Opening illustration: A popular movie several years ago, based on real events, gave an interesting angle on this. Apparently most states that have Death Row put the execution chamber close to that cell block. When a prisoner comes to that fateful day when he is to be killed, he is released from his cell. One guard walks in front of him and others are behind him and on both sides. At Louisiana's death row, the guard who walks in front of the prisoner shouts out, "Dead man walking." Why do they say that? They're taking him to die, but he's not dead. He is as alive as he has ever been. But Louisiana considers a condemned person on his way to the death chamber as being a dead man already. He's physically alive still, but he's under sentence of death. How many so called Christians are like that?
Introduction: David has seen too much not only with his sin but the sin of his ancestors and forefathers. He knows that his ancestor Adam was a dead man walking after he had sinned and the spirit of God had left him. In fact he was even driven out from God’s protection. David had visually seen and experienced the dire consequences of a dead man walking. Therefore David tells God and hopes that God would not take away His spirit from him after he had committed adultery. He was not tricked into it. He had chosen that path after yielding to the desires of his flesh. He knew exactly what he had done and where he was headed. His final desire was that he would be unlike his predecessors and not a dead man walking!
This morning let us draw out attention to three people whom the spirit of God had left after they dabbled with sin and turned them into dead men walking. Are we following the same path or are sensitive to His Holy Spirit?
1. Adam (Genesis 2:16, 17; 3:22-24)
When the spirit passes from the body, the life of the body ends. James tells us, "The body without the spirit is dead," (James 2:26 KJV). We bury the body, and the spirit returns to God who made it, the Scriptures say. Whatever portion of the soul (or the life of man -- that part of us that has functioned within this time and space continuum) which has been saved, also returns with the spirit to God. I think it is most significant to note that, in the Scriptures, it is the spirit which is regenerated but the soul is saved. There is only one place to my recollection, in which it ever mentions a spirit being saved. It is the soul, the life that we are living now, that needs to be saved. That part of it which is lived in the power of the Spirit of God, functioning in relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ as God intended man to live, is saved. Our souls are thus being saved as we live day by day in relationship to the Son of God. That "saved" soul is what we have left after this life, and only that. All else is wood, hay, and stubble, to disappear in the judging flame of God.
In fallen man the spirit that is given to man is dead. This is what the Scripture means when it says man is "dead in trespasses and sins," (Ephesians 2:1 KJV). His spirit does not function as it should. Therefore the soul, which reflects like a mirror the activities of the spirit, reflects a dead and lifeless nature. This is what creates the intense, worldwide restlessness of our race, the inability to be satisfied, and the unending search for answers that are never found. It is all an expression of a wasted spirit, lying ruined within us because of the fall of man. But in the beginning as Adam came perfect from the hand of God, he was a lamp -- and a lamp that was lit -- alive in ways beyond anything that we can conjecture.
One sees the Trinitarian deliberation, “Man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He cannot be allowed to stay here.” It is Adam particularly that God is speaking of as the responsible had in covenant with the Lord God. The man had attained a knowledge of good and evil, but it was not as he anticipated. It was a knowledge for which Adam ever rued the day he had gained. Man had now lost his right to eat of the tree of life. There is the banishment, man and woman are driven out, the gates are locked and the bolts drawn into place. Armed sentry stand on duty preventing any possibility of return. Here is man’s final exodus from paradise, leaving behind sinlessness and blessedness for evermore. Adam is a dead man walking. He has lost the spirit of God within him … the body without the Spirit is dead!
Please be aware that the God we meet here is the same God whom Jesus described in Luke 15 as the expectant yearning father of the prodigal son, but he is also holy and sin hating as well as forgiving. The father of the prodigal son didn’t go for a vacation to the distant city to watch his son indulging himself with his prostitutes and binge drinking in his parties and laugh indulgently at everything he saw – “Attaboy! Go for it son!” No. He waited for humiliation, godly sorrow and repentance to do its work. There was no way to him without that; without a son’s confession and humbling and crying for mercy there could be no fatherly tears of joy, no kisses of welcome, no fatted calf, no dancing and no party. The son must turn in penitence to his father having left the distant city. Until then he must be far from his father.
Illustration: During the Christmas of 2004, a 22-year-old man robbed a Chevron station and then led Poulsbo, Washington police on a high-speed chase. After cleaning out the cash register, the robber and a passenger took off in a red Honda and soon cops from four towns were in pursuit. The caravan zoomed at speeds up to 100 mph through the winding roads of western Puget Sound, where twists and turns can leave even locals disoriented. After a while the fugitives managed to lose their pursuers in the darkness but they had no idea where they were. That’s when the robber pulled his Honda into a Chevron station to ask for directions to Seattle—unaware that it was the very same establishment he’d just robbed. Police caught up to the Honda soon afterward.
Sometimes, playing hide-and-seek doesn’t work out so well. Have you ever played hide-and-seek with God? Have you ever sinned and then tried to run away from Him in shame? If so, you’ve probably realized that no matter how good you are at hiding, you can’t hide from God. Fortunately, God doesn’t play hide-and-seek, He plays “seek and hide.” He is the great pursuer that always tracks down His man or woman. Today, if you’re feeling far away from God, I have a word of hope for you.
2. Saul (1 Samuel 15:10-11, 22-23, 35; 16:14)
God wanted obedience from Saul. God wants obedience from us. If we give God obedience, we will give the sacrifice. Saul's disobedience was rebellion, which is witchcraft/divination. Saul was also arrogant, which is the evil of idolatry. Let's see if we get this. Impatience begins a downward spiral. Impatience leads to blaming others, and to independence from God's order. Disobedience follows. Then comes rebellion/witchcraft and the arrogance/evil of idolatry.
The meaning here is that the Lord never spoke to Saul again. Saul was never in God's presence again. The Lord took away all the blessings from Saul. Saul's issues accumulated and Saul never dealt with any of them. If we do not deal with our issues, the Lord will stop blessing, remove the blessings he gave, and stop speaking. DON'T BE LIKE SAUL!
I want to rehearse quickly some of the remaining events of Saul's life. He lived it tormented by the evil spirit, which really was sent by God. How can you say that? I can say it because I know what tormented Saul. It is obvious. The thought of God sending David to replace Saul tormented Saul. I did not say that David was evil, but the hatred that Saul felt toward David was evil. I see people tormented with hatred today and so do you. Saul spent the rest of his life trying to kill David. Saul allowed his daughter Michal to marry David as a snare to kill David (1Sa 18:20-29). Saul tried to kill his own son Jonathan (1Samuel 20:33) because Jonathan was David's friend (1Sa 20:33). Saul had eighty-five priest killed because they gave David food (1Sa 22:18). Saul was so consumed with David that he was unaware of the Philistines building an army that would kill Saul and his sons (1Sa 28:1). Saul was tormented for the rest of his life. When Saul saw the Philistine army, the Bible says "terror filled his heart" (1Sa 28:5 – NIV). He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord would not answer.
This is a pretty strange verse in the Bible - First, the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul are words that are out of step with today’s understanding of the Spirit of the Lord - Today, when we believe in Jesus we are filled with God’s Spirit, and absolutely nothing is going to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord Saul, of course, lived in Old Testament times in the days before Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to indwell every believer - In those days, God’s Spirit was given for a time or for a task - And the Spirit departing was nothing very unusual, however the second half of the verse says, “an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him” - Now we know that evil spirits exist – But the thought that this one was “from the LORD” is disturbing. One commentator who felt that this spirit had been sent by God to open up an opportunity for David to be a part of the court. We must understand that even evil spirits fall under God’s control - And one is not going to visit anyone unless God allows it to happen.
The minute the Spirit of God left Saul, he was a dead man walking. The intriguing thing here is that it was replaced by an evil spirit that continually disturbed Saul. He had nowhere to run except God and now even God was not responding to him. Does it ring a bell? Do we understand that when we walk a similar path as Saul and then desire God to answer us, there is a deathly silence! Why so? After experiencing the joy of the Lord, walking as dead men do, is one of the worst experiences of life one will have. The question is: Is there a point of return? Only through Jesus Christ alone!
3. Samson (Judges 16:18-22, 30)
Some of you are thinking man I used to be a Samson. The truth of the matter is, Samson hasn’t put all his problems behind him. He’s covered them up. He’s ignored them. He’s played them down. He’s pushed them away. He’s managed to live a pretty straight life. Samson, you see, never really dealt with the problems that plagued him way back there at the beginning. And now at the end of twenty years, those same problems are about to come out and trip him again. Only this time they’re not just going to trip him. The same problems he refused to deal with are the same problems that are going to bring him down now.
That’s the way it always is, isn’t it? The hardest thing that you will ever acknowledge in your life is, “I have a problem.” Nobody likes to say that. Samson is just like you or me. A He-Man with A She-Weakness. That’s why this story is in the Bible. Society tells us, Go ahead, you can have a one night stand, you can have your fun, you can walk away from it, and you can just move on. The world says, “You can say it was just for fun.” But it’s not true. It’s never just for fun. There’s no such thing as sex without commitment. There’s no such thing as love with no strings attached. That’s what Samson is about to find out.
Samson’s done two things that are going to get him into trouble. First, he has enraged the Philistines by ripping off their city gate. Second, he has inflamed his old passion for women and for illicit sex. He has inflamed it now, and there is going to be nothing but trouble ahead. This is the little fall on the way to the big fall. This is the little fall that sets him up for the big one. Samson only got involved with three women in his life. All three of them were Philistines. All three of them got him into trouble.
Why do the people of God continue to make this mistake? For one thing, unbelieving men and women look so attractive. They look so exciting. They look so fun-loving. They look so free. It is the work of Satan which makes Christian guys look boring and nerdy and Christian girls look dull and homely. It shouldn’t surprise us that in this world, it’s the Philistines who have the money, the power, the prestige, the connections, the sex appeal, and all the other stuff. It shouldn’t surprise us. Satan set it up that way. The problem comes when you go out and marry a Philistine. It’s not until you get married that you discover they are uncircumcised. And by then, it’s way too late.
Samson made Delilah mad because he never told the truth to her about his strength, so she said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me. You lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.” (16:10) She just asked him again. No problem. Let’s play the game again. So he says, “Use new ropes.” New ropes this time, not fresh thongs. You can see Samson grinning as he makes up these ridiculous answers …
What’s just happened here? Has he told the secret? No. But now he’s coming very, very close. The secret is in the hair. All that stuff about the thongs and the ropes was misleading, but now he’s saying, “Hey, I’ve got this thing under control.” What’s going on in Samson’s life? Here’s a man who likes to play close to the edge. He’s a man who likes to push the edge of the envelope. Samson is feeling so self-confident and so cocky. He thinks he’s invincible. Now he’s letting her touch his hair. She doesn’t know the secret yet, but he is letting her get closer and closer and closer.
So it happens the third time. She cries out, “Here come the Philistines,” and he wakes up and pulls his hair free of the loom. And he’s laughing his head off. He thought this was the funniest thing he’d ever done. He’s got this girl wrapped around his finger. Or maybe she’s got him wrapped around hers. Now Delilah plays her trump card: “Then she said to Him: ‘How can you say, “I love you,” when you won’t confide in me.’” (16:15) Bingo. She’s got him now. Does it rings a bell? That’s exactly what the woman of Timnah said 20 years earlier. Her words stuck right in his ego. Now the secret’s about to come out. By this time, the reader is pondering a couple of questions. First, “Doesn’t Samson see what she is doing, where she is going with this?” The answer: “Yes, he does, and he thinks he can handle it.” Could he be so dumb?
Samson, you fool. You weren’t tricked. You weren’t deceived. Like Adam, you knew exactly what you were doing. He told her in order to save face because she had said, “You don’t really love me.” And Samson has to prove that he’s capable of real love, so finally he tells her. As Samson rests his head in Delilah’s lap, she talks to him, cooing little sensual things in his ear. They’re playing kissy face and giggling together. She rubs his neck and massages his shoulders. Just getting him to relax. Eventually the old boy drifts off to sleep, and he feels great. He’s feeling wonderful. He doesn’t have a clue of what is about to happen. The deed is done and the Philistines get him.
The last phrase of verse 20 is one of the saddest statements in the whole Old Testament: “But he did not know that the Lord had left him.” Once God had left him, he became a dead man walking. He didn’t realize what had happened. I wish I had power to speak what this really means to me. Too many Christians drift away from God through stupidity and folly, and they don’t realize what they have lost until they’ve lost it. They don’t appreciate what they had until it’s gone. They don’t see where they were until they slide down into the pit. Why is it that Christians don’t appreciate what they have until they lose it and go into sin?
Do you see what’s happening here? Delilah has done what the army of the Philistines could never do. Delilah has brought Samson down and he’s as weak as any man. Samson, unbeatable in combat, brought down like putty in the hands of a cunning woman. Brought down. Brought down. Brought down. What happens now is ugly. The Philistines have been waiting for 20 years to get their revenge.
Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison. (16:21)
Notice the four things that happened to Samson. First there is mutilation. They gouged out his eyes. Then there is deportation. They took him down to Gaza. Oh, Samson, when was the last time you were in Gaza? That’s right. When you came to visit that harlot. Now you’re going to go back down there. In chains this time. Then there is incarceration. Binding him with bronze shackles. Finally, there is humiliation. They set him to grinding in the prison. Grinding in the prison was the work of slaves. It was the work of animals.
So they bound him. His head has been shorn. His eyes gouged out. On his hands and his knees the mighty Samson pushes the pole that powers the press that grinds the grain. O, how the mighty are fallen. The empty sockets in his eyes bear mute testimony of his unfaithfulness to God. Samson, Samson, Samson. How could you end like this?
I want you to write two verses of Scripture over this tragic story of Samson and Delilah. The first is Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” The second is I Corinthians 10:12, “Therefore if any man thinks that he is standing firm, let him take care lest he fall.” Why did Samson give in to Delilah? Because he was self-confident. Because he had lived for twenty years without ever dealing with his basic problem. And since he’d lived problem-free for twenty years he felt like he didn’t have a problem anymore. Oh, Samson, what a fool you were.
Let me give you three applications from this story. Two for the entire congregation. One just for the men.
(i) Unless we deal with our problems they will come back to haunt us again and again and again.
(ii) Unless we learn the difference between being empowered by the spirit and controlled by spirit we will fall just like Samson did.
(iii) Men, unless we yield our sexual desires completely to God, we risk falling prey to the Delilahs of this world.
Application: So are we dead men walking? Is it a possibility that the Spirit of God has left us? Are we more sensitive to people than the Holy Spirit? Just because we don’t see the Spirit of God, do we take Him lightly and for granted? Do we fear God? Does it translate into our practicing the fear of God? Do we really Love God above everything else in life? If so, is it evident (genuinely) to folks around us?
