Lord, Strengthen Me Just One More Time

Passage: Judges 16:28

Main Idea: Just when you think you have nothing left, God will give you strength to fight one more time.

Message Goal: Encourage the listener to not give up but seek God for strength one more time.

Introduction

A London newspaper carried an ad reading, “Father of three sons desires a daughter. Can anyone send suggestions?” More than a thousand answers were received, including an American’s advice to “keep trying.” Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (p. 201). Bible Communications, Inc.

In our text, the nation of Israel had been oppressed for over forty years. Over such a long period of time, there would have been many people that would have thought there’s no reason to keep on trying in anything. The Philistines had dominated for forty years and the national oppression led to personal ramifications.

The PHILISTINES: A people who emigrated from southern Greece to the coastland of Canaan. They were enemies of the Hebrew people between the time of the conquest until the divided kingdom. However, their conflict with Israel goes as far back as Abraham (Genesis 20:1-17).

*Draw Attention to how the 13th chapter begins with Manoah as the subject.*

The sign of Israel’s oppression was found in the home of a man from the tribe of Dan, whose name was Manoah. Manoah’s wife was unable to have children. Such an inability was seen as a curse from God. This family’s personal story seems to be a subtle individualized expression of Israel’s national predicament. A cursed family within a cursed nation.

The Tension: Manoah’s Restless Life

Manoah’s name means “resting place.” Yet, it seems he cannot find rest in his circumstance. How do you keep on trying when you cannot find rest within your own self? How do you keep on trying when you feel like God is against you?

There’s practically nothing that can stop the feeling of despair as to continue one’s effort towards the things which are positive and meaningful. The only thing that can snap us out of such despair is a visitation from God. Accordingly, an angel appeared to Manoah’s wife.

Judges 13:3 CSB

3 The angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Although you are unable to conceive and have no children, you will conceive and give birth to a son.

Practical Point: God will give you an experience that will encourage you to keep trying.

Judges 13:3–5 CSB

3 The angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Although you are unable to conceive and have no children, you will conceive and give birth to a son. 4 Now please be careful not to drink wine or beer, or to eat anything unclean; 5 for indeed, you will conceive and give birth to a son. You must never cut his hair, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth, and he will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines.”

God will will send messengers and messages into your life to remind you, you can keep on going!

Manoah’s response to the visitation is key! He did not receive the message, but he was responsible for stewarding the message.

Judges 13:8 CSB

8 Manoah prayed to the Lord and said, “Please, Lord, let the man of God you sent come again to us and teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born.”

Practical Point: Don’t be resentful on how you get the message, just make sure you steward the message well. Stewarding the message requires us to inquire on how to manage the blessing.

Judges 13:9–14 CSB

9 God listened to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman. She was sitting in the field, and her husband, Manoah, was not with her. 10 The woman ran quickly to her husband and told him, “The man who came to me the other day has just come back!” 11 So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?” “I am,” he said. 12 Then Manoah asked, “When your words come true, what will be the boy’s responsibilities and work?” 13 The angel of the Lord answered Manoah, “Your wife needs to do everything I told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine or drink wine or beer. And she must not eat anything unclean. Your wife must do everything I have commanded her.”

Sermon Points

Samson was called from the womb. Samson was a man with extraordinary strength and an ordinary weakness who suffered an inordinate [unusually or disproportionately large’ excessive] consequence.

1. Called people have an extraordinary strength.

Many people would say it was the hair. Yet, Samson’s true strength was the work of the Spirit in his life.

The hair was a covenant sign (symbol) of the strength.

NAZARITE VOW: This institution was a symbol of a life devoted to God and separated from all sin—a holy life (Numbers 6:2–21). The vow of a Nazarite involved these three things.

1. Abstinence from wine and strong drink.

2. Refraining from cutting their hair during the whole period of the continuance of the vow.

3. Avoidance of contact with the dead. Freeman, J. M., & Chadwick, H. J. (1998). Manners & customs of the Bible (pp. 533–534). Bridge-Logos Publishers.

Judges 13:25 CSB

25 Then the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in the Camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Judges 14:6 CSB

6 the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

Judges 14:19 CSB

19 The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men. He stripped them and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. In a rage, Samson returned to his father’s house,

Judges 15:14 CSB

14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him, and the ropes that were on his arms and wrists became like burnt flax and fell off.

Leading Statement into the next point: Always keep your strengths a secret, because every person with extraordinary strength has an ordinary weakness.

We must learn not to talk so much. Move in secret. Don’t share everything you’re doing, because the enemy is always listening.

2. Called people have an ordinary weakness.

No matter how great our strengths are, we must be careful, because extraordinary strength does not exclude us from ordinary weaknesses. Sin makes us ordinarily weak in one way, while the Spirit makes us extraordinarily strong in another way.

Judges 14:2–3 CSB

2 He went back and told his father and his mother, “I have seen a young Philistine woman in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife.” 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Can’t you find a young woman among your relatives or among any of our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines for a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.”

Judges 16:4 CSB

4 Some time later, he fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley.

b. Keeping your strength’s a secret protects you from your weakness.

c. Those who cannot avoid their own weaknesses are just like everyone else.

See Judges 16:7, 11, 13, 17.

3. Called people often suffer inordinate consequences.

a. Called people are often too careless as not to be led by their strengths, but rather to be led by their weakness.

Judges 16:18–22 CSB

18 When Delilah realized that he had told her the whole truth, she sent this message to the Philistine leaders: “Come one more time, for he has told me the whole truth.” The Philistine leaders came to her and brought the silver with them. 19 Then she let him fall asleep on her lap and called a man to shave off the seven braids on his head. In this way, she made him helpless, and his strength left him. 20 Then she cried, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When he awoke from his sleep, he said, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. 21 The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles, and he was forced to grind grain in the prison. 22 But his hair began to grow back after it had been shaved.

Conclusion: Samson’s Last Request

Samson was defeated after being humiliated by his enemies. The Philistines started praising their god for defeating Samson. However, Samson prayed one last prayer. He prayed that God would give him one more chance to fight again.

Concluding Point: When you feel down and too weak to get up another day, pray that God would give you one last chance to fight again!

Why just one more time? Because we know if God gives us strength this last time, we will make sure we get the victory of that long-oppressive enemy.