Learn to Listen - 1

Learn to Listen - 1

Subject – Learning to Hear the Voice of God

By Rick Welborne

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (NIV)
¹  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 am fairly confident that most of us if not all of us would agree that it is so important that we listen for and hear the voice of God in these last days.

--I have had people scoff at me about the notion of being able to hear the voice of God but from Genesis to Revelations almost every page has this comment, “God said.” If we believe:

Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV) ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

--We have to believe He is still speaking if He is still the same. Our problem is that we are not listening or spending time in His presence. 

--Notice where Samuel was when he heard the voice of the Lord. Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. He was in the presence of God. Close!

--Dr. Alfred Tomatis (an ear doctor) was working with a famous opera singer who had lost his ability to hit certain notes that were possible previously. Many thought it was a vocal problem.

--Tomatis discovered that the singer had become deafened by the sound of his own voice. Wow! Will that preach. Many will not listen to anyone else because of that.

Dr. Tomatis – The voice can only reproduce what the ear can hear.

1. The Real Problem. 

--Let me step out on a limb and guess that you all have your fair share of problems. Could it be possible that how we are trying to solve our problems is ineffective?

--Maybe that’s because we keep treating the symptoms while ignoring the root cause. A spiritual Tomatis effect. The voice can only reproduce what the ear can hear.

--Is it possible what we perceive to be relational, emotional, and spiritual problems are actually hearing problems. Our ears have been deafened to the voice of God.

--So what is it that we are listening to? What voices are we hearing? It’s our inability to hear God’s voice that causes us to lose our voice and lose our way.

Mark Batterson – Let me make a bold statement: Learning to hear God’s voice is the solution to a thousand problems! It’s also the key to discovering our destiny and fulfilling our potential. His voice is love. His voice is power. His voice is healing. His voice is wisdom. His voice is joy.

--Just maybe if your life is off-key, it’s because you have been deafened by the negative self-talk that doesn’t allow God to get a Word in edgewise. 

--Maybe you have listened to the voice of criticism so long you can’t believe anything else about yourself. Some of us grew up with parents who were constantly telling us what we could not do.

--From a very early age I was told, “Shut up! You are not supposed to be here anyway!” “You are always in trouble!” “You will never amount to anything!”

--After a while you start believing what they are saying is true because it is the only voices you have speaking into your life. The condemnation makes you believe that is who you are. 

--Also, one of Satan’s names is the “Accuser of the brethren.” He accuses us night and day and his condemnation takes a toll on who God wants us to be. Good news!

Romans 8:1-3 (NLT2)
¹  So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
²  And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
³  The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 

--If we are not careful and if we do not silence those voices that are competing for our souls, they will deafen us to the beautiful voice of God. 

--You will not be able to sing God’s song or to speak on His behalf because you have lost your ability to hear His voice. This is why everyone is so hungry for a word. They can’t hear for themselves.

2. The Loudest Voice in Your Life.

--The question. Is God’s voice the loudest voice in your life? If the answer is no, that’s the problem. I love what Jesus says to bring clarity for us. Who was Jesus listening to? What was He doing?

John 12:49-50 (NIV)
⁴⁹  For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.
⁵⁰  I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say."

John 5:19 (NIV)
19 "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

--We live in a culture and time when everyone wants to have his or her voice heard but has so little to say. The reason being we do so little listening, especially to God.

Key – The best way to get people to listen to us is for us to listen to God. Why? Because we will have something to say that is worth hearing.

--Jesus said out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks…When we open our mouths we are telling people what we are listening to and what the loudest voice in our lives is.

--As we learn to listen to God and we truly learn to listen to people, we find out what is in God’s heart but we also find out what voices people are listening to.

--Be careful when you listen to people who have so little to say and they gossip about other people because eventually their voice may become your voice. So destructive.

3. All of Us Need to Find Our Voice.

--What do you mean by that, Pastor Rick? By voice, I mean the unique message God wants to speak through our lives. But finding our voice starts with hearing His voice. 

--How important is it to hear His voice? People need Jesus and they need hope. When we learn to listen (because God is still speaking) we can have a voice that will bless others.

--I was kneeling and praying next to my bed and I was praying specifically for my family. My sister had two miscarriages and was so broken she could not have a child. God spoke!

--Get up from your prayer, drive to Ruston, La. (forty miles away) and go to your sister and give her this message. “God says you are pregnant now and you will have a son. Everything will be ok.”

--That’s pretty specific and extremely bold. However, I did what God said. I prayed all the way there and yes, I was nervous. I get to their house and no one is home. Did I hear God or not?

--A note on the door. Very simple. “Gone fishing.” Ok God, I missed your voice. No get in your car and drive. By the way, there are lakes and rivers everywhere in North Louisiana. 

--One lake…Lake D’Arbone was huge with hundreds of ways to access it. Drive toward that lake (15 miles away). Okay! Beautiful lake. Great place to ski and fish.

--Come to a dirt road. Turn here. My car was always clean. Okay. Drive a couple of miles. Y in the road. Turn right. This is crazy. One lane dirt road. Finally, I see the lake and a small fish camp.

--Great man of faith, well, at least I can get a soda. I get out of my car. Ricky! Ricky! Ricky! My sister and brother-in-law had just got into a boat to go fishing! Amazing!

--I delivered his message because I heard His voice. My sister was pregnant (didn’t know), she had a son, and they named him Brandon. Life Church, God is still speaking. Pray to hear His voice.

1 Samuel 3:10 (NLT2) ¹⁰ And the LORD came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.” 

--Before you pray that prayer, a warning, If you aren’t will to hear everything God has to say, you eventually will not hear anything He has to say. 

--If you want to hear His comforting voice, you have to listen to His convicting voice. Often, what we hear is what we least want to hear but it’s what we need to hear.

“Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.”