Judges 16:20 “Then she cried out, ‘Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!’
When he woke up, he thought, ‘I will do as before and shake myself free.’ But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him.”
There are not too many verses as troubling as this one. Samson did not realize that the Lord had left him. When he woke up he was powerless. He would be captured by the Philistines, his eyes would be gouged out, he would be put into prison, and sentenced to hard labor.
But who was Samson and why did the Lord leave him? Let’s discover some answers this morning.
Samson was born during a period when the Israelites were in the hands of the Philistines. His mother was unable to have children until God intervened and opened her womb. In a vision she was told that her son was to be a Nazirite. This meant he was to be set apart for God’s service. That service would be to begin the deliverance of the Israelites from the hands of their enemies. As a Nazarite he could not drink anything that was alcoholic, touch anything dead, or cut his hair.
As he grew he searched for a wife among the Philistines. God would use this marriage as a tool to confront the Philistines.
Samson’s strength was unnatural since it came from God. He was greatly feared by the Philistines and he led Israel for 20 years.
But Samson strayed in ways that were not from God. For instance, he ate honey from the insides of a dead lion’s carcass, thus defiling himself. He also gave some of the honey to his parents, thus defiling them also. But worse of all he divulged his secret concerning his hair and allowed a prostitute to cut it while he slept. The Lord departed from Samson, not because of his hair, but because of his consistent disobedience to being a Nazarite.
Remember that being a Nazarite meant to be set apart for God’s service? There is another word we use for being “set apart.”
That word is “holy.” Just as Samson was called to be “set apart” so are we. 1 Peter 1:16 reminds us that God said, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
Samson did not choose to be Nazarite. He was chosen by God to fulfill that calling. It did matter whether it was a role he wanted or not. Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:4 that “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.” Before He made the world He chose us to be holy. It does not matter whether we want to be or not. And our reluctance to be holy can be met with some dire consequences. Just like Samson, we may lose the power of the Holy Spirit one day and find we are on our own.
Now Jesus did promise us that the Holy Spirit would never leave us or desert us. But we can chose on our own to unplug that power source by our actions. So the question becomes how we can know that our energy source is getting low before it’s completely gone.
Hint #1- We no longer witness about Jesus.
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
It’s easy to tell others about Jesus for some people. Some folks have got the gift of gab. But telling people about Jesus is not what He is calling us to do here. Telling people about Jesus is the result of what He is calling us to do here. What He is calling us to do here is to be. To be a witness. So what does it look like to be a witness?
One thing I have always believed to be a witness was to live a life like Christ. And I always failed miserably at doing so. Reality is we are not to be an imitation of Jesus. We are called to manifest his character in our behavior.
Being a witness to Jesus is not about religious rituals or legalistic rules and regulations. It’s not guilt trips about church attendance or tithing. It’s not about earning grace but rather exemplifying grace that has been given to us by the grace we give to others.
Being a witness to Jesus is living a life that manifests his character by allowing the Holy Spirit to control our behavior. This allows us to function in a dysfunctional world in a way that brings honor to God. It allows us to stop pondering what we must do to live the Christian life and began to desire to live the life that we are called to live. And allow our lives to be a witness about Jesus.
Being an effective witness is allowing the character of Jesus to be lived out through our behavior, in order to function as intended to bring glory to God. When our lives no longer carry the characteristics of Jesus we may be on our way to becoming unplugged.
Hint #2 - We no longer worship God
Ephesians 5:18-20 “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
I have a feeling that Paul had witnessed a few parties in his lifetime. He probably saw how free spirited people became as the wine flowed. They became louder, singing and dancing in joyous celebration. Their feelings toward each other became more obvious as they shared some innermost thoughts. With hugs and kisses on the cheeks, they allowed others to know how thankful they were to have such a friend. Paul tells the Ephesians that we should worship in that same manner.
Too often worship had become about entertainment. The bigger the band, the louder the music, the greater the worship. But worship is not an event but rather a lifestyle that we share with others.
Worship is sharing scripture, singing songs of praise, and praising the Holy Spirit that resides in us. This is always done in a cooperate setting, what we call church. Worship is a desire to be a part of this movement of praise to glorify God, not the musicians or the pastor. Worship takes place in a gathering of 1500 or 15 people because worship is a lifestyle.
Worship is carrying that filling of the Holy Spirit with us wherever we go. It is a constant praise of God within our very being. It is usually silent and intimate. Worship is not dependent on our circumstances but rather on our relationship.
Worship is a constant feeling of thankfulness. I notice on social media that when God comes through in some magnificent way his praises radiate. When He answers a prayer or gives us an unexpected blessing, we can’t wait to share the good news. But those days are actually few and far between. What do we tell others about God when a prayer isn’t answered or a tragedy strikes our life? Or on days that are just a routine day? How and what do we thank him for?
When coming to church is more of a drag than a feeling of excitement, when praise music doesn’t “move you” because it’s not upbeat enough, when you are disconnected from God in your daily routines and find nothing to thank him for, you may be on your way to becoming unplugged.
Hint #3 - We become “me” motivated.
Ephesians 5:21 “And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
We have within us the DNA of selfishness. It is evident from the time of childhood into adulthood. All you need to do is watch babies interacting with one another. We have to “teach” children to share because it does not come natural.
James wrote to the early questions and asked this question, “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them.”
James knew a thing or two about selfishness. Remember that he was one of the “sons of thunder” who, along with John, asked to have the best seats in the coming kingdom. He came to realize that his selfish schemes led to the killing of relationships. That selfishness unchecked would lead to the sin of covetousness.
Paul wanted the church to understand that submission was not becoming a doormat. Rather, submission was showing the character of Jesus. And this is what that character looked like as explained in Philippians 2:5-8 “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges (submission); he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being (submission). When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. (submission)”
Paul continues in Ephesians to explain the fruit of submission. Wives begin to trust their husband’s decisions. Husbands begin to love their wives and put the needs of the family ahead of their own. Children become obedient. Parents become sensitive to their children’s physical, spiritual, and emotional needs. Employees respect their employers. And employers show no favoritism over their employees. The world becomes in tuned with God’s purpose for us.
If you find it difficult to live a peaceful life without having everything your way, if pride keeps you from developing a submissive spirit, you may be on your way to becoming unplugged.
Hint #4 - Our tree is barren.
Galatians 5:22 “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”
Last weekend we went to an apple orchard in the mountains. There were acres upon acres of apple trees, along with acres upon acres of cars and people. When we first arrived I felt sure that the trees would be barren but I was wrong. Despite all the many weekends they had been opened and how many people were there that day, there was an ample supply of apples to be picked.
As I thought about that apple orchard I came to realize that the owners had to do very little to benefit from the fruit that was being produced. There was probably a lot of work to get the orchard started but once it got going the trees did what comes natural for them. They produced fruit.
We are to be like that. As an early believer we had to learn what it meant to develop the characteristic of Jesus. But we should have reached a point in our spiritual walk where certain things just come natural. Now we should be producing spiritual fruit that glorifies God.
Also in the orchards were about 15 different varieties of apples. Some were red, some were greenish in color, some were yellow. Some were sweet, some were tart, some were sour. But they were all apples. It’s the same with spiritual fruit. There is a different variety of fruit but they should all be located in the same orchard.
The fruit of love, selflessly seeking the will of God to show compassion to those around us. The fruit of joy, inner contentment despite external circumstances. The fruit of peace, harmony in our relationships with others. The fruit of patience, surrendering our justification for revenge when wronged by others. The fruits of kindness and goodness, treating others with love when they don’t deserve it. The fruit of faithfulness, dependable commitment that God can count on. The fruit of gentleness, submitting yourself to the will of God. The fruit of self-control, resisting fleshly impulses.
If the trees in your spiritual orchard are barren, you may be on your way to becoming unplugged.
Hint #5 - We are no longer involved.
1 Corinthians 12:7 “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.”
God doesn’t say a spiritual gift might have been given or should have been given. God says a spiritual gift has been given. That means each of us has a spiritual gift. It might be something that seems as unimportant as a gift of service. Helping set up and tear down for services every Sunday. It might be watching the kids for a Sunday so no one person is back there every week. It might be the gift of encouragement thanking those who watch the kids that week or a word to uplift your pastor who sought the Lord through prayer and studied to bring you this word today or the praise team who practiced this morning to bring us into worship. It could be a number of gifts.
But these gifts are given to us so we can help each other. We are not to use these gifts to benefit ourselves.
If you are not involved in seeking your spiritual gift and using it to benefit others, you may be on your way to becoming unplugged.
So what can we do to make sure our plug into the Holy Spirit is secure? Here are 3 tips.
1) Ephesians 4:30 “And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.”
Samson was identified as one of God’s own. The day he allowed his hair to be cut, he lost that identity. His lifestyle leading up to that event was displeasing to God and brought him sorrow.
We are identified with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. When our lifestyle desecrates the holy of name of Jesus, we bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit. We must be sure to live a lifestyle pleasing to the Holy Spirit.
2) 1 Thessalonians 5:19 “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.”
The word stifle means to suppress, curb, withhold. In the Greek it also meant to extinguish, as you would fire. Samson extinguished the presence of the Lord and lost his strength. There is great danger in stifling the Holy Spirit.
To stifle him is to do longer heed his correction and direction. It is when we decide to no longer allow him to function in his role as Jesus living in us. It’s when we no longer listen to his convicting words to keep us from sin. We must always leave our spiritual ears open and heed his direction for our lives.
3) Galatians 5:16 “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.”
Samson allowed his sinful nature to lead him instead of the Lord. His sinful nature led him into disobedience and into the arms of a prostitute. His sinful nature led him to play games with his enemies and in doing so reveal his weakness to them. His sinful nature led him to a broken relationship with the Lord and his ultimate downfall.
Our sinful nature will tempt us to play games with our spiritual enemy. He will discover our weaknesses and ply them to use against us. Our only hope is to allow the Holy Spirit to do his job and guide our lives. In doing so no power in hell can unplug us from the power supplied by the Holy Spirit.
