Serving Saul
David: A Man After God's Own Heart • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Serving Saul
Serving Saul
The Bible is full of great stories; some of these stories show us how to live for God while others show us how not to. There are many stories that will make you shake your head or cringe in horror. I am thankful that God made sure that stories like this one were included in His divine message to the world.
The message of the Bible points to God and His great love for humanity. Today we continue our examination of the life of one the Bible’s best known figures, David. He went from being a young shepherd boy to being the greatest king Israel had ever known. Though his life was not perfect, he glorified God and God considered him to be a “Man after His own heart.”
Today, David will show us about serving Saul.
1 Samuel 16:14 “Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.”
When we were children, we used to chant that ole diddy, “Sticks and stones shall break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
We have since learned that words do hurt, infact words matter a great deal. These are some of the saddest words spoken about someone. “Now, the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul.”
In those days, the Spirit of the Lord (Holy Spirit) would rest on someone for a specific task.
Numbers 11:25 “And the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Then he gave the seventy elders the same Spirit that was upon Moses. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this never happened again.”
Numbers 27:18 “The Lord replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.”
Judges 6:34 “Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power. He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms, and the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him.”
1 Samuel 10:10 “When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, they saw a group of prophets coming toward them. Then the Spirit of God came powerfully upon Saul, and he, too, began to prophesy.”
But this was all a temporary thing for the Holy Spirit had not been poured out like on the day of pentecost yet.
We could probably have many great theological conversations about the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, the New Testament and even today, but for now let me just tell you I am so thankful that God will not take his Holy Spirit from believers.
John 14:16 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.”
Ephesians 1:13–14 “And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.”
The next part of this verse is very troubling for many people. This passage records that the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.
Many old timers believed that all depression was an evil spirit and had very little understanding of the human mind. We know much more today about mental illness and it is an area of study that we cannot even begin to look at today. Suffice it to say that not all depression is from a spirit, but in the case of Saul it was.
Now it may seem troubling that God would do such a thing. We see in the Book of Job, that God allowed Satan to torment Job. We also see from a story in 1 Kings 22 about a prophet named Micaiah who propehsies against King Ahab.
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah and Ahab, king of Israel were wanting to take land back from Aram and they sought the advice of the prophets. All of Ahab’s prophets prophesied that they would be successful in this endeavor, but Jehoshaphat was a godly king and asked “is there not also a prophet of the Lord here?” (Verse 7). They went and found Micaiah and he sarcastically told them “Yes, go up and be victorious, for the LORD will give the king victory! (Verse 15). The king gets upset and finally Micaiah tells the truth that they would not succeed if they go to battle with Aram. Miciah tells Ahab that a meeting took place in the heavenly court and the Lord asked who can go and entice Ahab to go into battle against Ramoth-Gilead so he can be killed.” (Verse 19). There was a spirit who approached the LORD and told him that he could do it and the LORD sent him on his way.
In this we see that God has even control of the spirits and that all things are under His control.
Don’t go feeling sorry for ole King Ahab, you must remember he had it coming. This was not a good man.
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and are following Him, there is no need to fear that the Lord would remove His Spirit or send a tormenting one. He doesn’t do that to those He calls His own.
1 Samuel 16:15–17 “Some of Saul’s servants said to him, “A tormenting spirit from God is troubling you. Let us find a good musician to play the harp whenever the tormenting spirit troubles you. He will play soothing music, and you will soon be well again.” “All right,” Saul said. “Find me someone who plays well, and bring him here.””
It is quite interesting and some Bible commentators have pointed out that Saul’s servants seemed to know things that he didn’t.
They recommended some music.
Music, in fact does have a way of calming a person. Music can stir all kinds of emotions. It can be some pretty powerful medicine. It has the ability to make one sad; make one excited; or make one happy. There are lots of kinds of music, but all of it is not good medicine. Music that glorifies God is music that soothes the soul!
I challenge people today to give it a shot, put down the secular music for a season and listen to some good ole Gospel or Contemporary Christian or Southern Gospel. See if it doesn’t change your attitude!
1 Samuel 16:18 “One of the servants said to Saul, “One of Jesse’s sons from Bethlehem is a talented harp player. Not only that—he is a brave warrior, a man of war, and has good judgment. He is also a fine-looking young man, and the Lord is with him.””
Well look right here! One of the servants in King Saul’s court knew about this guy who just a short-time ago was a nobody tending his father’s sheep. His daddy didn’t even think to invite him to the dinner with the prophet.
There are people who know all about you — I hope its all good!
Look what they said about young David: He was a talented harp player. He was a brave warrior, a man of war and had good judgement.
How is it possible for them to know all that? He hadn’t even faced the giant, Goliath yet. Somehow word got out.
David wasn’t trying to make a name for himself, he was just carrying on doing his thing, killing lions and bears that tried to attack his daddy’s business. He was just someone who knew something about praising and worshipping the Almighty and word got around.
If you fall in love with Jesus and live for Him, you won’t have to take out an ad on a billboard, word will get around.
1 Samuel 16:19–20 “So Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, “Send me your son David, the shepherd.” Jesse responded by sending David to Saul, along with a young goat, a donkey loaded with bread, and a wineskin full of wine.”
It is not like Jesse had any choice in the matter. When the king comes calling, you must comply with his wishes. Jesse not only responds but send gifts along with David.
It must have been quite the honor for Jesse to send his son off to serve the king.
1 Samuel 16:21 “So David went to Saul and began serving him. Saul loved David very much, and David became his armor bearer.”
This whole passage just makes me think about God’s providence.
God sent Samuel to anoint David as the king but David didn’t know anything about being a king.
God orchestrated a plan that may seem elaborate to us, but it wasn’t to Him.
He arranged for David to get an education at the feet of the reigning king. Though Saul disobeyed God, there were many redeeming characteristics that would be helpful to David.
I for one and so thankful for the training that I have recieved from those who are over me in the Lord. I have had access to places and people that I could not have gained on my own.
God sometimes puts people in places that they may not like at first, but it is completely necessary. Because you cannot grown if you do not spend time in God’s incubation chamber.
I will share with you what the Holy Spirit has shared with me: “Don’t despise small beginnings,” and “Don’t despise the training ground.”
Take this lesson from the lighthouse. There are steps that lead up, and you cannot take them all at once. You have to take them one step at a time. Don’t try to be in tommorrow today, you’ll be there tomorrow.
Are you complaining about the place you find yourself or are you looking and seeing what God is doing in this season?
1 Samuel 16:22–23 “Then Saul sent word to Jesse asking, “Please let David remain in my service, for I am very pleased with him.” And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away.”
David went and served in the court of the king and did a great job.
He did this because that is what he did. He worked knowing that what he did was pleasing to the king.
If he pleased the king, it pleased God. Pleasing God should be our focus.
If we do that, it will be well with us.
When we look at the life of David, we see the Lord was guiding his life. Even though there was a season of serving a king who had lost his connection with God, God was still in control.
Let us be mindful today, no matter where we find ourselves that God is always in control!
Will you stand with me please?
Will you stand with me please?
As we close out today’s service I want to give you an opportunity to respond.
The first response one needs to make is to surrender your life to Jesus. He is drawing people to him today. This is not something that should be put off any longer. Let’s pray together:
Lord, I surrender today.
I admit that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. I need you.
I beleive that Jesus was born and lived a sinless life, he died taking my sin to the grave. He was buried and raised to life on the third day.
I confess that you as Lord and Savior and will follow you from now on.
Come and fill me with your Holy Spirit, in Jesus Name!
Here’s the other part of the altar call today:
The altar is a place where God wants to meet you.
Do you need to get things right with Him, or confess a sin? Come and talk with Him.
Do you need God to give you guidance and direction? Come and talk with Him.
Do you just need to praise Him for all He’s done for you? Come and talk with Him.
The Blessing
Numbers 6:24–26“‘May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’”