Samson - a man of contrasts
Overcoming the Roller-Coaster of Spiritual Growth
Judges 13:24-16:30
Objective:
• to see that we are a lot like Samson: redeemed, but carnal
• what do we need to be spiritual
Intro: I would love to say that when a person gets saved - his or her life gets forever changed. I would like to believe that a people who are blessed by God in every area of their life are strong in resisting temptations and are committed to their savior, but it is not quite the case.
Disclaimer: I have used "All the MEN of the Bible" book by Herbert Lockyer as a skeleton outline for this message.
I. He was separated as a Nazarite, yet tampered with evil associations
A. Nazarite vow
1. KEY issue - Being separate unto the Lord
2. Abstaining from wine or strong drink
3. Sexual and moral purity
4. Separateness from dead bodies
5. Outward manifestation - no cutting of hair
A. Samson flirted with the philistines
1. “She pleaseth me well” Jud. 14:3
a. Emphasis on self rather than God
b. Emphasis on pleasure rather than obedience
c. Emphasis on forbidden rather than what has already been provided
I. Samson was a man of mighty strength, but very weak in resisting temptation
A. His strength
1. Killed a lion with bare hands
2. 1000 Philistines with a jaw bone of a donkey
3. Broke the gate of the city and carried it with him
4. Broke the strongest bonds
5. Brought down the Temple of Dagon
A. His weakness
1. He welcomed temptation - he made light of Delilah’s quest for finding Samson’s weakness
2. It is the same as playing with sin
a. Judges 16:16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death
(1) Would you be married to a Woman who’s only intention is to vex and trouble you?
(2) Would you be in business with someone who’s only motive was to cheat you out of your money?
(3) Would you be around someone who constantly wanted to weigh and tear you down?
b. Samson did!
(1) we all know that sin destroys lives - just talk to women who’s husbands were involved in pornography, gambling, substance abuse - they will tell you that sin destroys!
(2) we all know that sin enslaves - out of ALL pedophiles and child abusers profiled by FBI not a single one has been rehabilitated. Many of them say with a grin that they would do it again in a heart beat as soon as they get out of prison. Sin enslaves
(3) We all know that sin hinders us in our service to the Lord - ask Samson if he did everything he could do for God living with Delilah’s constant putdowns and betrayals.
(4) Why, in spite of all this knowledge, do we get even a mile close to sin? Why do we play with it.
(a) youth - clothing, parents - Why do you let?
(b) things we watch
(c) sins we do not get right with the Lord
I. He was occasionally Spirit-possessed, but yielded to carnal appetites
A. Judg 16:1-3 went unto the harlot
B. He reminds me of our former president, because he had the same problem - carnal appetite for women
1. Lust does not have to be for physical intimacy. You may have lust for money, power, popularity, attention, having a good time.
2. Again, his whole pursuit was to gratify himself
I. He had a noble beginning, but a sad end
A. He started out well
1. His parents were committed to bring him up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord
2. They were a godly example and a pattern for his life, living out obedience to the instructions God gave them. The choice is not up to them!
3. God blessed him from the very birth. He was the strongest of all men. He had God’s precious Holy Spirit with him to guide and assist him. There was nothing that God withheld from Samson in order to make him a great man, But the choice to be godly and Spirit-led is not up to God
4. Choice was Samson’s and because of a series of wrong choices the end of his life was not as pleasant as the beginning
a. He was betrayed by the person closest to him, humanly speaking - When we are drawing away from God, all of our other relationships suffer and grow more distant
b. Samson’s relationship with God has deteriorated so much that he did not even realize when God’s Spirit has departed from him.
(1) do you take God’s blessings, God’s strength and His presence for granted?
c. He was blinded even before philistines put out his eyesight -
(1) He could not see that behind delilah’s beauty hid a character of greed and betrayal
(2) he was blinded by his sin. You may wonder - why is my life a roller coaster all of the time. I get right with God and I know what I must do, but the next day I find myself doing the same thing I vowed never to repeat. You are stepping away from the light and from the mirror of God’s Word. Satan is a master of deceiving and blinding us to our true condition. That is why we must be people of God’s Word, for it reveals who we truly are.
I. God has not abandoned him
A. Despite all the wrong choices that Samson has made, God has not abandoned him
B. I think that as Samson laid in that dark and musty dungeon, and as he powered that grinding wheel day after day, he had plenty of time to think about the deceitfulness of beauty and his carnal strength. He came to realize that he has exchanged the riches of heavenly blessings for a handful of earthly pleasures, and I believe that for the first time in his life his blindness helped him to take an honest look at himself.
C. As Samson stood in that temple of dagon, I believe God reached from Heaven and touched that crusty heart of Samson and said: “Son, I still love you” You see, the Bible tells us that God has demonstrated his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. There is not a person on this planet that God does not love. And His love is not based on what you have done or what you look like - His love is unconditional and it overrides any past that you might have. If God loved Samson and used him to defeat 3000 philistines in one swoop of his power, if God loved Rahab the harlot who protected the two spies, if God loved Saul, the greatest persecutor of Christ’s church and make him into a mighty witness of the gospel - He loves you. Come to him. Repent of your wrong choices and vain pursuits and give yourself wholly to God
A. There is one more truth that I want to glean from the life of Samson:
1. Judges 16:30 ... So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
1. Christian, do you sometimes wonder how come your life has so little impact for Christ? Does it bother you? Maybe the whole issue is your life. You see, When Samson came to realize that as a child of God his life did not belong to him any more he died to himself, his lusts, his pleasures, his “Me, Myself and I FIRST” attitude. And through this death to self he was able to accomplish more for the Lord than through all of his life living it up. How is your life? Are you crucified with Christ, just like the Apostle Paul? Is the world crucified to you? Is it your home? Or are you longing to please only one, GOD? The Bible is clear - it is only when we die to the selfish fleshly nature, that we will be able to make our life count for eternity.
