Well, good morning. It's good to see all of you this morning.
I want to encourage you, if you would please, to open your Bibles to Judges chapter 13.
! Judges 13. If you're using the Pew Bible, it's on page 100 to 13.
213.
Yes.
Yes. Before we really dive into the text this morning, I want to just let you know about some exciting things that are happening.
As many of you are aware of, we've had a chance as a church to partner with several sister churches over the last several years.
And men from our congregation, from our fellowship, have had the chance to fill pulpits and to encourage, with the Word, churches that are part of our fellowship in other parts of the city of Columbus.
And that, of course, is really a blessing.
I am so grateful for godly men who are gifted to teach the Scriptures and that we have a chance to do that just around Columbus.
This past week, I got a call from a church.
They have an interim pastor who's been at their fellowship for the last couple of years.
He had kind of a medical issue the past week.
And they said, hey, can you please send us, the church, will you please send us someone to fill a pulpit so that we can do our services on Sunday?
And it's been neat.
We have several young men who are trying to raise up and be part of what we hope to become kind of a pulpit team, a preaching team.
And investing in their lives, younger men who are either in seminary right now, have finished Bible college,
or have plans to move into ministry at some point.
And being able to invest in them and help them along the process, but also give them opportunities.
So, this morning, one of our young men has a chance to preach and teach.
And we trust that in the subsequent weeks, there may be opportunities to do some more of that.
That's something that God has done for us.
You know, we have a heart for investing in young men and a chance now to be able to give these young men the opportunity to preach and to teach for another congregation.
Our hope is that every second Sunday of the month, beginning in, not October, but beginning, excuse me, not in September, but in October,
every Sunday of the, second Sunday of the month, to have someone from our fellowship be able to put these gifts to work,
a younger man, raising them up, and discipling them in this process.
So, just wanted to share that with you and ask that you would pray with us and pray for these men as God is raising them up.
We are in the book of Judges.
And so, for those of you who may be here for the first time, we've been working through the book of Judges this summer.
And now we're kind of in the last leg, as it were.
We're kind of closing things out.
And anyone who's read the book of Judges will come to understand that the further you go into the book, the worse things get.
The darker things are.
The more this moral decline is taking place among the nation.
And we've traced that along.
And the summary phrase for us is found in Judges chapter 2, verse 19,
that talks about every subsequent generation,
when the children rise up,
then they depart further from the Lord.
But you might think that this story,
while it's getting darker,
becomes a lesson for us as it relates to,
well, we can't be those kinds of people.
And God has turned His back on these individuals.
And there's no hope for them anymore.
And actually, this morning and next week,
will help us to realize that while the nation continues to decline,
that God remains faithful to His Word.
We have a God who initiates with His people.
We have a God who's faithful.
A God who's trustworthy.
A God who is the main character of this book.
And while all the judges are departing from God,
or so it seems,
or the nation is moving further away from God,
God remains fixed.
His promises are true.
He is dependable.
And He continues to exercise and to demonstrate His faithful love to them.
There is one main character.
The Lord Himself.
Who stands preeminent over the book of Judges
and calls us to see Him and to experience Him
the way He wants to be experienced.
In His holiness.
In His trueness.
We're meant to acknowledge that He is not only the one who's the main character,
but He is the main deliverer of all of the experiences that we have.
All the crisis you may go through,
there is one solution.
There's one fix.
Know the Lord.
Serve the Lord.
Follow the Lord.
So we come to Judges chapter 13.
We begin this study.
We pick up this study in verse 1.
Let me read this for us.
And you can see,
as we get going here,
that we have an initiating God.
That this story,
all along,
we've been looking at various judges
throughout the timeline,
or the history,
of this nation.
In the early stages of this nation.
And while there may be many judges,
there is one main figure.
And I want to just draw our attention to that main figure,
the Lord Himself,
as we work our way through these couple of chapters.
First is,
we have an initiating God.
Notice this.
And the people of Israel,
again,
did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
So the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines,
for forty years.
And there was a certain man of Zorah,
of the tribe of the Danites,
whose name was Manoah.
His wife was barren,
and had no children.
And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman,
and said to her,
Behold,
you are barren,
and have not born children.
But you shall conceive and bear a son.
Therefore,
be careful,
and drink no wine or strong drink,
and eat nothing unclean.
For behold,
you shall conceive and bear a son.
No razor shall come upon his head.
For the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb.
And he shall begin to save Israel
from the hand of the Philistines.
We have an initiating God.
The story of his initiating power is remarkable,
as it comes to light in the story of Samson.
It's a story of us as well.
And that's important for us to understand and to recognize it.
That while things are getting darker and darker
for the nation of Israel,
back in the time of the judges,
we can all sense,
I trust that you are sensing,
in our day and age,
darker and darker times,
one generation after the next.
We're living in those times.
But we have an initiating God.
The same God who initiated his love to his nation,
to his people,
back during the time of the judges,
is the same God who initiates love for us.
One of our favorite verses,
John 3.16,
you could probably quote it with me,
for God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten son,
that whosoever believes in him,
will not perish,
but have everlasting life.
We have in initiating God.
And God's initiation happens in spite of our rebellion.
God extends his love,
his offer of forgiveness,
his invitation for relationship with him,
in spite of our rebellion.
It's incredible.
Why does he do this?
We are undeserving.
It's because he's an initiating God.
He's a God who extends himself.
He's a God who invites us to participate in fellowship with him.
He's a God who wants to reveal to us the areas of our life that are out of step.
But it doesn't mean that we are turned away.
We're invited closer.
We're invited inward.
We're invited to participate with him
as we come to a place of believing in the Lord Jesus Christ,
and then we'll be saved.
Of confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord,
believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
and then enjoying the offer of forgiveness.
Understanding our sin,
turning our hearts to him,
confessing our sin,
repenting from our sin,
and enjoying the benefits of forgiveness.
John will also say in his letter in 1 John 4, verse 19,
he will say this.
You know this.
We love him because he first loved us.
That is our initiating God.
He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
He is the same God today as he was during the time of the judges.
He initiated his kindness to people who did not deserve it.
That is our problem so often, though,
is we often think that we deserve the kindness of God.
We do not put ourselves in the category of rebels.
And so we think that the love that God has extended to us
is because we are so lovable,
when in fact, we are rebels.
And God, in his kindness,
has extended that love so that we can experience it.
And here in Judges chapter 13,
this final leg of this journey, as it were,
before we turn the page to 17 to 21,
where there are no more judges,
and the people have essentially pushed God away in totality,
God graciously extends himself one more time
to a wayward people.
We find here, again, verse 1,
the people of Israel again did what was evil
in the sight of the Lord.
Now, in some translations,
I believe this is misleading
because it gives the impression
that at some point in time,
there was spiritual reform.
There was some sort of revival that had taken place,
some sort of awakening that had happened,
and now they're turning again to things that were evil.
Well, what we need to recognize
is that Judges 13 is bound together
with Judges chapter 10.
It's one story in two parts.
So just turn with me for a moment to Judges chapter 10.
You can see this in verse 6 and 7.
It says this,
The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord
and served the Baals,
and the Ashtore,
the gods of Syria,
the gods of Sidon,
the gods of Moab,
the gods of the Ammonites,
and the gods of the Philistines.
You see that?
The Ammonites were the gods and the people
that God used Jephthah to oppose.
The gods of the Philistines,
we're going to find in our story,
are the gods that God is opposing through Samson.
Then it goes on, verse 7.
So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.
He sold them into the hand of the,
now in reverse order,
the Philistines,
and into the hand of the Ammonites.
One story,
two parts,
bound together in this passage to help us know,
this is a unit.
We're to see this together.
We're to understand the rebellion of God's people
as this continuing pattern
that will now work its way out from,
to the end,
till we finally get God showing up in the book of Samuel.
And that's the next story.
This is one movement in two scenes.
And the Hebrew word again,
again is actually the word to add.
It's the word to increase.
It's the word to do more.
The word will only mean again
if it's coupled together with an adverb,
which it's not here.
So it's better to understand
if the people increased in their evil against the Lord,
or the people continued to do evil against the Lord.
this is a rebel people.
This is a people that haven't turned to God in decades.
And God initiates in spite of a rebellious people.
Marvel at the wonder of a God who initiates.
A God who demonstrates his kindness that's undeserved.
In Romans chapter 5 verse 8 it says,
But God shows his love for us
in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
We were hostile towards him.
We were in enmity against him,
enemies of him.
We pushed him away,
and God still sent and demonstrated his love
in spite of our rebellion
to draw us to himself
in spite of what we deserve.
What a great God.
But God is showing initiative also
in spite of their track record.
In spite of their track record.
The Danites that we're looking at here,
the text is zoomed in on verse 2.
You see there was a certain man of Zorah
of the tribe of the Danites
whose name was Manoah
and his wife was barren
and had no children.
Now the Danites from the very beginning
of this book
are those who had been characterized
by incomplete obedience.
In chapter 1 verses 34 and 35
they were the ones who were pressed back
into the hill country by the Amorites.
They refused to do what God had said
and to fill out in full obedience to God
and to press in and trust him
by taking and occupying the land.
Instead they were pushed back
and they were okay with it.
Then in Judges chapter 5 verse 17
Deborah will sing this song
of the victory that God has wrought
for the people,
for the nation of Israel
and the Danites are mentioned.
They're mentioned as those
who were unwilling to participate at all
in the victory over Sisera.
They wanted no part of it.
They wanted to remain comfortable.
They wanted to remain distant.
They will be mentioned again
in our final chapter.
So the Danites kind of formed
this bookends to our book of Judges
to help us see apostasy,
to help us see incomplete obedience,
to help us see that this is a rebel people.
And so when we come to chapter 13
and we read about the Danites,
what should go off in our mind
is this is a people
that have rebelled against the Lord.
But God shows his initiating love
and kindness in spite of their track record.
They have a track record.
And I imagine that many of us in this room
have a track record.
You have history.
You have things you're a little ashamed of.
Maybe things that you're embarrassed to talk about.
Maybe skeletons in the closet as it were.
But we have a God who is willing
to extend mercy in spite of our track record.
We have a wonder-working, merciful Savior.
He does that.
He shows his wonder-working mercy
here at the beginning of this story,
initiating this miraculous birth
that we're going to read about in just a moment.
And as Samson walks onto the scene,
his story welcomes us with a hope
of real change.
Maybe, finally,
God will do something in the people.
Maybe, maybe God's Spirit
in coming on this barren woman
and birthing this miraculous son,
maybe, finally,
something will change.
The moral climate of this nation
will be turned around.
That's the hope we get.
Maybe this time,
it'll be different.
It harkens back to the days of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob,
who each had barren wives.
And the work of God
to interact in their life
and to allow these men
and their wives
to experience miraculous delivery
is meant to showcase
the dependability
and trustworthiness
of our God.
That's what is meant
to be on display.
God is faithful.
God will preserve his people
in spite of their track record,
in spite of their rebellion.
And then this,
in verses 3 to 5,
God initiates
in spite of ignorance,
in spite of their ignorance.
It says,
This birth announcement
is given to this barren woman.
We are, again,
reminded of the faithfulness of God.
His promise
to preserve his people.
His promise
to deliver them.
His promise
to eventually
give them a king.
And now,
this birth announcement
is carried
with conditions.
We see those conditions
that are built in.
He's to be a Nazirite
to God.
And this word,
Nazirite,
is the Hebrew word,
Nazir.
It's from a root,
a Hebrew word
that means consecrate
or to dedicate.
You see,
the first salvation,
the first reform
that needed to take place
was a reform of the heart.
It was a reform of the man.
If God was going to use
the man
to change a country,
to change a nation,
he had to begin
with the man.
God is
intentional
in prioritizing
spiritual reform.
We've been learning
about that in our time
through the book of Judges.
That God is interested
in a people
that are
worshiping him
with their heart,
soul,
mind,
and strength.
And if you're ever,
if we are ever
as moms and dads
going to influence
our culture,
influence our families,
we have to be influenced.
We have to be transformed
by God himself.
We have to see his word
and allow his word
to change us
from the inside out
so that we can have
the hope
of being able
to transform
the people
that God puts
in our circles
through his power.
You see,
Samson's entire life
was to be set apart.
Especially important
at this point
in our story
because God cares
about the moral decline
of the people
and he wants
to change the nation
but he has to start
with changing the man.
God cares about
the spiritual deliverance
because while man
looks on the outward appearance,
God looks at the heart.
Nothing is hidden
from his eyes.
God knows
the things that are going on
in your life
and he wants to reform you
before he can reform others.
So he is to be set apart
to God.
It says a Nazarite
to God
and it does have
an outward working.
He is not to drink
strong drink.
We see that in verse 4.
He is not to eat
anything unclean.
No razor is to touch
his head.
So,
Manoah's wife
takes this announcement
and she brings
that announcement
back to her husband.
She tells him
what is about
to happen.
this promise
of a son
that is about to come.
But notice verse 6.
Judges 13 verse 6.
She runs
to tell her husband
and she says,
A man of God
came to me
and his appearance
was the appearance
of an angel
of God.
Very awesome.
I did not ask him
where he was from.
he did not
tell me
his name.
He did not
tell me
his name?
How can you
be so oblivious
to the angel
of the Lord?
The angel
of Yahweh
that is standing
in front of you.
He is the one
who has been promising
to carry you
and you are totally
oblivious
to his work.
The angel
of the Lord
is standing
face to face
with you
and you
can't identify
it.
You know
it's a divine
messenger.
You can't
place him
in your inventory
of deities.
Manoah's wife
is totally
unaware
of God's name
and throughout
this narrative
in chapters 13,
actually 12,
13, 14,
and 15
and even spilling
into chapter 16
there is no
mention of Yahweh
like either Manoah
or his wife.
It's just Elohim
which is the word
for God
or Adonai
which is the name
for Lord.
Yahweh
is active
in this section
even though
he's not
mentioned by name.
She relays
these words
of the angel
to her husband
in verse 7.
He said to me,
Behold,
you shall conceive
and bear a son.
So then drink
no wine
or strong drink
and eat nothing
unclean
for the child
shall be a Nazarite
to God
from the womb
to the day
of his death.
Now Manoah
wasn't able
to hear
this announcement
himself.
He prays
to the Lord
in verse 8
that God
would allow him
to hear this message
for himself.
God listens
in verse 9
to the voice
of Manoah
and then
shows up again
to Manoah's wife
and not
to Manoah
himself.
So then
Manoah's wife
has to run
and retrieve
her husband
and when
Manoah returns
in verse 11
he asks
this question.
Are you
the man
who spoke
to this woman?
And the response
was one Hebrew
word,
I am.
The angel
reiterates
the instructions
not to eat
anything
that's offered
that's from
the vine
or anything
unclean
and then we
have this
in verse 15.
Manoah
said to the
angel of the
Lord,
please let us
detain you
and prepare
a young goat
for you
and the angel
of the Lord
said to Manoah
if you detain me
I will not
eat your food
but if
you prepare
a burnt offering
then
offer it
to the Lord
to Yahweh.
The angel
of the Lord
is now
allowing Manoah
in on the story
of who he really
is.
And in this phrase
for Manoah
did not know
that he
was the
angel
of the
Lord
the angel
of Yahweh
completely
oblivious.
And Manoah
said in verse 17
to the angel
of the Lord
what is your
name
so that when
your words
come true
we may honor
you.
And the angel
of the Lord
said to him
why do you
ask my name
seeing it
is wonderful.
For 300
years
of history
since the
conquest
leading up
to this
point
God
had faithfully
delivered
his people.
And here
we are
in Samson's
story
and they
are completely
oblivious
now
to Yahweh
the God
who has
made promises
to a nation.
What is your
name?
What kind
of question
is that?
It's because
the people
have become
so distant
from God.
They have been
serving the
pantheon.
All of the
gods of
these other
countries
they know
them by
name
and they
want to
make sure
that whatever
service
they're to
give
they give
that service
to the
right deity.
Their service
to the deities
has been
aligned
to everyone
else except
for Yahweh
himself.
But God
has taken
the initiative
with a
people
who are
rebellious
a people
who have
a bad
track record
and a people
by the way
who are
completely
oblivious
to him.
He does
it for
his name
for his
glory
and not
because the
people deserve
it.
We find in
Judges chapter
13
21
the angel
of the
Lord
then appeared
no more
to Manoah
and to his
wife
than Manoah
that he
knew that
he was
the angel
of the
Lord.
Finally
there's
recollection.
Finally
there's a
truth that's
dawning on
his life.
the
governing
priority
has been
set.
This
obligation
these
conditions
that God
has given
now on
three different
occasions
to set
yourself
apart
and to
do it
this way.
This
reform
of the
heart
that works
its way
out
in a
reform
of life
a set
apartness.
One
commentator
says this
the
conception
and birth
of Samson
declare
emphatically
God's
refusal
to let
this
nation
die.
Israel
may be
doing
all in
its
power
to
destroy
itself
from
within
but
God
must
preserve
this
nation.
The
honor
of
his
name
and
the
cosmic
mission
of
his
grace
is
at
stake.
Oh
we
have
a
God
who
delights
in
keeping
his
promises
for
the
sake
of
his
name.
But
I
wonder
how
often
is
it
true
of
our
own
lives.
We
put
on
these
external
forms
of
spirituality
we
may
dress
ourselves
up
as it
were
in
the
Nazarite
vow
we
call
ourselves
as
those
who
are
a
Nazarite
to
God
and
of
course
I'm
using
language
descriptive
language
for
what
we
will
do
in
our
context
the
things
that
we
put
on
to
say
hey
look
I'm
dedicated
to
God
and
I
trust
that
is
true
because
it
does
have
outward
forms
but
we
allow
so
often
those
outward
forms
to
be
a
counterfeit
for
what
God
really
wants
he
really
wants
a
heart
a
heart
that's
devoted
to
him
that
we
would
love
the
Lord
our
God
with
all
our
heart
all
our
soul
all
our
mind
all
our
strength
that's
how
reform
begins
to
happen
it
happens
first
on
the
inside
and
then
is
able
to
spill
out
and
so
we
have
an
initiating
God
we're
going
to
see
in
chapter
13
verse
24
through
the
end
of
chapter
15
that
we
also
have
an
empowering
God
we
have
an
empowering
God
and
we're
going
to
pick
up
this
theme
about
the
Holy
Spirit
and
the
Spirit
of
Lord
coming
on
Samson
next
week
but
I
want
to
just
touch
on
this
here
chapter
13
verse
24
notice
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
Mahan
and
Dan
between
Zorah
and
Eschatol
God
graciously
delivers
a
son
God
graciously
gives
his
promise
he fulfills
!
His
word
the
things
that
God
says
you can
bank
on
you can
trust
him
and
the
woman
names
him
Samson
and
the
word
the
name
Samson
means
little
son
and
it's
caused
some
commentators
to wonder
what is
this
all
about
is he
just
a
bright
spot
in
the
darkness
of
this
culture
is he
is that
why
he's
the
little
son
but
I
think
what
might
be
a
little
closer
to
the
answer
is
that
just
a
couple
miles
away
from
the
place
where
Samson
grew
up
is a
little
village
named
Beth
Shemesh
and
Beth
Shemesh
was
known
as
the
focal
point
of
son
worship
the
focal
point
of
son
worship
so
just
in
the
back
door
as it
were
of
this
village
is
son
worship
that's
taking
place
and
Samson's
mom
calls
him
little
son
but
God's
activity
in this
narrative
has been
unmistakable
hasn't
it
a
promised
birth
a
divine
encounter
a
special
announcement
a
set
apart
to
the
Lord
a
miraculous
delivery
God's
blessing
can you
understand
God's
blessing
on
Samson
we have
learned
kind of
in the
church
age
that when
God
is
present
and his
blessing
is on
an
individual
we have
come to
equate
that
well
then
if
God's
blessing
and
God's
favor
and
God's
spirit
is on
an
individual
then
certainly
that
person
is
validated
by
God
he's
directed
by
God
he's
pointed
by
God
he's
confirmed
by
God
commissioned
by
God
and
what
becomes
quite
disturbing
or
perplexing
perhaps
is when
we
encounter
Samson
and wonder
how can
God's
spirit
be on
a
man
in
every
activity
of
every
decision
every
motive
of
Samson's
heart
his
Samson's
life
is
completely
self
directed
self
motivated
self
focused
and
it's
his
desire
his
fleshly
desires
that
drive
Samson
to the
various
things
he does
and
it's
this
vendetta
complex
that he
has
this
tit
for
tat
kind
of
posture
we
get
to
see
and
we
also
see
in
the
entire
narrative
it's
outlined
by
one
Hebrew
word
this
five
fold
repetition
and
it's
this
to
go
down
judges
chapter
14
verse
1
Samson
went
down
to
Timnah
judges
14
verse
5
Samson
went
down
with
his
father
judges
14
7
then he
went
down
and
talked
with
the
woman
judges
14
9
and
the
spirit
of
Lord
rushed
upon
him
and
he
went
down
to
Ashkelon
then
judges
chapter
15
verse
8
he
struck
them
with
hip
and
thigh
with
a
great
blow
he
went
down
and
stayed
in
the
cleft
of
the
rock
at
Etam
why
does
that
matter
because
it's
describing
this
continual
moral
decline
this
erosion
that's
taking
place
and
Samson
is
the
embodiment
of
this
moral
decline
he
goes
down
it's
not
coincidental
it
correlates
exactly
what we
find
as the
summary
statement
of this
book
with
every
step
of this
narrative
Samson
keeps
sinking
lower
but
God
still
blesses
God
still
blesses
and
God
still
knows
that
by
raising
him
up
that
even
Samson
will
unknowingly
unwittingly
be used
of God
to accomplish
God's
objectives
God
is still
sovereign
even
over
Samson's
life
and
God
still
not
just
blesses
him
but
God
empowers
him
this
is
a
credit
to
the
Lord
not
a
credit
to
Samson
God
keeps
his
promises
God
also
we find
in
verse
25
God
gives
his
spirit
he
gives
his
spirit
notice
verse
25
and
the
spirit
of
the
Lord
began
to
stir
him
in
Mahanan
Dan
between
Zorah
and
Eskel
this
is
one
of
the
most
incredible
parts
of
the
story
God
does
not
remain
distant
God
should
have
abandoned
his
people
he
did
not
abandon
his
people
as a
matter
of
fact
not
only
was
his
presence
there
but
his
power
was
on
Samson
God
steps
in
and
we're
going to
find
as we
work through
this
even a bit
more
next week
the spirit
of the
Lord
is upon
him
and
what's
incredible
about
this
is
seven
times
throughout
the
book
of
judges
we find
that
God's
spirit
comes
on
a life
on a
man
seven
times
four
of those
times
are here
in the
life
of
Samson
four
times
the spirit
of the
Lord
comes
on
Samson
and
is a
hallmark
of
God's
mercy
we're
meant
to
see
that
while
the
presence
of
God
is
here
we
should
not
equate
the
presence
of
God
with
God's
validation
Samson
had
the
greatest
resources
at
his
disposal
and
he
is
entirely
self
motivated
everything
he does
is
self
directed
we
find
that
in
chapter
14
verse
1
Samson
went
down
to
Timna
and at
Timna
he saw
one of
the
daughters
of
the
Philistines
then
he
came
up
and
told
his
father
and
mother
I
saw
one
of
the
daughters
of
the
Philistines
at
Timna
now
get
her
for
me
as
my
wife
but
his
father
and
mother
said
to
him
is
there
not
a
woman
among
the
daughters
of
your
relatives
or
among
all
the
people
that
you
must
go
to
take
a
wife
from
the
uncircumcised
Philistines
but
Samson
said
to
his
father
get
her
for
me
for
she
is
right
in
my
eyes
now
this
is
the
first
time
we're
going
to
see
this
she
is
right
in
my
eyes
we'll
see
this
again
in
Samson's
story
she's
right
in
my
eyes
it
becomes
now
the
new
pattern
that
we're
going
to
see
as
we
move
our
way
to
the
final
moral
collapse
of
the
people
21
where
it
says
there
was
no
king
in
Israel
everyone
did
what
was
right
in
their
own
eyes
and
Samson
becomes
the
catalyst
of
all
of
that
we're
meant
to
see
he's
a
man
who's
completely
driven
by
self
desire
this
phrase
will
mark
his
life
and
it
will
also
mark
the
people
after
him
and
Samson
becomes
this
first
example
this
first
example
of
one
who
is
chasing
after
his
flesh
he's
driven
by
desire
and
he
runs
after
and
he's
unhindered
because
God's
spirit
has
empowered
him
and
whatever
he
wants
to
do
he
sets
his
heart
to
doing
and
he
accomplishes
it
and
we
don't
have
time
this
morning
to
run
through
the
entire
narrative
I
just
want
to
summarize
it
for
you
we're
going
to
see
this
about
Samson
we're
going
to
see
that
he
is
entirely
driven
by
desire
as we
work
our
way
through
this
book
it
begins
with
chasing
after
this
woman
in
Timnah
and
so
he
tells
his
dad
to
go
get
her
for
him
and
so
then
they
go
down
towards
Timnah
and
as
they're
on
their
way
there
is
this
incident
where
the
spirit
of
Lord
comes
upon
Samson
and
a
lion
attacks
he's
able
to
rip
that
lion
to
shreds
God's
power
is
on
him
but
this
will
become
a
snare
for
Samson
because
as
time
will
expire
we
don't
know
how
much
time
is
involved
but
as
time
will
expire
Samson
will
return
back
to
that
lion
you'll
see
honey
in
the
carcass
but
instead
of being
consecrated
to
God
instead
of being
dedicated
to
God
he
defiles
himself
by
touching
an
unclean
animal
that's
been
that's
dead
and
then
instead
of
consecrating
a
nation
he
defiles
his
family
who
are
completely
unknown
have
no
idea
where
this
honey
has
come
from
Samson
after
this
will
make
his
way
and
we're
going
to
find
that
he
will
throw
this
drunken
party
this
seven
day
bridal
feast
that
happens
before
his
marriage
thirty
companions
will
come
and
attend
they've
been
hired
essentially
to come
and to
attend
this
wedding
feast
and
Samson
will
pose
a
riddle
to
this
wedding
party
and
this
riddle
that
he
will
pose
has
to
do
with
a
lion
and
has
to
do
with
honey
and
these
men
of
Philistia
have
no
idea
how
in
the
world
to
answer
this
riddle
so
they
put
some
pressure
on
Samson's
soon
to
be
bride
and
they
say
if
you
do
not
tell
us
how
to
answer
this
riddle
we're
going
to
burn
your
house
over
you
along
with
your
father
you
find
now
this
beginning
of
conflict
that's
taking
place
you
find
the
oppression
that's
happening
among
the
Philistines
and
among
Samson
himself
and
God
is
instrumental
in
all
of
this
and
while
Samson
is
unaware
and
while
his
parents
are
unaware
of
what
God
is
doing
God
is
using
this
conflict
he
will
continue
to
use
the
conflict
between
the
Philistines
and
Samson
to
accomplish
his
objectives
so
these
men
of
Philistia
are
able
to
answer
the
riddle
so
Samson
says
well
I've
got
this
obligation
to
fulfill
I've
got
30
changes
of
clothes
that
I
need
to
deliver
on
and
so
he
goes
to
a
neighboring
village
he
kills
30
men
he
robs
them
of
their
clothing
he
brings
it
back
to
Philistia
and
he's
settled
this
score
as it
were
but
he's
so angry
about
his
soon
to be
bride
knowing
the
riddle
the answer
to this
riddle
that he
takes off
he takes
off
and
the
father
is left
to
wonder
does
Samson
really
want her
anymore
and
when
Samson
finally
returns
he
finds
that
his
soon
to be
bride
was
then
offered
to
another
man
so
then
he
goes
on a
rampage
again
and
he
begins
to
kill
and
slaughter
the men
of
Philistia
and
he
sets
their
crops
on fire
with
foxes
and again
you find
this
complex
tit
for
tat
this
settling
scores
this
revenge
complex
he's
driven
by
these
tactics
these
tactics
of
settling
scores
and
getting
even
we find
in
Judges
chapter
14
verse
4
his
father
and
mother
did
not
know
that
this
was
from
the
Lord
for
he
was
seeking
an
opportunity
against
the
Philistines
at
that
time
the
Philistines
ruled
over
Israel
you
continue
to
trace
Samson's
life
and
you
find
again
and
again
that
Samson
is
driven
by
desire
and
seems
to be
completely
unaware
of
the
Lord
himself
and
yet
God
is
using
Samson
in
spite
of
himself
Samson's
power
is
completely
self
directed
we've
come
in our
culture
even
to
understand
that
when we
have
this
invincible
strength
as it
were
it
comes
with
certain
obligations
those of
you who
grew up
in the
Superman
era
those of
you who
grew up
in the
Spider-Man
era
the
Justice
League
we
understand
the
significance
of
power
that's
given
comes
with
responsibility
for
others
this
story
is
meant
to
show
that
Samson
given
all
of
this
potential
all
of
this
strength
should
be
using
this
strength
to
deliver
God's
people
in
totality
but
all
of
his
strength
is
wasted
on
himself
and
not
spent
to
deliver
God's
people
not
spent
to
bring
God
glory
not
spent
to
oppose
Israel's
!
enemies
we'll
pick
this
up
again
next
week
but
the
lesson
that
we
learn
from
Samson
is
that
even
having
the
Spirit
of
the
Lord
in
the
Old
Testament
did
not
equate
transformation
but
New
Testament
era
is
different
in
the
New
Testament
era
we've
come
to
see
and
understand
the
wonder
of
what
happens
when
the
Holy
Spirit
comes
on
life
it's
transformational
that
we
have
a
transforming
God
he
delights
in
changing
us
he
delights
in
not
leaving
us
where
we
are
Titus
chapter
3
verse
5
says
not
by
works
of
righteousness
which
we've
done
but
according
to
his
mercy
he
saved
us
by
the
washing
of
regeneration
and
the
renewal
of
the
Holy
Spirit
that
is
the
work
of
God
on
a
life
that
has
accepted
Jesus
Christ
as
their
personal
Lord
and
Savior
has
come
to
terms
with
their
sin
and
has
repented
and
turned
away
and
has
made
Jesus
the
Lord
of
their
life
he's
the
one
who
calls
the
shots
there
is
hope
for
us
who
live
in
this
day
and
age
where
Christ
has
come
he's
died
he's
risen
again
he's
now
offered
to
us
the
terms
of
life
that
come
through
faith
and
repentance
so
next
week
I
trust
you'll
come
back
we're
going
to
finish
our
study
on
the
transforming
work
of
God
the
spirit
who
transforms
but
then
finishing
off
the
story
with
Samson
and
to
see
how
God
rescues
in
spite
of
a
rebel
judge
let's
pray
Lord
thank you
that you
are
faithful
that
when
we
are
faithless
you
remain
faithful
and
that
doesn't
mean
that
we
live
without
consequences
because
that is
built in
to the
design
of
your
faithfulness
that
God
in
your
faithfulness
you
discipline
those
that
you
love
I
pray
as
we
look
at
the
story
of
Samson
Lord
that
you
would
not
just
cause
us
to
see
the
moral
depravity
and
decline
of a
nation
but
to
turn
inward
and
recognize
that
we
we're
so
often
blind
to
the
spiritual
drift
in
our
own
hearts
!
please
awaken
us
Lord
please
allow
us
to
see
the
radiance
of
your
glory
confront
us
with
your
truth
and
help
us
to
walk
in
likeness
to
Jesus
through
the
power
of
your
spirit
in
Jesus
name
Amen
God
bless
you
have
a
great
week
may