The God who calls back (Notes from sermon on 1 Samuel 3:1-10)

 

Have you ever missed an important phone call? I know that if you’re under the age of 25 the answer to that is probably no, because you’ve always had one with you. But back in the old days, back when you had to be home to talk on the phone, back when you had to make sure nobody else was on the phone if you were expecting that important call, did you ever miss one?

 When I was younger we didn’t have Nerf Guns and thousands of nerf bullets, so me and my friends didn’t have Nerf wars. We did have BB gun wars though, which was kinda the same thing, we just used the whole neighborhood and you had to wear 4 shirts cause those little things hurt more than a nerf bullet. For a while this was a weekly war, in Town Acres subdivision. I would spend the night with Tyler, and we would make our battle plans and wait on the calls from the other teams to pick our time and set our rules. (Although the first rule of BB gun war is kinda like the first rule of Fight Club; there are no rules.)

Tyler had an older sister who was always on the phone when we were waiting on our call. And even though there was call waiting, that little beep=beep when another call was coming in, she would never switch over and check.

I remember pacing through the kitchen as this much older teenage girl would try to ignore these little boys wearing a half dozen t-shirts and sunglasses, you had to protect your eyes! Before Cory Heart ever sang it we were wearing our sunglasses at night in BB Gun War. And so we would usually have to result to something tacky, like telling her we found her diary and we were gonna read it, or telling her that her dad found the oregano in her bedroom and wanted to know what she was cooking.

Anything, so we didn’t miss the call.

 We have a whole story of Samuel’s life recorded for us in the Bible. His birth is described as miraculous, an unexpected only child for his mother and father, Hannah and Elkanah. Hannah had prayed for this son, and then she dedicated him back to God since he was given to her as a gift from God to begin with. 

And so Hannah took her young son Samuel to the tabernacle where the Priest lived, Eli. And Samuel was trained to maintain the house of God, keeping the candles lit, keeping the show bread in place, keeping the brass polished and the ark of the covenant secured.

But one night something happens when Samuel is about 12 years old.

God called.

Not by phone, but by speaking to Samuel. Maybe it’s in a dream where the boy hears the voice first. We have talked before of the ways in which God has come to people in dreams to speak to them. Maybe it is just in the still of the night, to borrow another song lyric, when other voices have stopped and other duties had been completed.

Let’s hear from the Lord now as we turn to His Word.

 Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon.

2One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. 3The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God. 4Suddenly the Lord called out, “Samuel!”

“Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?” 5He got up and ran to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”

“I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So he did.

6Then the Lord called out again, “Samuel!”

Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”

“I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go back to bed.”

7Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before. 8So the Lord called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”

Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy. 9So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed.

10And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!”

And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”

The book of Judges, which is the period right before 1 Samuel, is a roller coaster ride of spiritual discipline. Up and down and up and down. Following God and then following whoever else. Turning back to God and then falling away from God again. Repenting and sinning and sacrifices and war. Back and forth.

 I wonder if that is not a reflection of some of our spiritual lives today? A yo-yo kind of relationship with God will not allow us to hear a Word from the Lord, or see a vision of what God’s Kingdom desires on earth, as it is in heaven.

 Eli’s eyes were becoming weak, because he was getting older. But maybe there is a little theological hint in here too. I get it that as we get older our eyesight isn’t as good as it used to be. There is only so far out here that I can hold things now, my arms aren’t long enough to help my eyesight anymore. And although with age our physical eyesight might weaken, with age the wisdom and discernment of our spiritual sight should be more keen if we have been spending time with God.

 Eli is not only getting older, but Eli is missing what is happening around him. The nation is falling to pieces spiritually, his own two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, have been stealing sacrifices that people bring in, they’ve had prostitutes into the tent having sex right outside where the ark of the covenant is kept.

 It’s no wonder that the word of the Lord was rare in those days, it’s because even the ones who should be hearing from the Lord, the wise priest, the spiritual leaders of the nation, the ones with experience and discernment, they are not seeing clearly.

 They are weak.  And so God is going to bring His word to a young acolyte, just a boy whose been keeping the candles lit, rather than the old guard who has gotten complacent and is going blind. God is going to do a new thing and speak his word to someone who will actually listen.

APPLICATION: How’s your eyesight?

Are you seeing clearly a direction that God has for your life and for his world? Are you seeing others, really seeing them, and loving them, really loving them? Not to change them, but to simply love because that is what Jesus commanded you to do?

I was reading a book on the Gospel of John by Adam Hamilton and he said that if we are living in the light, and seeing clearly, then we will make all of our difficult decisions by asking one question, “What is the most loving thing to do in this moment?”

We see the world through the lens of the Gospel when we stay connected to the Words of God and allow this light and love to be our vision.

And so God called Samuel, but Samuel thought it was Eli.

 Back when Heather and I were first dating I had a hard time figuring out if it was Heather or Angie on the phone. They not only looked just a little bit alike when I first met them, they also sounded alike on the phone.

But that was only at first.

Once I got to know Heather, nobody else looked anything like her.

Once I knew Heather better nobody else sounded anything like her.

 But I had to spend time with her to know who she was. I had to spend time listening to her to know her voice. And in that spending time is when I fell in love. 

It’s the same in our relationship with God. It is God calling you, literally courting you, to invite you into a relationship with Him through Jesus death and resurrection which sanctified you, and now through the Holy Spirit living INTO you, guiding you, and speaking to you on behalf of the Father.

In John 10 Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. And the sheep follow because they know the shepherd’s voice.”

But Samuel doesn’t know the difference in the voices yet.

When I hear Heather’s voice, I know it’s Heather’s voice, because I have spent decades listening to this voice and the words of love and affirmation that she has spoken.

To know the voice of who is calling, you have had to listen to the voice of who is calling.

 

Now, I know that when we get older sometimes our hearing starts to go a little bit too. And that’s natural for our physical hearing, but I believe this is just like the eyesight thing. As we get older our spiritual hearing should be better, we should hear God speaking to us with more clarity and regularity if we have spent decades listening to Him.

Verse 7-Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord. The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

Samuel had literally been living in the house of God. Samuel was sleeping in the same place as the ark of the covenant, the place we are told that the glory of God, called the Shekinah, dwelt on the mercy seat of this chest, in between the outstretched wings of the cheribum on top.

But see, there is a difference between the rituals of religion and a relationship with God.

There is a difference between believing IN God, and knowing God.

There is a difference between KNOWING what God has said, and HEARING what God is saying.

Even if God’s message is hard to hear. Because the message to Samuel was.

I’m not gonna get into WHAT God said to Samuel today, you can read that later this week.

But I do want to focus on HOW God called Samuel.

God calls Samuel, not once, not twice, but three times and Samuel missed the call every single time!

Aren’t you thankful that God calls you back!

Maybe you’ve missed some important calls in your life, but you don’t have to miss this call. God will keep on calling.

God will call you more often than the guy is calling about your expired car warranty.

God will not give up on you because today you are the one that God is seeking. You are the one that God is calling.

You are the one that God loves, that Jesus died for, and that the Holy Spirit is ready to descend INTO.

You are the beloved, You are the one whom God is pleased with.

And today I believe that God is calling YOUR name.

Verse 4, Verse 6, Verse 8 God is calling him by name, “Samuel!” But Samuel doesn’t know the voice, and thinks it’s Eli.

Or maybe, Samuel isn’t really expecting to hear from God. He’s just a boy. He’s never heard God speak before. The word of God has been rare in those days.

Maybe he just didn’t expect this.

Do you?

Do you expect to hear from God? Today?

I mean I know that there are certain times where we actively seek God. When we need an urgent prayer request answered, when we need direction for a decision, when we hit another crisis in our lives and we need God to get us out.

Or maybe even in the morning during our devotion and prayer over a cup of coffee, maybe then we might expect to hear a little something-somethin from God.

We expect miracles in those moments, but what about every other moment of our days?

Are we expecting to hear God speak when God speaks, or do we expect to hear God answer, when we ask?

Do we want God available when we summons him, or are we anticipating God to surprise us?

Samuel wasn’t expecting this, and neither was Eli.

Because Eli’s sight was going. He was living more in the darkness than he was living in the light.

But back in verse 3 also says that even though Eli could barely see that “the lamp of God had not yet gone out”. 

Yes it’s looking dark. Yes, the eyesight of many who should be seeing is dim. Yes the darkness seems to be covering the people and the nations are walking in deep darkness. But the light isn’t out yet.

There is a flicker on the flame. No matter how dark it gets.

The gospel of John begins that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” and “the true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world” (JOHN 1:5, 9).

That’s Jesus.

And it’s been dark for Eli, but the lamp of God has not gone out, and God is getting ready to speak a new word.

Maybe it’s been dark for you lately. Maybe your eyesight has dimmed and you just can’t see a vision of what God has in store for you. Maybe you haven’t been clearly hearing what God has to say to you. And that can be a concerning time in our lives, especially if we know the shepherd’s voice and the eyes of our heart have been opened to see the realities of the Kingdom of heaven. 

But I just want to encourage you if you have been in a dark time lately that the lamp of the Lord has not gone out on you yet. Even though it’s dark there is still a flame flickering.

Maybe you need to sit with a lit candle to remind you that the light is here. Maybe you need a reminder that the light of Christ has come INTO you so that you can shine His light THROUGH you and OUT of you.

Maybe the darker it has been getting around you is more of an invitation for the light in you to shine just a little bit brighter.

And maybe that doesn’t mean you need to do more, or pray more, or read more, or serve more. Maybe that means you need to be in the right position to hear your call.

See, Eli said “Just go back to bed, boy.”

God was calling Samuel, and Eli didn’t even know it. Because he wasn’t expecting it, especially with a 12 year old acolyte. Sometimes, maybe God calls the ones that we don’t expect.

God has been calling women throughout creation, Deborah, Ruth, Esther, Junia, Mary. But at some point the Church thought God said that women could not be called to pastoral ministry, based on an inaccurate reading of Scripture, I believe. And so it wasn’t until 1880 that Anna Howard Shaw was ordained as the first female Methodist clergy.

I sensed a call on my life when I was around 12 years old at a Baptist church revival but I was told by the preacher that I was not the one he was thinking about and to go back and sit down.

And it was just 4 years ago, that the first African American woman, the Rev. Sharma Lewis, was elected bishop in the SE Jurisdiction of our UMC. Bishop Lewis is serving in VA now.

I wonder if God is still calling those who we don’t expect.

But after the 3^rd time Eli gets it.

V9 “So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening”

Three times Samuel has said, “Here I am”. 3 times Samuel has gotten up. And 3 times Samuel has moved to another place. 3 times Samuel has sought the voice in another person.

 

The 4^th time Samuel doesn’t say, Here I am. Isaiah said to the Lord, “Here I am, send me.” God isn’t going to send Samuel anywhere, so Samuel says, Speak, Lord. And then he listens.

 

But did you notice what he was doing?

V9- So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

He went back to bed, probably went back to sleep.

But he got positioned in his proper place. Maybe you’re not hearing from God because you’re not in the right place.

Samuel isn’t pouring over his prayer beads, he isn’t tearing the Torah, he isn’t wringing his hands because God called 3 times and he missed it.

He just gets back in his place.

Because if God has called you, He’s gonna call you back.

Maybe today you need the reminder to simply stay in your proper place and wait on a word from the Lord.

Maybe the call comes when we are at rest. When our minds are at ease and the peace of Christ that transcends all understanding is guarding our hearts and our minds in Jesus, our Lord. 

But when Samuel heard a word from the Lord his life got harder. Because the message was hard. It was still wrapped in God’s love, just like the message at Jesus’ baptism, but it was a message for a young leader that the old leaders weren’t in line with God’s plan, and a change was coming.

This year Jan 18 is the day our country celebrates in remembrance the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Each year during this week I go back and read some of the book, “Why We Can’t Wait”

Dr King came from a family of preachers. His father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, and uncle were all preachers. And when he became the pastor at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama he was only 27 years old. Full of ideas and motivating sermons to preach Christ and lead people to Jesus.

But then December 1, 1955 a 42-year old black woman named Rosa refused to go to the back of a bus, and Dr. King emerged as the pivotal leader of the Civil Rights movement.

It didn’t take long for the threats and hate and violence to come from the white people in Birmingham, and across the country toward Dr. King and his family.

 

And in some places, even today, that still hasn’t ended.

 

A founding principle of Methodism in England was the abolition of the slave trade, and yet in 1955 there were Methodists divided on both sides of this issue. It wasn’t a new battle, in 1844 the Methodist Church split into the MECS and the MECN over if it was OK to own slaves or not. And we are still divided over who God would call, and if the Church will recognize and validate that call and their response.

Over the course of his pastoral career Dr. King was arrested and put in jail 29 times for peacefully trying to get all people to see that all people are created in the image of God and that Jesus died for all these people, red, yellow, black and white. All precious in His sight.

Early on in this war the Kings had gotten a call about midnight, nothing new with this one either. Just another white man with this message, “We’re tired of you, and if you aren’t out of this town in three days, we’re going to blow your brains out and blow up your house.”

Dr. King prayed aloud that night. He wrote that he heard a voice calling him by name.

Sound familiar?

And the voice said “stand up for righteousness, justice, and truth; and the Lord will be with you”.

His life from that moment on is a testimony to his response to that prayer. But it wasn’t easy. In fact, it was much, much harder.

But so was Samuel’s. So was Jonah’s. So was Moses. So was Peter, and Paul, and John.

And so was mine. And perhaps, so has been yours.

Harder, in some ways, yes. But worth it!!

Worth it because this is real life, an abundant grace filled life of love that seeks justice, loves mercy, and walks humbly with our God.

A life of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick because in them we see a glimpse of Christ.

A life of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world and baptizing them in the name of  The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit.

What would we hear if we really listened for God’s voice?

Today I invite you into a time of silent prayer and reflection. Use these next 5 minutes and say, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening”.

 

And then be still and listen.