Lynn Jones: Hearing the Master’s voice
By Lynn Jones
Francis Barraud painted a picture of a little dog sitting before an old grammaphone. listening to the sound coming from the huge horn. The title of the painting was, His Master’s Voice. Later, the picture and the caption appeared for many years on all RCA Victor products. The painting originated in the early days of the development of the phonograph, when just to hear a voice coming from a machine was an astounding thing.
A lot has changed since then. Sound reproduction methods have become increasingly sophisticated, and somewhere along the way, the little dog, the old grammaphone, and the caption, “His Master’s Voice,” have all been discarded. But I would say that for the Christian today, there is still a great deal of excitement and wonder in hearing The Master’s Voice. When up above the din of the world about us we hear the still, small voice of God, in spite of our sophistication, the wonder will never go out of that.
If there were ever a time when people needed to hear The Master’s Voice, it is now. We live in a world of guided missiles, but of misguided people. What we need are people who are divinely guided.
In the Old Testament, there is the story of Samuel. He was born to a devout couple, Elkanah and Hannah, who dedicated him to God. As part of that dedication, when Samuel was very young, they carried him to Shiloh to stay with the old priest Eli and assist him as he ministered to worshipers who came to the Tabernacle.
In the process of his service in that holy place, he developed a sense of sensitivity and wonder about the presence of God. During this time, the Lord spoke to him and called his name, “Samuel, Samuel” (1 Sam. 3:10). Samuel responded, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” God continues to speak to His people today, primarily through the leadership of the Holy Spirit. What we need to do is cultivate a hunger to hear the voice of God, and a willingness to follow His leadership. While God speaks to His people in many places and in many ways, we most often hear from Him when we prepare ourselves to do so. It may be in the place of worship or in the stillness of our soul that God speaks. Our attitude should be that of Samuel who presented himself to God as an obedient servant, waiting for the instruction of God.
As a result of this encounter with God, Samuel’s life had a great impact on the work of God. He anointed the first two kings of Israel, and God “let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground” (1 Sam. 3:19). And I believe that our lives can count in the service of God when we hear and are obedient to The Master’s Voice!
Lynn Jones is a retired pastor who lives in Oxford. He does supply preaching for churches in his area and often serves as an interim pastor. Jones is also an author, has written two books and writes a weekly newspaper column. He may be contacted at: kljones45@yahoo.com.
