Judges 16:20
“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.” (NIV)
Matthew 5:14-16
“You, however, are controlled not by
the flesh 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)
Romans 8:9
I. HOW IS SPIRITUAL
POWER LOST?
The Story of Samson and Delilah
Judges 13-16
A. SPIRITUAL POWER IS LOST WHEN
WE FORGET THE SOURCE
Samson told Delilah everything
“No razor has ever been used on my
head, 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.” Judges 16:17 (NIV)
SAMSOM CONFUSED THE
SYMBOL WITH THE SOURCE
Samson’s hair was not the source of
his great strength. God was the
source of his great strength.
Samson should have said, “I am set
apart by the Lord as a Nazirite to
serve the God of Israel and do
whatever He desires. The spirit of my
God gives me strength.”
They looked for an external
reason for Samson’s strength
God is not impressed by what He may
see on the outside; it is what is on the
inside that counts.
“Do not look at his appearance or the
height of his stature, because I have
rejected him; for God sees not as man
sees, for man looks at the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks at the
heart.” I Samuel 16:7 (NASB)
THE POWER HAD LEFT SAMSON
Judges 15 ends saying, Samson led
Israel for 20 years. Nothing that
Samson does in chapter 16 is directly
attributed to the power of the Holy
Spirit being upon him.
Samson forgot that God’s Spirit
was the source of His strength.
The Delilahs of life seduce us away
from our main power source.
B. SPIRITUAL POWER IS LOST THROUGH
UNWHOLESOME RELATIONSHIP
“Show me your friends, and I
will show you your future.”
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in
the counsel of the wicked or stand in the
way of the sinners or sit in the seat of
mockers.” Psalms 1:1 (NIV)
Unwholesome relationships led to
Samson’s downfall
Samson
• looked for a wife from among the
Philistines
• Spent the night with a Philistine
prostitute in Gaza
• Fell in love with Delilah
• Kept secrets from his parents
“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is lovely,
whatever is of good report, if there is any excellence and if
anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
Philippians 4:8
It is relationships that validates everything else.
A relationship that leaves the very thing that
make it possible in the first place to enjoy
relationships with others is keeping the power
of God from operating in our lives.
C. SPIRITUAL POWER IS LOST
THROUGH COMPROMISE
Samson compromised and did not do
everything that God required of Him.
Samson was not permitted to come into
contact with a dead body, yet he was
responsible for the death of thousands of the
Philistines at his own hand.
Samson killed 30 men and stripped their
bodies of their clothes in order to settle a bet.
Samson
• Picked up a jaw-bone of a donkey to fight
against the Philistines.
• Killed a lion, but then returned to its
carcass and found a bee-hive with sweet
honey inside.
You will not maintain a spiritual power in
your life if you hold on to hidden sin, or
leave room for compromise in any area of
your life.
WHY DIDN’T GOD JUST CHOOSE TO USE
SOMEONE ELSE?
God’s message is more important than the
messenger and God’s purpose is greater
than the instrument he uses to accomplish it.
The Lord never gave up on Samson.
Although Samson continued to live a life filled
with compromise and sin, God was patient.
D. SPIRITUAL POWER IS LOST THROUGH
FOOLISHNESS OR LOSS OF WISDOM
Samson lacked the discernment to see the
trap that was being set to take him captive.
WHAT IS WISDOM?
It 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.
A FOOL…
• Takes action without enough
information.
• Acts impulsively not waiting
for the right time
• The fool knows the truth, but
acts upon a lie.
“If we are not heedful of the way the
Spirit of God works in us, we will become
spiritual hypocrites. We see where other
folks are failing, and we turn our
discernment into the give of criticism
instead of intercession on their behalf.”
Oswald Chambers
II. HOW CAN WE
MAINTAIN SPIRITUAL
POWER?
Take action and make
God your source in everything
A. WE MAINTAIN A SPIRITUAL POWER
IN OUR LIFE BY TAKING ACTION
“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have
always obeyed not only in my presence,
but now much more in my absence
continue to work out your salvation with
fear and trembling.”
Philippians 2:12 (NIV)
“Do not merely listen to the
word…do what it says.”
James 1:22 (NIV)
GOD LOOKS AT THE HEART
God continues to work on the inside
as we take action on the outside.
The internal will become visible as we let
God continue that work as we take action.
The prompting to do something is not
just your own idea, it comes from God.
God helps you to know what specific
steps to take to maintain spiritual power.
B. TO MAINTAIN A SPIRITUAL POWER IN
OUR LIFE MEANS WE KEEP GOD AS OUR
SOURCE IN EVERYTHING
• Start and end each day with personal
prayer and Bible reading.
• Find your blessing of the day.
• Take steps in developing wholesome
friendships
• Take a TV fast
TO MAINTAIN A SPIRITUAL POWER
• Deal with your anger before it turns into
sin. “Be angry, but sin not.” Eph. 4:26
• Ask God daily for His wisdom in every
situation. “We have not because we ask
not.” James
PHANTOM LIMB PAIN
We have parts of our lives that have caused
us great pain, and the power of the Holy
Spirit comes into our lives and removes those
areas that are harming us and keeping us
from having complete victory.
If we don’t release it, it festers and creates
more pain that God never intended for us to
have.
TO OFTEN OUR SPIRITUAL POWER IS
DEPLETED BECAUSE…
• We have failed to realize how we can lose
it.
• We hold on to things that God never
intended for us to keep.
• We forget our source of power.
TO STAY SPIRITUALLY POWERFUL WE NEED TO
BE WILLING TO TAKE ACTION AND LET GOD BE
OUR MAIN SOURCE IN ALL WE DO IN LIFE