Character Flaws
By Sylvia C. Haughton

In the summer of 2001, as I was sweeping the pool deck, I heard the Lord whisper to me that there was a snake hidden under the black plastic on the cover of our grill. The Lord continued to speak to me regarding the swiftness of this creature. I heard him say, "The reason why she hid under the black plastic is because snakes like the dark. The same is true with my people when they have secret, unconfessed sin in their lives. Satan comes and builds a stronghold in the area of their emotions. He than begins to manipulate my people from this area. Once this is set in motion, the flesh begins to participate.

Now you are dealing with three things- Satan, the flesh, and the emotions. He then backs off and watches self-destruction." The Lord continued to minister to me by saying that Satan builds a case against us throughout the years by our own negative spoken words and careless acts. "Silence is golden," is a very wise saying. God clearly instructs in His word, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." (Prov. 18:21) He said to me that Satan builds a case over time, that this doesn't just happen overnight.

The Cleansing of The Lord Something unpleasant happened a few months ago at my house; an uninvited visitor came and did something that got me upset. The Lord used this negative incident to show me that there was a character flaw in me and that it was time to confront and fix it. Romans 8:28 became the scripture that I was to hold on to for a season. Through this ordeal, God the Father showed me that I needed to trust in Him. This led me to understand His heart even more, "His Fatherhood". I looked up "character flaw" in New Webster's Dictionary and this is what I found: Character: Distinctive qualities of a person or thing. God is restoring His character through sanctification by His Spirit. His character is: Compassion, Mercy, Holiness, etc. We can read more about God's character in Galatians 5:22. This is what He originally intended for us to have- His character. Flaw: A crack; a defect; a speck. A flaw is something that is not as it should be. We are not supposed to have cracks but are to be conformed into the very image of God. I heard the Lord say that because of these cracks in his people, they leak and become broken cisterns that cannot contain any water. I also heard him say that these cracks are what give Satan entrances to one's life. The individual not aware of these flaws knows there is something wrong, but does not know for sure what it is unless the Holy spirit reveals this to them. There are different character flaws in each individual. We all need the revelation of God's Spirit in order to be cleansed from these. When I heard the Lord say all of this to me, I asked him to please give me a Bible example or reference. This is what the Lord led me to study. A Character Study of Saul Saul, son of Kish, first king of Israel King Saul was not God's choice, but the people insisted on having a king. They wanted to be like other nations. In 1 Samuel 8:19-22 we read, "But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, No! But we are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles." Samuel 11:15, "So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed offerings of well-being before the Lord, and there Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly." Fine Personal Appearance We find a description of king Saul in 1 Samuel 9:2, "He (Kish) had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else." 1 Samuel 20:24 "Samuel said to all the people, do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people." And all the people shouted, "Long live the king!" (Prophet and people voiced the approval of Saul becoming the king.) Early Years 1 Samuel 10:21, "and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found." v22, "So they inquired again of the Lord, "Did the man come here?" and the Lord said, "See, he has hidden himself among the baggage." In his early years Humility was found in the king- he hid from everybody. 1 Samuel 10:27, "But some worthless fellows said, "How can this man save us?" They despised him and brought him no present. "But he held his peace." We find here that the king exercised self-control. Latter Years King Saul began his reign under favorable circumstances, but he soon showed contempt for his obligations. Self-will----1 Samuel 10:8, 13:12 Saul did not obey the voice of the Lord, and did not follow the instruction of the prophet. Prophet Samuel told him to wait for seven days in order for him to burn the well-being offering unto the Lord. After waiting for seven days, prophet Samuel did not show up, and at this time the people began to slip away from Saul. Instead of waiting for the prophet, he went ahead and burned the offering; the king did not have patience and foolishly went ahead and did what he was instructed not to do. When prophet Samuel arrived and confronted Saul we begin to see the king's character flaws. 1) Saul showed that he had the Fear of Men. 1 Samuel 13:8 "When I saw that the people were slipping away from me" 1 Samuel 15: 24, "I feared the people and obeyed their voice." 2) Self Will 1 Samuel 13:12 "I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering" 3) Disobedience In verse 13, Samuel said to Saul, "you have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. The Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, but now your kingdom will not continue; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart; and the Lord has appointed him to be ruler over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you." Before the Lord fully established his kingdom it was taken away from him. 1 Samuel 15:11-23 relates to us how God felt about Saul- "I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me, and has not carried out my commands." Apostasy (departure from God) was creeping into the heart of the king without him being aware because he was deceived. God had instructed him to kill king Agag and to destroy everything that had life within the Amalekites' camp, yet again Saul disobeyed the Lord 1 Samuel 15:17. At this point king Saul had fallen into deception, thinking that he was doing the perfect will of God. Saul said to prophet Samuel, "I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But from the spoil the people took sheep and cattle, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal." Verse 22, prophet Samuel said, "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obedience to the voice of the Lord? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is no less a sin than divination, and stubborn-ness is like iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king." Two things we can learn: a) The king acted foolishly Proverbs 10:8 "The wise of heart will heed command-ments, but a prating fool will come to ruin." Proverbs 14:1 "Wisdom builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down." Saul lacked wisdom, and his folly ruined him. b) Saul lost the crown. "But now your kingdom will not continue; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart; and the Lord has appointed him ruler over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you." c) God's response to disobedience God ordained a man after his own heart. A pure heart is what God is looking for. A perfect heart, a heart without flaws. Ps 139:22, "Search me O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me, lead me in the way everlasting." Ps 51: 6 "Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart." Ps 51:17 "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." I have heard in many charismatic circles that if God has anointed you to do something, no one else can do it. Clearly this is not so, for we see here that when Saul disobeyed God, God elected to anoint someone else, namely David, to be King over Israel. The king lacked patience The Word of the Lord instructs us to wait upon the Lord, (Is 40:31) yet Saul did not exercise patience. In 1 Samuel 13:9-11, Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul replied, "When I saw that the people were slipping away from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines were mustering at Michamash, I said, now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the Lord." Saul was instructed to wait on prophet Samuel to come and to burn the offering, yet he went ahead and violated the priesthood and foolishly presumed to offer up sacrifices to the Lord. In verse 9, "So Saul said, "Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the offerings of well-being". And he offered the burnt offering." Fear was another factor in the life of the king. The Philistines were mustering at Michamash, "I said now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the Lord." Fear caused the king to do the wrong thing, and lost the favor he had with God. Jealousy and Hatred 1 Samuel 18:8, 19:1, king Saul hated David and was jealous of him when the women began to chant that David had killed ten thousands, and Saul thousands. This is what the king said, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands; what more can he have but the kingdom?" So Saul eyed David from that day on. Jealousy and hatred had found a place in the king's heart. Superstition 1 Samuel 28:7. "Then Saul said to his servants, "Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her." His servants said to him, "There is a medium at Endor."" Suicide 1 Samuel 31:4. "Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised may not come and thrust me through, and make sport of me." But his armor-bearer was unwilling; for he was terrified. So Saul took his own sword and fell upon it." The Results of Character Flaws, 1) They hinder our relationship with God, and blind us to the point that we are unable to see and perceive in the spiritual realm. 2) Character flaws become snares New Expanded Webster's Dictionary Snare - is anything that entraps. Entrap-To catch in a trap-to destroy. The symptoms of the Saul Syndrome Depression Jealousy Anger Black moods- showing a pattern Spirit of murder Pride Fear of men Men pleaser Self-will Lying Envy How to Identify the Saul Syndrome? How do you react when someone receives a raise or a promotion at your place of employment, but not you? How do you react when someone else get promoted (given more responsibility) at church, but not you? What is your attitude at home with your husband (wife) and/ or children when things are not done your way? When the Spirit of God reveals to us a character flaw, we need to take care of it right away. We should not blame the devil, or an evil spirit, unless there is a repeated pattern that reveals a stronghold. Then we need to deal with the flaw and we also may need deliverance. Jesus is a builder and a deliverer; it is in His name that we pray deliverance through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Summary Saul was anointed by God and the Spirit of God was upon him, yet Saul disobeyed God miserably to the point that he lost his crown and ended up killing himself. What went wrong with this handsome well equipped-to-rule king? He had more opportunities than David had. 1) We see that when Saul disobeyed, he gave excuses but never repented. David did. 2) At the beginning Saul was humble, but pride crept into his heart. Saul never admitted sin and repented; he always blamed someone else. 3) The tragic part in the life of this king is found in 1 Samuel 16:14 "The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him." The lesson that we must learn is "To obey the voice of the Lord," and repent from our disobedience. Saul was presumptuous and deceived himself by lying to the prophet. He lost the greatest opportunities of his lifetime. We need to learn from this sad story, and avoid the "Saul syndrome" by keeping a right heart before God. We need to recognize the flaws that are within our heart, confess them and deal with them as the Spirit of the Lord leads us. That we may never say, "…I have played the fool". 1 Samuel 26:21. New Webster's Dictionary A fool is: One destitute of reason: a simpleton, a silly person. Foolish: Void of understanding: Acting without judgment or discretion: silly, ridiculous: unwise. wise is: Having wisdom: Sagacious, judicious, skilled. Wisdom is: Sound judgment and sagacity, prudence. "Therefore let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." 1 Cor 10:12 "The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall." Prov 10:8 In Him, Sylvia