January 15, 2006 - The Second Sunday After Epiphany  

 In our lesson from 1 Samuel we see the story of the boy Samuel ministering unto the Lord under Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. At that time Eli was an old man who was resting. Samuel was lying down elsewhere in the Temple near the Ark of God.

 It was then that the Lord spoke, he called, “Samuel, Samuel!” When Samuel heard the voice he thought it was the voice of Eli calling to him. He said, “Here I am,” and went running to Eli. “Here I am, for you called me.” Eli said, “I didn’t call you, you were dreaming, go lie down.” The Lord then called Samuel again. The same thing happened again.

We are told that Samuel did not yet know the Lord nor had the word of the Lord been revealed to him yet.

It happened a third time, but this time Eli perceived that the voice of God had called Samuel. So he told Samuel to go lie down again and if the voice spoke to him again, he was to respond, “Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears.”

      All Christians long for God to speak to them. We would prefer God to speak in a loud audible voice, but we realize that even in the Bible that was rare. We sense God wants to speak to us, but we don’t often recognize His voice.

      Some Christians really don’t believe God is even listening to them when they pray. They are much like the little boy who was praying in a very loud voice, “God, I want a new bicycle for Christmas.” His mother came into his room and said, “Honey, you don’t have to pray in such a loud voice, God is not deaf.” The little boy said, “I know but Grandpa is.” If we don’t believe God is listening to us then we certainly won’t believe that God can speak to us.

      There are some churches who don’t even believe that God speaks today mainly because they have not even allowed God in the church.. A man thought he might like to go to a church notorious for its exclusiveness. He told the minister he wished to join. The minister sought to evade the issue by suggesting that the man reflect more carefully on the matter, and pray for guidance.

      The following day, the man told the minister: “I prayed, sir, and the Lord asked me what church I wanted to join. When I told Him it was yours, He laughed and said, ‘You can’t get in there. I’ve been trying to get in that church for 10 years myself, and I can’t get in.’”

      I am convinced that God is trying to speak to us as a church and as individuals just as He did to Samuel, only not in a way that we always recognize.

      In order for us to hear God speaking to us we need to first look at the ways that God does speak to us. 

First, God speaks to us through His Word, the Bible. As we spend time in His word we become more sensitive to the voice of God speaking within us. If we think we can hear clearly from God without spending time in His Word, we are mistaken. Listening for God’s voice without being dedicated to spending time in the Word on a regular basis opens us up to hearing voices that are not from God. Knowing the written Word protects us from deception.

Second, God speaks to us through wisdom and common sense. Wisdom discerns truth in a situation, while common sense provides good judgment in what to do about the truth. The Bible says, “If anyone lack wisdom, let him ask God.” One woman told of asking God if she should buy a particular expensive item. She prayed, “Lord, is it okay for me to buy this?” She didn’t hear anything that she felt was God speaking to her about whether she should buy the item. Then she asked herself, “Can I afford this?” As a matter of fact, she could not afford the item, so wisdom says, “Don’t buy it.” The audible voice of God is not needed when wisdom is already shouting the truth.

Third: God speaks through dreams and visions, prophecy (God speaking prophetically through other people), and through natural things (Jesus said, “Consider the lilies of the field”). All of these ways of God speaking to us must be tested to make sure they are in line with scripture. For example, I may dream that I robbed a bank. That dream does not mean that God is telling me to go rob a bank. I may see an image of the Virgin Mary on the side of my dirty car, but that does not mean that God is telling me to put my trust in the Virgin Mary. Test everything.

Fourth: God speaks to us through what the Bible calls a “Still small voice.” It is that voice of conscience, that inner voice that moves us to do something or not to do something.

      Now that I have outlined the main ways that God speaks to us I want to talk about how to better hear the voice of God. I am not speaking to you as an expert or someone who always hears or discerns the Lord speaking to me. I have, however, discovered some principles that I have found work for me when I put them into practice.

      The first thing to do in order to hear the voice of God is to develop an atmosphere to hear God. Atmosphere is created by attitudes, and certain attitudes enhance or hinder our relationship with God.

      For example, if we live in a constant state of strife, which is a spiritual problem, we can feel the strife in the atmosphere. Many churches that have gone through conflicts talk about a palpable feeling of tension in the air. That can be the case with individuals as well.

      One aspect of developing an atmosphere to hear God is the importance of cultivating a listening attitude. Have you ever met someone who asks questions, but doesn’t listen to the answers? It is hard to talk to people who aren’t listening. So if God is going to speak to us He will find someone with a ready ear, someone who is listening for the sound of his voice.

      I remember one time I was praying during a daily prayer time when I sensed the Lord say “take a few minutes and just wait on Me.” I waited very briefly, and then started to make a phone call. The Lord gently said, “I didn’t tell you to make phone calls; I told you to wait on Me.” Our human nature is so full of energy it is difficult for us to just be still. We need to develop new habits in this all-important area.

      When God speaks to us during these times of silence we may wonder whether it is God or whether it is just our mind making it up. One of the tests we can employ is to see if we have a peace inside regarding what we are receiving. Does it feel right inside? The Holy Spirit inside us can confirm that we have indeed heard from God.

      We must know God’s character in order to know what is from Him and what isn’t. God is gentle, not harsh, hard, sharp or pressing. For example, when I began to pick up the phone to make a call, God didn’t become angry and yell at me. His voice was gentle and kind. God understands our nature. He knew I was not purposely being disobedient but that my human nature just wanted to be busy “doing something.”

      Another part of God’s character is truthfulness and honesty. God always speaks to us truth and desires us to live lives of honesty and integrity. There was a woman who told of a time when she went shopping and purchased two pairs of shoes and a purse to match one of the pairs. When she came home she found two pairs of shoes and two purses, but she had only been charged for one purse.. She thought maybe this was God’s way of telling her that it was His way of blessing her. Then she realized that God’s voice would always be honest and He would never keep something he didn’t pay for, and she should not do so either.

      It was a real effort for her to return the purse – it actually cost her time and gas money to take it back – but she knew honesty was God’s way.

      The clerk was so impressed that as this woman was leaving she saw him telling others he could not believe she had returned the purse.

      People need to see God in action and He wants to work through his children. Don’t let Satan deceive you in the area of hearing from God. Know God, know His character and you will be able to discern the voices that come to you, whether they are his, yours, or the ememy’s.

      Along with developing a listening attitude the second thing we can do to better hear the voice of God speaking to us is to make sure that we have an attitude that honors God. This sort of attitude says, “God, no matter what anybody else is telling me, no matter what I think myself, no matter what my own plan is, if I clearly hear You say something to me, and I know it’s from You, I am going to honor You and what You say above anything else.” We place God’s Word above man’s word, we honor God by seeking to do what he tells us through the voice of the Spirit and through the voice of His Written Word.

      So we develop a listening attitude, we develop an attitude that seeks to honor God above all else, and thirdly we keep an attitude of faith. When St. Paul was called by God to preach he had just come out of a life of persecuting Christians and trying to destroy the Christian faith. Now he heard the voice of Jesus calling him to a new ministry for Christ. If I had been one of Paul’s peers I would have had a hard time believing that he was called.

      Listen to what Paul said of his calling in Galatians 1:15-17. Paul knew that he must remain faithful to what he heard Jesus say to him. He didn’t check it out with the big shots in Jerusalem. He simply went away into Arabia for almost three years to be further taught and prepared by the Lord. The Holy Spirit had confirmed what he heard from Jesus. Pastor Rick Shelton tells how he operates when he thinks he has heard from God. He would say, “I’m not going to move on this until I know for sure that it fits inside.”

      Everything that is right for our lives has a place on the inside of us, where it is going to settle comfortably. That doesn’t mean that everything we do feels comfortable. When I felt like I heard God calling me into the ordained ministry I had a real passion to minister to and teach people. My seminary experience prepared me for that. What I was not prepared for was all of the administrative things that a clergyman has to do. I wanted to just pray and study the word of God and to preach and teach people that same Word. What I found is that much more time is taken up by administrative things than I would like. But, because I love what I am called to do, I am able to do those things that are less desirable. It fits inside.

      We’ve talked about hearing from God by developing a listening attitude, by having an attitude that honors God, and by having an attitude of faithfulness toward God. Another attitude that will help us to hear God’s voice is a patient attitude. To hear God, we must be willing to wait on wisdom out of a passion for wanting God’s will more than anything else. We will hear from God much more clearly if we are determined not to move in the heat of our sinful human natures or our emotions.

      I tend to be an impulsive person from time to time. God has shown me that I need to learn to wait. Emotions that rise and energize me will fall, and emotional energy won’t carry me where I really need to go. When I was in college a dorm mate of mine came to me telling of a new business adventure that he was sure was going to make him a ton of money. He asked me to get into the business too. We were to sell cutlery. I soon realized that this was not what I should be doing, and it was a real hassle to get out of that business. I jumped in without having the patience to wait for what God wanted me to do.

      Joyce Meyer tells of being a natural-born confronter. In the past, if she wanted something solved, she confronted the issue and forced a solution. It took her years to learn that sometimes it wasn’t good for her to deal with issues that directly. She learned that she could make matters worse, or get in God’s way and end up having to go through the same situation again because she didn’t wait for God’s timing. Because she was impatient, she didn’t give God a chance to solve things for her.

      She said, “I have learned that when I feel anxiety rise in me to handle something, I should let it rest for at least twenty-four hours. It is amazing how we can change our mind if we will just let things settle for a few hours. We can save ourselves so much trouble if we will learn to wait on God.

      There is one last attitude that, if we develop it, will help us to hear from God more clearly. That is to keep an attitude of obedience. God delights in the atmosphere of our obedience. Naturally, it doesn’t do God any good to talk to us if we aren’t going to listen and obey. James tells us to be doers of the word of God and not just hearers only.

      For many years, I wanted God to talk to me, but I wanted to pick and choose what to obey. I wanted to do what He said if I thought it was a good idea. If I didn’t like what I was hearing or reading in Scripture, then I would act like it wasn’t from God, or it wasn’t for me. God has given us the capacity to both hear and obey.

      I was moved by a story about a message from a pastor of a very large church who spoke at a pastor’s conference in Tulsa, Okla. Hundreds of pastors came from all over the country to hear this man tell what he did to build his church. He told them simply, “I pray, and I obey. I pray and I obey.

      Do you want to hear from God? Develop an attitude of listening, of honoring God, of faith, of patience. Pray and obey, pray and obey, pray and obey.