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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
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. Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better."
So Saul said to his attendants, "Find someone who plays well and bring him to me." One of the servants answered, "I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him."
Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your son David, who is with the sheep."
So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul.
David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, "Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him."
Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
1 Samuel 16:14-23
This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
At the beginning of 1st Samuel, chapter 16, we saw where the Lord sent Samuel to Jesse of Bethlehem for the purposes of selecting and anointing the next king of Israel. You’ll remember this was because the first king, Saul, had been sinful and fallen out of favor with God who rejected him in favor of a man after His own heart…a man who we know would be David. As he (David) was formally chosen by God, the scriptures tell us that the “Spirit of the Lord came upon (him) in power.” Conversely, we see in our passage that “the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul”, replaced with “an evil spirit from the Lord” which “tormented him”.
Through this, we’re reminded of how the Lord holds control over all things, including wicked and evil spirits.
Well, part of Saul's consequences for willfully disobeying God and rejecting the guidance of His Spirit was to be tormented by a demon. Fortunately, he had some very faithful, caring attendants who were concerned for him. They asked the king to allow them to “search for someone who can play the harp” because they felt that Saul would feel better if the harp was played whenever “the evil spirit from God” came upon him.
We read where Saul agrees with their plan, giving his attendants the following order:
“Find someone who plays well and bring him to me."
Given this approval, the scriptures tell us that “one of the servants answered” Saul saying:
"I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him."
Of course, the servant was talking about none other than David…the man chosen to replace Saul as king however he (Saul) didn’t know it yet and so we find him sending a message to Jesse saying:
"Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.”
We read where Jesse complied with the request, sending David along with a “donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat”. After arriving, we see where David quickly integrated himself into Saul’s service, becoming one of his armor bearers. In fact, David was valued so greatly by Saul that he “sent word to Jesse” saying:
"Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him."
Again, Jesse complied with Saul’s request.
Well, we know that David was far more than just an ordinary armor bearer. He was far greater than that because he had the Spirit of the Lord within him as well as the sure election by God to be Israel’s new king.
As far as his harp playing skills, we read that “whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul” and afflicted him, “David would take his harp and play”, bringing relief to the king who would “feel better” as “the evil spirit (left) him”. This was because the music David played was holy music, inspired by none other than the Spirit of God that was within him. The power of this Spirit within the music overcame the evil spirit within Saul, bringing him comfort and peace.
Indeed, there is a special, inspirational energy found in Spirit-filled, godly music that is like no other. I discovered this in my own life after being born again more than 33 years ago as I accepted Jesus into my life as Savior.
You see, before coming to Christ, I had always loved music and listened to a lot of different genres, none of which were Christian. I knew all the top artists and songs on the radio, owning over 200 CDs and cassettes. But this music came to me from a world view and perspective…and after coming to Jesus, I was a new creation and that included the way I viewed the music I enjoyed listening to.
I vividly remember getting back into church with my new wife and re-learning the hymns that I had known as a young child going to a small Pennsylvania Presbyterian church with my parents. Oh how I cherished the awesome power in the words of some of those songs…
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found. Was blind but now can see.”
“Holy, Holy, Holy. Lord, God Almighty. Early in the morning, our song will rise to Thee. Holy, Holy, Holy. Merciful and Mighty. God in three persons. Blessed Trinity.”
“Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart. Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art. Thou my best thought by day or by night. Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.”
"Blessed assurance. Jesus is mine. O what a foretaste of glory divine. Heir of salvation, purchase of God. Born of His Spirit. Washed in His Blood. This is my Story, this is my song. Praising my Savior, all the day long. This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior, all the day long.”
I could go on and on but you get the point.
There was a mightiness in that music that the secular world couldn’t come close to matching. This is because there is a power in the Holy Spirit that transcends everything else by comparison…because the Lord Himself transcends everything as the “God in three persons”…Father, Son and Holy Spirit…the ”Blessed Trinity” that spiritually empowers all things to include music.
Well, from there, sitting in the church pew every Sunday, my musical spiritual awakening was just starting because I discovered that I couldn’t get enough of music that energized me spiritually. In Christian music, I found a relief, comfort, and peace that I couldn’t find in any other music.
One day, I found myself watching a Gospel music video program called Video Gospel, playing on the Black Entertainment Television channel and instantly fell in love with my first contemporary Christian song ever. Titled “Addictive Love” and performed by BeBe and CeCe Winans, the lyrics were as follows:
All I want do is just explain
Why that we feel the way we do
What a joy to share with you
For me to live is Christ, to die is gain
If anymore I need to say
The list goes on and on all day
I'll cherish that moment for life
And I know it might sound crazy
It's alright, take a seat, hold tight
Chorus:
Time to admit it
I'm so addicted
You see He's taken my heart
And showed me the right way
No doubt about it
See I'm lost without it
You see this love takes me higher
I didn't know why then
I found it was addicted love
Now that we've evened up the score
What do you mean there's so much more
I need to tell why we adore
The reason why I smile when I, when I wake up
And also the reason why I dream
My love, my joy, my everything
And I'll cherish that moment for life
And I know it might sound crazy
It's alright, take a seat, hold tight
Time to admit it
I'm so addicted
You see He's taken my heart
And showed me the right way
No doubt about it
See I'm lost without it
You see this love takes me higher
I didn't know why then
I found it was addicted love
So much love
He's given to me everything I longed for
And everything I need
That means I'm never alone, so glad
And everything I've dreamed and much more, so much more
And I'll cherish that moment for life,
For the rest of my life, yeah
And I know it might sound crazy, but it's not crazy,
I'm not crazy
I've never known anyone to love me
Quite the way you do
And I'll tell you it's hopeless
I've finally noticed that I'm just forever addicted, forever, forever in love
Time to admit it
I'm so addicted
You see He's taken my heart
And showed me the right way
No doubt about it
See I'm lost without it
You see this love takes me higher
I didn't know why then
I found it was addicted love
Friends, this song spoke to my soul then and still does today. For indeed, the Lord had taken my heart and shown me the right way and after receiving the Holy Spirit in my life, I found that I would be lost without it and the connection to the Lord it brought…a connection that kept me in the midst of an almighty Love like no other I had ever experienced…an addictive love that I couldn’t get enough of.
I couldn’t then…and I still can’t now.
In fact, the addictive love of the Lord’s Spirit took me from this first contemporary Christian song to many others thereafter and before long, I found that my secular music held no more meaning for me…no power or substance anymore when I listened to it. In fact, I started to be more acutely aware that the secular music actually was trying to pull me towards the world and its ways…and away from the ways the Lord wanted me to live.
And so, I did something radical back in 1993. I sold all my secular CDs and cassettes…over 200 of them…and in their place, I bought nothing but Christian music. A trip to the local library was exciting because I would check out Christian music and then go home to listen, seeking to add more artists and groups to my playlists. If I liked that particular artist, then I would but there music and add to my connection. If I didn’t, I just returned the item to the library.
Before long, my Christian library grew to be as large as my secular library had been and today, my collection has grown far beyond that. Even today, I still can’t get enough of the power of the Holy Spirit in the music I listen to…a power that Saul discovered from the harp that was played by a Spirit-filled David.
As you read this, maybe you have your own testimony concerning a Christian song that changed your life in some way…or maybe just a Christian song that you love for some special reason. If so, I invite you to leave a comment in response to today’s message with a song or songs and your personal testimony.
Together, let’s promote the awesome, amazing power found in Christian music, praising and thanking the Lord for the gift of it.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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