Follow The Spirit Not The Flesh
By: David Kent
Junk mail appears all too regularly in my mailbox these days. On a recent trip to the mailbox, I retrieved a pamphlet from a local eye specialist. I began to think that vision is something in our society that we all take for granted. Samson did likewise.
Samson was born to a barren woman who had an angelic visitation. The angel said “Thou shalt conceive and bare a son; and no razor shall come on his head; for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines”.
As the child grew, the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at various times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. These cites were small and little noticed, yet a prophet of God was being raised there. Likewise, the nurturing part of our ministry may seem quite insignificant; however, we must allow the Spirit of the Lord to lead us as we feel the anointing of God.
The obvious call of Samson’s life was treated with little respect as
noted in one of the first exploits of his life. As Samson journeyed to
Timnath, he desired one of the daughters of the Philistines, ignoring
his parents’ wise counsel. Samson pressed on in the pursuit of
obtaining this woman for his wife. This road brought him to the eating
of honey from a dead lion carcass, a direct violation of a Nazarite.
Samson’s sweet experience was not solitary as he brought the honey to
his parents and gave them to eat also. When sin begins to blind you,
it doesn’t just affect yourself, but those who you love and care for
are also affected.
Samson’s appetite for strange women was not satisfied in his failure of
obtaining this Philistine woman. For Samson’s pursuit of sin finds him
going to Gaza and going in to a harlot. As Samson was becoming blind
to sin, so our spiritual eyesight becomes weaker and weaker as we play
the field of sin and allow its allurements to seduce and blur the
truths of God’s Word.
As Samson lay till midnight in the arms of a false lover, so can the
people of God be rocked to sleep. We must forsake the “awake and
shake” syndrome! Sin’s blinders must be removed to restore proper
vision.
Samson’s downfall found him in the valley of Sorek loving a woman named
Delilah. Never do we find an account in scripture where Samson is
found loving a Jewish maid. He always seemed to have his eyes on the
women of the world. He never kept his eyesight pure and at the proper
place. His eyes were always allowed to wander. The church must keep
her eyes upon Jesus and the things that He desires for us, or we’ll
soon find ourselves in much the same position that Samson did.
Delilah seduced Samson into believing a lie and he put his trust in
her, revealing the secrets of his heart. We must not allow Satan to
whisper sweet little nothings into our ears, trying to sap our
strength, or Samson’s plight may become ours also.
Samson’s downfall brought him to defeat in the hand of the Philistines.
They put out his eyes and made him to grind in the prison house.
Likewise, Satan can blind us if we allow his devices to lure us from
God’s plan for our lives.
It’s time to re-focus our eyes upon the One who loves us, and purpose
in our hearts to follow the leading of His Spirit instead of the
desires of our flesh.
THE ABOVE MATERIAL WAS PUBLISHED IN THE MINNESOTA MESSENGER, FEBRUARY
1996, BY DAVID KENT, P. 8. THIS MATERIAL MAY BE USED FOR STUDY AND
RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY.
