Tips for Teaching This Week’s Session of The Gospel Project for Adults

Listen to this week’s leader training podcast with Y Bonesteele, team leader for The Gospel Project for Adults, for a summary and guidance in leading your group.

This week’s additional resources for study and preparation:

• Article: “‘God Made Me Do It!’ Why Did God Tempt Saul with an Evil Spirit?” by Richard McDonald
• Sermon: “The Spirit, Descending and Departing” by Alistair Begg

Transcript of Leader Training Podcast:

Hi, this is Y Bonesteele, team leader of the Gospel Project for Adults. Welcome to another Leader training podcast. Today we are Unit 10, Session 5, Foolish Pride, with the core passage of 1 Samuel 16:14-23, and the key concept of: The call of God is a call to humility.

Last week we saw Samuel anoint David as king although no one really knew the reason for the anointing, because Saul was still the official king. So when the Spirit of the Lord came on David, and Samuel left him in 1 Samuel 16:13, we find in verse 14 that the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul. And instead, “an evil spirit sent from the Lord began to torment him.” In response, Saul’s servant told Saul to command them to find someone who could play the lyre and help him feel better when he is tormented. And so Saul did.

Now, there’s a couple things to note here—first, our understanding of the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. We know the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Triune God, the Trinity. We also know that before Christ, no one was sealed with the Holy Spirit so it can come and go. So the Spirit of the Lord left Saul.

So what is our understanding of the person and work of the Holy Spriit in the lives of believers, the church, and the world? We know today He works as our Counselor and Advocate. He is God in every sense of the word, and because of Christ, those who trust in Jesus can be sealed with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13-14 states, “In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.”

The other issue at hand is the mention of “an evil spirit sent from the Lord.” Some question how can God and evil be equated? But just because an evil spirit was “sent from the Lord” doesn’t mean that God has any evil inside Him at all. Now this evil spirit, some consider an actual demon. Others believe this “evil spirit” to be a spirt sent from God to do evil or harm to Saul, having more of the translation of a “bad spirit” or “a spirit of evil,” “another sort of supernatural being—an angel of judgment” as quoted from The New American Commentary. Whichever the case, the main point is that God allowed Saul to be tormented by this spirit because of his disobedience and rejection. Personally, I prefer this latter understanding but the theological truths highlighted in The Gospel Project Commentary starting on page 57 are all still true: 1) The spiritual world is real, 2) the spiritual world impacts and interacts with the physical world, and 3) God is sovereign over all. It doesn’t matter really whether the spirit was demonic or angelic. What we know for sure is God allowed the spirit to cause harm toward Saul, tormenting him.

The servants didn’t know what else to do but to suggest getting someone to soothe Saul’s torments with music. And so Saul agreed. He didn’t think of going to the Lord as he should have, he tried to find earthly solutions for his spiritual problems. But that shows the absence of the Spirit leading him and his own lack of turning to God because of sin and pride. But in the end, God used all of this to bring David to comfort Saul.

What are some ways believers are meant to resist and fight against pride that would separate us from the Lord? By staying in the Word and in prayer, we can fight against sin. Being aware of our sin and all that tempts us helps us be intentional on steering clear of things that would lead us to sin. Having others around us, friends, mentors, and a community, asking us the right questions, also helps us resist pride and sin.

So in verse 18, we see that one of the servants had seen David play the lyre. He also mentioned that he was “a valiant man, a warrior, eloquent, handsome, and the Lord is with him.” Perfect qualities for someone to help comfort Saul. So Saul sent for David and Jesse sent him back with a donkey loaded with bread, a wineskin and one young goat. Some commentators say this was for a gift to the king and other say it was to sustain David. The Gospel Project Commentary agrees with the former. Both are possible understandings.

So when David came to Saul, Saul loved him very much and David became his armor-bearer. Saul found favor with David and asked Jesse if he could be in his service. This sets up the relationship between David and Saul and how, initially, Saul loved David, but he would waver in his emotions over time.

So whenever the spirit came on Saul to torment him, David would play the lyre, comforting Saul, helping him feel better and this spirit of evil would thus leave him. So David went from being a shepherd to an armor-bearer and a lyre player. This reminds me of the scene in the movie Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King when Pippen sings for King Denethor and he’s eating so voraciously while Pippen humbly sings for the king. David knew he was anointed by Samuel, yet he still humbly served as shepherd for his family and as servant to Saul. For God’s people, the call of God is a call to humility.

Like David, then, what are some ways you can use your talents and skills to serve others in an environment this is increasingly hostile to God and His plans? Ministry and kingdom work doesn’t just happen in the church. Wherever your giftings or job, even in retirement, wherever you volunteer, those are all opportunities to be used by God and for His kingdom. You have all sorts of gifts that God has given you from being a good talker or encourager, a handyman or baker, all your hobbies and personality traits can be used for God’s purposes. We just need to be intentional about how we are doing that. That’s the connection with the Theology doctrine for the session: the Christian and the Social Order. Even in a hostile world, we don’t retreat but enter in our surroundings, our neighborhood, our cities, to be a light for Jesus with the gifts He has given us.

Though anointed by Samuel to be king, it would be years before David actually would be king. Israel and Samuel had to wait for God’s plan to come to fruition.

When have you had to wait on the Lord to act, and how did you maintain trust in Him through that season? Maybe you had to wait for a job, or a baby, or a goal or dream to come true. Maybe you’re still waiting. And maybe you maintained trust by understanding that God is in control of it all, that His plans and understanding was beyond yours. You live each day asking God how you can know Him more and serve Him more as you patiently wait for His promises and your desires.

Going into the Group Experience then, ask the ice-breaker about what you learned from experiencing a humble experience. Move into the Context, reminding your group how Saul lost the monarchy and the Holy Spirit. Remind them also that today, for those who trust in Christ, we cannot lose the Holy Spirit.

Then in the Recap, take turns sharing details from this week’s passage. Be sure to cover what “an evil spirit sent from the Lord” means. Let your group know that today’s activity will look at the contrasting character traits of Saul and David.

Going into the Group Activity, direct your group to page 52 in the Personal Study Guide. Recreate the chart on the board as well. Then invite a volunteer to read 1 Samuel 16:14-17. Record on the chart the ways Saul demonstrated pride. From the passage, we can see Saul’s pride in thinking that he can come up with his own solutions for his spiritual problems. Instead of going to God, he listened to his servants’ suggestions instead. Also quickly direct your group to verses 13:8-12 and 15:1-9 and 15:12-21 and record on the chart the ways Saul demonstrated pride in these verses from previous sessions. In 13:8-12, we saw Saul’s pride when he thought he could offer the sacrifices before Samuel got to Gilgal. He thought he could supersede God’s rules and do what he thought was right. In 15:1-9, Saul’s pride again led him to disobey God by not destroying all the Amalekites. He spared King Agag and kept the best spoils for himself. In 15:12-21, Saul made a monument to himself and tried to deny that he disobeyed the Lord’s instructions.

The consequences of Saul’s pride and sin was that he lost the kingly line, he lost the kingship, and he lost the Holy Spirit. Also, he was tormented, probably not just by the spirit sent from God, but also by his own soul and dealing with the consequences of his actions.

Then ask: “How can disobedience to the Lord lead to our own lack of peace?” We not only have to deal with the natural consequences of our sinful actions, but also the spiritual consequences when we sin and aren’t repentant. We become distant from God. We sometimes wrestle with guilt and shame as well, which causes us to be in turmoil. Consistent sin also gives the devil a foothold to tempt us more.

Then have someone read 1 Samuel 16:18-23. Then write down how David demonstrated humility in contrast to Saul. David wasn’t against hard work, and he didn’t need to be the center of attention. He humbly served his family as a shepherd and humbly served Saul as his armor-bearer and lyre player. He didn’t have to apply for some high position, even knowing he was anointed for something big. He served his tormented king humbly and graciously.

Then make copies and pass out Pack Item 5: King Saul and King David. Give everyone time to skim through the information comparing and contrasting King Saul and King David.

Then with the Debrief questions, ask: What warnings does this passage raise about the failure to follow God’s instructions for our lives? When we fail to follow God’s instructions, we can easily take ourselves down a wrong path. We can be tormented by our circumstances, spirits, or our own mental being. God always gives us opportunities to humbly return to him but like Saul, we may not always choose to do so. God wants us to return to him but when we don’t, we make our own path and sometimes fail. Ask, by contrast, what are the blessings associated with following Christ? Peace of mind and peace of heart. A close relationship with God. The lack of torment, guilt, and shame.

Summarize and head into the Head, Heart, Hands section, focusing on the Heart question if time is limited. How are you tempted to pridefully reject the commands and cares of the Lord, and how can you embrace humility of heart to submit to God in these areas? For most of us, perhaps our rejection of God’s commands may be more subtle. It might involve more  sins of omission, where we aren’t intentional about spreading the gospel, or loving others, or being hospitable to strangers. Perhaps we don’t directly reject God’s commands but maybe put off for another day, the commands God wants us to act on. For those of us in Christ, we may also be tempted to think that our “spiritual or religious” acts are what makes us a good person or are loved more by God. Our reliance on works-based faith without focusing on our relationship with Christ may cause us to think somehow we’re better than others. We must check our hearts to live humbly and see that it is Christ’s work on the cross that saves us, not our good works.

In Next Steps, have your group use the bullet points to reflect on humility this coming week. Then invite your group to do prayer requests and praises. Then read through Psalm 63:1-5, praying through it if time permits: God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you. I thirst for you; my body faints for you in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water. 2 So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory. 3 My lips will glorify you because your faithful love is better than life. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; at your name, I will lift up my hands.5 You satisfy me as with rich food; my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.” A prayer example can sound like this: Lord, keep us humble that we may eagerly seek you. Keep our gaze on you that we would let go of pride. Remind us that you fully satisfy. In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.

Hey thanks again for joining me on another Leader Training podcast. Send comments and questions to [email protected]. And have a great group time!