disquieted me, to bring me up?" Saul, in the agony of his soul, ex plains his distress because of the Philistines who seek to make war, and the fact that Cod would no longer answer him. What a pathet ic sight. The same can be true in our lives when we allow a barrier of sin to keep us from fellowship with the Lord. Instead of bringing him any com fort, the old prophet points out, "The Lord is doing to you exactly as I prophesied. He is tearing the kingdom out of your hands and giving it to David." So often today do we see a similar anxiety of soul. People are filled with worry and frustration. Quite often, one of the underlying reasons is sin in their lives. A "root of bitterness" has sprung up to contaminate their whole existence. Worry is a sin be cause it is a lack of trusting in the Lord. The root of the word means "to choke." When we do not trust we are really cutting off the faith line. Saul was far away from Cod. He had no peace for he had only ex perienced the Lord's silence. What a way to end life. The throne was the one thing he wanted to hang onto more than anything else. Af ter all, he was an empire builder. "Things" had become too precious to him. His kingdom had become his god instead of Jehovah. Chris tian, if we place anything above the Lord, that is the quickest way I know to have it taken from us. There are many things which fall into this category including a job, a career, a business, a child, even health itself. Cod will not share His glory with another. He must come first in all things. John con cluded his glorious first epistle with the exhortation, "Little chil- Page 31
She has to testify, "I saw a god-like form ascending out of the earth. He was an old man covered with a mantle." Upon hearing this, Saul stooped with his face to the ground. Again, I want to underscore that Samuel was brought up not by any magical arts of the witch, but by a divine miracle of the omnipotent God. He is still a miracle-working Lord as He transforms human lives through His grace and mercy. No miracle on earth can compare to what is spoken of in II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new." Has that ever happened in your life? If not, let Him work a miracle in your life. Turn in simple faith to the Lord Jesus accepting Him as your per sonal Saviour. Admitting your sin, believe He died for you, and you will be saved (Romans 10:9, 10). Yes, the miracle of new birth will be yours through this eternal trans action. May God help you to ex perience this most fantastic of all miracles. SAUL’S DEFINITE SENTENCE The Word of Cod has a great deal to say in warning us about the dangers of following the occult. In past studies we have traced the sin and degradation of King Saul in this area as it is recorded for us in Samuel 28. Because of sin he was driven to devilish spiritism. Instead of confessing his sinfulness so that he could commune with the Lord, he turned to a witch seeking an swers from the dead and departed Samuel. It was the omnipotent Cod, not the spiritist, who caused the old prophet to appear. When Samuel was seen he asked, "Why hast thou
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