[0:00] All right, this time you can take your Bible and open it with me to 1 Samuel chapter 2 and verse 12. We're going to finish this chapter, Lord willing, and walk our way through it. I want to talk to you tonight about honoring God above your children.
[0:13] Honoring God above your children. That's what the passage of Scripture is about. By the way, I was thinking about when the kids were doing the books of the Bible, we ought to have their parents come each time. That'd be fun.
[0:25] Biz was in my Sunday school class. They learned the books of the Bible. I don't know if they learned them that well, but that's pretty good, wasn't it? Those kids did a good job. I'd like to see if Josh could say the books of the Bible, but we won't. All right, take your Bibles.
[0:36] Go with me to 1 Samuel chapter 2 verse 12. I love you guys. What a blessing. I love the Bashams. I hope you will love them and pray for them. And these are going to be some wild and trying times but exciting times for them. 1 Samuel chapter 2 and verse 12.
[0:49] Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial. They knew not the Lord. Boy, you need to underline that. The sons of Eli, the man of God, the man of the hour, the prophet, the man of God, had children that were sons of the devil.
[1:07] That's what that means. They didn't even know God. They did not know the Lord. Verse 17. I'm going to read back through a lot of this with you, but let's go to verse 17. Wherefore, the sin of the young men, that's the sons of Eli, was very great before the Lord, for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.
[1:25] Those young men, they sinned greatly before the Lord. Skip down if you would to verse 22. Now Eli was very old. And he heard all that his sons did unto Israel.
[1:37] How they lay with women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. He said to them, why do you do such things?
[1:49] I hear of your evil dealings by all the people. Everybody's talking about you guys are bums. You're wicked. You're vile. Nay, my sons. It's not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord's people to transgress.
[2:01] If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him. But if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him? And I was saying that he hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them.
[2:14] Verse 29. The man of God has come to talk to Eli about his sons. And he says, wherefore, why, in other words, kick ye, why do you guys kick at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation, and honors thy sons above me?
[2:32] You should underline that in verse 29. Verse 29. Honorest thy sons above me to make yourselves fat with the cheapest of all the offerings of Israel, my people. Verse 30.
[2:44] Wherefore, the Lord God of Israel said, I said indeed that my 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.
[2:58] And they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. he didn't lose his salvation he's going to lose his position of ministry God's going to set him on the shelf and put his family out of that the fact is it's going to be a horrible consequence verse 35 I will raise me up a faithful priest that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind I will build him a sure house he shall walk before mine anointed forever Father I know that what is in this passage of scripture tonight is a tad rough and I know your people and I love them but we're dads and we're moms and we're grandparents and this is important and I'd like to ask you to please deal with hearts help us to be better parents help us to make our decision that we're yours first help us to realize that you are more important than our children are and our grandchildren are help us to take a stand for it all in Jesus name
[4:02] Amen this is a tough passage of scripture I'm just going to be honest with you we're going to talk about some child rearing things and I'm going to read the Bible to you and you're not going to like it and you can get mad at me but I'm just going to read the Bible this was put on TV they'd be throwing rocks at me and he said I agree with it but they'd be throwing rocks at you they probably would but tonight's going to be another of them nights I didn't choose it we just had to be in the passage of scripture so walk with me through some of these verses 1 Samuel chapter 2 in verse 18 while Eli's sons are living like the devil Samuel continues to grow and mature he's already serving the Lord he's a little kid he got there at 3 or 4 in verse 18 he ministers to the Lord before the Lord being a child girded with an epod in verse 19 his mother brought him a little coat every year from year to year she came up with her husband when they went to the offering so old Samuel's in the story but we're not going to talk about him much tonight and Eli when he saw Elkanah and Hannah he blessed them look at verse 20
[5:02] Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife and said the Lord give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the Lord Elkanah you've done a good thing you've honored God you've given your son and I'm asking God now to give you children and you know that verse 21 he gives him 3 sons and 2 daughters and the child Samuel grew before the Lord and God was pleased with Samuel and so were the other people verse 26 the child Samuel grew on and was in favor both with the Lord and also with men everybody was happy about it in the passage of scripture we don't have time to go through everything so I'm just kind of giving you an overview God is going to send a man to Eli to warn him you don't need to be making these mistakes look at verse 27 there came a man of God unto Eli there came a man of God unto Eli and he said to him thus said the Lord did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father when you were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house and did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest and to offer upon my 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 so the man of God comes he says
[6:13] Eli buddy I've been good to you I chose your family I gave you a ministry and I gave you a way to make money I gave you a way to eat I gave you all the offerings made by fire but in verse 29 he said but you have kicked at the sacrifice at my offering which I commanded and not my habitation and you honor your sons before me you honor your sons before me to make yourself fat and so all your family is out of the ministry now and you don't ever do anything they're going to be begging my man that I put in his place so here's a story just in real rough passing God brought Samuel home to take the place of Eli and Eli has not raised his kids right he's been the man of God he's been at the house of God been doing the service of God and God had made a way for them to eat so that when people brought offerings in the offerings made the fire were for him and God had made his ways to take real good care of the man of God he lived good Eli's an old man he's fat he's fat that's a good sign I mean when you're fat you're not poor amen
[7:14] I mean you travel overseas you know you'll find they're all really skinny they don't make what we make and they don't eat what we eat and it made a good way to take care of but Eli's boys they never got saved brought up among the men of God in the house of God around the Bible around all the things that God was doing and they didn't like to have to wait on the offering and they liked a little fat on their meat and so they didn't like it when when the you know they burn off the fat so they started stealing the meat and stealing the offering they got a lousy attitude and they're sleeping with the ladies that come to church these guys are perverts and God's like you're out buddy I'm taking you out and I'm going to put another man in when I read the passage of scripture the verse that most jumps off the page is you're going to honor your children more than you honor me well I honor them that honor me and you're not honoring them and so I want to talk to you I want to take you through some Bible verses about honoring God more than we honor our children honoring God more than we honor our children by the way when you're a parent there's something happens buddy when you're a grandparent there's something happens
[8:21] I mean it's like I remember when Betty and I got married it was like the greatest day of my life not the wedding I did not enjoy the wedding to me it was like a whole bunch of hoopla and I was I just wanted to get married and leave amen now women like that day but I'm like the whole time they're taking our picture I'm like we can leave now and then we got to eat cake and take I'm not that big on getting my picture made anyway you know and I just want but Mary and Betty was the greatest thing in the world but when Chris was born it changed my life I mean it was like I got saved again and again and again and every time and so being a parent so you love your kids in a very special way but God wants to be loved more than them and I'm going to show you what the Bible says and you might not like it but we're going to look at it alright so you came so hang on look if you would at verse 12 chapter 2 and verse 12 number 1 we should guide our children to Christ we ought to do everything in our power I mean when you read this story I just want you to consider that Eli probably never thought in his mind they're going to write a book and they're going to put me in there as being a lousy daddy and Austin's going to stand up in the year 2016 and talk about how I'm a lousy dad and you're probably not even considering that and sometimes when your kid's acting a little bratty or spoiled in Spanish it's such an easy language to learn brats are not brados they are malcariados which means poorly raised and so they put the emphasis right where it goes poorly raised we need to be careful to explain to our children their need of Christ
[9:51] I just want to notice I want you to notice I don't know if I could say a more horrible thing than this now the sons of Austin were sons of the devil and they didn't know God I mean that ought to hit you like a ton of bricks put your name in there the children of Ty Chuck and Jeff Brett and John children of the devil they don't know God that would be the most horrific thought and I would like to challenge you as a parent to take this gospel thing seriously and to get the gospel into your children have them in church have them listening in church when I was a boy my daddy had the loudest snap you've ever heard his fingers were like twice as big as mine and he would do this in the church in the little old country church and he'd go bam there wasn't any loudspeaker system but my daddy would have been louder than the loudspeaker system and when he did that all the kids ducked because he had these big fingers and he used to say
[11:04] I didn't have to sit with him I could sit one or two rows ahead of him never behind him always where he could see me and always where he could thump me and I'd be in church and I'd lean over and start talking to my friend and I'd say bam and my head would go boom and my head would go forward and he would say you listen up boy I got in the car after church he'd say I want you to tell me what the preacher preached about that was hard I used to have to listen enough to talk to daddy so I wouldn't get in trouble but I want to challenge you that verse ought to break your heart we ought to instruct our children in the things of the Lord they didn't know God and they were there so I'm going to take you through some Bible verses about instruction real quickly you're not going to like these necessarily but they're in the Bible everybody knows Proverbs 22 6 train up a child in the way he should go and when he's old he'll not depart from it I know that's a proverb but let me just say to you that you should take very seriously that you are responsible to get your children to Christ now they got to make their own decision but I think we just you don't let them make a whole lot of choices you know school they're going to be there church maybe youth meeting maybe school for sure we got to be careful that we train our children in the things of God in Deuteronomy chapter 6 in verse 6
[12:23] God told the people of Israel that he said I'm going to give you these words and I command them to you and they shall be in your heart so the word of God was going to be in the parents heart before it was ever in the kids heart the word of God was going to be in the parents heart before it was in the kids heart and in verse 7 they would teach it to their children diligently you ought to underline that diligently you as a parent diligently under your children you would talk to them you would talk to them while they were sitting down while they were walking while they were laying down and when they were getting up you are going to make sure man your kids know about God this isn't a one service a week deal it's all the time thing it is hey kids when you sit down we're going to talk a little bit about Jesus here when you get up we're going to talk a little bit about Jesus while we're riding on the way to church we're going to talk a little bit about Jesus we're going to talk about him and then in verse 8 they were going to put it on their hand and their eyes and verse 9 on the post of their house so I ought to be concerned that my children learn the things of God if my children go to hell they're going to have to go to hell over a lot of teaching and a lot of praying and daddy doing everything he can to get the gospel into them amen it's just going to get worse from here those were the easy verses
[13:38] Genesis chapter 18 and verse 19 it's got one of the most precious verses in the Bible about being a parent I think the Bible says chapter 18 verse 19 Genesis 18 verse 19 for I know him God's talking about Abraham that he will command his children and the household after him now we should open your Bible or write it on the sheet of paper go look it up later command that means it ain't optional you've heard the preacher's kid joke about how he was on drugs when he was a kid drugged the church and drugged everything else command them but look at the words after him it's in you first and when it's in you you share it with your children and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15 they were to use the word of God to teach their children Timothy had a grandmother and a mother who loved Jesus and it says that from a child Timothy you have known the holy scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ the story in this passage of scripture is a tragedy they were so close to the things of God but they never believed that could be our story if we're not careful
[14:55] I hope you don't have to bury your kids but I hope if you do have to bury your kids you can be confident where they're going when you bury them when they die I hope you'll work at this I hope you'll take this seriously to me that verse is one of the most horrendous verses now the sons of Eli they were the sons of the devil and they didn't know God so the first thing I want you to think about is this do they know him and are you teaching them about Jesus stop and say you gotta help them know they're sinners don't teach them to be good little boys and girls don't teach them good little Christian boys and girls in the southeast of the United States they do this and that they're not good little Christian boys and girls they're on their way to hell until they get saved too many times we've taught morality and not salvation the second thing I want you to see is 1 Samuel chapter 3 and verse 13 we have to restrain our children in 1 Samuel chapter 3 and verse 13 the Bible says
[15:58] I know him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows because his sons made themselves vile and he restrained them not his sons made themselves vile and he restrained them not we should underline that he restrained them not now here's the hard thing I read the story and I try to read it from Eli's point of view because I am the Eli in the story I'm the old man I'm fat and I got the kids and they're grown and he did see them doing wrong and he actually spoke to them about doing wrong but God's like you didn't stop them buddy you didn't stop them you were the pastor you were the priest you were the prophet and you could have stopped them go back with me if you were to verse 22 in 1 Samuel chapter 2 verse 22 restraining them is more than talking to them now Eli was very old and heard all that his sons did unto Israel and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation and he said unto them why are you doing these things boys
[17:06] I hear everybody talking about your evil doings your dealings of all these people nay my sons nay my sons it's a good report it's no good report that I hear you make the Lord's people to transgress and guys don't you know that God's going to judge you he told them no he told them it wasn't good he even gave them a godly warning but now it's too late and sometimes it's past talking train them up when they're young because that's about the only time they're going to listen to you very well and the honest truth is every day they get older they're a tad harder to train it's pretty easy you know a brand newlywed will say well my wife will never do that a guy's been married a while will be like I ain't saying what my wife will do or what she won't do I can't even control myself and a guy that's got brand new kids will say my kids bless God they won't ever get away with that give them a little time they just might get away with it but here's a sad story old Eli probably should have had him kicked out of the ministry old Eli should have probably taken a stand against him at the church whatever it was but he didn't do it so I just briefly want to talk to you about our children that we have as parents and grandparents so discipline works according to the Bible with those that understand look with me at Proverbs chapter 19 verse 29
[18:29] Proverbs chapter 19 verse 29 smite a scorner and the simple will beware you fight smite the guy that's making fun and the simple he'll beware reprove one that has understanding he will understand knowledge so I'd just like to say to you we got to teach them while they're young and while they can learn because there comes a time when only those that understand can be reproved we have to discipline our children while there's still time and the Bible gives a different set of discipline standards than you would ever hear in 2016 in the United States of America I'm going to read you some verses and I'm really going to leave it pretty much at those verses and you can take those verses home with you and you can consider what they say but I know that today it's like let the little kid do what he wants buy him some drugs if he's not behaving you just won't find that in the Bible told you you weren't going to be happy with me tonight in Proverbs chapter 20 and verse 30
[19:32] I'm just going to read it but this is like one of those really hard verses Proverbs chapter 20 and verse 30 the blueness of the wound cleanses away evil and so do stripes get it out of the inside of them it's word of God spanking must have been going on back then gotta discipline them while there's still time Proverbs 22 15 foolishness is bound in the heart of a child but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him remember this isn't about living a good life or not embarrassing you it's really about eternity and their relationship with God and obviously you ought not be abusive and obviously you ought not over correct or over discipline but probably a lot of our young people need to think in the other side of it because today's society tends to think don't spank don't discipline but the book says something different
[20:53] I feel like the long ranger and the Indians are all around us and I look at Tonto and I say hey Tonto it's just me and you and he said what are you talking about white man that's what I'm feeling right now you know what will bring God's discipline help your children avoid much of the suffering that sin can bring you know a few little swats on a little leg when they're young enough to feel it and think about it and change are a whole lot better than jail time by the way you can't discipline a 13 year old that you hadn't disciplined when they're a 5 year old or a 4 year old just trying to say something to you I never talk about this but the passage is about this Eli's boys have turned out bad they've been at the church I don't know how many times they've watched Eli make an offering I don't know how many times they've seen Eli make a sacrifice you can hang around it all day long and get none of it we have to be purposeful in raising our children and sometimes we're more purposeful in the football team or the baseball team or whatever else they're doing they're more than the things of God verse 17 teach your children to respect the house of God and the things of God wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord for men hated abhorred the offering of the Lord they'd gotten so used to the things of God that they weren't satisfied with the things that
[22:35] God had provided nobody wanted to go to make an offering anymore because the sons of Eli they're sleeping women in the door of the church and when they brought their offering in they're stealing their offering said no you give me the best part forget what God says it's easy for our children to lose the all for the things of God I think Philip's tender sweetheart tonight when he stood up here and cried because he can't wait to tell some Thai people about such a great God I think that's one of the most wonderful things you'll ever see you were blessed tonight I'm not trying to make much out of Philip but God doesn't work in Philip's heart I want my kids to feel that all I want my kids to not get over how good our God is I want my kids to never forget what a wonderful sweet God we serve I don't want them to get used to the things of God so they become a common place to them you have to teach them that I have no agenda here but you need to help them understand we need to go to church hear what the word of God says you need to help them be in the
[23:43] Sunday school class where somebody is teaching them about Jesus or a youth meeting where things are going on about Jesus they need to know that this isn't just something we do it's not just a habit or part of our culture we really believe God is real serving God is no joke it's not what we do it's what is right and it has consequences verse 29 if you would last thing honor God more than you do your children kids don't want to go to church I don't really think that's a choice they make because you're going to do what's right they live at my house they're going to be where they're supposed to be kids don't want to learn how to give kids don't want to read their Bible kids don't want to put Jesus first or whatever and you can't make them put Jesus first in their heart but while they're there maybe you ought to say to them the Lord Jesus comes first and at this house that's where he's going to be I've been through those battles
[24:46] I've been through battles where my kids were sneaking out I've been through battles where a lot of junk was going on in my home I couldn't make them do stuff so I'm just going to talk to you from my heart you can't have a bunch of rules is not going to fix them but an example and a love for Jesus will go a long way and you can't say to your kids here's the 29,000 rules I've made up for you I've got more rules than Moses had that's just not going to teach them but the main thing is going to be they see you love Jesus and they want what you got because you're in love with Jesus and it's not a drudgery to be in the house of God and it's not a drudgery to take your Bible out and study it verse 29 wherefore kick you at my sacrifice and at my offerings which I commanded in my habitation and honors your sons above me so this man of God came to Eli and he said
[25:46] Eli buddy you're in charge here God has been good to you and he gave you a position but you are not honoring him this is really a hard message on preachers that's where I actually have preached this the most get all the pastors together and prove and when they get there they say you and your kids let's talk about it because you're the preachers but tonight I'm sitting with godly people in here I think you love god and I'm so honored to work with you but you cannot honor your children above the god of heaven Eli gave his children what they wanted instead of teaching them what god wanted I'd rather stay home watch tv tonight well I'm glad you'd rather do that get in the car I ain't got my homework done I'm sorry get in the car we're gonna go to the house of god god comes first around here and a kid doesn't need to be but about three or four months old before they know how to manipulate you when I allow my children to do what they want instead of teaching them what god wants i'm honoring my children above god real worship is obeying more than it is going through the motions you gotta be real careful because you're the parent and your kids know whether or not you love
[27:02] Jesus they have picked up on your temperature in first samuel 15 22 samuel said has 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 god is more gonna give a big offer and we're gonna go and sing a song we're gonna do some special stuff and god is like i want you to obey me and my children's obedience is gonna come more for what they see out of me if i have a bad attitude it's gonna bleed over to my kids if i'm kind of aggravated that god wants me to give and god read the bible and i'm not in love with jesus my kids gonna pick up on it real quick the best example i can give is when i do what god wants more than what i want so there's two sides of parenting just real quickly there's two sides of parenting that as an older man i see there's the guy who's just too easy on his kids and it's basically whatever you guys want it's it's the spanish word for poorly raised and you're like just whatever you want kid you don't want to go to church you don't have to go to church you don't want to do right that's not a very good way to do it i can't have family devotions at my house because my kids won't sit still well there's a way to set them still there's some of them verses in proverbs that we don't want to talk about anymore they can sit still you say well my kids can't well maybe you should read proverbs if you apply the board of education to the seat of learning their brain will wake up but then there's the other side and
[28:52] I was on that side a lot so I'm just going to tell you the truth this is testimony I was so concerned about what they did that I often didn't worry about what God was doing in their heart so if you're not careful you make a lot of there has to be a tenderness in the training these are the most precious little things God's ever going to give you being a dad being a mom I don't know what could be more precious than that and all of you that have children know that's true we have to be careful these are kids God gave us I've been too hard in the past and I'm very sorry for it in verse 30 wherefore the Lord God of Israel said I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me forever but now the Lord says be it far from me for them that honor me
[29:53] I will honor and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed at the end of this story God is going to throw Eli's family out of the ministry they don't lose their salvation you can lose the ministry God gave you and promised you and it can be taken away from you and Samuel will be put in your place and as a pastor the way I'm dealing with my kids could cause me to lose my ministry and just think of it this way if you're not careful you're going to be one of those dads or grand dads sitting at your one of the dads sitting at the house and nobody in the family wants to serve Jesus and you've lost all authority to tell them and your kids can rebel against you and that's that's different but if they're not rebelling because you never told them anything to do then it's not on them it's one thing if they rebel because you're saying we're going to be in the house to
[30:56] God we're going to have a family devotion time we're going to pray before our meals and we're going to learn what God says about things and if they rebel against that then that's on them but if you're just kind of like letting them do their thing then it's on you you can't make your kids do right and sooner later you're going to be like me my youngest kid Christianity there really don't need to be a harsh to it there ought not to be a bitter spirit because we're beating it into them but at the same time it starts with I'm going to honor God big time because when I honor God then God will honor me this is like the scariest thing in the world to me except after salvation I so desperately wanted my kids to love us when they got grown
[32:00] I just wanted my kids to love me and I didn't want my kids basically when I grew up I wanted out and I had no desire to go back and I told my wife I said baby I don't want that to happen to us and so we had to be real careful train them when they're little but more than anything you can over structure and you can under structure you got to get somewhere in the middle because we don't want to lose our kids and our kids aren't always going to do right and I am not trying to make you feel bad but somebody needs to help us this is what the Bible says and those verses in Proverbs are hard if you got smaller children you know when 3 4 5 6 7 every year is harder talk to some of the people in this room got older kids by the way if your kids have done wrong and you're hurting because your kids seem to be away then just pray and pray and beg
[33:08] God and just God's not mad at you and doesn't hate you and that's not what I'm trying to get into your hearts tonight I just want my kids to love Jesus I want them to serve God I want to pray for them I want to think about them and I want daddy's life and mama's life to show them what it means to love Jesus this is a horrible story Eli you're out buddy and your family's out and if your kids ever do serve me they'll be beggars that's here love to if you you