Very few people fall suddenly into the hand of the enemy. Again I say, very few children of God, if at all any, are overtaken by the devil suddenly.
Before the forces of darkness win the war against your life, they must first have defeated you in sketches of battles here and there because, war itself is the aggregate of series of battles.
When we begin to see the disgrace and destruction of the ministry of a genuine man of God, we are only witnessing his funeral – the devil most likely killed him years back spiritually.
Hence the topic, the mechanics of spiritual defeat. But before I begin to speak so much grammar or even quote pertinent scriptural verses, hear the conclusion of the whole matter: the mechanics of spiritual defeat is backsliding – simple!
So when we talk the mechanics of spiritual defeat, we are examining the unfortunate phenomenon of backsliding.
But what is backsliding? Backsliding, give or take, is when you begin to do the things you never did when you first received the Spirit of Christ and His fire, or when you stop doing the things that you always did when you first received the Spirit of Christ and His fire.
The book of Judges, chapter fourteen, verse one, “And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines”.
Notice it says “and Samson went down”. Your first step into backsliding and apostasy usually is that you go down away from the place God put you. A backslider gradually demotes himself from the high calling of God.
You begin to lower your God-given standard in different areas. The people of the world would probably call it loosening up a bit, but the right word for it is compromising.
Jesus said that the Christian is a city built on the top of the hill. The prophets also had prophesied that in the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be built upon the top of the mountains.
You the child of God are the house of God, and God, by His Spirit, has built you on the top of His Mountain and He therefore holds you to a very high standard of living.
In a lifestyle of prayer, in a lifestyle of fasting, in a lifestyle of vigil, in a lifestyle of watchfulness and sobriety, in a lifestyle of Bible study and the observance of quiet time, in a lifestyle of keeping friends with God’s children only, in a lifestyle of obedience, in a lifestyle of denying yourself many things for the sake of Christ – in all these things, God has appointed you to be a spotless example of Christ to the world around you.
But when you begin to want to live like the rest of the world, then you have taken your first step of backsliding.
After going down into the land of Timnath, the Bible says, there, Samson found a daughter of the Philistines – a strange woman.
When a Christian has taken to the path of backsliding, and has gone down from the mountain of God to join the world, he will begin to discover many things that are strange to apostolic Christianity.
The Bible says Samson in the valley of sin found strange women and those women pleased Samson. Because Samson had left the place God put Him, he was now discovering strange pleasures in the things God hated.
So also you, when you bring down yourself from the standard of biblical Christianity, you soon discover the pleasure of sin. You soon discover how easy the people of the world have it.
You soon discover how easy it is on your flesh to pray less, to fast less, to hold less vigils, and instead just watch movies or listen to nice music or attend social functions.
You soon discover how easy it is on your flesh to not have to wait on God before taking important decisions in your life, but instead just do whatever appeals to you.
You soon discover how sweet it is to your flesh to just date any man or woman you find attractive without minding what God’s word says about relationships.
A person that has begun to backslide is always discovering new things and new ways that have nothing to do with the work of Holy Spirit.
A church that has begun to backslide will begin to pattern its religion after new things copied from the world. Notice that all the strange women Samson fell for never relocated with him back to the camp of Israel.
Rather, they made Samson live amongst the Philistines. So also, a church that has begun to backslide will never bring the world to Christ, rather it would get mixed up with the confusion of the world and lose its divine identity.
When a church begins to introduce such things as comedy night or twenty-four hours victory dance or youth beach day or Christian social club and so on, know that it is because that church has gone bankrupt of spiritual power, if at all it had any in the first place.
Verse two of the same chapter says, “And he (that is, Samson) came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife”.
Verse three says, “Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?
And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleases me well”. Listen child of God, after a believer has begun to backslide and has fallen in love with the world, then, rebellion begins to creep in.
Notice the Scripture says Samson went up to bring his case to his father. So also, when you have begun to backslide, you soon begin to find how to replace divine ordinances with the ones you are learning from the world.
You soon go on a rampage of trying to make God see things the way the world see them. You soon begin to impose your demands on God. A backslidden church begins to reason for God; it begins to teach God how there is also sense in the things the world practises.
A backslidden church begins to bark orders at the Lord. A backslidden church looks at the exact things the world is crazy about, and then turns around and says to God, Give us that and give us now! Some even add please.
Please Lord, give me this or that. I know you don’t want it for me Lord, but I want it for myself. So get it for me Lord by force, by fire. A backslider certainly begins to grow greedy and covetous.
Verse five says, “Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and behold, a young lion roared against him”.
Notice Samson was not in danger of dying by a lion in the mountain land of God’s people. It is true that when a believer backslides, he is exposed to all kinds of unnecessary dangers.
Verse six says, “And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have a rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand”.
Verses eight through nine, “And after a time he returned to take (his wife) and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.
And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating”. Notice that the Spirit of God still moved and use Samson even in his backsliding state.
Mr Christian and Mrs Christian, that you are enjoying the favour of God or that you are recording victories in some areas are no sign that your ways are right before God.
The gifts of God are without repentance, say the Scriptures. Whatever grace God has placed upon your life will keep running even in the midst of your sins until such grace completely runs out.
A Christian who is experiencing prosperity or victory on a certain level while in a backslidden condition is, in the bigger picture, actually suffering defeat. Samson truly killed the lion but the lion defeated Samson.
You say how? Well, God had issued a command that Samson was to be a Nazareth from the womb in order to keep him from eating anything unclean before and after he was born.
And the carcase of animals as well as everything in and on them constitutes unclean things. But now, Samson, because he was in the wrong place, ended up eating honey out of the carcase of an animal.
He had committed a major taboo against his own destiny. Samson had broken the first edge. You see, the secret of Samson’s power was in his sanctification – in his consecration – in holiness.
So when Samson began to pollute himself, he instantly began to leak away anointing. He killed the lion but the dead lion also killed him – they cancelled each other.
You see, Delilah and the Philistines could later pluck out Samson’s eyes only because the lion of sin had already killed Samson for them in advance. Christian, know your taboos! Flee from sin! Your so-called little sins that you commit here and there weaken you and open you up to the lions.
Jesus said if the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed. But a Christian that is backslidden cannot be victorious indeed no matter how many demons he vanquishes through the name of Jesus.
Sooner or later the demons will capture you unless you repent before it is too late. So understand, then, that the next step in your downward journey of backsliding is to destroy your God-given defence and security through your sin.
Verse nine continues, “And he came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat”. When a person backslides, the more unfortunate story is that they are not the only one who partakes in the sin – they usually bring a few other believers down with them.
Samson gave his parents the unclean food and they ate it ignorantly. When a pastor backslides, many of his congregation fall with him. When a father backslides, his children most likely follow in that line.
Because you dropped your spiritual and moral standards, many of the people who look up to you as example and inspiration have begun to fall into all kinds of pit. Repent now that their blood may be washed off your hands!
Since you began to backslide, you have been sleeping in the lap of your enemies. And anytime from now, they will shave your head.
Anytime from now, they will pluck out your eyes. Anytime from now, they will cut off your head. Now is the time to run back to the place God assigned for you on the mountain of holiness.
Now is the time to return to your first love. Now is the time to rebuild your broken walls. Now is the time to break off the relationship with that Delilah you call a girlfriend. Now is the time to run far away from that son of Lucifer who has been seducing you into all kinds of immorality.
Now is the time to repent of the sin of abortion. Now is the time to break off that extra-marital affair. Now is the time to resign from that job that makes you commit sin all the time and that keeps you away from the things of God.
Now is the time to return to your former habit of praying for long hours at a stretch. Now is the time to bring back the vigils. Now is the hour of salvation.
As it is written, “upon mount Zion, there shall be deliverance and holiness and the people shall possess their possession”. Now is the time to repossess your former zeal through genuine repentance and prayer.
I want you now to pray the following prayers with holy determination.
1. Jesus Christ my Redeemer, today, from the curse of Samson, deliver me by fire in the name of Jesus Christ!
2. Arrows and spells of backsliding working against my mind, die by the blood of Jesus Christ!
3. Seed and food of pollution that have been introduced into my system to quench my fire God, your time is up! Be flushed out by the blood of Jesus Christ!
4. Marine spirits or cemetery spirits or forest spirits or desert spirits or evil spirits in the air which have been assigned to attract and capture me; you are a liar! Be arrested and imprisoned by the blood of Jesus Christ!
5. As I begin to pray, demons of my bloodline responsible for causing apostasy and backsliding, as far as my life is concerned, expire by the blood of Jesus Christ!
6. Fire of Pentecost, I am here! Locate me and fall upon my life in the name of Jesus Christ!
