Hey there, and welcome to our live stream. Whether you're watching from home, on the go, or somewhere in between, we're glad you're here. At Harmony Hill, our mission is simple: awakening people from death to life in Christ. And we believe that begins with moments just like this, coming together to worship, to hear God's word, and take steps toward Jesus. If this is your first time [music] with us, or you're looking for a way to get connected, we'd love to hear from you. You can visit [music] our website, scan the QR code on the screen, or
send us a direct message, and we'll be in touch. Today's services include worship through song, biblical teaching, and a chance to reflect on what God is doing in your life. So, get comfortable, [music] grab a Bible, prepare your heart. We're glad you're with us. Welcome to worship on the go. Good morning, church. Happy Mother's Day. My name is Missy Perkins, and I am involved in the choir as well as serve on the first impressions team, and we would like to welcome you here today. This is my daughter, Cheyenne. We have four children. She's our oldest,
and this is Carter. And we would also like to welcome those of you that are joining us online today. We hope that you feel blessed and encouraged having been with us. My name is Cheyenne, and I am um, a children's coordinator here on the hill, and I also work in our Mother's Day Out program. Um, and we're just so excited that you are spending your Mother's Day here with us. Um, if this is your first time visiting here, um, if you will grab this card in the seat back in front of you, this is our
next steps card. If you'll fill it out, you can drop it in the offering plate, or you can take it to the back to the next steps room, and we have a small gift for you, and we'd love to meet you. Please watch the screen for the announcement video. >> [music] >> Happy Mother's Day, church. Listen up for some exciting things happening here on the hill. Take it away, Mom. On May 21st, we will celebrate Baptism Sunday with two services at 8:30 and 10:00 a.m. Join us as we celebrate life change and [music] what God
is doing in our church. If you're ready to be baptized, stop by the next steps room, or [music] contact the church to sign up. May 31st is Family Worship Sunday. Parents, [music] plan for kids and students to join you in worship as we gather as one church family. Kids ministry is available for birth through 26 [music] months and action ministry only. Student groups will not meet. Parents, sign your kids up for Vacation Bible School today. At Illumination Station, kids will explore who Jesus is and discover He is the light who brings hope to a dark
world. VBS is June 1st through the 4th for kids who've completed kindergarten through 5th grade. Looking for support or encouragement for your family's faith journey? Stop by the [music] Family Ministry Lounge before or after service to find helpful resources and connect with our team. We're here to partner with you as you lead your family in faith. To stay up to date with everything happening on the hill, check your weekly bulletin, church app, or visit our website harmonyhill.church for the latest [music] updates. Now, let's join together in worship. Sarah and her Willie Frank — is what
I call him. Actually, William Frank is his name, but he's Willie Frank to me. He's a cute kid. We wanted to welcome you and thank you for being here today. Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there. This is a beautiful day to be in the house of the Lord, to worship Him, to give Him praise and glory. And I'm I'm grateful for a mother who loved Jesus with all her heart, mind, soul, and strength. And until her last day, she served the Lord and loved Him and gave Him her all. And I'm glad
that we have mothers that are in here like that, and so many of you moms have have sunk your life into Jesus and told it to your kids. Blessings on you for doing that. And we're we're grateful that you're here with us. We're going to stand right now. We're going to sing, "Come, Now Is the Time to Worship." Stand with us as we praise our Lord together. Here we go together. Come, >> [music] [music] [singing] [music] >> Let's sing that again. >> [music] [music] >> Just as you are. >> [music and singing] >> Here's what
scripture tells us. >> [music] [music and singing] [music and singing] [music and singing] [music] >> as you worship. >> [music] >> Now is the time to give your >> [singing] >> heart. Just as you are, to worship. >> [music] >> Just as you are before your God. >> [music] [music] >> We have a God who is worthy of all of our praise, all of our majesty, and who is worthy of all the glory, and holy is His name. Holy, [singing] holy, holy >> [music] >> Lord God >> [singing] >> almighty. >> [music] >> Early in
the >> [singing] >> morning, our song shall rise to Thee. Holy, holy, holy, >> [music] >> merciful and >> [singing] >> mighty. God in >> [music] >> three persons, blessed Trinity. >> [music] >> Holy, holy, holy, all Thy >> [music and singing] >> saints adore Thee. >> [music and singing] >> joining, casting down their golden crowns around the >> [music] >> glassy sea. Cherubim and seraphim falling >> [music and singing] >> down before Thee, >> [music] >> which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be. Holy, >> [music and singing] >> holy, holy, >> [music and
singing] >> though the darkness hide Thee, though >> [music and singing] >> the eye of sinful man Thy glory >> [music] [singing] >> may not see, only >> [music] >> Thou art holy, there is none beside Thee, >> [music] >> perfect in power, >> [music] >> in love and purity. Holy, holy, >> [music] >> holy, Lord God >> [music and singing] >> almighty, all Thy works shall >> [music] >> praise Thy name in earth and sky and >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Amen. And amen. We have opportunity this morning to tell the Lord
we love You, we give You all that we are. Our desire is for You, God. Let's sing and give it. This is >> [music and singing] >> my desire to honor >> [singing and music] >> Lord, with all my heart, >> [singing and music] >> I worship You. All I have within me, I give You praise. >> [singing] >> All that I adore is in You. >> [music and singing] >> Lord, I give You my [music] heart. I give You my soul. I live for You, >> [music and singing] [music and singing] [music] [singing] >>
I hope that You desire today. This is my [music and singing] desire to honor You. >> [music] >> Lord, with >> [music] >> all my heart >> [singing] >> I worship You. All >> [music] >> I have within me, I give You praise. [music] All that I adore [music] is in You. Lord, I >> [music] >> give You my heart. I give You my soul. >> [music] >> I live for You alone. Every [music] breath that I take, [singing] every moment I'm awake. Lord, have Your >> [music] >> way in me. Lord, I give You
my heart. >> [singing] >> I give You my >> [music] >> soul. >> [music] [music] [music] >> Amen. We're going to turn our attention to prayer. And uh, the prayer prompts are going to come up on the screen as this is uh, Mother's Day. Uh, I know for some this is uh, a very joyous day as uh, Stacy and others have mentioned when there's uh, a godly mom uh, in your life or a mother figure. And then for others, just like last week's sermon, it's complicated. And so uh, I want us to take time to
just pray for both uh, of these uh, moments. Number one, if there's a godly mom or mother figure that's invested in your life, just spend a few moments praising the Lord for that gift in your life. And then secondly, would you also pray for God's comfort and peace uh, for those that are in this room that Mother's Day is a difficult day. And just pray that throughout the course of this day that they'd know God's comfort and [music] peace. And uh, let's go to the Lord in prayer. >> Patiently waited upon the Lord >> [music]
>> and then He turned to me. For He [singing] heard every cry. Oh, my [music] God, lifted me out of the dark [singing] and deep. >> [music] >> And I have built my life on the One to trust. Who trust upon the [music and singing] Lord have never turned away to many other [music and singing] gods. No other one compares to all our God has >> [music and singing] >> done, and He put a new song of praise >> [music and singing] >> in my mouth. So, I lift >> [music] >> my hands >> [singing]
>> and shout. >> [music] [singing] [music] [music] [singing] [music] >> I'll share with every breath. >> [music] [singing] [music] [singing and music] >> So, I lift my >> [music and singing] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music and singing] [music] [music and singing] >> Worthy is Your >> [music] [music] >> May all who seek You rejoice [music] and be [singing] glad. May those who long for [singing] You rejoice and [music] be glad, for the Lord >> [singing] >> is great. May all who seek You, may all who seek [music] You rejoice [singing] and be glad. Rejoice and
be glad. >> [music] >> May those who long for You, may those who long for You, rejoice and be glad >> [singing] >> for the Lord is great. >> [music] >> May all who seek You, may all who seek You, rejoice [music] and be glad. Rejoice and be glad. May those who long for, may those >> [music] >> who long for You, rejoice and be glad, for the >> [music] >> Lord is great. Rejoice and [music and singing] be glad, for the Lord is >> [music] >> You are my help and my defender. You are
my >> [singing] >> God and You >> [music] >> are great. I will declare the Lord's salvation. Worthy is Your name. >> [music] >> You are my help and my defender. >> [singing and music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Worthy is the name of the Lord this morning. Okay, today is Mother's Day. Those of you who have filled out your moms, I hope that you've got your forms. We're going to pass those [music] toward the middle, and the guys are going to be collecting those uh, those forms right now. Uh, your little
your little ballot. So, if [music] you'll pass those in right now, just toward the middle aisles, that way they can come and collect those from you. And uh, yes, sir. If you need one, they have a they have a few extra if you've not been able to fill one out yet. Men, you are not eligible. Sorry, guys. All right. A lot of lovely mothers in here today. Raise your hand if you need a ballot. Looks like everybody's taken care of. Wonderful. Okay. Fantastic. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Good morning. Okay, did everybody get their
ballots in? That just raise your hand if you need. All right, looks like we got them all. So, we have some great giveaways. Um, you do not have to come up front to get them. Um, Missy and Cheyenne volunteered to bring them to you. So, I hope everybody put it in there. That didn't hold anybody up. Before we do the drawing for our great giveaways, I wanted to tell you too, we have a table up by the main doors with some really pretty paper and envelopes and stickers. If your mom is still on this side
of heaven, I just want to encourage you to write her a letter. Let her know what she means to you, why, that you appreciate her and what she's done. And um, also, if you have daughters or daughter-in-laws who are moms, don't underestimate the power of your words to them as well. And so, take advantage of that table. You can just stop by there, grab however many pieces you need, and um, and you can do that. That'll be a real meaningful thing to do this Mother's Day. So, we are about to draw four gift cards. They
are: two Crown of Thorns Nursery, TJ Max, Ulta, Belk, Standpipe, Marcella's Day Spa, The Mill House, and Salt & Honey. So, here we go. If you — if we call your name, raise your hand real tall, and they will bring you a gift card. Our first one is uh, Kelly Walker. Kelly Walker? >> [applause] >> That's one. We keep tally on this one. This would be eight. Another ten? Eight. Eight. Second one, Darlene Dominy. Where's Darlene? Let's see. We dig around, make sure they're not all from the same spot. Our next one is Becky White.
Where's Miss Becky? Let's see. Oh, right back here. Let me see. Okay, and next one is Bettina Wright. Got one. Okay. Then we have Yasha Hubert? Did I say that right? Okay, just raise your hand. Okay, so right over here. Okay, and Chris Hazelbaker? >> Mhm. Where's Chris? Oh, that's it. Oh, in the very back back there. Okay, and let's see. This one is >> [snorts] >> Pinky Baker. Where's Ms. Pinky? One more. One, okay. Okay, so I think this is the last one. Do you all have just one gift card left? Yeah. Okay, last
one. Barbara Luwing. Where's Ms. Barbara? Right back here, Missy. Okay, enjoy your Mother's Day, ladies, and enjoy those gift cards. Thank you, Chrissy. I do want to take time to uh, to honor all of our moms and to pray over them before we get into our message. And so, uh, if you are a mom, a grandmom, uh, a stepmom, an adoptive mom, if you are a mom, would you just uh, stand up right where you are if you're able? If not, raise your hand so that we can uh, acknowledge you and just say thank you
to all these moms. >> [applause] >> Amen. You can have a seat. And I I just want to offer a prayer over these moms and for the work that they do. Father, we thank You for this day that we celebrate the gift of moms. Lord, we thank You for each and every one of these ladies, uh Lord, for their uh desire to serve You, uh their desire to raise their children to serve You and to love You and to honor You. Father, I pray that You would bless each of these moms today. Lord, would they
feel uh, just a sense of gratitude uh, from their families. Lord, I pray that You would encourage them today. That You would uh, guard their hearts. Lord, um, Lord, I pray that they would uh, truly understand the fulfillment of what it means to be a mom. And Lord, we pray that You would continue over this next year to give them uh, wisdom and discernment and direction as they either raise young ones or invest in their kids in their adult years, uh, or whatever stage of life they're in. Lord, we just thank You for this gift.
And Lord, we pray that You would bless their efforts uh, for the kingdom. And it's in Christ's name. Amen. Okay, we are uh, continuing our series on David, and every now and again, when you lay out a sermon series, uh, you randomly have on Mother's Day the message on the Witch of Endor. And so, please hear me. This is not any passive-aggressiveness. This is not any statement about any of the moms in my own life. It's just where we fell in the text today. Please know that. As we think about uh, 1 Samuel chapter 28,
we've been following the life of David. We actually come to a point in the life of David in the story today where we get just a couple of verses about David and then a long interlude about Saul. And I'm going to share how those are connected here in a moment. Uh, we've been in this series looking at the origin story of David — from anointing to becoming king. And we are on that journey. He's not yet on the throne, but he has been anointed. He has slain Goliath. He has been in Saul's house, and Saul
got paranoid and jealous and angry and has tried to kill David multiple times, and they began this cat and mouse of being chased around, and on multiple occasions, they had a face-off, and David prevailed with his integrity and character. And then, last week, we saw a complicated season for David, in which he, instead of going to the Lord, he first went to his heart, which led him to think that the only option for him was to go into enemy territory and to befriend himself with the Philistines. And that's sort of where we pick up today.
Now, the message today is a an interesting one. It's — it's a weird one, to be honest. If you've never read all the way through 1 Samuel, this may be a story you've not been familiar with, but Saul is going to end up going to a medium, a necromancer, to call and to speak to someone who is already dead. It's sort of a Bible ghost story, not a Holy Ghost story. Now, I don't know about you, but for me, uh, I am not a ghost story guy. Uh, and that really goes back to when I
was a kid. I mean, every camp you ever go on, somebody wants to tell a a ghost story and try to scare all the kids, and it usually ends up with some hook in a side view mirror, for some reason. And I remember one night at a camp, our adult leader, uh, as people were beginning to want to start telling or begging for a ghost story, our adult leader drew a line in the metaphorical sand and he said, "We are not telling ghost stories. That is demonic, and we are not inviting that into the place
that we are sleeping." And so, that was sort of laid out there. And it was clear. And then we started hearing him snore. And even though there was a line in the sand, there were a couple of kids that decided, "Let's cross that line," and began to tell ghost stories. I don't know about you if you've ever been in a moment when you knew where the lines were and yet you still crossed over them anyways. That's a little bit of the story that we're going to see with both David and Saul today. This — this
idea, this even though it is somewhat of a Bible ghost story, there are some lines that should not be crossed. And so, with that, let's look at 1 Samuel chapter 28. I'm going to read the first seven verses and then we'll unpack the entire chapter. It's written: "In those days, the Philistines gathered their forces for war to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, 'Understand that you and your men are to go out with me in the army.' David said to Achish, 'Very well. You shall know what your servant can do.' And Achish said
to David, 'Very well. I will make you my bodyguard for life.' Now, Samuel had died and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land. The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel and they encamped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him either by dreams or by the Urim or
by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, 'Seek out for me a woman who is a medium that I may go to her and inquire of her.' And his servant said to him, 'Behold, there is a medium at Endor.'" So, we begin this chapter with just a few verses about David. And so, as I talked about, he went into Philistine territory last week. Something he should not have done, but he did, and Saul stopped looking for him, and so it looked like it worked. That my battle with Saul is over. And he begins this sort
of deception of saying to the leader of the Philistines, "Oh, I've sort of been going out against my own people." Well, now the Philistines want to go to battle against Israel. And so, David — the one anointed to be the king of Israel — now stands in the battle lines with the Philistines >> [snorts] >> getting ready to go into battle against the very people God called him to lead. I told you last week it would get complicated, and just because it seems like something works, it only works till it doesn't. And now, he thought
he was not going to have to face Saul, but he went to an enemy who is now bringing the fight to Saul. And David is standing there on the precipice looking out thinking, "How am I going to get out of this one?" And there is a little bit of a funny interlude between him and David — between David and Achish, the leader of the Philistines. It's — some of it is due to the Hebrew that speaks out, but basically Achish says, "David, you know that you're going to be by my side with my army as
we go against Israel." And David says, "Well, then you will know what I am really all about." And it's left sort of this vague — what does that mean? Does it mean you're going to fight with us? We're going to know — we're going to see how well you can fight with us, or when we get down into battle, are you going to turn against us? But it was enough of an assurance that Achish, the leader of the Philistines, says, "Well, you will be my bodyguard for life." And the little word play there in Hebrew
is that the word "bodyguard" means "keeper of my head." And David has actually already taken the head of one Philistine from Gath before, if you remember the story of Goliath. But then it's — we're — wait. Then the narrative just shifts to Saul. It's as if we have to wait and see what's going to happen with David. The tension is building. He's standing there ready for battle to go against Israel — or is he? We don't know, but then the attention turns to Saul, and it's almost like this: if this was cinematic theater, it would
be the idea that David is now almost as if he is looking down onto Saul's story to see what will happen to a king who refuses to repent. And so now David, in a complicated situation, in a situation that has gone way farther than he had thought it ever would, is now almost looking down at another king — Saul. And I told you I don't like ghost stories, but there is technically one ghost story that I do occasionally watch. It's about Scrooge at Christmas. 'Cuz you have the ghost of Christmas past, of present, and future.
And really, that's how we're going to approach the unwinding, the un-the spiritual spiraling of Saul. As we walk through this text, we're going to see his past, his present, and his future. And so, if you've got the outline, here is a grave warning to those who repeatedly resist God, reject repentance, and drift from listening to God's voice. This is what is in front of us — a grave warning. So, the first warning is this. Let's review Saul's past choices — reviewing Saul's past choices. So now, as the narrative shifts to Saul, we see that they
— the Philistines — have come and they've camped, and they're actually in Israelite territory. And Saul and the army of Israel gather. They're about just a few miles apart from one another. And Saul is in a position where he can see the vast army, and he is terrified. And then the Bible gives us some verses that are kind of scary. And I'm not even to the witch of Endor yet. Because what's scary is Saul is said to inquire of the Lord. But the Lord does not answer him. And He does not answer him in three
ways the Bible says — either through dreams, through the Urim, which is shorthand for the lot system, casting lots that you see in the Old Testament, or by prophets. Here's why. Dreams comes up possibly because earlier in this book, 1 Samuel, Samuel the prophet had this nighttime dream exchange where God spoke to him and called him, "Samuel, Samuel." You remember this. Sort of a personal revelation. And Saul is afraid and he's asking God and he's not receiving any personal direction. So, he moves on to another common way of hearing from the Lord — casting of
lots. And we actually go back several chapters where Saul made a vow and made everyone in the army make a vow that they would not eat before battle, which — not a great strategy. You need some fuel for battle. But he made everybody say, "We're not going to eat before battle. That's how we do it." But then they begin to lose a battle and they cast the lots — the Urim and the Thummim. Sort of two rocks, different colors, and they would cast to determine who was the violator. And when they cast lots, it actually
fell to Saul's son, Jonathan. And Jonathan says, "You know what? I ate some honey." And so he was the violator. And so Saul's casting these lots but getting no direction. Part of it is that you needed a priest to cast lots, and Saul's past actions had killed all of the priests in a rage because that town had given aid to David. All of the priests except one who were now with David's men. And so anyone who could even read that sign from the Lord — because of past consequence, he's [snorts] made distance. And no prophet
spoke to him. Samuel's dead. And the last word of the lead prophet of Israel was that the kingdom was to be removed from Saul. So, no prophets were coming, no priest to help him, and no personal revelation. Here's a truth. It's a hard truth. Persistent disobedience can lead to a terrifying spiritual silence. Now, real quick, not every time that we feel like the Lord is silent is it because we have been in persistent disobedience. But if you've been in persistent disobedience from God, don't be surprised that in a moment you cry out for direction, that
it's deafening silence. It's almost to say the distance >> [snorts] >> that you desired has now become the thing that you fear. When we continually reject God and are disobedient to God, silence. Silence. Just like that. Unnerving. Wondering, did He lose His place? It's just silence. It — it's — it becomes to build up this anxiety and fear in us. I think about um, before the days when my wife got um, an Apple Watch, where when I called her, it would just buzz on her wrist. There would be times that I would be at the
grocery store and I would have a question about the grocery list, and I would call and would not get an answer. And I would call again and not get an answer. And I would go through — you've heard of like the stages of grief. I would go through the stages of — man at grocery store unable to get a hold of his wife. It starts with simple — oh, let me just call again. To then anger — why? She knows I'm at the store. To then after 12 phone calls — is she okay? What does
this silence mean? Right? Like there's this — when we're trying to reach out to someone we can't get, all of a sudden it begins to play in our mind. What is going on? And Saul sees the enemy. He's cried out to the Lord, but because of a life of persistent disobedience and rejecting the Lord's words to him, the Lord chooses not to answer him. That's the first warning. Disobedience always has consequence. Secondly — not only reviewing his past choices, but now let's look at Saul's present circumstances. So, having not heard from the Lord, he gets
desperate. He gets antsy, and now he will take any voice he can. After the brief couple of verses about David, you get — I believe it's in verse 3 — you get just some background information that's helpful for the story. I'm going to give a Star Wars reference here for two reasons. One, this past week was May the 4th. May the force be with you. May the force be with you. And secondly, the witch or the medium is at Endor. There are no Ewoks in this story, but — but verses 3 and 4 remind me
of the beginning opening crawl of Star Wars — the classic scene when the — when the movie begins in the yellow words begin to go up on the screen out into space, but they are giving you important information. The Senate, you know, or whatever. There's a blockade, you know, whatever it may be. Verses 3 and 4 are laying the groundwork of the important information. It's almost the yellow scroll of Star Wars. Saul is dead. It's the second time in this book it's been mentioned. The first one was to show how David would interact when his
spiritual mentor was gone. It's mentioned here for a very specific reason — to make sure that we all know and remember Saul is actually dead. And that's going to come up here in a moment. And then the second piece of that scroll is — and this is also a time in Israel where Saul had banned mediums and necromancers from the land. And if you don't know that, they're just giving background. It could make it look like one day he's banning them and then that very same day he's violating that. But no, it's giving — like
background — because in the law, in the Pentateuch, in the first five books, in Leviticus, it is stated in Leviticus chapter 20 that going to a medium or a necromancer is so deplorable and unholy and wicked that anyone who uses one should be put to death. And so Saul at one point banned them from all of Israel, standing on the promises of Leviticus chapter 20, verse 6. And so the yellow scroll goes forward. Samuel the prophet is dead. And previously, Saul had banned mediums and necromancers. The Philistine army is on the hill at Shunem. Saul
is afraid. And now we get into this picture — and Saul has prayed and his past actions have caught up to him, leaving him in silence. And so now, desperate, he says to his servants, "Okay, I can't hear from God. I need some help. I need some direction. I need you to find me someone who can contact the dead." The very thing that I outlawed. "I need you to find me someone." And someone in his servant group says, "There's one at Endor." And now begins a movement to Endor. In fact, he actually has to go
— based on the geography laid out here in 1 Samuel 28, he has to disguise himself because he has to sneak past the Philistine camp to go see this medium. He goes in the cover of night, changes his clothes into disguise, sneaks past the Philistines, and goes to this woman. And he says, "I need you to call up for me from the dead the name that I will ask for." It's almost — I don't — I don't want any questions. I just need you to do your thing. And she says, "Well, don't you know Saul
has outlawed this? Are you laying a trap for me? Are you trying to catch me in a trap?" And then Saul does something that is just so vile. He's already crossed that line. He's already speaking with a medium. And then he tells her, "I swear by the Lord. I swear by Yahweh that if you do this wicked act for me, no harm will come to you." He's so far afield right now. So far afield. You've heard the quote, and it's so true. "What sin will do to us? It will take us farther than we want
to go. It will hold us there longer than we intended to stay. And it will cost us more than we ever intended to pay." And this is Saul having spiraled, not hearing from the Lord. He goes and he crosses a line. He swears by God in order to get this woman to do a wicked act. And he says, "Call for me the prophet Samuel." Here's the truth. Unchecked compromise will eventually take you further into sin than you ever imagined going. I remember when I was a kid, and I think it was middle school. I had
a — I think it was in a physics class. So it must have been early high school. I wasn't that bright in middle school. But I think it was — it was science of some sort. I was a communications major, not a science major. But one of the tasks that we had to do was we had to build a toothpick bridge that could withstand weight hanging from it. Anybody else have to do that, a similar project? Four of us, okay. So — maybe not — not something happening around here, but I remember having to research
how to build this bridge with toothpicks and how triangles were the strongest, and there was going to be a prize for whoever's bridge could sit atop two desks, and they would hang weight from the bottom, and whichever bridge could hold the most weight would win a prize. And I remember working on this thing and gluing and setting it and trying to figure out what this looked like, and my dad helping me, and uh — I think we both ended up with an A on the project. But I remember it did not matter how well constructed
it was. At some point, enough weight was put on those toothpicks that they broke. And for so many — maybe some even in this room, maybe even some watching online — you've been living in disobedience. >> [snorts] >> You've been living pragmatically, thinking, "Well, life seems to be working." And I'm just telling you that the more that you cross lines, the farther you go into sin, and your life will eventually reach a weight it cannot support itself, and a sinful, disobedient life will crumble. Sin always takes you farther, costs more, and you stay there longer
than you intended. And Saul finds himself at rock bottom. In fact, in Chronicles, when it records Saul's death, it mentions this episode as being the last straw — or toothpick, as it may be — which leads me to the third grave warning, the past present circumstances. Let's review Saul's future consequence. So, having sworn by the name of the Lord, this medium does something. The — the writer isn't even going to describe. I mean, in your mind, you might think of candles and a séance or whatever, but the writer is not even going to put into
words what happened, because this is a banned practice. They're just reporting the details, and she does whatever her system is, and all of a sudden, she is terrified. And she says, "You're King Saul." And Saul apparently can't see what she sees. He says, "What do you see? Describe it to me." She says, "It's like a god coming up out of the earth. It's an old man in robes." And he's like, "That's him. What — what does he say?" And then Samuel says, "Why have you disturbed me?" And Saul just goes straight into it. "The Philistines
are upon us. I reached out to the Lord. He's silent. I needed some direction. So, here I am trying to get some direction from you." And Samuel gives him no comfort, gives him no direction. He simply says, "The Lord hasn't spoken to you because it [snorts] was told to you that He is taking the kingdom from you and giving it to your neighbor, David. In fact, because you have done this, tomorrow in battle, Israel will be taken over by the Philistines, and you and your sons will die in battle." Leviticus 20 — excuse me —
20:6. >> [snorts] >> You visited a necromancer. You now will die. That's the penalty. And that's it. And then Saul just — I mean, yeah — Saul just falls out, terrified, on the floor. Now, before I unpack this, let me just take a brief aside because if you've never heard this story before, or even if you have, you may be wondering, what's happening here? Is contacting the dead a real thing? So, here is what I would say, and we can disagree on this. >> [snorts] >> I would say that the majority of the time, it's
just parlor tricks. Like if you were to go and say, "Hey, can you bring up my grandmother or grandfather or Abraham Lincoln, whatever it is?" They're just going to have looked at your Facebook profile. They're going to make some educated guesses. It's a charlatan act. It's like a fortune cookie. You open the fortune — I got one this week. Fortune cookie. "Your next Chinese meal will bring more cookies." >> [snorts] [laughter] >> Am I to assume that the writer is a prophet? No. They're just making educated guesses. So, on one hand, palm readers, psychics, all
of these things — look, this is deplorable. This is wickedness. This is flirting with the occult and evil. And most of the time it's a charlatan act. Just figuring out how to get your money in their pocket and make you feel good about it. They'll — they'll make some general comments that, when you are susceptible to it like a Saul, you go, "Oh, that's so true." And they just lead you down a path. But I will say this — there are sometimes where it's just straight up demonic. What's happening here in this passage is a
unique moment that God has allowed. Because this really is the prophet Samuel. And here's why I believe it is. Number one, the woman is terrified. And I believe she's terrified because either a — she's not used to actually talking to the dead, and now all of a sudden she is, and that scared her. Or two — if it's demonic, she's used to certain spirits that she connects with, but this is something wholly different and she's freaked out. Secondly, he sounds like and speaks truth like the prophet Samuel, and his prediction — spoiler alert — that
Saul will die, comes true. But that does not mean that all necromancy is real. In fact, I will even go a step further and say this: I do not believe in ghosts. I do believe in demons. And the reason I don't believe in ghosts is because the Bible is clear that once we die, our soul does not go into a limbo. Our God is too powerful for some to just slip through His hands, and they don't end up where they're supposed to be. And so if you've had some encounter, or you've had somebody who will
swear up and down that there's a ghost in their attic, they've either — like all of us — an old house that has creaks, or a demon. There are no ghosts. Ghostbusters not needed. Only the Holy Spirit, sometimes referred to as the Holy Ghost, is the only spirit of God, I believe. Yeah. And so just as a quick aside, that's what's happening here — is something unique. It's not um, advocating this. In fact, the penalties make clear this is wrong. And so I just want to encourage you, because it's possible that some in the room,
or some watching online, you're checking out a horoscope every day. You need to stop. You're stopping in and out of town at a palm reader — stop. You're calling a psychic — stop. You're flirting with the occult — stop. That is a sign of a Saul who has spiraled in persistent disobedience, looking for other voices. Don't look for the mediums of death when we have the medium, or the mediator, of life in Jesus Christ. And so, real quickly, the truth here: refusing God's truth never prevents consequences. Saul has been running and running from this truth
that it was proclaimed over him — that the kingdom will be taken away from you. He's been trying to kill David. He's been trying to run for so long, and now the bill is due. His past persistent disobedience and rejection of God's voice, his present — he's crossing lines he probably never thought he would cross. Which means his future is death. Now, I want to close with one last encouraging thought. Because Saul falls out on the floor, terrified, and then the medium herself comes and says, "You need to eat something." And he says, "No, I
won't eat anything." Remember his vow that I mentioned? Before battle — I'm not going to eat anything. And then everybody urges him, and he gets a last meal. And the meal she puts together is a meal fit for a king. And it's his last one. But here in the final challenge, you may be wondering what could Saul have done differently? The solution to spiritual drift is repentance. It's repentance. This is what marks Saul's life — is that he never repents. When the kingdom was taken from him, Samuel is calling him out because he was supposed
to eliminate all the Amalekites. And Saul, instead of saying, "You're right, I'm sorry," he says, "I did. I — I — I got rid of all of them, and I even brought some of the best bulls for a sacrifice to the Lord." Like making it up on the spot. Like, "I really did this for God. 'Well, what about that king over there?' 'Well, I mean, that's for him, too.' And just would not repent. Every time — he and David — he gets caught, he just gives lip service, and then he goes and does the exact
thing over and over. So, my encouragement today, as I close: if you are in the midst of spiritual drift, persistent disobedience, feels like silence from heaven, you have crossed lines you never thought you would cross. Here is the future. Either you stay in your disobedience and you will die and face judgment in hell, and there's no escaping that truth. Or you repent — which means you confess your sin. You ask God through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to forgive you of your sin. And your future goes from death to life in Christ Jesus.
This is the past, the present, and the future for all of us. And meanwhile, David is standing up on this hill. The text presents it as if he is watching what a king looks like who refuses to repent. And we'll see what happens with him next week. How do you like that for a tease? If you're here today, though, and you've never repented, but you're desperate to hear from God, I want to encourage you. Let today be the day of salvation. I'll be up here at the front right after I pray, or you can go
to our next steps room. You may have come here with a friend who — or family member who is a believer, maybe a mom. And if you're more comfortable talking with them about salvation, by all means talk with them, but just let today be a day of repentance and salvation. And then for the rest of us, if you already belong to Him, look at your present circumstances. Look at the recent past, and ask, "Am I building up disobedience to God? Am I trying to crowd out His voice?" Would you repent of that, so that you
may hear Him clearly. And then, for all of us, just to say it one more time, don't go to mediums. Stay away from the occult. That is bad news. Like — that I think we can all agree on that, I hope. So let me pray for us. I know that's a rousing Mother's Day message, but I do hope you have a wonderful rest of your Mother's Day. Let's pray, and we'll be dismissed. Father, thank You for this example that is for our instruction, that we too don't have to go the path of Saul, spiraling through
disobedience, rejecting repentance, and drifting into deafening silence. Lord, I pray that for any of us who have sinned, that we would repent. And Lord, those who are desperate to hear from You — that will repent today, I pray that You would speak clearly to them. Lord, bringing them back with Your immeasurable grace and mercy. We may have crossed lines we never thought possible, but Your mercy can forgive us no matter what we've done, when we look to Christ. It's in Jesus' name. Amen. Have a great afternoon. Thank you so much for joining us for worship
today. We're glad you were here. Again, at Harmony Hill, our mission is awakening people from death to life in Christ. And we believe God is at work in every heart, in every home, and every screen tuning in. We also believe that journey doesn't end when this livestream does. So, if you're ready to take a next step, whether it's following Jesus, getting baptized, joining a life group, or simply needing someone to pray with you, we'd love to connect with you. Just visit the website on the screen, [music] scan the QR code, or send us a direct
message, and a member of our team will reach out personally. Wherever you are, we're glad you [music] joined us for worship. Have a great week.
