In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

If you remember Old Testament Bible History, or if you read the first two chapters of this book of the Bible, you know that Samuel was God's answer to a prayer. Samuel's mother Hanna had prayed and prayed for a child. One day, she even made a vow that if the LORD permitted her to conceive and bear a son that she would give him back to the LORD for full time service. Well, the LORD did answer her prayer, and she kept her promise. When Samuel was weaned, Hanna brought her son to the tabernacle, and committed him to the care of a priest by the name of Eli. There Samuel worshiped and served the LORD every day.

Eli had not done such a good job of raising his sons. They were out of control, sinning in God's house. But though he was warned, Eli did not sufficiently correct them. God was going to carry out discipline. On a certain night, the LORD revealed this to Samuel. The LORD called Samuel by name. But at first, Samuel didn't recognize that it was the LORD calling him. This didn't exactly happen every day back then either. But finally, Eli properly instructed Samuel on what to say. He told him to say:

1. God revealed Himself to Samuel "through His Word."

What God told Samuel on this night was only the beginning. The LORD told Samuel what was going to happen to Eli and his family. And Samuel faithfully carried the message to Eli, and told him everything. And everything came true just as the LORD had said through Samuel. In verses 19-21, we read these words: "The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. {20} And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD. {21} The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word."

It says right here in verse 21 that God revealed Himself to Samuel through His Word. God spoke directly to Samuel. All of the people from the north to the south "recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD." They believed that Samuel was a prophet, because he was a prophet. There, in Shiloh, the LORD revealed himself to Samuel "through His Word." Think about what that means.

God did not speak gibberish. Samuel didn't speak a stream of nonsense word salad, and claim it was some kind of speaking in tongues. God spoke to Samuel in messages that were clear. Then, Samuel spoke God's Word to the people. And that's how God revealed himself to Samuel and to the people. In fact, Luther correctly stated over and over again that God does not wish to deal with us in any other way than through His Word. If you want to know God, then learn His Word. If you want to grow in faith, then hear God's Word. God works through His Word!

Anyone can claim to be able to foretell the future. It's easy to claim that, but can they always do it with 100% accuracy? That is the test. If you think that those predictions in the tabloids are any good, just keep the thing for one year and check how many came true. Usually, very few of them turn out to be right. But, God can foretell the future with 100% accuracy. And through Samuel, God did. He never missed once. Not one prediction fell to the ground false. There was not one miss in all those years. Every prophecy was fulfilled. Every word was true.

Not only that, but every message was in complete and perfect conformity with the rest of God's revealed Word. No prophecy of Samuel ever conflicted with a Bible passage. No prophecy of Samuel ever clashed with a prophecy of Moses, or any other Bible prophet. Everything was true. Everything fit with God's written Word. And that is how God revealed Himself to Samuel, "through His Word." And Samuel listened. May we listen too, for...

2. God speaks to us through His inspired Word, the Bible.

God reveals Himself to us too, but today He reveals Himself to us through His inspired Word, the Bible. In the Bible, we find out all kinds of truths that we would not otherwise know. For example, there is a big controversy going on all over our country about how this world and the universe got here. We don't have to ask some scientist how this world came to be. We have an eyewitness account! God tells us what happened in the Bible. There, God tells us how he created the whole universe in only six days. Everything was perfect, until Satan rebelled and led Adam and Eve into sin. Then the world became more and more evil until God sent the worldwide flood, and spared only Noah and his family. But all through the Old Testament, God was promising the coming of our Savior. God revealed amazing truths through the faithful prophets of the Old Testament. And we reviewed some of them in the season of Advent. Finally, our Savior came. And He spoke God's Word. Because Jesus was true God in the flesh, every single word that Jesus spoke was God's Word! Jesus was the great Prophet.

Wouldn't you like to hear Jesus preach? Wouldn't you like to know what He said? His words are in the Bible. If you read from the Gospel accounts, from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you will read what Jesus said. When we read from these words, and preach on these portions of God's Word, you can listen to what Jesus said. And so, Jesus still speaks to us, through the Bible. Jesus spoke the Law and the Gospel. In the Sermon on the Mount, we read many sharp statements of the Law. We must love our enemies! We must not lust. We must not worry. We have all sinned, but Jesus came to save us. He did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. He came to live a perfect life for us. He came to lay down his life on the cross to atone for all of our sins. He came to win forgiveness for us. And God declared us all forgiven in Christ's resurrection. Because Jesus rose from death, we can be sure that we are forgiven through Christ. And so, whoever believes in Jesus will be saved in God's judgment. But to believe, we need to hear the Word of the Gospel. For, faith comes from hearing the Word of God.

In order to proclaim His Word, Christ sent out His chosen apostles. The Holy Spirit inspired the apostles to write down the New Testament Scriptures. They reveal more of God's Word to us. We learn that we are saved by grace, through faith, in Jesus Christ alone. God speaks to us through His inspired Word, the Bible. May we have the attitude of Samuel, when it comes to God's Word! May we say, "Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening!"

3. May we listen respectfully, carefully, and often!

Believers will want to listen to God's Word respectfully. After all, this is God's Word! The Bible is not like any other book. You are free to like or not like the works of William Shakespeare. He's just a man. But, the Bible is God's Word! May we treat it with proper respect! Eli's sons were not respectful with God's Word and worship. Samuel was respectful. Eli was right to teach him to say, "Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening!" Never forget who is the LORD, and who is the servant.

Many people seem to carry an attitude today that says, "Listen, Lord, your servant is speaking!" They want to tell God how things are going to be. We should not be like that. Yet, even believers need to consider the difference between praying and learning God's Word. Prayer is good, but when we pray, we are talking to God. That's good. But we are talking to God. God wants to talk to us, through his Word. How well do we listen to His Word? God wants to talk to you the words of the Bible! Have you ever been in a conversation with someone who never lets you get a word in edge-wise? They go on and on, and never even hear what you say. Let us not be like that with God. Yes, he hears our prayers, but are we listening to His Word respectfully? Let us set out from now on to listen to God's Word more respectfully. Show His Word the respect that it deserves. Say, "Speak, LORD, your servant is listening!"

Listen carefully too. Have you ever found yourself daydreaming in church? Do your thoughts drift away sometimes, so that you don't even hear God's Word? Let's be careful that we do not ignore God's Word. May God help us to listen more carefully! One way to do that is to know the Bible better. Do you know the Bible History lessons? If not, there are many ways to learn to know the Bible better.

One way is to listen more often. If God's Word is really a part of your life, you will get to know it better and better. We could listen to Bible tapes, or read the Bible or Meditations at home. We could come to Bible Classes or Sunday School. In the Old Testament, God commanded that his people stop their busy schedules and hear his Word at least one day a week. Should we do any less? Hear God's Word at least every week. We need it as often as possible. We don't skip many meals, so why would we want to skip out on food for our souls? Feed your faith. And may God make your faith to grow and grow. We know that faith comes from hearing the message of Christ. So, then, let us say, as Samuel did, "Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening!" Amen.