Good evening and God bless everyone of us in this platform.
I’m happy coming our ways one more time… Thanking God specially for preserving us unto this moment.
To him be all the glory.
There are salient principles that help us to go farther and faster in life if only we will be keen about them.
Simple things often ignored leads to the top. One of the powerful yet simple tool to cultivate as a leader or one aspiring for a life of impact is capacity of listening. I know some of us will ignore this.
The reason? The word listening is as old and familiar as our age.
God gave us *two ears,* and *one tongue*
The reason is that he wants us to listen more than we talk. Many of us will rather talk than listen.
Spirituality is gauge by our power to listen than talk
As we discussed last week, today’s program is taking a look at biblical personalities and how the power of listening propelled them into the fulfilment of their destiny.
KING SAUL
Saul as a young man went out with his father’s servant to look for a lost ass.
They went for days without success
Then the servant suggested that they look for a prophet of God to give them direction or clearance about the lost ass
Saul listened.
So they went to Prophet Samuel.
This incident led to the anointing of Saul as the first king of Israel. If he wasn’t a listening master, he wouldn’t walk into the path that took him to the throne.
The lesson: Listening isn’t just about an order from master to servant. Your junior and subordinates can give you quality advice.
The question is: Will you listen when such advice comes?
Lesson 2: By this action, Saul indicated that everybody in our world has a level of insight, depth and knowledge we can learn from.
Lesson 3: Pride makes us arrogates so much to ourselves and we believe others are lesser in knowledge.
Lesson 4: Somebody will always know something more than you.
Nobody has monopoly of knowledge
Lesson 5: Listening to others doesn’t depreciate us. Instead it increases us.
Lesson 6: Listening to others shows our humanity. When we listen, people will be ready to offer us more advice and help over and over again.
You’ll realize that the money taken along as offering to Prophet Samuel was given by the servant.
From 3, capacity to listen well shows our depth of humility.
Ref:
1 Samuel 9:1-8 KJV
Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. [2] And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. [3] And the asses of Kish Saul’s father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses. [4] And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not. [5] And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us. [6] And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go. [7] Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we? [8] And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.
1 Samuel 10:1 KJV
Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?
Listening led Saul to the throne
Again, when pride sets in, not listening to Prophet Samuel and God took the throne away from him
1 Samuel 15:22-23 KJV
And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord ? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. [23] For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
Note:*
To sustain a throne, leadership position, wealth or greatness, we must live in perpetual state of listening well
DAVID AND THE EGYPTIAN SERVANT OF AN AMALEKITE
Once, the Amalekites came to Ziklag when David and the soldiers were away.
They took all their wives and children captive and all their belonging. In spite of the fact and urgency to go after the enemy, David still consider it of utmost importance to consult God and listen to what he has to say.
God says to David: Pursue.
Many of us under pressure no longer have the patience to listen to God until we make situation messier.
A second experience of David in this story.
As they pursue, David and his men saw a servant of an Amalekite master who was weary as they journey.
He was dropped to die in the heated desert. The likeliest thing for David was to kill one of those who raided his family and his belonging.
Instead, David spared and cared for the man. The man was revived and led David and his men to the den of the Amalekites
1 Samuel 30:10-15 KJV
But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor. [11] And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water; [12] And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. [13] And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick. [14] We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire. [15] And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.
Listening in this context of discussion is beyond the use of your two ears.
Observe and have the feedback from your experiences.
Lessons
1. Listening is as important when under pressure as much as is required at ease.
You need to observe and listen better under pressure.
2. Don’t allow your pressure to determine what you listen to
3. Let your pressure lead you to God not away
4. *Don’t be arrogant. The supposed wretched people could be key to your throne if you listen well
Do you know that the wretched Egyptian servant was the key that led David and his men to recover all they’ve lost?
Do you know without that wretched servant David might be denied the throne of Israel because his mourning soldiers may kill him if he failed to help recover all?
David became more wealthy because he listened to a servant of an enemy?
A foundational cause of poverty is because we don’t listen enough to the message and advice coming our ways.
As I grow, having listened to people above me, read several books and modeled after those who were ahead progress became natural consequence.
God taught me a new and deeper lesson: begin to listen to those who are beneath you, the grassroots, the poor, the market people, the commoners
This became a major factor to my breakthroughs financially.
Among the poor I began to learn:
1. How to grow wealth from little
2. How to use little to build large wealth
3. How to make money from what we call thrash or things we look down on
4. Learn that they are the big market.
Saul listen to his servant.
David listened to a dying Egyptian servant.
Stop looking down on advice because it’s coming from:
A poor man
An illiterate
A stupid man
An inexperienced person
A barbarian
*Be keen… Sometimes God hide wisdom among the so called fool to confound the wise professors of life
Listen to life, every moment a message is coming your way to take you upward.
Isaiah 30:20-21 KJV
And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: [21] And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
There’s always a teacher, if you will listen intently.
