PARLE SEIGNEUR CAR TON SERVITEUR ÉCOUTE / SPEAK LORD FOR YOUR SERVANT HEARS

CHRIST THE ROCK CONGREGATION

SUNDAY APRIL 25TH 2021

Sermon by Pastor Marc E Simeon

PARLE SEIGNEUR CAR TON SERVITEUR ÉCOUTE

SPEAK LORD FOR YOUR SERVANT HEARS

1Samuel 3:1-10

1 ¶ Le jeune Samuel était au service de l’Éternel devant Éli. La parole de l’Éternel était rare en ce temps-là, les visions n’étaient pas fréquentes.

 2 En ce même temps, Éli, qui commençait à avoir les yeux troubles et ne pouvait plus voir, était couché à sa place,

 3 la lampe de Dieu n’était pas encore éteinte, et Samuel était couché dans le temple de l’Éternel, où était l’arche de Dieu.

 4 Alors l’Éternel appela Samuel. Il répondit: Me voici!

 5 Et il courut vers Éli, et dit: Me voici, car tu m’as appelé. Éli répondit: Je n’ai point appelé; retourne te coucher. Et il alla se coucher.

 6 L’Éternel appela de nouveau Samuel. Et Samuel se leva, alla vers Éli, et dit: Me voici, car tu m’as appelé. Éli répondit: Je n’ai point appelé, mon fils, retourne te coucher.

 7 Samuel ne connaissait pas encore l’Éternel, et la parole de l’Éternel ne lui avait pas encore été révélée.

 8 L’Éternel appela de nouveau Samuel, pour la troisième fois. Et Samuel se leva, alla vers Éli, et dit: Me voici, car tu m’as appelé. Éli comprit que c’était l’Éternel qui appelait l’enfant,

 9 et il dit à Samuel: Va, couche-toi; et si l’on t’appelle, tu diras: Parle, Éternel, car ton serviteur écoute. Et Samuel alla se coucher à sa place.

 10 L’Éternel vint et se présenta, et il appela comme les autres fois: Samuel, Samuel! Et Samuel répondit: Parle, car ton serviteur écoute.

1Sa 3:1 ¶ Then the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.

 2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see,

 3 and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down,

 4 that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!”

 5 So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down.

 6 Then the LORD called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.”

 7 (Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word of the LORD yet revealed to him.)

 8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. Then he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy.

 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.'” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

 10 Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”

INTRODUCTION

• The life of Samuel and the circumstances surrounding his birth are well known to most.
• The name Samuel means (God has heard) (Bondye tande) (Dieu a entendu)
• Samuel was a prayed for child.
• Samuel was born to silence the critics
• Samuel was a statement to show that we serve a miraculous God who hears the cries of His children.
• Samuel was a tears eraser to Anna.
• Anna was a promise keeper who understood how to do business with God.
• She yielded back the child to the service of the Lord as promised.
• She released her prince to become a servant because that was the deal she had with God.

SERVING OF GOD UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF A MAN

1Sa 3:1 ¶ Le jeune Samuel était au service de l’Éternel devant Éli. La parole de l’Éternel était rare en ce temps-là, les visions n’étaient pas fréquentes. (LSV)

 1 ¶ Then the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. (NKJV)

• The young Samuel was ministering before God.
• What can a child do for the Lord?
• Samuel was just a house boy, yet the bible says he was ministering to the Lord.
• Samuel was not part of any committee
• Samuel did not lead the worship nor was he in charge of any other function that we know of yet he was serving the Lord by ministering to the man of God.
• Samuel was a child so he ministered to God at a child capacity.
• It could have said Samuel ministered to Eli before the Lord, but that would downplay the importance of the role of Samuel.
• Serving God before another is becoming a foreign concept to the church.
• There is a spirit of rebellion and insubordination that is plaguing the church these days.
• You may find a big ministry with a great lack of workers; everyone is trying to do their little service to God independently.
• Many people don’t even have a home church to be under the leadership of a spiritual leader. When you ask them about that, some say that they are part of a prayer group.
• We must understand that serving under the leadership of a spiritual leader who is doing God’s work is serving God.
• Hospitals are not just made of Doctors and nurses. Workers from all walks of life are needed to make a hospital functional.
• What could have been the job assignment of little Samuel.
• Running to the well to fletch water for the temple.
• Cleaning up the place of the sacrifice.
• Making sure to keep the fire alive.
• Making sure that the animals for the sacrifice are fed
• Making some run to the market place to buy things for the High Priest.
• Many want to do great things for God, but they refuse to do just the basic things that are needed.
• Samuel was ministering before God even before he was called by God to do ecclesiastical works.
• Samuel only knew the voice of Eli yet he was working for God.

La Parole de l’Éternel était Rare en ce Temps-là, les Visions n’étaient pas Fréquentes.

• What a sad predicament when God decides to chastise with His silence.
• What brings joy in a marriage is the constant communication, the jokes, the laughs, the expressions of love and affirmation between the spouses.
• When there is a difference between a couple, the first symptom is a halt in communication.
• Silence can say a lot without opening its mouth.
• Eli used to benefit the frequent briefings of God, but not anymore.
• God stopped talking to the nation because He had issues with mouthpiece.
• When the voice of the Lord is rare that means confusion is rampant.
• When the word of God is rare, that means that the voice of the devil is common in the land.
• Some people lose all the benefit of communication they used to have with God without searching to know why.
• Some people have had great intimacy with God in the past in ways if they tell you, you would not believe.
• It’s all gone now and they are indifferent about it?
• Whenever someone achieves a certain level of intimacy with God, Satan always tries to buy him out.
• The devil will study you very well and come up with a plan to derail you.
• Anyone who presently holds a high intimacy with God must be on the watch for the devil.
• The enemy will try all conceivable ways to silence the voice of God in one’s life so that he can present his own alternative.
• When the voice of God is silenced, then the voice of the devil has final authority.

• Satan presently has final say on abortion, homosexuality and many other evil things in most of the nations,

THE RETURN OF THE WORD OF THE LORD

• When we read the Bible, we can be tempted to think that God is no longer interested in having those types of relationships that He used to have with the prophets of old times.
• God has not changed, and God will never change. God is the same yesterday, today and forever.
• We need to line ourselves appropriately in order to receive the blessings of God.
• We too often wait for God to adjust to our ways instead of us adjusting to the ways of God.
• Many feel that God should understand and lower His standard to meet their situation.
• God can live with our silence but we depend on His Word to light our path.
• This child Samuel was at the right place at the right time.
• He was an offering to God from his parents’ standpoint.
• He was at the house of God from a geographical standpoint.
• He was already serving God from a disposition standpoint.
• When all of these were in place, then God decided to break His silence.
• God will speak again when everything is lined up according to his expectation.

MISTAKEING THE VOICE OF GOD FOR THE VOICE OF MAN

• Many mistake the voice of God for the voice of man.
• Just because I am preaching, I am not the one talking to you.
• The Holy Spirit may be talking to someone right now, but to them it can sound as if pastor Marc is trying to manipulate them.
• Because of a lack of experience, when Samuel heard the voice of God, he went straight to the man of God instead of talking to God.
• If you have some issues with the man of God in your life, that will block you to recognize whether it is really God talking to you through him.
• Notice how God used the familiar voice of Eli to talk to little Samuel.
• God did not want to bypass the leadership that was established for that house.
• Samuel had to be under the submission of Eli for it to work.
• Imagine if Samuel felt that the old prophet was disturbing his sleep and decided to ignore him instead like my children do sometimes.
• When a sermon is preached and the Holy Spirit is trying to steer you to repentance, you must not resent the man of God for getting in your business.
• You may be the next chosen prophet, but you still need the guidance of the old prophet.
• Though God rejected Eli and his descendants to hold the high office of Judge and high priest in Israel, he still had one last assignment to teach the young Samuel how to recognize the voice of God.

HOW TO RESPOND WHEN GOD CALLS YOUR NAME

• Eli taught Samuel something he never knew before.
• Eli must have remembered his first encounter with God.
• Eli remembered the day he was set apart by God from the rest of the human race.
• Eli remembered his first audible dialogue with God.
• Pretty much like a woman would sit a young 11 year old girl to talk about the changes that are about to happen in her body: period, sex, precaution and stuffs.
• When God called Samuel, that was the striking realization that Eli was being replaced.
• That was also the striking realization that none of the sons of the old prophet was chosen.
• That was the striking realization that a change of power will be forced by God.
• Eli told Samuel, there is no argument with God.
• Just say “Speak Lord, your servant hears.” That’s all.
• You are his servant, you take His orders; you execute them. That’s all.
• You pay attention, you ask for clarification, you record, you execute.
• You don’t argue with God; you don’t paraphrase his Word to make it digestible; you don’t pay regard to men.
• Many are pressuring the preachers to give their opinion on the word of God instead of stating the word of God.

WHAT IS THE FREQUENCY OF YOUR PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS WITH GOD?

a.   NONE EXISTENT

b.   SELDOM

c.   REGULAR

• As we engage ourselves in the affairs of this world, be sure to maintain constant communication with God.
• Can you imagine a policeman who has no means of communication with the base?
• How can he be dispatched?
• How can he call for backups?
• How can he be warned to escape danger?
• How can you be updated throughout the day?
• Without a clear and constant communication with God, you are just out there doing your own things.
• You will not even know how to differentiate, the voices that are talking to you.
• Sometimes, it may be you talking to yourself.
• Sometimes, it may be the devil talking to you.
• Sometimes, it may be God who is trying to communicate with you.
• You must earnestly pray to recognize the voice of God.
• Clean up your life in expectancy to hear from God.
• Be attentive in expectancy to hear from God.
• Silence all other voices in expectancy to hear from God.
• Remember the secret that the prophet gave to Samuel.    

9 Eli dit à Samuel: Va, couche-toi; et si l’on t’appelle, tu diras: Parle, Éternel, car ton serviteur écoute. Et Samuel alla se coucher à sa place. (LSV)

9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.'” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. (NKJV)

CONCLUSION

• I know that you may be prone to hear from God in an audible way.
• God may not choose an audible voice to talk to you.
• He may choose this message to clarify something that He had already told you.
• He may choose the trials you are passing through to talk to you.
• Be prompt to say to God “speak, for your servant hears you.”
• Never allow the voice of God to become rare under your watch.
• Never take your position in the affairs of God for granted.
• Never allow your children to disrespect God by your tolerance.
• Never think that your assignment in the house of God is insignificant.
• Never think that you have to have a theological degree for God to talk to you.
• Never think that you are too young to be entrusted a great responsibility for God.
• Never think that you know it all when it comes to communicating with God.
• Even if you respond to a man, your service is first and foremost toward God.
• Anna dropped a little servant at God’s university and Samuel graduated as the most respected figure in the land.
• Samuel’s legacy and respect lived on long after his death.
• Samuel was privileged to anoint both Saul and David as king of the Land before his death.
• Even in the presence of king Saul, Samuel remained the most respected figure in the land until his death.
• When God speaks to you, be prompt to say as Samuel, “Speak Lord, for your servant hears.”
• May God add his blessings upon His word!
• To God be the Glory!
• AMEN!