SAUL WAS REFRESHED AND WELL

By Donnie Swaggart 

I Samuel 16:14-23 — (14) “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

(15)      “And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubles           you.

(16)      “Let our lord now command your servants, which are before you, to seek out a             man, who is a cunning player on an harp:  and it shall come to pass, when the evil         spirit from God is upon you, that he shall play with his hand, and you shall be            well.

(17)      “And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man who can play well, and            bring him to me.

(18)      “Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse          the Beth-lehemite, who is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a         man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with   him.

(19)      “Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David your son,          which is with the sheep.

(20)      “And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent         them by David his son unto Saul.

(21)      “And David came to Saul, and stood before him:  and he loved him greatly; and             he became his armourbearer.

(22)      “And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray you, stand before me; for he has        found favour in my sight.

(23)      “And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David   took an harp, and played with his hand:  so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and            the evil spirit departed from him.”

In this story we are given insight into the spirit world.  There are two spirits at work in the world and the Church, the Holy Spirit and evil spirits.  That which is Biblical is always accompanied by the Holy Spirit and that which is unscriptural is backed by evil spirits. The spirit world is never neutral, meaning what you accept regarding spiritual matters will either lead you closer to the Lord or further away from the Lord.  This is exactly what happened to Saul and to Israel.  When they followed the Lord, they had the help of the Holy Spirit.  When they departed from the Lord’s prescribed Path, they were at the mercy of demon spirits that brought heartache and misery.

When we read this story, we are reading some of the most sorrowful words in the Bible.  David would refer to Saul’s ultimate destruction with the words, “How are the mighty fallen!” (II Sam. 1:19).

APOSTASY

There is no debate on the fact that Saul led Israel astray; however, it must be understood that Israel’s apostasy started before Saul became king.  Apostasy in the church is never sudden, but it is gradual.  It always begins with God’s People no longer walking in God’s Ways, but walking after their own desires.  We can see the beginning of Israel’s apostasy in Chapter 8 of I Samuel.  It says in Verses 1 and 2 that Samuel made his sons, Joel and Abiah, Judges over Israel.  Understand, Samuel was the Prophet of God, the voice of God to the people, and a great man of God, yet, in placing his sons as Judges, he failed the Lord, for in Verse 3 it says:  “And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside.”  There are two Spiritual Truths contained here:  first, even God’s anointed make mistakes and miss the Will of God; and second, that heritage doesn’t equal Salvation or Righteousness.  Everyone must seek the Lord for direction, and everyone must have their own personal relationship with the Lord.  The Text says of Samuel’s sons that they were guilty of three sins:

1.   They were after money;

2.   They took bribes; and,

3.   They perverted judgment.

Ungodly leadership in the Church always takes from the people, never giving anything back.

ISRAEL’S DEMANDS

 In looking at the evil of Samuel’s sons, the people began to look at the nations that surrounded them and they said to Samuel, “make us a king to judge us like all the nations” (I Sam. 8:5).

Israel’s twofold sin was:

1.         Self-will — they wanted their way and not God’s Way.

2.         They wanted to be like the pagan nations that surrounded them.

Self-will is the beginning of all of our problems.  When the Church or Believer charts their own course, the end will result in becoming like the world.

They said, “Give us a king to judge us.”  Though the Lord was planning on giving them a king (David), they didn’t want to operate in God’s time.  They no longer wanted God, they wanted a man.

TO REJECT GOD

 To reject God’s Will and Way is to reject God Himself.  The Lord told Samuel, “they have rejected Me.”  Take note of this and don’t ever forget that when we go against God and His Will and Ways, we are rejecting Him and the only thing left is Satan.

Notice here that Israel’s problems started before Saul became king.  Today in the Church, when we look at all the foolishness and false doctrine in the Church, we are quick to lay the blame at the feet of Preachers, yet, the fact is, while that is a problem, the blame must also be placed at the feet of the laity.  Paul said in II Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when they (the people) will not endure sound Doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.”

So now, because of the people’s desires, they will get what they demand and it will turn out to be bad.

THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD DEPARTED FROM SAUL

 Saul eventually departed from God’s Way and went into rebellion, which the Lord called “witchcraft.”  It’s the downward spiral, gradually going deeper and deeper into sin.  There are two truths contained in this statement:

1.   Even though Saul was not God’s choice, the Lord didn’t just throw him aside, but He tried to work with him and use him.  This is God’s Grace at work.

2.   The Holy Spirit will not stay where he is not wanted.  The more of the Spirit of God one desires the more you will have.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “They that hunger and thirst after Righteousness shall be filled.”  Yet when the Believer no longer hungers and thirsts after that which is of God, the Holy Spirit will depart.

 THE MODERN CHURCH

 In looking at the state of affairs in the modern Pentecostal denominations, I believe if one is completely honest they will have to admit that the Spirit of the Lord has departed from some Churches.  How can I say that?  Because the facts bear out that less people are being Saved and Baptized with the Holy Spirit than ever before.  The Spirit of the Lord has departed ­— sad, but true.

AN EVIL SPIRIT

 The Text says that “An evil spirit from the LORD” troubled him.”  This doesn’t literally mean that the Lord sent an evil spirit, but that He allowed it.  As I stated earlier, when one rejects the Holy Spirit, one is left with evil spirits.  This evil spirit “troubled” Saul.  This speaks of emotional discord, mental turmoil, an enraged spirit.  Satan operates two ways against mankind.  Oppression, which manifests itself in depression, gloom, melancholy.  Oppression operates against both the Saved and the unsaved.  The other way is possession.  Demonic possession is not possible for a Believer.  In spite of what some in the Charismatic world may say, there is absolutely nothing in the Bible to suggest such a thing; however, every Believer, some time in their life has had to deal with satanic oppression.

THE CURE FOR DEMONIC OPPRESSION

 The cure for this Satanic attack is “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified” (Rom. 6:1-14; 8:1-2, 11; I Cor. 1:17-18, 21, 23; 2:2; Gal., Chpt. 5; 6:14; Col. 2:14-15).  The Cross is the only answer for demon oppression.  One’s understanding of what Christ did at Calvary and one’s Faith in that Finished Work then allows the Holy Spirit to do His Work, which we shall see in the rest of the Text.

DAVID TOOK A HARP, AND PLAYED

 This is the first mention of God’s use of music for worship, refreshing, and healing, but understand, though David was talented, it was not his talent that brought relief, it was the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

SAUL WAS REFRESHED, AND WAS WELL

 The power of darkness cannot stand in the Presence of the Holy Spirit.  Only the Holy Spirit brings rest, refreshing, and healing to the heart.  I hope you can get the picture.  Saul, driven by demon spirits would go into fits of anger and turmoil, but when the Spirit of God began to move, God’s Spirit drove away the demon spirits.  The answer for you and your turmoil is to be in a place where the Holy Spirit can move.  Where is that place?  Anywhere.  The location is not important, what is desired is what is important.  The Holy Spirit works strictly within the confines of Calvary and when you go to the Cross, you are allowing the Holy Spirit to work on your behalf.

Your Evangelist, Donnie Swaggart