Sapping Spiritual Stamina

Judges 16:20 is the setting for this study.

Thomas Edison and the light bulb. Edison’s invention continues to brighten our world. However, the light bulb is useless unless it is connected to a power or energy source. The light bulb is designed for a specific purpose, but it does not have the capacity to light up by itself. The bulb must be plugged in with the switch turned on to let the electricity flow through the filament creating light. Whenever the power is blocked or disconnected a perfectly good light bulb will leave you in the dark.

LIGHT ILLUMINATES THE DARKNESS!

Matthew 5:14-16, You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Jesus said that we are the light of the world.

Our purpose is to let our light shine! The light is not to be hidden; our lives are to illuminate a dark world. The way we live our lives should help the people around us see more clearly; we bring light into their lives. The darker the night, the brighter the smallest light will shine.

Sin darkens our world, but you and I can push back the darkness. We are the light of the world.

The Holy Ghost is the power source.

A light bulb has to be plugged in. Just like Edison’s bulb, we will leave the world n the dark unless we remain connected to the power source, the Holy Ghost.

Romans 8:9 You, however, are controlled not by the [flesh=sarx] but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

We are not empowered or energized by the flesh; we have plugged into God!

On our own we are powerless to light up our world. In order for our lights to shine, we have to stay connected to the Spirit.

HOW IS SPIRITUAL POWER LOST?

How do we get to be unplugged from the Spirit? What makes our light seem to burn out; the switch is turned on but the light is off? To help us discover how spiritual power is lost, look at the life of Sampson (his story is found in Judges 13-16).

Sampson the original “Superman”.  God gave him superhuman strength to lead the nation of Israel and defeat their enemies the Philistines.

Sampson seemed to be unstoppable; he was invincible and indestructible.

Once Sampson killed a lion that attacked him with his bare hands.

However, Sampson’s strength was not superhuman; it was supernatural.

Sampson was empowered by the Spirit.

Unfortunately Sampson’s story does not have a happy ending. Delilah found out the secret of his strength and cut Sampson’s hair as he napped in her lap. When the Philistines came upon Sampson the fourth time he rose up to defeat them as he had before, but the Bible says, he did not know that the Spirit of the Lord had left him (Judges 16:20 NIV).

Sampson didn’t know the Spirit left him. Sampson would have to fight this battle on his own. In Sampson’s previous exploits the Spirit of the Lord was there to help him. Now Sampson would have to try to overcome his enemies in his own strength.

Without God’s help he lost. How was Sampson “unplugged” from the power source?

As we discover how spiritual power was lost in Sampson’s life, we will likewise learn how we could find ourselves disconnected from the Spirit.

SPIRITUAL POWER IS LOST WHEN WE FORGET THE SOURCE.

Sampson forgot that God was the source of his strength; it’s easy for any of us to forget that the Spirit is the source. Delilah had pestered Sampson to tell her the secret of his great strength, and she finally wore him down. Sampson told her everything.

Judges 16:17 . . . “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”

After he had lied three times about the secret of his strength and they were unable to defeat him, the Philistines were going to try again by cutting off his hair! Now don’t miss this point: Sampson confused the SYMBOL with the SOURCE. His hair had not been cut because Sampson had been set apart to serve God as a Nazirite. Sampson’s hair was not the source of his great strength; God was his source. When Delilah ask Sampson to reveal the secret of his strength he should have said, “I am set apart by the Lord as a Nazirite to serve the God of Israel and do what ever He desires. The Spirit of my God give me strength.”

SPIRITUAL POWER IS LOST THROUGH UNWHOLESOME RELATIONSHIPS.

Someone has rightly said, ?Show me your friends, and I will show you your future.? The Bible says, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers” (Psalm 1:1 ). The people you choose as your close friends will make an impact upon the direction of your life.

Sampson was not careful about the people he chose to be close to.

Unwholesome relationships led to Sampson’s downfall.

Sampson looked for a wife from among the Philistines.

Sampson spent the night with a Philistine prostitute in Gaza.

Sampson fell in love with Delilah, another Philistine.

Sampson, the Nazirite called to lead the nation of Israel and bring deliverance from their enemies did what was right in his own eyes?

Why is Sampson looking for relationships with the Philistines?

Sampson even chose to keep secrets from his parents; he shut out the most important relationship in his entire life from some of the things happening in his life.

SPIRITUAL POWER IS LOST THROUGH COMPROMISE.

·        Sampson compromised and did not do everything that God required of Him.

·        Disobedience brings a loss of spiritual power; the Spirit is grieved. As a Nazirite, Sampson was not permitted to come into contact with a dead body at any time.

·        Yet Sampson was responsible for the death of thousands of the Philistines at his own hand. Sampson even killed thirty men and stripped their bodies of their clothes in order to settle a bet. However, killing his enemies was not the only way Sampson compromised his obedience to God.

SPIRITUAL POWER IS LOST THROUGH FOOLISHNESS OR A LOSS OF WISDOM.

Sampson acted foolishly; he let himself be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He lacked the discernment to even see the trap that was being set to take him captive. Sampson should have known better than to be with Delilah in the first place. However, when she persisted in wanting to know the secret of his strength and then set a trap to take Sampson with the help of the Philistines using Sampson’s own words against him, then Sampson should have know it was time to leave. If he didn’t know it the first time, the certainly he should have caught on the second, or the third. . . but we know the rest of that story!

SIN MAKES YOU STUPID. Sampson mistook the light for the end of the tunnel, but didn’t hear the train blowing it’s horn. Wisdom says it’s time to run the other way.

WHAT IS WISDOM? Wisdom is knowledge put into action at the right time and in the right way. Wisdom is understanding what is best and doing it all rolled into one. When we have a proper understanding of what wisdom is, then we can better understand folly or foolish behavior. The fool takes action without enough information; the fool acts impulsively not waiting for the right time. The fool knows the truth, but acts upon a lie.

HOW CAN WE MAINTAIN SPIRITUAL POWER?

—KEEPING GOD AS OUR SOURCE.

–DEVELOP WHOLESOME FRIENDSHIPS.

–LIVING A LIFE OF OBEDIENCE, FREE FROM COMPROMISE.

–LEARN TO DISCERN, LIVE A LIVE OF WISDOM.