00:00:31.030 Amen. Good morning. Welcome, everyone, to Freedom
00:00:34.720 Church. I'm Pastor Eric, lead pastor here.
00:00:37.680 I want to start by sharing an opportunity for you.
00:00:40.100 I've shared the last couple weeks, but in case you've been out traveling or doing
00:00:43.540 things for summer, we have something called the Highlands College Leadership
00:00:47.200 Institute that is all online schooling.
00:00:50.120 They offer two-year certificate programs for anyone who wants to grow,
00:00:54.500 have more formal education. If you want to grow as a Christian, as a leader,
00:00:58.460 as a spouse, as a parent, as a Christian in your workplace, this is
00:01:02.260 something for you to sign up for. A lot of people have asked me, "How much is it?"
00:01:05.660 Seems like that's the number one question.
00:01:07.500 The whole program, it runs two years, so four semesters, and
00:01:11.500 there are eight classes for each of those.
00:01:13.020 It's $800 per semester for a total of
00:01:16.220 $3,200. Now, that whole two-year program, you can pay as you go.
00:01:20.620 I'm actually going to scholarship the first semester, and this fall, for both those
00:01:24.480 classes, cut that in half. So, you only have to come up with
00:01:27.470 $400 for the fall semester to get two classes through
00:01:31.440 the Highlands College Leadership Institute.
00:01:33.460 Now, all these classes are online, but we're going to facilitate in-person
00:01:37.320 classroom time so that we can then contextualize it to how does it
00:01:41.340 fit Freedom Church? How does it fit us here in Pennsylvania?
00:01:44.460 How does it fit you and your specific workplace, your specific family?
00:01:48.640 So, it's not just this information.
00:01:50.620 It's now I want to take it and apply it to our lives, and we get to do that
00:01:53.980 together. So, it's not just about how to make you a better person for Freedom
00:01:57.820 Church, it's how to make you a better Christian for life.
00:02:00.480 And I think any one of us would say, "I want to be a better Christian," right?
00:02:03.580 How many of you want to be a better Christian, more fully devoted to God? Amen.
00:02:06.880 I see those two hands, feet, all of the above.
00:02:09.400 So, what I'm asking you is if you're interested in this,
00:02:12.780 scan that QR code, or you can go on our website.
00:02:15.580 Go to the Get Involved tab on the website, and you'll see the HCLI link.
00:02:20.020 Sign up for that. Put your information in.
00:02:22.220 What that's going to do is allow me to then send you all the information,
00:02:26.120 all the details in how to sign up. These classes do start in just a
00:02:29.880 couple weeks, so you need to make a decision quickly.
00:02:32.640 I know I've been talking about it the last couple Sundays.
00:02:34.940 We have over 20 people currently registered to learn more and potentially
00:02:38.820 join us for those classes. So, if you want more information, sign up
00:02:42.740 today. I plan to send that email and all that information to you by tomorrow.
00:02:47.220 So, with that, I'm going to pray, and then we're going to jump into today's
00:02:49.700 message. Heavenly Father, thank you, God, for this day.
00:02:52.400 God, thank you for everyone who's in this room watching, worshiping, gathered
00:02:56.300 together. God, thank you for everyone watching online as well.
00:02:59.220 Father, I pray you would speak to each and every one of us today.
00:03:02.800 God, may your Word come alive. May we dive in with
00:03:05.760 expectation and anticipation of what you have for each and every one
00:03:09.700 of us, and God, I pray that you would receive all the praise, all the
00:03:13.680 honor, and all the glory in Jesus' name. Amen.
00:03:17.660 How many of you have been enjoying this "Timeless" series?
00:03:21.160 How many of you enjoying it? Some of you? Okay.
00:03:22.800 Thank you for being honest for those of you who didn't raise your hand.
00:03:25.120 But "Timeless" series has been, I think, so fun looking at Old Testament
00:03:29.160 characters and how we can learn those timeless truths and
00:03:33.000 apply them to our lives. Today, we're going to be looking at a guy named Samson.
00:03:37.080 Now, Samson, most people know him as super strong guy.
00:03:40.170 He tore down the pillars, as you see on the picture behind me.
00:03:42.980 He was betrayed by Delilah. But there's so much more to the story of
00:03:46.760 Samson in just a few short chapters in the
00:03:50.440 Book of Judges. And really, so much of Samson's
00:03:54.060 success, but also his failures are very well known.
00:03:58.340 Right? He's known for most of his failures, but also his successes, and
00:04:02.100 both of them are very evident when we read the Bible.
00:04:05.540 One of the things I love about the Bible is it's just real.
00:04:08.780 It's honest. It doesn't make the guys in the Bible look like
00:04:12.780 heroes and perfect, but it shows their flaws. It shows where they failed.
00:04:16.541 It shows where they are strong enough to win, but weak
00:04:20.140 enough to fail as well. They're real people just like us.
00:04:24.180 Right? We all have strengths. You have gifting, you have talents, you have
00:04:27.640 abilities, you have potential, and I want to see you grow
00:04:31.540 into your full God-given potential.
00:04:33.660 I want to give you opportunities to say, "How can you step into your
00:04:37.320 God-given potential?" But the reality is, unless you have character
00:04:41.480 to sustain your gifting and potential, you're never going to see
00:04:45.500 the fulfillment of what God has for you and for your life.
00:04:48.940 We see that with Samson. His character didn't match up with the
00:04:52.480 supernatural abilities that God gave him, and it led to him
00:04:55.780 failing over and over again. So, just so you know,
00:04:59.780 Samson, I know many people have never heard of Samson.
00:05:02.560 Maybe it's been quite a while since you've heard this story, but his story, his
00:05:06.040 life is found in the Book of Judges 13-16.
00:05:09.940 Just four chapters about his life.
00:05:12.080 He is mentioned in Hebrews 11 as one of the heroes of the faith, which is
00:05:16.060 fascinating looking at how his life was.
00:05:18.740 But his life and the judges, God appointed these judges to
00:05:22.740 rule over the Israelites, his people, because they
00:05:26.840 had a lot of enemies, different enemies along the way.
00:05:29.280 In Samson's time, it was the Philistines.
00:05:32.100 These judges were to rule, to rescue, and protect the people of
00:05:36.000 God, the Israelites, from their enemies.
00:05:38.820 But Samson's life specifically, we see a miraculous birth,
00:05:42.740 feats of strength, supernatural things that God did through
00:05:46.620 Samson. We see Delilah and his betrayal.
00:05:50.040 We also see his capture and death. So, that's where we're going to go today,
00:05:53.440 looking at his life in these four chapters.
00:05:56.280 Some I'm going to read through a little bit more narrative.
00:05:58.580 Some I'm going to summarize some chapters because there's so much
00:06:01.900 content and not enough time, unless we're all going to stay and eat lunch and stay
00:06:05.460 till dinner time. But we're going to clip through these four chapters to
00:06:09.420 really learn these timeless truths.
00:06:11.720 So, I want to encourage you, if you've never heard this story before, take notes.
00:06:15.420 Ask God, "God, what are you speaking to me specifically?
00:06:18.570 How do I learn from this story?" Maybe you've heard this 100 times
00:06:21.960 before. There's still something God wants to speak to each and every one of
00:06:25.940 us if we really are open to that.
00:06:28.672 So Judges chapter 13, we're going to jump in starting in verse two.
00:06:32.461 "In those days, a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan
00:06:36.052 lived in the town of Zorah. His wife was unable to become
00:06:39.912 pregnant. They had no children until the angel of the Lord appeared to
00:06:43.552 Manoah's wife and said, 'Even though you have been unable
00:06:47.572 to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a
00:06:50.952 son. So be careful. You must not drink wine or any other alcoholic
00:06:54.992 drink, nor eat any forbidden food.'" Verse five, "You
00:06:58.902 will become pregnant and give birth to a son.
00:07:01.812 His hair must never be cut, for he will be dedicated to God as a
00:07:05.652 Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel
00:07:09.352 from the Philistines." Now, fascinating fact about the Bible, there's
00:07:13.272 only five births that are announced by angels or by
00:07:17.172 God himself. Only five. The first two are Ishmael and
00:07:21.112 Isaac, born to Abraham, the founder, really the first
00:07:24.732 patriarch of our faith. His two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, an
00:07:28.732 angel appeared, angels of the Lord said that, "You're going to have these
00:07:31.672 children." The other two that are mentioned are John the
00:07:34.812 Baptist and Jesus himself, where an angel appeared and said, "You're
00:07:38.652 going to have this child." So those are four of the other mentions where an angel
00:07:42.672 appears and announces the birth of a child, and number five is right
00:07:46.712 here with Samson. Maybe it's just the Bible nerd thing in me, but I'm fascinated.
00:07:51.112 He's in extremely unique company with Ishmael and Isaac,
00:07:54.932 John the Baptist and Jesus, and here's Samson, that an angel appeared,
00:07:58.932 a miraculous birth through parents who were unable to
00:08:02.892 conceive. But the angel also says something interesting.
00:08:06.012 He says, "He's going to be a Nazirite from birth." Now,
00:08:09.512 Nazirites, they would not cut their hair. They wouldn't touch alcohol.
00:08:13.292 They had some strict things that they were dedicated and consecrated to
00:08:17.212 live their lives fully unto God. Now, you could take a
00:08:20.912 Nazirite vow as an adult and say, "I'm no longer going to cut my hair.
00:08:24.552 I'm not going to touch alcohol. I'm going to live fully for you, God." But this
00:08:28.572 is a fascinating way that the child, Samson, was told this was the
00:08:32.413 plan. This was the purpose. This is what God was calling Samson to do
00:08:36.712 even before he was born. Now, I believe God
00:08:40.132 knows us before we even knit in the mother's womb.
00:08:43.492 Jeremiah 1:5 says that, different places in the Bible, that God knows you
00:08:47.772 before you were ever born. Therefore, there is no such thing
00:08:51.772 as an accidental pregnancy. There's just unplanned parents.
00:08:56.252 You are not here by accident. God knew
00:08:59.572 exactly what he was doing. Maybe the circumstances didn't look good.
00:09:03.372 They weren't good, but God is the author and creator of life,
00:09:07.492 and he doesn't make mistakes. You are not a mistake.
00:09:10.972 You are here for a purpose. God has a plan.
00:09:13.572 God has potential for each and every one of you.
00:09:17.592 So Samson's calling was clear. He's going to begin to rescue
00:09:21.032 Israel from the Philistines.
00:09:24.372 But Samson had a problem.
00:09:26.412 He loved God, but he also loved himself.
00:09:29.492 He loved the things of this world. He loved the things with his eyes that he
00:09:33.352 lusted after. He loved the things that felt good to his body.
00:09:36.152 He wanted the best of both. He wanted the things from God, but he also wanted the
00:09:40.032 things of the world. And in Judges chapter 14, it says, "One
00:09:43.912 day, Samson was in Timnah." This is a Philistine town.
00:09:47.812 It says, "One of the Philistine women caught his eye.
00:09:50.872 When he returned home, he told his father and mother, 'A young Philistine woman in
00:09:54.832 Timnah caught my eye. I want to marry her.
00:09:57.692 Get her for me.'" Now, every translation I read, it says the same
00:10:01.712 thing. He says, "Get her for me." There's no please.
00:10:04.772 There's no may I please have her? He just says, "Hey, Mom and Dad, get her for me."
00:10:09.072 Now, I'll be honest, I'm like, "You're living in my house and you're going to tell
00:10:12.652 me what to do?" It doesn't say how old he is, but he comes home and says, "Mom,
00:10:16.072 Dad, give me this girl. Go get her for me." There's some tone to it.
00:10:20.332 His father and mother objected in verse three, "Isn't there even
00:10:24.372 one woman in our tribe or among all the Israelites you could marry?
00:10:28.672 Why must you go to the pagan Philistines to find a wife?"
00:10:32.892 Because the Israelites were really not supposed to intermarry with
00:10:36.852 the pagan, the people who didn't worship God.
00:10:39.992 They worshiped other gods, especially a Nazirite.
00:10:43.732 He was never to be interested in a woman who wasn't of the
00:10:47.292 Israelite tribe, but his parents give
00:10:50.832 in to the child's request, to Samson's request, and he tells his
00:10:54.652 father, "Get her for me. She looks good to me."
00:10:59.332 He says it. At least he's honest. He says, "Hey, she looks pretty. I want her.
00:11:03.352 Go get her for me." There's no other way around it.
00:11:05.792 He says, "Go get her for me."
00:11:07.832 Samson repeatedly chose convenience and
00:11:11.352 comfort over obedience and wisdom.
00:11:14.832 He continually chose his feelings and what looked good and felt
00:11:18.652 good over what was best for him in his life.
00:11:22.352 Now, many people, if you know this story, you know Delilah, who's down the road in
00:11:25.932 the future. It's in a couple chapters.
00:11:28.312 They think that's when Samson fell.
00:11:31.112 But really, I believe Samson began to fall here.
00:11:34.432 He began to step out from his vow to God.
00:11:36.992 He began to do things that he knew were compromises
00:11:41.132 to the vow that he made to God. He allowed small compromises
00:11:45.452 into his life, and if you don't know this, small compromises
00:11:49.092 lead to big consequences. Every single
00:11:52.812 time we allow little things in, little sins creep
00:11:56.672 in, it leads to bigger problems. This looks like
00:12:00.732 I'm just going to look once. I'm just going to flirt a little bit.
00:12:04.892 I'm just going to spend time with a coworker of the opposite sex, even though one
00:12:08.152 or both of us are married. It's just a little compromise.
00:12:10.712 There's nothing else going on. It's just little.
00:12:13.382 And how many times you know those little sins, those little temptations, those
00:12:16.872 little compromises ultimately lead to the big, bad
00:12:20.852 consequences? Nobody wakes up and goes, "How could I ruin my marriage
00:12:24.852 today?" Most people don't wake up, "How could I destroy my life?
00:12:28.012 Maybe I should try some drugs. Maybe I should try to rob a bank." Most people don't
00:12:31.972 wake up one day and get to that place.
00:12:34.942 They're small compromises, small decisions, little
00:12:38.792 sins that lead to bigger sins and bigger consequences.
00:12:43.092 James 1:14 and 15 says it this way. It says, "Temptation
00:12:47.640 comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag
00:12:51.640 us away. These desires give birth to sinful
00:12:55.460 actions, and when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to
00:12:59.480 death." These temptations, these desires, show up
00:13:03.740 and try to entice us to pull us away.
00:13:07.500 And if you give in to those desires, it births sinful
00:13:11.220 actions. And then that sin, if it's allowed to grow, it gives
00:13:14.600 birth to death. It's always the same progression.
00:13:19.120 Desires, temptation leads to sin, sin leads to more sin,
00:13:22.740 sin ultimately leads to death. Samson, he
00:13:26.780 had incredible strength, yet no self-control.
00:13:31.580 Jesus embodied the most powerful being that ever walked
00:13:35.520 the planet is Jesus, yet He held it in control.
00:13:38.800 That's actually the definition of meekness.
00:13:41.160 When Jesus is giving his Sermon on the Mount, he said, "Blessed are the meek."
00:13:44.380 Blessed are the ones who have power under control.
00:13:47.720 Real strength is not how much weight you can lift, it's how much temptation
00:13:51.640 can you resist. How much can you say no to, to say
00:13:55.360 yes to the right thing that God is calling you to?
00:13:58.620 I believe many Christians, we have a lot of spiritual power available,
00:14:03.040 but we're in chains because of our habits.
00:14:06.060 Again, not anything to do with salvation, but what God is doing in our
00:14:09.940 lives has a direct impact, I believe, as a result of our
00:14:13.720 habits, of our lifestyle, of our behaviors.
00:14:17.260 That the greatest battle isn't around you, it's within you.
00:14:21.920 It's not all the externals that are pulling for your attention, trying to drag you
00:14:25.420 away. The battle is really inside of you.
00:14:28.260 We don't just, again, wake up someday and start being bad.
00:14:31.660 There's something inside of us. There's a battle in our hearts, there's a battle in
00:14:34.840 our minds, and unless we take those thoughts captive, unless we're people who are
00:14:38.740 fully focused on God and God alone, we're going to be
00:14:42.500 wrestling this battle of what do we do with our behavior.
00:14:45.880 How much are we going to see failure in our lives?
00:14:49.460 So he continues in verse five, it says that Samson and his parents were going down
00:14:52.900 to Timnah. He convinced his parents they're going to go get this girl.
00:14:56.689 It says, "A young lion suddenly attacked Samson near the
00:15:00.560 vineyards of Timnah. At that moment, the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully
00:15:04.440 upon him, and he ripped the lion's jaws apart with his bare hands.
00:15:08.360 He did it as easily as if it were a young goat, but he didn't
00:15:12.360 tell his father or mother about it." It's
00:15:16.140 interesting that it puts that note in there.
00:15:18.240 If you're reading through the Bible, you can miss some of these details.
00:15:21.740 Now, it doesn't say why, it doesn't say anything else about it, but there's a
00:15:25.040 pattern of his behavior. I want you to start to see it now.
00:15:27.740 It says he didn't tell his father and mother.
00:15:30.040 Now, I don't know about you, but if I just killed a lion with my bare hands, I'd be
00:15:33.640 telling people. Maybe I'm prideful, but I'd be like, "Hey, guys, guess what?
00:15:37.180 This lion attacked me. God gave me supernatural strength, and I killed this
00:15:41.060 lion." And I'd be posting on Instagram probably, be like, "Guys, check this out.
00:15:44.660 Look what God did." We give credit to God, but I would be telling people.
00:15:48.680 He doesn't even tell his own parents that he just
00:15:52.040 killed a lion with his bare hands, because he's
00:15:56.040 in this pattern, this behavior of hiding things, as you're going to see later on.
00:16:00.200 It says, "Later, when he returned to Timnah for the wedding, he turned
00:16:04.180 off the path to look at the carcass of the lion.
00:16:07.580 He found that a swarm of bees had made some honey in the carcass." Hope
00:16:11.560 you're not too squeamish, but
00:16:13.600 verse nine, it says, "He scooped some of the honey into his hands and ate it
00:16:17.500 along the way. He also gave some to his father and mother, and they
00:16:21.520 ate it, but he didn't tell them he had taken the honey from the carcass
00:16:25.540 of the lion." Now, catch this. Not only is it kind of gross that he did this,
00:16:29.860 but he broke the vow to God. He was willing
00:16:33.780 to break his vow to God for a handful of honey.
00:16:37.320 He wasn't to touch a dead animal. He wasn't to touch anything dead.
00:16:40.620 Yet he saw this honey, and he decided he was going to break his vow for
00:16:44.640 a handful of honey. Before we all judge Samson, the reality is
00:16:48.640 we do the same thing.
00:16:51.100 You ever make a promise to God? "God, I promise I'll never do that again.
00:16:54.380 God, I'll never look at that again.
00:16:55.920 God, I'll never be mean to my wife or my kids again.
00:16:58.320 God, I'll never..." And then what do we do the very next day?
00:17:01.800 We fall right back into the same pattern of behavior.
00:17:04.020 We fall right back into doing something. We're hiding something. We're misbehaving.
00:17:08.100 We're not following the way that God has us to
00:17:11.681 follow. And often, it's just for a little handful of honey.
00:17:16.000 So they end up having a seven-day wedding party.
00:17:18.620 This is the bachelor party of bachelor parties.
00:17:21.181 There's excessive drinking, partying.
00:17:23.901 Samson gets the bright idea that he says he's going to put on a riddle
00:17:27.800 for these 30 men, and he puts a bet against them, thinking
00:17:31.720 they're never going to guess this riddle.
00:17:33.520 And for six days, they could not guess the riddle until his
00:17:37.160 wife-to-be, his fiancée, comes to Samson.
00:17:39.580 She's begging him, "Please tell me the answer.
00:17:41.920 Please tell me the answer." He caves on the last day, tells her.
00:17:46.020 She runs to these guys, tells them the answer to the riddle, so they come back,
00:17:50.080 and now Samson has to pay up for his bet to these 30
00:17:53.980 men.
00:17:55.300 In verse 19, it says, "The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him.
00:17:59.210 He went down to the town of Ashkelon.
00:18:01.760 He killed 30 men, took their belongings, and gave their
00:18:05.420 clothing to the men who had solved his riddle.
00:18:08.080 But Samson was furious, and he leaves." So he loses a
00:18:11.860 bet that he was so prideful in making. Whose fault is it?
00:18:15.720 He's the one who put this riddle out there.
00:18:17.280 He's the one who made this bet, and when he loses the bet because he gave in
00:18:21.240 to his fiancée, consistently nagging him day after day after day,
00:18:25.740 he had to go kill 30 people to pay his gambling debt.
00:18:29.760 Again, the more you read, the less you might like Samson as a
00:18:33.280 person. So he pays off this debt, and then we get to chapter
00:18:37.020 15. If it wasn't bizarre enough, it gets more bizarre.
00:18:40.260 And for sake of time, I'm going to Cliff Note through chapter
00:18:43.800 15, where he's so mad, he leaves and goes back to his mom and
00:18:47.660 dad's house. So then the father of the bride-to-be, he's like, "Well, I
00:18:51.600 already paid for all this feast and stuff.
00:18:53.500 I'm not going to let it go to waste." So he gives her to Samson's best
00:18:57.320 man. Says that you can marry her. So his wife now
00:19:01.300 goes to his best man. He's so upset about it when he comes back to
00:19:05.220 get his wife, that he catches 300 foxes.
00:19:08.500 Anybody else catch foxes? No? Okay. Just curious, how do you do that?
00:19:12.320 But he catches 300 foxes. He says he ties them together in pairs, lights them on
00:19:16.240 fire. I know some of you are like, "Aw." But he lets these foxes go, and
00:19:20.160 it burns down all the Philistines' crops. Now guess what?
00:19:23.880 The Philistines are upset. That's their money. That's their livelihood.
00:19:27.400 So they kill his wife-to-be and her father, they send
00:19:31.280 3,000 men to go capture Samson. Samson ends up getting bound with
00:19:35.360 ropes. It says he breaks out of the ropes, he grabs the jawbone of a
00:19:39.280 donkey, okay, catch this, and he kills 1,000 men with
00:19:43.260 the bone.
00:19:45.260 Bizarre stories. You don't need TV, just read the Bible.
00:19:49.200 It is the best movie you could ever imagine.
00:19:52.530 And this is real. This is history. This is in the Bible.
00:19:55.750 People are like, "The Bible's boring." Have you read Judges? Have you read Exodus?
00:19:59.640 Have you read any of the Bible? It is fascinating.
00:20:03.260 So, chapter 16 starts. Okay, all this stuff happens.
00:20:06.420 It goes to another Philistine town. It says he spends a night with a woman.
00:20:10.300 All these guys come to kill him the next morning.
00:20:12.950 But at midnight, he wakes up and just rips the city gates off their
00:20:16.880 posts and carries it to the top of the hill. It doesn't say why it says that.
00:20:20.780 It doesn't say anything about it. How does that apply to my life?
00:20:23.620 But again, fascinating details, his supernatural strength that
00:20:27.460 Samson had. So in verse four, "Sometime later,
00:20:31.660 Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah." It doesn't say he
00:20:35.660 married her, it didn't say he courted her. It just says he fell in love with her.
00:20:38.720 He's in relations with this woman, Delilah.
00:20:42.030 "And the rulers of the Philistines went to her and said,
00:20:45.970 'Entice Samson to tell you what makes him so strong.
00:20:49.960 How can he be overpowered and tied up securely?' Then
00:20:53.900 each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver."
00:20:59.040 Now, for those of you who don't know the story, Delilah, so this is the woman he
00:21:02.840 loves. Samson's — how to say — he's dumb.
00:21:05.640 He's fallen for these women who don't care about him, who don't want what's best
00:21:09.360 for him, and continually cause him harm.
00:21:11.760 Delilah, three times, convinces Samson to tell
00:21:14.980 her the secret to his strength, but he lies each
00:21:18.540 time. He says, "I've got to be tied up with seven ropes.
00:21:20.980 I've got to be tied up with brand-new ropes." He gives these different scenarios of
00:21:24.700 how he could actually be tied up, and every time the
00:21:28.640 Philistines come to kill him, he breaks out of the ropes and kills all the
00:21:32.280 Philistines. Now, three times it happened, and he stays with the
00:21:36.140 woman. I'm like, "The guy's not very bright," okay?
00:21:39.660 But then the fourth time,
00:21:41.740 she's nagging him and nagging him and nagging him, and I want you to hear this.
00:21:45.500 In Samson's compromise, in Samson's sin, he gave in to
00:21:49.500 Delilah. God still allowed him to keep winning battles.
00:21:54.500 Right? That God's silence or God's patience
00:21:58.500 does not equal God's approval.
00:22:01.500 Never mistake God's patience for His approval.
00:22:05.000 He could have said, "Hey, look, I keep giving in to Delilah.
00:22:07.920 These guys keep coming. I keep winning." What does this look like in our time
00:22:11.800 today? You keep sinning, you keep doing things in your life, and you
00:22:15.600 don't see the consequences, so you just keep on going about it.
00:22:19.140 Or you say, "I'm going to keep sinning because I don't really see the effects.
00:22:21.960 I don't see the downside. Maybe God's approving it.
00:22:25.440 Maybe God's okay with me disobeying and compromising
00:22:29.480 it in my life." But here's the truth: God is never approving
00:22:33.420 sin. He allows time because He is patient,
00:22:37.400 because ultimately, God wants us to repent and turn to Him.
00:22:41.520 In His patience, He wants us to return to Him, but
00:22:45.760 just like in Samson's life, sometimes God lifts His hand of protection.
00:22:49.660 Sometimes God
00:22:51.200 allows us and allows bad things to happen to
00:22:55.100 us. Eventually, Samson gives in to Delilah and he
00:22:58.920 tells her the truth. He says, "The reality is, I'll lose my
00:23:02.500 strength if you cut my hair." Now, it sounds bizarre, but it
00:23:06.400 was the final step of breaking his vow.
00:23:08.980 He'd already married a woman who wasn't an Israelite.
00:23:11.400 He'd already touched a dead animal.
00:23:13.080 He's already on this path, that this was just the final straw of cutting
00:23:16.960 his hair, that he would lose his strength.
00:23:19.439 So she gets him to fall asleep on her lap, has a guy come in,
00:23:23.340 shave his head,
00:23:27.260 and then she ties him up, and she yells for the Philistines, "Come on
00:23:31.180 in and capture him." And he wakes up, verse 20, and
00:23:35.060 he thought, "I will do as before and shake myself
00:23:38.850 free," but he didn't realize that the Lord had left him.
00:23:44.500 He woke up thinking, "Same old, same old." Did you just forget you told her to cut
00:23:48.560 your hair? Did you not realize there's not this big weight on your head?
00:23:51.100 I don't know how he didn't know, but he says, "I'll wake up." He woke up and he
00:23:54.580 said, "I'll do as I did before," but he didn't realize the Lord had left him.
00:23:57.940 Now, the Lord's strength left him. Doesn't mean God stopped loving him.
00:24:02.380 It doesn't mean that God still didn't care and have a plan for Samson.
00:24:06.400 Samson stopped depending on God.
00:24:09.120 Samson started depending on himself, rather than consistently
00:24:13.080 and totally being dependent on God.
00:24:16.540 And his strength, the God leaving him, this was just the final
00:24:20.440 straw of what had been happening for years up to this point.
00:24:24.140 So Samson, he ends up getting captured.
00:24:26.260 His eyes are gouged out and he becomes a prisoner.
00:24:28.820 They make him grind grain at the mill, humiliating him,
00:24:33.160 mocking him, making fun of him.
00:24:35.840 But let me tell you this. One of the lessons we can learn from Samson is that
00:24:39.660 failure is never final when you return to God.
00:24:44.360 It's never final. Yes, we fail. You
00:24:48.260 fail, I fail. We all fall down. The
00:24:51.840 difference is do you get back up? And this verse that's on the screen, it's
00:24:55.640 Proverbs 24:16. It says, "For though the righteous fall seven
00:24:59.540 times, they rise again." So let me tell you, I ask you, do the
00:25:03.520 wicked people fall?
00:25:05.548 Yes. Do the righteous people fall? Yes.
00:25:09.068 What's the difference? The righteous get back up.
00:25:12.848 So yes, you fall, yes, you fail, yes, you make mistakes.
00:25:16.648 The key is get back up. Don't stay down in your
00:25:20.688 worthlessness, don't stay down in your shame, don't stay down in
00:25:24.068 condemnation, but get back up again.
00:25:26.978 And when you get back up, guess what? You might fall again.
00:25:30.668 Seven times over and over, we make mistakes.
00:25:34.468 The difference in a righteous person is you get back up, and you get back on
00:25:38.288 track with God. Not a single one of you is too far
00:25:41.908 gone to come back to God, to return to him.
00:25:45.608 No matter what anybody else has told you, if you still have breath in your lungs,
00:25:48.868 you can come back to God and say, "God, return to me.
00:25:52.168 I want to return to you," and get back on track with him.
00:25:56.408 It's what Samson finally had to do.
00:25:57.988 He finally had to be humiliated, humbled, broken, at
00:26:01.888 this place where it finally says he prayed in verse 28.
00:26:05.798 "He prayed to the Lord, 'Sovereign Lord, remember me again.
00:26:09.788 O God, please strengthen me just one more
00:26:13.908 time.'" All the times mentioned up until this point, it says the Spirit of the
00:26:17.708 Lord came to Samson. This is the first time it says Samson went to
00:26:21.568 God. He cried out to God. And in verse 29, "Samson put his
00:26:25.468 hands on the two center pillars that held up the temple.
00:26:29.188 Pushing against them with both hands, he prayed, 'Let me
00:26:33.028 die with the Philistines.'
00:26:35.328 And the temple crashed down on the Philistine rulers and all the people.
00:26:39.528 So he killed more people than
00:26:43.148 when he died than when he did during his entire lifetime." It said
00:26:47.028 3,000 Philistines died that day. Now, I know whenever we hear
00:26:51.168 a lot of death in the Bible, we're like, "What's up with that?" My perspective on
00:26:54.888 most of the time when God's killing people or having people put to death, it's to
00:26:58.908 save a greater good. In my mind, if somebody, say a
00:27:02.588 man, is violently beating or hurting a little girl, wouldn't it be
00:27:06.668 loving to stop that man from hurting that girl, instead of allowing
00:27:10.728 evil to just continue to go on and on and on?
00:27:13.568 That I think killing that man to save that girl would actually be more loving.
00:27:18.078 I believe God has that same perspective.
00:27:19.928 When the Philistines are harming, killing, violently
00:27:23.648 hurting his people, his children, he does something to stop it, to
00:27:27.628 stop the evil in the land. And here, these 3,000
00:27:31.448 people were really a fulfillment of what Samson was called to do,
00:27:35.828 to
00:27:36.768 stop the enemy of the Philistines from killing and hurting the Israelite
00:27:40.788 people. But interestingly enough, there are so many
00:27:44.348 similarities in Samson and Jesus, that the
00:27:48.288 main character of this, like I said, Samson's not the role model by any
00:27:52.268 stretch of the means. His falling for women, his drunkenness, his
00:27:55.988 breaking his vows to God, Samson is not the model.
00:27:59.008 Jesus always is. And
00:28:01.688 Samson's story actually points us to Jesus with all these similarities.
00:28:05.568 For instance, both of them were born miraculously. Right?
00:28:09.108 Jesus was born miraculously of a virgin.
00:28:11.708 Both were betrayed for silver. Judas betrayed Jesus for 30
00:28:15.408 pieces of silver, just like Samson was betrayed for silver.
00:28:18.988 Both of them were blinded. Samson had his eyes gouged out.
00:28:22.568 Jesus was blindfolded and couldn't see when they were crucifying him.
00:28:26.348 Both of them were mocked. They would spit on Jesus and punch him and say, "Oh,
00:28:30.348 if you really are the King of the Jews, tell us who hit you." There's so many
00:28:34.468 similarities. Both of them forsaken for a moment, where the Lord
00:28:37.888 leaves Samson and forsakes him. Both prayed to the Father.
00:28:42.328 Both died with outstretched arms when Jesus was
00:28:46.128 nailed to the cross, and both of them defeated the enemy at
00:28:50.148 their death. Samson wiped out the enemy when he took his dying
00:28:54.168 breath. Jesus wiped out the power and the effect of the
00:28:57.728 enemy when he took his final breath on the cross.
00:29:00.448 He conquered sin and death itself.
00:29:03.868 There's so many similarities that Samson really points us to
00:29:07.808 Jesus.
00:29:09.228 Samson points us to a deeper need that every one of us, at
00:29:12.948 times, we look stronger on the outside than we are on the
00:29:16.768 inside.
00:29:18.348 At times. At times, we can look really spiritual but be
00:29:22.008 drifting away from God. We can even be in church on Sunday, but
00:29:25.907 be compromising in our hearts and in our lives.
00:29:29.008 The good news is that Jesus came for people just like Samson,
00:29:33.468 just like us.
00:29:35.248 Flawed people who need a savior.
00:29:38.548 We need rescued. Reminds me of the story of a man who had a
00:29:42.168 dream, and in his dream, he pictured this vast field, and
00:29:45.988 right down the middle of the field was a fence.
00:29:49.568 And on one side of the fence was Satan, on the other side of the fence was God.
00:29:54.088 And God called to the man, he said, "Hey, come to my side.
00:29:56.768 Come to me." Satan was on the other side of the fence, and he said to the man, he
00:29:59.888 goes, "Hey, come to me. I got power, I got riches, I got fame.
00:30:03.128 I got all this stuff that I can give you.
00:30:05.048 And if you don't accept me, you won't get all the stuff that I'm offering." The
00:30:08.888 man was wrestling with his thoughts.
00:30:10.208 He said, "Man, God's always been good, he's always been faithful, he's always been
00:30:13.548 there. But man, I really want the stuff that Satan's offering." So,
00:30:17.608 after a little while of contemplating, he got this great idea.
00:30:20.668 He would choose both. So he climbed up on the fence, and he sat
00:30:24.648 on the top of the fence post. And he thought he won. He goes, "I got both.
00:30:28.548 I got a little bit of Jesus, and I got a little bit of the world. I'm good.
00:30:31.868 I beat both of them." And at that moment, when he thinks he won, everything
00:30:35.888 goes black.
00:30:37.408 And out of the darkness comes Satan.
00:30:39.978 And Satan says,
00:30:41.468 "Okay, come on. You're coming with me." The guy says, "No, no, no, no.
00:30:44.468 I didn't choose you. I'm on the fence.
00:30:48.248 I want both. I got some of God, and I got some of the world. I got both of you.
00:30:52.208 I didn't choose you." And Satan, he goes, "Yeah, but you missed one important
00:30:55.408 detail.
00:30:56.948 I own the fence."
00:31:01.244 The point of the story is we cannot sit on the fence.
00:31:05.344 You can't have a little bit of God and a little bit of Satan.
00:31:07.704 You can't have the things of God and the things of this world.
00:31:10.584 You have to choose, because I believe at every chance we try to sit on both,
00:31:14.544 we have one foot in and one foot out, you're going to fall on the side of Satan.
00:31:17.904 You're going to fall on the side of darkness.
00:31:19.824 Don't take the chance that hopefully you fall on the God side, but
00:31:23.504 fully step in, fully surrender, say, "God, I want to follow you
00:31:27.764 wholeheartedly." No matter what the cost, no matter what the stuff that
00:31:31.684 Satan has, what this world has, we want to follow God
00:31:35.044 wholeheartedly.
00:31:36.724 Samson wanted both. He wanted to follow God but have the things
00:31:40.744 of the world, the women, the drinking, the stuff, the riches, the fame.
00:31:44.884 He could not have both.
00:31:47.844 So I want to end with three questions
00:31:50.244 for each of us to ask ourselves.
00:31:52.744 Where am I compromising?
00:31:55.744 Where am I compromising in my walk with God?
00:31:57.884 Am I participating in the things of this world more than I should?
00:32:02.284 Are you looking at things in the privacy of your own home that you think, "I'm not
00:32:05.244 hurting anybody," but you know deep down you're compromising on your
00:32:09.044 relationship with God. Are there things in your life, what
00:32:13.104 small sins are you doing? Are you stealing stuff from work?
00:32:17.104 Are you skipping out on little things? There's little sins.
00:32:19.624 What areas are you compromising? And if you really ask God, I believe he'll show
00:32:23.664 you.
00:32:25.244 Question two, what strength am I trusting besides God?
00:32:29.884 Are you trusting in the strength of your money?
00:32:31.834 Are you trusting in the strength of your own physical strength?
00:32:34.524 Are you trusting in your own intellect or your own abilities?
00:32:38.084 Or are you trusting in the strength that God has for you?
00:32:41.624 The reality is we cannot overcome the enemy, sin,
00:32:45.224 temptation on our own. It takes the empowerment and the grace
00:32:49.244 of God to overcome sin in our lives.
00:32:53.154 And the third question, what do I need to surrender today?
00:32:59.364 What areas are you compromising that you say, "I need to give that up.
00:33:02.724 I need to stop doing this. I need to fully surrender to
00:33:06.684 you, Lord."
00:33:10.304 I believe there's some of us here today,
00:33:13.984 you really do depend and rely on yourself to get you through,
00:33:18.124 and it's exhausting. It's draining.
00:33:21.724 And it's not to condemn you, it's to help you see there's a better way.
00:33:25.404 There's a way to live your life in the grace and mercy of God.
00:33:29.024 Not that you just go on sinning, but, "God, help me walk with you.
00:33:32.724 Help me learn from you. Help me know how to be a Christian in
00:33:36.204 2026 America.""
00:33:38.704 Maybe you're here today and you've never surrendered your life to Jesus.
00:33:42.324 You've never fully trusted in him as the only way to have your sins
00:33:46.304 forgiven
00:33:47.564 and to truly enter heaven.
00:33:50.544 Maybe you're here today and you feel like you've messed up so badly.
00:33:54.144 You've done too much sin, there's no way God would ever forgive you.
00:33:59.064 Remember, the righteous fall seven times but get back up again.
00:34:01.784 That's not in the Bible, unless there's always a time for you to come back to
00:34:05.664 God. As long as you have breath in your lungs, you can come back to God.
00:34:09.544 Don't miss this opportunity.
00:34:12.124 Would you please stand to your feet as I want to close in prayer?
00:34:16.745 I just want you to ask yourselves those three questions, with every head
00:34:20.364 bowed, every eye closed.
00:34:22.765 God, where are we compromising in our lives?
00:34:25.484 God, I pray you'd show that to each and every one of us.
00:34:28.984 Maybe some little sins, maybe big sins, whatever it is, God, every single
00:34:32.964 one of us has areas in our life we're not fully surrendered to
00:34:36.685 you. I pray you'd show that to us. Illuminate those
00:34:40.745 things to us today.
00:34:43.245 God, what strength are we trusting in more than you?
00:34:47.644 God, that we would never put something above you as the God and
00:34:51.564 Lord of our lives. That you sit on the throne of our hearts, the throne
00:34:55.524 on our minds. God, that nothing becomes more important than you.
00:35:00.104 God, I pray we'd completely surrender
00:35:03.384 any idol in our life, any strength that we're trusting, any habit
00:35:07.364 that we're doing that does not bring you honor and glory and
00:35:11.224 praise.
00:35:13.284 Father, I pray that every single one of us in this room would fully
00:35:16.964 surrender and submit our lives to you.
00:35:19.743 God, for anyone here who doesn't think they're good enough or worthy enough or
00:35:22.964 having too many bad things, God, I pray you'd show them that there is no
00:35:26.264 condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, that your
00:35:30.324 work on the cross overrides all sin and death.
00:35:34.004 That even while we were sinners, you sent Jesus to die for us
00:35:38.964 to demonstrate your great love. There's nothing we could do
00:35:43.064 to earn your love. There's nothing we could do to pay for our sins.
00:35:46.264 But what you did on the cross is more than enough for
00:35:50.164 us.
00:35:51.814 In this moment of prayer, I just want to offer,
00:35:54.904 don't miss this opportunity to fully surrender your life to Jesus.
00:35:59.944 You're not going to know everything to do next, but we're going to help you take
00:36:02.464 your next step. But right now, your decision is, will you surrender your life
00:36:06.444 to Jesus?
00:36:08.144 That he would forgive you of your sins, that you'd repent and turn from your ways
00:36:12.424 and fully focus on him. No longer sitting on the fence, no
00:36:16.264 longer with one foot in the church and one foot in the world.
00:36:19.124 Would you surrender your life to Jesus fully and totally
00:36:23.044 in this moment?
00:36:24.904 If that's you today, maybe it's your first time ever doing that, or you know you
00:36:28.064 need to rededicate or recommit your life, I want to pray for you.
00:36:32.404 I just ask you to slip up your hand right where you are.
00:36:35.824 I want to pray a blessing over you. You say, "I need to surrender my life or
00:36:39.524 rededicate my life." Amen. Anyone else?
00:36:43.544 Amen. Heavenly Father, I thank you for every person making that decision right
00:36:47.424 now. God, I pray that you'd show them it's not their works, it's
00:36:51.384 not their good deeds, it's nothing that we can do to earn your love, but
00:36:55.204 it's simply your grace, your love that was demonstrated on the
00:36:59.064 cross for us that we can be forgiven, that we are called worthy
00:37:03.044 to be called your sons, your daughters.
00:37:05.464 God, I pray that each one of them would stay on the right path of
00:37:09.044 righteousness, walking with you, talking with you.
00:37:11.584 God, they'd get back into reading their Bible. They'd get back into praying to you.
00:37:15.664 God, they'd get back into being completely on track,
00:37:19.364 following you. They'd get back up once again, to
00:37:23.184 fully surrender, God, they would get off the fence and be fully
00:37:26.884 surrendered to you. And God, I pray for every single one of us to take
00:37:30.584 hold of the reality of these truths from Samson, the
00:37:34.324 reality of who Jesus Christ is, Lord of Lords and King of
00:37:38.244 Kings, and we bow down and worship Him and you alone, God.
00:37:43.424 God, I pray for your grace upon each and every one of us.
00:37:46.804 In Jesus' name, amen.
00:37:49.864 Well, thank you guys so much. Jared's going to come on up and close us out with a
00:37:53.124 few announcements.
00:37:54.824 Next week, we're starting a new series.
00:37:56.624 We're going to be talking about not being ashamed of the gospel.
00:37:59.884 So you don't want to miss. Come next week.
00:38:01.624 There's going to be some training and equipping for that as well.
00:38:03.904 So Jared, come on up.
>> Jared
00:38:05.164 Amen. Thanks so much, Pastor Eric, for studying and delivering the word.
00:38:08.104 We can give him a great big hand, week after week— ...
00:38:10.944 really digging into the scriptures and helping us unpack it.
00:38:13.644 And you're absolutely right.
00:38:15.724 There's not any better entertainment, actually, or just interesting
00:38:19.684 history than what we find in God's word and throughout the Old Testament.
00:38:23.164 So very grateful for the series that we've been in the last
00:38:27.164 several weeks. I look around, and I think I see some new faces, maybe people
00:38:31.144 I haven't had the privilege to meet yet.
00:38:33.004 If it's your very first time or you're just new here in general, I just want to
00:38:35.884 welcome you and thank you so much for choosing to spend part of your Sunday with
00:38:39.364 us, trekking out here
00:38:41.504 perhaps in your boat on this rainy Sunday.
00:38:44.924 We would love the opportunity to get to know you and hear more about your
00:38:48.704 story and what brought you here. One simple way that we have the
00:38:52.324 opportunity to keep in touch is really just by you filling out a connection card.
00:38:56.324 If you'd be so kind to take out your phone, scan the seat back in front of you,
00:39:00.164 that tap card, or the QR code on the screen, just some basic
00:39:03.604 information. Also, on their way out the door, we want to put a gift in your hand
00:39:07.464 just as our way of saying thank you.
00:39:09.064 And we'll be able to follow up with you and keep you up to date with different
00:39:12.144 opportunities happening here at our church, at Freedom Church, and how you can be a
00:39:15.684 part. And speaking of opportunities, something we do hold I love
00:39:19.704 twice a month after our 11:00 a.m. service is what we call our Next
00:39:23.724 Steps class, an opportunity for you to learn more about the church and really
00:39:27.604 discover how you are uniquely gifted by God to make an
00:39:31.444 impact in the church, but in your world as well.
00:39:35.044 There is food and childcare provided, taking place again after that 11:00 a.m.
00:39:39.144 service. If you want to take out your cellphone, scan that QR code, get
00:39:42.904 signed up just so we have a way to keep track and prepare food and
00:39:46.904 different details for those Sundays that are coming up here in
00:39:50.464 August. As well as we have a free car wash that we're
00:39:53.904 hosting as a church here at our church on August 8th from
00:39:57.884 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Really, it's a way for us as a church family to get
00:40:01.644 outside of the four walls, to extend the love of Jesus to those in the
00:40:05.484 community as they come by on Route 22.
00:40:07.744 And also, there will be teams sent out along the trail here in the back as well
00:40:11.624 to pray and really just
00:40:13.944 to be present. There's so much power in just being present and
00:40:17.824 being seen in people's lives. We want to have the opportunity to introduce
00:40:21.724 Jesus to the community. This is one great way.
00:40:24.584 Scan the QR code, get signed up, and we'll have a position for you to hold
00:40:28.724 at the car wash there on August 8th.
00:40:31.844 Last, but certainly not least, as we mentioned just a little bit ago, we love
00:40:35.424 keeping in touch with you guys here throughout the week.
00:40:38.334 Monday happens, and the week can hit pretty fast sometimes.
00:40:41.364 And so we have many ways to keep in touch digitally throughout the week.
00:40:45.224 If you actually take out your cellphone and scan the QR code there on the screen,
00:40:48.704 it's going to take you to the church website, and it'll give you direct link access
00:40:52.924 to all the social media pages. I personally love it because throughout the week,
00:40:56.904 there's great clips and reminders of the word that was shared
00:41:00.784 from that previous Sunday, as well as different events and opportunities
00:41:04.704 just for reminders there on social media.
00:41:07.264 This is just a great way, really, to keep in touch and stay in touch throughout the
00:41:10.744 week there. Feel free to scan that QR code and get linked to our Facebook,
00:41:14.144 Instagram, YouTube, and our various other platforms.
00:41:17.644 Just a great way for us to connect and have these reminders day in and day
00:41:21.344 out. If you guys could please stand to your feet, I am going to pray, and then
00:41:24.744 you'll be dismissed.
00:41:29.584 Heavenly Father, we are so grateful, Lord.
00:41:31.084 Thank you for your word that holds so much
00:41:35.064 rich truths, God, that still apply to us today, Lord God, that we
00:41:38.984 would learn from Samson, that we would truly surrender our whole hearts,
00:41:43.304 our whole lives to you. Holy Spirit, thank you for revealing to
00:41:46.864 us any areas of compromise, any areas where we're just missing your
00:41:50.864 best for us, God. We know you're a good father, and you have our best in
00:41:54.644 mind. So, Lord, I thank you for eradicating fear and allowing faith
00:41:58.564 and surrender and trust to enter our hearts, that we would get to know
00:42:02.124 you, your goodness, your intentions, your plan for us in a greater
00:42:06.084 way. And God, as a result, we thank you that so many people would be
00:42:09.964 blessed by it in our families and our workplaces and our community and
00:42:13.904 our church here. We love you, and we honor you. It's in Jesus' name we pray.
00:42:17.984 Amen. You're dismissed. Have a great and awesome week, everyone.