SERMON SPOTLIGHT * 6/2/24
God’s purposes are bigger than us. God can use whatever and whomever he wants to bring about His purpose. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.
SERIES: Judges: Christ in the Chaos
TEXT: Judges 14
TITLE: The God Who Is There
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
POINTS:
1. God Always Has A Purpose In Our Chaos
2. God’s Strength Is Sufficient In Our Weakness
SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”From his conception, Samson was being prepared to deliver Israel from the Philistines. Yet, Samson was a disaster. Our text is the first window into his life, and we see an arrogant and insolent hot-headed young man who does life big, bold, and exactly how he pleases. Yet, God is there, working behind the scenes using Samson in all his imperfections.”
“This is a terrible sign for Israel. Instead of following the word of the Lord, Samson follows his heart. He is his own god. The hope of Israel is acting just like Israel—Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”
“In many ways, Samson’s life is an illustration of Israel’s own spiritual demise. Like Samson, Israel was supposed to be set apart as holy for God and His purposes. Like Israel pursuing foreign gods, Samson pursues foreign women. Both turned their back on their calling and their God and did what was right in their own eyes.”
“In the chaos, we are reminded—God is in control. There is nothing righteous that Samson is doing. Samson’s lust for a good time with a good-looking girl controls him. But God is in control of it all, working His unstoppable will. The Lord’s intentions for Samson revealed in chapter 13 still stand in chapter 14.”
“God is bigger than any one person. God’s purposes are bigger than us. That’s hard for us to swallow, but it’s true. God can use whatever and whomever he wants to bring about His purpose. He’s the potter, we are the clay (Romans 9). Samson’s life illustrates this truth. Hebrews 11:32 says that Samson was a man of faith. He was, but he certainly wasn’t a faithful man. He wasn’t faithful to his parents’ teaching, his Nazirite vow, or the laws of the Lord. We will learn that it didn’t take long for Samson to lose almost everything the Lord had given him, except his great strength, and he finally lost that as well.”
“God was using Samson’s lust for this Philistine girl to set the stage for the Israelite's liberation from the Philistines. He is in control, even of Samson’s chaos. This doesn’t mean God approves of Samson’s sinfulness. Samson is exchanging God’s will for Him for what is right in his own eyes. That is idolatry and God hates idolatry. The point of verse 4 is this: Keep your eyes on God not on Samson.”
“Samson is on his way to marry a Philistine, something God has explicitly forbidden. Yet, God is with Samson, showing him—You can trust me. In my strength you can do what you could never do in your own strength. One would think this would get Samson’s attention. You would think he would have built a stone altar to Yahweh on the side of the road. He doesn’t.”
“Samson is weak in so many ways. He can’t say no to a drink. He can’t say no to a hustle. He can’t say no to a seductive girl. He can’t control his anger. He even loses the girl. He is self-absorbed, self-centered, and void of self-control. Samson is weak. But again, in his weakness (19) The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, empowering him to do what he could never do in his own strength. This savage act by Samson was more than a personal revenge tour—It was the power of God.”
“We are just like Samson. Through the gospel, not through a Nazarite vow, but through the Nazarene, Jesus, God has called us, saved us, and set us apart for His eternal and glorious purposes. But, like Samson, we get distracted and misdirected. The grass always seems greener on the other side. We don’t want to miss out on the world’s pleasures. We become enamored with the ways of our culture. Like Samson, we start heading in the wrong direction, away from God doing what is right in our own eyes.”
“This riddle draws us to the gospel. That’s you and me. We think we are strong in ourselves, but we are not. The truth is we are weak, hopeless, and spiritually dead. But in God’s love and mercy, His Spirit rushed upon us, bringing us salvation and making us the object of God’s divine attention.”
“Now, every day, He is forming us into something sweet and desirable in His eyes (sanctification). One day in heaven that work will be complete (glorification). But until that day, you have the promise that you can rise to any occasion God puts you in. You can resist the temptation that presents itself. You can accomplish what God calls you to. You can fight the sin that wars in your heart. Your life can bear spiritual fruit in keeping with your calling as my beloved. Not in your own strength but in the unmatchable and all-sufficient strength and power of the Spirit God provides.”
ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Ephesians 1:11
Hebrews 11:32
John 15
Ephesians 3:20
1 Corinthians 10:13
QUOTES:
Dale Ralph Davis - “Yahweh can and will use the sinfulness or stupidity of his servants as the camouflage for bringing his secret will to pass.”
George Schwab - “The riddle of the world is this: What is life about? What is the meaning of life? Samson gives the cosmic answer: it is about God forming something sweet and desirable from something that seemed strong, but is spiritually dead.”
APPLICATION:
- We must never view God’s providence as permission for our disobedience. We must never assume that just because God uses me, I am right with Him.
- Parents of spiritually wayward Children: When your child’s sin and chaos and your disappointment and heartache dominate the scene—don’t lose hope. Keep your eye on God, who has a purpose, even if you don’t know what it is. Your child is still breathing, and that means God isn’t done with them yet.
- Do you need a spiritual redirecting today? What part of your life is at odds with your calling as a Christian? You’re a Christian called to live for Jesus, but you look more like a Philistine living for yourself. Where have you exchanged God’s will for you for what is right in your own eyes?