“Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. Saul’s attendants said to him, ‘See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you.'”-1 Samuel 16:14-15
If you ever want to know what happens when the Holy Spirit departs from someone, take a good look at Saul.
He became gloomy, depressed, and prone to fits of irrational anger.
Interestingly, Saul didn’t realize the connection between how he felt and the fact the Lord was no longer with him.
This shouldn’t surprise us because even when the Holy Spirit was with Saul, he never really understood how to connect with God in his actions and decisions.
So it shouldn’t be a shock that Saul couldn’t put two and two together concerning his feelings of agitation and God’s presence being gone.
Sadly, whether Saul understood it or not, it didn’t matter anymore.
His future, both on Earth and in eternity, was already decided.
He was no longer in God’s good book and would be cut off from the Lord forever.
This is terrifying and something I hope never happens to any of us.
Saul may have still been physically alive, but he might as well have been dead.
Come to think of it, his life had already ended.
Because what hope does a man have in this life or the next without God?
The answer is nothing.
That person is a walking dead person.
Now, I started this post by saying look at Saul if you want a good example of someone operating without the Lord in one’s life.
However, there’s another perfect example.
How about the Godless world we find ourselves in today?
A world that worships money, sex, and hollow achievements, things that from an eternal perspective mean less than nothing.
Unfortunately, for Saul, it was tragically over.
God had departed from him and would never return.
But for those for whom it’s not too late, who still have hope, and who desire to be with God…
For those who are walking in the flesh, who struggle with the temptations of the world, but who sincerely want to break free from the chains of sin that bind them…
There are lessons to be learned from Saul’s tragic life.
First, recognize the signs you’re still walking in the flesh.
Addiction can be one of the signs you’re under the influence of an evil spirit.
If you regularly depend on alcohol, drugs, and/or pornography for your entertainment or to escape from feelings of depression or drudgery, this is a sign you’re not walking in the Spirit.
But it’s not just addiction to external substances that reveals the state of your mind and soul.
Take a good and hard look at your values.
What is the most important thing in your life?
Do you have a mad desire to get rich?
Is money the incessant focus of your life?
Or is sexual pleasure the number one priority in your life?
Speaking to guys here, if the desire to bang hot chicks left and right consumes your thoughts all the time, you’ve turned the pleasure of orgasm into an idol my friend.
Or maybe social approval or societal status is the number one thing in your life.
Having that nice sexy title at some big corporation.
Being able to say you’re a rich and successful business owner (God, I swear it’s comical how fragile their ridiculous egos are).
Being able to boast you’re earning a certain amount of money every month and harboring that egotistic inner satisfaction that it’s more than the guy sitting next to you.
Heck, even family can be turned into an idol.
I believe that’s the REAL reason why a lot of people get married and have kids in the first place.
So they can show off their kids at church and other social events.
Those marriages never last long anyway (take a look at the over 50% divorce rate), or if they do last, trust me, they’re MISERABLE marriages despite the superficial stuff they throw up on Facebook showcasing to the world how happy and blissful they are.
Don’t get me wrong.
There ain’t nothing wrong with wealth (even big wealth), sex (even with multiple wives), family, or ticking off all the boxes that society says you have to tick off to be considered a normal or respectable person.
Intrinsically, there ain’t nothing wrong with those things.
The question is where is your focus?
What are you betting your soul on?
Because if it ain’t God, your Creator, you’re walking on the same path as Saul, which is the path to eternal destruction.
Speaking of some modern examples, take a look at Robin Williams.
Despite all his worldly status, wealth, and success, he struggled with depression and anxiety and ended up hanging himself on August 11th, 2014.
Or how about David Caradine, the star of Tarantino’s Kill Bill series?
His naked body was found dead with a belt tied around his neck in a hotel room in Thailand.
It wasn’t suicide.
In the pursuit of orgasmic sexual pleasure, he engaged in some bizarre sexual act that led to death by “autoerotic asphyxiation” according to the coroner’s report.
Now, I ain’t saying these men were the equivalent of modern-day Sauls.
But would the outcome of their lives have been different if they had been men who were born again and fully surrendered to the Holy Spirit in their lives?
I venture to say yes.
Ya feel me here homies?
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“So I say, walk by the Spirit,
and you will not gratify
the desires of the flesh.”
-Galatians 5:16
“For what shall it profit a man,
if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul?”
-Mark 8:36
“For the love of money
is the root of all evil:
which while some coveted after,
they have erred from the faith,
and pierced themselves through
with many sorrows.”
-1 Timothy 6:10
“So do not worry, saying,
‘What shall we eat?’ or
‘What shall we drink?’ or
‘What shall we wear?’
For the Gentiles run after
all these things, and your
heavenly Father knows
that you need them.
But seek first his kingdom
and his righteousness,
and all these things will
be given to you as well.
Therefore do not worry
about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will worry
about itself. Each day
has enough trouble
of its own.”
-Matthew 6:31-34
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