Lilly Grove Mid Week 6-9-2021

hello and welcome back to our time together in our wednesdays in the word i want to continue our studies in the life of david turn with me in your bibles the first samuel at chapter 16 and then we want to turn over to chapter 18 first samuel at chapter 16 verses 14 through verse 23 and then chapter 18 verses 5 through verse number 12. look with me in chapter 16 of first samuel commencing in verse 14. now the spirit of the lord had left saul and an evil spirit sent from the lord began to torment him so saul's servant said to him you see that an evil spirit from god is tormenting you let our lord command your servants here in your presence to look for someone who knows how to play the liar whenever the evil spirit from god troubles you that person can play the liar and you will feel better in saul commanded his servants find me someone who plays well and bring him to me one of the young men answered i have seen a son of jesse of bethlehem who knows how to play the liar he is also a valiant man a warrior eloquent handsome and the lord is with him then saul dispatched messengers to jesse and said send me your son david who is with the sheep so jesse took a donkey loaded with bread a skin of wine and one young goat and sent them by his son david the soul when david came to saul and entered his service saul admired him greatly and david became his armor-bearer then saul sent word to jesse let david remain in my service for i am pleased with him whenever the spirit from god troubled saul david would pick up his liar and play and saul would then be relieved feel better and the evil spirit would leave him as we continue to study the making of a man of god from the life and character of david it is helpful at this point in the story to note how the holy spirit sets david and saul side by side for our careful thoughtful consideration both of them were chosen for leadership and were anointed by the holy spirit but it is here that the comparison ceases and the contrast begins for everything else in their lives are in striking opposition the sun begins to rise upon david's life and sets upon saul's life there is a steady growth in grace and in the knowledge of god for david and a tragic decline and disobedience to god for soul first thing i want us to look at in this study today is a soul in decline a soul in decline a spiritual decline is always obvious to everyone except the person involved in the declination it may be mass for a while but backsliding withdrawal from a walk and fellowship with god a refusal to accept the principles of christian living a rejection of god's terms for spiritual vitality soon makes itself evident in a person's character the process is outlined very clearly in saul's jealousy of david saul knew perfectly well that god had rejected him because samuel told him so as the women praised david he must have had a premonition that this was the man who was going to take his kingdom from him look with me in chapter 18 verse 7 and 8 chapter 18 as they celebrated the women saying saul has killed his thousands but david his tens of thousands saul was furious and resented this song they credited tens of thousands today but he complained but they only credited me with thousands what more can he have but the kingdom jealousy got into saul's soul and ripened until it became murderous intent let's look at chapter 18 verses 5 through verse number 12. first samuel 18 verses 5 through verse number 12. david marched out with the army and was successful in everything saul sent him to do saul put him in command of the soldiers which pleased all the people and saul's servants as well as the troops were coming back when david was returning from killing the philistine the women came out from all the cities of israel to meet king saul singing and dancing with tambourines with shouts of joy and with three strained instruments as they celebrated the women saying saul has killed his thousands but david has tens of thousands so i was furious and resented this song he credited tens of thousands they credited tens of thousands to david he complained but they only credited me with thousands what more can you have but the kingdom so saul watched david jealously from that day forward the next day an evil spirit sent from god took control of saul and began to rave inside the palace david was playing the liar as usual but saul was holding a spear and he threw it thinking i'll pin david to the wall but david got away from him twice was afraid of david because the lord was with david but had left saul what marked the difference between these two men was what they did when they were alone what a man does when he is alone and only with his thoughts will decide what he is in public when he's with others it is there it is in your private time that either a self-indulgence will make your character a wreck or self-discipline will make your character godly do you see the contrast between these two men on the one hand sin jealousy bitterness hatred murder that soul on the other hand gentleness and meekness that's david saul because of all the sin and hatred was powerless in the fight against goliath david who meditated upon the laws of god became mighty to conquer the powers of darkness but once a soul is in decline that soul then leads secondly to desolation i cannot imagine anything more dreadful than a life from which god has withdrawn look at verse 12 again of chapter number 18. saul was afraid of david because the lord was with david but had left saul whenever god's presence is withdrawn from a soul and his holy spirit is taken away in convicting power that person is left in hopelessness and revolt against everything around him for saul life had become meaningless when god takes his spirit from a person it's like the words of shakespeare that life is a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury signifying nothing are the words of the philosopher schopenhauer that life is an endless pain with a painful end when god is gone from a person's life it's like the words of paul lawrence dunbar who says a crust of bread and the corner to sleep in a minute to smile in an hour to weep in a pint of joy to a peck of trouble and never to laugh but the moans come double the saddest words in the bible is the spirit of god had left him not only did this happen to saul but this happened to samson who was the strongest man that ever lived he got up samson did to fight the philistines and the spirit of god had left him and he didn't even know it but when the soul is in decline that soul is then left in desolation and it leads thirdly to a soul in disobedience look with me in chapter 15 for rebellion is like the sin of divination and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry because you have rejected the word of the lord he has rejected you as king disobedience in saul's heart began years before when samuel commanded saul to wait for him before he offered the sacrifice and saul became impatient kings did not make sacrifices only the priests could come before god with the sacrifice but in his impatience saul sacrificed when samuel told him to wait then later he disobeyed god's word and spared some of the amalekites and he repeatedly rejected the word of the lord and therefore his course was irrevocably backward his his sparring the amalekites is what god would force god to take the kingdom from saul and give it to david god withdraws his protection from the disobedient heart and if that person be a child of god though the spirit of god will ever be in him because once you're saved you can never be lost but the protecting hand of god will be taken away his guiding power removed and he is delivered to the devil for the destruction of the flesh and the saving of the soul which are you before god are you in spiritual decline or are you living in faith is your religion only a formula or is christ real to you all the time are you desolate and bereft are you in fellowship with the holy spirit moment by moment are you living in disobedience to the word of god or are you following the lamb wherever he may lead i close with the words of george matheson make me a captive lord and then i shall be free force me to render up my sword and i shall conqueror be i sink in life's alarms when by myself i stand imprison me with thine arms and strong shall be my stand which are you living in obedience or in disobedience to the word of god god bless you and i look forward to talking with you again next wednesday in our time in the studies of david's life god bless you

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Length: 12min 16sec (736 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 10 2021