One Little Weakness Series

Chapter 3 – One little weakness

We read in Act 26:18, “You are to open their eyes and turn them from the darkness to the light and from the power of Satan to God, so that through their faith in me they will have their sins forgiven and receive their place among God's chosen people.” (GNB)

As Saul was on his way to Damascus, with the cruel intent to persecute those who believed in Jesus, he had this dramatic encounter with the Lord Jesus where he was converted and transformed from Saul to Paul. At this point, when Saul asked Jesus what he was expected to do, the above words from Acts 26:18, was God’s specific command to Paul.

There are four aspects of this verse that we will consider, that will give us an explanation of what happens to a person when they are in any sort of bondage.

They are blinded by sin

A person in bondage the Bible says is blinded to his condition and so he keeps doing the same thing over and over again. If a man falls into a pit once, it will be considered a mistake, but if he were to fall into the same pit repeatedly, it would make one surmise that he is unsighted. Many of us are not even aware that we are living in enslavement to many things. Our prayer to the Lord is that He would intervene, break loose and set us free from every form of bondage.

They are under the power of Satan

We saw in the previous chapters that addictions and bondages are varied. When we continue to fall into the same sin over and over again we are allowing Satan to enslave us and keep us in bondage. If we seek to be delivered, we need to desire to be rid of the enslavement and make it our highest goal to be like Jesus. It is always good for us to ask in every situation we are placed, ‘What would Jesus do?’ and aspire to do the same. This transformation doesn’t happen overnight, but every day as we pray, read and meditate on the word and obey the Lord on an ongoing basis this change becomes a reality.

Their sins are not forgiven

Also many people who are in bondage are constantly reminded of their past failures and secret sins that they feel deserve punishment. They have a sense of helplessness, and come to the conclusion that they can never be released from their condition. What happens as a result is that, they filled with a deep sense of guilt and shame, and carry a heavy burden of remorse and degradation.

They are not in fellowship with God’s people

It is also very evident that when a person is living in sin or is in bondage, they will never want to be in fellowship with other believers. They may even be members of the church but they will choose to be distant and will not be in close communion with the people of God.

The very purpose of God choosing Saul and radically changing him to Paul was that he would be instrumental in turning people from darkness to light. By placing our faith in Jesus, the Lord assures us that our sins are forgiven, that we are set free from all our guilt and shame, to live a holy life here on earth, and we are also promised the assurance of heaven. We are in the true sense transported from darkness to light, from the dominion of Satan to the Kingdom of God, can come into true fellowship with other believers and become vibrant members of the body of Christ.

A Strong Man with One Weakness

The people of Israel were being tormented by the Philistines. They often came into the Israelite territory and plundered their fields. The people of Israel cry out in anguish and the Lord raises a mighty man named Samson.

God is a God of restoration and He is also our faithful God. Frequently when we are in distress, at a point of loss and call out to Him, the Lord comes to redeem us and restore back to us all that we have lost.

As we study the life of Samson we will understand how he was enslaved by sin. We will also be able to analyse our own lives and see how we can overcome similar temptations and bondages in our own lives. Samson was a man called and chosen by the Lord to deliver Israel and whenever the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, he was so filled with strength that no one could stand before him. But sadly Samson the strong man also had a weakness. In the book of Judges we read like this.