Hearing the Voice of God

by Pastor Marty Hughes
First Bible Baptist Church, Oklahoma City, OK

Download the ASCII text version of this sermon

Text: 1 Samuel 3

Introduction: In today’s text we see an illustration of God calling his children into service. Much like Samuel, many of God’s children do not recognize God’s voice at first. This often leads to the circumstance of missing the blessings that come from being in the center of God’s will. Today, I am going to try to show you from scripture how to recognize the voice of God as He calls you to follow Him.

I. Ways that God has Spoken to Man Through the Ages.

A. In Innocence - Face To Face Gen. 1-3
B. After the Fall - Audible Voice With His Glory Veiled. Ex. 33:18-23
C. During the Age of The Law - Through His Prophets and Priests. II Kings 17:13
D. During the Incarnation - He became flesh & dwelt among us. Jn. 1:14
E. In the Early Church - Through outward manifestations of His Holy Spirit. Acts 10:44
F. In the Church Age - Through His completed Revelation,the written Word of God. II Tim. 3:15-17


1. The written manifestation of the Living Word, Jesus Christ.
2. Revealing the will of God the Father to man.
3. Illuminated by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

II. What Is God Saying to His People Today?

A. The Call to Salvation


1. He is sending forth the call to those for whom He died, Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Matt. 11:28
2. He is knocking on your heart’s door and asking to come in. Rev. 3:20


B. The Call To Sanctification


1. His ultimate will is that you be conformed to the image of Christ. Rom. 8:29
2. He calls His children to walk in His ways.
3. He calls for purity and holiness and provides the power and the path for them to be accomplished in our lives. II Pet. 1:3
4. We become more like Christ as we learn of Him through His Word.


C. The Call To Service I Cor. 12:18 ff.


1. He has equipped you and called you to serve others in His name.
2. There is no Christian that God has not called to serve.
3. There is no Christian to whom God has not given the spiritual gifts and abilities needed to accomplish God’s will for their lives.
4. His call can be general or specific.
5. The key is surrender of our will to His will.
6. The question is, Who is Lord of your life?


D. The Call to Sacrifice


1. God calls all who follow Him to be willing to give of their best to the Master.
2. This always demands sacrifice. II Tim. 3:12 3. But God has given us the finest example in the sacrifice of His Son.


E. The Call to Soulwinning Acts 1:8


1. The Great Commission was given to the local Church, but you are the local church.
2. Every Christian has been called by God to be a missionary. Matt. 13:38
3. We need to be honest with Him as to whether He is calling us to foreign missions and respond in surrender.
4. If not, it is certain that He has called us to world outreach.
5. God wants you to put yourself in the offering plate. He wants your willingness to go anywhere that Heleads. When He has that, He will show you where to go.
6. Across the street or around the world, our mission is still the same, to live and spread the truth in Jesus’ name.

Conclusion: The voice of God is not silent. He speaks to the heart of His people and calls them to follow in His steps. As Eli advised Samuel so long ago, I beg you to respond to His voice with, "Speak, Lord, thy servant heareth.

Return to Sermon Index