David Platt – Why we need the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of God. Opening
Video Illustration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6DtRmyx1bA
David Platt on the importance of the Holy Spirit in the church today!
Series: Never Seen Before in 2024 – Understanding the importance of the Spirit of God for our lives. We must be connected and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
The life of King Saul teaches us that obedience to God’s Word is better than just sacrifice in worship to God. 1 Samuel 15:22-23:
22 But Samuel replied:
“Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has rejected you as king.”
The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), 1 Sa 15:22–23.
Thesis: The Holy Spirit is active in the empowering of God’s people to lead. He wants to comfort us, lead us, guide us, direct us, teach us and empower u to do what God wants done. He wants us to be “Christ like” and “do the work of the Kingdom” in the here and now. The Lord wants obedience to His word not just worship from us.
I have seen to many people crash and burn because they not do not obey the Word of the Lord in their life or ministry – they worship God in services but disobey His Word – they remind me of Saul – thinking they have obeyed God because they worship him in their own way but instead our story today shows how they are deceiving themselves because they have not obeyed God.
Tag line: A Spiritless Christian will produce a Spiritless Church! A Spirit less Christian is powerless and will produce a powerless Spiritless Church. A Spiritless Christian has a Spiritless soul which craves a connection to the Holy Spirit. A person even though gifted – talented but without the Holy Spirit of God will fail in being and doing what God wants them to do!
Key Verses:
John 14:15-18:
15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Jesus promised not to abandon us so He sent us the Holy Spirit – who cares for our soul and spirits.
The Holy Spirit played an active role in the Old Testament with the judges, the prophets, the priests and even the Kings of Israel. The Holy Spirit of God empowered these people’s lives and ministry. We need to look at these people’s lives to see what the Holy Spirit did for them. What His role was in their lives. How He impacted them and even corrected them. How he empowered them for certain tasks supernaturally. How He directed and guided them in battle. We need to learn how they managed or yielded to the Holy Spirit. We need to learn what to do and what not to do as the Holy Spirit empowers us in our day.
Sermon: King Saul and The Spirit of God
Scripture Texts: Let me remind you of how King Saul started out his reign as king for the Israelites and God:
Saul receives the Holy Spirit as he is anointed by Samuel as the first King of Israel:
1 Samuel 10:9-11:
9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 10 When they arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he joined in their prophesying. 11 When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”
Saul started out in connection with the Spirit of God, but he soon became arrogant, prideful, fearful and disobeyed God’s instructions for offering up sacrifices for God and for His favor. You cannot do what you want in the worship of God and then expect God to answer your prayers and accept your sacrifice for favor. Saul started becoming deceived by his own ego and pride.
Saul offers up Sacrifice without Samuel or by God’s instruction: When we do what we want to disobey God’s Word.
1 Samuel 13: 13-14:
13 “You acted foolishly,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’S command.”
Saul once again rejects the instructions of the Lord when defeating the Amalekites. This grieved the Spirit of God and the Spirit within Samuel the Prophet. Disobeying God’s word doing your own thing in opposition to the Word of God grieves the Spirit of God. Have you grieved the Holy Spirit recently? Paul warns us about this in Ephesians:
Ephesians 4:29-32:
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you
The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Eph 4:29–32.
Saul started out strong in the Lord with the Spirit of God coming on him! But Saul becomes arrogant, judgmental and prideful and makes outrageous and unwise commands on his army while in battle! His decree was foolish, and he was even willing to have Jonathan to be killed for disobeying his word that he had never even heard! Saul’s starting to lose it – he is not listening to the Spirit of God. He has grieved the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit of God is not leading him because he is not listening or obeying the Spirit of God! Instead, he has allowed his own ego to guide him – EGO means Edging God Out. Listen to the insanity of King Saul!
I Samuel 14
43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.”
So Jonathan told him, “I merely tasted a little honey with the end of my staff. And now must I die?”
44 Saul said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you do not die, Jonathan.”
45 But the men said to Saul, “Should Jonathan die—he who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he did this today with God’s help.” So, the men rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death.
Saul starting to lose wisdom and insight from God. Saul starts becoming irrational, insecure, jealous of others, unstable and prideful. God grieves over this decision of Saul and over his disobedient choices – his humility leaves and pride and arrogance take over – he starts his path to destruction and being de-throned as King.
1 Samuel 15:10-11; 22-26:
10Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: 11“I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night.
The result of continually not listening to the Lord’s directions and instructions was God pulls the Holy Spirit off of Him.
1 Samuel 16:14:
14 Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.
Saul loses all connection with the Holy Spirit and an evil spirit torments him and even controls his actions and seeks to kill the one who the Holy Spirit now going to anoint as King – David! Saul moves into an irrational depressive state – revealing the mind of a tormented deceived mindset – without the Spirit of God with us – we fall prey to deception, irrationality, anger, arrogance, judgmental attitudes, depression, desperation and denial of our sins.
Saul continues to digress into deception and demonism – he starts lashing out at anyone who may be a threat to his position! David becomes the primary focal person! Because Saul knows God’s Spirit is on David and not on him!
1 Samuel 19:9-10; 19-24:
9 But an evil spirit from the LORD came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the harp, 10 Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.
19 Word came to Saul: “David is in Naioth at Ramah”; 20 so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s men and they also prophesied. 21 Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. 22 Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” “Over in Naioth at Ramah,” they said. 23 So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even upon him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. 24 He stripped off his robes and also prophesied in Samuel’s presence. He lay that way all that day and night. This is why people say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
God seeks to break through to the heart of Saul, but deception, pride, arrogance and demonism by Sau’s choosing l – keeps it from happening, so it does not work – the result he falls back into disobedience – anger-irrationality and sin. Saul’s days as king are numbered because God has chosen another person who is a man after his own heart.
Introduction:
As I read through this personal tragic story of King Saul, I think how sad! I also think but for the grace of God go I. Saul started off strong in the Lord – anointed, empowered by the Spirit, victorious and praised for following the Word of the Lord. But as time went on, he quit listening to the instructions of the Lord and decided to do things his way. He became arrogant – judgmental – fearful - prideful thinking his way was as good or close to what God wanted. But it was not acceptable to the Lord, and it cost him his kingship – his family – his life – his anointing.
As leaders it is easy to fall into the trap of depending on our own skills and abilities and not rely on the Holy Spirit like we should. When we have developed a knowledge base and talents in our field, we tend to rely on them rather than on the Holy Spirit. We seek to do the task without the Holy Spirit – we devise manmade programs and procedures that do work but, in the process, exclude the Spirit of God. This exclusion of the Holy Spirit causes us to disobey God and grieve the Holy Spirit who at some point will depart us.
I think Saul forget a very important lesson – I think a lot of us forget this lesson too – God is always right – he knows what He is doing, and you must follow His divine directions to the T. This is also how you keep connection with the Holy Spirit! You do this by pleasing God through obedience.
Breaking God’s instructions will eventually break your connection to the Holy Spirit.
Saul grieved the Holy Spirit which is a warning that Paul tells us not to do in Ephesians 4:30: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
Saul kept grieving the Holy Spirit:
He offered up sacrifices to God for favor when He was not allowed too- note not out of devotion but out of fear – 1 Samuel 13:5-13
He put unrealistic and harsh demands on his army and even his own son – don’t eat as you fight all day – if you do you will be put to death – he thinks His word is God’s Word – he seeks to go through with his demand to put Jonathan to death – his men refuse to do it – God stays silent with Saul – 1 Samuel 14: 37-45
He made a monument to himself – 1 Samuel 15: 10-12
He directly disobeyed Gods instruction for the battle with the Amalekites – he kept the best for himself and his men – he did not take the kings life – he lied about obeying God to Samuel 1 Samuel 15: 13-21
He grabbed the prophet for not going with him – 1 Samuel 15: 26-30
To summarize his repeated offenses with God - He did this by not following God’s leading, by ignoring Him, by doing his own thing, by going against God’s Word and instructions, by allowing pride to take over, by allowing fear to take over and in the end, it cost him the Holy Spirit and his Kingship. It also cost his son Jonathan his life!
Saul’s biggest mistake was never learning to fail forward as John Maxwell would say!
Quote: “People are training for success when they should be training for failure. Failure is far more common than success; poverty is more prevalent than wealth; and disappointment more normal than arrival.” J Wallace Hamilton
John Maxwell States: “I want you to learn how to confidently look the prospect of failure in the eye and move forward anyway. Because in life, the question is not if you will have problems, but how you are going to deal with your problems. Are you going to fail forward or backward? (Maxwell, Failing Forward, page 5).
Saul’s failure came because he never learned from his mistakes with God! He kept repeating the mistakes over and over! And convincing himself he was doing what God wanted Him to do!
T.S. – Let’s look at the beginning of Saul’s appointment to be king by the Holy Spirit and progress through his reign and see why at the end of his life he had lost the kingship and the Holy Spirit connection.
I. The Holy Spirit empowered Saul to be the first King of Israel.
a. 1 Samuel 8-10: Gives details about how this whole process went down for Saul to be made king of Israel.
i. The reason the people wanted a king was Samuel was getting old and the sad fact was his sons did not have the Spirit of the Lord on them because they were dishonest, and they perverted justice – so the people rejected their leadership.
1. Do you think this is unreasonable?
a. To me I thought – “sounds reasonable” but remember Samuel is not dead – he is still very alive and following the leading of the Holy Spirit.
b. The people actually rejected God not Samuel as their King!
2. Samuel takes offense to their request “for a king” and God reminds him that they have not rejected him, but really God himself. They have been doing this from the beginning, just think back to last week’s message and the comments of the people of Israel about God’s provision.
a. They wanted to be like other nations – led by an earthly king not a heavenly God.
b. They wanted to fit in with the other nations and not be different.
c. They did not care that this would cost them 10% of everything and would require their children to be in service to this king – they wanted someone to fight for them to literally lead them into battle.
i. I thought about this from I Samuel 8:19-20 and their request?
1. Did not God lead them into battle against the Egyptians – did he not supernaturally deliver them from slavery?
2. Did God not help them defeat the Amalekites, Philistines, Amorites, Moabites, and others who vastly out-numbered them?
3. Throughout their short history God would empower people with His Spirit to deliver them, He would do supernatural stuff to give them the victories but the people still wanted and earthly king not a heavenly God.
4. How offensive do you think this was to God?
a. But do we not do this today in our own lives?
ii. Saul is informed by Samuel the prophet on how the Holy Spirit will come on Him in 1 Samuel 10:1-8. He is anointed with oil and directed by the Word of the Lord through Samuel to go to a certain place.
1. It comes to pass just as Samuel prophesied it would and we see this happen in verses 9-11.
a. 9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 10 When they arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he joined in their prophesying. 11 When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”
i. Once again, we see the Holy Spirit coming on Saul and prophecy accompanies this empowerment of the Holy Spiri in the OT– It is a sign to others that the Holy Spirit is on Saul.
ii. We are told God changed Saul’s heart vs. 9
1. His heart was touched by the Spirit of God to be in tune to His calling and leading.
2. Whenever the Spirit of God touches us, we too should be changed.
iii. The Spirt of God came on him in power – and he prophesied speaking and declaring the Words of God to all around.
1. This was a witness and confirmation to others that Saul did indeed have the Holy Spirit on him.
2. When people saw him and this manifestation – they asked, “What happened to Saul?” there was visible change to him – they saw it and took note of it!
3. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit – there should be a noticeable change in our heart and soul – yes even our spirit – we should be bolder in the proclamation of the truth of God, in praising Him, in declaring His glory to others – all this accompanies prophecy.
iii. The first instance of the Spirit coming on Saul in a kingly role is found in 1 Samuel 11:1-6:
1. “When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger.”
a. The Ammonites had besieged Jabesh Gilead and were going to rout them and take out every one’s right eye if they surrendered.
b. Saul hears about it and rallies the nation of Israel together –notice not by his wisdom and influence but by the anointing and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
i. He makes a kingly demand of Israel to rally together:
1. His righteous anger burns from the Holy Spirit, and he is ready to go to war to protect God’s people.
a. If you recall from the story in 1 Samuel 10:22-24 before Saul was anointed and recognized as king by Samuel in public, he was found hiding among the luggage – shy? Not sure of this new leadership role?
2. The rest of the clans get the message and terror from the Holy Spirit grips their hearts that they must respond to the request of King Saul to deliver these brothers and sisters.
3. They come together – they attack and defeat the Ammonites.
4. Israel is united under their new Spirit filled king.
b. We also see how the Holy Spirit empowers people to lead in ACTS - The presence of the Holy Spirit was a qualifier for leadership when choosing seven leaders to care for widows found in Acts 6:3-6.
i. The Holy Spirit also guided the selection of two leaders–Saul and Barnabas–and commissioned them to preach the Gospel in Salamis as found in Acts 13:2-5.
ii. The Holy Spirit chose and appointed leaders to shepherd the church. This empowerment is revealed in Acts 20:28 says, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.”
iii. The Holy Spirit still fills and empowers people for leadership positions today – so seek His infilling – seek His empowerment in your leadership position – be filled with the Holy Spirit to do great things for the Kingdom.
1. Seek to listen to the voice of the Lord when he wants you to attack the enemy and deliver your brothers and sisters from the tyranny of the evil one. Be bold be authoritative in the Spirit and let’s drive back the enemy of our souls and spirits.
T.S. – Saul was empowered by the Spirit of God to be King – to lead – to see people delivered. The Holy Spirit came on Him to help him accomplish the task of leading the nation of Israel to peace and prosperity.
II. Samuel gives his farewell speech in 1 Samuel 12 and Saul drifts away from the word of the Lord.
a. Samuel the prophet informs Israel and Saul that he has done what they requested in making them a king – he followed the instruction of God to give them what they want.
i. He warns them and reminds them what they have done as a nation – is reject God for an earthly King. He challenges them and reminds them how faithful God and Samuel were in leading the nation of Israel.
1. He says in verse 12b, “” No, we want a king to rule over us-even though the Lord your God was your king.”
ii. He gives them and Saul a warning from God: 1 Samuel 12:14-15
1. 14 If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God—good! 15 But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
a. Saul forgot about this warning! So do the people and many kings after Saul!
b. He soon falls prey to making people happy lifting himself up over serving and listening to the Word of the Lord.
i. He even set a monument up in his own honor a little later in his life see 1 Samuel 15:12: 12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”
iii. He warns them again in 1 Samuel 12: 20-21:
1. 20 “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22 For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own.
a. This section goes on to say that Samuel will still teach them the way of the Lord – He would sin if he did not – because this is what God has commanded him to do.
b. God reveals mercy and grace in spite of their rejection of him and God says He will still bless them if they and the King follow His leadings and direction.
i. But Saul does not!
b. It’s sad to observe the fall of Israel and King Saul’s reign - for many years he listens and has success but somewhere along the line – there becomes a detachment to the Spirit of God the Holy Spirit and his ego grows – sin takes over. In 1 Samuel 13:7-11 we see the result of this detachment from God’s Holy Spirit surfacing to the top.
i. Fear grips Saul and the Israelites! Fear?
1. When fear controls your life then the Holy Spirit has lost its connection with you – fear will severe a connection to the Holy Spirit.
a. When fear is controlling your decisions, the Holy Spirit is missing.
b. Living fearful is a sure sign of disconnection with God and His Spirit.
c. We are to live by faith - not fear. Yet Saul and the Israelites are living by fear and not faith.
d. Bible tells us – perfect love cast out fear! Why? Because God is love!
2. Saul gripped by fear – not faith panics and offers up a sacrifice without waiting for the Prophet Samuel.
a. He breaks God’s Word and disobeys.
b. Fear will always cause you to panic and to break God’s word.
c. Fear – comes from not being in connection with the Holy Spirit and we see people deserting Saul during a battle – what happened to the faith? – the boldness of the Holy Spirit? – His empowerment?
3. Saul violates God’s protocol and directions.
a. He knew better – but fear took over and drove out his faith.
b. When we break the rules with God – remember - he warned him not to do this kind of stuff – there is a consequence to pay.
c. The result is His kingdom will not reign forever – it will come to an end because of his disobedience.
i. Saul could be looked upon in history like David is but his disobedience – ego and sin cost him that legacy.
ii. It will do the same for you too if you disobey God and His Word.
4. Quote: Maxwell States: “Errors become mistakes when we perceive them incorrectly. Mistakes become failures when we continually respond to them incorrectly” (Page 18).
a. Saul does not learn from this mistake – I wonder how many other times prior to this one – in the smaller things had he not listened to the Lord’s direction?
i. I believe he had slowly drifted away from the Lord over time – doing things his way not God’s way.
ii. Ego rose and the Holy Spirit gets pushed out.
iii. His natural talents supersede God’s anointing and Holy Spirit.
iv. He knows best not God.
b. Maxwell: “Success is not a destination-not a place where you arrive one day. Instead, it is the journey you take. And whether you succeed comes from what you do day to day. In other words, success is a process. Failure works the same way. It’s not someplace you arrive. Just as success is not an event, neither is failure. It’s how you deal with life along the way. No one can conclude that he has failed until he breathes his last breath. Until then, he’s still in process, and the jury is still out” (Page 14).
c. Saul once again does not follow His instructions from the Lord through Samuel in another kingly position.
i. He does not wipe out the Amalekites.
ii. He does not execute their evil king – he takes the sheep and cattle when he was told not to.
iii. 1 Samuel 15:10-14:
1. 10 Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: 11 “I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night. 12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.” 13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD’S instructions.” 14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”
a. He lies to Samuel that he followed the Lord’s instruction – Samuel says then why do I hear sheep and cattle!
i. He also asks, “What about the king? Where is he?”
ii. Saul had deceived himself into thinking that he was doing what the Lord wanted – but He was not following his words and instructions.
iii. How many of us do this in our own lives?
1. We deceive ourselves into thinking we are doing what God wants us to do but if the truth be told we are in disobedience to Him.
b. He did not obey the Lord – and the result is he is rejected as the King of Israel by the Lord.
i. William Dean Singleton states, “Too many people, when they make a mistake, just keep stubbornly plowing ahead and end up repeating the same mistakes. I believe in the motto, “try and try again.” But the way I read it, it says, “try, then stop and think. Then try again.” (Page 51, Maxwell).
ii. Saul never learned from his previous mistakes with the Lord – he once again disobeys the instructions of the Lord – thinking his plan is better.
1. This time the price will be great.
a. He failed again at obeying the voice of the Lord – he rejected God’s word so God rejected him as King.
b. The Spirit of God is lifted from Saul and that Spirit and Anointing is placed on another in 1 Samuel 16 – a man named David.
d. We have Saul crashing and burning now – not finishing strong. His disobedience and sin cost him his connection with the Holy Spirit and his divine assignment as king.
i. 1 Samuel 16:14: “Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.”
1. When the Spirit of God departs – all that is left is evil spirits who roam to and from on this earth to torment the spiritless people of the world.
2. The Holy Spirit departed, and Saul became vulnerable to evil spirits – he is paranoid - delusions take over, anger and rage, jealousy, and murder now become his legacy.
a. There is no legacy of wisdom, faith, supernatural exploits and victory with the Spirits Help.
3. As he is tormented the other counselors around him get him help – they find David – a musician to play for him and amazingly the evil spirits would relent – yes the demonic spirits leave Saul when the Spirit filled David played his music to the Lord.
a. By the way this is what happens when musicians are spirit filled and anointed to play for Worship – people get set free.
i. Worship is not a performance but an act of worship to God!
b. 1 Samuel 16: 23: Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
i. When you have this kind of attachment to the Holy Spirit an anointing goes with you to drive away evil spirits on others – it’s a power that comes with the Holy Spirit.
ii. Share story of praying for people with demonic spirits on them.
e. We see Saul becoming more unpredictable and jealous of the one with the Holy Spirit - David – so he even tries to kill him with a spear.
i. 1 Samuel 19:9-10: But an evil spirit from the LORD came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the harp, Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.
1. Hebrews 5:11-6:12 warns us about falling away from the Spirit of God and His Holy Spirit.
a. 4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
b. Yes, you can fall away – grieve the Holy Spirit and lose the connection to you Heavenly Lord and Savior Jesus.
T.S. – Saul’s fallen legacy is a warning to all of us that we too can drift away from the Holy Spirit and The Lord if we don’t obey His word and His truth in our lives. Yes, we can lose our divine commission, we can lose our anointing, we can lose our connection to the Holy Spirit especially when disobedience to the Lord sets in to our lives. A disconnection from the Spirit of God can change you from being good to doing evil!
III. Saul loses it completely and is now obsessed with one thing - killing David – the one who has the Spirit of God on him.
a. David is empowered by the Holy Spirit to escape Saul’s repeated attempts on his life.
i. When you have the Holy Spirit – he promises to protect you – to guide you – He did so with David against Saul.
ii. Saul will never be able to take David out because the Spirit of God is his protector.
iii. Fighting against God’s plan results in disaster and disgrace for the person trying to go against God’s plan.
iv. Just observe how much of a fool King Saul becomes at the end of his reign.
b. Saul will never ever be able to thwart God’s plan for David.
i. The Holy Spirit will protect David – guide David to victory and to his kingship.
ii. David will be the next King of Israel and Saul will die alongside his son because of his disobedience and sins.
iii. 1 Samuel 19:18-24:
1. 18 When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. 19 Word came to Saul: “David is in Naioth at Ramah”; 20 so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s men and they also prophesied. 21 Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. 22 Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” “Over in Naioth at Ramah,” they said. 23 So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even upon him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. 24 He stripped off his robes and also prophesied in Samuel’s presence. He lay that way all that day and night. This is why people say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
a. Saul is overpowered by the Holy Spirit – stopped dead in his tracks – he prophecies because he cannot stop God’s plan – David is the spirit empowered King, and he is not – His end is near. He blew it – He lost it – he squandered it by his disobedience.
b. Notice when the Spirit of the Lord came on him, he took off his kingly robes – he was no longer king – the Spirit made him take them off.
c. I wondered what he prophesied.
i. God is God and I am not!
ii. God raises up kings and disposes of those who disobey Him.
iii. Long live King David – He is the new spirit filled king!
d. How many here know that this story of Saul describes some people’s lives today?
i. This is why we need to be spirit filled over and over and empowered over and over and continually be connected to God’s Holy Spirit.
ii. When we blow it learn from your mistakes and repent and do it right!
iii. Be obedient to God’s leading in your lives.
iv. Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit and end up like Saul.
v. He lost his legacy because of disobedience to God’s Word – do not make the same mistake!
Conclusion:
Observation of the Holy Spirit coming on our OT leaders.
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1. The Holy Spirit is the one who created the OT leaders.
2. The Holy Spirit empowered the OT leaders.
3. The Holy Spirit came on these OT leaders to give them the boldness and the ability to prophecy (speak the words of the Lord).
4. The Holy Spirit is the one who provided discernment and direction for OT leaders.
5. The Holy Spirit empowered OT leaders to prophecy to affirm their Spirit empowered commission.
This observation reveals to us why we need to be Spirit filled and Spirit empowered in our lives!
What do we need to know from this message?
Saul had the Holy Spirit – He was empowered to lead the nation of Israel – He could have been the ruling King of Israel like David, but he kept disobeying the voice and direction of the Lord and as a result the Holy Spirit departed. Disobedience to the voice of the Lord will cause a disconnection with the Holy Spirit.
Why do we need to know this about our message?
We need to know that we can grieve the Holy Spirit and cause Him to depart from our life. If we lose the Holy Spirit, we lose power to lead, we lose wisdom and guidance, we lose the ability to overcome fear, we lose the battles of life, and we lose hope. We need to know that we need the Holy Spirit – He is the power we need to be successful in this life and the power we need to fulfill our divine destiny in life.
What do we need to do from this message?
We need to seek to honor the Holy Spirit in our life. We need to be obedient to the Word of the Lord and stay in tune with His direction for our life. If we have not been filled up with the Holy Spirit, we need to seek His infilling! We need to go after being immersed in the Holy Spirit.
Why do we need to do this?
We need to be spirit filled and empowered to be Christ like and to fulfill our role within the Kingdom of Heaven. We need the Holy Spirits direction and empowerment to win the battles that will come our way in our life. We need his empowerment to fight the right battles in the right way. We need His wisdom to know what to do and what not to do!
Altar Call:
