The Lion, the Wench, and the Wardrobes

Lead Vocalist (Kelly)

Welcome & Announcements (Bubba)

Good morning family!

Ask guests to fill out connect card

2 announcements

1) Vacation Bible School

It begins next Sunday, July 14!

Here are three ways you can help us:

1) Pray! We can plan a great week, but we cannot do anything to reach the hearts of boys, girls, and their families apart from God’s grace.

2) Donate—there’s a list of food items on the back of the bulletin and the announcement board

3) Invite—Please grab an invite card and invite your friends and neighbors to join us

2) We are delighted to have special guests with us this morning...

Jeff and April Knapp are two of our supported ministry partners

For over twenty years, Jeff and April have been on staff with Cru

They are currently ministering to college students in the North Carolina Triad.

Please give them your attention as they come give a brief update about their ministry.

Call to Worship (Daniel 4:34b-35)

Prayer of Praise (Jeff & April Knapp)

You've Already Won

Prayer of Confession (Stuart Holdren), Lust

Assurance of Pardon (Colossians 1:13-14)

The Lord is My Salvation

Behold Our God

Scripture Reading (Judges 14)

You can find it on page 252 in the black Bibles

Pastoral Prayer (Bubba)

Prayer for PBC—PBC members in the military

Prayer for sister church—Fox Hill Road Baptist Church (Nathan Cecil)

Prayer for US—Religious freedom

Prayer for the world—Singapore

Pray for the sermon

SERMON

START TIMER!!!

Can you ever really tame a lion?

Men like a South African safari lodge owner named Leon “the Lion man” would have surely said yes.

Leon the Lion Man was known throughout the region for his exclusive lion lectures and feedings from inside a lion’s cage.

Since they were cubs, Leon cared for these lions. He brushed their manes. He fed them. He loved them.

Leon had been taming lions for decades. Until one fateful day in 2019.

Leon was in the cage with his own pet lion repairing a fence, when the lion attacked.

He had made the fatal mistake of turning his back on the lion, and in that moment the lion struck.

A source who witnessed the attack said, “You never turn your back on a lion. . . . You have to remember that however your friendship is with lions there is wildness in them. They are predators and they never lose their natural instinct." [1]

The tale of Leon the Lion Man is a tragic reminder that lions can’t really be tamed.

Far more tragic than the tale of Leon the Lion Man, are the stories of countless people who are trying to tame their sin.

“I've got control of this sin. I can start and stop whenever I want.”

“For years I have trained this sin to do what I say. I’ve got it completely under control.”

“This is never gonna turn on me.”

Playing with sin is like playing with lions. You might be able to keep it under control for awhile, but eventually it will turn and devour you.

In fact, I think I can say with confidence that nothing is more destructive to the people of God than playing with sin.

Few characters in the Bible illustrate this more clearly than Samson in Judges 14.

Samson is the last of twelve judges recorded for us in this book.

His introduction in chapter 13 set us up for something wonderful.

For the first time a rescuer was chosen before he was even born!

Surely this time God’s people would be truly saved!

But instead, we meet the most violent, impulsive, sexually addicted, immature, and selfish character in the entire book.

Most of us are familiar with the fall of Samson.

We know how Delilah tempted him to cut his hair, leading to his blindness and capture by the Philistine army.

But nobody falls in a day.

The fall of Samson began long before Judges 16.

The fall of Samson began with a young man who was playing with sin.

The same is true for every other person you’ve ever known or heard about who has fallen into serious sin.

Nobody wakes up one day and says “I think I’ll commit adultery!” “Or embezzle from my company.” “Or kill someone.”

We make a thousand tiny choices—trying to tame our sin—that inevitably lead to a great fall.

With God’s help, we want to avoid that fate. But it will only happen if we stop playing with sin.

Samson’s story in this chapter is a powerful reminder of the Big Idea I hope to communicate this morning: Nothing is more destructive to the people of God than playing with sin.

We’ll see this truth in action by examining Five Scenes from the Fall of Samson:

1) Unbridled Appetites

2) Unheeded Warnings

3) Untold Secrets

4) Unchecked Pride

And then we’ll leave on a hopeful note by rejoicing in our...

5) Unstoppable God

Let’s begin by examining Samson’s...

1) UNBRIDLED Appetites

Samson is perhaps best remembered for his strength. But perhaps the most noteworthy thing about Samson is not his strength, but his lack of self-control.

He is a picture of what it looks like to have an unbridled appetite, to get whatever you want whenever you want it.

The greatest example of this is his unbridled appetite for women...

Judges 14:1–3—Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.” But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”

Samson is a young man, still living at home with his parents in Zorah. One day he travels six miles west to the Philistine town of Timnah. [2]

And when he’s there, he sees a WOMAN!

You can just imagine him like a Looney Tunes character when the curvy cartoon girl walks on the screen: eyes popping out of his head, mouth open, saliva dripping.

He rushes home and tells his parents, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”

Barry Webb writes “This is the language of lust and possession. It’s the language of a man who thinks women exist for his pleasure and that he has a right to any of them he wants. And predictably this relationship does not bring happiness to either Samson or the young woman.” [3]

Sadly, the sin of lust is just as deadly in our day as it was in Samson’s heart.

Listen to these staggering statistics from Covenant Eyes, an internet accountability tool devoted to helping people fight lust:

Over 28,000 users are watching pornography every second.

Over $3000 is spent on porn every second on the Internet.

Teens and young adults ages 13-24 believe not recycling is worse than viewing pornography.

90% of teens and 96% of young adults are either encouraging, accepting, or neutral when they talk about porn with their friends.

51% of male students and 32% of female students first viewed porn before their teenage years.

71% of teens hide their online behavior from their parents..

64% of Christian men and 15% of Christian women say they watch porn at least once a month. [4]

Brother, sister, young person: if you are in bondage to the sin of lust, please talk to someone for help!

You need to put up some fences in your life to make it harder to access this stuff.

As Josh McDowell says, “it’s better to put a fence at the top of the cliff than an ambulance at the bottom. Prevention is better than recovery.” [5]

But we would be missing the mark if we only consider the problem of lust here.

If you tolerate any unbridled appetite—even an appetite for something that’s not necessarily wrong—you are playing with sin.

It’s a good thing to have an appetite for food. But if you are controlled by those appetites—if you cannot say no—you’re playing with sin.

It’s not wrong to enjoy alcohol in moderation. But if you have to have it, or if you are unwilling to lay aside your right for the sake of your brother or sister, you’re playing with sin.

It’s not necessarily wrong to have an appetite for entertainment—whether that’s TV, movies, video games, or some form of social media. But if those appetites are unbridled, you’re playing with sin.

Perhaps for some of us, one way to assess ourselves here is to go without that thing—whatever it is—for a season. And pray that God would help us to keep that appetite under control and in submission to His Word.

Nothing is more destructive to the people of God than playing with sin.

Samson’s inability to bridle his appetites would eventually get him in massive trouble. This man, who was controlled by what he sees, would eventually lose his eyes.

But Samson COULD have made different choices. God gave Samson opportunities to bring his appetites under control, but Samson did nothing.

Consider next, Samson’s...

2) UNHEEDED Warnings

When Samson asked his parents to get him the beautiful Philistine girl for a wife, they gave him a warning. Look again at what they said...

Judges 14:3a—But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?”

Some have misunderstood passages like these as forbidding interracial marriages. But if you look carefully, that’s not at all what the text says.

Tim Keller writes, “The word ‘uncircumcised’ is key here. Circumcision was a sign that a family was in a personal covenant or relationship with God, as part of his people. Their issue was not a racial one (No son of mine will marry one of those Philistines!). It is about marriage with someone outside of the LORD’S covenant. God’s prohibition is not against inter-racial marriage, but against inter-faith marriage.” [6]

It’s no surprise, then, that the New Testament comes along and repeats this same principle.

2 Corinthians 6:14—Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Because God designed marriage to be permanent and intimate, He does not want His people to marry those who don’t share their faith.

Singles: When it comes to romantic relationships, at the very top of your list—before you consider their looks, their personality, or your compatibility, you need to find out if they share your faith.

But here’s the thing: it’s not as simple as asking a potential date “Are you a Christian?” because, as we know, many people claim to be Christians or even think they’re Christians but aren’t.

Let me suggest Three Crucial Topics to Discuss Before the First Date:

I say before the first date—even though that may be a bit awkward and challenging—because if you wait and you begin to develop feelings for this person, it will be a hundred times harder later. And you’ll be a hundred times more tempted to justify a bad relationship.

Talk about Jesus. What does he believe about Jesus? Does she have a personal relationship with Jesus? Talking about Jesus will help you discern if he or she is a Christian.

Talk about the Bible. Does he believe the Bible is the Word of God? Does she think there are parts of the Bible that cannot be trusted? Does he actually read his Bible? The way your date answers these questions will help you discern if he or she has a liberal or conservative understanding of Christianity.

100 years ago, a theologian named J. Gresham Machen wrote an influential book arguing that conservative and liberalism are not merely two different versions of Christianity, but two different religions.

The easiest way to discern what a man or woman really believes about Christianity is to find out what he really believes about the Bible.

Talk about the church. What kind of church did she grow up in? What church does she attend now? Is he a member of a church, or does he merely attend when it’s convenient for him? If your relationship became serious, could the two of you agree on what type of church you would join? Talking about the church will help you discern how serious your date is about actually following Jesus.

Before we move on from this topic, let me say two things:

For those of you who are already married to an unbeliever who is still committed to the marriage, the Scripture is clear your responsibility is to be faithful to your spouse and do your part to build a good marriage.

For those of you who are single, I cannot stress enough how important these principles are. Apart from your relationship with Jesus, there is no other decision in your life that is more important than who you marry.

Singles, I share these things as a warning to you. I plead with you to listen.

But all of us—whether we’re single or not—need to consider the ways we’re just like Samson.

Who are the people in your life that are close enough to warn you when you’re wandering into sin? What are they saying to you about your life right now? Are you listening to them?

You might say to yourself, “I’m really not that bad!”

But as the band Casting Crowns once sang about sin, it’s a slow fade.

The journey from your mind to your hands

Is shorter than you're thinking

Be careful if you think you stand

You just might be sinking

And it's a slow fade

When you give yourself away

It's a slow fade

When black and white have turned to grey

And thoughts invade, choices made

A price will be paid

When you give yourself away

People never crumble in a day

Nothing is more destructive to the people of God than playing with sin.

Sadly, many people who follow in Samson’s footsteps and ignore the warnings God places in their path also make another fatal mistake.

Consider next, Samson’s...

3) UNTOLD Secrets

Beginning in verse 5, Samson begins keeping secrets...

Judges 14:5–6—Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.

Samson’s parents warn him not to marry this girl, but Samson doesn’t listen.

So they all head down to Timnah to try to plan a wedding.

At some point Samson rushes ahead of his parents and he encounters a young, strong lion that is ready to pounce.

The Holy Spirit empowers Samson to rip the lion into pieces with his bare hands.

But why doesn’t Samson tell his mom and dad? Why does he keep this a secret?

Remember Judges 13 said Samson was to be a lifelong Nazarite, which meant he had to follow three basic rules:

First, he couldn’t cut his hair.

Second, he couldn’t eat or drink anything from the vine.

Interesting, isn’t it, that Samson meets that lion in a vineyard? Perhaps he was already beginning to forsake his vow and was munching on a few grapes on his way to Timnah.

Third, he couldn’t have any contact with a dead body.

Now, the first two rules would be relatively easy to follow. But everybody—even a Nazarite—would come into contact with a dead body sometimes.

So the law of God gave instructions on what to do when that happened.

The Nazarite would go immediately to the tabernacle, and begin an eight-day ritual of cleansing and sacrifice.

But Samson had a hot date with a beautiful girl, he couldn’t possibly stand her up for eight days! So he told nobody and went on his way.

Now I can’t prove it, but I believe God sent the lion to provide Samson a way to escape this sinful relationship with an unbeliever.

1 Corinthians 10:13—No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Christian: God always provides a way to escape temptation to sin. Always. That’s a promise. The problem for many of us is that we don’t take it.

Neither did Samson.

Judges 14:7—Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samson’s eyes.

Samson could have walked away. He should have gone straight to the tabernacle to get cleansed.

But he is head over heels for this girl, so he keeps the lion a secret.

But the problem with keeping secrets is they’re hard to contain.

Just like dough rises when it’s covered, secrets tend to get bigger and bigger the longer they remain hidden.

In verses 8-9, the story jumps forward to the week of Samson’s wedding.

On his way to Timnah for the wedding festivities, he comes across the carcass of the lion he had killed.

Judges 14:8–9—After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion.

Once again, Samson has defiled himself.

This time, Samson’s actions would defile any Israelite, not just a Nazarite.

Touching a carcass would make anyone unclean, according to the Mosaic Law.

Once again, Samson ignores God’s law. And once again, he keeps it a secret.

Notice that Samson’s secrets aren’t only defiling him. They’re defiling his parents. That’s what secret sins often do.

The sins your committing in secret that nobody else knows about, God still sees. And they’re hurting people in ways you may never fully understand in this life.

Christian: you don’t need to tell EVERYBODY all your secret sins. But you need to tell SOMEBODY.

I want us to have a culture where every member of this church has somebody in this church they can talk to about the worst thing they’ve done in the past week.

Years ago when the Lord was purging secret sins of lust out of my life I learned an important lesson: Honesty heals, secrecy kills.

If you’re keeping secret sins hidden from everybody around you, you are playing with sin.

And nothing is more destructive to the people of God than playing with sin.

But what is it that fuels these secrets? Why are God’s people so often tempted to hide their sin?

Because, just like Samson, we have...

4) UNCHECKED Pride

In those days, weddings were a really big deal.

For an entire week the family and friends would feast and celebrate the bride and the groom.

Judges 14:10-11—His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, for so the young men used to do. As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.

Now these parties typically included a lot of wine and beer.

The word for “feast” there literally refers to drinking in the original language. [7]

Just by way of reminder, the Bible does not condemn drinking alcohol. But neither does it approve drinking alcohol in all circumstances.

It is wrong to drink too much and lose control of your senses. [8]

It is wrong to drink too often and become addicted. [9]

It is wrong to drink in a way that causes other people to stumble. [10]

And it is wrong to drink if you’re a Nazarite, like Samson.

So once again it appears Samson is not taking his Nazarite vow very seriously.

Perhaps he was under the influence of alcohol, or perhaps he was just incredibly arrogant and foolish. Whatever the reason, Samson decided to make a bet with some of the men at the wedding.

Judges 14:12–14a—And Samson said to them, “Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can tell me what it is, within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes, but if you cannot tell me what it is, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.” And they said to him, “Put your riddle, that we may hear it.” And he said to them, “Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet.”

Most of us would never imagine making a bet involving changes of clothes, but in those days such clothing was rare and expensive.

If Samson’s thirty friends lost, they would each have to give Samson an outfit. And Samson would be rewarded quite handsomely. But if Samson lost, he would have to give up thirty outfits and would be absolutely impoverished.

So why would Samson take a risk like this?

Barry Webb writes, “the riddle is entirely in keeping with Samson’s character as we have come to know it, especially his immaturity in demanding to have what his eyes see, and the way he has treated his parents—totally disregarding their wishes, marginalizing them, and cynically “playing” with them by manipulating them into eating honey from a source that would horrify them. Samson is the sort of brash young man who must be the center of attention, and enjoys manipulating those around him.” [11]

Samson is arrogant and proud. He thinks he cannot lose. And that becomes more evident as the wedding feast continues.

After three days of feasting, Samson’s friends have exhausted all their guesses and realized they can’t solve Samson’s riddle.

So they put pressure on the bride.

Judges 14:14b-15—And in three days they could not solve the riddle.On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is, lest we burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?”

Understandably, Samson’s bride starts weeping.

She approaches the groom with big crocodile tears and says “If you really loved me you’d tell me the riddle!”

Now around this time, Samson is probably looking forward to the special moment in the weeklong wedding festival when the bride and groom would be escorted into a specially prepared bridal chamber to consummate the marriage. [12]

He’s got one thing, and only one thing, on his mind.

Samson knows that a weeping bride hardly makes for a spicy wedding night. So eventually he gives in and tells her the riddle.

Predictably, the bride tells Samson’s friends the riddle. Then Samson’s friends tell him.

Then Samson replies in Judges 14:18b—If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle.

Now Samson is in trouble. He’s got to pay up, but in those days nobody but the ridiculously wealthy would have access to thirty outfits.

What is Samson going to do?

Judges 14:19—And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck down thirty men of the town and took their spoil and gave the garments to those who had told the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father’s house.

In a fit of rage, Samson leaves the wedding feast and travels 20 miles to the city of Ashkelon.

He murders thirty Philistine men and steals their clothes.

Then he brings those outfits back to the wedding party and gives them to the thirty men.

And then he storms off and goes home, probably before the marriage was consummated because Samson’s bride-to-be is married off to his best man!

Now if Samson is willing to kill to pay off his gambling debt, why not just kill somebody in Timnah?

BECAUSE SAMSON IS PROUD!!!

He’s lost the bet, but he doesn’t want to lose his pride and admit that he can’t pay.

Even in the face of humiliating defeat, Samson refuses to believe that he can lose.

What about you?

One of the reasons we’re often emboldened to keep playing with our sin is because we’ve been able to survive so long without getting caught.

But if we think like that we’re arrogant fools.

In his book Tempted and Tried, Russell Moore writes “The [demons] … don’t want you to get caught—not yet, not this early in the march to the slaughterhouse. They don’t have a mere seventy or eighty years to live. They are ancient and patient and quite willing to wait until your downfall will bring with it the most catastrophic consequences—for you, for your family, for the kingdom of God, and to the image of Christ you carry. So they’ll help you cover it all up, and then they’ll expose you—mercilessly.” [13]

Brothers and sisters, let’s humble ourselves before it’s too late.

Because nothing is more destructive to the people of God than playing with sin.

All this is pretty depressing, isn’t it? Left to our own devices, Samson’s fate will be our own.

But, praise God, Samson is NOT the most powerful character in this story.

As strong as Samson is, there is Someone here who is infinitely stronger.

Consider with me finally our...

5) UNSTOPPABLE God

Let’s go back to a verse we passed over earlier, a verse that is the key to understanding the entire story of Samson...

Judges 14:3b-4—… But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.” His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.

Samson is playing with sin. He’s burning with lust, he’s about to marry a girl he shouldn’t marry, he’s making sinful decisions that will eventually wreck his entire life.

But behind the scenes, God is working. God is using Samson’s sin to bring about His own purposes.

Notice the end of verse 4: it says that the Philistines ruled over Israel.

But what’s surprising is God’s people aren’t crying out for help. They’re content with their enslavement.

They’re marrying Philistines, partying with Philistines, acting like Philistines, even worshiping like Philistines.

How is God going to rescue His people when they’re sleeping with the enemy?

He’s going to rescue them by using the sin of Samson.

Samson’s sin is going to lead to conflict with the Philistines. Which will escalate and escalate and escalate until finally God’s people are ready to cry out for deliverance.

Does that mean God is okay with Samson’s sin?

Dale Davis—“This does not mean . . . that Samson’s desires were virtuous or that his bull-headedness was right. It means that neither Samson’s foolishness nor his stubbornness is going to prevent Yahweh from accomplishing his design. Yahweh can and will use the sinfulness or stupidity of his servants as the camouflage for bringing his secret will to pass.” [14]

God doesn’t sin, but God uses sin. And God uses sin to defeat sin.

Like honey from the carcass of a lion, God is able to bring sweet salvation out of the carcass of sin.

If that is hard for you to accept, just look to the cross.

Think of all the sin that was committed in Jerusalem that day.

Judas’ greed and betrayal. Peter’s fear and dishonesty. The jealousy and rage of the scribes and Pharisees. The cowardice of Pilate. The folly of the people. The anger and violence of the Roman soldiers.

And yet all that sin was used by God to defeat sin.

Acts 4:27–28—For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your plan had predestined to take place.

God would use the death of Jesus to pay the penalty for our sin.

Three days later, Jesus would rise from the dead so that God’s people can be rescued once and for all.

Here’s what that means practically:

If you’re not a Christian, you can’t even begin to battle the sin in your life until you first look to the One who destroyed it in your place.

Repent and believe!

But don’t misunderstand! Becoming a Christian isn’t a silver bullet that takes away all the need to fight against sin...

Unbelievers are at war with their God and at peace with their sin. Christians are at war with their sin and at peace with their God.

For the Christians hearing my voice...

I’m reminded of a line from a man named J.O. Young.

He was a prisoner of war for years in one of Japan’s most brutal camps.

After the war ended, he and thousands of other POWs remained in those camps, starving and waiting to be rescued.

Their freedom had been announced, but it was not yet fully realized.

The Japanese no longer had authority over them, but their lives were still hanging by a thread as they waited to be brought home.

As J.O. Young waited to return home, he wrote in his journal, “It’s a mighty hard job even now to realize we’re free men.” [15]

That’s you and I, Christian. The war is over. We have been freed from the penalty of sin and the sting of death.

But it’s a mighty hard job to remember that.

You can successfully battle your sin because Jesus has already won the battle.

So church, let’s stop playing with sin.

And let’s keep fighting to remember the truth that our sin has ultimately been defeated until Jesus returns and brings us home.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

O Church Arise

Benediction (Psalm 98:1)