The Natural Man; The Spiritual Man

By Pastor Thomas Taylor Rebellion of Saul: Thousands had gathered to attack Israel and Saul was in charge. He waited the designated time for the priest of God, Samuel, to come but he did not come. Normally when Samuel comes, Israel gets God’s favor and they win the battle. So what does Saul do? He takes upon himself the office of the priest and offers the sacrifice. (Samuel was a Levite) Samuel comes late (a test of God): 1 Samuel 13:13-14 KJV And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for NOW would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. (14) But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee. One of the most tragic verses in the whole Bible Like when Adam committed high treason and listen to the snake instead of God - rebellion Like when Esau gave up his birthright to Jacob for a pot of beans A pattern of the firstborn being rejected and the second being accepted Ishmael rejected / Isaac accepted; Cain rejected /Abel accepted; First Adam / Last Adam It is a pattern of the flesh being rejected; spirit accepted; This is a picture of moving from the natural to the spiritual; the natural man to the spiritual man; from flesh to spirit; from a natural O.T. Law covenant with God to an eternal covenant by grace through faith. The fleshly is weak and limited but the spiritual is exponentially greater in every way! In this story of Saul being rejected by God we see the story of the flesh being rejected. Saul operated out of his flesh with natural logic and strength, even though outwardly he seemed to be a man of God...inwardly, he was not. The Test of the Fear of Man Saul was Israel's first king. The people loved him from the first time he was introduced as king. The crowds love the fleshly! Just because the crowd likes something doesn’t mean they’re right. Majority rule is often just mob rule - it is never God’s pattern for “rule by majority.” Remember Aaron didn’t pass this test either. Under the pressure of waiting for the prophet/priest Samuel to come but he didn’t come. Under pressure of the army attacking. Under pressure of your people leaving you wait for Samuel but he didn’t come on time. Great testimonies require a great test! ...it seem the logical thing to do, to just go ahead do the sacrifice yourself (you are king; you are anointed), Samuel’s late, and the people are losing heart and scattering! To be great in the Kingdom means you will have to pass great tests. Imagine the pressure on Saul! But it was wrong...it was the pressure of being a people-pleaser that got him in trouble. Some people don’t step out and do what God said because they are afraid of what people will say. Proverbs 29:25 KJV The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe. You can either please people or you can please God; you cannot usually do both. Do you fear what people think of you? Rebellion and Disobedience Outwardly he appeared to be godly, offering sacrifices and worshipping God. But inwardly he was rebellious and disobedient. Saul had a religious mindset. Outwardly he would give sacrifices but it was only as a way to get God to do what he wanted. In other words, it was more of attempting to manipulate God's to help him win the wars. We have religious people in the churches today who outwardly look like they're doing the right thing but inwardly it's for the wrong reasons. Instead of going to church and giving and tithing as unto the Lord as an act of love and worship and devotion they do it to get God to do something for them. To get God to pay their bills. It God to heal their child. But God doesn't work that way. In the early years you would think Saul to be a good humble man. But in the later years when he realized he was rejected, his fleshly nature reared its ugly head. He was obssessed with killing David...a picture of the flesh hating the spirit and wanting to destroy it. The flesh’s true nature always rises to the top when it knows it is rejected by God, just like Cain. The way of your flesh is rejected by God Doing your own will is rejected by God To be acceptable unto Him, you must surreneder to the will of the Father!