Sermon Tone Analysis

! Introduction

A.     The Sin of Eli’s Son’s (v.12-17)

1.       Their character of the sons of Eli (v.12)

/a)        //They were corrupt—/Literally this means they were /sons of Belial.

Belial/ is used of Satan in (2Cor.6:15).

The phrase /sons of Belial/ refer to evil, worthless, wicked men.

q         Here is the problem: because they were sons of Eli, they were to succeed him in as high priest & they were already functioning in the priesthood.

/b)        //They did not know the Lord—/here they are priest-serving God and they did not even know the Lord.

The things that they were doing were not glorifying God (Rom.1:21,28-30)

(a)      /Even though their father Eli knew the Lord, that knowledge was not passed on genetically.

/

1.

These Boys Had To Know God In A Personal Way Themselves.

Growing up in a Christian home is a great thing!

If your mom and dad know God and love Him that is great and you are a blessed person to have parents who love God.

But, do not think that because your parent know God that this will guarantee your salvation, you must trust & commit your life to Jesus yourself, your parents cannot do this for you.

Note: /Having An Active Ministry Does Not Guarantee Your Salvation (Matthew 7:21-24)/

1)        /A Person Must Profess That Jesus Christ Is Lord (Romans 10:9-10)/

Not all those who call Him Lord will enter His Kingdom either (Matthew 7:21; Luke 6:46).

If you are calling Him Lord but living in rebellion & disobeying God you are on shaky ground!

(a)      Saying The Right Thing Is Not Enough

q         1 John 1:6 /those who say they have fellowship with God yet walk in darkness/

q         1 John 2:4 /those who say they know Him but do not keep His commandments/

q         1 John 4:20 /those who say they love God yet hate their brother/

q         Matthew 7:21 cf.

John 3:36 /those who say ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not obey/

(b)      Many People Think They Know Him Because They:

q         Believe the right things about Him, pray, witness, teach

q         Dress appropriately, do rituals, faithful church attendance, dad is a Pastor

q         Even confessed Jesus as Lord at a Harvest Crusade

2)        /A Person Must do more than Profess Jesus as Lord.

/

(a)      We need to have a “born again” relationship with Jesus – “God imparts to us a new life /from above/ (2 Cor.

5:17)” John 3:1-7 cf.

Ezek.

36:25-27… Titus 3:5

q         /It is instantaneous – /just as a child is born from his mothers womb

q         /It is not the result of human effort – /it’s not what you do but what God does to you.

q         /It is not based on human effort /John 1:12-13 – it is an act of God.

(b)      The Result of Regeneration is:

q         A new nature        /divine nature /(2 Peter 1:4); /new self/ (Eph.

4:24); a capacity for righteous living

q         A new Life    /A new mind that you might now God /(1 Cor.

2:16)

/                                                          A new heart that you may love God/ (Romans 5:5; 1 John 4:9)

/                                                          A new will that you may obey God/ (Romans 6:13)

3)        /There Will Come A Day When Every Knee Will Bow & Confess Jesus As Lord /(Phil.2:5-11).

(a)      People may not want to confess or ever yield to His Lordship in their lifetime, but will one day.

(b)      Because they confess His name as Lord of all, that doesn't mean they will enter His kingdom (Matt.

7:21).

(c)      OBEDIENCE, CHARACTER, LIFESTYLE, CONDUCT is the deciding factor.

/We must Examine Ourselves 2 Corinthians 13:5/

1.    Doctrinal Test – I must have the right doctrine

2.    His Spirit bears witness with my spirit saying, “Yes, you are a child of God” (Romans 8:16)

/a.

God leads & directs my life by His Spirit /(Romans 8:14)

/b.

God leads me in my prayer life by crying out “Abba, Father” /(Romans 8:15)

/c.

Never give anyone a false sense of assurance   /

/d.

My job is not to convince someone they are saved/

/e.

The Holy Spirit convicts a person of his or her sin (John 16:8-9)./

3.    Works—Fruit of the Spirit—Lifestyle—Conduct—Godly Conduct—Obedience From the Heart

/a.

God wants us to reflect His Character (1 Peter 1:15-16; Matthew 5:48)./

/b.

Only the Spirit can produce a life of Holiness/

 

2.

Their Offense – They Stole what was offered to God (v.13-17)

/a)        //The Priest’s Custom With the People (v.13-14)—/Many of the sacrifices that were brought to the tabernacle, a portion was given to God, a portion was given to the priest, and a portion was kept by the one bringing the offering.

According to other passages in the Old Testament, the priest was supposed to receive a portion of the breast and the shoulder.

But now, some four hundred years after the law of Moses was given, the priestly custom had changed – they would not take the prescribed portion of the breast and shoulder, but take whatever the fork brought up out of the pot.

q         “Not contented with the breast and shoulder which were allotted to them by God, Exodus 29:27-28; Leviticus 7:31, they took also part of the offerer’s share.”

(Poole).

q         It was bad enough for the priesthood in general to change their practice from what God had said in His word.

But the sons of Eli went even beyond this!

/b)        //Before they burned the fat (v.15)—/the fat was thought of being the best part of the animal & that was to be given to God!  God is to always get the best & God is to get His portion first.

Eli’s sons did not do this:

q         We must give God the best in everything: /worship, devotion, our money, etc./

q         Paul wrote about people like this in Philippians he said, For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, /that they are/ the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end /is/ destruction, whose god /is their/ belly, and /whose/ glory /is/ in their shame— who set their mind on earthly things (18-19).

/c)         //They took raw meat &took it by force (v.15-16)—/Why did they take raw meat?

Maybe to prepare it anyway they pleased or (2) more likely because raw meat was easier to sell so they could make a profit.

Either way this was a great offense to God.  

q         We cannot give worship to God anyway we want we must come to God on His terms.

q         Jesus drove out the money changers for making a profit as well (Matt.21:12-13).

/d)        //Because of this men abhorred the offering of the Lord (v.17)/—this sin was very great before God’s eyes.

Their greed, violence, & intimidation lead to others not even wanting to come to bring offerings to the Lord.

q         Jesus said that whoever offends one of His little ones, it would be /better /for that one if a millstone (a very heavy stone) were tied around his neck and he were cast into the ocean (Matthew 18:6-7).

Our self-destructive sins are bad enough; it is even worse when we destroy someone else.

B.

Samuel Ministered Before the Lord (v.18-21)

1.

The purity & service of Samuel

/a)        //Samuel ministered before the Lord as a child—/God knew that Eli’s son’s were corrupt, & therefore this is why God guided this whole series of events in order to raise up Samuel.

q         God’s Work Will Not Stop When His Ministers Become Corrupt.

q         Why Was Samuel Godly And Eli’s Sons Were Not?

It might be easy to say it was because Samuel grew up in a godly home and Eli’s sons did not.

But Eli does not seem to have been a particularly bad parent, though he obviously did some things wrong (as stated in the rest of the chapter).

No, it would be wrong to give Eli all the blame for his sons, or to give Hannah all the credit for Samuel.

There is a significant measure that, after all the parenting, is left up to the free will of the child /(2000 David Guzik).

/

/b)        //Wearing a linen ephod/.

The ephod was a vest that was worn by the high priest when he presided at the altar (Ex.28:4-14; 39:2-7).

Hannah would make a little robe & bring it to him year by year.

q         The Lord blessed Hannah with more three more sons & two daughters children & the boy Samuel grew before the Lord.

C.