This summer, we are camping out in Hebrews 11 to learn from a group of ordinary, everyday people who chose to live by faith rather than shrinking back. From Abel to Rahab, we’ll look closely at their distinguishing perseverance and inspiring trust in God amid hopeless-looking circumstances.
How Samson Walked
Speakers
Josh Blount
Lead Pastor
Notes
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Samson’s story, reads like a narcissistic super hero’s whose kryptonite weakness does him in in the end.
Jon Bloom
Hebrews 11:32-34
And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.
Judges 13:2
A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. 4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. 5 You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
Samson is born with a purpose.
Your obedience to walk in the ways of the Lord affects your ability to walk in the power of God for your purpose.
Samson’s strength was supernaturally sourced by God.
Judges 14:6
The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands
Judges 14:19
Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. He went down to Ashkelon, and struck down thirty of their men
Judges 15:14
The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. 15 Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.
OT // Spirit = Ruwach - wind or breath of God
NT // Spirit = Pneuma - wind or breath of God
Matthew 28:19
Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Acts 1:4-5
And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit
Acts 1:8
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
You can chase your cravings or you can chase your calling but you cannot chase both.
Whatever you crave will consume you
Jon Tyson
Judges 16:1
One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her.
Judges 16:4
“that he falls in love with her”…
5,500 silver shekels = $14 million dollars in todays currency
Judges 16:6
“Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”
Judges 16:15
Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.”16 With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.
Judges 16:17
So he told her everything.“No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”
Sin makes you stupid
2 Lies Samson Believes:
- It doesn’t matter how I live
- My power is my power
Judges 16:19
Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap,
It is to be feared that many believers lose their strength as Samson lost his locks, while sleeping on the lap of carnal security.
Charles Spurgeon
And then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him.
Judges 16:20
Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him. 21 So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison.
An affection which is not inspired by the Lord will soon be transformed into lust. Samson is not alone in the history of man in failing in this regard. Delilah is still cutting the hair of man today!
Watchman Nee
John 1:32
And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
John 1:32
“I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove,
The nature of how Holy Spirit rests is like the nature of a dove
John 1:32
He remained upon Him.
John 1:33
‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining
Ephesians 4:30
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
We grieve because we lose a connection with somebody.
Sin grieves the Holy Spirit
1 Peter 2:22
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
Sin Shoos the Spirit
Find out what grieves the Holy Spirit and don't do that
R.T. Kendall
Sin is more dangerous than wild bears, more deadly than blazing forest fires. Ask Nebuchadnezzar, who lost his mind because he refused to deal with his pride. Ask Samson, who was reduced to a pathetic shred of a man because he never got control over the lusts of his flesh. Ask Achan and Ananias and Sapphira, who all lost their lives over “small,” secret sins.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss
As long as he is consecrated he is strong; break that, he is weak as water. Now there are a thousand razors with which the devil can shave off the locks of a consecrated man without his knowing it. Samson is sound asleep; so clever is the barber that he even lulls him to sleep as his fingers move across the pate, the fool’s pate, which he is making bare. The devil is cleverer far than even the skillful-barber; he can shave the believer’s locks while he scarcely knows it.
Charles Spurgeon
Your obedience to walk in the ways of the Lord affects your ability to walk in the power of God for your purpose.
“If you’re still drawing breath, God’s not done with you yet.”
Beth Moore
Judges 16:30
And the temple crashed down on the Philistine rulers and all the people. So he killed more people when he died than he had during his entire lifetime.