Hearing Aids, Shower Heads, and Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon // Between the Verses Series // Justin Graves


“Listening to God is essential to walking with God.” - Charles Stanley


1 Samuel 3: 1-19 (NLT)
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. One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God. Suddenly the Lord called out, “Samuel!” “Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?” He 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. Then 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.” Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before.So 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. So 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. And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.” Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them.  So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.” Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle as usual. He was afraid to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him. But Eli called out to him, “Samuel, my son.” “Here I am,” Samuel replied. “What did the Lord say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me!” So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back. “It is the Lord’s will,” Eli replied. “Let him do what he thinks best.” As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable.
‍

I. There is a marked difference between being around the Lord and personally experiencing the Lord.


1 Samuel 3:7 (NLT)
Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before.


1 Samuel 3:7 (AMP)
Now Samuel did not yet know [or personally experience] the Lord, and the word of the Lord was not yet revealed [directly] to him.


Joshua 1:8 (NCV)
Always remember what is written in the Book of the Teachings. Study it day and night to be sure to obey everything that is written there. If you do this, you will be wise and successful in everything.


II. Posture and Position yourself to listen
 

1 Samuel 3: 9-10 (NLT)
So 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. And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”


A.) Get still


Psalms 46: 10 (ESV)
Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!


B.) Get silent


“The word listen contains the same letters as silent.” - Alfred Brendel


C. Be obedient


Luke 11: 28 (NLT)
Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.


James 1:22 (NLT)
But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.


III.  Stay close to your Father


1 Samuel 3:3 (NLT)
The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God.


John 10: 27-28 (NLT)
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me.


“The only safe place for a sheep is by the side of his shepherd because the devil doesn’t fear the sheep; he just fears the shepherd.” - AW Tozer


2 Samuel 22:37 (NCV)
You give me a better way to live, so I live as you want me to.
‍

We want to follow up on this week’s message with a few questions that help you respond personally to what God is saying through His Word. Let this be a time of honest evaluation and spiritual reset.

- What distractions in your life make it hardest to be still and listen for God’s voice?
- Have you ever mistaken someone else's voice (like Samuel did with Eli) for God's direction? What happened?
- Are you more familiar with being around the things of God than personally encountering Him? What needs to change for that to shift?
- In what ways might God be calling you to respond with “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening”—and are you willing to obey what He says, even if it’s uncomfortable?

Connect Groups
Feel free to sort through the connect groups below and find one that works for you!