When God Breaks In: God Calls Us by Name

When God Breaks In: God Calls Us by Name

1 Samuel 3: 1 – 10

Introduction

Do you remember how exciting Christmas was when you were a child?  We would count down the days, because we could not wait for Christmas to come.  In some ways, this is the kind of excitement we want to create by observing Advent as a church.  For four weeks, we anticipate the coming of Christmas Day.  Each Sunday we light a candle.  Each Sunday we can tell that Christmas is getting closer…the candles are getting shorter…more and more candles are lit.

By observing Advent, we anticipate the coming of Christmas…  Yet, Advent is more than anticipating Christmas Day.  We anticipate the coming / the appearance of Jesus, the Son of God.  When Jesus first appeared as a baby in a manger, God broke into our world.  God broke in and promised that we would never be alone.

The Bible is filled with stories about God breaking in.  And we are going to look at four of these stories over the four weeks of Advent.  But, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.  I don’t want you to think God only broke into the world during Bible times…as if God has stopped breaking into our world today.  No.  We do not worship a God who is far away from us or even a God who is aloof and unconcerned about our lives.  We worship the Living Lord who takes notice / shows an interest in everything about our lives.  He does not leave us to figure things out for ourselves.  Instead, God is constantly breaking into our lives to accomplish his purposes in us and through us.

Last week we read the story of Moses and the burning bush.  When Moses was minding his own business and least expected it, God broke in and revealed himself.  Today we read the story of Samuel as a boy in the Temple.  While Samuel was minding his own business and least expected it, God broke in.  One of the things the Samuel story and Moses story have in common is the fact that when God broke in, God called them by name.

1 Samuel 3: 1 – 10…  1 The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions. 

2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 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 answered, "Here I am." 5 And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down. 

6 Again the LORD called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." "My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." 

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. 

8 The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 

10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."

I read a story this week about a little girl who was learning to pray “the Lord’s Prayer.”  One week in Sunday School, she prayed: “Our Father, who art in Heaven, how did you know my name?”  These may not be the right words, but this is a very good understanding of God and something we read about in the story of Samuel. 

Before Samuel knew the Lord, God called him by name.  The same thing is true for you and me.  God does not think of us as numbers.  We are individuals who have names and distinct identities.  God knows who we are individually and knows us as unique human beings.  Each person has his or her own set of strengths and weaknesses; gifts and abilities; passions and experiences.  You are more than a number to God.  God knows you as an individual.  God knows you by name, even before you know God.

God knew Samuel before Samuel knew God.  This is an important part of Samuel’s story.  Samuel’s mother, Hannah, wanted a child of her own but could not have children.  So, Hannah prayed for a child.  Hannah even promised God that if God would give her a child, she would commit that child to the Lord—to serve the Lord for the rest of his life.  Therefore, we can say that God had his eye on Samuel before Samuel was even born.

When Samuel was born, Hannah brought him to the Temple.  Samuel lived with Eli, the priest, and learned how to serve as a priest before God.  One of Samuel’s responsibilities was to spent the night in the same room as the Ark of the Covenant and make sure that the “Lamp of God” did not go out. 

The Ark of the Covenant and the Lamp of God were two very important symbols for the Jewish people in Samuel’s day.  They both represented the presence of God.  The cover on top of the Ark of the Covenant had two golden angels with their wings pointed upward.  The Jewish people believed that the presence of God rested in the space where the tips of the four wings came together.  The Lamp of God stood next to the Ark of the Covenant and served as a visible reminder that God was present.  As long as the Lamp burned with fire, the people knew that God was present.  Samuel was responsible for keeping the fire going…to keep the reminder before the people that God was with them.

Perhaps there is a hint of irony in the story of Samuel in the Temple.  The presence of God rested on the Ark of the Covenant.  The Lamp of God burned to remind the people that God was present.  Yet, when Samuel heard a voice call him by name in the middle of the night, he ran into Eli’s room.  He thought Eli was the only other person in the Temple!

Of course, Eli wasn’t the best priest Israel had ever known.  In fact, this story appears in between two prophecies about the end of Eli’s tenure as priest.  Eli had two sons (Hophni and Phineas) who had followed their father into the priesthood.  Eli’s sons were corrupt priests.  They used the priesthood as a means to steal from the people financially and to take advantage of women.  The people complained to Eli, but Eli “honored his sons more than he honored God (1 Samuel 2: 29).”  Eli lost his position as a priest before God, because he refused to correct his own sons.

Despite Eli’s faults, he does something very important for Samuel.  Eli was the first person to recognize it was the Lord who was speaking to Samuel.  God called Samuel three times, and Samuel ran into Eli’s room three times.  On the third trip, Eli told Samuel it was the Lord speaking and taught Samuel a simple prayer as a response to God: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

In many ways, I believe this might be the most important prayer we could ever pray.  “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” 

Notice how this simple prayer places more emphasis on the words God says to us than the words we say to God.  Most of the time, our prayers sound something like this: “Listen, Lord, I have something I need to tell you.”  We assume that we know better than God knows.  We assume we have a better understanding of the situation than God does.  We assume our plans for the future are better than God’s plans for the future.

The best way I know to describe this kind of prayer is to say it reflects an “upside down theology.”  We place our knowledge above God’s knowledge.  We place our plans ahead of God’s plans.  We make ourselves lord and think of God as our servant.

If God is calling you today, this is still the best way to respond…Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.

Actually, I believe God is calling you today.  And I believe there are four calls God issues to every person.

God Calls Us to Salvation

As Christians, the Christmas season is very important to us.  Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  And, celebrate is the right word for Christmas and the birth of Jesus.  Christmas demonstrates the fact that God so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son.  God took the initiative by sending his Son.

God sent his Son, Jesus, to fulfill all the religious teachings and instructions about forgiveness of sins.  Our sins separate us from God and require some kind of sacrifice in order that we might be in a right relationship with God.  By sending Jesus, God has revealed his love for us and eventually took on himself the sacrifice for our sins.

Jesus fulfilled the religious teachings of the Old Testament by living a perfect and sinless life.  Jesus also fulfilled the religious teachings of the Old Testament by dying on the cross as the final and perfect sacrifice for our sins.  God accomplished in Jesus what we could not accomplish for ourselves.  Now, God calls us to receive this free gift of salvation—forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life.

God uses all sorts of circumstances to call us to salvation.  For some people, God’s call comes in a church service or through the words of a preacher.  Other people hear God’s call to salvation through conversations with friends or family.  But, God is calling…

The proper response to God’s call to salvation is the way Samuel responded.  Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.  Of course, that is not the way everyone responds.  Some people object to God’s call and insist that our modern culture is too sophisticated to believe in antiquated concepts like sin and sacrifice for sin.  We think we know better than God.

But, God is calling.  His words are more important than our words.  His ways are better than our ways.  The proper response is found in the simple prayer Samuel prayed, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”

God Calls Us to Discipleship

Salvation is not the end of the Christian life.  In fact, salvation is only the beginning.  God first calls us to accept his free gift of salvation—to approach life and eternal life according to God’s wisdom rather than human wisdom.  Then, God calls us to become his disciples / his followers.

The story of Jesus’ earthly life is found in the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).  In those Gospels, we read that Jesus had a group of twelve disciples.  In the ancient world, a disciple was a student, a learner, or even an apprentice.  A disciple attached himself to a master teacher and learned through a process of obedience and imitation.

When God calls you to salvation, God does not want to leave you as you are.  God wants you to grow in your faith; to grow in your knowledge; to grow in the way you express your faith through the way you live your life.

Just like the original twelve disciples looked to Jesus as their example and learned by imitating Jesus, God calls all Christians to the same kind of discipleship.  God is calling you live like Jesus lived, to love like Jesus loved and to serve others like Jesus served others.

God has a better plan for your spiritual life.  Again, the proper response is found in the words of Samuel’s simple prayer, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

God Calls Us to Vocation

It is possible to think of discipleship and spiritual growth as a focus on your “interior life.”  Faith is a very personal experience with God and answering his call to grow spiritually.  However, God does not want your spiritual life to be entirely interior.  The interior life must affect the way we live on the outside.

There are a couple of ways we can talk about living out our faith.  One very popular way is to say God is calling each of us to find our true purpose in life.  But, I like to use the word “vocation.”  God is calling you to a specific “vocation.”

Most of the time, we associate the word “vocation” with our job or career.  Some people are physicians, lawyers, teachers, salesmen, government workers, etc…  But, that is not what “vocation” meant originally.

Our English word “vocation” is based on the Latin word “vocare.”  The Latin word “vocare” means “to call” and it is the root of our English words “voice” and “vocal” and “vocation.”  Therefore, we should not think of our vocation as our job / career.  Instead, we should think of it as our “calling in life.”

Sometimes a person finds their “calling in life” in the job they get paid to perform.  But, that is not always the case.  Many people go to work just to make enough money to survive.  And, other people go to work to make enough money so they can fulfill their life calling for free.

In my understanding of “vocation” and life calling, it is not about making money.  If you believe your purpose in life is to make money (or to make more money), then you have sold yourself short.  There are more important things in life than money.  And it’s ultimately very selfish to think your purpose in life is to accumulate more money.

Your “vocation” / life calling should have two important characteristics.  First, God is calling you to serve other people—to place others and their needs ahead of yourself.  Second, God is calling you to “seek first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6: 33)”—to establish the justice and Righteousness of God on earth as it is in Heaven.

We discover “vocation” by comparing our gifts and passions with the needs of the world around us.  God created you with gifts and passions that meet the greatest needs of the world.  Your “vocation” / calling is found at the intersection of your greatest passion and the world’s greatest need (Fredrick Buechner).

(Someday) God Will Call Us Home

The final way God calls us is actually the final call.  Those who have faith in Jesus, who have answered God’s call to salvation, will one day hear God call us home.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus made a promise to his disciples.  After the Resurrection, Jesus was going away.  He was going to His Father’s House.  Jesus left his disciples with two promises.  First, Jesus was going to “prepare a place” for all who believe—a place in Our Father’s House / an eternal home (John 14: 1 – 6).  Second, Jesus promised to come back to bring each of us to the Father’s House to be with him forever.

Conclusion

The first Christmas story is a story of God Breaking In to Call Us by Name.  He calls us to salvation, to discipleship, to vocation, and (someday) he will call us home.  But, the Christmas story began with God’s call to Mary and Joseph.

We could learn a lot from Mary and Joseph in the Christmas story.  When God called them, they responded in obedience.  They did not argue with God.  They did not insist that they knew a better way.

I can imagine Mary and Joseph arguing with God.  “God, this doesn’t make sense.  No one has ever done this before.  Your plan will never work.”

But, Mary and Joseph knew that God is the Lord, and they were his servants.  His ways were better than their ways.  We celebrate Christmas today because Mary and Joseph responded like Samuel… “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”

How will you respond when God breaks in and calls you by name?