The Power of Renewed Consecration

INTRODUCTION

In this series. We are going to look at one of the most powerfully anointed men in all of scripture. Samson was a mighty man of used by God in amazing ways. His exploits and mistakes make for great stories and sermons but even greater life lessons.

In the previous week. Last week we watched as Samson got a haircut. But more importantly he compromised his consecration. He sold out the thing that set him apart and, by doing so he sacrificed his anointing. however, when we left off last week we read these words:

Judges 16:22 However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven.

In this message. His hair was the symbol of his sanctification and that was connected to his strength. As his hair returned so did his anointing. Today, I’m going to talk about the power of a renewed consecration or a renewed commitment.

THE END DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THE END

It looked like Samson was finished. He is in a pitiful place. He is currently shackled and stripped of his strength. He is bald and blind. He has been reduced to rubble. His honor, his integrity have been compromised. The enemy has exploited his weakness and left him enslaved. The once mighty man left broken and humbled. Now he grinds in the devils prison, Samson the strong reduced to a mockery.

Here’s what the final verses have to say:

Judges 16:23–25 Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice. And they said: “Our god has delivered into our hands Samson our enemy!” 24 When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said: “Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy, The destroyer of our land, And the one who multiplied our dead.” 25 So it happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may perform for us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars.

But what looked like the end was not the end. While the enemy is mocking and making fun, while he revels in the appearance of victory, something is happening behind the scenes. Samson feels something of strength returning to his frail body. There is a surge of anointing flowing through him. It has been some time sense he had sensed it but remembers that feeling. He recognizes the presence of the Lord. He takes his hand and feels his head. His once bald head is now covered in short stubble. With every prickle his power is returning. His hair has begun to grow again.

There is still one more chapter to be written. I want to tell someone something today. It may have looked like the story was over but it isn’t. This moment was a pause not a period. What looked like the end was only the beginning of the final chapter. The story isn’t over yet. Let me breathe hope into someone’s soul this morning. His hair began to grow again after he was shaven. You can have revival. You can experience renewal. There can be a resurgence. This lifeless existence doesn’t have to be your lot! Death and defeat are not the final word. What looked like a setback was only a setup for a comeback.

A RENEWED COMMITMENT IS A POWERFUL THING

His consecration was renewed. Think about it. We know that his strength came from his anointing and his anointing was contingent upon his consecration. His hair was simply the symbol of his sanctification. The regrowing of his hair signals a renewal of his vow, an effort to come back to a promise he had made. He knew he had made a mistake but now he has a second chance. With every inch that his hair grew a portion of his strength returned. The Rogain of revival was at work.

This isn’t the first time we have see the power of a new consecration. There is a part of Samson’s story that comes to mind. In Judges 15:9-20 we read of the time his own people conspired to deliver him into the hands of the Philistines. 3000 men came and bound him with 2 new ropes and left him Lehi for the Philistines and heres what happened next.

Judges 15:14–16 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his hands. 15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it. 16 Then Samson said: “With the jawbone of a donkey, Heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men!”

There’s one word in this text that many may have missed. When we think of this story we probably envision a jawbone lying in a field, dried out and bleached by the sun. But the scripture described this jawbone with one word: fresh. What is a fresh jawbone of a donkey doing in the middle of a field near Lehi? Why would Samson utilize such a weapon? Why does the writer point out that it was fresh? Many scholars have offered an answer. And it may surprise us. It has to do with part of the Levitical law.

Exodus 13:11–14 “And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 that you shall set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the Lord’s. 13 But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, ‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

That jawbone had symbolic significance. Someone had no doubt offered it as a sacrifice to the Lord. It was there, consecrated to Lord, offered in obedience, set apart as holy, a reminder of deliverance. Someone had exercised obedience and now God was going to use it to bring a mighty deliverance. Anything set apart is holy unto the Lord, it is his to do as he sees fit with. It is dead to itself completely and totally separated and sanctified. He blesses and anoints those things that are consecrated to him. That’s what he does. He anoints and empowers those who set themselves apart. Some of us need a “fresh” consecration in our life.

ITS NEVER TO LATE TO COME BACK

Fast forward back to the festival. Now here stands Samson a shell of the man he once was, realizing his mistake, filled with guilt and regret. He knows where he once was. He knows how far he has fallen.

Judges 16:26–27 Then Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars which support the temple, so that I can lean on them.” 27 Now the temple was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there—about three thousand men and women on the roof watching while Samson performed.

No doubt his heart is filled with regrets. As is everyone who once walked with God and now finds himself back in the enemies bondage. He remembers how the anointing of God used to flow through him. He longs to be used by God again. He is repentant and remorseful. He regrets his decision. So he cries out to God in sincerity and desperation:

Judges 16:28-30 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 blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!” 29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left. 30 Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.

Call out to him with a renewed consecration. I don’t know where you are today but this much I am convinced of as long as there is breathe in your lungs and you can still hear the voice of God, then there is hope for you. You may be exploited and enslaved by the enemy, bound and battered, but there is still hope. If you will but call out to him. If you will renew your consecration and commitment. Cry out and God will come to your rescue. He will empower you and anoint you once more. Samson’s story assures us there is power in a renewed consecration. Its not too late for you to come back today. You have not yet walked too far away.

Understand the concept of complete consecration. Samson’s end was greater than all this other exploits combined but it cost him everything. He died with the Philistines that day. It’s somewhat of a tragedy but its there to remind us of what consecration means. This is so important for us to understand. Consecration means complete and total surrender of our lives. Consecration comes at a cost. It is to die to ourselves, to be completely surrendered to God. It is to lay our life down. That is the kind of life empowered for God’s exploits. When we are completely dead to our own desires God can use us in indescribable ways. That’s the kind of life I want to live.