Title: God Calling Samuel (1 Samuel 3)
Content God Calling Samuel (1 Samuel 3:8-11)
Those who heard the voice of God lived changed lives. When Augustine was also fiddling with the Bible one day, the words of Romans 13:13 dispelled all his doubts and darkness. Some theologians object to hearing God's voice, saying that it is an unbiblical 'direct revelation' outside the Bible. They say that the Bible is sufficient and that we no longer need it. But even today, I am going to testify of the Word while fully agreeing with the doctrine that God is alive and speaks. Even today, anyone who believes and receives Jesus and is born again can hear the voice of God.
How can we hear God's voice?
1. You can hear it through the Word of God.
Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” The safest and most reliable way to hear God's voice is through the Word of the Bible.
2. He speaks through his conscience.
Conscience is the window to the soul. Just as sunlight comes in through a window, God's voice comes through your conscience. If your conscience is not kept clean, you cannot hear the voice of God.
3. You can hear the voice of the living God even through the environment.
When Peter betrayed Jesus, when he heard the crowing of a rooster, he remembered the word and wept and repented. God awakens the soul, pierces the conscience, and warns us through the sound of a donkey and a crowing of a rooster.
4. Through dreams and visions, God speaks.
So, why can't we hear?
1. It is because we do not have a right relationship with God. If the radio does not match the frequency, no matter how accurate the sound is from the broadcasting station, you cannot hear it.
2. You can't hear even with poor contact. When the swarm of sin is involved, we cannot hear the voice of God.
3. When our motives are impure. Even when we are full of greed to accomplish the will of the world, we cannot hear the voice.
4, Even when there is no self-abandonment, we cannot hear.
As I was preparing today's text, there was a part that I pondered until morning. The first voice that Samuel heard was not a word of blessing, but a word of judgment. It helps us know that we must preach the word of God as it is, no matter what kind of pain there is.
In what position should I listen?
① You must earnestly wish to hear.
What does God want me to do before I make a decision? We must give the decision-making authority to God and pray with an empty heart.
② You have to be humble to be able to listen.
③ You must have faith to hear.
④ You must have an attitude of obedience to hear God's voice.
If you don't obey God's voice, it gradually becomes fainter and duller, so you can't hear it.
<Conclusion> When we hear the voice of God, above all else, we acknowledge the sovereignty of God.
But hearing God's voice is not just about listening. We must obey the word we hear and bear the fruit of the character of faith.