2021-06-06 1 Samuel 16

1 Samuel 16:14–23 ESV

14 Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18 One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.” 19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” 20 And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. 21 And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.

I. The lack of peace in your life might be the absence of God’s presence.

1 Samuel 16:14–15 (ESV)

14 Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him.

15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you.

A. The Spirit of God brings life to our souls.

1 Samuel 16:4 ESV

Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?”

Illus: A major shift happens in the soul of Saul. Where once he knew the peace and life of the Spirit of God within him, he not only felt the void of him leaving, but also of a wicked spirit tormenting him.

There are a few major points we need to address. Before we move any further. 1. I do not believe that you can lose the spirit of God with in you now because the spirit is given as a garuntee of your salvation, and is secured by Jesus. 2. God’s spirit worked differently in the Old Testament than he does now. 3. I want to be clear that you cannot lose the Holy Spirit if your are genuinely saved.

That said, so much of the world today can be explained through this story. Our world is aching and broken. In many ways it shows the absence of God’s spirit. As we look at the chaos of the world around us, the brokenness of people, do not underestimate how much of it is because of the lack of God’s presence in people’s lives.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is vacant, the peace of the lord is vacant as well. Where the Spirit of Lord is vacant the love of the Lord is vacant. Where the Spirit of the Lord is Vacant, the joy of the Lord is vacant as well.

Saul shows the same symptoms that are rampant today. People are tormented as their souls need the life that only God can give.

Let’s talk about believers. You do have a tremendous amount of say in how much influence and presence God has through his spirit in your life. You can grieve, quiet, and minimize the Holy Spirit’s influence in your life.

When you have open and un repented of sin in your life, you grieve the Holy Spirit and will not experience the fullness of his life giving presence.

If your time spent in the word of God and with God’s people is minimal, you will experience little of God’s presence.

Saul’s life was not wrecked because of the circumstances facing him. His life was a wreck because he did not have God’s spirit breathing life into him.

Galatians 5:19–23 ESV

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

B. Without God’s Spirit there is no peace.

1 Samuel 16:15 ESV

And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you.

Illus: God not only removed his Spirit from Saul, but also placed a harmful spirit in him. Yes, that is what the text says. It is through this tormenting that Saul realized his need for peace. It is through this tormenting that his soul longs for relief. It is through this tormenting that God ushers in the next king into the palace.

There is certainly spiritual warfare in the world around us. Do not discount the warring of the heart and the brokenness of our time as distinct signs of spiritual war in people’s souls. Do not discount that God brings war to mens souls so that they might realize they are desperately empty.

Why is this distinction important. Why is it important to look at our world and say, that people are being spiritually tormented? Because spiritual problems require spiritual solutions.

People will not have peace, this world will not have peace until the spirit of God resides in people’s hearts . The grand problems of our world are spiritual.

When the Bible talks about God’s solution for the world it is solely the gospel. In fact it says that the gospel IS the power of God. The only way for people, our country, and world to be transformed through the Spirit of God is through the gospel.

A spiritual problem requires a spiritual solution.

We can work and try to treat, fix, and bring change to this world, but unless it is spiritual change, all that work is in vain.

I am encouraging you today to look with spiritual eyes at yourself, and our world.

Romans 8:5–6 ESV

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

II. We look for false solutions to our deep spiritual needs.

1 Samuel 16:16–20 ESV

16 Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18 One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.” 19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” 20 And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul.

A. Saul looked for a human solution to a God sized vacancy.

1 Samuel 16:16–17 ESV

Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.” So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.”

Let me work through two quick observations on David playing the harp for Saul.

1. At first the solution seems to work. It seems that David’s harp playing soothed the souls of Saul. But if you read on in the story, Saul’s heart grows harder and harder warring against God. The momentary solution of the harp was not enough to fix his true spiritual need. How many quick fixes do we go to that seem to work for a moment, yet over time reveal themselves to be empty.

2. The second observation was that David had the Spirit of God within him. That means the very thing that Saul‘s would longed for was what David brought to his presence when he came and played the harp.

I make both of these observations purposely. The harp could never satisfy. Only God’s Spirit could.

We spend our lives trying to self medicate the God sized vacancy in us through filling it with human solutions.

I know I have been outspoken about political obsession/idolatry/engagement, but it is one of the most dangerous substitutes we allow to control our heart as a replacement for the spirit of God. We look for it to accomplish what God intended to gospel to accomplish.

But truthfully, politics is not the only substitute we use to medicate our hearts. We look for peace in relationships, our work, our kid’s achievement, social media, money, hobbies.

Truthfully, many churches have begun pedling self help and positivity. Using Jesus they give you a positive message dressed up to look biblical.

Much like the harp, these cheap substitutes probably smooth our soul for a moment. In the end though, the peace needed for our hearts, for our nation, and for our world can only be found in God.

Jeremiah 2:13 ESV

13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

B. God sent David to learn to trust Him through service and suffering.

1 Samuel 16:18–19 ESV

One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.” Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.”

We’ve spent the majority of this message talking about the void in Saul. Let’s turn to david.

David had just been anointed king by Samuel, yet God did not place him on the throne. Instead, God called David to serve a king who would use and abuse him.

At one point the madness inside of Saul would lead him to throw a spear at david in the midst of David’s playing.

But even in suffering, God was molding him into the king God desired David to be.

God used shepherding to mold david’s character. God used service to Saul to mold David’s character. God used living in exile and being hunted by Saul to mold David’s character.

In those moments David held that his place was faithfulness to God, not escape from the trial. God would accomplish God’s plan in God’s timing.

God‘s desire may not be for you to sit on a throne, experience the good life, or capture your dreams. It may be that he is calling you to walk through suffering and trials. It is in those moments of weakness, trials and brokenness that you can truly know the sufficiency and goodness of God.

Philippians 4:12–13 ESV

12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

2 Corinthians 12:9–10 ESV

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

III. Our world longs for the fragrance of God.

1 Samuel 16:21–23 ESV

21 And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.

A. The deepest longing of Saul’s soul was the presence of God in David’s.

Illus: Our world is tormented. It is broken, depressed and aching. There probably is no more apt picture of the spiritual condition of our world than Saul being tormented by a wicked spirit.

God raised up a man in whom his spirit dwelled, and from the presence of David, Saul found momentary peace.

Perhaps the greatest way for believers today to bring the gospel to our world is through being the people of peace to it.

Our world yearns for the peace that only the spirit of God can fulfill.

As believers we have the fruit of God’s spirit flowing through our lives.

Can I ask you, when you look at your life, do you display, produce the work of God’s spirit? Or have you quenched the spirit of God so that you are no different than your friends, family and neighbors who live in the emptiness of a life void of God.?

Embrace the spirit and give him free reign in your life, and lead people to the peace of the gospel that Chan transform their lives.

2 Corinthians 2:14–15 ESV

14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,