Embracing a Fresh Annointing

Scripture Invitation

As we prepare our hearts for God’s Word, I summon your senses and invite your intellect to the book of Judges, chapter 15, verses 14 through 17, and it is there that the Holy Spirit has highlighted our context for our sermonic time together this morning.

Bible Passage

Judges 15:14–17 CSB

When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him, and the ropes that were on his arms and wrists became like burnt flax and fell off. He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand, took it, and killed a thousand men with it. Then Samson said: With the jawbone of a donkey I have piled them in heaps. With the jawbone of a donkey I have killed a thousand men. When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone and named that place Jawbone Hill.

Introduction

My Brothers and Sisters, as we approach the majestic milestone of our 40th anniversary, we stand at the threshold of both reflection and transformation.

God has been faithful, but today, we must wrestle with a potent challenge before stepping into our next chapter.

Context

In the ancient land of Israel, during a time of great turmoil and conflict with the Philistines, a man named Samson rose up as a mighty warrior chosen by God to deliver his people.

Through miraculous strength and divine intervention, Samson accomplished incredible feats that seemed impossible for a mere mortal.

In Judges 15, Samson finds himself betrayed by his own people.

The men of Judah, afraid of the Philistine onslaught, have bound Samson to deliver him to their oppressors.

Picture this scene: a solitary figure, hands tied, standing in the desert with a thousand enemies approaching.

His own community had abandoned him, but Samson, seized again by the Spirit of the Lord, breaks free of his bonds.

He had no weapon, no sword, no shield.

But then, he saw something in the sand—a dry jawbone of a donkey.

He picked it up, shook off the sand, took a deep breath, and moved toward the soldiers.

With every swing, a soldier fell.

Blood was everywhere, and that white jawbone turned red.

When the battle was over, a thousand soldiers lay dead, and Samson was the only one standing, breathing.

His victory is nothing short of miraculous, not because of the jawbone itself, but because of God's anointing on that simple, seemingly insignificant object.

Here is where we uncover a profound truth.

When the dust settles, Scripture tells us, "As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of his hand."

Samson, after slaying a thousand enemies, did not hold on to the jawbone.

Now that's an important statement, because anytime something works we like to keep it.

In our generation when something works the first thing we do is patent it.

And then after we patent it we begin to merchandise it, manufacture it and we began to trade it.

In other words we began to sell it.

Could you imagine Samson selling this jawbone and calling it Samsonmite the weapon and selling this jawbone as a military weapon in 2024?

I mean it actually worked, it killed a thousand men so he could have actually said on the packaging: Killed 1,000 Philistines.

He could have sold it, or traded it

Everybody say trade

Say it again trade

Whenever you take something, and you package it, and you trade it, it is called trad-ition

A tradition is something that worked, it was good, it was effective, but when you finish with it you gotta throw it away.

I believe what happens is sometimes one generation that experience a certain anointing of God, they try to trade it to the next generation.

But often times they forget that the anointing was not in the jawbone, it was on the jawbone, and when the anointing leaves the jawbone you gotta throw the jawbone away!

God is going use some things in our generation that he didn't use in our parents generation!

Sometimes we have to tell the previous generation that we gotta throw some things away, not because it was bad, but the anointing has left it!

Don't ever get caught with what God used to use!

So the question is asked, What do we need to embrace as we move into our next phase of ministry?

We need to Embrace New Methods

Just as that jawbone was temporarily anointed, our methods, too, are but vessels of God’s power for specific moments.

When the moment passes, the anointing moves on.

The Word of God said “He threw away the jawbone,”

As we celebrate 40 years, let not the jawbones of the past weigh us down.*

Isaiah 43:18–19 CSB

“Do not remember the past events; pay no attention to things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.

We Need to Embrace Change

If Samson had clung to the jawbone, it would have become a relic devoid of power, misleading future generations.

Tradition— things once potent—can become pitfalls.

Even Jesus criticized the Pharisees for clinging to empty practices devoid of the Spirit’s present move.

Mark 7:13 CSB

You nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many other similar things.”

We Need to Embrace a New Move of God

The next generation needs fresh anointings!

New jawbones!

Methods allowing GOD not the method, to be the constant guiding power.

To lead in the next forty years, new paths fueled by faith and current anointing are essential.

Philippians 3:13–14 LEB

Brothers, I do not consider myself to have laid hold of it. But I do one thing, forgetting the things behind and straining toward the things ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Closing

As we stand on the brink of a new era, let us not be bound by old jawbones.

God’s anointing is not trapped in traditions; it is constantly renewing and refreshing.

Embrace what God is doing NOW!

Embrace what God wants to do for us in the future!

We need to embrace Fresh vision for strategic growth.

We need to embrace Fresh courage for tackling new challenges.

We need to embrace Fresh wisdom for sound leadership.

We need to embrace Fresh joy in serving others.

We need to embrace Fresh peace amidst changing times.

We need to embrace Fresh strength for enduring trials.

We need to embrace Fresh creativity for effective ministry.

We need to embrace Fresh love for building stronger relationships.

We need to embrace Fresh compassion for the marginalized and needy.

We need to embrace Fresh hope for a future filled with promise.

We need to embrace Fresh faith to witness miraculous works.

We need to embrace Fresh guidance for raising the next generation of leaders.

We need to embrace Fresh unity to foster greater community impact.

We need to embrace Fresh resources to fuel outreach initiatives.

We need to embrace Fresh boldness for proclaiming the Gospel.

Today, Let us embrace the new thing that God wants to do in our midst and step boldly into His plans and purposes for us & his church.