Faith/Growing Faith Series

Please open your Bibles to Judges 13…..

I’ve asked Daniel Pryor to read for us this morning… As we read along with Daniel, let us think about what God wants to teach us this morning…..

As we read in v1….

And again, because is faithful in His promises, we will read in the next chapters of Judges, God calls Samson to lead. But first, God wants to teach us about Samson’s parents!

v2: Samson’s father-to-be was Manoah because the wife was barren.

There was Manoah and no name woman; but, who would you say was more mature spiritually??

Samson’s Mother-to-be seemed to be more spiritually mature that the named father to be!

Another question to ask God when we get to heaven, “Why didn’t you name Samson’s mom??”

We can learn from the faith of Manoah and the faith of the no-named woman from this chapter. We can learn about faith in God with Samson’s parents.

First of all, there are good godly results from a growing faith in God!

What were the good godly results for the faith of Manoah and his wife??

a. A barren woman miraculously conceived a baby!

b. They experienced the physical presence and power of God!

c. They witnessed a godly child become a godly man!

d. Their son was called to be a leader/warrior/savior for the Nation Israel!

Do we desire good godly results in our lives?

How is our ow personal faith in God?

We noted that Manoah’s wife seemed to be more spiritually mature; and so, let us talk about Manoah first. What were the signs of Manoah’s faith in God??

Yes Manoah prayed but prayer without true belief in God really leads nowhere (James 1:6 tells us when we pray there should be no doubts about God).

And so we note Manoah’s faith because….

1. Manoah believed in God.

2. He prayed to God. (Manoah understood that God listens and answers prayers!)

3. Manoah took action with his answered prayer! (v11) – this is important of course because God tells us that faith without deeds/works/actions is dead!

4. He inquired more about God! (v12-18) – this is a sign of growing faith; true faith in God leads to a growing faith in God!

Did God answer specifically all of Manoah’s questions??

We can read in v12-13 that God did not answer Manoah’s question; God just reiterated what was said earlier for them to do! I believe there is a biblical Principle here we will note later.

5. Eventhough God did not answer directly Manoahs’s questions, he worshipped God anyway!

6. Humbled himself before God (v20).

But what was lacking with Manoah’s faith??

v21-23: Manoah feared for his life and didn’t fully grasped the love of God!

Now, What were the signs of Manoah’s wife’s faith??:

a. believed in God

b. accepted God’s Word

c. excited about God (notice middle of v6?) – very awesome in NIV; “very terrible” in KJV

d. shared with her husband God’s Word (v6 & v10)

e. humbled herself before God (v20)

f. Grasped the love of God (v23) – she knew God can do anything and if God wanted them dead, she was ready! How is our faith in God? Are we ready for death?

The biblical Principles are straight forward; the questions is, “Will we apply these Biblical Principles to our lives?”

1. Know and grasp the value of faith in God and growing faith! (Hebrews 11-12 and other verses….)

Good godly results in our lives will only come by a growing faith in God!

2. What is the first step of faith in God today??

Galatians 2:20…. tells us we are to live by faith in Jesus Christ! To be ready for good godly lives, we must believe in Jesus Christ as our Only Savior and Lord!

3. Are we growing our faith? How??

Prayer, God’s Word, Worship, Fellowship (encourage one another to grow in faith!)

Now, remember that God did not give a direct answer to Manoah in v12-14. Why??

Yes, Samson’s parents were told that Samson was to be a Nazirite (consecrated for the Lord), but God answered Manoah’s question by reiterating what was told earlier to the mom-to-be! Three times we read Samson’s parents was told what to do even before the baby was born! God was telling them to do what you are told first!

4. God wants us to take action to the present instructions He has given to us before going to the next step! Is there something God has told us to do and we have not done them yet? Faith without action is dead!

And to conclude today…

5. Daily know more and more and grasp God’s love!

Everyday, ask yourself “How does God love?”