I just want to follow Jesus.  I want to be an example of Christ in my home, in my community and in my work.  I want to live a life dedicated to God.  I feel compelled to this way of living.  I really want to follow Jesus, and the reason is simple – he gave everything for me.

We often hear of people coming to the end of themselves before they finally realize that soft whisper of God to come and find rest, peace, joy and salvation in Him.  In my 25+ years of following Jesus, it has felt as though the majority of people that I talk to who have the same dedication to a life of service to God have come to Him in this way.  But, I didn’t.  

I came to know God’s incredible love and grace over time and in settings that helped me trust Him.  The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that by his mercy, He took me on a journey to find myself and discover Him in all kinds of areas of my life. 

What is true about both accounts – either through a miraculous realization when someone comes to the end of themselves or by way of an incremental journey with Jesus, is that we all really want to follow.  We really want to follow Jesus Christ.  

There was a young boy in the bible that had encounter after encounter with God.  In fact, the first time he heard God’s voice he thought it was someone else calling him.  This young boy’s name was Samuel.  He had the difficult task of growing up in the work of the tabernacle under Eli the high priest.  On this one occasion he heard the voice of God calling him and, thinking it was Eli whom he follower and who had authority over him, he went to the older man and asked what he needed.  This happened three times.  On the third occasion Eli, realizing it was the Lord, told Samuel to ask the Lord what he wished of him.  And so, in 1 Samuel 3:10 we see Samuel responding to the call of the Lord: “Speak for your servant is listening.”

We are talking about what it means to be a servant of God this week.  We are focusing on who we are in light of our relationship with Christ.  We walked through Romans 6:15-23 in this message, now we take a brief look at what this short statement and story from Samuel’s childhood can teach us.  

There are three takeaways that I want to think about and apply to our lives as we learn with it is to serve God and to do it wholeheartedly:

  1. Humility is a necessity.  Samuel didn’t puff himself up before Eli, nor did he flaunt the call that God had on his life.  Samuel didn’t explain to God what he wanted in return or confirm some of the perks of the job before responding with the humblest of affirmations.  We see the same kind of response from Mary the mother of Jesus in Luke 1:38, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said”.  Humility is the key to understanding our dependence on God and is the greatest quality of servanthood.  When we are humble towards God (and others) we recognize our place and can do the work laid out for us to do.
  2. Reception to God’s will first requires our Obedience.  It isn’t that we can receive God’s expectations without obediently following him and obeying his commands.  Obedience is a necessary beginning.  It is also important to note that obedience is impossible without humility.  We need to first have a heartfelt obedience to God before we can discover and work out his will for our lives and the world that we inhabit.  When we obey God, when we put what he has to say and do first before our own thinking and doing, God begins the process of laying out his will for us.  And it is usually laid out one step (or half a step) at a time.
  3. We have a responsibility to teach and education one another – and especially our children, to listen to, hear and respond to the voice of God.  This is done in two distinct and yet very connected ways: we need to teach our young (both in age and maturity) the sound of the voice of God and we need to teach them the authority and supremacy of God.  You will not hear God’s calling and will be unable to respond to him if you have not learned to sound of his voice and understood his authority.  In some cases, where this is no teaching, God teaches himself.  What a good and glorious God we serve!

We learn from Samuel, just as we learn from Paul.  Our identify is found in our service to God, the very God who created us all and loves us.  The very God who gave everything for us sent his son to die, and all I want to do is follow Him and serve Him.