THE BREEDING GROUND

One well-ordered, well-disciplined family tells more in behalf of Christianity than all the sermons
that can be preached. AH 32.1

Society is composed of families, and is what the heads of families make it. Out of the heart are “the
issues of life”; and the heart of the community, of the church, and of the nation is the household.
The well-being of society, the success of the church, the prosperity of the nation, depend upon
home influences. AH 15.1

The sermon is heavily tailored to the relationship between the Parents and the youth at home.
Before the child has friends, they have parents, before they go to school they came from home,
before they choose girlfriends and boyfriends they already have a mother and father, before they
start working they have done household chores. The point is before we experience all this other
things in life, we experience home. This is the breeding ground.

The NLS shows that about 5% of youth in stable families get arrested, whereas up to 13% in unstable
homes.

In other words there is a correlation between crime and instability in the home.

There is fascinating story in the bible that depicts the state of our society today, especially in church.

The Family of Eli - 1 Sam 2

1 Sam 2:12 "Now the sons of Eli were the sons of Belial (corruption, wickedness)"

What we need to understand is that the wickedness of Eli's sons did not start when they became
priests. It just became public.

GC 231.3 The fond father overlooked the faults and sins of his sons in their childhood, flattering
himself that after a time they would outgrow their evil tendencies.

Eli left his children's character development to chance. He made little if any effort to mold their
Characters after Christ.

GC 231.3 There is no greater curse upon households than to allow the youth to have their own way.
When parents regard every wish of their children and indulge them in what they know is not for
their good, the children soon lose all respect for their parents, all regard for the authority of God or
man, and are led captive at the will of Satan.

Essentially what this quote is saying is that, when children are allowed to have their own way
without correction they are being given over to Satan to control them. This is progression that I want
us to observe.

This was the case with the sons of Eli. I don’t think Eli was aware that when he left his sons
uncontrolled he was giving them to Satan. The two boys were also unware of the danger of not
being corrected. However between the two, greater responsibility was with the Parent than with the
boys.

Now at the beginning, it was not so apparent that the boys were controlled by Satan. I want us to
see the progression of the sins of this two boys, Hophni and Phinehas.

1 Sam 2:15 Also before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that
sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.

The first point where Eli allowed the boys to have their own rule was upon the issue of diet.
My first point of rulership over my parents was upon diet, I was allowed to eat anything at any time.

Swati and Khobatha's child - sucking times

Discipline starts from the breast.
You teach a child to be disciplined from day one.

Counsels on Health 574.1 The controlling power of appetite will prove the ruin of thousands, when,
if they had conquered on this point, they would have had moral power to gain the victory over every
other temptation of Satan.

Where Adam and Eve failed, Christ conquered, and it was upon appetite. It was the first temptation
on both.

This is the point, assist your children to conquer upon the point of appetite, and they will have moral
strength for other temptations to come.

It is the most basic temptation, but because we ignore and even think it is not a temptation, the
enemy uses it as an entering wedge to destroy our homes.

But parent please amend your appetite before commanding, because youth learn by observing and
not by hearing.

Now their sin of appetite, did not remain there, but by their uncontrolled appetites, they defiled the
offerings of the Lord.

1 Sam 2:17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred
the offering of the LORD. Lev 7:34 the breast and shoulder

That which came from God, which was meant to unite God and man, became abominable in the
eyes of man. Remember the sacrifices were pointing to Jesus, they were a symbol of God's infinite
love. Romans 2:24 The name of God was blasphemed because of their ways.

Eli took his undisciplined boys and made them priests.

The young people who have lost victories over appetite and eventually on other points of
temptation become appointed in leadership positions. Can you imagine the result of such. Havoc.

We are given these positions as young people, as a means to groom us, which is a good thing, and
the expectation is for things to run smoothly. But unfortunately we reap the fruits of a poor
foundation. I will not go through the evils that take place in our churches because of this, we know
them.
When those in the world observe this things, they want to have nothing to do with the church. Not
just that, those who were not grounded in the church find a stumblingblock in this evils, and they
leave the church. My sister leaving church.

Do we see the weight of having a solid foundation for the characters of the youth. Do we see the
weight in having responsible parents that are true to duty, as a needle is to the pole.

1 Sam 2:22 Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with
the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Sin takes you where you never thought you would go. Neither Eli nor the sons were aware at the
beginning that the situation would get this far.

Even one sin, or wrong trait of character persistently cherished will eventually naturalize all the
power of the gospel.

God forbid we go this far. And if you observe our society today it has reached this climax.

Question remains; how do we remedy this situation?

We looked at the root of the problem, which is the home.

The remedy can only be found in the makers of the home.

Do you throw yourself in a pool that is deep to test whether you can swim?

We seek to make homes, while we are still far from practicing the principles of the Lord. We throw
ourselves into the deep end while we do not know how to swim.

I think there are four principles which when followed would improve our homes. The first two deal
with the heart, and the last two come out of the heart.

Devotion: Learning how to walk with the Lord. Being able to hear God speaking. DA 363.3 When
every other voice is hushed, and in quietness we wait before Him, the silence of the soul makes
more distinct the voice of God. We have lost interest in the Word of God, not because the Word is
boring as we claim, but because our taste buds have been distorted. Try eating fruit after eating an
ice cream. The issue is not the fruit, but rather the ice cream. The ice cream is our tv's, our
cellphones, our possessions, our ambitions and careers.

Prayer: Those who have not learnt to pray, are incapable of teaching others to pray. In church during
prayer, if you see your children being unruly, don’t be angry with them, rather introspect your
prayer life at home. Why should the sons and daughters of God be reluctant to pray, when prayer is
the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven's storehouse where are treasured the boundless
resources of omnipotence?” (Steps to Christ, 94, 95).

Devotion and prayer is a means of communication with God, in devotion God speaks, while in prayer
we speak. Walking with God is having this constant dialogue.

Ministry: Ministry is a byproduct of devotion and prayer. 1 Corinth 3:18 By beholding we become
changed into the image of Christ. By having this constant dialogue with Christ through devotion and
prayer we become like him. If we obey from the heart during this dialogue it says in DA 668.3 He will
so identify himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His
will, that obeying Him will be but carrying out our own impulses. So in other words, when Christ says
go ye therefore, obeying this command will be as if we are carrying out our own impulses.

Lifestyle reform: Pro_4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Reform is refraining from toxicity which defiles the heart/mind. It compliments devotion and prayer.
When God says flee all appearance of evil, it is because he seeks to sustain your purity. It is a
preservative.

We know the story of Abraham and Isaac, how Isaac obeyed God and his father to a point of being
willing to die, and how Abraham obeyed God to a point of being willing to take his son's life. This is
home that is entirely opposite to that of Eli. Which family do we resemble today, and which family
do we want to be.
BRING THE LOAVES AND FISH
Why do we want to have financial stability? Write three points and be honest, do not write what you
think is the correct answer, but what is the reality in your life.. Being honest will help us in this study.

To be able to support a family

To have the necessities of life
To start a school in the future

John 6:5-14

John 6:9
How many loaves and fishes were there to begin with? - 5 loaves, 2 fishes
How many people were feed? 5000 men
Do the numbers add up? How many times did he need to multiple, just to have a loaf for each? 1000
times - DA 330.3 God has a thousand ways to provide for our needs, of which we know nothing.

Why do you think the young boy permitted Jesus to have His lunch?
I would suppose He was there in the multitude that witnessed the power of Healing V2
When Jesus bade him to bring the lunch, the encounter with Jesus' abilities enabled him to give.
He trusted his loaves with Jesus.
Why is it difficult to entrust our resources with God? - We wait until we have excess before we invest
in ministry -
We fear to invest in the ministry because we think we will lack in the future..

The boy was willing to submit his lunch to be shared -

Why do we want to have financial stability?
If the boy gave the loaves and fishes to Jesus to multiple for himself, would Jesus have taken those
loaves?
Similarly if we commit our talents and the little money we have to Jesus, just to fulfil our plans, do
you think He will take them to multiple them?

What lessons can we learn about how God operates from this story?
• God multiplies what we have only as we begin to give. He does not give us in abundance and
then expects us to give. Luke 21:1-4
• There is a condition for God to take and multiply the little that we have, and that is to have
others in mind first. We place God in a tricky position.. God wants to instill benevolence in us,
and we want Him to bless us for selfish reasons only. The gifts unfortunately counteract His
work in us.
• When God asks us to have others in mind, it is by no means that we should suffer want. The
boy probably left with more fishes and loaves going home.

John 6:12
Jesus says this in the time of abundance - when we lack, we are forced to be frugal
Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves in the time of abundance
Do not be wasteful, be frugal and economic
Our society has taught us consumerism - which is wasteful at its core

DA 368.1
But He who had all the resources of infinite power at His command said, “Gather up the fragments
that remain, that nothing be lost.”
Christ having all, is still very frugal - a governing principle no matter the wealth available
'But I can afford'

Many despise economy, confounding it with stinginess and narrowness. But economy is consistent
with the broadest liberality. Indeed, without economy there can be no true liberality. We are to save
that we may give. MYP 320.1

Economy is for liberality and not hoarding

Using what is available to grow more to give.

Application:
Prayer session - Meditate about the possible opportunities in your life for God to multiply what you
have, and I want you to meditate on how this will benefit others and the kingdom of God.

List three of those opportunities and write their benefits to God and others.