April 19, 2026
God Cares About My Thoughts
- Matt Nickoson
Sermon Notes
What does it mean that Jesus came to set us free?
John 8:36 NIV
“So if the Son (Jesus) sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
1 Samuel 16:13a NIV
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David.
1 Samuel 16:14 NIV
Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.
Q: Does God send evil spirits to torment people?
A1: God is sovereign over all creation, both seen and unseen, and has authority to do as He pleases.
Mark 5:6-10 NIV
When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
A2: Texts like 1 Samuel 16 are best understood through words like “allows” rather than “causes”.
1 Corinthians 5:4-5 NIV
So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present (through the Holy Spirit), hand this man over to Satan (demonic) for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit (human) may be saved on the day of the Lord.
5 Spirits in the Bible:
- Good Spirits (think Angels)
- Evil Spirits (think Demons)
- The Spirt of this World or The Spirit of this Age (i.e. Satan’s impact on world powers, culture, etc)
- The Holy Spirit
- The Human Spirit
1 Samuel 16:17-18 NIV
So Saul said to his attendants, “Find someone who plays well and bring him to me.” One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.”
1 Samuel 16:21 NIV
David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers.
1 Samuel 16:23 NIV
Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
God’s ultimate goal is to lead us to the freedom found in Jesus’ name and away from what binds us.
1 Samuel 17:4-7 NIV
A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.
1 Samuel 17:24 NIV
Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.
1 Samuel 17:26 NIV
David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
1 Samuel 17:32 NIV
David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
1 Samuel 17:33 NIV
Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
May I never be the voice of the enemy in the lives of the people I come across.
1 Samuel 17:36 NIV
“Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.”
David’s confidence comes from His experience with the living God.
1 Samuel 17:47 NIV
“All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
Psalms 56:3-4 NIV
Big Idea: God cares about what goes on inside my mind.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?” – King David, (A song he wrote when later captured by the Philistines.)
James 4:7-8a NIV
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.