“Drawing Near to God by Listening to God” was preached at First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, PA on March 20, 2022. You can hear/watch this sermon here, starting at 38:45.
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1 Samuel 3:1-11
1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.
2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 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!” and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. 6 The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle.
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Each week as we journey through Lent, we’ve been focusing on a different Spiritual Discipline. And the Spiritual Disciplines we’ve been focusing on each week come directly from Scripture. Today is no different as today we reflect on and hopefully practice the discipline of listening to God.
Scripture is full of stories of people listening to God. The very foundation of our Christian is rooted in Mary of Nazareth listening to the Angel from God telling her she would be the mother of Jesus. After a moment of shock, Mary replies, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let everything you’ve said happen to me.”
Centuries earlier, there was the story of Moses. While tending a flock of sheep, Moses saw a burning bush call out to him. The voice of God tells Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt and after some reluctance and a few excuses, Moses returns to Egypt to free the people.
The prophet Isaiah replied, “Here am I. Send me!” when God called out to him. The 12 disciplines left everything behind to follow Jesus when it was asked of them. Jeremiah first thought of himself as too young when God spoke to him but then became a prophet of the Lord. Even Ananias, who did not want to restore Saul’s (also known as Paul) eyesight due to Saul’s persecution and murder of early followers of Christ, listened to God when God said God chose Saul to be a instrument of God’s Word. And of course, there’s Samuel that we heard from today who said, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.
Can you imagine if any of them chose to ignore God’s voice? To say something like “God what you’re saying is really neat but you’re not listening to me…”
We might just have a different story altogether…
A few weeks ago, while scrolling through social media, I saw a disagreement between two people I respect. One had posted an article that shared one perspective on this one thing, and the other person commented saying they didn’t agree with that perspective and then they offered their own. The first person responded in disagreement, and so the second person responded by saying “Just try to hear what I’m saying…”
“Just try to hear what I’m saying…”
And then the conversation was over. No more responses. No more dialogue. No more disagreements nor the opportunities to find common ground. Before the conversation even had a chance to be fruitful or faithful, it was over all based on a comment that there was a lack of listening from the other party.
For those of you who have social media, you have most likely witnessed something similar to what I just described. As of late, the topics could include politics, theology, the pandemic, war, mental health, how we should raise our children, rising gas prices, even sports… just to name a few. And I’m not focusing on the disagreement. To disagree is NOT a bad thing; at times it’s the most faithful thing. I’m focusing on two people talking past each other, a lack of listening, and an abrupt end to a conversation because an understanding that “hearing me” should be synonymous with “agreeing with me”.
This is not just unique to social media though, is it? Have you ever witnessed a conversation where there was a lack of listening? Both parties are talking but neither are listening. And then suddenly one of the two says, “You’re not listening!” (which is most likely true of both parties) and then the conversation just ends.
Or let’s be a little bit more honest, before God and before one another, how many of us were in a conversation and we in that moment lacked the skill of listening?
Or even to take it one step further and to be really honest, before God and before the people we see as our church family, how many of us were in a conversation here at FPCA or in a conversation with a person from FPCA or in a conversation regarding FPCA that lacked listening?
And before we point our fingers and say “Taylor, I know exactly what you are talking about. I know exactly who you are talking about,” then you’re not hearing this sermon. We are all guilty of this, and so today we are looking inward.
Listening to God is a spiritual discipline that we are all called to practice. For some, we hear God in Scripture, in preaching, in prayers, in music. For others, we hear God in nature, in laughter, in the rush of life, and in the silence of it all. Listening to God draws us closer to a God that is always drawing closer to us. Listening to God brings into focus an invitation from Jesus to converse with him, to simply be with him. That invitation to be with Jesus, are you listening for that? Can it really be that simple?
Each of us have a preferred method listening to God. When we want to listen to God, we go do the things that we feel enables us to do that. We go to worship, we turn on music, we go for a walk. But here’s the catch. Should we only be listening to God when we want to listen to God?
Think of Mary. Do you think she wanted to be an young unwed mother? Think of Jeremiah. He did not want to a Prophet of the Lord. Think of Ananias. He was worried that Saul would kill again if he restored Saul’s eyesight.
Or think of Samuel. While sleeping, the voice of God calls out to him. Three times throughout the night, Samuel awakes to a voice saying his name. Three times he goes to his mentor Eli, waking him up as well, to ask what Eli wants of him. And three times, Eli tells Samuel that he did not call for him and that he should go back to bed. It is on the third time Eli tells Samuel to listen for the Lord if he is awoken again.
And of course that is what happens, for the fourth time in the night, Samuel awakes because he hears the voice of the Lord calling out to him and this time Samuel listens to that voice rather than confusing it for Eli’s.
Waking up four times throughout the night…. Sounds like a bad night’s rest to me. Can you imagine, waking up a teenager four times throughout the night, for them to listen?
I imagine Samuel, a great biblical figure, was not and did not want to listen for God while he was sleeping. In fact, Samuel hears God four times but didn’t actually listen for God until the fourth time. This is because Scripture tells us the Samuel didn’t know the Lord or the Word of the Lord which is why he could hear the voice of God but not recognize it as God. This is only revealed to Samuel after he listens to Eli. Samuel is only able to listen to God after he listens to Eli.
Samuel was able to hear God but not listen. That is, until Samuel listened to another…
When was the last time you listened for God in another? When was the last time you recognized the conversation happening between you two was also with God? And when was the last time that during a conversation in which you didn’t like what you were hearing, you listened even more intentionally for how God was at work by listening intentionally to the person you were conversing with, even if you disagreed with them?
Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, author of Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, writes, “Developing an ear that recognizes God’s voice and that listens to your life opens up the possibility of hearing God through anyone or anything. Practice listening to God and you will develop a heart tuned to pitch and timbre of God’s word to you.”
Developing an ear that recognizes God’s voice takes practice from all of us. But with practice, a greater chance to not only hear God’s voice but to listen to God’s voice is possible.
I think it starts with how we practice our listening skills with other people as a way to honor them, as a way to honor the image of God within them.
And yes, sometimes listening as a means to honor someone may mean listening while disagreeing, while being upset, while being passionate, and while worrying if the conversation that is happening is actually God’s work happening right in front of us. And I believe, most of the time, it is exactly that.
What if the next time we are in a conversation with someone, whether in-person, email, or social media, we tried to model how God listens to us?
Think about it. I think most of us in the room have an active prayer life, or at least hopefully we did this week as that was the topic of last week’s worship services. In prayer, we call out to God for guidance, direction, protection, and answers. Sometimes we demand for God to do something, to give us a sign, or to show us the way. And God just continues to listen. Not ignore; not dismiss; not shut us down. The Almighty keeps listening.
And while listening, God is not taking a break or doing nothing. We trust that God is at work in the listening because true authentic, intentional listening engages the heart. God listens to us so intentionally and deeply because our very lives are a part of God’s story.
What if we listened to each other like that? That we listened to each other so intentionally and deeply that their lives become a part of us. That their story becomes a part of our story. How much more present would God be in our community if we all listened to each other’s stories so intentionally and deeply that it all became one story?
And I get it. At times all of us have experienced moments where we feel like we’re not being heard. What if our response to that was to listen more? What if we all took the vow to listen more, to one another and to God?
And again, “listening” is not synonymous with “agreeing with me” or “doing what I say.”
Listening is hearing something beyond just words or noise. Listening is gift of being fully present with one another and with God. Listening is rejoicing in presence.
Henri Nouwen wrote a beautiful book in the form of a letter to a friend, The Life of the Beloved, describing the ways all of us are beloved by God. Nouwen compares hearing God’s voice to discovering a well in the desert: “Every time you listen with great attentiveness to the voice that call you the Beloved, you will discover within yourself a desire to hear that voice longer and more deeply. It is like discovering a well in the desert. Once you have touched wet ground, you want to dig deeper.”
That’s the community we are called to be. A community that loves each other so much that listening to each other is not something we do out of necessity but because we desire to hear each other longer and more deeply. A community that just wants to listen more because we recognize being present with each other and with God is a gift like a well in the desert.
Let’s dig deeper.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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