Living A Lie

1 Samuel 27:10-12 “Then Achish would say, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David would say, “Against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of the Jerahmeelites, or against the southern area of the Kenites.” David would save neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, “Lest they should inform on us, saying, ‘Thus David did.’” And thus was his behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines. So Achish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever.”

A motto to live by: "You don't have to remember what you've said if you've told the truth."

Everybody has told a lie at one time or another in their lifetime. Lying starts at around age 4 to 5 when children gain an awareness of the use and power of language.  This first lying is not malicious, but rather to find out, or test, what can manipulated in a child’s environment. Eventually children begin to use lying to get out of trouble or get something they want. White lies, those concocted to protect someone’s feelings, are not a big deal at all to them or to many adults for that matter. 

Liars usually are lumped into two categories. A pathological liar is a person who seems to feel compelled to lie about both the small and large stuff. They lie to protect themselves, look good, gain financially or socially and to avoid punishment.  Quite often the person who has been deceived knows that this type of liar has to a certain extent deluded him or herself and is therefore to be somewhat pitied. A sociopath is a part of a much more troubling group who knowingly lie a lot for personal gain. These people may have a diagnosis called antisocial personality disorder and often get into scrapes with the law. Lying often gets worse with the passage of time. When you get away with a lie it often impels you to continue your deceptions. Also, liars often find themselves perpetrating more untruths to cover themselves. 

Why do we dislike liars, especially sociopaths, so much? It’s a matter of trust.  When a person lies, they have broken a bond, an unspoken agreement to treat others as we would like to be treated.  Serious deception often makes it impossible for us to trust another person again. Because the issue of trust is on the line, coming clean about the lie as soon as possible is the best way to mend fences.  If the truth only comes out once it is forced, repair of trust is far less likely.

You wouldn’t think that David could go any lower or get any farther from God, but he does. He begins to use lying as the means to cover his tracks and justify his behavior.

(1) He lied to gain the enemy’s favor.

When Achish would ask of David the territory he had raided on that particular day David would answer, “Against the southern area of Judah.” David didn’t lie to Achish because he was ashamed of what he did. He lied to gain favor with Achish. He knew that this Philistine leader would be pleased to hear that David raided his own people of Israel.

 

(2) He covered his lie by taking no prisoners.

David would save neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath and tell the truth to Achish about his raids. In his raids, David killed all the men and the women, so his lie to Achish would not be exposed.

 

Much later in his life, David has a far more notorious season of sin with Bathsheba, and ends up killing Bathsheba’s husband Uriah to cover his sin. Though that later event is far more famous, the root of sin that nourished it began way back in 1 Samuel 27. Here, many years before David killed Uriah to cover his sin, he kills these men and women in his raids to cover his sin. The roots of sin must be dealt with or they come back with greater strength.

 

(3) His lies accomplished what he desired at the time-a place of escape.

The Bible says, “So Achish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever.” Achish felt he was in a good place. David was trapped in a web, and Achish was the spider. Achish believed that David had burned all his bridges with the people of God. On the other hand, David felt that he had found a place of escape from reality by living in this fantasy world that he had created. As long as Achish felt David was no threat to him, David could hide away from the reality that was life. However, no matter how fall he had fallen David had not - and could not - burn his bridge with God.

 

(4) However, a lie will come home to roost.

1 Samuel 28:1, 2 “Now it happened in those days that the Philistines gathered their armies together for war, to fight with Israel. And Achish said to David, “You assuredly know that you will go out with me to battle, you and your men.” And David said to Achish, “Surely you know what your servant can do.” And Achish said to David, “Therefore I will make you one of my chief guardians forever.”

 

Achish said to David, “You assuredly know that you will go out with me to battle, you and your men.” David had lied to Achish, telling him that he raided the people of Israel. But now, David is forced to live the lie he gave to Achish. David said to Achish, “Surely you know what your servant can do.” Here, David seems completely surrendered to the ungodly Achish. He will fight for the Philistines, against Israel! We might wish that David was really operating as a “double agent,” and he planned to turn on the Philistines in the midst of battle. But the text gives us no reason for such an optimistic perspective. David has come to a very low place.

 

(5) We all have to face the truth about our spiritual condition.

I want to remind you again to remember the roots of David’s condition. It was when he experienced a genuine crisis of faith that he turned away from God and back to himself. When David started trusting more in what he said in his heart than in what God said to him is when he turned to the dark side. David really believed that living a lie made him safer with the world than he was with God.

 

To some degree, most every Christian at some point has almost been where David is at in this back sliding state. We can understand what David is doing and even attempt to justify it; but it is still wrong and very dangerous.

 

Could this really be the man after God’s own heart? 

Being a man or a woman after God’s own heart doesn’t mean that you will never sin, do wrong, or make a mistake. It does mean that when you do sin, you come to see it, deal with it and then move on. The Bible is honest enough to show is that even its heroes did not go just from one level of glory to the next. But this account of David was given for our instruction, so that we might avoid some of the traps he fell into.

 

God did not bless David where he was at this time in his life. However, because of His mercy, God didn’t take away David’s calling or destiny to be the next king of Israel. God gave to David some of the same mercy that David showed to Saul.

 

If you lie all the time, even about unimportant things, you are likely to have a problem that will eventually, if it hasn’t already, cause you real relationship, financial or legal troubles. Figuring out what is driving you to lie in the first place will help heal this self-destructive behavior. You can’t live a lie and be happy, but the Truth (Jesus) can and will set you free.

Becoming Your Own Worst Enemy

1 Samuel 27:5-7 “Then David said to Achish, “If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?” So Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. Now the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months.”

You are your own worst enemy. Not the devil, not your mother in law or your neighbor down the street. The only individual who can control things like anger, lust, hatred, greed, sloth, envy, gluttony and pride is you. Only you can make decisions that either benefit you spiritually or lead to your downfall. The devil can try and try all he wants, temptation after temptation, but you can deny it all. 

You can blame people and circumstances for influencing your decisions, but you have the power to say yes and no to anything that can compromise you spiritually. It is the lack of exercising that power that causes your own spiritual demise. It is when you give in to these and other pitfalls, that you become your own worst enemy. 

James 4:7 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

1 Peter 5:9, 10 “Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”

David became his own worst enemy because of three factors in his life. These experiences caused things to unravel all around him.

David said to Achish, “If I have now found favor in your eyes.” When did David care about finding favor in the eyes of a Philistine ruler? What a change in David! David then said, “Let them give me a place that I may dwell there”.  In David’s mind, this isn’t just a visit to the Philistines. He may say to himself that he will someday return to Israel, but he isn’t planning on a short stay among the ungodly. He wants to dwell there, and he did for one full year and four months. David also said, “Why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?” Why did David want his own city? Because he needed freedom to operate his own independent policy without being observed too closely. The Bible says, “So Achish gave him Ziklag that day.” Now David, his 600 men and their families lived in a completely new situation. They lived in a fortified city, a formal place of defense. No more finding refuge in the wilderness, but apart from God, they aren’t safer in the city.

 

Verses 8, 9 tell us “And David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt. Whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish.”

 

David and his men went up and raided: The Hebrew word raided comes from the verb to strip, with especially the idea of stripping the dead for loot. David would attack these villages or encampments, kill some of the men, strip their bodies for treasure or armor, and rob the people of the village or encampment. Is this a way of life for a man after God’s own heart? David hasn’t totally turned against God and His people. For now, he only attacks the enemies of Israel. This probably gave David some comfort, but it is a small consolation to know that you aren’t as bad as you possibly could be. Even though he is attacking the enemies of Israel, David is nothing more than an armed robber and a murderer. He kills all the people of the village or encampment he attacks, takes all the spoil, and does all of this without the approval or guidance of God. He now fights wars for profit instead of God’s honor.

 

How do you stop yourself before you become your own worst enemy? 

Make sure somebody’s at home!

Matthew 12:43-45 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

Don’t listen to what everybody says is right-know what is right!

Ephesians 5:6 “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”

-Let what would Jesus do be your life’s philosophy!

Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”

A False Sense of Hope

1 Samuel 27:2-4 “Then David arose and went over with the six hundred men who were with him to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow. And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more.”

Loneliness is not the same thing as being alone. Many people have times when they are alone through circumstances or choice. Being alone can be experienced as positive, pleasurable, and emotionally refreshing if it is under the individual's control. Solitude is the state of being alone and secluded from other people, and often implies the individual having made a conscious choice to be alone. 

However, loneliness does not require aloneness and is often experienced even in crowded places. It can be described as the absence of identification, understanding or compassion. To experience loneliness is to feel overwhelmed by an unbearable feeling of separateness at a profound level. This can manifest in feelings of abandonment, rejection, depression, insecurity, anxiety, hopelessness, unworthiness, meaninglessness, and resentment. 

If these feelings are prolonged they may become debilitating and prevent the affected individual from developing healthy relationships and lifestyles. If the individual is convinced he or she is unlovable, this will increase the experience of suffering and the likelihood of avoiding social contact. Many are victims to low self-esteem, which will often trigger the social disconnection which can lead to loneliness.

Loneliness can be summarized as falling into these categories:

-Situational or circumstantial loneliness is created by the loss of a relationship, a move to a new city, or an abrupt change in life.

-Developmental loneliness is the need for intimacy balanced by the need for individualism.

-Internal loneliness, which David himself felt, often includes feelings of low self-esteem and vulnerability.

Loneliness can evoke feelings that 'everyone else' has friends, and that one is socially inadequate or socially unskilled. A lonely person may become convinced there is something wrong with him or her, and that no one understands his or her situation. Such a person will lose confidence and will become reluctant to attempt to change or become too scared to try new things for fear of further social rejection. In extreme cases, a person may feel a sense of emptiness, which may become a state of clinical depression. Loneliness can also cause people to create a false sense of hope.

We see through the heart of David what loneliness and fear can do to good people who find themselves in a serious situation. David allowed fear to blind his vision of God and block God’s blessing on his life. It was that fear and loneliness that led him into the enemies’ territory and caused him to develop a false sense of hope concerning himself and those he had influence over. 

When we develop a false sense of hope we often put our own lives at risk because a state of loneliness becomes our companion. Loneliness places confusion at the forefront of our minds. It causes us to make decisions that we would never make if we felt contentment in our lives, but it can also create the illusion that we are better off if we don’t let anyone into our personal space. Loneliness creates the atmosphere that my decisions only affect my life and no one else will be affected by what I do.  Loneliness manifests a void that causes irrational decisions based on the belief I’m okay even though there is emptiness inside.

David would have never dreamed of living in the enemy’s territory before. It was only after he had sunk into his pit of discouragement and despair that he made such a drastic move that almost cost him everything.

 

A false sense of hope begins just as it did with David when we began to reason our destiny rather than trust in the Lord.

Psalm 38:19 “Many are those who are my vigorous enemies; those who hate me without reason are numerous.”

You can develop a victim’s mentality. David did by thinking he could never escape the pursuit of Saul within his heart. You can allow your imagination to run rampart. Again, David did by allowing his fears and frustration separate him from the bigger picture of what God had in store for his life. You can permit little things to become large things. What was destiny in the hands of God for David became an insurmountable mountain for David. Only by going to the side of the enemy did David think he would find relief.

 

A false sense of hope can put many lives in jeopardy.

David arose and went over with the six hundred men that served him. David’s discouraged and despairing heart didn’t just affect his life but also these six hundred men. They were lead out of the land of promise and over to live with the ungodly. David’s defection to the Philistines touched even more than the six hundred men. It also touched all of their families because they went with them. It directly touched David’s household also, because Ahinoam and Abigail were with him. Many times we get out of God’s will and miss his direction because we think we know better. The next time you are tempted to listen to your own voice rather than the voice of God remember how many others could be affected by your decision. 

 

A false sense of security causes you to forget your first encounter with the enemy.

1 Samuel 21:10-15 tells us that David had briefly gone over to Achish of the Philistines, believing there might be a place of refuge for him there. God allowed that experience to quickly turn sour and David pretended to be a madman so he could escape. In his discouragement and despair, built upon what David said in his heart, David will go down a road of sin he has been down before. This time though his false sense of security has convinced him it’s alright to do what you have to do to survive.

 

Why does Achish receive him this time, when he would not in 1 Samuel 21:10-15?  First, it is clear now when it wasn’t clear before that David and Achish both share the same enemy, Saul. Secondly, now David brings with him 600 fighting men, whom Achish can use as mercenaries.

 

A false sense of hope causes you to flee from one enemy into the camp of another with both results being disastrous!

The Bible said that “it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more.” 

David accomplished his immediate goal, because now Saul has stopped pursuing him. But now David is in a place of compromise that will leave him worse off than before. He is actually submitting to a Philistine master. When did selling out to one enemy become the easy way to get out of danger from another? One enemy is just as bad as the other. However, when you are convinced in your mind what you are doing is right, personal reasoning often overpowers the plan of God for your life.

 

(6) What happened when David’s experience brought him this false sense of hope?

He lost the anointing of God. We have no record of any Psalms that David wrote during this time. There is very little mention over this time period of David’s life that indicates he communicated with God or heard his voice speak to him. His safety became more important than God’s Will. David left Israel and went among the ungodly because he badly needed a sense of security from Saul’s unrelenting attacks. But where was David more secure-in Israel and in God’s will, or among the Philistines and out of God’s will?  David lost for the time being the clear vision of God which had made him strong against Goliath and the Philistines in the past. It was that vision that enabled him to take out the lion and the bear while shepherding his sheep. Without it, he developed a false sense of security by justifying what was wrong as right for his own sake.

What do we learn from this? It’s pretty simple. It’s easy to be lulled to sleep by the enemy and become convinced that your own judgment is greater than the Lord’s in many areas of your life. 

 

Heart Trouble

1 Samuel 27:1 “And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.” 

When it became all too apparent that Saul was sooner or later going to kill him if he remained within reach, David chose to flee into the land of the Philistines and joined with the Philistine leader Achish. David’s decision was based on what he said in his heart.

“And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.”

 

The sad story of 1 Samuel 27 begins with something David said in his heart. He may have never said it out loud or to anyone else. In fact he may have never said it to God, but David said it to himself in his heart. What we say in our heart has a tremendous power to shape our thinking, our actions, even our whole destiny.

Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

 

If someone says in their heart, “God doesn’t care about me,” it will make a difference in their life. If someone says in their heart, “I deserve better than this,” it will make a difference in their life. If someone says in their heart, “I come before others,” it will make a difference in their life. By the same principle, if someone says in their heart, “God loves me and I don’t have to earn His love,” it will make a difference. If they say in their heart, “I am grateful for every blessing I have,” it will make a difference. If someone says, “Others come first,” it will make difference in their life. What we say in our heart has great power for good or evil, for blessing or cursing.

David suffered a spiritual heart attack. He allowed discouragement and despair to enter his heart and completely block out the spirit and power of God. Those two emotions turned his faith from God to himself and the beginning of a very critical time in David’s life.

 

What did David say in his heart that caused him to suffer this heart attack? 

(1) “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul.” 

That was a word of discouragement, coming from a heart that was tired of trusting God for His continued deliverance. God had protected David so many times before, so why wouldn’t He continue to protect him from the hand of Saul? However, in his discouragement, David forgets God’s past deliverance and begins to plot his own course.

 

(2) “There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines.”

David is actually telling himself to leave the land of Israel and go live among the idol worshipping Philistines. In this, David tells himself to do what he feared in 1 Samuel 26:19: “For they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.” 

This temptation, these words in David’s heart, had been working their way in for quite a while. Now, David considers something he would have never considered before which was leaving the land of God’s people, the land of promise, and to go and live among the Philistines.

 

(3) “Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.”

Beforehand David trusted in the Lord to protect him from the hand of Saul. Now, David gives up trusting in the Lord, listens to his heart, and decides to leave the land of promise, the people of God, and find “protection” among the Philistines, who were his enemies.

 

David’s decision did not affect Saul. Is Saul going to despair because David leaves the land of promise? Will Saul despair if David forsakes the people of God and joins the ungodly? No, Saul will rejoice because he has forced him out of the country! It is David who is in despair and that despair will lead him down a path only desperate people take.

 

David is at a place that many find themselves at some point in their lives. He says, “I give up. I can’t take this anymore. I am tired of fighting this battle over and over. The stress of trusting God is too much, and I have to find protection somewhere else.” 

 

Saul could never drive David to the Philistines. In fact, if Saul were to tell David, “You must leave the people of God and go live among the Philistines,” David would never ever bow to it. But discouragement and despair are more powerful enemies than even Saul was. Discouragement and despair will drive David to do something that Saul could never make him do.

 

All of these are reasons to deal with what we say in our hearts, to deal with discouragement and despair instead of simply ignoring them. When we don’t try to deal with them, they can build up a wedge between us and God and drive us to far worse places than we ever thought possible.

 

It was at this point, that David looked only at Saul as an obstacle and not at God as a solution. David listened to himself, to what he was saying in his heart, and not to God. Remember, this will always end in trouble.

When your heart’s not working right bad things can happen!

(1) We question God on why our enemies prosper and we struggle!

Psalm 73:3-5 “For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pangs in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men.”

I had supper with a man one time who mentioned that something was really bothering him. "I really don't have a problem with the fact that sometimes bad things happen to good people. I understand that God gives man free will and that sometimes those choices, even good ones, have bad results. I'm actually OK with that." "Then what is bothering you?" I asked. "Well, I don't understand why good things seem to always happen to bad people. Why do criminals get away with crimes? Why do corrupt politicians have their sins exposed and yet see their popularity rise?" He continued on with this final thought by saying, "And why is it that an atheist famous for calling Christians a bunch of losers is allowed to accumulate fame and wealth beyond imagination? Why has he been so blessed?" "Well, let's see," I began. "You know this man is an atheist that has had several marriages break up?" He nodded. "So here is a man with a miserable family life and unless he changes his views on Jesus Christ will never see heaven. And you call him blessed?" I continued. "Let me ask you something. Despite his fame and riches, would you trade places with this man?" "No way, not even for a second," he replied. 

We must remember that we will all give an account some day. There’s no one that will escape the final judgment of God. We don’t understand everything about life that we want to, but when it seems we are always struggling and the wicked are prospering the devil will do all he can to invade and destroy our faith. That’s when we must refuse to let our heart fail us because we are trusting in a God that will make things right one day and is in total control of our destiny.

(2) We want to challenge God on every direction He places in our life!

Proverbs 21:1-3 “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the hearts. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.” 
      

When our priorities get all out of sorts with God, we start listening to the wrong voices and go in the wrong direction. Jesus spoke of this in

Matthew 6:21 when he said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

We cannot let our hearts fail us in this hour-the end of days is at hand!

Psalm 112:6-8 “Surely he will never be shaken; the righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established; He will not be afraid, until he sees his desire upon his enemies.” 

Many people have a destiny that is yet to be fulfilled. They have seemingly fought the same enemy over and over and have become emotionally and spiritually exhausted due to the heat of the battle. Yet when you have gone as far as you can go you must never allow your heart to be turned by the enemy. A righteous person will refuse to listen to their own words of defeat when they know they are trusting in the promises of God. So what should we do when our heart begins to attack our spirit and our faith?

(1) We must remember that our hearts must be steadfast and not filled with fear! 

Isaiah 35:4 “Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.”

(2) We must also believe that our hearts are established in trusting in the Lord no matter what! 

Psalm 27:3 “Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident.” 

         

A Man That Could Play Well

1 Samuel 16:14-17  "But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, 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 thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me."

Some of the most difficult passages in scripture are those that show God using the devil or evil spirits for His purpose. We know that God is not the cause of wickedness, so it goes against our understanding to think of Him sending evil spirits hither and yon to do His bidding. Yet, we examine scripture and there they are. Let us see if we can make sense of this biblical teaching.

-First, we must understand that God is not the source of wickedness. The "evil" He creates in Isaiah 45:7 refers to bad things like earthquakes and floods, not to sin or wicked acts.

"I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things."

The Bible teaches that sin originates from the devil in 1 John 3:8:

"He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. "


-Second, though God is not the source of wickedness, He often uses the wicked to perform His own purpose. 

Psalm 76:10 "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain." 
Here we learn that God will take man's wrath toward Him and turn it into praise. That wrath which is not to be turned into God's praise will be restrained.

But how can God use the devil and evil spirits to do His bidding? 

-On one hand, God is clearly the cause of death. 

Deuteronomy 32:39 "See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand." 

Certainly, God is in charge of taking life.

However, on the other hand, Hebrews 2:14 says, "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil..."


Christ came to die on the cross that He might "destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." The next verse say that the devil holds the lost in bondage through the fear of death. But the problem is clear. If God is in charge of death, how can the devil have the power of death? The answer explains a lot about how God uses the world of the wicked to do His bidding.

a. The devil by nature is a murderer  according to John 8:44. His rebellion against God changed his character and has made him a force that naturally kills and destroys all that comes under his power. 

b. In Revelation 9:11 he is called Abaddon and Apollyon. Both names mean Destroyer. 

c. Paul understands that someone may be delivered "unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh" in 1 Corinthians 5:5.

d. When God turns Job over to Satan the second time, He states, "Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life" in Job 2:6. If God had allowed him to do so, Satan would have killed Job. Earlier in the story, God did allow Satan to kill the sons and daughters of Job (Job 1:18-19).

So, who killed the children of Job? You say, Satan. But even this is not so easy. After they were killed, Job said, "the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" in Job 1:21.


He gave God the credit for taking his children (also the cattle and other possessions). And, if we reflect on it, we can see that both are true. Satan killed Job's children but God was responsible for allowing them to be killed. He took them away.

So, what about the sending of evil spirits by the Lord? This may be more common in scripture than you think. 

Psalm 78:49 "He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them." 

Judges 9:23 "Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech..."


1 Kings 22:22 "And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persude him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so." 


God sent a "lying spirit" in the mouth of the false prophets to send Ahab to his death. 

In my text tonight God removed His Spirit from the disobedient Saul. This opened the door for an evil spirit to come and torment Saul. Though in this passage, it is only the servants of Saul that said the evil spirit was from the Lord, in other passages what we see in the rest of Saul's life follows a pattern. When God removes His protective hand, he often turns the person over to Satan for destruction or to an evil spirit for torment. The devil and the evil spirits do the work, but God has allowed them to do what come natural to them for His own purpose. I know that some will have trouble with this concept, but it is thoroughly established in scripture. God does not commit wickedness, but He uses the wicked for His purpose. In the end, God will have His glory. How much better it is for us to submit to Him and obey Him willingly.

-A man that could play well.

Verses 16-18 "Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, 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 thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that 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."

Three things happen here in these verses.

-First, as I have already mentioned, the servants of Saul recognized his troubles came from an evil spirit allowed by God to torment him.

-Second they knew only one source of comfort and that was the anointed power of spiritual songs.

-Third, they knew just the right man for the job-a man who could play well and was very versatile in many areas- David. 

Verse 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."

David was a man who played well.

-His music was so anointed that it caused the evil spirit to stop tormenting Saul.

-His playing was so refined that he never missed a note.

-His life was marked by the music he played, sang, and wrote.

-Nothing about his life was ordinary because he was a man after God's own heart.

God is still looking for warriors who can play well.

-Those that are prayed up.

-Those that are prepared.

-Those that are pliable to the Master's touch.

A 63 Word Prayer That Changed A Nation-Part 3

When we exercise our faith in God and take our stand we will see God come through for us. The reason we don't see this kind of miraculous display of the power of God can be attributed to two great failures on the part of God's people. First, many fail to separate themselves from the world and from the apostasy that surrounds them and God cannot bless. Secondly, many refuse to exercise their faith in God and God doesn't move in response to doubt.

I want you to know today that when you as an individual and we as a church body reach the place where we are willing to stand for the Lord alone and we are willing to exercise our faith in Him, then God will not leave us hanging out there to flap in the wind. When we take our stand for Him, He will take His stand with us. If you don't believe me, just try it and see.

Verse 39

We will have to give these people credit. They said they would honor the God who answered by fire and when He did, they did. He answered the prophet by fire in their very presence. There was no denying the reality of what they had seen. After this moment, it wasn't just some stories about God told by gray-haired men, it was reality. They had seen it and they responded to it.

There is no other way to know God than to experience Him in a personal way. When men meet the Lord they are changed. When they just go about some religious form they are led and motivated by the flesh. Meeting God will change you forever. You will be different and the Lord will bless the difference.

When Israel sees the Lord move in such a miraculous manner, they fall on their faces before Him in genuine humility. This signaled a desire on their part to worship and honor the Lord God of Heaven. This is the greatest indicator of change. They are singling God out as the sole object of their worship.

When we come to the place where we are willing to separate ourselves from all the other gods that compete for our attention and yield to the God of Heaven, then we will find ourselves drawn to Him in true, heartfelt worship. Nothing in this world is more precious than a heart that is aflame with love for the Lord and a heart that burns with a desire to see God glorified, whatever the cost. The last sound the Baal prophets and priests heard as they were being led away to their deaths was the sound of the people of God shouting praises to their Lord.

Nothing in this world is quiet so liberating as finding yourself focused on God and on Him alone. When He has your attention, your affection and your allegiance, He will be satisfied and so will you. Nothing liberates the saint more than knowing you are in a place in your walk with the Lord that pleases Him and that there is nothing between you and God. When you get there, God can and will bless you with gladness of heart and joy of soul. 

A 63 Word Prayer That Changed A Nation-Part 2

Verses 25-38 

All day long the prophets of Baal prayed and cried out to their god, but there was no response. Elijah mocked them and this sent them into a frenzy. When the smoke had cleared and the dust had settled, Baal was still as dead as he had ever been and they stood humiliated and defeated before the lone prophet of God.

This will be the experience of every person who attempts to follow the false gods of religion and of this world. They are all dead and can do nothing for those who cry out to them. I am sure that many who are caught in this trap feel that they are right and that men who cry out for change and separation are fanatics and are people to be pitied. However, I would like to remind anyone who feels that they can hook up God with worldliness that they are doomed to failure, no matter how right they think they are. 

When this thing is over and the dust of this life has settled, God will still be God and His way and His Word will still be right and everything else will still be wrong. 

After the prophets of Baal had finished with their rituals, Elijah stepped forward. Looking at what he did is very interesting. 

First, he repaired the altar of God.

Then, he chose 12 stones to remind Israel that they were one nation in the eyes of God.

Then he had 12 barrels of water poured over the sacrifice and the wood and the altar. He did this final thing to remove all doubts as to who was to get the glory for that which was about to happen. Then, He stepped forth and prayed a simple 63 word prayer and the fire of God fell from Heaven and consumed every part of the sacrifice, the altar, the water in the trench and even the dust round about. God answered in a spectacular display of power in response to the faith of His servant.

It takes faith to be an Elijah. He had already see God do the miraculous. He knew that this little thing was nothing for the Lord. He was willing to put his life on the line because he believed that he served a God who moves in response to His people's prayers. We need that same faith tonight if we are to take our stand with the Lord and do what He leads us to do. We need to exercise faith in the Lord God of Heaven. God responded to the cry of His servant and gave Elijah just what he asked God to do.

The liberal crowd can attribute this event to anything they would like. When all is said and done, the fact is that God honored faith that honored Him. Elijah stepped forward and said, "My God can!" God always responds to that kind of faith!