The Prayer At The Pillar

THE PRAYER AT THE PILLAR

TEXT: Judges 16:25-30

Judges 16:25-30 KJV And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. [26] And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. [27] Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. [28] And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. [29] And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. [30] And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

l. INTRODUCTION -- THE WORLD’S GREATEST COMEBACKS

-There is something about people, maybe just Americans who like comebacks. We like to hear of men who were once down and outers make it big. We like to hear of men who become destitute financially and then strike it rich. Why is that??? Because we like the underdog. The man who is not supposed to win and does it anyway.

ll. THE LIFE OF SAMSON

A. His Birth

-If there was something promising about the life of Samson it would have to be the company that he came from. He came from a group of men who angels came and announced their births. Isaac’s birth was preceded by an angelic messenger. John the Baptist’s birth was preceded by a visit from Gabriel. Gabriel visited Mary before the birth of Jesus. Manoah was visited by an angel before the birth of Samson.

-It was clear from the outset that this small baby named Samson was going to have a profound impact on the lives of Israel.

B. Samson’s Victories

-Samson became a Nazarite. By the vows of the Nazarite, the razor was to never touch his hair. He was never to have any strong drink to inebriate his mind. It was to be a life of commitment. Because he was set aside for God, God endowed him with a great strength.

-The accomplishments in the life of Samson are many:

He had the ability to slay lions with his bare hands.

He then took honey from the beast.

Hecaught three hundred foxes and attached firebrands to them so that the Philistines fields and vineyards were consumed by the flames.

Another time he "smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter" at Etam.

At Lehi, he took the jawbone of a donkey and slew one thousand men with the instrument. He found a refreshing drink of water in the same weapon at a future point.

He carried off the gates of the city of Gaza.

C. Samson’s Failures

-But even with all of the great victories associated with life of Samson, he had a deficiency in his character. Men have deficiencies in their lives and if the Spirit of God is not in control there will be that failure every single time. No man can afford to drift from the doctrine once delivered to the saints.

-Samson found a pretty young Philistine that took his breath away. His time and energies were consumed by the passion of Delilah. He found himself being wooed into a web of trickery and deceit when Delilah started questioning him about the source of his great strength.

-When the devil begans to question you about your own strength, you better forget about it being your strength. It is the power of God that has the ability to keep us aligned in the proper relationship with God.

1. The Source of Satan’s Power

-When we begin to investigate biblically from where the devil gains his power, it leads to an interesting conclusion.

-From Isaiah 14, when the devil asserted the five “I wills”, he was cast from heaven. So before creation ever began he had been thrown from heaven and God had effectively destroyed his power in heaven.

-In Genesis 3, after the fall of man, one finds that the power of the devil has been removed and he is forced again to understand his submission to God.