David Diga Hernandez - The Dangers of Spiritual Deafness

There’s all kinds of noise coming at us from all different directions. We need to be people of God who are sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, who can clearly hear Him and then respond when He speaks. I want you to write this in the comments section if you’re committed to that: I want you to write these three simple words: «No more noise.» Let me read you something found in Judges, chapter 16, verse 20. Then she cried out, «Samson, the Philistines have come to capture you!» When he woke up, he thought, «I will do as before and shake myself free,» but he didn’t realize that the Lord had left him.

Now, a couple of things about this portion of scripture: This is from the Old Testament. We understand that in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit doesn’t abandon believers who make mistakes. Neither do I believe that the Lord completely abandoned Samson here in Judges, chapter 16. Rather, what happened was the manifested, tangible, supernatural expression of God’s power that rested on Samson by way of supernatural physical strength was removed from him. As we read the story, we find that Samson had many opportunities to turn back to the Lord and repent of his compromise. It began in his youth; we see a couple of signs that there was some rebellion in his heart that he hadn’t dealt with. As he entered this relationship with Delilah, we see on several instances that she asked him for the secret of his strength.

Now, he was so blinded by his sin; he was so blinded by his fleshly cravings; he so desired Delilah that he didn’t recognize the danger in that relationship. He didn’t see that she was intentionally trying to destroy him, which is why she kept asking for the secret to his strength. Each time she would ask for the secret to his strength, he would tell her a lie, and what’s interesting is that the Philistines would attempt this lie. They would attempt to do what Samson said would take his strength, and he didn’t catch on right away. He didn’t see that every time he told Delilah, «This is how you take my strength,» the Philistines would come and try that very thing. He didn’t recognize this because he didn’t want to see it.

Now, it wasn’t until he finally revealed his secret that the power was lifted from his life. Again, in the New Testament sense, this is not necessarily what happens. The Holy Spirit doesn’t leave you; however, as you begin to compromise, you begin to surrender that influence of the Holy Spirit on your life. So, it’s not that the Holy Spirit has abandoned you; it’s that you no longer acknowledge the presence of the Holy Spirit. It’s not that the power of the Holy Spirit leaves you; it’s that you no longer make use of that power that He has deposited within you. In the case of Samson, it was compromised incrementally. He got closer and closer to the truth each time he revealed something to Delilah. At first, he lied to her, and then eventually he fully compromised, giving up the secret to his physical supernatural strength from the Lord.

We see here in Judges 16:20 that Samson wakes up and thinks to himself, «I will do as before and shake myself free.» He didn’t realize that the Lord had left him. What a terrifying reality! Again, I am not saying that the Holy Spirit abandons believers. Jesus said, «I will send you another, and He will never leave you.» So, we understand that the Holy Spirit dwells with those who are truly born again, and when you make a mistake, the Holy Spirit doesn’t leave you; He stays with you to lead you into holiness again, and He works with you. Of course, there are consequences to sin; of course, it affects your mind; it affects your life. Of course, God does judge it to a certain degree. We understand there’s a loss of reward and responsibility in eternity, and He chastises those whom He loves.

So, I’m not saying just go ahead and freely sin; I’m just trying to balance this biblical truth by also making it clear that the Holy Spirit doesn’t just abandon the Christian when the Christian makes a mistake. Still, we see this frightening reality that Samson didn’t realize that that supernatural strength was no longer upon his life. He didn’t recognize that he was no longer able to do what he was used to doing. Here’s the reality: when you ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit, He becomes more difficult to hear. When you continue in disobedience to what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, eventually there will come a breaking point where you bear an enormous consequence. Eventually, there will come a point where that power that you thought was on you is lifted from you.

I’ve seen this, and I’m just going to be real with you here: I’ve seen this happen to ministries. I’ve watched as men and women of God, who were operating in such purity, such power, such grace—and it was so beautiful to watch—then I watched as a little bit of compromise entered in: their doctrines, their character, maybe a little bit of pride, ego, competitiveness, and these sorts of things. You see that secret sin maybe began to grab hold of their character. What began to happen was the power that flowed so beautifully wasn’t as potent. It’s not, again, that it left; they weren’t making full use of that which was available and deposited in them. I’ve seen wonderful ministries rise quickly, and then suddenly enter into compromise.