Man of Steel
Visitor from another Planet
"Faster than a locomotive. More powerful than a speeding bullet. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the air! It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Superman.
Superman. Visitor from a strange planet endowed with powers and abilities beyond those of mortal men. Superman. Who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet, wages a never ending battle for Truth, Justice, and the American Way."
But (pause)… he was fiction. The red caped Superman has never existed except in the lands of TV, movies and comic books
Samson
Judges 13:1-13:25
Samson was a Superman
He may not have been faster than a speeding bullet or more powerful than a locomotive. He wasn’t able to leap tall buildings with a single bound (They didn’t even have tall buildings) BUT I suspect he could have bent steel in his bare hands
Samson was from Smallville – Zorah
Just as an example of how powerful Samson was:
Samson killed a lion with his bare hands (Judges 14:5-6 RSV)
Samson killed 1000 men with a piece of bone - Jackie Chan style. (Judges 15:14-15 RSV)
Samson carried a 700 pound gate 40 miles from the city of Gaza to Hebron. (Judges 16:2-3 RSV)
The Philistines feared him, the Israelites adored him, and everybody knew WHO he was.
Samson was a Nazirite from birth
He was never to drink alcoholic beverage
He was never to cut his hair
He was never to touch a dead person
AND as long as he observed these regulations – he was HOLY unto the LORD
So what’s the problem with Samson?
Samson was religious but not holy
He was filled with the spirit of God and yet he missed the whole point of God.
Samson is a confusing character in our spiritual examination of the book of Judges. He is clearly a fine specimen of a man on a physical level – yet he was morally weak and spiritually bankrupt.
Yet God still used him to accomplish a work of salvation for his people. That’s hard to square isn’t it? Consider how Samson kept – yet violated each of the parts of the Nazirite vow!
Samson compartmentalized God and pleasure
And violated the first vow forbidding wine
The issue here is not drinking – it is the influence of the flesh vs. the influence of the spirit. You cannot be both spiritually minded and at the same time be pursuing personal pleasure.
One is God centered and the other is self centered.
The simple fact is that spiritual connection with the father is supremely satisfying while pleasure seeking is both powerfully addictive and starkly empty.
So what’s the problem? They do not live well together. You must choose one or the other. Selfless love and self satisfying love are mutually exclusive. One drives the other out of your life.
So what did Samson do? He did what many of us do. He compartmentalized his faith. Samson separated his life into neat little boxes that didn’t touch each other.
In one box was his work for God and his leadership of the Israelite tribes. He did this successfully for 40 years – yet all through this time he had another box sitting apart from the God box filled with the desires of his flesh.
Samson had a huge problem with desire for the ladies. Samson liked the ladies and he somehow disconnected his behavior with them and his vow to holy service to God.
By compartmentalizing his faith and his desire he was able to pursue both – for a time. Eventually it all caught up with him and the separate boxes were all poured into one huge messy pile of life.
Samson relied on the appearance of holiness
And violated the spirit of the second vow about not cutting his hair
The second part of the Nazirite vow was not about the hair – it was about being set apart and different than the rest of the world.
Now Samson didn’t cut his hair for the whole of his life up until the end of a 40 year rule as judge. That is a lot of hair!
He looked different than the rest of the world – but he wasn’t much different inside. He was driven by the same passions and given to the same character flaws and eventually his long hair couldn’t protect him from himself.
In the end Samson was an ordinary, regular, everyday man – not a superman – at least not spiritually.
He lived for personal revenge
And violated the last vow forbidding contact with dead bodies
Samson killed 30 men to pay off a bet because he was angry
When Samson’s fiancée was given to his best man after Samson had first left her at the altar and then changed his mind (sounds like Jerry Springer doesn’t it!) he tied the tails of 300 foxes together in pairs attached a fire brand to each pair and set them loose in the grain fields, the vineyards, and the olive groves. This is not as easy as it sounds by the way. You should not try this at home!
The result was the total economic ruin of the philistine people. It also kicked off a running battle between Samson and the Philistines resulting in thousands of deaths – all at the hands of Samson.
This is not a man who has his ying and yang in balance. This is a guy who lives for revenge and as a result he violates the vow about dead bodies.
Samson was to be consecrated to God. He was supposed to be holy.
Like Samson we are Called to BE Holy
Like Samson I am a complex person. Like Samson you are as well. We are all called upon to be holy. That is to be consecrated to God and to be completely his – body, soul, mind, and spirit. Here in lies the terrible conflict between the flesh and the soul.
So what can we learn from Samson’s life this morning?
Don’t Confuse Having the Spirit of God with Being Filled with the Spirit of God
Ephesians 5:17-20 says it this way
Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:17-20
It happens when we try to live in both worlds – the spiritual and the carnal. We do live in two worlds. It is a reality. The challenge is not trying to reconcile both worlds by compartmentalizing them. You can never win this war by giving in to the enemy on any level.
Don’t Confuse Looking Holy with Being Holy
In 1Thessalonians 5:19-21 the Apostle Paul put it this way:
Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. (NIV)
1 Thessalonians 5:19-21
We are warned to not quench the spirit of God that is in us. That would certainly indicate that, like Samson and the other Judges, you can have the spirit of God in you, use you, dwell with you, give you spiritual gifts, and empower you, and still not be holy to God.
This was and is the error of all who are religious – even and especially today. There are many who have confused the appearance of holiness with having being holy.
A number of years ago in Marquette I visited a couple who had attended the church where I ministered. After we visited a spell they began grilling me on the spiritual depth of the church and the people. After a series of questions that weren’t really questions – I felt a little like I was on the Jeopardy show – they finally said that they wouldn’t be back because of our worship service. When I asked what specifically bothered them they responded that they couldn’t worship where people served communion wearing blue jeans.
Now folks, that is religion – it is focused on the appearance of holiness.
God doesn’t want you to be a spiritual M&M with a thin shell hiding a sinful pleasure filled center of chocolate.
Real holiness is centered on an authentic relationship of honesty and love toward God. It must be renewed daily and recharged often.
We are like NiCad or the lithium batteries you put in your cell phone. We can run for a long time but eventually we need to be recharged and renewed.
Don’t Confuse Success in God’s work with a Successful Life
Here is the toughest lesson of all. Being Holy is a state of the heart that changes why we do what we do – not necessarily what we do.
It is possible for a spirit filled evangelist to win hundreds of souls to God and have an unholy heart.
God is in charge and he will judge the motives of men’s hearts. This is not your job. (And aren’t we all glad!)
So do not judge before the right time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light things that are now hidden in darkness, and will make known the secret purposes of people’s hearts. Then God will praise each one of them.
1 Corinthians 4:5
He will judge each one of us and in the end we will sow what we reap.
Galatians 6:1 The harvest you sow you will reap – ultimately. Samson did and so will those who live like Samson. There are many Church leaders who have fallen into this terrible trap.
In every case these religiously strong, morally weak leaders are eventually spiritually broken. Some repent and some do not. God is the judge. Not me and not you.
The Strength to Overcome is From God
The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
Psalms 28:7
