Judges 16 Bible Study - Pastor Daniel Batarseh (2/26/21)

[Music] welcome to friday night bible study if you have your bibles meet me in the book of judges chapter 16. if you're joining us for the first time tonight we are studying the old testament from the beginning to the end and at this point in our lives we're at this book and we're studying about a man named samson probably heard of his name if not you're going to be familiar with him tonight even though we are at the concluding chapter of his life there's still so much to learn it's a it's a long chapter and i'm going to encourage you if you have your bibles which you should at bible study you're going to have your finger here at this portion of your bible and you're also going to have a finger in the book of proverbs because so much of what samson is displaying here is actually given insight in the book of proverbs and so we kind of see what proverbs talks about in a particular subject fleshed out in the life of samson and so as we prepare to to read here let's ask god to help us once again lord you are the author of this book lord we know that men were carried along by the holy spirit to pen these words they were your vessels but you are the mind and the heart behind every text we asked lord that we would hear your voice that we would not tamper with your word we would not try to make it fit with our culture or our presuppositions lord it would just be the pure word today and every time we gather lord let it just be the pure word of god and we asked lord that your booming voice as it as it says in the psalms would break the cedars of lebanon it would give birth to things it would shake things in our lives this is what we need from you in this day and hour many voices are being declared and heralded we need your voice to mute all other voices in our lives may be done and maybe so by faith we believe that you will speak in jesus name amen amen if you were with us last week at the last few verses of chapter 15 of this book you probably would have hoped that that's where samson's life would have ended that's where his story would have concluded because he ends in a humble light he ends in a redemptive way and perhaps we would have hoped that though he started off wrong he ended he ended right but unfortunately any inspiration that we experienced from last week will be quickly swallowed up by disappointment and that is because samson's life doesn't end where we left off it only continues and any light that there was in his life last week will be eclipsed by his true character and we're going to see a disappointing end to this man's life and we're trying to glean hope from it but i'm going to say this at the end but i'll say it right now from the beginning that i believe the holy spirit is intent behind giving us this story is not so that we can feel good necessarily judges is a sad book samson is a tragic character if you've been with us since we started judges you've probably felt a little heavy every time you've left this place and that's okay we need a little bit of heaviness in this meme culture we need a little bit of sobriety so we're not going to try to make this feel good we're going to just read it as it is yes we're going to draw whatever we need to draw out of it but we're just going to take what god has to say in his wisdom and believe that it's good for us so what do we read here in verse 1 of chapter 16. this is how we're introduced to this chapter the chapters are not inspired by the holy spirit by the way that was man's invention but very helpful but we read samson went to gaza and there he saw a prostitute and he went into her that's your first verse for friday night bible study but we can't read this disconnected from what we had just studied last week and what did we study last week that samson slew a thousand men with a jawbone of a donkey samson saw some kind of need in his humanity to cry out to god his first time praying at least recorded prayer where he was broken and in complete awareness of his need for god samson experienced a miraculous provision of water he experienced some kind of connection with god and we are told even that he was a judge in israel for 20 years all these wonderful achievements all these wonderful things that we see and after all that we see that the first thing he does is sleep with the prostitute times of victory even spiritually especially spiritually are dangerous times and we see that clearly with this man and what does that tell us that accolades and achievements even in the realm of god's kingdom are not the signs of the true character of a person it doesn't matter what you accomplish it doesn't matter how grand you are in the eyes of men who you are from the day to day is who you really are and that's why sometimes we can see and be troubled by the news of a grand preacher that has won the hearts of thousands of people or we can see some leaders of movements that have done much and then we realize they live a double life and we think how can this be listen the bible has told us about many many including samson and given us a warning that this is a pattern in many people's lives don't be shocked so let me tell you this yeah you can have a guy like samson who sees a personal revival who sees even a great stride in advancing his purposes for god and sleep with a prostitute the next day so let me shock you tonight that it's possible for a person to get up and preach a wonderful message and and so eloquent and so moving and bring you to tears and on that same night go sleep with a church member in that hotel it's possible it's possible for a worship leader to come with all that talent and poetic ability a writer of songs and be a closet alcoholic it's possible for leaders of denominations and schools christian schools to be greedy and deceivers with finances it's possible but let me tell you what's not possible that a person can live in such a way without god intervening eventually that's not possible that's what we're going to learn about samson's life this track record of being induced with the power of god and then living how he wants is not going to last but notice also in comparison with samson's beginnings that he is going from bad to worse so how are we introducing them in judges we introduce them in judges chapter 14 where he wants to marry a philistine woman you can't do that according to levitical law and in our faith we are called to marry those within the faith so it's not so foreign but what happens samson wants to marry a philistine well at least he wanted to marry her now what is he doing he's he's completely neglecting the idea of a covenant totally and he's sleeping with a prostitute he's not even considering the fact that there is this gift called sex that's supposed to be expressed when a man and a woman say i do he's just going for it because his flesh desires it he's not even taking the steps necessary to do it the way god intended him to do it whatever he sees he wants no covenant in sight and additionally it's not just here that he's going from bad to worse in terms of immorality he's going from bad to worse in his discernment look at verse one samson went to gaza you know what gaza is in this time enemy territory this guy is just watching into the enemy's camp making himself vulnerable just so that he can satisfy his flesh he's not considering that this is dangerous he's not considering that this is something that might harm him or put him in harm he doesn't care this was premeditated he went to gaza to find a girl and he got it why what is happening with samson well let me put it this way just like what alcohol does to the body is what lust does to the soul both alcohol and lust the similarity there is that when they are indulged they intoxicate a man and they influence a man to the point where they're not acting reasonably in fact the scriptures ties in and makes a relationship between intoxication and sexual immorality being drunk with lust and as christians you know what we hear we hear yeah it's obvious that a drunk person makes foolish decisions but we don't think that a person who does not have self-control in the area of their sexual life makes foolish decisions either they do equally foolish even sometimes more foolish so remember you have your finger in the book of proverbs right let's just see what i'm trying to say here in light of scripture proverbs 5 verse 20 in the esv look at the bible says and proverbs 5 20 why should you be intoxicated why should you be intoxicated my son with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress look at that language why are you going to be intoxicated by the love of a forbidden woman why will you allow yourself to be drunk in lust proverbs 6 32 he who commits adultery lacks sense he who commits adultery lacks sense he who does it destroys himself what happens when a person gets drunk do they have much sense in their behavior and their conversation and their decisions no and there's so many other places in proverbs but let me talk let me show you here that one of the strongest proofs that what i'm saying is true and it's not in proverbs but listen if you want to turn there write it down it's an important verse hosea 4 11 whoredom wine and new wine whoredom wine and new wine what do they do which take away the understanding two things that the prophet says takes away a man's ability to reason and make rational decisions whoredom a promiscuous lifestyle a sensual lifestyle and wine people wonder how did solomon who was given so much wisdom crash headlong head first the way he did and i argue that hosea 4 11 gives a commentary whoredom whoredom made him lose his ability to make rational decisions he got drunk he got drunk and lust samson's drunk he's drunk so he's parking his car in gaza he's walking in the streets he's literally behind enemy lines and he doesn't care why because he wants his flesh to be satisfied and the bible parallels these two experiences for a reason because just like alcohol intoxicating a man is a dangerous thing for that man and those around him a person who has given over to sexual sin is just as dangerous would you trust a drunken man to drive your car would you trust a drunken man to operate machinery would you would you trust a drunken man to babysit your children a person who can't control his lust in this area is capable of doing damage to himself to his family to his marriage to his finances to his ministry and he is a christian to the testimony of christ that he is supposed to bear witness to it's dangerous you hear of these people who have millions of dollars and because they have no control over their lust they are bankrupt you don't think it's a dangerous thing then why are there rehab centers for those who are in this mess for sexual rehab why even the world understands that when a person is addicted to this sin it can get very hazardous for that person and those around him they don't see their lust as a dangerous thing though right and christians don't i mean if a christian a professing christian somehow slips into drugs or alcohol they would be much more quicker to get sober but for some reason when it comes to less bombarding their hearts and determining their decisions we think well this is just me i'm a guy i'm wired this way and we don't think it's dangerous to ourselves we don't think it's dangerous to those around us we don't take the precautions nor the measures to see sobriety in our sexuality the bible has a different understanding behind it and just like samson unchecked lusts can increase a tolerance level and can cause a man to go from making small wrong decisions to completely reckless behavior and not even feel the transition from one to the other samson went from marry a philistine woman to i'll go to the enemy's camp and sleep with a prostitute that's why the famous slogan proves true that if you don't kill your sin your sin will do what it will kill you in this case samson's passions led him to be surrounded by enemies right look at verse two the gazides were told samson has come here even the gazettes were like are you serious he's here what is he doing here and they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city they kept quiet all night saying let us wait till the light of the morning then we will kill him they they realize samson's in town for a weekend to fulfill some kind of fantasy he's a dead man call all the troops we'll surround the house the moment he wakes up and tries to get back to his homeland we'll ambush him we'll ambush him what do we see instead look at verse three but samson lay till midnight and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts and pulled them up bar and all and put them on his shoulders and carried them on the top of the hill that is in front of hebron surprise surprise philistines you got all these soldiers around maybe some dozing off thinking that samson is gonna wake up in the morning and shocking to them he wakes up in the middle of the night puts on his robe whatever he was wearing kicks that door open perhaps most of these people are sleeping and he totally ignores them he just walks towards the gate and he grabs a hold of something pulls the gates up from its post and puts it on his shoulders like a small child and walks miles upon miles to plant that door on the top of the hill to make a statement and he did make a statement this is bible study here's my question what does the gate represent according to the old testament he could have ripped he could have ripped their heads off from their bodies no he went to the gate and ripped the gate up from its roots why what do we know about gates in the bible what does a gate do protects a city but it's not just for protection what do we know about a gate what happens at the gate of a city we should know this if we were students of the old testament what happens what takes place at a gate the leaders sit there the elders sit there and there's legal matters that are dealt with there's business transactions that are taking place there a gate according to the bible in the old testament symbolizes power and security for a city and that's why when abraham was given that prophetic word from the lord he was told in genesis 22 may your offspring possess the gates of his enemies so for samson to go to the gate of the city and to rip it up is to make a statement you have nothing on me i overpower you you have nothing against me i'm a one-man army and i'm just going to take this very thing that symbolizes your strength i'm going to take it up from its roots put it on my shoulders and show you who's boss here now pause on the practical study for a moment do you get a prophetic ring there of what samson's doing it's what jesus did at his resurrection that's what jesus did as a resurrection and in the positive light when jesus was ambushed by his physical enemies and by his spiritual enemies thinking that he was trapped in that tomb surprising to them he awoke smashed through that tomb so to speak took up the gates of death and the keys that opened that door and holds them still to this day so this is a beautiful picture of the ultimate deliverer that would conquer not the gates of physical armies or you know foreign foes no but of our ultimate enemy sin and death and just like paper mache ripping it up like it's nothing that's what he did in the grave that's what he did to the grave and that's why in revelation he says i hold the keys to death and hades i have power and authority now over death itself prophetically powerful practically terrifying terrifying this is terrifying this is not inspiring this is now getting really scary why because a man just slept with a prostitute and on the same night was able to do this the man slept with the prostitute threw some money at her and by god's strength was able to take one of the most instrumental and important pieces of the structure of that modern society think about it god enabled him to do that god gave him the power to do that the same night that he was with a harlot how do we explain that here's how you explain it sheer mercy sheer mercy and the mercy that tends to and usually does melts the hearts of sinners will in fact do the opposite in samson and harden his heart and the way he interprets god and how he deals with sin in our lives see god's grace can melt your heart or harden your heart and in samson's case it's only going to make things worse for him not because god's grace is bad but because of the way we interpret it the way we interpret it and receive it and so samson here moves on from this place and we think you just experience the sensation of one of the most supernatural things one man can do on his own connected to god samson are you like gonna are you gonna realize that that was a very bad thing that you did and it was a very scary and dangerous situation as a deliver you're the judge of israel and you're going to the enemy territory to sleep are you done here let's read verse 4 after this after this after this he loved the woman in the valley of sorek whose name was delilah this guy is just not getting it and so we're seeing that not only is he making bad decisions but the rate of his decisions are getting very scary as well it's just like he's hopping from one person to the other and that's exactly what's happening here and what's amazing is the valley of sorek means the valley of choice vines what is nazar what is a nazarite again what he's not supposed to do touch grapes drink grapes eat any of the fruit of the vine and so from the beginning we saw that he went to the valleys of timna which were vines and vineyards and now he's going to what we see here an entire valley not just a vineyard rather in the beginning but an entire valley of vineyards like he's just getting more reckless here he's getting more careless here and the holy spirit is pointing that out for a reason and before with the prostitute i mean he's just satisfying his flesh he wants nothing now he's his affections are getting tied up with this woman now he's falling in love is that worse or better does it justify what he's about to do oh no it makes it worse now your heart is in it it's not just animalistic behavior now you have some kind of endearment now there's some infatuation doesn't make it any better it's actually going to make it much worse for samson so he meets this gal named delilah in verse 5 we read in the lords of the philistines now you have the leaders of the philistines not just platoons and and just different sections of an army no you have the lords of the philistines came up to her and said to her seduce him seduce him and see where his great strength lies and by what means we may overpower him that we may bind him to humble him and we will each give you 1100 pieces of silver uh name some things that the enemy has done to samson up to this point since we've studied him they bound him before right they had his own people arrest him with fresh new ropes what else did the enemy do kill his wife in the beginning of the story and his in-laws before this we just read that they ambushed him nothing worked nothing worked murdered your family members had your own people cough you up and surrender you try to ambush you just a few days earlier nothing is working and now the enemy has a fresh strategy seduction seduction delilah what you can do a thousand men can't do seduce him i want to give you insight the enemy's strategy hasn't changed hasn't your finger's still in proverbs right go to proverbs chapter 7 verse 26 i'm going to read it from the king james version this is speaking about the adulterous woman and it says for she hath cast down many wounded yea many strong men have been slain by her and all her slain are a mighty throng you realize what the holy spirit is saying here that a promiscuous woman has done more damage than almost anything else to who what kind of men silly men teenagers no mighty men and mighty there is not talking about physical strength primarily talking about men of influence we're talking about pioneers we're talking about men of courage spiritual giants different leaders in different fields conquerors of nations you name it not few of them many of them many of them and then you read this and you think so it's a strategy of the enemy it was a strategy in this story and it's still a strategy tragedy and strategy today and it will be till the end of time it will be the bible says many mighty men have been slain by her you know what my question is when i read that proverb how how how do you have men like david solomon samson how do you have men like in modern day ministries that have international influence who have touched the lives of thousands of people who travel the world how do they crash and burn from a random lady or multiple women from different parts of the world how well the same book that tells us that many men have and will fall by her also tells you and cautions us how we can avoid it i thank god for that that's not a definite commentary for every person that will be great for the kingdom of god and so the same book tells us in proverbs chapter 2 look at verse 16 so you will be delivered from the forbidden woman from the adulteress with her smooth words you can be delivered men woman as well oh you might not have a mighty ministry but you might be working and somebody's hitting on you and you're a married woman you're a young attractive single christian woman and here is a married man trying to get your attention and flirt with you and you're starting to feel like your affections are fluttering now and you're starting to get excited to go to work and not so that you can be a witness so that you can you can get attention from a man you start putting on perfume because you want them to notice you start dressing a different way i want to rescue you by the word of god tonight i want to rescue you god wants to rescue you by the word of god you can be delivered from that you can be saved from that you don't have to be another statistic in modern weak christianity you can be saved from that minister and layman alike question is if it's possible to be delivered then why have so many mighty men have fallen for the trap do you see that word there so you will be delivered so implies that this is the consequence this is the result of something that was previously mentioned so that is the equals mark to an equation that was made up before this so that so what happens earlier so that this can be the outcome and be my safety and be my portion let's go back to the same chapter in verse 5. then you will understand the fear of the lord and find the knowledge of god and then he goes on to describe the beautiful results of a person who fears god and understands him many reasons why many mighty men have fallen i'll give you the foundational reason they don't fear god they don't know god because the bible tells me here that i will be delivered from the place of understanding the fear of the lord and finding something about god the knowledge of who he really is samson didn't fear god it's obvious you don't have to see a verse that says and samson did not fear the lord he's living it and you have the bible that tells us what the fear of the lord looks like and what the lack of the fear of the lord looks like and you say it's samson who lacks it and he certainly lacked it because of his his interaction with delilah and the prostitute and all the others in the first place but i'll show you where else he liked it are you ready it's shown in the fact that he did not even have the ability to discern the trap that delilah was setting for him samson comes out as a pretty smart guy like he comes up with poems and riddles you're like you're not just muscle you have you have a brain but when you come to this point he is so drunk with lust he can't even discern the obvious trap that delilah is setting for his life between verse 6 to verse 13 delilah three times asked him the secret of his strength samson gives three false answers but amazingly when he gives the false answers she uses that answer against him every single time so he's like you know delilah i thought you would ask me where i got my strength from if you tie seven fresh bowstrings around me then i will lose my strength and become as a weak man she's like well thank you honey that's wonderful let's go to bed they go to bed and he wakes up in that same house with only her in it with him being bound by seven fresh bowl strings it happens again it happens again you would think it would dawn on you something's off here do you realize that that lack of discernment is a result of lacking the fear of god go back to proverbs 2. remember verse 5 says then you will understand the fear of the lord and find the knowledge of god but look at proverbs 2 verse 10 because what is the beginning of wisdom brothers and sisters it's the fear of the lord right so then you come to verse 10 it says for wisdom wisdom is connected to the fear of the lord you cannot separate wisdom from fearing god for wisdom will come into your heart as a result of what verse 5 you will you will understand the fear of the lord and find the knowledge of god and then wisdom will come into your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul discretion will watch over you understanding will guard you and maybe you've read an article or you've heard of a man of god from from a grand ministry that has fallen and you've asked yourself especially when they give the details of how it came about how did this man how did this woman think they were going to get away with this have you ever thought that i've thought it almost if not every single time even not in big scandals i'm talking about real life day to day that's not on big news how did you think you were going to get away with it how and how did you make such decisions thinking that it was not going to come to light like you have people that are not even trying to hide it and in this day it's becoming way more difficult to be secretive when everything is on your phone and there's secret cameras everywhere and siri can hear everything you say i'll tell you why because they don't have the fear of god they do not have the key that unlocks the door for a discernment and the ability to understand and make rational decisions and if the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom then lack the fear of the lord is the beginning of foolishness and all you have to do is spend a little time in the book of proverbs to see what a fool does with his decisions and his thinking and it doesn't matter how smart they are it doesn't matter how impressive they are it doesn't matter how untouchable they may seem you'll be shocked to know what can happen to a man who is lacking this fear and let me tell you what happens when you do get this fear when you have this right attitude toward god he will reward you by putting wisdom in your heart and you know what happens to a person who really has this fear it's like god gives them x-ray vision for the soul they can spot a threat a mile away they don't get so easily caught up by the words of somebody even when they seem so flattering and so innocent god gives a discernment to a god-fearing person and they can smell it even though they can't completely understand it right away let me put it this way and i hope it sounds right it's very difficult to mess with somebody who fears god because god puts so much in them as a reward for seeing him the way he wants to be sought and a person who fears the lord is able to be 10 steps ahead of the enemy ten steps ahead of those who are the instruments of satan and they know how to even avoid the traps and not even enter into the first place it's incredible what the fear of god does and it's incredible what the lack of fear of god does to a man it puts them in a stupor it leaves them to the influences of the flesh and things get crazy when that happens samson can't even discern that this is a trap because he loved this sin and the fear of the lord is the hatred of evil you can see how this is just a big web is it not and that's why the scripture says the fear of the lord is a fountain of life that's why the scripture says when you fear god you have security for the rest of your days not just because you fear god but because of what he gives you when you fear him he gives you his presence he gives you his discernment he gives you his wisdom he gives you his voice in a very special manner in which you can avoid land mines and delilah's in this life samson missed it and notice with me now let's come to these scriptures notice the progression of samson's answers to delilah's request look at verse seven this is the first time after delilah asked sansa said to her if they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried then i should become weak and be like any other man. look at verse 11 and he said to her if they bind me with new ropes that have not been used then i shall become weak and be like any other man. and now when you come to the final time in verse 13 we read then delilah said to samson until now you have mocked me and told me lies tell me how you might be bound and he said to her if you weave the seven locks of my head and the web and fasten it tight with the pen then i shall become weak and be like any other man what's happening here especially with the last answer what do you notice say it again getting closer to the real answer what's the real answer his hair you know what is happening to samson he's getting a thrill out of this this is like a game to him and now he's he's giving closer insights to what the actual answer is because it has to do with his hair and samson is clearly entertained by this whole exchange with delilah sin is becoming a sport and the sport is that many people are playing and they're wearing the jersey and they don't even realize it the sport is how close can i come to the line how close can i get to the line before this is actually sin how close can i come to the line before i actually betray my lord how close i come to the line before i actually grieve the holy spirit how close can i get to the world and still be known in the realm of the kingdom how close this is the game that samson is playing but i guarantee you that no matter how much you think you can come to that line and control yourself you'll always go out of bounds always always always always always and so samson really thinks he's in control here samson really thinks he can determine and he can dictate this whole thing when he doesn't realize that he's actually being deceived by his own strategy he's being deceived by his own strategy and so what happens he's getting a kick out of it but there's somebody in the story that's not she doesn't find it cute she doesn't find it charming she's getting annoyed because all she's seeing is her opportunity for riches fading away and so she turns up the heat a little bit and she says okay this is what i'm going to do samson keeps coming over and we read that he came on frequent visits so she said i'm going to annoy him and i'm going to pressure him and i'm not going to give him what he wants until he gives me what i want that's exactly what's happening here so what's happening to samson is that samson is coming over and over and over and he's realizing this isn't getting fun anymore this is actually becoming a burden she's actually becoming annoying this is all fun and romantic and exotic and now this is getting really really tiresome so he has to make a choice and this is the choice that he has to make am i gonna am i gonna go through with this and give up the assignment that god has called me to so that i can prolong this fantasy that i'm so enjoying we don't know if samson was thinking this we don't know if he understood that him giving the answer would be the obvious cost of his commission from god being canceled we don't know but it could be and whether he knew it or not it was still true and it was still real and there are some people in this day i know this might sound shocking brothers and sisters but it's true there are some people in this day who so live in a pattern of a double life and they so fall in love with that other life that they in their conscience are fully aware that this is going to cost me my ministry this is going to cost me my marriage this is going to cost my trust with my children but it's worth it but it's worth it and they make that decision and i'm sorry to be extra burdensome in you but i i need you to understand the reality of this because you might see this you have seen it already you're going to see it more you have crazy people pastors leaving their families and running off with somebody else in the church these things happen and they don't make the news all the time but i have a hunch that samson didn't really believe that he would lose it i have a hunch that samson believed that he could give the answer and he can still keep everything and people believe that today too how do we know that well let's come here and read in verse 17. and he told her all his heart and said to her a razor has never come upon my head delilah for i have been a nazrite to god from the mother's room my mother's womb if my head is shaved then my strength will leave me and i shall become weak and be like any other man and delilah heard this answer and it wasn't like the other answers there was something true about it there was a ring to it and she's like i got him i got him when delilah verse 18 saw that he had told her all his heart she sent and called the lords of the philistines saying come up again this isn't going to be a fluke come up again for he has told me all his heart the lords of the philistines came up to her and brought her the money in her hands and look at this verse 19 she made him sleep on her knees now if i believed that i would lose my power and three times prior to this delilah's cry was the philistines are upon you samson if i gave the real answer and there's perhaps a high percentage chance that she's going to cry again the philly scenes are upon you i'm not going to sleep on your knees and take a nap on your lap that is not a posture of somebody who is aware that danger is coming and that something dangerous will happen to you that is a posture of trust of being relaxed and being convinced that even if the philistines do come i'll just wake up from her lap and i will destroy them if we're not convinced by that let's see what happens in verse 20. and she said the philistines are upon you samson and he awoke from his sleep and said i will go out as at other times to see what he said to himself i will go out as other times what did he say to himself i will do what happened the first three times again so what does that say that he really believed even after giving the true answer that he can escape this danger he really believed he really believed that after he gave up the answer and if it even happened to him where she cut off his hair nothing would change nothing would change i went through the vineyards earlier i got drunk at my wedding i did this i did that the spirit of god came upon me every single time why would this time be any different i slept with a prostitute and i tore up the gates of the city why would it be any different i've seen god bless me to bless others why would he stop blessing me to bless others now samson misinterpreted god's mercy over his sin as god's acceptance for his sin and this happens especially you know how it happens when men [Music] take their circumstances as a cue to whether or not god is pleased with them instead of taking the matter to the word of god and seeing if god is really pleased with them and so they see people are still moved by my sermons i mean i was with somebody who was not my wife just last week and people are still crying when i preach and the money is still coming in and the church is flourishing and growing nothing's going to change i can hold on to this and i can hold on to this my wife doesn't know my kids don't know she's happy they're happy i can go on like this and there's a line it's invisible because if it was visible and the bible said if you sin nine times on the tenth time that's when i turn my face away okay nine times it is god here you go i'm back no no no no it's invisible and you think that's funny but let me tell you we're so wicked we're willing to do it we're so wicked and god in his wisdom doesn't give us a number he makes an invisible line why because he wants it to be relational you don't think like that with other people i'm going to cheat on them five times and on the sixth time it'll be okay you don't do it once why because you love them why do we do any different with god there's this invisible line and there's a law that god had established and it's what samson failed to see and what many people failed to see today that if you ever question if you ever question that i can continue in this and god will still be no no no you cannot have a spirit empowered effective ministry and forfeit consecration at the same time we can't that hair it wasn't about the hair it was about what the hair symbolized and consecration is what it symbolized holiness unto god you walk to a different step you abide by a different law you do not live according to the flesh but according to the spirit that is what is and that's what satan attacks that's what delilah calls you and gives you over to when you are seduced by her sleep on my lap be comfortable here and let me cut your hair off because satan knows what many christians don't know if you don't have consecration you don't have power if you don't have consecration you don't have power if you don't believe that go to second timothy 2 21-22 you don't have to turn there read it later that we cleanse ourselves from what is dishonorable so that we may be vessels for honorable you set apart as holy useful to the master of the house ready for every good work god is looking for consecrated vessels perfect no set apart set apart determined in your heart that you will not entertain and by god's grace that you will stay as pure as possible god says that's something and that's someone i can use and even with a person who doesn't believe that god is so patient and merciful as he was with samson but he crossed the line and he really believed i can get away with this and so samson loses it this is one of the saddest sights ever verse 19 she made him sleep on her knees and she called the man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head and she began to torment him you know you can love something that torments you it's amazing what we love in this life she began to torment him and his strength left them i know this isn't a deep question but i wondered what did i feel like to be so depleted i know what it's like to be physically weak but what did what did samson have that left him and he felt it well read here and she said the philistines are upon you simpson and he woke from his sleep and said i will go out as other times and shake myself free but he did not know that the lord had left him he did not know that the lord had left them he was such a low and a low spiritual condition that he could not even tell whether god was with him or not with him think about that you know what i'm scared about modern ministry in america that if the holy spirit had withdrew his presence from many of the places that supposedly served the lord jesus that ministries would operate just as they did before he withdrew himself with no problems we've learned to do ministry without the holy spirit we've learned to do church without the presence and the power of the holy spirit we know how to make we know how to do fundraising and get money we know how to go through church services people are happy with with just going where we can do it and i wonder if the holy spirit says i'm going to just check myself out if churches would notice and get on their face before god and say lord we can't do this without you i'm sure if the holy spirit says i'm not going to be in this church anymore i'm not going to be a part of this ministry they wouldn't even notice may god protect us from such a possibility and it gets sadder than this if it can verse 21 the philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes see if samson would have done that spiritually he wouldn't been in this mess if samson would have done this in the soul as jesus said that if your right eye caused you to sin pluck it out he wouldn't have his physical eyes plucked out you know what's amazing he loses his eyes he's brought down to gaza and bound him with bronze shackles here's a lesson i'm sure samson thought of the possibility that if he gave up the secret to his strength he would have lost his hair but i'm sure simpson did not think in that moment if he didn't even have that thought that he would lose his eyes you always lose more than you anticipated when you do sin you you never think that it can go worse than and in temptation you don't even think about the worst case scenario you think about the best case scenario that if i do this this is this is the best thing that can come out of it even if it has some sting and some shame you never think about how bad it can actually get and usually when people do deceive themselves in that it always becomes worse than they anticipated samson lost way more than just his hair and god's power he lost his physical eyes they gouged out his eyes oh samson if you would have done that from the beginning your story would have had a different end the very problem of samson's stories was his eyes and he ends up losing them anyway the very thing that brings you so much pleasure will end up being taken from you anyway that's why jesus was the prophet of man to gain the whole world to forfeit his soul you can't keep the very thing that you are contemplating whether it's worth giving up for jesus it's a very simple thing but we are so foolish to believe that we can keep it samson loses his eyes and then i mean just picture it with me would you picture it do you think they gracefully plucked out his eyes samson we're just going to put you under and we're going to take these eyes out and we're going to put some samson was taken and probably while he was even in that moment they didn't even hesitate took a dagger to his sockets and popped out one eye as he screamed in pain and didn't even wait until they went to the other eye and plucked it out and probably even did something with the eyeballs and they tormented the man no eyes and they kick him down a dungeon in the gloomy darkness and he's there grinding at the mill with dry blood on his cheekbones black sockets agonizing in pain and you think is there anything more disgraceful and heartbreaking than this this is israel's judge this is the man that's been commissioned by heaven from his womb his mother's womb and this is how we see him and all for a sudden in verse 22 we get the word but but the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved says samson day by day night after night exhausted chains at his feet and his hands feeling the cold breeze brush over those empty eyes hair is beginning to grow think holy spirit why are you saying that and you know what that hair symbolizes it symbolizes the very thing that made him consecrated to god and in that moment his hair was growing to indicate to us that though he lost so much there's one thing that can be restored again and that's his walk with god and that you can plunge yourself into such deep darkness embarrassing sin relationally damaging sin and no matter what you lost even if it was your own limbs there's one thing that your own sin can't take from you unless you turn from it and that's reconciliation to the lord and you can almost say that his hair was growing to show that his relationship with god was growing again no matter what he looked like on the outside his heart was stirred in the inside and as he was grinding there there is something going on his heart do you wonder if samson was talking to the lord in that scene it doesn't say but i wonder i wonder if he was crying with those empty eyes realizing what he had done realizing what i didn't think was possible is actually possible i made a fool of myself and i played the fool with god and all the while in that broken state even as pitch black as it was your hair can grow again you can walk with him again you can know his pleasure again you can know his favor again even in that kind of state what a mighty god you know what's amazing is that samson's hair was growing as a prisoner to the philistines you know what that means that the philistines allowed his hair to grow when they had full knowledge that the very secret to his power was his long hair if i believed like you said that the length of your hair is the source of your power i'm gonna make sure that your hair doesn't grow again right but his hair is growing and the philistines are like whatever who cares wonder why and i wonder if it's because they knew that samson really blew it and it was over it's done i wonder if samson's case in the eyes of the philistines was hopeless because that's how they interpreted their view of god that when you serve dagon and you serve baal and you serve molech when you blow it he doesn't give you a second chance you can't have the ability to restore yourself to him you're done so maybe they didn't have a concept of the god of israel that actually does forgive even when you blow it royally and many people today do not have that concept of god's grace and mercy many people today even professing christians will damn you especially when you're part of a scandal will damn you they'll have no problem to say you're on your way to hell hey be careful of being the judge of somebody's eternal destination no matter how much they mess up and i'm so glad that you're not on god's throne and i'm not on god's throne i'm so happy if god is a god of love why would he send somebody to hell eternally you would do much more if you had his authority proof go to the book of jonah and what do you see you see a prophet that's willing to burn up a city when god's like they don't know they're right from their left hand and look how much cattle they have should i not be merciful to them and jonah's like no they're the syrians they're in the vice look what they've done to us let's just i'm waiting god reign and we have the audacity to kick back and be all philosophical and say what kind of god is this this god of love who sends people to hell for eternity you would have done it a thousand years ago you would have done a thousand you would have done it from the garden of eden his hair begins to grow the philistines let his hair grow so may we send that grace abounds god forbid let me sober you if you are inclined to that because that kind of thinking is just as foolish as samson thinking when he said i can have my hair cut and still have god's grace and power in my life because no matter how much and where you go if that's your motivation that i can sin i can plot this i can create this situation and i know it's wrong but god is merciful god is gracious right that's how you think right that's what you're telling her right that's what you're telling him right god is merciful he'll understand no he won't god is merciful let me tell you this god is merciful and you go with that and perhaps he will forgive you and restore that relationship with you because a safe person doesn't talk like that so i'm worried how you're talking but even if you're in a really deep place of temptation you're convinced that it will all go back let me tell you this yes you can't have god's restoration again yes you can have reconciliation again but there are things that you will lose that you can never regain samson had his hair grow but guess what he lost forever his eyes you can't travel through this and think that you won't come out with scars yes we're comforted to know that how much i fail god will take me back but let me tell you might lose something for the rest of your journey on this earth this foolishness that people convince themselves of when they're drunk with lust god is merciful so understand you just might lose your eyes god is merciful you just might lose your reputation for the rest of your existence you'll make it to the gates but you have a miserable life down here samson experienced god's mercy but you know what god didn't do put fresh eyeballs in his socket so be careful be careful how you entertain sin and temptation in your life samson is experiencing something maybe it's taking time but it's true nonetheless my hair is growing my hair is growing i can grow back with god and that scene is quickly cut with this atrocious site in verse 23 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 let me put it this way when christians fail especially leaders and when they're great scandals what's a grievance to the heart of the christian community is often the cause of celebration in the unbelieving world we have to be careful because we don't want to give the enemy and those who do not believe or believe in other gods a reason to reinforce their unbelief in christ be careful the world is waiting for a scandal the world longs for a scandal that's why we have to pray for our leaders because satan has parties set up waiting for people to fail so that he can give the unbelieving an excuse to remain in their state of unbelief they're celebrating they're saying our god has brought the greatest enemy to us public enemy number one into our hands and that's why the scriptures and more than one place in the new testament says something along the lines of what i'm about to read in first peter 3 16. having a good conscience to christians you christians not just leaders not just as samson you having a good conscience so that when you are slandered those who revile your good behavior in christ may be put to shame he says later on that the gentiles would have nothing evil to say about you and on the day of visitation give glory to god give glory to god so in my life i'm not supposed to give them ammunition to fire at me in fact when they slander me oh you're a christian and you're a hypocrite and you're probably like those tv preachers that love money and have a different lifestyle and when they examine me and scrutinize me and study me and dig up all the things they realize i apologize everything that we've said about you is not true and they're put to shame that's not what's happening here the only one that's in shame is samson and they're having a party about it and i know we don't want to hear it i know it disappoints us i know it makes us cringe but may put a fresh fear of god in us i want to live my life in a way where i can't give hell a party because of my failures by the grace of god but in this case that's what we're seeing and it gets even worse verse 25 when their hearts were married they said call samson call samson we forgot samson's in the dungeon and he's grinding out the mail call him so that he may entertain us so that he may entertain us so they called samson out of the prison and he entertained them what a sight i read this tonight and tears filled my eyes reading that you have the judge of israel what did he do to entertain him like a clown with no eyes dancing around and here are these people drunk mary in heart laughing this is the guy this is the guy that we were so afraid of look at him i praise god that the chapter doesn't end here sam said said to the young man there's a boy that's leading samson this mighty man this superhero this man of faith now has a young boy leading him and samson without his eyes probably resting from his entertainment for the moment saying let me feel the pillars on which the house rests that i may lean against them this little boy doesn't say anything but sees this man in such a pathetic state thinking to himself maybe he just needs to lean because he's so weak so he leads samson without his eyes and he lays them on one of the pillars and there's samson there probably almost naked dirty dry blood dehydrated missing hair and as he's there leaning we begin to see why samson was mentioned in hebrews 11 as a man of faith because he's there verse 27 we are told that 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 you have 3 000 people there now listen this man killed a thousand with a jaw bone of a donkey they feel secure they feel confident they are sure that they can be in the presence of this man and nothing will happen and while they're laughing and mocking and maybe spitting and giving each other cheers and all that noise with the music and maybe dagon a statue of degon was right there in the middle and they're throwing things at it and celebrating him samson in verse 28 called to the lord he called the lord and said oh lord god please remember me and please strengthen me only this once oh god that i may be avenged on the philistines for my two eyes some people criticize samson here that he's requesting something from god to have vengeance for himself i don't see it that way because hebrews 11 gives me confidence that he was a man of faith and for the second and last time in his recorded life is samson praying and when you read this you do not get the impression of a man who is proud and arrogant do you no i don't either please remember me he knew that god had every right to ignore him he knew that he had every right to feel god's coldness and isolation and his separation he knew it he felt it and he knew that he was in that place for his own sin but he asked god graciously to turn his face toward him and to give him attention please remember me and then he says please strengthen me not again the way it was i'm just asking for one more dose of strength and the reason why i'm asking for this strength is so that i can perform what you've called me originally to and that is to bring deliverance to the people to begin a delivering work from the philistines see he didn't say please strengthen me this one so i may escape and return to my land he says please strengthen me this once and then later on he says let me die with the philistines let me die with the philistines this is a man who was willing to submit to the mission of god that he was originally called to even though it cost him and it will cost him his life strengthen me this once more god and with what you give me i will honor you to my death and you know why i believe that it was a prayer of faith how do we know because god answers it simple as that if i cherish iniquity in my heart the lord would not hear me psalm 66 says samson has a clean heart and so i wonder if he began to feel what he felt before i wonder if he began to feel what he felt when he faced that lion that roared for his life i wonder if he began to feel that strength that he felt when a thousand philistines were before him and he had the jawbone of a donkey in his hand i wonder what he felt or maybe he didn't feel anything and he puts one hand on one pillar and he reaches out without seeing his left hand to another pillar and after finishing his prayer it says he pushes with all his might and oh i would have loved to seen it as the ground began to shake and the musicians stopped playing and people look over and people on the balcony look down and they see this weak pathetic jewish man with no eyes suddenly shaking the foundations of the temple and people are realizing his god is answering him we should be just as shocked at the mercy of god that he's willing to answer the prayer of a person that has blown it he is and the temple falls and three 000 people died and we are told here at the second part of verse 30 so the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life and although it's very hard to see it can you see it the traces of prophecy concerning the ministry of jesus christ like samson and jesus both were sold by someone that was close to them for the sake of selfish gain judas delilah like samson and jesus both were called by their enemies to entertain them what did herod say performed some miracle for me jesus wouldn't jesus wouldn't and when they put that robe after he was flogged and they put a crown of thorns and they put a staff in this hand and they hailed them as the king of the jews and it says they mocked him samson and jesus became a source of entertainment for the wicked samson and jesus that the most triumphant episode in their lives was actually their deaths samson killed more in his death jesus did much more in his death but unlike samson jesus was not arrested mocked and tortured because of his own sin and disobedience but because of ours that's the difference samson was there because of himself jesus was there because of us and that's why these types and shadows can only go so far but they give us an idea and they give us a glimpse that there is a deliverance that's going to come by somebody's death that will be more triumphant than whatever he does in his life but he'll be perfect and holy and he'll stand in our place he'll have his back scourge and he'll have his hands pierced and symbolically not literally he'll have his eyes gouged out for us samson killed three thousand without his eyes how many men did he kill at once with his eyes a thousand i wonder if samson spiritually gouged out his eyes how much more he could have done in his life how much more he could have done it didn't have to end this way had samson gouged out his eyes who knows what he could have done and he could have still lived to see it i didn't realize the time so we come to verse 31 he dies with them and then we're told then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between zora and eshtaol in the tomb of manoa his father he had judged israel 20 years his family members had enough grace in their hearts and god by his grace allowed them to come into hostile enemy territory when 3000 were just struck i mean you don't want to go in now but they go in and they go through the rubble and they recognize even though he had no hair and no eyes the mangled body of their brother and they pulled him out of the rubble and they take him back home and they give him a proper burial question as we close in a moment between zorah and ishtarol where have we seen that before do you know between zorah and ishtaro go back to judges 13 verse 24. and the woman bore a son and called his name samson and the young man grew and the lord blessed him and the spirit of the lord began to stir him in mahanadan between zorah and eshtao and the spirit of the lord began to stir him it was in that same location that as he was growing up he began to experience special stirrings from the holy spirit he began to develop his relationship with the spirit of god he began to sense something of his call in a tangible manner and where does he end in the same place but not in the same way think about it between zorah and ishtaro you see a potential mighty man of god for his generation you see a prospect you see a man of god ready to do damage to the kingdom of darkness for the glory of god and then when you come back to that place you see the same man with no hair no eyes and not the stirrings of the spirit but the spirit of god removed from him the book of judges and this story is supposed to make you feel sad and when you see where samson ends up where he began he doesn't end the way he started here's my call to action finish the way you started finish the way you started if you started with the spirit of god on your life stirring your heart breaking your heart giving you hope and a desire for a purpose to being fulfilled end with the same stirrings and the same passion if not greater unfortunately as we've been told by proverbs that many men like samson do not end the way they started make it your life goal not to make a million dollars not to drive the latest car not to have a type of house not to wear the certain trend make it your life goal that god you stirred my heart when i got saved you've been stirring my heart throughout my life and i'm ending with a stirred heart i'm ending with a stirred heart i don't want to end any other way i can end with a disease that eats up my bones god forbid but as long as my heart is stirred by the spirit of god i'll die a happy man i'll die a happy man samson what's the point yes god was gracious yes he was merciful yes he did more in his death than in his life but he could have done more with his life if he had first died himself that's the difference that's the difference and so i'm ending it there so we can feel the weight of the story we can feel the weight of this story don't worry there's going to be very hopeful books coming along down the pipe we're going to read of ruth and we're going to read wonderful things feel the weight of this story tonight and realize the appalling course that can take place in a man's life and if there's any call i'm going to make it's to the non-believer in this place if you're not a christian in this place you heard a bible study that is meant for christians and maybe you didn't understand the full implications of it but let me get to what's the most important thing that you need to know before you leave this place and that is if you know jesus christ as your lord and savior that's the most important thing and my call to you is this is that no matter what you've done with your eyes no matter what prostitutes you've been with no matter how much you've run away from god just like samson you have a chance to be restored to him and you have the opportunity to be in a right relationship with him and not based on what you do and not based on what you say necessarily it's based on what your heart trusts in i don't care what dark place you're in tonight i don't care does it matter how hopeless it looks it doesn't matter what relationships you've done wrong it doesn't matter what has been done to you know this that there is this god the same god that blessed samson along the journey and even at his death and compromise wants you to come to him desperately he's not like the other gods he's not like the molex he's not like the bales he's not like the dagons he's a different god merciful kind compassionate and the only reason why like a samson can get to heaven and how you can get to heaven is not based on performance tonight it's based on the performance of another see the reason why we study the old testament is yeah we get some practical truths from it but the whole point the main thesis of the old testament is man cannot satisfy god man cannot please god even if god takes a nation shows up on a mountain manifests his glory gives them promises gives them wealth gives them land all these wonderful things they won't be able to walk in his commands and they won't be able to please him with their life because we're all infected we're all diseased with sin try not to sin between now and tomorrow morning in your thought life try not to sin between now and next week with actions and words and what you watch your conscience testifies to you that you are a sinner and maybe you've been told even by supposed christians that you're all fine and dandy and everything's okay no the wrath of god abides on you judgment is coming it's coming on this nation it's coming on every individual and it will be eternal damnation and people that don't believe in god or don't believe in that kind of god are in the shock of their lives when they see him and realize all the blasphemy that they spewed out of their mouths will only be held against them in judgment but at the same time christ so loves you so loves you we're all like samson we're all like we're a mockery in the sight of god in the sight of this world he was crushed and he drank health for you and he got upon a wooden cross and it wasn't just about the nails and it wasn't just about the mockery and it wasn't about the spitting it wasn't about anything else it was about god judging him in that moment and there was something happening in the spiritual realm and so intense was it in the spiritual realm that it began to affect the physical realm and the earth shook and the sun became dark and people in that moment began to see this is something beyond normal because there was a transaction being made on that mountain in israel two thousand years ago the sin of the world including yours every single thing that you've ever done against god every thought every pornography clique every stolen thing every stupid thing that you've said with your lips it came upon his shoulders and god in his holiness poured out his perfect wrath until he was satisfied in his justice and christ took the sin of the whole world in that moment and when he drank god's wrath he turned the cup over with no drop coming out of it and when he took your place on that cross he wants you to realize that a payment was made and that if you believe that he made it that you can have your sins forgiven and wiped clean so that when you stand before god the same way he saw you in christ on the cross he'll see christ in you when you stand before him that's the good news of christianity don't get it twisted now it's not about what you can do it's not about how much you can impress god one already did it on your behalf it's as foolish as you trying to pay off a debt that's already been paid you're wasting your resources your time and your energy it's already been done believe it accept it and run with it as you relish in the grace of god and that's available to you let's pray christian asked god tonight lord i've started well by your grace maybe i've had a few hiccups on the way but lord i do not want to end i do not want to end without my eyes with a cut off ministry with a cut off call i want to end the way i started with your favor and your grace and with a fulfilled mission by your mercy lord i pray that you would keep me and that you would give me the fear of god with the wisdom that comes with it so that i can discern and understand and walk with a cautious spirit and if you're in this place and you have messed up as a christian realize that your hair can grow back and if you're in this place and you've messed up and you're tempted to mess up again you might have not lost your eyes this time but you are able to lose your eyes again be careful now don't play the fool with god may sampson's story ever be before your eyes and mine father in the name of jesus we thank you for your precious presence in this place we thank you that you've arrested us with the authority and the truth of your word lord what needed to be said is said and we trust that what you need to say specifically to our lives has been accomplished but father in heaven we ask right now that the work would not be finished until what needs to happen needs to happen we ask lord that changes will be made in our thinking changes will be made in our attitudes changes will be made in the way we relate to others lord we want to be in your perfect will thank you for your grace and mercy even in seasons of compromise and sin but lord we don't want it we don't want to entertain that line lord we want to be in your full favor in your full light and we ask lord that you would bring us there we ask you lord that the book of judges would not lose its heaviness in this moment lord that we would feel the weight of it we would feel the weight of it and we say please remember us and please strengthen us not in the moment of our death but lord every day as we live for your glory we worship you lord thank you lord that we have an insight of the goodness and the kindness of god that the philistines do not we magnify you we extol you we ascribe to you power and glory and majesty you are wonderful you are glorious you are merciful beyond our understanding and lord we lean upon you tonight and we thank you that nothing is impossible for you there's no sin too deep or great for you to not reach out and grab us back to yourself and we ask oh god that we would sense the tugging of your kindness and mercy lord lord if if there is a sin that we were meditating to perform lord if we were planning to go to gaza tonight or next week we take this as your voice warning us and we halt and we stop and we say i will go where god called me to go full obedience to the will of god lord we can't do this apart from your power and mercy you must deposit it in us tonight lord we sit here without rushing and saying oh god the same spirit that stirred samson stir us tonight stir us tonight and keep stirring us by your grace lord we need you to make this real to us and we call upon you in humility and faith trusting that it will come to pass in jesus name we pray these things amen and amen amen just play softly please speak to your god as we concluded with samson's story tonight we're not done with the book of judges but just talk to the lord tonight and say lord i believe the story is real i believe that it actually happened i believe that it's saying something to me and god i just i just pray if you have anything to pray for in this place it's that the course of your faithfulness to god would be held by his mercy and power ask him for that you may not see the need of it now but trust me there is a foe there are delilahs there is a scheme especially for those who really want to serve god and what the lord wants to tell you tonight according to his word is that you must cling to him for him to bring you through cling to him cling to him you

Channel: UE Church - Chicago

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Keywords: daniel batarseh, ue church, bible study, sermon, church, new testament, old testament, teaching, preaching, building, encouraging, christ, jesus, christian, how to, god, lord, where, when, how, bible, christain, christianity, encouragement, samson, death, hair, wife, Delilah, Sorek, prostitute, Gazites, locks, Philistines, Eshtaol, Zorah, Manoah, judges

Id: vpmUpxFGQuo

Length: 85min 35sec (5135 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 06 2021