You can change your life now

The story of the sons of Eli is a story of sadness. Eli a high priest of God fails to stop his sons from rebelling against God. Oh yes they stayed in the house of God but they didn’t follow any of the rules of the house. Their behavior caused the word of God to say they were worthless. If the word of God says you are worthless that bring a clear definition as to who you are severing. These sons were not serving God. They mistreated God’s people and their father didn’t stop them. Yet their father was used to bring up a man that would not walk away from God.

How can a man train up the son of another and miss the mark with his own? This is a story lived out daily around the world. You do not however need to go around the world to see it. You can look as close has the building you work in daily. You can even look in the church you attend every Sunday. Men today are missing the mark with our sons. There are too many sons in gangs while our son’s fathers are not in their lives. There are too many fathers fearful of their sons.

God had spoken of the judgment He would bring against the house of Eli. When God calls Samuel, Eli instructs Samuel to say; speak Lord for your servant is listening. Why didn’t Eli go to God and repent? Why not ask God to spare him? We will never know why but we can stop this from happening to our house. God did not speak much in those days but He is speaking today. We have a chance to turn our lives totally over to Him. We need not act perfect or try to get our lives together before God will work in them. All we need to do is ask God to come into our lives, if we haven’t and that's step one. If we have taken that step we need to ask God to help us become the man He wants us to become. Now ask God to place a man in your life that will help you take the steps you must take to overcome yourself. Hophni and Phinehas never knew God, therefore they never knew God had a purpose for their life. Today I say to you God has a purpose for your life. Are you walking it out or just living life for yourself? God knew when He call Samuel that He was about to judge the life of Eli and his house. Is God about to Judge your life?

I didn’t select you!

God always has a plan for your life even if you don’t it. We as men fail because we don’t follow God’s plan for our life. We often try to take control of our lives because of what we see. We see that our bills need to be paid, so let our tithe giving fall off. We see things that we want and desire and let that overcome good sense. Some of us will fight and overcome great mountains in our lives and then run from the smallest of things. We must learn to trust God and follow His ways for our lives.

¹⁹ So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him.

This is a case of God selecting your replacement. Often in the ways of man we don’t even pray to God about a replacement. We select the one that we think fits the model we want. This doesn’t give you the right to over the one God has sent. He question becomes how do I know? Well if we stay in touch with God and allow him access into our prayer life and stop tell God what and who we want. Then maybe we can see through the eyes of God and select the best man for the job.

The follower doesn’t need to know where they are going they just need to keep up. If you pray to God about a mentor for your life and He sends someone you don’t like get over it. What is it that you want for your life? Do you even know what you want for your life? If you are just praying to God without a point of reference, that’s not God problem. You should work on discover who you are before you start looking for a mentor.

²⁰ He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, "Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you." And he said to him, "Go back again, for what have I done to you?"

Get yourself away from me. Never go to your mentor with an excuse. Hey, mom, dad I love you and I will be back but right now I must go. Here Elisha departed home in good standing. If you notice Elisha asked for permission before running off. The reply could have been misunderstood but remember God sent Elijah to Elisha. So Elijah couldn’t just disregard him. However, who said he had to be nice.

²¹ So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him.

Elisha destroyed his old life for a new one. How many of us are willing to do this? How often do we try to bring the old life into the new? You want to become a new person but the old man just lives right on in you. We must kill our old self so that our new self will have a place to call home. Clean the old place and start fresh with the word of God in your life. Build a place that He can call home in you.