"HOW TO GET THE JOB!"

Written and preached by David P. Nolte

1 SAMUEL 3:1-10

Back when telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance communication, a young man applied for a job as a Morse Code operator. He went to the address listed in the newspaper ad and entered a large, busy office filled with noise, clutter and the sound of Morse Code clicking in the background. He was instructed to fill in the form and wait with the seven other applicants until they were called into the inner office. The young man filled in the form and sat down. The environment of the office was so noisy it was not conducive to conversation so most of the applicants sat silently, some reading magazines, others dozing languidly paying no attention to what was going on around them. The young man, however, sat poised and ready to enter the office the very moment he was bidden to do so. The setting of that office reminds me a lot of Samuel's day. Like that office, things were pretty chaotic for the nation of Israel. The Philistines were oppressing them from without. The sons of Eli, priests, were oppressing the people from within. They were gluttonous, immoral, irreverent, sacrilegious and overbearing. And like those inattentive job applicants, Eli seemed oblivious to, or unconcerned about, their conduct. It also reminds me of our own contemporary culture. We live in a world that is surfeited with busyness, racket, and clamor and many are unconcerned about spiritual issues. Like the telegraph company, God seeks workers. He has sought them in every generation, He seeks them today. There are some truths I want to consider with you this morning which can help us be good workers for God in 1999. If you want to work for the Lord, here's how to get the job.

BE UNDIVERTED BY THE DISTRACTIONS OF LIFE: VV1-4:

Samuel, even as a young boy, was ministering to the Lord. He wasn't doing the things most boys of his age were doing, playing and romping and absorbed with being just boys. He was undistracted by the normal boyish things. Not that boyish things are necessarily bad things, they were just not the primary things for Samuel. Throughout his life, Samuel never got distracted from his task.
It is easy to be diverted. We live in a world that is filled with noise and busyness and distractions.

There is the push to materialism, selfishness and greedy gain.
Calendars are crammed with activities. It seems that if people aren't rushing to some sports event, they are dashing to some club or social activity.
There are multitudes of demands on our time, energies, resources, and finances.

We are surrounded by distractions. Satan has always used distractions to keep folk from working for the Lord:

He diverted Eve's attention from the abundance of the fruit of which they could freely eat to the single fruit forbidden them.
He diverted Israel from claiming the promised land by distracting them from God's power, promise, presence and provision to fearing the enemy they had to face.
He sought to divert Jesus from His course by urging Him to

satisfy His physical need for food by turning stones to bread.
prove His deity by pushing God into rescuing Him with angels as He leapt from the pinnacle of the temple.
gain ascendancy and rulership over the kingdoms of the world by the simple, but evil, expediency of worshipping him.

And he still tries to divert us from

focus on the eternal to emphasis on the temporal.
consideration of the spiritual to absorption with the material
serving in the Church to spending all our time, energy and resources on personal concerns.

But God is looking for workers who set their minds on things above, who remember the claim of God on their lives, and who are undiverted by all the stuff and fal-de-ral of modern secular culture.

The telegraph company needed just one employee but eight had applied. Which would get the job? After waiting a few minutes, the young man stood up, crossed the waiting room, and walked right into the inner office. The other applicants perked up, wondering what was going on. They surmised the young man was impatient or mistaken about what he was supposed to do and would be disqualified. But the young man possessed one quality the other seven lacked: he was really ready for the job. God needed someone who was ready for the job of leading the nation. God had big plans for the boy Samuel. Here is another suggestion for those who want to go to work for the Lord:

BE READY FOR SERVICE: VV5, 6:

Samuel was prompt in his reply. Hearing the Lord and mistakenly thinking it was Eli, he ran quickly to his mentor. Though mistaken as to the source of the call he was none-the-less ready when beckoned.
That's still the requirement for faithfulness to the Lord: readiness. Your greatest ability is availability.
Let us have the mindset:

Of Isaiah who said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8.
Of Paul who wrote, "Thus, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome." Romans 1:15.
Of the poet, Mary Brown, who wrote, "I'll go where You want me to go, dear Lord, o'er mountain or plain or sea; I'll say what You want me to say, dear Lord, I'll be what You want me to be."
Of Gloria Gaither who penned, "I will serve Thee because I love Thee, You have given life to me."
Of William Merrill who wrote, "Rise up, O men of God! Have done with lesser things; give heart and soul and mind and strength to serve the King of kings."

God is looking for those who are ready for service. Ready to go, ready to stay, ready to do His will; ready for service, lowly or great, ready their place to fill.

The would-be employee was ready for work and he stepped right into the inner office. In a few minutes the employer stepped out. He said, to the other seven applicants, "Gentlemen, thank you very much for coming, but the job has just been filled." They were surprised! They were astounded! They were shocked! They were angry! Said one, "Wait a minute! I don't understand! He was the last to come in, and we never got a chance to be interviewed. Yet he got the job. That's not fair!" The employer waved them down and said, "I'm sorry, but all the time you've been sitting here the telegraph has been ticking out in Morse Code: 'If you understand this message, then come right in. The job is yours.' None of you heard it or understood it. This young man did. The job is his." He was ready for service and he demonstrated the third quality needful for all who would go to work for the Lord. He was listening! If you want to get the job:

BE LISTENING TO GOD'S VOICE: VV8-10:

Samuel was instructed by the elderly priest that it was God speaking and he told Samuel how he was to respond. Consequently Samuel returned to bed to listen for the voice of God.
God still speaks and still wants us to hear His Word. We ought to be listening for God's call.

The sons of Korah, psalmists, had the right perspective, "I will hear what God the Lord will say; For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones; But let them not turn back to folly." Psalms 85:8.
Jesus set forth the right way when He said, "blessed are those who hear the word of God, and observe it." Luke 11:28.
James sets forth the acceptable way to really hear, "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves." James 1:22.
The song writer rightly said, "I'll be somewhere listening, I'll be somewhere listening, I'll be somewhere listening for my name."

Sometimes it is hard to hear God's voice:

Some listen to public opinion and the popular voice.
Some listen to their own feelings, desires, passions and inclinations.
Some listen to every wind of doctrine that comes down the pike; and the newer and more bizarre the better.
Some listen to every new revelation or wild experience someone purports to have had.
Some listen to psychics, horoscopes, Ouija boards and tarot cards.
Some listen to those who tickle their ears and tell them only what they want to hear and what is pleasant to consider.

But God is looking for those who are listening for His call. We should be unlike my nephew Bill who, when we were children, was being called to come in. The call was repeated a second and third time whereupon he finally went into the house. He was asked, "Why didn't you come when I called?" He said, "I didn't hear you the first two times!"

Samuel was quick to hear what God had to say and he was quick to do what God commanded. Are you listening? Can you hear Him speaking to you through the Holy Spirit as He applies God's Word to your heart and mind? Are you in tune with the voice of God as He calls you to leave off sin and self-righteousness and pride and all that separates you from Him? Do you hear Him calling you to take up your cross and follow Jesus? This won't necessarily mean you'll become a missionary on a foreign field, although His call to you may be just that. It doesn't necessarily mean that you will fill a pulpit, but He may be calling some of you men to do just that. It doesn't necessarily mean that you will teach a class or drive a bus or be a deacon or elder or serve on the women's ministry board -- but He may call you to that. It doesn't mean that you will have to spend every waking moment at the church building. It will mean that you will live your life, on the job, at school, at play, in the home and where ever you are with pleasing and obeying Christ in mind. If you want to get the job of working for God, you need to be undiverted by the distractions of life, you need to be ready for service, and you need to be listening to God's voice. Then you need to respond and you need to give all you have and are for Jesus. And when you stop to think about it, that is a perfectly reasonable thing to do, because He gave all He had and is for you.

Adapted from "The Job Applicant" submitted by Mark Jevert to "Hot Illustrations For Youth Talks" compiled by Wayne Rice of Youth Specialties, El Cajon, Ca.

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