THEME SCRIPTURE: JUDGES 16:1-22
In the time of Samson, Israel was in bondage, and God anointed Samson as a judge and a deliverer. God’s anointing is absolutely necessary to accomplishing His will. Make no mistake, our families and our nation need more men and women anointed by God.
CHECK THIS IMPORTANT VERSE Judges 16:20; “…..And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times, and shake myself. But he wist not that the Lord was departed from him”.
What was sad is that Samson did NOT know that the anointing of God had departed. Many believers today are operating and even praying and preaching without the anointing and they do not even know….
If you learn to honor and protect the anointing in your life, the same anointing will protect you!
We need to understand that man was not anointed for himself but was anointed for the purposes of God on the earth. What every believer then needs to pursue is not the anointing but the purposes of God for which he or she was anointed. God’s anointing propels the believers just like Samson to do the impossible. Our responsibility is to acknowledge that God has place His anointing upon all believers. Secondly, we need to give Holy Spirit full sway to operate through us in the earth.
Listed below, are the seven lessons we can learn from Samson’s life
1. Protect the anointing by knowing whom to run to when pressured.
Judges 16:16 says that Delilah “pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death.” When he was beat down and worn out, “he told her all his heart, and said to her, ‘No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man’” (v. 17). His power was not in his hair but in his consecration to the Lord. The same holds true for us—spiritual power is found in obedience and consecration.
When we are continually pressured and pressed, we often run back to sin—back to anger, alcohol, porn, pills, doubt, unbelief, and on and on. Where do your feet take you in times of despair? Run to the Strong Tower and build on the sure foundation of Jesus Christ! Proverbs 18:10 says that “the name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.”
2. Protect the anointing by guarding your heart from outside forces.
In verses 18–19 we read,“When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, ‘Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.’” Then she lulled him to sleep and called for a man to shave his hair. Samson should have fled her presence once he noticed her deception in prior encounters. Sin lulls us to sleep via compromise and complacency. Sin fascinates then assassinates. You can’t defeat your demons if you’re still enjoying their company! Guarding your heart means guarding your emotions and decisions as well as your time. Choose your words and friends carefully, and spend time doing things that build you up spiritually, not things that pull you down.
3. Protect the anointing by staying humble (live a life of humility).
You’d be amazed at what God does with humility and equally amazed at how much pride blocks His blessings: The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:5; “He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” [When Delilah] said, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson awoke from his sleep, and said, ‘I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!’” (v. 20). He thought, “I can handle this; I got this. I’m Samson, the mighty man of God,” but “he did not know that the Lord had departed from him” (v. 20). Had Samson humbled himself and repented immediately, I believe God would have restored him right then. In the Old Testament, the Spirit withdraw from a person completely once one sinned, but in the New Testament, we can quench and grieve the Spirit from within. Is there an area where compromise has entered in because you have let your guard is down? Then humble yourself today, and turn back to God (repent).
Like Samson, the passion we once had for the purity of God’s Word can easily be exchanged for the pollutants of this world. Pride destroys both our relationship with God and our genuine fellowship with other believers. It damages our prayer life as well. A pride-filled Christian does not pray—really pray—and seek the heart of God. A deep prayer life exposes facades and crushes hypocrisy.
Pride also destroys spiritual power and hinders the infilling of the Spirit. It affects our home life as well. In short, everything that God calls us to be is compromised when we allow pride in our lives. Eventually, and if we refuse to repent, we may find ourselves in the same spiritual condition as Samson: “He knew not that the Spirit of the Lord had departed from him.”
4. Protect the anointing by staying focused on the goal while waiting on God.
In verse 21, we read that the Philistines took Samson and put out his eyes. They bound him, and he became a grinder in the prison. Spiritual eyesight keeps us focused in the right direction, which is why clouding our vision is one of the enemy’s favorite targets: The Bible says in Deuteronomy 28:29; “You will grope at noon, as the blind man gropes in darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways”.
When we focus on the goal of fulfilling God’s call and set our sights on Christ, it’s difficult to knock us off course. Loss of spiritual eyesight often leads to the prison of bondage and shame. Here was Samson, God’s chosen vessel anointed by the Holy Spirit, who now finds himself bound and hopeless. When the devil is controlling you, you are like “a grinder in the prison,” you are barely hanging on as you go through the emotions.
However, in verse 22, we read these wonderful and encouraging words: “…the hair of his head began to grow again.” As Samson no doubt repented and prayed and trusted again in God, his strength came back. The same holds true for us. When we repaint and wait on God, praying, and seeking His face, we are strengthened to go on again. Waiting time is not wasted time
5. Protect the anointing by remembering who you are even when others taunt you.
Samson was brought into a large arena to be taunted by the Philistines. They laughed and jeered at his apparent defeat. Taunting’s come during seasons of victory and defeat, during mountaintop experiences and low valleys, when you’re doing God’s will and when you’ve fallen. Expect them and prepare accordingly by remembering who will see you through: “Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come; ’tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” Enemies of God will always taunt us, but that’s all they can do. God always gets the last word.
6. Protect the anointing by calling on God.
“Then Samson called to the Lord, saying, ‘O Lord God, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blowtake vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!’” (v. 28). To get back on track, simply cry out, “Oh, God, remember me.” This cry God will hear.
7. Protect the anointing by knowing where to put your hands.
Samson took hold of the two pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them. Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the people who were in it. The Bible notes that “the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life” (vv. 29–30). Like Samson, you too can recapture your focus, renew your strength, and finish your race. In times of despair, put your feet on the neck of the enemy, and pull down the pillars of bondage and sin through heart-wrenching prayer and deep repentance: “Oh God, remember me. Strengthen me to fight again!”
First John 2:20 says that all true believers “have an anointing from the Holy One.” In Acts 10:38, we read that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spiritand with power.” The word Christ actually means “Anointed One.” Ironically, the more anointed a person is, the more the world will hate them. The world loves the darkness of sin and depravity. They lash out at those truly filled with God’s Spirit. Truth is offensive to those caught in darkness. Even Daniel warned of a time when Satan will “wear down the saints of the Highest One” (Dan. 7:25).
1 John 2:27 says, “But as for you, the anointing (the sacred appointment, the unction) which you received from Him abides [permanently] in you;” (AMP). Just as the gifts of God are irrevocable, so is the anointing of God.
Every believer is supernaturally empowered with divine anointing to do the appointed task. God has blessed the body of Christ with diverse gifts of the Holy Spirit that empower the Church to do His will on earth through the anointing. You and I have to acknowledge and honor God’s anointing upon our lives daily.
1 John 2:27 (AMP); “But just as His anointing teaches you concerning everything and is true and is no falsehood, so you must abide in (live in, never depart from) Him [being rooted in Him, knit to Him], just as [His anointing] has taught you [to do].
Keys to honoring the anointing in your life:
- Abide in Him (live in, never departing Him, pray without ceasing)
- Continue being rooted in Him, knit to Him (in the Word of God)
- Continual in obedience (Full obedience, rooted in faith)
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