Sunday
Morning Bible Study
December 30, 2001
Introduction
Are you listening?
Illustration
Seems an elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of
years. He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a
set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%. The elderly
gentleman went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor said, “your hearing
is perfect. Your family must be really pleased you can hear again.” To which
the gentleman said, “Oh, I haven’t told my family yet. I just sit around and
listen to the conversations. I’ve changed my will three times!”
:1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word
of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
child – na‘ar – a boy,
lad, servant, youth. Jewish tradition has it that Samuel was 12 years old at this
time. He has been living at the Tabernacle in Shiloh with Eli since he was
about three years old. He was a special
child, an answer to his mother’s prayer.
He was dedicated to the Lord, a Nazirite. God is going to use a child.
ministered – Samuel was kind of a little priest-in-training.
precious – yaqar –
valuable, prized, weighty, precious, rare, splendid
In the time of the Judges, there only seems to be two times that God used a
prophet.
Deborah the prophetess (Judg. 4:4), and the prophet who spoke during
Gideon’s time (Judg. 6:8)
Jud
4:4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that
time.
The prophet who spoke during the
time of Gideon.
Jud
6:8 That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto
them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and
brought you forth out of the house of bondage;
no open – parats –
(Niphal) to be broken through
vision – chazown – vision;
oracle, prophecy (divine communication)
God’s visions were unable to “break through” to people. Perhaps it isn’t
just a matter of God not speaking, but the real issue is, is anyone listening?
Lesson
How rare is God’s Word?
Is God able to speak today? Is God able to get your attention?
Illustration
Are You Listening?
The story is told of Franklin Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving
lines at the White House. He complained that no one really paid any attention
to what was said. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment.
To each person who came down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, “I
murdered my grandmother this morning.” The guests responded with phrases like,
“Marvelous! Keep up the good work. We are proud of you. God bless you, sir.” It
was not until the end of the line, while greeting the ambassador from Bolivia,
that his words were actually heard. Not quite knowing what to say, the
ambassador leaned over and whispered, “I’m sure she had it coming.”
Illustration
Even as we sit here today, there are hundreds of voices flying through the
air, all around us. We can sit here quietly, but still can’t hear them. But if
we turn on a radio and flip through the dial, we can begin to hear what’s being
said.
I don’t think the issue is really that God isn’t speaking. The issue is
whether or not anyone is listening.
To be listening, you need the right equipment. You need to be tuned in.
:2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place,
and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
when Eli was laid down – this story takes place during the night,
and Eli is in bed.
his eyes … dim – Eli had been going blind
not see – ra’ah – (Qal) to
see; perceive; have vision
Why does the author take the time to tell us that Eli was going blind?
There’s no relevance to the story. It doesn’t seem to have any impact. On
the other hand, maybe it does.
Lesson
Should you be a person who sees?
If anyone should have been seeing visions, it should have been Eli. He was
the High Priest. But he was going blind.
What has blinded Eli? Why isn’t he a person who “sees” visions? Just prior
to this account, a prophet visited Eli and warned him of judgment.
(1 Sam 2:29 KJV)
Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded
in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with
the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?
He put his family above God.
His sons were wicked. They were abusing their authority as
priests and were causing the people to hate coming to the tabernacle. They were
even seducing the women who served at the tabernacle.
Rather than disciplining them correctly, he just scolded
them.
Jesus said,
(Luke
14:26 KJV) If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and
wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he
cannot be my disciple.
Don’t misunderstand me. God wants us to love our family
and take care of them. But our family should never take a place higher in our
hearts than where the Lord is.
He has become self-centered.
He has become fat on the things that his sons have stolen
from the people of God. Rather than disturb his own comfort, he has chosen to
let things stay as they are.
Jesus said,
(Mat
16:24-25 KJV) Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after
me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. {25} For
whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life
for my sake shall find it.
Eli is blinded because his priorities are in the wrong place.
:3 ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD
Every night the priests would light the seven-branched candlestick, the
Menorah. It would burn all night, and at daybreak, the priests would enter into
the tabernacle to put the lamps out. That places this event somewhere before
dawn.
:5 And he ran unto Eli
Samuel doesn’t know what is happening. He thinks that the voice he heard
was Eli.
:7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD
know – yada‘– to perceive;
find out and discern; distinguish; to know by experience
revealed – galah
– (Niphal) to be uncovered; to be disclosed, be discovered
Lesson
You can hear the Lord without knowing Him
God speaks to all kinds of people who have never come to trust in Him.
Illustration
MEET ME IN THE STAIRWELL
You say you will never forget where you were when you heard the news On
September 11, 2001. Neither will I. I was on the 110th floor in a
smoke filled room with a man who called his wife to say “Good-Bye.” I held his
fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the peace to say, “Honey, I am not
going to make it, but it is OK...I am ready to go.” I was with his wife when he
called as she fed breakfast to their children. I held her up as she tried to
understand his words and as she realized he wasn’t coming home that night. I
was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a woman cried out to Me
for help. “I have been knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!” I
said. Of course I will show you the way home - only believe in Me now.” I was
at the base of the building with the Priest ministering to the injured and
devastated souls. I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He heard my
voice and answered. I was on all four of those planes, in every seat, with
every prayer, with the crew as they were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of
the believers there, comforting and assuring them that their faith has saved
them. I was in Texas, Kansas, and London. I was standing next to you when you
heard the terrible news. Did you sense Me? I want you to know that I saw every
face. I knew every name - though not all know Me. Some met Me for the first
time on the 86th floor. Some sought Me with their last breath. Some
couldn’t hear Me calling to them through the smoke and flames; “Come to Me...
this way... take my hand.” Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me. But, I
was there. I did not place you in the Tower that day. You may not know why, but
I do. However, if you were there in that explosive moment in time, would you
have reached for Me? September 11, 2001 was not the end of the journey for you.
But someday your journey will end. And I will be there for you as well. Seek Me
now while I may be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are “ready to go.”
I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.
God
God speaks to us, but will we listen? Will we pay attention? Will we
respond?
:8 the LORD called Samuel again the third time … Eli perceived
the third time – Aren’t you glad that God doesn’t stop after the
first two times?
(Isa 55:6 KJV) Seek ye the
LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
If you are here today and you can hear my voice, perhaps it’s not too late.
perceived – biyn
– (Qal) to perceive, discern; to understand, know (with the mind); to
observe, mark, give heed to, distinguish, consider; to have discernment,
insight, understanding
You have to give Eli a little credit here. He finally realizes that God
must be speaking to the boy.
:9 Go, lie down…Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth
lie down – shakab –
to lie down; to rest, relax (fig)
servant – ‘ebed – slave,
servant
heareth – shama‘–
to hear, listen to, obey. This is the first part of Samuel’s name, “hearing”.
In a sense, Samuel’s name would be prophetic because he, Samuel, would “hear” (shama)
from God (el)
:10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel,
Samuel …
Lesson
God wants to speak to you
(John 16:13-14 KJV)
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all
truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that
shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. {14} He shall glorify me:
for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.
shall show it unto you – anaggello = (ana) into the
midst + (aggello) a messenger, an angel; it means to announce, make
known. Of the ways it’s used in the New Testament it seems to carry the idea of
not just sending a message or shouting at someone, but coming into their
presence and giving the message.
When Paul came back from one of his missionary journeys
around the world, preaching the gospel, and arrived back home in Antioch ...
Ac 14:27
And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they
rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door
of faith unto the Gentiles. (AV)
I kind of get the idea that everyone was gathered
together, maybe at a church potluck, with Paul and Barnabas in the middle,
telling the stories of all the people they met and ministered to.
The work of the Holy Spirit is a very personal work.
He doesn’t:
... send you junk-mail, addressed to “occupant”.
... send you a cold, lifeless e-mail, duplicated to thousands of people at
a time.
... take out space in the newspaper and print an open letter addressed “to
the whole world”.
He wants to come right into the middle of your life, and personally tell
you things from Jesus and about Jesus.
We talked earlier about having a radio to hear the voices around you. The
Holy Spirit is like a living radio, giving you the ability to hear Jesus.
I find it fascinating to hear what each of you get out of our Bible
Studies. I know what things speak to me, but it’s amazing to hear what the Lord
speaks to you.
Lesson
How can I hear God speak?
1. Be quiet.
Samuel had to go back to his bed and “lie down”.
Psalm 62:1 Truly my soul
waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.
waiteth - duwmiyah - silence, still, repose,
still waiting
NAS Psalm
62:1 My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation.
Elijah was running for his life, and hid out in a cave, he was
trying desperately to get some answers from God about his situation. (1Ki.19)
As he was in this cave, first he was met with a strong
wind, then an earthquake, and then a fire, but in all these things, God didn’t
speak to him.
But then came a gentle blowing, or, as the King James puts
it a “still small voice” (1Ki.19:12).
It was with the still, small, voice, that God began to
speak to him.
Illustration:
Sometimes at our house, the phone rings, I pick it up, and
I have a hard time hearing the person on the phone. Usually it’s because the TV is so loud. You need to turn the volume down on the TV to hear.
I wonder if sometimes we simply have too much going on, too much noise from
TV or radio, too many things to worry about in our brains. God says,
(Psa 46:10
KJV) Be still, and know that I am God
2. Wait.
Samuel was to wait until he heard the voice again.
Being quiet is only one part. We must also learn to wait for the Lord to
speak.
Ps 27:14
Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart:
wait, I say, on the LORD.
Ps 130:5 I
wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
Don’t just be quiet for a second, and then rush off without waiting on Him.
Give God time in your life.
3. Listen.
Eli told Samuel,
…thou
shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth.
When Moses was faced with a tough question, and needed an answer from God,
he said:
Numbers
9:8 And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD
will command concerning you.
Isaiah
55:3 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.
4. Surrender
Samuel was to tell the Lord that he was the Lord’s servant.
The person who surrenders to the Lord and is willing to listen will always
learn God’s will.
5. Know His voice
Samuel would soon learn to know the Lord’s voice.
When someone familiar calls you on the phone, they don’t have to identify
themselves, because you know the sound of their voice.
The sheep know the sound of their master’s voice:
John
10:2-5 “But he
who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. 3 “To him the doorkeeper
opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and
leads them out. 4 “When he puts forth all his own, he goes before them, and the
sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 “And a stranger they simply
will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of
strangers.”
How do we become familiar with the sound of His voice?
Spend time listening to what He’s already said.
Spending time in the word.
That way we’ll be able to tell whether it’s the Lord, or
the pizza we had the night before.
Illustration
Are You Listening?
Back when the telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance communication,
a young man applied for a job as a Morse code operator. Answering an ad in the
newspaper, he went to the office address that was listed. When he arrived, he
entered a large, busy office filled with noise and clatter, including the sound
of the telegraph in the background. A sign on the receptionist’s counter
instructed job applicants to fill out a form and wait until they were summoned
to enter the inner office. The young man filled out his form and sat down with
the seven other applicants in the waiting area. After a few minutes, the young
man stood up, crossed the room to the door of the inner office, and walked
right in. Naturally the other applicants perked up, wondering what was going
on. They muttered among themselves that they hadn’t heard any summons yet. They
assumed that the young man who went into the office made a mistake and would be
disqualified. Within a few minutes, however, the employer escorted the young
man out of the office and said to the other applicants, “Gentlemen, thank you
very much for coming, but the job has just been filled.” The other applicants
began grumbling to each other, and one spoke up saying, “Wait a minute, I don’t
understand. He was the last to come in, and we never even got a chance to be
interviewed. Yet he got the job. That’s not fair!” The employer said, “I’m
sorry, but all the time you’ve been sitting here, the telegraph has been
ticking out the following message in Morse Code: ‘If you understand this
message, then come right in. The job is yours.’ None of you heard it or
understood it. This young man did. The job is his.”
We live in a world that is full of busyness and clatter, like that
office. Yet God is speaking. One of the things He’s been saying to some
of you is, “Will you follow Me?” Are
you tuned in to God’s voice? Do you hear Him when He speaks to you?
Are you listening?