Learn to Listen – 6

Learn to Listen – 6

Subject – The Tent of Meeting

By Rick Welborne

1 Samuel 3:9-10 (NIV)
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." 

Exodus 33:11 (NLT2)
¹¹  Inside the Tent of Meeting, the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterward Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, would remain behind in the Tent of Meeting.

--In just a little later we will get to the Tent of Meeting where Moses and Joshua would go to listen to and talk to the Lord. Suffice to say we all need that place.

1. A Place to Listen

--When you look at through the Bible you see whispering spots or places where people would listen to the Lord as He spoke to them. Again, we all need that place.

--For Abraham it was the oak of Mamre. For Isaac it was the well outside Nahor. For Jacob, it was Bethel. For Moses, it was a burning bush. For Joshua, it was Gilgal. For Gideon, it was the oak tree in Oephrah.

--For Samuel, it was the tabernacle in Shiloh. For David, it was the cave of Adullam. For Elijah, it was Mount Carmel. For Mordecai, it was the king’s gate at the citadel of Susa. 

--For Ezekiel, it was the Kebar River. For Daniel, it was an upstairs window facing Jerusalem. For Jonah, it was the belly of a large fish. 

--Before we continue, let me be clear about this: God can show up anywhere, anytime, anyhow. That’s probably why God appeared to Moses in a burning bush instead of the pyramids. God is everywhere.

--Yes, God’s presence was manifested between the cherubim’s wings above the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement.

--But if you think God is confined to a chronological day or a geographical location, you’ve put God in a box, even if the box is the ark of the covenant. Don’t use the Bible to box God in.

Caution: There are those who believe that God only speaks thru scripture. Yes, we believe the scriptures are the inspired Word of God and we believe the canon is closed.

--As you read the Word of God you see that God showed up in the lives of people in strange places and at strange times. He has not changed. On FB I see daily those who see Him in a sunset.

Batterson – God still turns appointments into divine appointments. He still uploads desires, opens doors, and inspires dreams. He still speaks through promptings and people and pain. And just as He did for Moses, He can turn any patch of ground into holy ground.  

--In 1940 Dr. J. Edwin Orr took a group of Wheaton College students to study abroad in England. One of the places they visited was John Wesley’s home, the founder of the Methodist Movement.

--In one of the bedrooms there were two impressions on the floor where it was believed that Wesley knelt to pray. As they loaded the bus Orr noticed one student was missing.

--Going back upstairs, Dr. Orr found a young Billy Graham kneeling in those kneeholes and praying, “Lord, do it again!” I believe God heard his prayer. We should be praying, “Lord, do it again!”

--Suffice to say, we all need to find a quiet place to pray and to listen to God’s voice.

2. A Pierced Ear

--Six times in the Gospels and eight times in the Book of Revelation, Jesus repeats these six words, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” It is a simple statement but the implications are powerful.

--When Jesus would have said the words, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” The Jewish ear would have heard hints of Psalms 40:6.

Psalm 40:6 (NKJV) ⁶ My ears You have opened. 

--The Hebrew word for opened is archaeological, meaning to excavate or dig through dense material. How many of you believe God has to do some digging thru dense material?

--The word for opened can also be translated “to pierce” which led many scholars to believe David was inferring to an ancient ritual outlined at Mount Sinai.

Exodus 21:5-6 (NLT2)
⁵  But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to go free.’
⁶  If he does this, his master must present him before God. Then his master must take him to the door or doorpost and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will serve his master for life.

--Has your spiritual ear been pierced? Has your inner ear been consecrated to Christ? Is God’s still small voice the loudest voice in your life?

--Before any of you run home and tell your parents you want your ears pierced because it is in the bible, make sure you are willing to serve your God and your parents for a lifetime. 

--The Latin word for obey is obedire which means to “give ear.” Obedience starts with a pierced ear. It is tuning into God’s quiet voice and willingly serving Him with all your heart. 

--It’s obeying God’s whispers from His Word and whispers to your heart no matter if society, culture, or a thousand other voices are screaming at you something different.

Jose Ortega y Gasset – Spanish Philosopher – Tell me to what you pay attention and I will tell you who you are. You will eventually be shaped in the image of the loudest voice in your life—the voice you listen to most. Genuine listening is ultimately an act of submission. 

--The natural reaction to have when you get into a lively discussion (argument) with your spouse or anyone else is to elevate your voice to solve the problem. It never works.

--The solution is shutting your mouth and opening your ears. The way we submit to one another is by genuinely, thoughtfully, patiently, and carefully listening. The same is true with God.

Ephesians 5:21 (NLT2) ²¹ And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 

3. The Tent of Meeting

--The Tent of Meeting was a tent Moses set up outside the camp as the children of Israel wandered around in the wilderness. Moses wanted to be far enough away not to be distracted.

--He was tired of the Israelites incessant grumbling, complaining, and murmuring. He desperately needed a quiet place—a place where he could hear God’s still small voice.

--Have you ever wondered or meditated on why God chose Joshua to be his Moses’ successor? First of all, he was one of the two spies (Caleb) who brought back a positive report from Canaan. 

--The other ten spies who had very loud voices brought back negative reports. The people listened to the wrong voices and it cost them forty years in the desert.

--Be careful listening to the majority who have the extremely loud voices and negative opinions because they can take you on a path you do not want to go.

--But there is a second reason God chose Joshua to succeed Moses. God trusts most those who know Him best. Those who spent time with Him. He was chosen because He spent time with God.

Exodus 33:11 (NLT2) ¹¹ Inside the Tent of Meeting, the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterward Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, would remain behind in the Tent of Meeting.

--Like Moses and Joshua, we all need a Tent of Meeting, a place where we can linger in the presence of God and learn to hear is quiet voice. 

--Let me ask you a silly question. Have you ever tried setting up a meeting with someone without designating a time and place?

--Imagine asking someone when he wants to meet and he says whenever. Or asking him where he wants to meet and he says wherever. Good luck with that meeting. 

--Setting up a Tent of Meeting takes effort and being intentional. It also takes time and patience.

--Archbishop Fulton L. Sheen (80 years old) was speaking to a group of nuns and explaining to them how he became the most influential Catholic in America next to the Pope. 

--It almost sounds a little condescending but I guess he felt like he had lived enough life to have freedom to share his heart and his mind. No time to dillydally! 

Sheen – You nuns are far more intelligent than me. So why am I speaking to you? I’ll tell you why. Because my words have power. And why do I think my words have power? My words have power because for fifty-five years, 365 days a year, I’ve spent an hour in God’s presence!

--Sometimes life has a way of throwing you into the Tent of Meeting or a whispering spot. When you heart is broken or your world is crumbling, find God’s presence and then, listen!

--I don’t know about you but it seems to me that one of the enemy’s main weapon against the body of Christ is a spirit of frustration. People are agitated and are in need of rest.

--Sleep is wonderful and sleep is needed but that is not the kind of rest I am talking about. I am talking about a Tent of Meeting…a meeting place where we find God and we find rest.

Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT2)
²⁸  Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
²⁹  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
³⁰  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Old Song – Shut in with God in a secret place, there in His Presence beholding His face; finding new strength to run in the race; how I love to be shut in with God. 

'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'