Samson
Introduction:
1. Was Samson a sinner or a saint?
a. Samson doesn’t fit into our box.
b. It is hard to categorize him.
c. I am so glad that God does not expect me to be perfect.
2. How can we claim the power of God?
a. God wants us all to be strong in the face of despair.
b. Even when we blow it God still has more for us to do in his kingdom.
3. How can superman maintain his strength in the face of a wall of kryptonite?
a. What is your Kryptonite?
b. Why do you continue to let it drain you of your usefulness.
I. In everything we do, we should try to make the wisest decision.
A farmer hired a man to work for him. He told him his first task would be to paint the barn and said it should take him about three days to complete. But the hired man was finished in one day. The farmer set him to cutting wood, telling him it would require about 4 days. The hired man finished in a day and a half, to the farmer's amazement. The next task was to sort out a large pile of potatoes. He was to arrange them into three piles: seed potatoes, food for the hogs, and potatoes that were good enough to sell. The farmer said it was a small job and shouldn't take long at all. At the end of the day the farmer came back and found the hired man had barely started. "What's the matter here?" the farmer asked. "I can work hard, but I can't make decisions!" replied the hired man.
Source Unknown.
a. We should desire to obey the will of God.
ii. Manoah and his wife objected to the alliance of Samson and the Philistine girl because it was not in keeping with the will of God.
iii. Today when we are looking for a companion we should look for a Christian.
1. Samson followed after women who were not of God and it cost him more than he wanted to pay.
iv. Many times a good Christian boy or girl desires to date a non-Christian which causes them to leave the faith.
b. We can trust only God and his law.
i. His wife stabbed him in the back.
ii. His father gave her to Samson’s friend.
iii. Delilah deceived him.
iv. He could not even trust himself.
The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.
David Russell.
II. You reap what you sow.
a. Samson reaped a terrible influence.
i. Bad company corrupts good mind.
1Co 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
ii. He chose the wrong companion for life.
b. Samson reaped a menial blessing from God.
i. He only called on God when he needed to.
c. Today we minimize God in his blessings.
2Co 9:6
(6) But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
i. We do this with our offerings.
2Co 9:11-13
(11) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
(12) For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;
(13) Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;
1Co 16:2
(2) Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
A young preacher, fresh out of college, thought it would help his career if he first took a job as a policeman for several months. He passed the physical examination, and then he took the oral examination to ascertain his alertness of mind and his ability to act quickly and wisely in an emergency. Among other questions he was asked, "What would you do to disperse a frenzied crowd?" He thought for a moment and then said, "I would take up a collection."
2Co 9:7
(7) Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
At a church meeting a very wealthy man rose to tell the rest of those present about his Christian faith. "I'm a millionaire," he said, "and I attribute it all to the rich blessings of God in my life. I remember the turning point in my faith. I had just earned my first dollar and I went to a church meeting that night. The speaker was a missionary who told about his work. I knew that I only had a dollar bill and had to either give it all to God's work or nothing at all. So at that moment I decided to give my whole dollar to God. I believe that God blessed that decision, and that is why I am a rich man today." He finished and there was an awed silence at his testimony as he moved toward his seat. As he sat down a little old lady sitting in the same pew leaned over and said to him: "I dare you to do it again."
ii. We do this with our carnal giving.
Rom 15:27
(27) It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.
iii. We do this with prayer.
1Th 5:17
(17) Pray without ceasing.
III. You are blessed when you don’t deserve it.
a. Samson in all his sin was still God’s man.
i. His prayer was answered.
ii. His strength was maintained.
b. We today are blessed by God when we don’t deserve it.
i. We sin.
ii. We lack in faith.
c. God gives us salvation even though we don’t deserve it.
Rom 3:23
(23) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Conclusion:
1. It is hard for us to imagine why God gave Samson so many chances.
2. God wants to give you another chance.
a. He doesn’t want us to be encumber by regrets.
In 1904 William Borden, heir to the Borden Dairy Estate,graduated from a Chicago high school a millionaire. His parents gave him a trip around the world. Traveling through Asia, the Middle East, and Europe gave Borden a burden for the world's hurting people. Writing home, he said, "I'm going to give myl ife to prepare for the mission field." When he made this decision, he wrote in the back of his Bible two words: No Reserves. Turning down high paying job offers after graduation from Yale University, he entered two more words in his Bible: No Retreats. Completing studies at Princeton Seminary, Borden sailed for China to work with Muslims, stopping first at Egypt for some preparation. While there he was stricken with cerebral meningitis and died within a month. A waste, you say! Not in God's plan. In his Bible underneath the words No Reserves and No Retreats, he had written the words No Regrets.
Daily Bread, December 31, 1988.
3. He wants you defeat whatever keeps you from being useful.
