Title: Hearing From God
Memorize: My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. John 10:27 (Nkjv)
Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-21 (Nkjv)
1 Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.
2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see,
3 and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down,
4 that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!”
5 So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down.
6 Then the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.”
7 (Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.)
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy.
9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”
11 Then the Lord said to Samuel: “Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.
12 In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.
13 For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them.
14 And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
15 So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision.
16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!” He answered, “Here I am.”
17 And he said, “What is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you.”
18 Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”
19 So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.
20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord.
21 Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
Message:
God communicates with His children diverse ways. He in can talk to you while you are in the church or while you are playing or reading. He can speak through dreams, visions, Scriptures, or with an audible voice. All you need to do is listen, so you can hear Him clearly.
When God speaks, it can be to warn you or give you an instruction like He did with Jonah in Jonah 1:1-2. Unfortunately, Jonah tried to play smart with God and paid for it dearly. God’s instructions are not to be joked with; therefore, I implore you to promptly obey whenever He speaks to you.
When God speaks to me during services and I say, “My Daddy says…. many people wonder how I am able to hear Him easily. One thing I can tell you is that God looks at your heart. If you want to hear from Him clearly, you must have a heart that is right before Him. By this, I mean that you must be holy and you must be a carrier of His presence. Be like Samuel whose heart was right with God and who dwelt in His temple.
Key Point:
A right heart is what you need to hear from God.
HYMN 21: Nearer, My God To Thee
- Nearer, my God to Thee,
Nearer to Thee;
E’en though it be a cross
That raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee! - Though, like the wanderer,
The sun gone down,
Darkness be over me,
My rest a stone,
Yet in my dreams I’d be
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee - There let the way appear
Steps unto heaven;
All that Thou send’st to me
In mercy given;
Angels to beckon me
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee - Then with my waking thoughts
Bright with thy praise,
Out of my stony grief
Bethel I’ll raise;
So by my woes to be
Nearer, my God to thee,
Nearer to Thee! - Or if on joyful wing
Cleaving thy sky,
Sun, moon, and stars forgot,
Upwards I fly
Still all my songs shall be,
Nearer my God to thee,
Nearer to Thee!
Bible In One Year: 2 Samuel 17:1-29 John 19:23-42