The Spirit Rushes to Success

Our message this morning will be from 1 Samuel chapter 16 and just verse 13

Though I'm going to read in a moment verses 1 through 14 of that chapter You may recall some weeks ago

I began this sort of abbreviated series in the life of David and by abbreviated what

I meant was We're not going to go through every part of his life I'm not going to read or even preach each chapter and each aspect of his life

We're going to choose some of the major epochs some of the major Happenings or events that occurred in his life and not so much just to understand the narrative though The narrative is very important and we will talk of the about the narrative

But to look for and to see and understand God moving behind the narrative The Lord God and how he is pushing a long redemptive history through this history that we have with David that great

Prototype or precursor of the Lord Jesus Christ The one who has the name which was one of Jesus's favorite appellations son of David the one who

Matthew in the opening of his book in the genealogy takes such pains to make sure we know he in his physical

Humanity was descended from this man this King David the one to whom the promise of a king

Would sit forever on the throne was made there's now the third in that short series and what we are in for Samuel 16 looking at is this idea of God's secret will

Deuteronomy 29 29 the secret things belong to the Lord our God But that which has been revealed is ours and our children's forever.

So God's secret will That a man should replace Saul was not known until he made it known to Samuel And so Samuel went and effected the election the elective will of God by drawing out

David from among the sons he sanctified that he commemorated it or Formalized it when he anointed him with oil

And now we're going to come to the final step in that process where the Lord God comes down and confirms that all this

Has been in line with what had previously been his secret unknown will Election this is the one anointing

Anointed his king and now God from heaven by his spirit will confirm that all this has been in accordance with his will

So that brief introduction, please stand for the reading of God's Word. I will read first Samuel 16 1 through 14

The Lord said to Samuel How long will you grieve over Saul since I have rejected him from being king over Israel?

Fill your home with oil and go I will send you to Jesse the Jesse the Bethlehemite For I provided for myself a king among his sons and Samuel said how can

I go if Saul hears it? he will kill me and the Lord said take a heifer with you and say

I have come to sacrifice to the Lord and Invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I'll show you what you shall do

And you shall anoint for him. Excuse me. You shall anoint for me him who I declare to you

Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem the elders of the cities came out to meet him trembling and said do you come

Peaceably and he said peaceably I've come to sacrifice to the Lord Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice and he consecrated

Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice When they came he looked on he looked on Eliab and thought surely the

Lord's and Lord's anoint is before him But the Lord said to Samuel do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature

Because I've rejected him for the Lord sees not as man sees man looks on the on the outward appearance

But the Lord looks on the heart Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel and he said neither is the

Lord chosen this one Then Jesse made Shema passed by and he said neither is the

Lord chosen this one and Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel and Samuel said to Jesse the

Lord has not chosen these Then Samuel said to Jesse are all your sons here and he said there remains yet the youngest but behold he is keeping the sheep and Samuel said to Jesse send and get him for we will not sit down until he comes

And he sent him brought him in now He was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome and the

Lord said arise anoint him for this is he then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers and the

Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward and Samuel rose up and went to Ramah Now the

Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him God blessed the reading of his word and now the preaching of it.

Would you please be seated? Let us pray and ask God's blessing upon what

I just said the preaching and the hearing of his Holy Word our Heavenly Father May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight

O Lord and made the words that I'm about to speak Proclaim the truth of your word and may they be pleasing in your sight and you by your

Spirit Father Would drive them into the hearts of those who would hear and Lord you be glorified in this place by transforming

Such as us more and more into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ in whose name we ask for these blessings.

Amen So the Spirit of the Lord Rushed upon David for that day forward you know the working of the

Holy Spirit as we just sang in that hymn is it's among the most mysterious and difficult doctrines to Really to get your arms around.

I love that hymn number 712 I know whom I've believed is Has to be in my top six favorite hymns, and I know not why

I know not how I know not I know not I know not you know, not I know not

The how of the spirits working it's a difficult doctrine is a mysterious doctrine and yet it is so important that we understand the reality of the spirits work in us

That it's not just an idea that the Holy Spirit is not just a power or something

I'll there is a person of the Trinity Father Son Spirit all equally

God all persons of God in their exit eternal existence in their omnipotence in their working towards our salvation and Yet as Jesus Christ himself told

Nicodemus. It's a terribly hard and Mysterious doctrine really to gather up and to put into simple propositional truths that we can take away and understand

Though it doesn't mean we don't try but Jesus Christ himself said to Nicodemus the wind blows where wishes and you hear it sound

But you do not know where it comes from or where it goes So it is with everyone who's born of the

Spirit So we don't know the how of the spirits working Do you believe in the

Lord Jesus Christ? I? Hope to God you do I hope to God you have been given that new heart that is faith to believe the gospel to repent of your sins and Trust in Christ in him alone for salvation

How did that happen? Well, we could go to Ezekiel 36 and say well God gave me a new heart he took out that stony heart

He removed that black heart. What was impervious to his word That wanted to sin

And he replaced it with a heart of flesh. I Would answer you. Okay, that is what the scripture says

How Too often it's that we can't understand the how that leads people to take a lot of of Variance with the

What I can't explain how he did it and if it's that subjective Then the what that he produces in me the what of any decision

I make at any given time It's sort of subjective and up to me since I can't explain on the other side

So we feel free to do what we want with what we think the Spirit of God might lead us How often have you heard a

Christian say that they are on this or that course or has decided to go left when the Word Of God is actually screaming to them.

No turn right you're going the wrong way turn around repent get away from that That's against God's will

You show them with good reasoning with Scripture that they're on the wrong course that the

Word of God the Spirit of God having inspired this word would say different than where they're going and How often have you been able to show them that and they answer with you this trump card

Ah, but I prayed and the Spirit of God told me That I go this way or that Have you heard that I have more times than I can count and I have to ask you

How many times have you or I done the same? Where we determine I want to go this way

And I'm gonna find it in the word and I'm going to perhaps mangle the word but I wouldn't do it intentionally or consciously and Some brother or sister comes along and tries to advise us and even though we would detest this and others we ourselves say

Oh, but I've prayed and I feel that dangerous word. I feel

I Feel that the Spirit of God has led me in this directions How many times do we attribute to the

Holy Spirit what I want to do? And having done that ignoring the caught with the goads of conscience that he the

Spirit gives us in his ministry to us So we're in first Samuel 16

First Samuel 16 where Samuel brought the will of God into history when he anointed David as Israel's next king

Now anyone could have said here is the Lord's choice Anyone could have poured oil on him and anyone could have done all the pomp and ceremony of an anointing

But only God could confirm that Samuel had followed his will when he took David from amongst his brothers and This is where we are in the narrative as I explained before and I want us to look at this working of the

Holy Spirit I want us to understand this day how the Holy Spirit works and though our narrative is

Short on details and we're just in this one verse first Samuel 16 13 It really does have a wealth for us in understanding this working of the

Spirit within us and what that impinges then upon us in terms of following his will and knowing his word

So I look at this in three sections It's just one verse so it's not going to be divided up into long passages

But the first thing we're going to deal with is how the Holy Spirit rushed upon David the Spirit of God rushed upon him

And the second thing is going to be the permanence of this work of the Spirit in the believers life in your life if indeed you have the

Spirit of God and Third and finally, what does this mean to us in our life with Christ this rushing of the

Spirit upon us? You see it is by the power in part of two men by the

Spirit of God that God Accomplishes his purposes for men Let me say that again.

It is by the power that is imparted to men by the Spirit of God That God accomplishes his purposes for men and through men

And often he intervenes by miraculous changes in the natural order of things

Such as when the Sun stood still so that Joshua could finish his battle against the Amalekites, but those are rare In the normative sense in our

Christian life It is the Spirit of God who's working through men by which I mean men and women through Christians through you through me

By that power imparted to us by the Spirit of God God accomplishes his purposes here in your life here in this church

Here in this world in the entire universe really even Jesus when he went in into the wilderness

He was driven there by the Spirit of God. That's Luke chapter 4 verse 1 and after his temptation

He went forth where or how in the power of the Spirit? It was no different for David and it is no different for you or for me or for anyone who believes in the

Lord Jesus Christ This rushing of the Spirit of God upon you We need to find out what this means

We need to look into this brief verse then the Spirit of God rushed upon David from that time forward rushed upon him

It sounds like a wind like a a strong wind that says suddenly appeared when whoosh

And there was upon David Now we're not told what

Samuel or anyone else actually saw We don't know what they heard We do know that the

Spirit of God did this he rushed upon this one upon David But it's sort of like Acts chapter 8 verse 17 where you read of Peter and John who went to Samaria to see if Philip the evangelists evangelism had truly brought conversion and We read there that they saw the

Spirit of God fall upon the Samaritans and that's all we're told We don't know what phenomena they saw.

We don't know if the Samaritan suddenly sang out in chorus and gave praise to God if they spoke in tongues if they bowed down before him prayed

We don't know what happened but it was something that the Apostles Peter and John saw and it was confirmable

In Acts chapter 11 Peter reported that he knew that this meant that the God had that God had given the

Gentiles the same gift Of the Spirit that he'd given to them The Lord had confirmed that the Samaritans had truly been saved that his will had been rightly discerned by Philip the evangelist when he reported

Samaritans have been saved What did they see?

We don't know with that any more than we know with David By some confirmable phenomenon the

Lord certified that David was indeed the one he intended Rushed the

Spirit of God rushed upon David He'd be elected drawn out from the brothers. He'd been anointed and now the

Spirit of God rushed upon him It's from the Hebrew word Salah Salah and that means to be strong to be effective.

It means to be powerful It means to be prosperous it means to accomplish satisfactorily what was intended

All in that single word Salah rushed upon him Now an early example we have of that in King Saul's life is in first Samuel chapter 11 in there

King Saul early in his reign heard that the Ammonites had attacked the city of Jabesh Gilead and We read that the

Spirit of God rushed upon him the same phrase that we have in Chapter 16 with David it rushed upon him and the next thing we hear is that the

Ammonites have been scattered by Saul's army and That city had been saved

Abraham's servant when he was sent to find a wife for Isaac. He wondered if the Lord would give him

Prosperous success of the God would give him Salah and I'll just give you one more example I want you to understand how important this word is here and understanding how the

Spirit works in you or in me It's in Isaiah 50 chapter 55 familiar to most of us

For as the rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return there But water the earth making it bring forth and sprout giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater

So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth. It shall not return to be empty But it shall accomplish that which

I purpose it shall succeed it shall Selah it shall succeed in that for which

I sent it so success Prosperity strength power all those words.

They're the Lord's intentions are accomplished And the next thing we know of David in 1st

Samuel 17 Which God willing will open up beginning in the afternoon in a couple of Sundays here

But the next thing we hear of David, where do we see? He's standing over the dead body of Goliath having had power having accomplished

God's intentions and God's will that that giant be be slain and Prospering in taking his armor his sword and his shield particularly there are a lot of terms that we use for the

Spirit of God and They're good terms. They're proper terms We call them our paraclete

She's the one who walks alongside of us. We call him our comforter. Those are very common

We call him our helper. We call him our advocate It is he the Spirit of God in Romans 8 26 who looks at our weakness and intercedes for our prayers

It's the Holy Spirit who translates God's secret will into human experience

Just I've been explaining for 1st Samuel 16 God's secret will brought into history Chapter 1 verse 4 of Ephesians Says that God the

Father chose you the believer to be in Christ and he made this decision This election of you before the foundation of the world his secret will as to who will be saved

His secret will that you might be saved but then

Ephesians 1 13 to 14 tells us that the Spirit of God rushed upon you. That's my word.

It doesn't say that Ephesians But the concept is correct rushed upon you and made it known to you

Our theological word for that is simple. He applied salvation to you So God's secret will as to who would be saved

Just as God's secret will as to who would succeed Saul made known when he

Speaks that word spoke it personally to Samuel and anointed David Speaks it to you in the word and we have his word of who would be saved that men would be saved and Then the

Spirit of God applies it to you He makes known to you that previously secret will that you will be saved so we can call the

Holy Spirit. Why another name? It's not in Scripture. I'm gonna this is my name for him

From Salah. He rushed upon he brings success. He's our achiever The Holy Spirit is the one who achieves in us that what you

God would have us to do That which would bring us to Christ's image Those things which you or I in our own power could never even come close never even begin to accomplish the

Holy Spirit Brings that success brings that prosperity brings that power

He brings success and prosperity God's will By revealing it to those to whom it was intended to you if you believe in the

Lord Jesus Christ How did that happen? Again, it's inexplicable

Did that happen? Do you know you know, do you know that you know that you know that Jesus Christ is

Savior that He is your Lord that he truly did save you from the agonies of eternal suffering

Which he on the cross took upon himself in your place Do you know that you know that you know?

How do you know this? Can't tell you do you know this

Yeah, you can know that objectively because the Holy Spirit witnessing to your spirit that you're truly children of God He is our achiever

How did that happen? My favorite hymn, I know not how this saving faith to me he hath made known

But I know whom I have believed. I Don't know how but I know he did

Explain it to me objectively. I cannot but I know he did you can't prove it to me

You know brother sister The Spirit of God witnesses within me and I have an answer to you for the hope that lies within me

But I can't prove to you how God did this Only that he did

Titus chapter 3 verse 5. He saved us by the washing of regeneration Renewal of the

Holy Spirit and Jesus I want to repeat what he said to Nicodemus because he said we're never going to understand this

Remember this the wind blows where it wishes you hear it sound but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes

So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit You know back then they didn't have barometers

They didn't have satellites that could track or even know of the jet stream that has such effect on the wind

They didn't know high -pressure zones that would blow wind into the low -pressure zones It was mysterious to them and it's just as mysterious to us today the working of the

Holy Spirit If the way of the Spirit is a mystery The confirming fruit in a life of repentance of growth and holiness of taking ever greater strides in moral excellencies mercy and grace

These are observable objectively observable observable proofs of the

Spirit's invisible operations To display from the depth of our being love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self -control one description of the

Christian and What he works in you? How? Can't tell you

But what? love joy, peace patience long -suffering kindness goodness if God succeeded if God Salak if you will

In saving your in your eternal soul by infusing in you faith to believe and faith being that Indispensable cornerstone of salvation faith being that thing that is totally foreign to you.

You're not born with faith You don't put your faith in Jesus Christ. God gives you faith in Jesus Christ How did that come about?

this cornerstone Well, if he succeeded in giving you something so different than your natural state

Can we not say he will also succeed in completing that work that he began when he gave you that faith to believe in Jesus Christ That he would complete this work also through faith

Philippians chapter 1 verse 6 says he who began a good work in you that is salvation. That's the start of the journey

That's when the Holy Spirit rushes upon you and makes you able to believe makes you want to believe

You say I chose to follow Jesus and in our circles, no you didn't choose God chose you that's true

How did I choose to follow Jesus because God gave me a heart that wanted Jesus God gave me a heart that wasn't mine

God gave me a heart that I would have detested Until he yanked out the old heart and gave me the new one

He began that good work in you who made you want to be like Jesus He will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ Romans 829 says that God has

Predestined us to be conformed to the image of his son. How is all this to work in you? That's worked by that invisible mysterious operating of the

Holy Spirit within He rushed upon you to make you able to believe he rushed upon you to give you the power

To conform yourself more and more to his image. Do you conform yourself to his image? Yes, you do

Can you do it without the Spirit? No, you can't Do you have responsibility to follow the word to obey the word and to do it?

Yes, you do because that is transformative Can you do it on your own? Absolutely not

It all works hand -in -hand together. It is God who is doing this work is God who makes you able to accomplish this work

It is God who when you obey his word uses that to transform you more into his son Into the image of his son and that by spirit

Not of me not of you, but we do the working But God gets all the glory.

God alone has that power to save you to transform you Jesus said that without him we can do what?

Nothing, let me hear that without him we can do what? Nothing. He said it's all by his spirit.

It's all as we are attached to him the true vine But Jesus Christ himself also said in that same vein in that same discourse he said truly truly

I say to you whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do and Greater works than these will he do because I'm going to the

Father That's early in that discourse And if you read that for homework this afternoon read all the way through to chapter 17 of that discourse

Which ends just and then he goes to Be arrested and to the cross and you'll see that what he's saying here the greater works that you will do

How will you do these? Well, you're gonna lift up your hand and you're gonna do the work. You're gonna put your hand to the plow

How? by the power of the Spirit By that invisible mysterious working of the

Spirit you actually do that work that transforms you more and more into his image All by God's Spirit all to his glory

And yet we have to put out the effort You will indeed succeed in Growing into Christ likeness

You will indeed do greater works than even Jesus did not by might or power, but by my spirit says the

Lord now oftentimes we let a Humility and I would call it a false humility overshadow this great promise that Jesus gives

You and I get no credit for it. Only Christ does but to not strive for this spiritual prosperity the spiritual success

This submission if you will to the power of the Spirit and to do the things that the Spirit would lead you which are given to us in his word

Is a false humility To not strive for that prosperity

It's almost to say that God's Word will not have the success in that for which it was sent How many have you times have you known a

Christian who says well, I've gotten saved Well, I'm gonna go home and just live the way I want to because I've got

Jesus. I'm going to heaven and now Sundays are for carousing for my pleasure for my recreation and now

I Can continue in the way I wanted to go and whatever I want to do whatever Carousing kind of life

I had before Good to go How many times have we seen that?

Go to stop there is as false as the false humility, which says I can do nothing and therefore I will do nothing

No, we can't have it both ways if the power of the Spirit is in you to have transformed you and made you believe in Jesus Christ that same

Spirit wants you to be in the image of that that Lord who saved you To grow more and more like him to obey the word to know the word more to follow it more closely

That's success. That is a lock. That is why the Holy Spirit rushed upon you

He's given us the means of success what we call means of grace he's given us prayer that flows freely and often

He's given you service in ministry that steps forward You can step forward and even in this place you say

God has provided this church with a foot or a hand and it's me God has provided an ear that is needed to listen to someone's sorrows.

Whose ear is that? It is mine a hand of mercy to the hungry here is mine all led by the

Spirit But in time and space in history done by you and it's transformative to obey

To step forward put your hand to the plow and to do the works that the Spirit would lead you

Paul wrote to Titus that Christ's purpose and redeeming of people of his own Was for them to be zealous for good works not for the sake of the works themselves but for the transformative power of faithful obedience as We walk in the works that God prepared it advanced and that's

Ephesians chapter 1 verse 10 So he's giving you service He's giving you preaching and the

Lord's table sitting under solid biblical preaching is to sit at Jesus's feet in that sense is to encounter the living word and In that word are risen and living

Savior May we never come away the same as we began James 125

May we never look at the law of Liberty and then forget what it said What your pastors plead for you to remember and to apply and why do we do this from this pulpit?

So we can compare your progress to a predetermined measurement and so be assured that we've succeeded That you're having success that you're having to lock

No Not at all because your pastors plea to God before we preach and to you as we preach

Is that the Holy Spirit will bring success to the word that God in Christ has sent?

That what is preached so far as it as it is true to Christ will bring the success and prosperity of spiritual growth to mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ so that we may no longer be children tossed to and Fro by the ways and carried about by every wind of doctrine by human cunning by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

I Was asked just recently How is it that the Catechism says that the

Lord's Table and baptism our means of this sanctifying grace of this growing in the Lord My answer my answer to you if you've ever wondered that that is because by those ordinances

Not just you know being them Obedience being a good thing in and of itself, but by those ordinances you see the gospel played out.

I Call it a living parable. That's just my term When we take the Lord's Table a little while you're going to remember the death burial and resurrection of the

Lord Jesus Christ His suffering on your behalf in the broken bread his life given for yours in the wine

Which is his blood of the new covenant When you see a baptism, you see someone joined

Jesus Christ going into the earth under the water and rising again to new life You're confirmed again in that gospel and that's transformative as again and again and again you see that played out and remember

Okay, this is not just a skit. This is the gospel the Lord Jesus Christ Played out before my eyes him.

Once again is Paul told the Galatians clearly portrayed as crucified and risen and living and returning

That's a means of grace he's giving you repentance and daily doses that trust God's forgiveness and restoration first John 1 9

If we forget if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins to cleanse us from all unrighteousness

You know where Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will come and convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment Do you know there's not just a one -time shot?

When the Holy Spirit so lock when he rushes upon you Did he not convene you convince you of your sin and of Christ's righteousness and of the judgment to come?

Which you have escaped that fire you've been plucked as a burning brand from it by the power of the

Spirit It's a repentance and daily doses as constant transformative desire to be like Jesus as we recognize our sin

You see the Holy Spirit's success in overcoming your sin has to be followed by progressive success prosperity even in growing into Christ of Conquering one sin after another after another after another in Basking in the sure knowledge of Jesus's pleasure is seeing us following his footsteps

Here's a gospel success Here's your best life now Here is health for your soul.

Here is prosperity for your spirit Here is a treasure trove in heaven guarded by God against any rust or moth

To become like Jesus Christ Who is the same yesterday today and forever not a moving target?

He's the same he is God He is Yahweh to vote the Lord of hosts is by him and through him and for him and because of him that all things are created as By him and through him and because of him that you were saved and by him and through him and because of him that we grow into more

Christ likeness Now the Holy Spirit who rushed upon David and brought him success

Is the same as he who brought you to faith and bring success daily to God's Word within you

Growing you into his image Well the last verse

I read first Samuel 16 14 That's one that causes trouble for a lot of Christians.

It causes terror to some Christians if we're honest about it And that says now the Spirit of the

Lord departed from Saul and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him So we ask will the

Spirit leave me if only by the Spirit I can do anything that what happens to me if he departs Or when he departs

The Spirit left Saul of that there is no doubt in Ezekiel 10 the glory of the

Lord departs from the temple consigning it to destruction by the Babylonians and Therefore from that for many other passages and verses we might conclude

Well, if I grieve the Spirit if I commit that or unforgivable sin, whatever that might be Well, he's gonna get fed up with me and leave he's gonna depart from me in Psalm 51 verse 11

David pleads that God won't take his spirit away from him and therefore we glue Well, God can remove and does in fact when he's fed up with us when he's just lost all patience remove his spirit from me and now first Samuel 16 14 the spirit who had rushed once upon Saul just as he had

David is done with and rid of Saul and So that is what could happen to me

So I walk through life With my head down and my hands over my head to protect me from a lightning bolt that God might smite me with from heaven

Because I might do something bad. I Run out and he's just gonna do away with me

Take the spirit away from me and consign me to destruction These kind of thoughts ever trouble you.

Do you know people who they trouble? Does it make you fearful? Many of us have to nod our heads.

Yes That this security we have in the Lord perhaps. It's just too wonderful to be believed

That God the Father would send his beloved his only begotten Son to die for my sins

To bring such as me into his glorious presence To give me joy forevermore in heaven before him and join the angels calling out.

Holy. Holy. Holy Lord God Almighty Will that spirit leave me

John wrote that perfect love casts out fear God's love for poor wretched broken

Wandering woefully inconsistent sinners like you and like me His love for sinners shown in the life and the death and the burial and the resurrection of our

Lord Jesus Christ Well, none of these verses I read and I know there's others that could be lined up to support this idea that the spirit would leave a true believer

But none of these verses I read just these three actually would teach that God will remove his spirit now first of all

Ephesians 4 30 do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God It's an admonition to strive for holy living it's not a warning that the

Spirit of God would actually depart It's an admonition. It's an encouragement To strive to be holy to strive to be morally perfect To always reach out for the prize of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus Don't grieve the

Holy Spirit of God. Don't do those things which are against his will Don't do those things which the

Bible would say don't do Live right Doesn't say that the

Holy Spirit would leave he's got a certain level of grieving Here's a cup of grief and when it goes over the top done, you're out of here or I'm out of here

That's not at all what it teaches. I Guess I'm 51 11 take not your

Holy Spirit from me that really causes people some trouble. I Want to go through this a little bit quickly

So don't even look in your Bibles, but I'll read them to you, but I want to go through this I want you to understand this

This is David begging God spirits not to part and abandon him take not your Holy Spirit and how do we understand this?

Well, the best rule in any understanding of the Bible is context. Is it not? Context is a ruling principle.

So what's the context here? Well, David is crushed by his sin his sin with Bathsheba and all the things that came after that and crushed by sin

He's asking God to continue his work of repentance in him So in Psalm 51

Starting at verse 7. He says purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean verse 8 Let me hear the joy and gladness.

Let the bones you have broken rejoice These are speaking of a continual work It could say keep purging me so that I'm clean before you

Let there be a constant flow of joy and gladness as you restore me from brokenness the brokenness that you for my good

Brought upon me keep doing this Lord. That's verses 7 and 8 Then in verse 9 10 and 12 will come back to 11

These verses speak of an act of God as if to say when he says hide your face from my sins and blot out my iniquity

Verse 10 created me a new heart. Oh Lord renew a right spirit within me verse 12 restore to me the joy of your salvation

Uphold me with a willing spirit These are speaking of acts of God as if to say hide your face now

Blot them out this moment give now a heart clean from the old sins and determined not to find new ones

Because brethren when we repent from sins What's one of the signs that our repentance is true and real?

We stop finding ways to sin we turn away from that one that we've confessed and we hold fast to Jesus Christ who's obviously in the other direction from any sin and also

We become less and less adept at finding new ways to sin at covering them up And hiding them from your pastors from your brother from your sister brothers and sisters in the

Lord husband or wife The verse 11 is a scary one right in the middle

Cast not cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

I Would paraphrase this for us Lord do not take away this working of your spirit that has forced me to confront my sin

Lord keep doing this work of cleansing me with the hyssop Keep doing this work of crushing me by showing me how deep and how bad my sin really is

Cast me not away from your presence Don't take your spirit away from but keep doing this work for Lord because it's a good work because I'm as I'm forced to confront my sin as I repent of my sin as I feel the flow of God's forgiveness once again

What happens I? Grow in confidence That the Spirit's working within me, but I can't explain how he did it is a real work

And I know that I'm growing more and more in the image of Jesus Christ Not that he ever had anything to repent of But as I repent as I am purged as God cleanses my heart more and more

I become just that increment more like Christ a lifelong endeavor

No perfection in this life. None of us are gonna come close. It's the goal that's important He's asking

God to not take his spirit away from this working. He's doing in him not to abandon him to hell Not to cast him away from his presence

No one is able to snatch you out of my father's hands said the Lord Jesus Christ himself at least of all yourself least of all are you able to snatch yourself out of the father's hands and That's Samuel 6 for 7 16 14 that odd little verse little else in Scripture to help us understand it

So I want to know what it does not say it does not say that God sent an evil for example demon to Saul God is of two pure eyes than to behold evil nor can he be tempted by evil and God's not going to have a

Cadre of demons before him and pick a demon and send that to Saul God would not do such a thing

God Jesus proved this when he faced the evil ones temptations So what's this troubling spirit is

God who troubled Saul so as to show him his sin? And this is exactly the ministry of the

Spirit today to convict us of our sin to prompt us to repent God sending this spirit That troubles you

That won't let you rest Until you finally say yes This is what has floated to the surface from this quagmire

This is what I was holding down repressing lying about not acknowledging

Unwilling to admit even in my private prayer closet to the Lord God who knows my heart

Jesus Christ who knows all things I Believe that God sent him a spirit to show him his sin.

That's Saul And does he not do the same for you and me Does he did he not successfully show you your sin to bring you to salvation and then does he not clearly

Portrayed to the eyes of your heart Jesus Christ in him crucified Did he not go the Pharisee Saul's conscience even as he tried to destroy

Christ in his church in one of Paul's Testimonies about that.

He said Jesus told him it's hard to kick against the goads the goads of conscience that the

Spirit of God brings It's a mercy to never be ignored when the

Lord sends you these evil thoughts This troubling spirit that leads you away from your sin and back to your

Savior's ever -open arms So you might say the Spirit departed from Saul says so clearly and I would agree it did it does say so No doubt about it.

So why did he and why preacher? Are you telling me I could be sure he won't do that with me when my first answer at the risk of oversimplifying

It's very simple. He departed from Saul because he chose to The Spirit of God is

God Jesus Christ himself said he goes where he wishes He does what he will do he is

God he's not it he's not that He's God the third person of the

Trinity the Holy Spirit of God so he departed because he chose to But if you believe that he departed from Saul because of a sin then

I have to ask you Does that mean that whenever I send the Spirit can and will depart from me?

If your fear is born from this verse, then you need to ask what would bring him back? reconversion rebaptism

Good works Would you do more good things a penance as the Catholics would have you do?

What work would you do that would drink bring him back to you? Not of works lest anyone should both says the

Apostle Paul so that doesn't work And what would that do if you could bring him back by doing something good to Romans 5 1 therefore have been justified by faith

Justified by faith and faith alone. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ a once -for -all time

Justification bringing a peace that comes and goes every time I sin. How could that be? I mean as often as I sin even

God might get tired of that No That's not at all what happens So, why can

I say that the Holy Spirit will not depart from the believer Because of the cross of Jesus Christ Because of his cross

Jesus said in John 739 on the last day of the feast the great day Jesus stood up and cried if anyone thirsts to them come to me and drink

Whoever believes in me as the scripture has said out of his heart will flow rivers of living water

Now this he said about the Spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive For as yet the

Spirit had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified You see how important his resurrection is

When Jesus Christ was glorified through the resurrection and later through his ascension back to the father's right side

That's when the Spirit was given Because of his cross because of his death his burial and his resurrection

Can we reverse the resurrection? No more. Can you reverse the resurrection? Can you reverse the cross that led to that death that led to the resurrection

Can you reverse the working of the Spirit within you if you truly believe in Christ? He said in 1526 of John when the

Helper comes whom I was sent to you from the father the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the father He will bear witness about me

Bear witness of what exactly of the cross of forgiveness that the cross one bear

Bear what witness exactly of our Lord's resurrection three days after the cross bear witness of what exactly

To your spirit that you are truly children of the Living God And he said later the

Holy Spirit will glorify me and he will take what is mine and declare it to you So where's God's glory? It's in the cross which awaited

Jesus Christ just a few hours after these words. He spoke Putting all this together The Spirit was given when

Jesus was glorified by his resurrection John 739 and is that to which he bears witness as John 1526 thus glorifying

God's beloved Son and the Spirit The Lord spoke of the abiding

Residents of the Spirit within you and I will ask of the Father and he will give you another helper to be with you

Until you make me mad again No to be with you until you fill up that cup of grief and just one drop over and my spirit departs from you

He will give you another helper to be with you I'm just tired of you and I did

I'm gonna go to a more holy, but no it doesn't say that what does Jesus say? Get ready to repeat.

I Will ask the Father and he will give you another helper. That's the Spirit to be with you forever to be with you

How long? Forever Can you reverse that?

Can you change that promise? No No, you cannot

Lord said no one can snatch a believer from the Father's hands Least of all you yourself least of all any human

Least of all God who would have to then go back on his own word by his son Jesus To depart from you would be to undo the work of the

Trinity itself in their greatest work, which is the resurrection Galatians 1 1 says that God the

Father raised Jesus Christ from the dead Romans 8 11 says the Spirit of God raised

Jesus from the dead in John 2 19 Jesus said I will raise myself up from the dead

All that cast aside if if it is possible for the Holy Spirit to vacate a believer just because of their sin

It's for sin that Jesus Christ died. It's for sin that he by his spirit resides in you to draw you further and further away from that sin

When it's the ongoing work of the Spirit to show us our sin to point us again and again to its only answer Which is the cross the resurrection of our

Lord Jesus Christ and repentance and knowing God's forgiveness And he who loves me said

Jesus Christ will be loved by my father and I will love him and manifest Myself to him unless of course you mess up again

Unless of course you do that one more grieving thing Unless you have a sin greater than God's forgiving love unless you're able to find the limit of God's Compassions for our weakness unless the psalmist lied when he wrote in the hundred and thirty ninth

Psalm that the Lord does not treat us As our sins deserve the Father Jesus says will love those who love his son

Unless your sin is greater than the Lord's cross and resurrection You all see where this is going If you've ever feared the

Spirit of God would leave you and stop doing this work within you Cast aside that fear perfect love casts out that fear know that Jesus Christ himself said he will be with you forever

And how do you know? I don't know how he does it But as we exhibit more love joy peace and the rest of that to each other as we follow in his works as we join together in love with one another because of our love for the

Lord Jesus Christ who binds us together and edify one another and Encourage one another and draw one another up into his image, you know from those objective proofs

That that Spirit of God even though we don't know how he did it. He is indeed doing it

You will never bloom fully in the Lord Jesus Christ if you live in fear of his spirit being taken away

We can't walk in the past He prepared beforehand if we're stooped over and cringing with our hands over our head in case we should get fed up He should get fed up with me and smite me from heaven

Now we go so far as to argue that such fear actually impugns the character of God and the transforming power of his spirit by the gospel so brethren

You can see where this was going The Spirit of God rushes upon you and brings success to God's Word and bringing you to Christ The Spirit of God rushed upon you stays with you from this day forth

Drawing you ever more and ever more and ever more into the image of the

Lord Jesus Christ So I'll close with this and the Spirit of God rushed upon you on the day

He gave you faith to believe and he will never leave you or forsake you and all that for Jesus sake.

Amen Heavenly Father. Thank you for this day

And I thank you father that your word shows so clearly the security that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ And we may we ever grow more and more in his image and that you father will keep your spirit within us and that spirit

That is promised to stay in us father Continue this good work show us our sin

Draw us ever closer to Christ Jesus Make us ever quicker to repent and more appreciative of the forgiveness in him that we have and we ask it on Jesus name