✎ Thomas Edison and the lightbulb¨CEdison¡¯s invention continues to brighten our world. However, the lightbulb is useless unless it is connected to a power or energy source.
The lightbulb 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 lightbulb will leave you in the dark.
1. LIGHT ILLUMINATES THE DARKNESS!
+ Matthew 5:14-16 14You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither 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. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (NIV)
A. 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.
B. The Holy Spirit is the power source.
A lightbulb has to be plugged in. Just like Edison¡¯s bulb, we will leave the world ¡°in the dark¡± unless we remain connected to the power source¨Cthe Holy Spirit.
+ 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. (NIV)
We are not empowered or energized by the flesh; we have plugged into God! The Holy Spirit directs how we live our lives reproducing Christ in us. 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 Holy Spirit.
2. HOW IS SPIRITUAL POWER LOST?
How do we get to be unplugged from the Holy 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, we are going to look at the life of Sampson (his story is found in Judges13-16).
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 Holy 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 Holy 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 Holy Spirit.
A. 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 Holy 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." (NIV)
Do you find that a little hard to believe? I had no idea that if I would just let my hair grow that my strength would increase¨Cgo figure! What¡¯s even more incredible is that Delilah and the Philistines believed Sampson! 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. Even with the body building formula¡¯s in today¡¯s shampoos and conditioners the length of your hair will not increase your physical strength.
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.¡±
Sampson, like Delilah and the Philistines, looked for an external source or reason for Sampson¡¯s strength. We too look at appearances; we want to gain understanding based upon what we can see and observe. God does not consider such things. The Lord does not look at outward appearances, but at the heart. God is not impressed by what He may see on the outside; it¡¯s what is on the inside that counts (See¨C1 Samuel 16:7).
I believe that long before Sampson fell in love with Delilah God¡¯s Spirit had already departed from Him. Judges 15 ends saying, ¡°Sampson led Israel for twenty years.¡± Nothing that Sampson does in chapter 16 is directly attributed to the power of the Holy Spirit being upon him. How many years passed while Sampson continued to maintain the outward appearance of Israel¡¯s leader, a Nazirite whose hair remained unshaved before Sampson rested his head on Delilah¡¯s lap?
Sampson forgot that God¡¯s Spirit was the source of His strength. We too must be careful not to forget.
B. 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 NIV). 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.
¡ñ Sampson looked for a wife from among the Philistines.
¡ñ Sampson spent the night with a Philistine prostitute in Gaza.
¡ñ 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?
¡ñ 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.
C. SPIRITUAL POWER IS LOST THROUGH COMPROMISE.
Ah hey, let¡¯s take the sugar coating off of it. SPIRITUAL POWER IS LOST WHEN WE DON¡¯T OBEY GOD COMPLETELY. Sampson compromised and did not do everything that God required of Him. Disobedience brings a loss of spiritual power; the Holy 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.
¡ñ Sampson picked up the jaw-bone of a donkey to fight against the Philistines.
¡ñ Sampson killed a lion, but then returned to its carcase and found a bee-hive with sweet honey inside.
You will not maintain spiritual power in your life if you hold on to hidden sin¨Cif you leave room for compromise in any area of your life.
Perhaps you may be wondering why God chose to use Sampson if he continued to live with sin his life. Why didn¡¯t God just choose to use someone else? Good question, so you get a two part answer!
First, God¡¯s message is more important than the messenger and God¡¯s purpose is greater than the instrument he uses to accomplish it. God wanted to bring His people back to Himself and deliver them from the oppression of the Philistines. God used Sampson to lead Israel for twenty years; Sampson was not perfect, but God was faithful to His word and purpose.
Second, the Lord never gave up on Sampson. Although Sampson continued to live a life filled with compromise and sin, God was patient. The Bible tells us that God is patient not wanting anyone to perish. God loved Sampson enough to continue to work both in and through his life to make him into the man He wanted him to be.
D. 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.
Spiritual power is lost through foolishness and a loss of wisdom. Let¡¯s ask God for wisdom in order to maintain our spiritual power.
3. HOW CAN WE MAINTAIN SPIRITUAL POWER?
A. LEARN FROM SAMPSON¡¯S EXAMPLE!
We just looked at four ways spiritual power can be lost in our lives in what happened to Sampson. I could preach a good sermon, by just turning those things around.
1. Spiritual power is lost when we forget God is our source, so #1¨CMAINTAIN SPIRITUAL POWER BY STAYING CLOSE TO GOD.
2. Spiritual power is lost through unwholesome relationships, so #2¨CMAINTAIN SPIRITUAL POWER BY DEVELOPING CHRISTIAN FRIENDSHIPS.
3. Spiritual power is lost through compromise and sin, so #3¨CMAINTAIN SPIRITUAL POWER BY OBEYING GOD¡¯S WORD.
4. Spiritual power is lost through foolishness and a lack of wisdom, so #4¨CMAINTAIN SPIRITUAL POWER BY LEARNING TO DISCERN.
I could do that for you this morning, but I think you are all smart enough to figure that out for yourselves. If you want to maintain spiritual power in your life, then you can start by learning from the example of Sampson which requires wisdom¨Cknowledge followed by the right action.
B. MAINTAIN SPIRITUAL POWER IN YOUR LIFE BY TAKING ACTION.
+ Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed¨Cnot only in my presence, but now much more in my absence¨Ccontinue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. (NIV)
The Bible does not say to just sit around and think about what you have heard¨C¡°work out your salvation with fear and trembling.¡± Take action upon what you know. ¡°Do not merely listen to the word. . . do what it says¡± (James 1:22 NIV).
Two words about these action steps. First, God is not impressed by our external righteousness that we try on our own; remember God looks at the heart. However, as God does a work on the inside, it will be evident on how we live our life on the outside; the internal will become visible. Let God continue that work by being taking action; the prompting to do something is not just your own idea, it comes from God!
Second, let God help you know what steps to take. Perhaps you need to focus on just one specific area such as remembering that God is your source. You may not be able to begin doing all 12 action steps, but you can take some specific steps to maintain spiritual power in your life. Let God show you what you need to do this week.
ACTION STEPS:
KEEPING GOD AS OUR SOURCE.
1. START AND END EACH DAY WITH 15-30 MINUTES OF PERSONAL PRAYER AND BIBLE READING.
2. PRAY DAILY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT!
3. FIND YOUR BLESSING OF THE DAY¨CHOW HAS GOD SHOWN HIS PRESENCE TO BE WITH YOU?
DEVELOP WHOLESOME FRIENDSHIPS.
4. FIND A CHRISTIAN FRIEND AT WORK OR IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND BEGIN TO PRAY TOGETHER WEEKLY.
5. BUILD A FRIENDSHIP WITH SOMEONE IN THE CHURCH BY INVITING THEM TO YOUR HOME FOR DINNER THIS WEEK.
6. MAKE A JONATHAN AND DAVID FRIENDSHIP. You need a friend born for adversity, who will stay closer than a brother. [1] Pray for one another; [2] hold each other accountable for your action; [3] defend each other.
LIVING A LIFE OF OBEDIENCE¨CFREE FROM COMPROMISE.
7. TAKE A TV FAST! You won¡¯t grow in your relationship with God, or your family if things stay the same around the house. This is why some of us lack discernment also!
8. DEAL WITH YOUR ANGER BEFORE IT TURNS INTO SIN. ¡°In your anger do not sin.¡± (Ephesians 4:26 NIV)
9. OBEY GOD WITH YOUR TITHES AND OFFERINGS. Don¡¯t rob yourself of God¡¯s blessing; you can¡¯t out give God!
LEARN TO DISCERN¨CLIVE A LIVE OF WISDOM.
10. ASK GOD DAILY FOR WISDOM.
11. READ DAILY FROM PROVERBS.
12. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WISDOM FROM YOUR LIFE EXPERIENCES. That¡¯s really what the book of Proverbs is¨CSolomon passed on his wisdom to his son.
+ Proverbs 1:8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. (NIV)
