SERMON SPOTLIGHT * 6/16/24
Samson’s story is the story of God’s people, which means his story is our story. As foreign and different as Samson’s world seems from ours, his life is a mirror for our own lives. In so many ways, we are Samson. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.
SERIES: Judges: Christ in the Chaos
TEXT: Judges 16:1-31
TITLE: We Are Samson, But God Is God
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: We have nothing without God, but with God, we have everything.
POINTS:
1. The Faithfulness of God In Our Unfaithfulness
2. The Power of God in Our Weakness
SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”Samson’s story is the story of God’s people, which means his story is our story. As foreign and different as Samson’s world seems from ours, his life is a mirror for our own lives. In so many ways, we are Samson. But god is God. As tragic as Samson’s story ends today, we are provided one more opportunity to see our absolute need for God and His absolute sufficiency for us.”
“We know who Delilah is. We are familiar with the most famous haircut in the world. We have the children’s ministry images of a muscle-bound Samson bringing the house down etched into our minds. But all that has a greater purpose, and that is to help us see: We have nothing without God, but with God, we have everything.”
“The first three verses seem out of place with the chapter. But they do serve a purpose. They are a snapshot of what Samson gave his life to. Between the end of Ch 15, where God revived and refreshed Samson, and 16:4, nothing has changed with Samson. Samson keeps living for himself instead of serving the Lord and His people.”
“In 1, we learn that Samson is deep in enemy territory. Gaza is one of five capital cities in the Philistine empire. He has no business being there, and now he is trapped. But in 3, Samson outsmarts the Philistines by escaping town in the dark of night. On his way out, he rips the city gate off its hinges and carries it off, leaving Gaza unprotected. The point: Even in Samson’s foolishness, the Philistines are no match for him.”
“This is Samson, a man who possesses such incredible strength in the Lord (tearing out the gates) but who is incredibly weak in himself (fornicating with prostitutes). It is the same old story with Samson.”
“‘O mirror of our fickle state.’ Like Samson, we all struggle with besetting sin and weakness.
We willingly wander into that sin—AGAIN.
We choose our understanding over His wisdom—AGAIN.
We pursue our passions instead of His purposes—AGAIN.
We turn the gifts He gives us for His glory into instruments for our glory—AGAIN.”
“We are Samson, but God is God. Despite our unfaithfulness, in Christ, God convicts us instead of condemning us. He continues to discipline us instead of destroying us. God continues to use us instead of tossing us aside. We are unfaithful, but God is faithful in pouring out grace upon grace in Christ Jesus, even though we don’t deserve it. This is the ultimate blessing of the gospel that is anyone’s who believes in Jesus.”
“Of course, Samson is with another woman. Delilah proves to be a worthy opponent for Samson’s follies. She can get rich at Samson’s expense and runs with it. In turn, Samson teases and toys with Delilah. They were meant for each other.”
“Despite Samson’s pride and unfaithfulness to God, God continued to move Samson toward his destiny as an instrument of His faithfulness to His people. But now, for the first time, we read that the Lord had left Samson.”
“The visible symbol of Samson’s calling and relationship with God was his hair. His hair was not his strength; God was. What made him different than any other man was not his hair but his relationship with God.”
“In his pride, Samson ran his mouth. He thought his strength was his own. But when his hair was gone, God left him. And when God left him, he was powerless. The man who was not like any other man is now just like every other man. Now, shackled, bound, and blind, a prisoner of the enemy, the mighty Samson has been reduced to one of the tasks reserved for the lowest members of society: grinding grain into flour. The thud of Samson’s life couldn’t be louder. ‘O mirror of our fickle state’—Pride is always the source of the spiritual thuds in our lives.”
“The man of faithlessness desperately cries out to God in faith one more time and God is faithful to provide His servant what he needs to accomplish His purposes. With the strength that only Yahweh could provide, Samson brings down the house of Dagon, bringing judgment on thousands of Philistines by taking them to the grave with him. ’O mirror of our fickle state.’ In his weakness and desperation, God was God making Samson strong. So it is with us.”
“God will leave us weak so we can remember He is strong. For this reason, we can boast in our weakness because, in our weakness, God manifests his power in ways our strengths could never do. We are Samson, but God is God.”
ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 103:10
Proverbs 16:18
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
QUOTES:
Jon Bloom - “In sin, we turn from God to idols, which profanes God, destroys faith, and obscures God in the eyes of others. But weakness has the tendency to increase our conscious dependence on God, which glorifies him, strengthens our faith, and manifests his power in ways our strengths never do.”
APPLICATION:
Where are you weak today?
Faith in God for your future
Contentment in Christ amid chronic pain and a persisting trial
Courage in the Spirit to make a decision or confront someone
Wherever you feel your weakness today, don’t bury it. Don’t hide it from others. Don’t shield it from your fellowship with others. Ultimately, it is from God meant to drive you to the One who fulfilled his calling by becoming a freakshow for you on a cross.
Samson’s death brought the walls of a pagan temple crumbling down. It wasn’t enough for Israel or us. A thousand years later, our Father in heaven, the eternal and perfect Father, sent the better Samson, His only Son Jesus, whose life and death brought the power of Satan, sin, and death crumbling down for good.
The good news of the gospel is this: As much as you identify with Samson, you identify with your perfect Savior, Jesus more. That means, Everyone who has faith in Jesus, no matter how weak you’ve been or how weak you are, you can never be defeated by the enemy—You always win in Christ Jesus! He is your unfailing hope in life and death.