Eli's boys were sons of Belial; Samuel served the Lord. It's a clear cut choice.

1. www.rossvillechurch.com 781 Salem Road, Rossville, GA 30741 August 7, 2011 Eli's boys were Sons of Belial They knew not God. Samuel served the Lord.

2. Hophni and Phinehas had been stealing the sacrifices that people offered to the Lord; They had been committing fornication with the women who had come to the temple to worship. Eli tried to talk to them, but they wouldn't listen. God had already judged them, found them lacking any heart toward Him at all. He had determined to slay them .

3. Sinning is like a snowball rolling downhill; it gets bigger and faster as it goes, and it takes you with it. Don't take that first step into sin, because you don't know what lies down that path.

4. Whenever we sin, we sin against Holy God . Be sure your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23b There are no secrets from God. But you can't hide from God. You may hide it from the pastor and the church,

5. 26 And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favor both with the Lord, and also with men. In contrast to Eli's sinful sons, Samuel was doing good . God always blesses those who love and serve Him. Samuel was not influenced by the sin around him. He lived right and was blessed .

6. 27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? 28 And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?

7. 29 Wherefore kick ye at My sacrifice and at Mine offering, which I have commanded in My habitation; and honorest thy sons above Me , to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? God held Eli responsible . To fail to correct unruly children is to put them above God .

8. Ephesians 6 4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. God holds the parents responsible for the behavior of their children. Raise them right . Daddy has the primary responsibility, and Mama is his help . God's best comes when we stay in His order .

9. (Text) 30 Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before Me forever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from Me; for them that honor Me I will honor, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. Being from a godly family does not protect a present generation from judgment . Each person stands before God for himself.

10. But you have to choose for yourself whether you will serve God or the devil.

11. 31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. 32 And thou shalt see an enemy in My habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house forever. God cut off Eli's branch of the family of Levi. From that day forward, the men would all die young .

12. 33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age. 34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them . It will happen, just as God said.

13. 35 And I will raise Me up a faithful priest , that shall do according to that which is in Mine heart and in My mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before Mine anointed forever. 36 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread .

14. No doubt many blamed God for their circumstances. Mothers may have blamed God when their sons died so young. Wives may have blamed God when their husbands couldn't make a living. True repentance could have turned it around.

15. People say, " We want the best for our children." Deuteronomy 6 4-7 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down , and when thou risest up .

16. Deuteronomy 28 9 The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto Himself, as He hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the Commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in His Ways . 11 And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. Don't miss the teachable moments . Good example, Bible Teaching, Be certain you show them what's really important.

17. 12 The Lord shall open unto thee His good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand : and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow . 13 And the Lord shall make thee the head , and not the tail ; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath ; if that thou hearken unto the Commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them :

18. Samuel is the right example to follow; Not Eli and his sons. A child of God can do right when no one else is . Most of the world sees going to church and living according to the Bible as a grievous duty at best. It's the path to joyful blessing .