Are You Listening to God?

January 17, 2021 1 Samuel 3:1-20 2nd Sunday After Epiphany Human Relations Sunday Year B Repreach of January 18, 2009 Opening Song Welcome Opening Prayer O God, you call to us today, just as you called to the boy Samuel so long ago. Gathered here today, we are many different ages, but we pray for the maturity of faith to hear your call and respond to your Word. Open our ears and our hearts as we worship, as we work, and as we care for one another. We ask that you would give us courage and integrity to answer your call with the heart-felt words, “Here I am!” Amen. Stewardship Moment Scripture 1 Samuel 3:1-20 Samuel’s call 3 Now the boy Samuel was serving the LORD under Eli. The LORD’s word was rare at that time, and visions weren’t widely known. 2 One day Eli, whose eyes had grown so weak he was unable to see, was lying down in his room. 3 God’s lamp hadn’t gone out yet, and Samuel was lying down in the LORD’s temple, where God’s chest[a] was. 4 The LORD called to Samuel. “I’m here,” he said. 5 Samuel hurried to Eli and said, “I’m here. You called me?” “I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go lie down.” So he did. 6 Again the LORD called Samuel, so Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “I’m here. You called me?” “I didn’t call, my son,” Eli replied. “Go and lie down.” (7 Now Samuel didn’t yet know the LORD, and the LORD’s word hadn’t yet been revealed to him.) 8 A third time the LORD called Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “I’m here. You called me?” Then Eli realized that it was the LORD who was calling the boy. 9 So Eli said to Samuel, “Go and lie down. If he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD. Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down where he’d been. 10 Then the LORD came and stood there, calling just as before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel said, “Speak. Your servant is listening.” 11 The LORD said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of all who hear it tingle! 12 On that day, I will bring to pass against Eli everything I said about his household—every last bit of it![b] 13 I told him that I would punish his family forever because of the wrongdoing he knew about—how his sons were cursing God,[c] but he wouldn’t stop them. 14 Because of that I swore about Eli’s household that his family’s wrongdoing will never be reconciled by sacrifice or by offering.” 15 Samuel lay there until morning, then opened the doors of the LORD’s house. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel, saying: “Samuel, my son!” “I’m here,” Samuel said. 17 “What did he say to you?” Eli asked. “Don’t hide anything from me. May God deal harshly with you and worse still if you hide from me a single word from everything he said to you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. “He is the LORD, ” Eli said. “He will do as he pleases.” 19 So Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him, not allowing any of his words to fail. 20 All Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was trustworthy as the LORD’s prophet. Sermon Are you Listening to God? I Samuel 3: 1-10 (11-20) I Corinthians 6:12-20 Year B I think that we would all agree that 2021 definitely has a very strong personality. We have only had 17 days of this story, and I feel like I have been through enough drama for ten years, and in the coming days there is even more to come. But I think that it is more important than ever for us to seek to be followers of Jesus. It is more important than ever to be able to identify the voice of God. And God speaks in so many ways. Last Friday, I was returning home by driving on 53. I felt like I was driving through heaven. It was really foggy and you could look and see the fog all around the horizon, but as I looked around in the fields, it looks like the cloud formations were on the ground. And then I was able to look up in the sky and see the moon. It was truly a surreal moment. But a moment when I knew that God was present here on earth. God comes to us in so many ways everyday. We have to be spiritual enough to recognize those God moments and to be encouaraged from them. Our scripture today is the story of how Samuel was able to hear the voice of God in the midst of the chaos of life. This is the day that Samuel recognized God speaking to him. Scripture points out that not only did God not speak very often to others, but Samuel did not know God either. He was a young man, he didn’t know his own greatness, or his destiny, nor the urgings of his own heart. God calling him was the beginning of his relationship with God Wayne Dyer story Wayne Dyer tells the story of a family with two small children. One very rambumcous 4 year old boy – who was always into everything. When his little brother was born, he was a little happy, but he seemed to think he was a toy to play with. There didn’t seem to be any acknowledgment that the younger child was a human, until one day the mother found the 4 year old sitting over the crib talking with the child. He was asking the baby to remind him of what heaven was like because he was beginning to forget. Children have a special connection to God, as we get older we get more attuned to what is happening in front of us, and we forget to look within ourselves to talk with God. St. Augustine’s quote also St. Augustine went on the say that God is within us, but for some reason as we get older, we start to step outside of ourselves our hearts in order to please others. This puts us out of touch, with the one thing that we are looking for – our relationship with God. The point is that Samuel as a young child, was beginning to look within himself – to be quiet to learn to listen to what God was telling him. Samuel went on to become the greatest prophet God ever knew, leading them into a new era. His Journey Started with addressing the situation. He Addressed the sinful nature of his life and the world. Eli was well intentioned, but his sons had forgotten what it meant to serve God and were literally taking advantage of others, by being priest. We are good at addressing sin in others, but we are not good at identifying the sin in ourselves. Paul helps us with that. This is not my favorite verse, but I think one of the most important – summarizes our life at a Christian. As a Christian, I can do whatever I want, there is nothing wrong, but there are some things that are not in my best interest. Our bodies are a temple of God, honor it. But not just our bodies, but our minds and our souls. It is our thoughts that determine the state of our minds and souls, and it is the state of our minds and souls that determine what we do with our bodies. Sin, missing the mark, not doing what is in your best interest is what stands in the way of our relationship with God, our call in the world. Can’t get rid of sin unless we address it honestly and we realize that our bad behavior is only a stand in for good intentions. We all mean well, we just don’t always do well. Why we need to be willing to listen to God’s call to us. Paul makes one more important point about the Christian life. Being called by God is not about you- or what you think is right. Being called by God is about God. A lot of us misunderstand that. If you find that you are the hero to your own story – you are not being called by God. If you are convinced that you have all of the right answers to someone else’s life you are not being called by God. If you are more concerned about taking away the pain of others – not called, if you need to build yourself up by intentionally discrediting others you are not called by God. Living the Christian life is never about you – it is about the good of the community. Salvation is being reminded that you are absolutely nothing without being connection to the entire body of Christ. Mother Theresa’s call Mother Theresa speaks of her call to go out into the streets of India to help people who had literally been thrown away by society. There was a voice who told her that it would be much easier to just go back to her convent and live in peace for the rest of her life. But she listened to the voice which told her these people needed her, and that she needed to be there for them, to help and heal them and make sure that they knew that no matter what their circumstance they were children of God. Borden’s call story William Borden graduated from a Chicago high school in the 40’s. as a graduation present, his parents gave him a trip around the world. He was heir to the borden dairy fortune. While on the trip, he was introduced to the living conditions of others around the world – and he decided that the had to become a missionary. When he went to seminary, he wrote in his bible about his call – no reserves. He had given his life to God. As he graduated, he started bible studies all over America, and still travelled throughout the world – he wrote again in his bible – no retreats. No matter who hard things got, he was not turning around. He served all over the world – in Egypt he acquired spinal mennengiitis. Months before his death at 25 he wrote again in his bible – no regrets. He call led to sacrifice, pain and eventually death- and yet he knew he was willing to follow Christ wherever it led, even to death. Being called by God is never an easy job. Called by God there are a lot of days when you don’t have all of the answers, lots of people who are convinced that if they were in your shoes they could do ten times better than you, lots of days when you find that you fail more often then you succeed. All good indications that you are following God. But through it all – you know that no matter what – you will be faithful and continue to God calling in your heart. When we live life for others, when we answer their questions, when we take away pain instead of giving them the tools to live for themselves- we deprive them of listening to their call. Of their relationships, and from coming up with the answers for themselves. God calls us all to be – our best selves, in our best relationship with God. A journey we take together, but we can only take walking on our own two feet. Final word in this verse is – not said by God or by Samuel – but Eli – the sinner, the one blind and unable to hear He says: It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him. The Lord is here – doing what seems Good to him –How are we responding. Prayer Patient and Wise God, you have called this church into being to serve you in this world by helping others. We rejoice in the many ways we are able to be of help. We offer our prayers for each other, for those near and dear to us, for the situations of difficulty and strife in community and world. You hear our voices cry out and with your eternal compassion you respond in loving care to each of us. We gather here this day, meeting and greeting each other, celebrating fellowship and friendship, welcoming each other in your name. You remind us that you are with us always. What have we to fear? But we fear far too often the unknown tasks that lie ahead of us. We always want to be assured of the happy out come of our efforts. Help us to trust your guidance and presence, Lord. Help us remember that there is no time in which we are out of your care. Enable us to be in serving ministry and mission with joy and confidence. Heal our wounds, bind up our bruises and broken spirits. Put us on a pathway of peace. For we ask this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN. Lord’s Prayer Song for Reflection Here I am Lord UMH 593 Announcements Benediction Go into God’s world, aware of God’s call in your life. Follow our Lord Jesus Christ who will lead you in paths of service and hope. Lean on the power of the Holy Spirit to give you courage and strength. May peace, joy and love flow through you to others, in God’s name. AMEN. Children’s Sermon Object: A watch (Would be helpful if you had one from which the back could be removed to show the inner workings) Good morning boys and girls: A little girl came home from school one day crying because she had been given only a small part in the school play. She had hoped to get the leading part. After drying her tears, her mother took off her watch and put it in her hand. Opening the back of the watch, her mother asked her what she saw. The little girl answered that she saw many tiny wheels. "This watch would be useless," her mother said, "without every part--even the ones you can hardly see." The little girl suddenly understood that even though she did not have the leading role in the play, her part was just as important as any of the others. Our lesson from the Bible today is about young Samuel. God came to Samuel and called him to be a great priest. God calls people do many different kinds of work. Some are called to be farmers, some truck drivers, some doctors or nurses, some teachers. But all of us are important in God's kingdom. We can all serve Him--even if our calling is to go to kindergarten or school and be His boy or His girl there. We are all important in God's work. Dynamic Preaching, Collected Sermons, by King Duncan Additional Illustrations