Games That Fools Play | Part 2

Being sold as a cautionary tale of what happens to those who would start all José could happen to me if it happened so they could have what we need to do. We need to get clean and stay that we need to wake up every morning and look into the face of James. We need to put our knees on the floor face when it open our hearts to the Lord say Lord King Lord gardening welcome to love. I just heard from pastor teacher and author Adrian Rogers. No man in Scripture ever had a brighter beginning nor the Saturn and King Saul anyone of us could become like so dared play the games tools. He was given golden opportunities. Yet despite being set up for success. He started down the road of self-destruction and became quite the fool. If you have your Bible turn to first Samuel chapter 26 is Adrian Rogers begins part two of games tools play no man ever got better start King Saul and no man ever had a satyr finish. King Saul when we first meet King Saul and the Bible is a young man. He's handsome is when some discourteous he's humble. He's thoughtful.

But as we continue through the Bible, we find him as he becomes a better MVS murderous wicked old man. What a strange man is Saul, would you better listen carefully because the thing that happened to Saul could happen to any man, woman, boy or girl here tonight who names the name of Jesus. Saul started down the road that ended in self-destruction. I want you to notice the five steps that he took the first step is what I call self determination what was assaulted wasn't all that bad is matter.

Practice sounds pretty good. He was offering sacrifices to God he was he was praising God. He was worshiping God. But here's what was doing ladies and gentlemen. He was running ahead of God. He was acting myself will he was acting by self-determination not only his self-determination but his stubborn disobedience because a self-willed man not only runs ahead of God. But after a while he starts going in the opposite direction from God, and I want you to turn the first Samuel chapter 15 for just a moment and looked in verse two bus at the Lord of host.

I remember that which Amalek did.

Israel how he did wait for him in the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek and destroy all have, and spare not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. This was God's commandment to Saul God said to Saul, I will utterly destroy them. Well let's see what sold it for Samuel chapter 15 look in verse 20. Saul said to Samuel J, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord and have gone the way which the Lord sent me and I brought a gag, the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed them. What kinds but the people took the spoil sheep and oxen. The chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed the sacrifice of the Lord thy God, and Gil go and Samuel said that the Lord is great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord. We hope to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft is very important that you just note that for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord he have also rejected the from being king and Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned wide transgressed the commandment of the Lord in my words because I fear the people and obeyed their voice, not his was a halfhearted apology. It was an apology with an explanation. It was an apology with a blame on somebody else. It really wasn't his fault. It all sounded so good. It sounded so reasonable. It sounded so sensible.

It sounded so logical it sounded so economical. What happened was this that God said I want everything destroyed. I want the beast destroyed.

I want everybody destroy Samuel comes up and says did you obey laws. Lord always and yes I did what and Samuel said what all these cows over here either moving while he sheep out here over here bleeding voice as well. Those yes well update about those up Samuel. They were such a nice sheet and such fine cows.

I save those someone sacrifice them to the Lord. And what about getting a gag, the king of them got all yes with no is nice to have mercy on a few people and he played so eloquently for his life. I just spared a guy that he had all reason out Malabar and excused he was going to do wrong, that he might do right is never right to do wrong to get a chance to do right, but he had somehow the idea that the end would justify the means and that somehow he could stubbornly rebel against God. First of all, his cell determination and his self-determination turned into a stubborn disobedience now want to notice. He's not finished yet. I want you to notice now that the tide begins to quicken the pace starts to flow because when a man first of all, is self-determined. Then after a while, he becomes stubbornly disobedient and then he moves into Swift degeneration look in chapter 16 verse 14 and see what happens to this man now. The Bible says, but the spirit of the Lord be parted from Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. Now Santos sweeping him along. Now he's caught up now. God's spirit has left now an evil spirit has come upon him you ever remember reading that in the book of Ephesians the Bible says let not the sun go down upon your wrath need to give a place to the devil. What is that mean it means when we have unconfessed on repent of sin in our lives we've given the devil beachhead. We've given the devil a campground. We've given the devil a foulness to which he can hatches a we have given the devil a place in our lives. That's what Saul did. First of all, the spirit was upon Saul, but Saul started out with his self-determination and his stubborn disobedience, and then his Swift degeneration was such that God spirit left him and in that vacuum an evil spirit possessed was this a demon spirit were not quite sure whether the demon spirit not to say, well, how could demon spirit come from the Lord. In the Hebrew way of thinking.

Everything that happens happens because God has allowed it to happen and I dear friends that just simply means that God has allowed judgment to come upon this man very much of the same sense in the New Testament because they received not the love of truth God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.

And God allow this man to be opened up if it is talking about an evil spirit or demon spirit practice talking about at mall level in spirit. I mean like a demented mind liking a man who has lost his mind, lost his insanity can mean a destructive spirit, but something terrible and something horrible happened to this man as God spirit for summer camp and evil spirit came upon him, and was God's righteous and just judgment that this thing should happen to him. I want you to notice now how he's picking up speed on his downward trail. His self-determination is sinful, stubborn disobedience is sweat degeneration. He has gone.

First of all, from ignoring God for disobeying God and now he begins to fight God about this time you find them as he is getting jealous of David and he starts to fight David but David was God's anointed and when he was fighting David. He was fighting God hears a man was meant to be serving God and is literally fighting God.

But it's not over yet.

After his Swift degeneration. We see his spiritual depravity turn to first Samuel chapter 28 and look with me in verse seven and see what happened to this man now he's a bitter old man now. He's a desolate old man.

He is a confused old man and he wants some information about a battle and what does he do but go to a which now he begins to traffic with evil spirits and look if you will in chapter 28 verse seven. Then said Saul and to his servants, seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit that I may go to her and inquire of her and his servants said to him, behold as a woman that hath a familiar spirit, at and/or this woman was awake and I needn't take time to tell you that whole sad sort story of how this man would have the spirit of God upon him. How this man been given a new heart how this man was so handsome so tall so humble so gifted this man was such a wonderful commission from God. This man wants is now taking demon spirits and now he is now going to which for sale.

He has gone from ignoring God to disobeying God from disobeying God to fighting God and from fighting God actually cooperating and fellow shipping with the devil. Samuel knew it would happen.

And that's the reason that Samuel warned him of witchcraft when he said that stubbornness is as witchcraft because when a man is rebellious and disobedient commits the same sin that the devil send an and he does the same thing that the devil did and he puts himself in company with the devil and opens himself to the Oco but less see the final thing in this man's downward plunge not only his spiritual degeneration as he traffics with demon spirits now, but finally his self-destruction. Look, if you will in chapter 31 and verse four as we continue to study there's a battle this day and I want to use your imagination as your eyes sweep the battlefield you come to a tragic figure of King Saul. You can still see them because he still tall head and shoulders above everyone else, except there's no one else hardly going to be head and shoulders above his men have fallen by side.

His arm is in retreat is wonderful son Jonathan and his other sons have been slaughtered by the Philistine and now this man is standing out in full view of the enemy. He knows that the end is coming. He doesn't want to die at the enemy's hand and so I want to notice what happens here as we read in & with chapter 31 and verse four and Saul said into his armor bearer brought I sorted blessed me through there with Leslie's uncircumcised common blessed me through, and abuse me, but his armor bearer would not, for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took up a sword and fell upon and when his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead. He fell likewise upon his sword and died with him.

So Saul died, he died by his own hand. He died defeated. He died really intimidated by the enemy. He died intimidated by demon possessed people. The Philistines he died in such a way as to bring shame upon the nation that he was meant to be king over no one. No wonder it is said of Saul, that he played the fool.

No man ever had a better start. No man ever ended. More tragically than this man, Saul. Now I want to close the simple message by making some applications to your heart and some applications to my heart and believe you me I made these applications to my heart. The first thing I want you learn is this that circumstances cannot make you and they cannot break you. Don't go around complaining because you one born with a silver spoon in your mouth. Although around complaining because other people more handsome than you other people more wealthy than you other people more beautiful than you. Other people have better opportunities than you don't complain about that lesson. Sometimes a man has opportunity but he doesn't have ability sometimes man has ability, but it doesn't have opportunity. Saul had both ability and opportunity. He had opportunity of a million and he was a man in a million, and yet he failed ignominiously. David didn't have those kind of opportunities.

As a matter fact when they were looking for someone to be the next king over Israel. Nobody even thought of little David. He was so insignificant he was out there, just the shepherd boy taking care of the sheet. He wasn't the kind of a guy that was head and shoulders above everybody else that he, not Saul became Israel's mightiest cane because he had a heart for God, I will have a heart for God in all the opportunities and all the wit and wisdom handsome.

Listen well put together, you have a heart for God, I want to tell you something Fran circumstances cannot make you and circumstances cannot break you.

You may have an advantage in this world and flavorful. You may have very few advantages can be used of God, for God is not chosen the mighty things of this world God's chosen the weak chosen the foolish God had chosen those that the world despises, and God uses them as a second thing I want to learn that whoever you are and where you are. You cannot be successful without obeying God.

I don't care who you are. You're not smarter than God you'd better be careful that you don't want to have God, you'd better be careful that you do not stubbornly disobey God. I want to tell you that there is only one alternative to obeying the command of God, and that is disobeying and I want to tell you that when you disobey God specially when you disobey your God with your eyes. Why don't specially when you commit presumptuous sin, you put yourself in danger of being possessed by an evil spirit.

Now that brings up a theological question somebody says brother Rogers. Do you believe that a Christian can be demon possessed no do you believe that a Christian can possess a demon. Yes, I do not believe that the devil can ever possess that which belongs to God.

But I do believe that God's people can open themselves to demonic influences and they can be harassed and obsessed and perplexed by demons. This because they had given a place to the devil.

I want to tell you and God's work. There is no substitute for reading and I got to thinking about this and I said dear God, I have not been as obedient as out to be to the things that you've shown me Lord, I want to be more will be. There's 1/3 thing I want you to learn. I want you to learn. Ladies and gentlemen of the horrible power sin, don't think of sin is a small thing. Sin will take you further than you want to go. Sam will keep you longer than you want to stay and sin will cost you more than you want to pay now you fear sin you treat Sam as you would a hissing rattlesnake you treat Sam as Sam.

122 hello, where are the people today who have a holy fear of sand how we ought to be afraid of Sam Saul at first just dabbled in San and then Saul was destroyed by sin, because he started down the road that seem so small and so insignificant just simply as willful, selfish disobedience, justice, self-determination, just not waiting on God running ahead of God been running against God, then fighting God then cooperating with the devil and then destroy by the down down down he went. I want to take something else I learned as I thought about this but just because you're successful. Now that doesn't mean that you're always going to be successful. Saul was successful for a moment. He had his times of glory pianist times of praise pianist times of adulation and so may you. You may be living high wind and handsome but the seeds of destruction may be there. It may be that God will save you already that you've done foolishly and at the end of your life.

You going to say I very exceedingly.

I played with who the apostle Paul said in the book of first Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 27 he said I keep my body under less when I preach to others, I myself should be cast away.

I tell you, I've known some preachers, some of the saddest things I've seen her preachers were once mighty men of God who died as alcoholics who died, his divorced man who died is castaways. There was a man who preach from this pulpit many years ago, one of the most gifted one the most eloquent on the most handsome man that the Southern Baptist convention or any convention is ever known. That man became a self-willed man and he went down and down and down and down and he ended his tragically as King Saul. Never in my life have I seen a man who was more gifted than this man never seen a man who ended more pathetically than this man, and I want to say something unexpected meeting in heaven. I expect to meet Saul in heaven I can. I've tried to get out. I want to say sometime this almost a mental loss man.

No man could have done what solid on administrative man but yet I see in the Bible where the Bible says that the spirit of God came upon a prophesy that God anointed him. God made him another man. He was a man of God and the traffic was Sandy plate was saying was sin. He was destroyed by sin.

That's what the apostle Paul was saying is that I watch myself.

He said I keep my body under less after when I preached I myself should be cast away. That means something useless, something that cannot be used, a relic I want to say, dear friend, that none of this is the last lesson.

None of us.

None of us is immune to the power sin to the deceiving power sin to the deadening power sin if you yourself will rather than spirit filled are you self-willed that's what happened to Saul just self-willed and then stubborn have been disobedient and then fighting God and then operating with the devil and then self-destruct, terrible, horrible, tragic. You know what we need to do.

We need to get clean and stay that way is what we need to do. We need to wake up every morning and look into the face of Jesus we need to put our knees on the floor. We need to put our face in this book we need to open our hearts to the Lord say Lord Kittanning and Lord gardening never man started better than Saul does say could happen to me lady today is the day that you would like to fully commit your life to Jesus Christ. Would you pray this prayer with me from your heart. Father in heaven. I think you that you sent Jesus to do what I could not do for myself.

He was totally holy and righteous without sin, and he gave himself on the cross and rose again to new life so that I could be forgiven so that I can have a relationship with you and right now I turn away from anything else other than Jesus, I trust him fully for my salvation come into my heart change me from the inside out that me to walk with you. From this day forward I pray in Jesus name, amen. If you prayed to receive Jesus just now, let us celebrate with you where discovered Jesus page on the website you'll find answers, you may need about your newfound faith. We have a response section. You can share your testimony tell us how this message is made a difference in your life go to LWF.org/radio and click on the tab that says Discover Jesus welcome to God's forever family. We can't wait to hear from you today.

Nothing like to order a copy of this message in its entirety: 1877 love God and mentioned the title games that fools play.

This message is also part of the insightful series live like a king with a complete collection, a dozen powerful messages: 877 love God or order online@lwf.org/radio or rightists at love worth finding box 38, 600 Memphis, TN 38183 if you look closely at your life today. Is there any unconfessed sin in your heart. Are you ignoring any instruction from God for daring to run ahead of his will carefully pray for forgiveness and guidance don't play the game.

Fools, be sure to join us next time.

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