Ordinary people, extraordinary God – The Witch of Endor: Spiritual powers are real

1 Samuel 28:3-25

1. Spiritual powers are real – The Bible very clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit and spiritual forces are real. Jesus teaches there is a constant battle going on between good and evil. It is essential us as Christians to be full of the Holy Spirit. The forces of evil are seeking to destroy us. We are called to resist the devil and stand firm in our faith (Ephesians 6). The spiritual forces are evil are clearly at work in our world today. We need to be a church and a people full of the Holy Spirit and equipped with the whole armour of God. The battle begins in our own lives, our family live, our church live, our communities and our cities. We need to be sincere in our prayer lives.
2. God is far more powerful than the devil – God took over this consultation with the spirits of the dead. Gid is not scared of the demonic. The Witch was not in control. She was not expecting to see Samuel or be able to call him up. Samuel appeared and spoke a message from God. She became scared when she realised God had taken control of her séance. As Christians we should be afraid of evil spirits, but we need to know that God is more powerful and that we need to be full of the Holy Spirit. We cannot defeat evil in our own strength (Zechariah 4:6).
3. Failure and fear drove Saul towards evil – Saul had been full of the power of the Holy Spirit. The hand of God was on His life, but he had begun to do things his own way. Now he is panicking in fear because God was not talking to him. He should have consulted David, but he was to proud to do so and turned to a medium and the devil for help. How often does pride and arrogance stop you repenting and turning to God? How often do we go to the wrong place for help in our lives? 2 Chronicles 7:14 calls us to return to God.
4. The effect of spiritual powers – Saul refused to humble himself and seek God. The result was the defeat of Israel and the death of Saul and his family. One person’s actions can affect a whole family, community and even a nation. The ramifications of Saul’s bad decision affected the whole nation. How we respond to God can affect everyone and everything around us. It matters how we respond to God.