Samson Week 5

Have you ever met someone with a tremendous amount of potential but it was seemingly wasted? It is a shame in fact we think things like such a wasted life, and there is some truth to that but if there is still breath in their lungs there is still time to change, there is still time to change. Listen I don’t know what your past has looked like, but God can be at the center of your future. You cannot change your past but God can change your future.

Now where did we leave Samson when we left last week? He was captured by the philistines, they gouged his eyes out. And his hair began to grow again. Now where does that leave us with the Judge this morning.

What I would like to do this morning is to walk through the story then when we get to the end I’d like to give some closing thoughts on this character study, that will help us apply what we have learned.

SAMSON THE CAUSE OF WORSHIP

SAMSON THE CAUSE OF WORSHIP

Judges 16:23–24 ESV

Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.” And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.”

The philistine elite have gathered, and the want to celebrate their god Dagon, the god of grain. Thousands are there, and what does the passage say about the philistines and why they are praising Dagon. They are pointing at Samson and saying this man is why we are praising Dagon. They are looking at the capture of Samson and they are praising their god.

Let me ask you, when people look at your life who do they praise? Is it evident that God is at work in your life? Can people at a glance see what God means to you?

SAMSON THE ENTERTAINER

Judges 16:25–27 ESV

And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars. And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.” Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained.

Judges 16:25–27 ESV

And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars. And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.” Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained.

So they start the party and at the climax of the party they bring out Samson to entertain them. This was probably just to humiliate him and to declare praise to their god. So they call out Samson from the prison and ridicule him.

During the festivities they have a young man leading Samson around and Samson asks to be placed near the center columns to “lean” against them.

SAMSON, GOD’S UNFORGOTTEN SERVANT

Judges 16:28 ESV

Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.”

Samson prays to the Lord and asks God to strengthen him one last time. It is evident from his prayer that Samson thought that God had forgotten about Him. But I assure you He did not.

Let me tell you that just because Samson was down doesn’t mean that he is out. Just because he thought that he was forgotten doesn’t mean that he was. Let me tell you just because you are down doesn’t mean that you are out and just because you fell like you are forgotten doesn’t mean that you are. Samson was low but not forgotten. You are not forgotten by God, he sees you and wants a relationship with you.

SAMSON THE SACRIFICE

Judges 16:29–31 ESV

And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life. Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years.

So Samson gets the strength that he asks for and goes to the pillars and pushes them down and causes total destruction. Then his family came and gathered his body and took it home. He was judge over Israel for 20 years.

Samson decides to go out on his on terms and dealing a massive blow to his enemies. In fact he kills more in his death than he ever did in his life. He kills many of the leaders of the philistines and in so doing he deals a massive blow to the Philistines.

CLOSING THOUGHTS ON SAMSON’S LIFE

YOUR PAST DOES NOT NEED TO DEFINE YOUR FUTURE

Samson was a man that has a jaded past… but it did not need to define his future.

Philippians 3:13–14 ESV

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

There are 3 things that this verse tells us that Paul did. And let me remind you that Paul had quite the past. He was a Christian hunter before he met Christ. The first thing he does is to forget his past. Now does his past still effect him, yes but he forgets who he was, then the call is to strain toward what is ahead and third press on toward the future that God has for him. We should do the same. Press on toward what God has called you to.

You may be here this morning and think that you have gone too far, if you are still alive God still has a future for you. Do not sell your future short because you cannot get past your past. There is forgiveness at the foot of the cross you don’t have to live in that guilt any more. The cross is enough for that.

YOUR PRESENT DOES NOT NEED TO BE YOUR FUTURE, BUT IT WILL IF YOU DON’T MAKE CHANGES

If you are here this morning and you know that you need to make a change in your life understand that you cannot do it on your own, you need the Grace of to make the changes that you need to make. And in fact if you don’t like your present life understand that it will not change unless you choose to make some changes in direction.

“Your direction not your intention determines your destination” Andy Stanley.

Your present does not need to be your future but it will if you don’t make changes.

THE STORY IS REALLY ABOUT GOD

The story of Samson is not just a story about Samson it is a story about God. It is about the faithfulness of God to deliver his people. It is about a God that graciously gave patience to his servant when he didn’t deserve it. Let me tell you that is always how God give grace it is always undeserved. And God is so faithful.

LET GOD BE THE MAIN CHARACTER IN YOUR STORY

The tendency of man is to make our lives all about ourselves. We tend to like to put ourselves at the center of the universe and we tend to think that everything should revolve around us. Christians let this not be the case for us. We need to be all about making much of Jesus. Let God be the main character of your story. Let people look on your life and see how God is at work and how awesome he is. Make much of him and let yourself fade into the backgrounds.

Samson missed this, he was constantly seeking self pleasure, and self promotion and rarely even factoring God into His life. Let us make much of God in our life in how we work and how we do family and how we make our decision let our whole lives be about God and His story. Not our story.

CHOOSE TO FINISH WELL

2 Timothy 4:7 ESV

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

I don’t know what stage of life you are in or what God has you doing right now, but finish well. Choose to run all the way through the finish line. Sprint through the line. The beginning and the middle of the race may be difficult and look a little rough, but how we finish is important. Don’t quit, don’t give up, finish well.