Speak, Lord, Your Servants Listen (A sermon based on 1 Samuel 3:1-10)

Speak, Lord, Your Servants Listen

A sermon based on 1 Samuel 3:1-10

Sunday, January 25, 2009 – Epiphany 3B

 

Have you ever been talking to someone, only to realize ten minutes into the conversation that your message didn't even come close to registering? It just went in one ear and right out the other? Author, Dave Muerer, describes this strange listening problem in his sons… "A huge portion of your son's life will consist of your supplying him with detailed information that he will not understand, but that you will think he understands because he will nod as you speak to him and even repeat back to you verbatim everything you just said while never understanding a word of it.

"What your son does understand is that (1) pretending to understand means he can go outside and play much sooner than if he hangs around to seek clarification; (2) gaining clarification usually means that he has to do something he does not really want to do anyway; and (3) you will ultimately forgive him if he apologizes, even if he is only vaguely aware of exactly what it is for which he's apologizing…"

 

Sound familiar to any of you? It likely does as this selective deafness isn't exclusive to boys. It's also found in adult males as well… just ask my wife. And it's not really exclusive to just males either. It's found in both boys and girls, wives and husbands, bosses and employees. It frustrates communication and causes countless problems at home and at work. But where it really causes problems is in our communication with God.

Thankfully God in his grace repeats his messages to us again and again, but this morning we're encouraged to clean out our ears, be quiet, and really listen. Listen to God's gracious revelation of himself and the boy Samuel's humble response as they're recorded for us in 1 Samuel 3:1-10…

 

The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions. ^2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. ^3 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. ^4 Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am." ^5 And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down. ^6 Again the LORD called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." "My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." ^7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. ^8 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. ^9 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. ^10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."

I.              In His Grace God Speaks to Us

          Israel had a problem, a very serious one: they had stopped listening to God. The priests, the very ones who should be proclaiming God's message to the people, were abusing their offices. They were stealing from the offerings the people brought to God, having sex with the other tabernacle workers, and piling scandal upon scandal, refusing to listen to any word of rebuke. The priests had stopped listening to God, and had stopped speaking his Word.

          And if they would refuse to listen to him, God would stop talking. "In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions."God warned his people that this would be the consequence of their failure to listen time and time again, as he said through Amos: "^11 The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. ^12 Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it." (Amos 8:11-12)

          What a fitting, but terrible judgment on their refusal to listen! The people were cut off from the Word of God, their only source of life and rescue from their sin, death, and hell. But God in his grace wouldn't abandon them to the famine of his Word forever. In his love, God would reveal himself to them again more clearly than ever before through the prophets. And he would begin with a young boy by the name of Samuel.

Samuel's mother sent him to live and serve at the temple as an apprentice of sorts to the High Priest, Eli. And one night, the High Priest was bypassed and his apprentice, Samuel, received a call from God. He would be a prophet of God for the people, faithfully raining God's Word on the people in this time of well-deserved draught.

What love God had for his people! Though they deserved no more calls from God, in love he appeared—visibly!—and revealed himself again. And when Samuel didn't recognize who was calling him, God, in his grace, repeated the call over and over again until he got it. What persistent love!

 

            And dear friends, that's the exact same way that God deals with us. We don't deserve for God to be so persistent with us. It's more than enough for him to reveal his grace to us at all. We don't deserve it at all for the times we've sat in church or read through a few pages of the Bible pretending to pay attention to God because, well, (1) pretending to listen means you can go outside and play much sooner than if you hang around to seek clarification in God's Word; (2) you feel that gaining clarification usually means that you have to do something you don't really want to do anyway; and (3) you think God will ultimately forgive you if you apologize, even you're only vaguely aware of exactly what it is for which you're apologizing.

Let's face it. We don't love God's Word like we should. We don't always gladly hear and learn it. And even if we can repeat his Word back to him verbatim, we don't always really listen to what it's saying. We don't deserve God's Word. We deserve a famine.

But, thank God we don't get what we deserve. In his grace, he reveals himself to us again and again. He gives us the comforting message of the forgiveness that is ours in Christ. Christ listened to his Father perfectly all the time and gave that perfection to us. And Christ took away our sins of poor listening and paid for every one of them on the cross.

Now we're forgiven for all the times we've only pretended to pay attention or listened selectively. We're forgiven for the times we haven't even done that much. We're forgiven for our apathetic approach to church and Bible study and are assured of that forgiveness in various ways: In addition to the written and spoken Word, he reminds us how we've been cleansed of our sins in the waters of Baptism and he gives us his very body and blood in the Lord's Supper to assure us of that forgiveness once more.

What grace God shows to us! He comes to us with his Word again and again, repeating his message two, three, four, fifty, a thousand times… until we recognize his voice and get it. He continues to reveal himself to us as a holy God when he gives his rebuke of our sin. He continues to reveal himself as a forgiving God when he reminds us of the gospel. And he continues to speak to us encouraging us to serve him in thanksgiving. Such grace demands a response. It demands a response like Samuel gave, when he recognized God's gracious call…

 

II.            In Humility, Listen to Him

 

When Eli finally recognized it was the Lord calling Samuel, he could have become jealous that God had passed him over to give his message not to the High Priest of Israel, but to a young boy, only an apprentice. But Eli didn't have such petty jealousy, or if he did, he didn't let it get the best of him. He gave Samuel sound advice—advice we do well to heed as well, for it tells us that proper response to God's gracious call.

Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'"

What a beautiful response to God's gracious call, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening!" In a world where most were too busy, or too absorbed in their own selfish interests to listen to God's Word, in a time when the Word of the Lord was rare and there weren't many visions because so few would listen, Samuel humbly listened to God. And though the message was not a particularly fun message to share, that Eli and his sons would soon face ruin for their sins, Samuel didn't just hear God, but listened and obeyed and boldly shared the message with Eli as he was instructed. And what a wonderful example he left for us…

 

In a world where most are still "too busy" to stop and listen to God, in a world where the attitude is usually one that says to God, "Listen, Lord, your servant is speaking," in a world where there are too many urgent things to be done, that the important things are often overlooked, we do well to heed Eli's advice and echo Samuel. We do well to say to God, "Speak, Lord, your servants listen."

And take advantage of every opportunity you have to listen to what he says. Humbly recognize the voice of the Lord—that it's not just some pastor sharing his thoughts or opinions, but God speaking to you through his Word. Recognize his voice, that it's not just some "boring" Bible class, but God himself talking to you each week. Even late at night, or in Samuel's case, early in the morning, don't say you're too tired to read a devotion or a chapter from God's Word, but think of what an exciting opportunity you have, that in his grace, God himself speaks to you! And say to him in response, "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening!"

And do listen. Listen to what his Word says about your sin and who you are, as tough as it is to hear. Listen to his rebuke and repent of that sin. Listen to the Word of his comfort that says you are forgiven because Christ took that sin away on the cross. Listen when he comforts you with the assurance that he's using every event of your life, no matter how painful or seemingly insignificant, for his divine purposes for you.

A Greek poet by the name of Zeno, wrote, "We have two ears but only one mouth so that we may hear more and speak less." Use those ears to listen. Listen, as Samuel did, ready to accept God's Word as truth. Listen, ready to believe his Word with all your heart. Listen, ready to obey his Word.

It's not too late for a few more New Year's resolutions. Resolve not only to lose a few pounds or get more organized, but most importantly resolve to listen to God in his Word. Resolve to attend worship and Bible class regularly. Resolve to be rid of your selective hearing and to eagerly say, "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening." And God, in his grace, will continue to speak to us through his Word, confronting us in our sins when we need it, and comforting us with gospel. In Jesus' name, dear friends, amen.