I'm Going to Set your Tail on Fire
Judges 15:1-6
As we look around us today we will see we live in a very similar day as Samson. The Philistines had dominion in Israel. Who were the Philistines? They were pagan idol worshipers, They shook their fist in the face of God. If we were to look at at one well known Philistine by the name of Goliath, we can get a rough summary of how the Philistines were. We are the same today. It don't take very long to realize we have no desire for God in this world anymore. I don't have time to go into a whole lot of detail but the thoughts and desires of men's heart are only evil continuously. Society cold and calloused, no concern for humanity. We have TV shows, movies and web sites devoted to some of the most wicked perverted stuff you can imagine. This world is full of hell, and as Isaiah said it ...Hell hath enlarged herself and opened her mouth without measure... and so it goes. The church today has not distanced herself from the world in their actions, but has greatly distanced itself with their message. The churches today who have not compromised and turned to worship centers, have turned into funeral homes. (I would consider going to some of these worship centers just to see somebody that was excited to be at church.) Sunday morning services these days are nothing more than a form, no feeling, no faith, just a form. Sunday nights have turned into social gatherings, and Wednesday night......(well who goes to church on Wednesday night anymore, anyway?) In this ever darkening society we have become yellow back cowards, who are afraid of offending somebody. We lack praise, we lack passion, we lack fire. Oh do we lack fire. My mom used to tell me when I misbehaved or when I wouldn't do my chores she would say "I am going to set your tail on fire" and that will be my title today I am going to set your tail on fire.
Look with me today at our passage and I'll preach what the Lord has laid on my heart to preach. In our passage today we have a pretty amazing story. Samson here the judge of Israel takes 300 hundred foxes put them tail to tail , put a fire brand between there tail and sent them running through the fields. Some skeptics may ask where Samson got 300 hundred foxes. I don't know, and really don't care the Bible says 300 hundred it is settled for me. Some may ask how he was able to direct where these foxes went with their tails ablaze. He was smart enough to tie them tail to tail which means they had to go one way. You see Samson before he was born was appointed by the Lord to judge Israel. He was God's man, a God did a mighty work through Samson. I want to look at just a few things about this.
I. The Man- Samson Gods man, one of the few men in the Bible that specifically says the Spirit of God moved on him mightily. God always has his man. Samson was a man with:
a. Purpose-God put Him where he put him for a reason. Samson was just the man for such a time as this. Look at verse 14:4 God has an express purpose for this man. (The man that God has put here has a purpose. It is not just to fill a position, it is not just to keep up with the status quo. God's man at Elmira Baptist Church has a real purpose. I am not here by accident but by divine will of God.) As long as God has a purpose for His man at Elmira, he has a purpose for you at Elmira. When God don't send a man, He has no purpose for you. Samsons sole purpose was to deliver Israel from the hands of the enemies. Upon this rock I will build my church...we are delivering this community and you children from the hands of the enemies.
b. Passion- Samson was a very passionate man about everything he did. He was passionate about where he got a bride. 14:2-3 He was passionate about his business (killing the lion, setting fox tails on fire, taking the gates of the city, etc.) He was passionate in battle. (He killed 30 men at Ashkelon, He killed 1000 with new jawbone of an ass, He killed more when he died than he did while he lived.) We need some preachers with passion, that with tears will reach the lost, that will stand with the enemy breathing down his neck and proclaim the truths of this Book, That will cut to the chase with sin and call it like it is "If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle" call sin...sin.
c. Plan- If you don't believe that then answer me this how many of you ever started a fire with a fox. That stuff has to be thought about and planned. God gave his man a plan for what He wanted accomplished and an ability to carry out the plan. Even if some didn't like the plan, He did what was in his heart to do 15:11. God has a plan for our church that He will carry out through His man. We need to get in on the plan to accomplish our purpose. Now we have seen the man let's look at:
II.The Message- In this story what was the message it was carried be the foxes the message was fire. Jeremiah said His Word was a fire in his bones. The thing about fire is it can help or it can hurt. There are some things about our message. It was a:
a. United message-You know if you switch 2 letters of united you can spell untied, and I believe that is the way our message has seemed over the last 15 years. We can't even get along with ourselves. We need a united message look as these foxes carried the message 1)The went two by two so there was unity there 2)all 300 hit the same field, there was not any that said well that ain't my responsibility 3) all 300 carried the same message, it was just as hot and effective on one end of the field as it was on the other.
b. Urgent message- The foxes when they got this message I don't think Samson had to beg them to run with it. I would to God we would get that kind of excitement when the message is preached. That we would get a fire under our tail, and have to spread it around. I guarantee you would not find one fox that had received the message that was sitting still with it. The Bible say in vs 5 "He let them go" which means he was holding them back and the were so fired up over the message the were chomping at the bit to get out with it. You say well there tails were on fire that's why they ran, so what do you think you need to make you run? Is God's message to us and to this lost dying world not fire to us or has it lost all effectiveness in our heart. Is it just falling on deaf ears. Notice not one of the foxes tails were numb to the message. Lost are dying and going to hell, saved are backslidden and cold on God. It is an urgent message.
c. Understood message-We are so wishy-washy with our message, we change our message depending on who's around so much that the world misunderstands our message or the group that has a corrupt message is reaching more people than us with the truth that the world has a clouded idea of what we are. Christians are the most misunderstood people in the world, but we have the simplest, most easy to understand, and most scientifically factual message in the world. The Philistines had no trouble understanding the message as they looked out with their eyes watering from the smoke. Who hath done this? they asked. vs 6 Samson no question about it. Gods man got the message out. They understood the message.
III. The Messengers- Foxes, a couple of things real quick
a. The were driven- The had reason to run. "And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth." Hab 2:2 (KJV)
b. The were direct- Not one fox stopped to eat grapes or olives in the field. We are too distracted with everything we don't have time to spread the message. You would if you tail is set on fire. They went where they were sent.
c. They were done- vs 5 they had covered the whole field shock, and standing corn, vineyards and olives. They got the message to everybody. If you think because you are saved that God don't have a message for you, you are fooling yourselves. I am not just preaching this to the lost I am preaching it to you.
Church I am going to set your tail on fire, and you can either set there and whine about it and wind up a pile of dry ash, or you can run with it and go out of this world on fire for God. It's your choice. We need our fire back, nothing less will do.
