Kevin Davis [00:00:03]:
Good morning. I’m excited to be with you, to share with you what God has placed upon our hearts today. I appreciate David and Conia giving us the opportunity to come and share with you this morning. And we just want to spend a few minutes looking into God’s word to learn to recognize and to respond to the voice of the Lord. I want to take a pass of scripture out of 1st Samuel 3, 1 10. But as you’re maybe turning there, I would like for you to imagine, if you would, just for a few moments, just imagine that you’re sailing out to sea. The sun is shining so bright. There’s not a cloud in the sky.
Kevin Davis [00:00:46]:
The water is calm. You have your favorite music playing through the speakers. You’re laughing. You’re having fun. You have friends there with you. You’re feeling so free. Everything just looks so perfect. There’s a marine radio on board, but you’ve turned it down so you could hear the music that you’re playing and enjoying the conversation with friends.
Kevin Davis [00:01:15]:
You’re not tuned into the Weather Channel. You just want to enjoy this beautiful day that looks so perfect. Maybe you thought, I don’t need to hear what’s on that radio because there’s not anything in sight. Everything is fine. Maybe the chatter was just too much and it was distracting you from the pleasure that you were having. But what you don’t know is far beyond what you can see. There’s a storm that is brewing. The clouds are stirring and it’s turning black, and the ocean has begun to get rough.
Kevin Davis [00:01:55]:
The waves are rising higher and higher. The warnings are being broadcast. Other ships are turning back. The other boaters are calling it a day and heading back before the storm hits. They’re heading to safe harbor. But you’re still sailing straight into the storm, right into the midst of it. You’re heading. The warnings are being broadcast, but you can’t hear them because you’re not tuned in because there’s too much noise.
Kevin Davis [00:02:39]:
And that’s not just a story. This actually happened in the early 1990s in a small fishing town in Massachusetts. There were six seamen, seasoned fishermen, who headed out for a fishing journey. They sailed straight into what meteorologists later called the perfect storm. The Coast Guard had been broadcasting warnings for hours. They were telling the ships to take shelter, to come back in. Others had heard the message, and others were already heading back in. But for some reason, the Andrea Gale just did not get the warning.
Kevin Davis [00:03:24]:
They never came back. Maybe their radio was malfunctioning. Others believe it was simply turned to the Wrong frequency. But either way. Either way, they never heard the message and they never made it home. Six men lost their lives during that thing. Not because no one warned them, but because they weren’t tuned in to hear the same thing’s happening every single day. God is still speaking.
Kevin Davis [00:04:04]:
He’s still broadcasting his words of comfort. He’s still broadcasting his warnings. He’s still broadcasting his direction. But so many are missing his voice. Not because he’s silent, but because there’s too much noise. The problem is not with the sender. The problem is the receiver. So today, I want you to take just a moment and let’s learn about tuning in.
Kevin Davis [00:04:42]:
Let’s learn to recognize and respond to the voice of God. Because if you listen, really listen, it can change the direction of your life, your family, your future, and your eternity in the scripture. In 1st Samuel 3, 1, he says this. He says, and the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious. In those days there was no open vision. And it came to pass at the time when Eli was laid down in his place. His eyes began to wax dim that he could not see.
Kevin Davis [00:05:30]:
And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of the God was, and Samuel laid down to sleep, the Lord called Samuel and answered, here am I. And he ran to Eli and said, here am I, for thou callest me. And he said, I called not. Lie down again. And he went and lay down. And the Lord called yet again Samuel. And Samuel rose and went to Eli and said, here am I, for thou didst call me. And he answered, and I called not my son.
Kevin Davis [00:06:08]:
He sit down again, lie down again. Now Samuel did not know that the Lord neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. And the Lord called Samuel again, the third time. And he arose and he went to Eli. And he said, here am I, for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, go, lie down. And it shall be if he call thee, thou shalt say, speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.
Kevin Davis [00:06:50]:
So Samuel went and lay down in this place. And the Lord came and stood and called, as at other times, samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, speak, for thy servant listeneth. As we think about this passage of Scripture and we begin to see this, the Bible says that. That the word of the Lord was precious. The Word of the Lord was precious. It wasn’t that God didn’t want to speak. He was waiting for someone to listen.
Kevin Davis [00:07:30]:
Samuel was Young. He was inexperienced, unsure, but he was available. And that’s what God is looking for. That’s what he’s looking for today, not perfection. He’s looking for presence. I’ve spent most of my Christian life talking to God, telling Him what I needed, what I wanted, asking him to supply my needs, but very little time listening. It wasn’t until the last few years that I truly started to slow down and be still before God. And I’ve learned something very powerful, that when you stop talking long enough to start listening, you’ll be amazed at what God wants to say.
Kevin Davis [00:08:25]:
There’s a whisper that I hear almost every day, and that whisper is from God saying, keep showing up. Keep listening. Keep trusting. Keep obeying. I will give the increase. Friend, that word isn’t just for me. That word is for you too. Keep showing up in his presence.
Kevin Davis [00:08:56]:
Keep listening for his voice. Keep trusting. When you don’t see the results, keep obeying even when you don’t understand. Because God still speaks and he still multiplies. In Psalms 46, 10, he says, Be still and know that I am God. In first kings 19, 11, 12, he said. This he says, and behold, behold, he said, the Lord passed by and a great and a strong wind rent the mountains. He said there was after that an earthquake, and after that a fire.
Kevin Davis [00:09:41]:
But the Lord was not in the wind, but it was after, in a still, small voice. And Elijah looked for God in the wind. He looked for him in the earthquake and in the fire, but it was in God’s voice was not in those. It wasn’t in the chaos. It was in the calm. You can’t hear a small, still voice when your life is too loud. If you want to hear the whisper of God, you have to turn down the world’s volume. The noise is so loud in our lives today, with continual notifications on our devices.
Kevin Davis [00:10:29]:
Our watches are ringing, our phones are vibrating. All these things are happening. Something’s always getting our attention. Samuel learned this Hearing God begins with a relationship, not religion. When we think about Samuel. Samuel served in the temple, but he did not yet know the Lord. He was active, but he was not aligned. He was doing good things, but he was missing the God that was behind him.
Kevin Davis [00:11:08]:
Eli, though imperfect, helped discern the call. We all need an Eli in our lives, someone to help us recognize when God is speaking. There are three truths about God’s voice. The first one is God’s voice is personal. He called Samuel by name. He knows your name. He knows your need. He knows your next step.
Kevin Davis [00:11:43]:
Secondly, God’s voice is persistent. He called again and again and again. He doesn’t stop calling until you start listening. And thirdly, God’s voice is purposeful. Every word he speaks leads to alignment, to direction, and to transformation. How does God speak to us today? First and foremost, God speaks to us through His Word. He speaks through us. His voice will never contradict the Scripture, the Word of God.
Kevin Davis [00:12:24]:
He speaks to us through his spirit. Those gentle nudges. Peace, conviction, confirmation. You’ve been there, I’m sure, and you’ve experienced that. You get that feeling that you need to send the text or you need to make the phone call, or you need to do this. And the very moment that you begin to do it, you can feel the presence of God because God spoke to you. And the response that you get back all of a sudden is overwhelmingly that God had nudged or spoke to you through His Spirit. Sometimes God speaks to us through people, through our mentors, through our pastors, through our friends who speak life into us.
Kevin Davis [00:13:12]:
Sometimes God even speaks to us through circumstances. Sometimes it’s doors opening or even doors closing. Sometimes it’s just a divine interruption that God speaks to us. But he also speaks to us through his creation. Sometimes he whispers through the beauty and through the stillness. Sometimes God shouts through the storms. But most of the time, he whispers through the stillness. I used to ask the question, why isn’t God speaking? But I learned the better question is, am I listening? God isn’t silent.
Kevin Davis [00:14:00]:
We’re often just distracted. Maybe he’s calling you. Maybe he’s calling your name for years. And today he’s calling again. So how do we hear God’s voice today? First and foremost, we need to be still. We need to create a quiet space every day. Don’t rush into prayer talking. Start by waiting.
Kevin Davis [00:14:30]:
God often speaks after we stop. Be in the scripture. The Bible is God’s written voice. If you’re in the Word, you’re going to hear God’s voice. If you’re not in the Word, you’re going to miss the conversation. We have to be sensitive. The Holy Spirit speaks in impressions. He speaks in peace.
Kevin Davis [00:14:58]:
He speaks in conviction. He speaks in confirmation. He doesn’t yell. He whispers. Be obedient. The more that you obey, the clearer his voice will become. He doesn’t yell. He whispers.
Kevin Davis [00:15:18]:
But when we obey what he whispers to us, the clearer his voice will become and the louder the whisper will come. Obedience opens your ears louder than anything else. And then be consistent. Don’t just hear once. Don’t just give it a try. And say, I’ll do this. And then if you don’t hear the whisper, if you’ve not learned to recognize it, say it doesn’t work. Keep showing up, keep listening, keep trusting, keep obeying, and he will give the increase.
Kevin Davis [00:15:55]:
The miracle isn’t in the moment. It’s inconsistency. If we were to think about a radio station and a radio signal is broadcast, that signal is always broadcasting. But if you’re on the wrong frequency, you will never hear the message. You’ll just hear static. And you can be off just a little bit. You can just be off one point. You can be off one point up or one point down, and.
Kevin Davis [00:16:28]:
And it’ll be staticky or nothing at all. But whether you’re hearing it or whether it’s static or not, it’s still broadcasting. God’s voice is always speaking. He’s always speaking. But we have to learn to tune our hearts to his wavelength through our stillness, through the Scripture, through surrender, through the same God who called Samuel is still calling you. You haven’t gone too far. You haven’t failed too much. You can still hear his voice today.
Kevin Davis [00:17:12]:
God’s voice doesn’t just comfort, it commissions Samuel. Speak, Lord, your servant is listening. That becomes a declaration. And when Samuel listened, his obedience became the turning point, not only for him, but for a nation. God’s word to Samuel changed Israel’s direction. God’s word to you can change your family, your future, and your legacy. The right response isn’t, what do you want to say to me? It is, what do you want to do through me. Maybe you spent years talking to God but never truly listening.
Kevin Davis [00:18:06]:
Maybe you’ve been busy serving, but not still enough to hear. Today the Lord is calling your name. And just like he called Samuel, don’t miss this moment to say, speak, Lord, your servant is listening. Maybe for some time, and maybe for some of you, it’s even deeper than that. Maybe you’ve never started a relationship with him. You’ve heard about God. Maybe you’ve prayed to him, but you’ve never surrendered your heart to him. The Bible says in Romans 10, 9, 10, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus shalt believe in thine heart, that God hath raised him from the dead.
Kevin Davis [00:18:58]:
Thou shalt be saved. Salvation isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being willing. It’s saying, lord, I hear you calling. I believe you died for me. You rose again. And I ask you to forgive me of my sins and be the Lord of my life. If that’s your heart right now, right now.
Kevin Davis [00:19:26]:
Whisper it to him. At the moment you do, heaven hears, heaven rejoices and your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life. And for all of us, whether you’re coming home to God or whether you’re learning to listen again, he’s still asking one simple question. Can you hear me? And may your heart be like Samuel’s. Yes Lord, speak for your servant listeneth. God’s not looking for perfection. He’s looking for participation. Just keep showing up, keep listening, keep trusting, keep obeying and he will give the increase.
Kevin Davis [00:20:16]:
May God bless you. And I trust that today’s message will help you to learn to listen and and to recognize the voice of God. To learn to get tune in and set a time that you’re going to just be silent and see what the Lord has to say to you. Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.
