Hey guys - I wrote this sermon recently to the point where I couldn't even sleep until I had the points written out.
I'm sharing this because I believe it's a word from the Holy Spirit. Feel free to leave feedback / opinions / thoughts on it. My inspiration from this comes from Pastor David Wilkerson - his message America's Golden Calf Is Coming down touched on some areas. Praise God!
The Sampson Ministry
Overview of Sampson’s story
In the time Samson was born the children of God were in desperate need. They were poor and afflicted because "the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord..." (Judges 13:1) But God in his mercy would bring up Judges to call his bride back to him. Enter the call of Samson to "deliver the people" (vs 13:5)
Samson was a man who was called to be separated unto God from Birth as a Nazarene - The word "Nazarite" means "to separate, consecrate, abstain." In short, Samson was appointed to lead a holy, separated life - never cutting his hair, never drinking wine or any intoxicating beverage, never going near a dead body, even if it was that of a close relative. He was being set apart for use by the Holy Spirit, and therefore he was to be a totally consecrated vessel.
His birth story has a similar theme to that of Jesus and John the Baptist, but his story is a tragedy. During the period of the judges the tribe of Dan lacked a permanent inheritance in the Promised Land (Judges 18:1) John the Baptist went outside of camp, Samson stayed in the camp of Dan – he should have recognized the anointing and been in prayer and seeking the Lord’s word but there is no record of this in the scripture.
He was a man who was called and filled and given a great power of God. Some here today minister under this calling, the Lord has filled and called you to do his work and will on the earth with great power and authority.
Had the power and spirit of Christ
Scripture tells us, "The Spirit of the Lord began to move him..." (13:25) at a young age. The Hebrew word for "move" here means "a regular stirring." In other words, God's Spirit stirred Samson continually.
Scripture also shows us that he had the honey of the word (Judge 14:9) When you encounter Jesus you will discover that He is sweeter than honey, and stronger than a Lion, he hid in The Rock of Etam (16:8) = the rock of the covering (etam = covering), the water of Christ was given to him (16:19) after he slain 1000 philistines with a donkey’s jaw.
Now we know that the stories in the Old Testament are for the church of Christ, Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:11 - Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Lust problem
Outwardly he was holy and separated but he had a driving lust, a secret sin – that he didn’t deal with. He first had a relationship with a forbidden Canaanite, then with a harlot in Gaza and finally with Delilah. Simply put, Samson had a terrible sexual addiction.
The Lord was fully aware of Samson’s lust issue. And as the Spirit speaks to the Samson’s of today, he will make known to them the truth Paul would express in the New Testament: "...if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Romans 8:13). God's Spirit always speaks to people struggling with sin, urging them, "Trust in me! I'll fight this battle for you giving you overcoming victory."
The Samson’s of today have access to all the power of the Holy Spirit to lead a holy life. But some ignore the Spirit's voice.
Even at the end of his rope he only sought revenge for his own name. As He was mocked and ridiculed by the Philistines, He had no care for what reproach he had caused the name of the Lord. The tragedy of his death was that there was no repentance, only revenge – no word about being sorry. No godly sorrow.
I believe that this word shows a strong warning to the church of Jesus Christ in these last days.
Point 1 – The Samson Ministry are those who minister in God's anointing and power, but lightly esteem the truth of the word.
Sampson represents a ministry today of people that are seen by men as having a great power and anointing yet have a mixture in their heart with a love for the world more than a love for God. This call of God is shown only in outward signs and displays of power and manifestations but lacks inner truth and zeal for the holiness and the spirit/word of truth of God.
Jesus said that in that great day many will say "Lord Lord did we not prophesy in your name, and do healings and cause great signs and wonders, and he will say away from me, I never knew you."
Samson was not in a relationship with the King. I believe that this will be the word given to the Sampson's of today. God loves you and he is faithful and he will give you the power to overcome lust and temptation in your life, but you've got to take the steps of faith to come out of the world - to be different, set apart, holy, a peculiar people.
I would rather have the miracle of living a life of holiness, love and humility in a godless age, than all the powers to heal, prophesy and work signs and wonders yet not be walking with God in his truth.
Sampson never truly fell in love with the Word. How dangerous when men such as these get to be leaders in the church! They have the filling, they have God with them and he exerts his mighty power for his name sake and for the sake of delivering his people, but the man himself is not surrendered to God's call of separation!
Lust of the eyes, flesh and pride were all seen in Samson - he operated in the power of the spirit but thought little of the truth. The power of the Holy Spirit rests in God's word - indeed, in his cross: "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18).
Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom, but it is the TRUTH that sets us free. Truth that sin is sin and he will not wince at it.
Point 2 – The Sampson Ministry will operate Gifts in the flesh at times
Read Judges 16:1-3 - One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. 2 The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn we’ll kill him.”
3 But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron
What will you be found doing at the midnight hour when Christ returns?
He misused his gifts and squandered the power the Holy Spirit gave him.
Romans 11:29 - For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Jesus said you shall know them by their fruit, not gifts!
Here the scripture shows us that you can operate in the gifts while in the flesh, most other accounts showed the Spirit moved upon Sampson before his strength was shown.
Samson's act was without doubt a demonstration of supernatural power. Yet, in truth, it amounted to nothing more than a good show. There was no victory won, no bondages broken, no deliverance wrought.
Likewise today, many so-called revivals are played out before a world that remains untouched and unaffected by such demonstrations. You see, whenever the Spirit of truth does not receive preeminence, all displays of supernatural power - signs, wonders, manifestations - end up being nothing more than a good show that doesn’t bring deliverance to the masses.
Think of how little Samson accomplished in his ministry by all his demonstrations of power to no real purpose: He killed a lion with his bare hands. He trapped 300 foxes and tied their tails together. He burned down some fields and fruit trees. Yet no one was delivered by any of these acts.
Consider Acts 19:9b-20 NLT
Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the word of the Lord.
11 God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. 12 When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.
13 A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. 15 But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” 16 Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.
17 The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored. 18 Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices. 19 A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars.[c] 20 So the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect.
Paul taught and lived TRUTH first; you've got to have a verse 10 before you can have a verse 11.
The Jews here had no relationship with Jesus (sound familiar?) and cast out demons in the flesh in his name. I like this picture of real revival - A solemn fear descended on the city and the NAME of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored. Hallelujah! Out of truth and fear of the Lord comes confession, repentance and then faith and it says the message about the Lord had a powerful effect! Praise God!
A true sign of a believer that is walking in truth is the confession of sinful practices to each other in the body. The Bible says to no longer speak lies to one another.
Point 3 – The Samsung Ministry will lack discernment and eventually lose strength
The name Hebron comes from (habar) meaning be joined, coupled, allied - Place Of Alliance - Samson made an Alliance with sin rather than to break apart from it
Delilah means to ease up, to let up, to weaken. The word said he loved 3 women, but never mentions he loves God. If any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him.
The secret to spiritual strength is the separation unto God then the opposite is true Alliance with the world and sin results in spiritual weakness.
Sampson’s story starts with him making riddles, having fun, relaxing. Without discernment you will fail to see the need to redeem the time.
Samson lay on Delilah lap asleep with the enemy in the room, he was at peace – but the ‘church’ was put to sleep by a seductive spirit. He was at peace with sin, he didn’t want to or didn’t believe God could free him; he was in love with the pleasures of sin more than the father. After he gave his heart fully to Delilah he said I will go out as other times but knew not the Lord departed.
One sign of lack of discernment is His focus was on the gifting and power and not the giver of gifts. Paul said I considered all things dung in comparison to knowing God. If you compare Jesus' Ministry to Sampson's ministry we see a balance of sprit and truth. John 16:8 - The Holy Spirit came to convict the world in regards to sin, righteousness, and judgment.
Another sign of lacking discernment is self boasting! 'By My Strength' Samson declared when it was clearly the Lord's all along Jud. 16:16.
The last sign of mixture in a believer that God can no longer speak to is that the Glory of the Lord departs.
Ultimately, this is where the Samson ministry ends, asleep and powerless – much like most of the churches in America today. This seductive spirit says drink, be at ease don’t think about the widows and orphans, the dying and those going to hell, just relax – have fun!
His compromise with the things of the world prevented him from truly delivering the people of Israel.
His focus was on himself, his pleasures, his will - he never fully surrendered.
He forgot his purpose was to serve the people of Israel or the church, he was to be the deliverer who poured his self out for others. His source of strength was gone when he made full covenant (gave his whole heart) to the pleasures of this world.
He was the salt that lost its savor.
Conclusion
God has a plan for your life and he will use you sometimes despite yourself, however, you miss out on the fullness of the plan God has for you because he can’t fully use you if are not in complete surrendering of your will to his truth.
Samson needed to be brought to an end of himself. God gave him over to his sin to break him - to bring him to a place of where the Word said he did more damage to the philistines in his death than in his life, how important it is for the Sampson’s to come to the truth that we have died in him and must ‘lose your life to save it’
Judges 16:31 - They brought him (Samson) back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol
Zorah and Eshtaol - mean "Hornet" and "Entreaty" – Here lies Samson in his grave between the place of truth that stings like a hornet and an earnest request or plea. The majority of Samson’s ministry knew very little of either of these two words. The tragedy of his death was his lack of true separation unto God during his life. I believe that in the physical place of his death lies a remarkable truth to those who would hear it to avoid the same end he faced, and it’s simply this – Earnestly pray to the Lord to speak to you like a hornet (truth that stings) to everything in your heart that is not of him. David simply put it – Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.