old Testament figures and then to Jesus and the apostles, because he had something new to reveal, something important about God and his will and his way of salvation. But now that we have the New Testament, there is nothing new for God to reveal. Indeed, don’t the last words of the last book in the Bible warn us about changing the word of God that was heard in the past? Listen to Revelation 22:18 and 19. "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." Based on these kinds of considerations, the closed canon people say that God doesn’t speak to us anymore as he did to those old timers. Thus, some of us can’t relate to this whole business of hearing God’s voice. We haven’t ever heard God voice and we don’t expect to. Well, I’m a closed canon guy, but I don’t think God is done speaking to us. He will never reveal anything new about himself or the way of salvation. "What more can he say than to you he has said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?" The Bible is the authoritative Word of God. But in John 16:13 Jesus said that when the Spirit of Truth comes (at Pentecost) he will lead us into all truth. Ever since Pentecost the Spirit of God speaks to us by leading us into the truth of the Scripture or by speaking words that are always in accordance with the Scripture. He doesn’t add to or subtract from the Book, but he does apply it to our lives in very practical and personal ways. Let me give you a personal example. The first time I heard God’s voice was in Colorado Springs way back in the 1970’s. I had a call to become the minister of a church in Byron Center, Michigan, and I simply did not know what to do. I had done everything I could think of to discern God’s will in the matter, but I was completely confused. So I went to a cabin up in the mountains for a day of prayer and meditation on the Scripture in hopes that I could discover God’s will. And at the end of the day, God spoke to me—not in a deep bass or mellow second tenor voice, but in words that came to my mind as distinctly as my words are coming into your mind right now. God told me to go to Byron Center with these words, "My presence will go with you and I will give you rest." Only later did I discover that those were God’s words to Moses in Exodus 33:14. That’s what I’m talking about; God spoke to me directly using words he had already spoken in the Bible. Since that time, I have heard God’s voice through the Scripture thousands of times, but in that direct way only three other times. And I often wonder if that’s because I don’t say often enough, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." In those words, we learn a great deal about hearing God’s voice. Now, before we reflect on those words, I must say something about the dangers of interpreting Biblical stories. They clearly tell us what happened once upon a time, but it is difficult sometimes to discern what they mean for us today. Take the story we will study in a couple of weeks, when Moses argued with God. He was most reluctant when God called him to rescue his people and, of course, Moses was the greatest prophet in the Old Testament. So, does that story teach us that it is OK to be reluctant when God calls us? No, because the story itself tells us that God was angry with Moses. And if we look at that story in the light of the whole Bible, it is clear that the story is really about how God delivered his people from bondage in spite of Moses’ reluctance. So that raises this issue. Can we take this story of Samuel as a guide for hearing God’s voice? Is that the main reason it is in the Bible? No, it is here to tell us how God redeemed his people, how God moved from the time of the judges like Samuel to the time of the kings like Saul. It tells us that God is always faithful to his covenant promises in changing times and even through those changes. But verses 19—21 say that Samuel continued to hear God’s voice and what he heard was authoritative revelation from God. So what Samuel does here is not incidental to the story, but a central part of God’s plan of redemption. This story shows us that as God redeems the world, he can use even a child who says, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." God can spread his kingdom through you if you listen to his voice with that attitude, even if you’re just a kid. "The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there not many visions." Perhaps that was because of the leadership of Eli’s selfish and sexually immoral sons mentioned in previous chapters. Perhaps those perverted priests weren’t the kind of people to whom God would speak. Samuel, on the other hand, had been living and ministering faithfully in the house of God since his mother dedicated him to God’s service when he was only three years old. The Jewish historian Josephus reports that Samuel was now about 12. One night, as he slept where the ark of God was, Samuel heard a voice calling him. Thinking it was Eli; he jumped up and ran to him. "Here I am; you called me." Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." Again the Lord called, and again Samuel ran to Eli, "Here I am; you called me." And again Eli said, "I didn’t. Go back to bed." Then it happened again. "Samuel, Samuel." And once again Samuel ran to Eli’s bedside to help him. This time Eli realizes what is happening. It is the voice of the Lord, of Yahweh, calling Samuel. Samuel doesn’t yet know Yahweh in a personal way says verse 7. Though he knew a lot about Yahweh because he has served in his house nearly all his life, Samuel hasn’t yet had a personal experience with Yahweh. So, of course, he doesn’t know what to do when he hears God’s voice. The old priest instructs him to respond to God’s voice with these words. "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." So Samuel went back to bed and lay there quietly waiting for God to speak. When the Lord came and stood there and once again called his name, Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." Then, and only then, does Samuel get to hear what the Lord has to say to him and to Eli and to Israel. Let’s analyze that simple but profound reply. "Speak." Samuel isn’t treating God like a dog when he says that. "Speak, Fido, speak." We do not compel God to speak; he speaks when and where he chooses, as we have the need. This is not a word of command, but an expression of willingness, even eagerness, to hear the voice of God. There is a key question for us. Do we even want to hear God’s voice? We ask God for many things. How often do we actually ask him to speak to us? Is the word of the Lord rare in these days because we’re so busy talking or listening to our iPod or cell phone or TV that we don’t even think to say, "Speak, Lord." You’ll notice that Samuel leaves out that word, "Lord, Yahweh," from what Eli told him to say. Perhaps that was because he still did not know the Lord personally. But he did know who Yahweh was, and that is important as we seek to hear God’s voice. We must listen to the voice of Yahweh, of the great "I am who I am," the voice of the only true God who redeemed Israel and sent Jesus. There are other voices for us to hear—our own, the world’s, the devil’s. So we must be sure to focus on the true God who reveals himself in the Bible. That’s why it is so important to immerse yourself in the Bible as you listen for God’s voice. You need that authoritative word to make sure that it is the Lord that you hear. "Speak, Lord." "For your servant…." With those words Samuel expresses an attitude of humility and submission, and that servant attitude is a key to hearing God’s voice. The story of Moses showed us that God is fully able to speak to a person who is reluctant to do what he says, but unwillingness to obey makes it very difficult to hear God’s voice. If you aren’t willing to trust and obey, you will struggle to know if it is God speaking. I’m thinking here of Jesus’ words in John 7:17. He is talking to people who don’t believe that his voice is God’s voice. He says to them that they won’t ever hear God’s voice in him, until they are willing to do what he says. "If anyone chooses to do God’s will," he said, "if anyone is willing to do God’s will, then he will know, then he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own authority." A willingness to do whatever the Master says is crucial in hearing God’s voice. "Speak, Lord, for your servant…." "Is listening." How often do we miss what God is saying to us in our Bible study or in our prayer or in a sermon or in the words of a godly friend because we simply aren’t listening. We’re talking; we’re distracted; we’re asleep spiritually; we’re not listening. To hear God’s voice you have to be physically still, emotionally silent, spiritually attentive, mentally receptive. Samuel had to stop running back and forth to Eli and go back to his bed and lie down and listen. When Samuel spoke those words and obviously meant them, the Lord spoke a hard message to him, a message about the punishment that was coming on the house of Eli because of his wicked sons. It was such a gloomy message that Samuel was afraid to tell Eli. But Eli wanted to know, and when Samuel told him, Eli recognized that it was an authentic word from the Lord. So he said, "He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes." And God did. He punished Eli’s sons and made Samuel the new leader of God’s people, a prophet, a priest, and a kingmaker, as he crowned Saul and David. Samuel heard the voice of God and God did what was good in his own eyes. And, of course, God eventually did the thing that was best in his eyes. He sent Jesus, the great prophet, the faithful high priest, and the eternal king, of whom Samuel was a foreshadowing. Isn’t it fascinating that Jesus was just 12 years old when he publicly responded to God’s voice? It was in the temple that he said, "I must be about my Father’s business." He lived the rest of his life listening to God’s voice and doing what he heard. That’s because he was God’s last and best Word to the human race, the Word of God made flesh. Every genuine word from God will draw you closer to Christ and his way. He is the One to whom we should say every day, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." Here’s the Good News about hearing God’s voice. Even if you never hear God’s voice as Samuel did, God has already spoken a Word to you that will save you if you believe it. So my final question for you is not, "Have you heard God’s voice as Samuel did?" It is rather, "Do you know the Lord?" As this story opens, Samuel didn’t, even though he had been in church nearly all his life. Do you know the Lord? Have you personally believed what the Word of God says about him and put your trust in him as your Lord and Savior?" If you haven’t, here’s what you should do. Find a quiet place and say to Jesus, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."

About the Author

Stan Mast

Stan Mast has been the Minister of Preaching at the LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church in downtown Grand Rapids, MI for the last 18 years. He graduated from Calvin Theological Seminary in 1971 and has served four churches in the West and Midwest regions of the United States. He also served a 3 year stint as Coordinator of Field Education at Calvin Seminary. He has earned a BA degree from Calvin College and a Bachelor of Divinity and a Master of Theology from Calvin and a Doctor of Ministry from Denver Seminary. He is happily married to Sharon, a special education teacher, and they have two sons and four grandchildren. Stan is a voracious reader and works out regularly. He also calls himself a car nut and an “avid, but average” golfer.

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