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God Raises up the Right Kind of Worshipers

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[ Samuel 2:18]

But Samuel was ministering before the LORD--a boy wearing a linen ephod.

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A person called Elkanah had two wives named Hannah and Peninnah.

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Hannah had no children so she prayed very hard to God to give her a child.
God heard Hannah's prayer and gave a son to Hannah.
Hannah named the child Samuel.

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When Samuel was weaned, Hannah brought Samuel to Eli the priest and said,
"Priest, please let my child Samuel grow and be educated in this temple."
From that day, Samuel left his house and lived in the temple.

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Eli had two sons named Hophni and Phinehas. They were born as sons of the high priest, therefore they naturally received special grace of being priests. However, they thought of their grace lightly.

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They even took away from the sacrifices of the people. When people brought sacrifices to offer to God, Hophni and Phinehas ordered their servants to give extra portions of the sacrifices to them even before offering to God. That was violating regulations of being a priest and as a result, it was a sin of blasphemy.

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Not only this. Hophni and Phinehas had done things they should not do to women who served in the Tent of Meeting. The High Priest Eli called them and scolded them, "Stop your wicked deeds. If you sin against the LORD then who can save you?" However, Hophni and Phinehas did not even care about the words of their father.

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On the other side, Samuel worshiped God very respectfully. Even from a young age, Samuel wore a linen ephod of the priests and ministered before the LORD with all of his heart and strength.

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Samuel did not follow the wicked deeds of Hophni and Phinehas. He only feared God, served and properly worshiped God as he grew. As Samuel served God well, he was in favor with all of the Israelites.

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God decided to cast away Hophni and Phinehas, who enjoyed committing sins and taking worship lightly. Then, in replace of them, God decided to appoint Samuel, who served God well, for the work of the LORD.

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Soon after, Israel and the Philistines had a fight. To help in the battle, Hophni and Phinehas brought the ark of the covenant to the battlefield. They thought that God would let them win the battle only if they had the ark of the LORD.

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However, God was not with Hophni and Phinehas who thought lightly of God. Israel greatly lost that battle. Also, Hophni and Phinehas who had brought the ark of covenant, were killed in the battle.

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The High Priest Eli fell backward off his chair when he heard the news and died . The house of Eli was destroyed in just a night. God throws away people who think lightly about worshiping the LORD.

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In place of Eli, God appointed Samuel, who had praised and worshiped God very well. Samuel became the high priest of Israel and continued to serve God faithfully. God is glad with people who worship him with all of their hearts.

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Hophni and Phinehas were born in the house of the high priest but they did not respect God with their hearts and thought only lightly about worshiping the LORD. Therefore, God casted them away. However, Samuel was born in the countryside but did his best in worshiping, loving and praising God. God saw this heart of Samuel's and raised him up to be the next high priest of Israel.

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What does God want from us? That is to have a heart that honors God and that is reverent before the LORD, just like Samuel. Today, if we truly believe that God is alive, we should honor him by worshiping with reverent hearts. Just like Samuel, let us offer the proper worship that God desires to become blessed ones that God is pleased with.

(You can change the conclusion of this sermon best suiting to your listeners of this sermon. We want to make it clear that the provided conclusion is only a sample conclusion provided by CTM.)