In this sermon, the preacher focuses on the story of Samuel and Eli from the Bible. He highlights how Eli and his sons were engaging in evil dealings and taking advantage of worshipers at the Lord's Tabernacle. The preacher emphasizes that God was fed up with their actions and wanted them to stop. He also points out that Samuel, on the other hand, was a godly boy who ministered to the Lord and responded obediently when God called him. The sermon emphasizes the importance of listening to and obeying God's word.

To the book of 1st Samuel chapter 2 if you didn't bring a Bible raise up your hand and one of our ushers will bring one to You because you're going to want to follow along in the text Verse by verse with us. We're making our way verse by verse through this book of 1st Samuel and We're starting this morning in chapter 2 beginning here at verse 22 Now we are picking up a story kind of in the middle of it But instead of sort of explaining everything beforehand, let's just jump in with both feet and we'll figure it out as we go along 1st Samuel chapter 2 beginning at verse 22 now Eli was very old and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel and How they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting Now, please notice this this man Eli was the high priest over Israel at this time He was the leading religious official of the whole nation He led the is he led the nation of Israel in sacrifice. He represented the nation of Israel on the Day of Atonement But even though he was the leading man in all of Israel when it came to spiritual things His own sons were ungodly and corrupt The name of his sons were Hophni and Phinehas and they didn't follow in the ways of Eli They followed in their own ways We saw last week what one of their great Crimes against the Lord was and I won't go into details of how they did it just suffice it to say That they were ripping off the people of God You see it was if God's people came and they wanted to offer to the Lord But they ripped off God's people and took more from them than they wanted to give or should have given and they were ripping off God's people God wasn't pleased with that But that wasn't the only way that the sons of Eli were ripping off the Pete that God's people They were also ripping them off It says here in verse 22 by committing sexual immorality with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle Women would come to worship the Lord and these evil sons of Eli would find a way to take advantage of them And it just showed the heart of these sons of Eli what they were really interested was in what they could get From the people of God what they could steal from the material what kind of pleasure they could take from them They didn't have the hearts of shepherds that wanted to see what they could give to the people of God They cared about what they could take from the people of God and that was their heart and it was a terrible heart before the Lord the friends in the midst of this kind of darkness Somebody should come and confront these men. Don't you think and who better than their father Eli himself? I mean Eli had a dual responsibility to these two sons of his he had a responsibility them as a father, right? He should say sons you shouldn't do this and even though these weren't little boys anymore They were grown-up sons and not under Eli's authority as they might have been at one time yet They were still under him in some regard and he should have said to them. Listen boys. It won't be like this But he also had a responsibility them not only as a father, but as a boss He was the high priest. These men were priests under him. He should run up to the you're fired You're on probation. You're not doing your job as priest But instead of really taking action against his sons, you know what Eli did Eli did what we do a lot of times He lectured his sons. He yelled at him That's one of the most ineffective things a parent can do, isn't it? Yell at the kids lecture them without taking action. Well, look at what he said here verse 23 So he said to them why do you do such things for I hear of your evil dealings from all the people now Why do you do such things in a sense? It's an interesting question, right? He's curious, but in other sense who cares why? It's almost like he's inviting a lame excuse from them instead of asking why he's just saying knock it off stop it This is it. No more ripping off God's people No more taking advantage of the worshipers who come to the tits come to the Lord's tabernacle. It's done Why instead he's asking for an explanation he goes on verse 24 to say no my sons For it is not a good report that I hear you make the Lord's people transgress If one man sins against another God will judge him But if a man sins against the Lord who will intercede for him you see the picture that Eli's painting here He's saying listen, it's bad enough that you sin against men But you're also sinning against God And if I sin against you if you sin against me, well, we can patch it up somehow right but who's gonna patch it up If you sin against God Now Eli didn't live with the blessing of a New Testament understanding. Did he? He didn't know about the fullness of the work of the Messiah on his behalf Don't you wish that you could come to Eli and read for him? First John chapter 2 verse 1 don't you wish you could come to him and say if anyone sins We have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous praise God There is someone to intercede for us when we sin against the Lord and friends It doesn't matter where you're at here this morning You may feel that you're the worst sinner in this room And you just may be hoping that nobody can read the secrets of your heart you feel so guilty or burdened by your sin It doesn't matter how great of a sinner you are. You've got a greater Savior in Jesus Christ And Eli should have known that there was someone who could intercede between God and man But he poses the question to his son nonetheless there and he continues on here We're in the middle of verse 25 where it says nevertheless. They did not heed the voice of their father Because the Lord desired to kill them Wow That's heavy, isn't it? The Lord desired to kill them. What's that all about? It almost seems unjust somebody might look at that and say what's going on here why why is God Wanting to kill them. Why was God preventing their repentance in this way? Well friends. There's a wrong way to look at this completely You know we could look at this in terms of thinking well here are Eli's sons. They want to repent Oh, they want to repent all they want to do what's right before the Lord, but there's God in heaven saying no I won't let you I'm not gonna let you repent I know you want to but I won't let you Because I want to judge you. I want to do something terrible to you friends. Is that the situation not at all? Why will Eli's sons not repent? because they don't want to and What does God have to do to Eli's sons to make sure that they never repent that they never turn from their sins that they? Never heed the voice of their father. What does God have to do? Nothing just let him go their own way If God lets them do the wicked intent that's on their heart Then they won't do anything and they will not repent before the Lord Friends it's very important for us to realize that repentance is a gift from God and when he's working on your heart in a repentant Way receive that gift and make the most of it But God just said well I'm just gonna leave Eli's sons alone and that meant that they would go on to destruction and be judged and Sometimes we look at that there in verse 25 there and it says because the Lord desired to kill them to say wow That's heavy God. That's not right of you to desire to kill them. Well friends that these were men who deserve judgment Can I just ask you a simple question? Is it wrong for God to desire justice? Is it wrong for God to want to do what's right? When it says the Lord desired to kill them it simply means that God desired justice towards Eli's son Okay, I just tell you that right now you should instead want to come to God on the basis of mercy instead of waiting for his justice God's extending to you his mercy right now. Take him up on his mercy friends Because one day the offer mercy will be taken back and instead you'll receive God's justice No, God had extended his hand of mercy towards Eli's sons for a long time He tried to warn them, but they didn't want to listen now. It's time for justice and God desires to work as justice But they should have listened to what his dad said, although I think that Eli could have said it a lot better He should have put his foot down. He shouldn't have just lectured or if he was gonna lecture. He should have given him a better lecture Now I'm reading in commentaries one of the commentaries I'm reading in preparation for this Time and our word together on Sunday mornings is is a old commentary from a Puritan guy named John Trapp He wrote in the 17th century. That's hundreds of years ago But they wrote in a style and in with a directness back then that I think is remarkable and in this commentary John Trapp He's thinking what should have Eli said to his sons? And so he's giving Eli a little bit of advice Eli. This is what you should have said to your son Let me read this to you. It's in Elizabethan English, but it has a power to it This is what John Trapp thinks Eli should have said to his sons Draw near hither ye sons of the sorceress You seed of the adulterer and the whore ye degenerate brood and sons of Belial and not of Eli Ye brass of fathomless perdition It is stark stinking not that I hear and woe is me that I yet live to hear it It has been better that I had died long since or that you had been buried alive Than this to live and stink above the ground Now that's a lecture from dad man It's stark stinking not that I hear Wow. I mean, well, I'd say maybe we talked to our kids that way They'd mind a little better get some of that Elizabethan English thing going here that little says sounds like Shakespeare laying it on him Well, listen, I don't know I'm just telling you that whatever Eli should have done Even if he talked to them more directly and strongly he should have done something both as a father and as a high priest It wasn't enough just to say well sons. You shouldn't be doing this. You should have took action Now in contrast to the wicked sons of Eli look at what's happening with Eli's adopted son Samuel that's in verse 26 We read there and the child Samuel grew in stature and in favor both with the Lord and men He's growing taller, isn't he? He's growing up. He's not the little little boy Samuel anymore he's growing up and he's growing not only in size but in stature and in favor With God and with man Well friends God sees the corrupt sons of Eli. He's raising up little Samuel The Prince God is going to deal with the house of Eli and that leads us to verse 27 Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him you notice that one day and not comes at the door of Eli There's the knock Guy hands him a business card. Hi here I am. I'm I'm the man of God That's what it says on his business card man of God As I've got a message for you from God and here's the message verse 27 thus says the Lord Did I not clearly reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt and Pharaoh's house? Did I not choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest to offer upon my altar? To burn incense and to wear an ephod before me and did I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of The children of Israel made by fire Why do you kick at my sacrifice and my offering which I have commanded in my habitation and honor your sons more than me To make yourself fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel my people Prince you see God through this prophet this man of God confronting Eli over his sin I think it's remarkable that the knock from the man of God did not come to the door of Eli's sons It came to the door of Eli because God held Eli responsible both as a father and as a Supervisor to his sons who were priests underneath him My friends. It's very very important for us to see that God held Eli Responsible and do you see the rebuke that God led against Eli there in 1st Samuel chapter 2 verse 29 where he says? You honor your sons more than me Parents when we're too indulgent to our children When we let them go their own course when we won't raise them in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord you're honoring your children more than the Lord Don't make your children an idol Your children don't belong to you They belong to the Lord and God has lent them to you for you to raise them in a godly way And might I say to raise them to be good adults Don't raise your children to be good children Raise them to be good adults to be able to follow God and serve him and have a heart before him on their own and Friends we're to do that for the simple reason because we love God And we don't want to honor our children before we honor the Lord And that's the rebuke that this man of God brings before Eli here, and he continues on here in verse 30 And he says therefore the Lord God of Israel says I said indeed that your house in the house of your father would walk before me Forever, but now the Lord says far be it from me for those who honor me I will honor and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed Friends do you want to be honored by God? Do you want to be lifted up by him then honor him? Do you want God to be against you then be against him? Do you want to be lightly esteemed by God then despise him It goes on here verse 31 behold the days are coming that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father's house So that there will not be an old man in your house when he says cut off the arm He doesn't mean that literally the arm was a picture of strength and power in ancient Hebrew thinking And so he's saying I'm gonna take away your strength. I'm gonna take away your might and now he continues verse 32 He says and you will see an enemy in my habitation Despite all the good which God does for Israel and there shall not be an old man in your house forever But any of your men whom I do not cut off from my altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your hearts and all the descendants Of your house shall die in the flower of their age He's saying listen Eli God is going to bring judgment against your house He's going to take away your house from having that priestly place in Israel and God is going to curse your house with weakness Now I want you to see something that this announcement of judgment against the house of Eli was implicitly an invitation to repentance You know, that's how God works when he announces his judgment. He's inviting us to repent. That's how it was I think a very notable example. This is Jonah when he was called to go preach to the Ninevites Nineveh was a city that was very wicked before the Lord and God wanted Jonah to go preach before the people in Nineveh and he Didn't want to preach there and that's where you get in the whole belly of the fish thing But when Jonah finally got to the Ninevites, he didn't want them to repent. He wanted them to all go to hell But he had to preach because he found out what happens when you don't do what the Lord tells you to do and he didn't want Any more of that business So he goes and he goes around the city of Nineveh and he's saying You know 30 more days and God's gonna judge you guys and he's probably got a great big smile on his face He's going through town saying yeah God's gonna get you and I'm just telling you what the Lord told me to tell you God's gonna judge you guys 30 more days and Jonah did not give them a Explicit invitation to repent but they understood that and so they repented boy Did they repent you want to know how much the people of the city in Nineveh repented their cows repented? That's how much they repented They clothe their cows in sackcloth, which was a picture of mourning and and a listen they they repented before God that's strongly You know what? God said God said because you've repented I'm not gonna judge and Jonah was the most depressed guy around He wanted to see God just wail on the Ninevites But he didn't because they repented and here God is giving Eli the chance to repent He's giving us sons a chance to repent, but they did not repent Now going on here verse 34 Said that shall be assigned to you That will come upon your two sons on Hockney and Phineas in one day They shall die both of them Then I will raise up for myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind I will build him a sure house and he shall walk before my anointed forever and it shall come to pass that Everyone who was left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread and say Please put me in one of the priestly positions that I may eat a piece of bread Eli your house will be reduced to begging Yes, you're ripping off God's people. You're lining your pockets with the stuff you steal from God's people. Now one day you're going to be begging You've sought to lift yourself up in an ungodly way. God's going to reduce you low Did you notice the other thing he says there because I'm going to replace you with a faithful priest now Who was this faithful priest? Well, I think in one sense. This was Samuel wasn't it Samuel? Growing up godly. He's going to replace these ungodly sons of Eli, but it wasn't only Samuel later on years from now This was fulfilled where God took the family line of Eli out of the high priesthood and he put instead of Eli in the family Line, he put the family line of a guy named Zadok But didn't happen in this day. It happened decades later in the days of Solomon friends Doesn't this teach us something that God's judgment can be held off for a while, but it's going to come The judgment that was prophesied here against Eli's house, it didn't happen in a year It didn't happen in ten years. It happened 50 60 70 years down the road, but it happened nonetheless And finally God says listen just to let you know that it's going to happen that you know for sure that it's going to happen Both your sons are going to die on the same day Friends, we're going to see how that's fulfilled in coming weeks But wow, what a place that leaves Eli and his sons with Now in contrast to all that you have a godly boy named Samuel and look at this beginning in chapter 3 verse 1 It says 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 Well as corrupt as the sons of Eli are that's how godly Samuel is and we don't know how old he was Joseph Josephus the ancient Jewish historian says that Samuel was 12 years old at this time and we don't know for sure But maybe he's in that age, you know as young teen something like that and there he is doing whatever he can For Eli the high priest and hey, we read it here in verse 2 It says and it came to pass at that time But Eli was lying down in his place and his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see 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 to sleep that the Lord called Samuel and he answered here. I am What a precious scene this is, isn't it? Eli it's time for him to go to bed. Eli doesn't see well anymore. He's old. I Don't know what it was Cataracts glaucoma. I don't know. He couldn't see very well anymore So he goes and he lays his head down and they're sleeping through the night Eli's asleep in one room Samuel he's 11 12 13 something like that Now he lays down to sleep in another room and there they are asleep for the night now Sometime before the lamps of God were put out that means early dawn in the morning It's still dark three four or five o'clock in the morning. I don't know. It's still dark outside. It's before dawn Samuel here's something Samuel Samuel in the room He wakes up. Whoa, wait a minute. Here. I am Samuel didn't know that it was God calling him The friends isn't that a beautiful way to respond to the call of God to say here I am It brings up a whole issue for us, doesn't it? How do you know when God is speaking to you? It seems as though God was speaking to Samuel in an audible voice And I say it's highly highly unusual for God to speak to somebody in an audible voice today I would say most the time as somebody says they're hearing voices and God speaking to him you take him in for a checkup And we hear other people say well God spoke to me this God spoke to me that We hear evangelists talk about a 70-foot Jesus who came and spoke to them You know, it's interesting 70-foot. Jesus came and spoke to this evangelist and you know what he talked to him about I thought I don't know maybe give him a cure for cancer, you know solution for some world problem you know what Jesus talked to the evangelist about a Fundraising technique, isn't that remarkable? So we get kind of suspicious God told me this God told me that Now how does God speak to us not very often I'd say Exceedingly rarely would God speak to somebody through an audible voice most the time when we talk about God speaking to us We're talking about God speaking to us to what we might call the inner voice Know the impressions the thoughts of our heart and we believe that some of those impressions some of those thoughts are from God And it could be It could be but we got to remember that God's not the only source of thoughts and impressions is he? Sometimes thoughts and impressions just come from ourselves. Maybe it came from that big lunch. You just ate too much spicy food Maybe the thoughts the impressions are just coming from Yourself from your food from maybe they're coming from God. Maybe maybe they're coming from Satan You know I can happen can it? One of the best illustrations I think there is of this in the scriptures is is Peter in Matthew chapter 16 Jesus is asking a question of the disciples, and he says who do you say that I am and Peter boy? This is a shining moment. He comes up, and he says Jesus. You're the Messiah. You're the Christ You're the son of the Living God and Jesus turns to Peter with a great big smile on his face goes Peter No person flesh and blood did not reveal that to you Peter, but my father which is in heaven and Peter goes yes, I Hear from God God spoke to me now I don't think that when Peter said that it was flashing in his mind God God God I Think he just you know this thought this impression came to in his mark as high and in his mind And he just said it and Jesus said you know what Peter that wasn't from you that was from God and Peter goes Yeah, you know. Thanks, Jesus. Thanks for pointing out in front of all the other disciples that I hear from God I'm glad we got that clear So Jesus goes on to talk to his disciples. He goes guys. Let me tell you what's going to happen I'm going to go to Jerusalem, and they're going to arrest me, and I'm going to be crucified But I'll raise again the third day now. This was not what the disciples were expecting They're expecting Jesus to be elected king and they're his rulers with them and all this and they weren't looking forward to following a crucified Savior So Peter when he hears Jesus tell about this he says now Jesus. You know let me take you side Let me tell you a little something here because after all Jesus. I hear from God Don't do it don't go to the cross You know you shouldn't do this Jesus turns around and he looks at Peter and just as much as there was a big smile on his face before now Jesus looks Real stern, and he says get behind me Satan Now I don't think you ever saw a man with a more dejected horrified look on his face in the world than Peter at that moment Because one minute you're speaking from the Lord the next minute you're speaking from Satan himself himself The friends isn't that how it is I don't think that when Peter said that it was flashing in his mind Satan Satan Satan you know Peter you have a message from Satan to deliver to Jesus no It was just a thought an impression that came into his mind, and it was an inner voice And he just spoke it, but one minute. He's speaking from God the next minute He's speaking of the Satan friends with this kind of uncertain business and hearing from the Lord Friends, how can we ever know what should we do? Well, let me give you three important points. I believe that that that are important when it comes to hearing from God First of all because it can be uncertain when we hear from God and when we don't Might I say always always always know what God's certain word is This right here this Bible this is God's certain word and You never never have to doubt that God has spoken to you in this book And if you think that God has spoken to you anything that goes apart from this book or in contradicting this book God hasn't spoken to you at all you're confused You haven't heard from God Friends if somebody comes up to me, and they say pastor David praise the Lord the Lord just showed me I was in prayer and God spoke to my heart, and he showed me a way I can cheat on my taxes and save a lot of money I'll say brother That wasn't the look well what I should say is get behind me Satan is what I should say But I'm not that bold I'll probably say well brother I think you're mistaken there And I'll show him the scriptures that say that the Lord says we should pay our taxes and honor the government See my friends God will never contradict his word never This is his certain word now secondly Not only should we judge everything according to a certain word we should have a lot of humility When we think about God speaking to us, and when we talk about God speaking to us because God may speak from heaven perfectly But he has not given you the gift of hearing him perfectly You know God may be talking to you and just like in a normal conversation you say Mentally here all right God. You know you gotta stop speaking, but you go on and start adding things to it in your mind Or maybe God wants to tell you more and you cut him off or maybe God tells you something That's for somebody else, but you think it's for you or God tells you something for you But you think it's for somebody else friends There's a lot of ways you can misunderstand God speaking to you so what I say what I'm saying is be humble about it. I Don't think you should go around all that God told me God told me you know what I think is a much healthier way to Address it say I think the Lord told me I Think the Lord told me and then you know what then let God confirm it if he told you he'll confirm it God has no problem doing that God will always confirm his word friends if somebody comes up to you and says you know what I think God's telling you through me to move the Lake Tahoe Don't do it unless God marvelously and wonderfully confirms his word through many many other places Friends God will confirm his word let him confirm it then finally No one should think that they are Unspiritual because they don't feel like the Lord speaks to them very much My friends. Do you want to hear from God? Do you really want to hear from God the best way you can hear from them then pick up this book and get into this book? Now it may seem more dramatic it may seem more spectacular if you feel like God is speaking to you directly But friends. It's not more dramatic. It's not more spectacular. This is where God has spoken Concretely and certainly this is where you can trust God speaking to you 100% The friends when God does speak to you you should respond just like Samuel responded by saying here. I am Now it wasn't that God didn't know where Samuel was but it's God's servants way of saying look Lord. I'm here I'm ready whatever you want to say to me here. I am You know a lot of great people in the Bible said here. I am when God spoke to him Abraham said here I am Moses said here. I am Jacob said here. I am Isaiah said here I am Ananias in the New Testament when the Lord called him. He said here. I am That's the way we should be always attentive Lord. Whatever you want to tell me. I am here ready to listen to you It's what happened with Samuel. Let's go on here verse 5 So he ran to Eli and said here. I am for you called me what a good boy Samuel was Got up in the middle night, he says well Eli must need something Maybe you know, I want to drink of water. Maybe he lost his pillow and he's blind. He can't find it I don't know. Maybe he wants something. Yeah, Eli. What do you want? And Eli said and he said I did not call lie down again and he went and laid down So the Lord called yet again Samuel so Samuel arose and went to Eli and he said here I am for you called me and the answer I did not call My son lie down again. Now. My own theory is that the Lord's having some fun with this by now And there let's see how often we can get Samuel to do this here verse 7 now Samuel did not yet know the Lord nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him and the Lord called Samuel Again the third time and he rose and went to Eli and he said here I am for you did call me Then Eli said You wake me up one more time kid and yet no Eli perceived that it was the Lord who had called the boy Well Eli figured it out So look at what he tells Samuel to do verse 9 Therefore Eli said the same ago lie down and it shall be if he calls you that you must say Speak Lord for your servant ears. So Samuel went and laid down in his place. Do you think he slept a wink? And I'd say it was more than like having 10 cups of coffee there he is laying on the bed his eyes as big as Saucers. Okay, Lord, are you gonna do it again? Whatever? I guess that's the Lord speaking. I know I don't know what this is Like I'm ready Lord and then fine again. I can't help but think that the Lord is having a lot of fun with this That's why I'm waiting around just watching him score him for a little bit seeing that anticipation But then finally in verse 10 Then the Lord came and stood and called as at the time see the Lord was there personally I believe in the person of Jesus Christ. I think this was more than just an inner voice I think the Lord was speaking to Samuel actually there audibly visibly and verse 11 The Lord said in verse 10 the Lord came and stood and called it as at other times Samuel Samuel and Samuel answered speak Lord for your servant ears a Friend isn't that a beautiful way to respond to the Word of God? speak Do you know that you need God to speak to you? Hey, I'm glad you're here this morning I'm glad you want to hear the preacher The friends what you should really hear is you should really want to hear God and what he might say to you through the preacher That's what we always need to hear. We must hear from God Listen, you hear a lot of voices the preacher may speak your parents may speak to you Your friends may speak to you your teachers may speak to you people on the radio Television may speak to you and it all might be great. But what really matters is what God would speak to you my friends Their voices mean nothing for eternity unless God speaks to you And I think God wants us to be attentive to his voice I think God wants us to care about what he says to us. We need to have the same heart of Samuelite here and say speak Lord Listen while you're sitting here right here right now You should be praying again and you're getting your heart Lord. You speak to me through your word You speak to me through what the preacher says speak Lord because it doesn't matter what the preacher says I need to hear from you God God will speak to your heart and send you away with something just so pressed down upon your heart. He'll feed you. He'll bless you Come ready to hear from the Lord. See my friends when we put ourselves in that submissive place There's really nothing we have to be worried about in our Christian life I Don't worry as a pastor about people who have the attitude of heart really in their lives Speak Lord for your servant here See because I know that if they kind of get messed up If they kind of start straying off in a wrong direction or if they start going off in an area of sin You know what God can correct them God will speak to their heart and they'll listen to God and go on. Will you listen to God? Will you hear him? friends a teachable submissive heart before God is one of the most precious things you can ever have and Honestly, if you're not at that place here this morning Let God convict your heart and break your heart before him and say Lord. I want to listen to you I want to hear you speak to me and I want to listen to what you say to me I don't want to harden my heart against your word. I want to have the attitude of heart that Samuel had Speak Lord For your servant here. What did the Lord say to Sam? It must have been important, right? He really wanted Samuel's attention. What did he say? We'll have to save that for our next time together and it's pretty good I have to tell you it's it's pretty exciting. Oh Listen if you need to have a teachable heart before the Lord you need it. I need it Listen if you don't have a teachable heart before the Lord if you don't have a listening heart to God Then there's not much God can do with you, right? And if you do have a teachable heart if you do have a listening ear to God Then friends there's not very far you can go wrong Because you can always be guided back to the right place by the Lord Oh, let's pray and ask God to give us those teachable hearts Father we want to have the same kind of heart that Samuel had where we will say speak Lord for your servant here is listening We want to hear from you God. We want hearts that are teachable. We want ears that'll hear your word And father we recognize that we need to hear from you Lord you may speak through many different people. You may speak to us through the through the preacher through the Our parents through our friends through whatever Lord But we recognize that we really need to hear from you So Lord, won't you speak? Speak to us in your tender love We praise you we thank you together here this morning in Jesus name Amen You