This recording is from Christ Kingdom Church in Avalon Park, Orlando. Visit us online at ChristKingdom.org for our calendar, driving directions, and more audio recordings. Good morning. If you have your Bible with you to Judges, chapter 16, there's an outline in your bulletin when we're following along as well too. We're continuing on in our series of Judges and part two of the Life of Samson, which we'll get to in a second. I had an interesting experience happen this week. In fact, I'm looking for Jerry. There he is. Jerry went out of town and said, hey, I'm not going to use my motorcycle for the week. Would you like to borrow it? Well, I thought promptly for at least two or three seconds, and I said, sure. Which says several things. Jerry is probably not all that bright to let the guy who's ridden a motorcycle like twice in his life. Yes, who is licensed, fully licensed, to take it for the week. But nevertheless, Jerry felt compassion, I think. So anyway, this entire last week, I've had a chance to ride tune from work, different places, on a motorcycle, instead of in my car. And I was one of the things I hadn't done in the two times. I think it was that we had rented it before for a class or whatever. It's that I had never ventured out onto the interstate, which was coming new ground, new territory for me. And I was surprised one, because when I was surprised that I was really excited about doing it, when I was really terrified about doing it all at the same time. Well, my experience turned out to be a little bit different than what I anticipated. There is a big difference in case you haven't put it together, or if you use some of your ride motorcycles, you have put this together. There's a big difference between going 60 miles per hour in a car and going 60 miles per hour on a motorcycle. There's a big difference. And one of the things I didn't expect it to be is the sensation of my body moving at 60 miles per hour. You drive around in your car and you don't think about it. And when you're on the interstate, you maybe go 70 or more sometimes on the interstate, shouldn't. But maybe you do. And you don't have a sensation of your body moving at that speed. Your perspective is that I'm in a nice, comfortable car. You know, you could have a conversation going on. You could be listening to some beautiful music, singing along, whatever else. And all those things are passing by you very rapidly and very fast. You have really little sensation of how fast your physical body is moving. Well, that changes on a motorcycle drastically because you feel the wind blowing against you. Every time you turn your helmet, okay, it hits the wind a little bit differently as you check your blind spot. And you feel the bike shift a little bit as you go through 408 through downtown, right? It curves and winds and there's cracks in the road and cracks don't bother cars. But they're a little bit unsettling on a motorcycle when it takes a dip and a move. And when cars go past you and when trucks go by and there's a gust of wind, it was a totally different sensation because I thought my body is physically going at 60 or whatever it was, miles per hour down the road. Change my perspective on everything. Although my body has traveled that far or that fast in the car all the time and I don't even think about it. A very difference in perspective changes the reality for you, changes sensation. My palms don't get sweaty. But they're sweaty now me even recounting the story, okay? Mine don't do that anymore driving a car. You know, let's maybe Riley's driving at the moment. You know, they don't do that in a car and Riley's a good driver. I'm sorry if she's out there with that. But your perspective can radically change. And I want to give you a change, Lord willing, a perspective on the life of a guy named Samson as you think about him. Because my guess is you're probably like me, generally in life. You will often find characters or see people out in real life. Or you'll watch a movie or a TV show or you'll see some sports figures that you look up to. And you will look at these people and you will get glimpses of yourself in them. Maybe they're just your dreams. Like I always dreamed I would be a professional football player and could imagine that I could have thrown a pass like that maybe. Or maybe it's just thinking, oh, how to have that kind of influence. Is that leader is on TV or in this movie or to be able to come in and save the day like that heroine does in that movie. We have a tendency, if you're like me at least, to look at characters and the ones that you see the best in. And look at the best and find the best in yourself. And I'd be willing to do that. I want to be like that. I've got potential maybe to do that. But much like going from a car to a motorcycle, your shift of perspective stops unless you go into motorcycle. You don't ever think about your body moving that fast. You don't ever think about that much. The similarities between every villain, every criminal, every outcast that also hold up a mere reflection into our own lives. I mean, think about it for a second. Be honest, if you had acted out on just a handful of your worst thoughts that you've ever thought in your life, would you not be just as legitimately villainized as many who blacken the pages of our newspaper or who appear on the TV screen.
Would not many of us be incarcerated right now? But that's not a very comfortable thought, is it? To imagine the fact that the worst that we can imagine in people and others that we see, that we are just as fully capable of in ourselves as they have acted out and been caught for. Imagine the things that we've done, not just thoughts, things we've actually done, that we just didn't get caught for. And my guess is, if you were like me, there'd be a list that you really wouldn't want to be shared publicly. If you look at the life of a Samson, and you don't come out of here with a real picture of the mirror, and the Bible, by the way, calls the Word of God a mirror for our hearts, and be able to see the similarities of your own propensity, then you're missing out on a truth that could set you free. You've got to be willing to feel a little uncomfortable, and you've got to be willing to embrace the reality, and maybe some genuine despair that you might have, some real pain you might feel, because you won't want the hope until you feel like you really need it. But if you will go there, as we look a little more deeply at Samson this morning, I think your heart would really want to embrace genuine hope that God wants to offer this morning. So as we look further here at Samson, kind of part two of his life, because we looked at him last week, and let's be honest, he was looking pretty good last week, things were clicking along and going well for him. We talked about some of the weakness in his strength, but his strength was kind of shining at the time. He was coming in, he was taking charge, the oppressors of the people of Israel, he was beginning to put into place. And when they messed with him, he was destroying their flocks. He was coming up here in one day, with a jawbone of a donkey, wiping out a thousand men, to talk about intimidating the enemy, when just your leader does that, you don't want to mess with the rest of the people, he was an intimidating force. Yet we saw the weaknesses that began to come out in his life and his character. We saw the inner crumbling in his heart and light, but what I want you to look at this week as those weaknesses climax, I want you to see that there's strength that is found in weakness. There's a strength that you'll find in embracing your weakness that is much stronger and much deeper than you could ever imagine. But if you're like those people, if you're like my propensity is, you want to bask just in your strength, failing to realize your weakness, and never fully achieve the real strength that God has for us. So as we knew each week, and we looked at the first, I forgot I don't have slides this morning. But as we reminded of the purpose, you don't need to slide for this. What is the purpose of the book of Judges? Somebody tell me. What else? Later? Or signing? That's right. In those days, there was no king in Israel, everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Remember, the purpose of this book is trying to talk about how just how bad things were getting. But the purpose also in this book is to say, look, the people that were leading the people at the time were terrible. We're doing an awful job. Things were getting really, really bad. And by the way, when you try to run and lead your life, things go really, really bad. So as we read here, I'm going to read chapter 16, which is not as long as last week's text. I'll actually read it here, listen to yourself. And we ask the Holy Spirit to honestly give you a glimpse. Not just of the positives you might see in Samson yourself, but even the negatives. So here, God's word now is we pick up the last chapter in Samson's life. This is after he has conquered the enemy, after he's been leading the people for 20 years. So they've been experiencing prosperity. Things are going good. Things begin to take a turn. Judges 16, beginning of verse 1. One day, Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. The people of Gaza were told, Samson is here. So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They had no move during the night, saying, at dawn, we'll kill him. But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate. Together with the two posts and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron. Little parentheses. That's about 40 miles away. So you want to get a picture of him walking with the city gates. Verse 4. Sometime later, he fell in love with a woman in the valley of Sorak whose name was Delilah. The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, see if you can lure him into showing you the secret to his great strength. And how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you 1,100 shekels of silver. So Delilah said to Samson, tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued. Samson answered her, if anyone ties me with seven fresh thongs that have not been dried, I'll become as weak as any other man. Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh thongs that had not been dried and she tied him with them. With the men hidden in the room, she called him. Samson, the Philistines are here, but he snapped up the thongs as easily as a piece of string snaps when it becomes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered. Then Delilah said to Samson, you made a fool of me. You lied to me. Come now. Tell me how you can be tied. He said, if anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I'll become as weak as any other man. So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then with men hidden in the room, she called him. Samson, the Philistines are upon you, but he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads. Delilah then said to Samson, and she'll now you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied. He replied, if you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I'll become as weak as any other man. So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric and tightened it with the pin. Again, she called to him, Samson, the Philistines are upon you. He awoke from his sleep, pulled up the pin and the loom with the fabric. Then she said to him, how can you say I love you when you won't confide in me? This is the third time you had made a fool of me and haven't told me the secret of your great strength. With such nagging, she protted him day after day until he was tired to death. So he told her everything. No razor has ever been on my head, he said. Because I had been a Nazarite, set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would lead me, and I would become as weak as any other man. When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, come back once more. He has told me everything. So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair and so began to subdue him, and his strength left him. Then she called, Samson, the Philistines are upon you. He awoke from his sleep and thought, I'll go out as before and shake myself free. But he did not know that the Lord had left him. Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza, binding him with bronze shackles. They set him grinding in the prison. But the hair on his head began to grow again after he had been shaved. Now the rulers of the Philistines are similar to offer a great sacrifice to day God. Their God and to celebrate saying, our God has delivered Samson, our enemy into our hands. When the people saw him, they praised their God, saying, our God has delivered our enemy into our hands. The one who laid waste our land and multiplied our slain. While they were in high spirits, they shouted, bring out Samson to entertain us. So they called Samson out of the prison and he performed for them. When they stood him among the pillars, Samson said to the servant who held his hand, put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple so that I may lean against them. Now the temple was crowded with men and women. All the rulers of the Philistines were there and on the roof were about 3,000 men and women watching Samson perform. Then Samson prayed to the Lord, O sovereign Lord, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines from my two eyes. Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood, bracing himself against them his right hand on one and his left hand on the other. Samson said, let me die with the Philistines. Then he pushed with all his might and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived. Then his brothers and his father's whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zora and Estelle in the tomb of Anaya's father. He had led Israel 20 years. This is the story of Samson. This is God's holy and inspired word. As we look at this here, if you're following along the outline, I want to just give us a few things to think about this morning. Number one is neglect of strength's source. Neglect of strength's source. Somewhere along the way, Samson as we all could be prone to do, Samson began to kind of think, you know, I'm in pretty good. There's nobody that's ever wiped out a thousand men with the jawbone of a donkey. I mean, he started reading his own press reports. And could you blame them? I mean, nobody was doing the things he had done. I mean, you had to kind of make himself laugh a little bit. You got to think sometimes too. I tied their tails together in pairs, torches to their tails and send them off and destroy the entire harvest of the Philistines. That's pretty good. Now, come on, think about it. That would be pretty good. Pretty amazing stuff to talk about and share about. But somewhere along the way, we get the information and the understanding that Samson began to neglect things. And his propensity to neglect was one that was there even in his early years. Remember, let me remind you of some things of how he began to neglect. God, how he began to neglect, neglect God's glory. Remember even in this chapter, he refers to the Nazarite vow that he had. Now, think about the last few chapters, some of the things that happened in his life. He had begun at an early age. Remember, when he had just first left, he was going off to find a wife and he had found one that he wanted to marry. Yes, he wasn't a Hebrew woman, like he was supposed to marry according to the law of God. But he had found one. Remember, on the way, he slays the lion and he's like, going, wow, I ripped this thing apart, like it was a little goat. Remember, when he just moments later came back by and saw that there had been bees that had come and put a hive in there and honey and he reached his hand in. Remember, he was touching the dead carcass and he didn't tell his parents because that would have messed up his Nazarite vow. He would have had to restart the entire vow on that and things would have had to regroup. But he didn't tell anybody on that. You see, there was a neglect for the very things that he had been committed to and God had called, remember, through the angel to his parents, saying he was going to have this vow. There also was the party, remember, after he had found his wife, the first one, and things had gone so well. He had this big, drew this big old party that was going on. And there was drinking and there was celebration, which is not necessarily a bad thing except part of the Nazarite vow was to be for your entire life to stay away from any kind of fermented drink, which absolutely would have included wine. But that was kind of bypassed as well, too. Then the neglect continued to grow. We know from that as well, too. Not only did he go to non-Hebrew woman, which was against the law of God, but we're told in the beginning of this chapter, he goes into prostitute. And by the way, we're told after that that the Laila, we're not told it specifically, but there's a good chance she was probably a prostitute, too. One unlikely, not a Hebrew woman as well, too. Why do we know she maybe was a prostitute? Well, she was in the business to make a deal, wasn't she? Well, it was 1,100 pieces of our shekels per person for delivering Samson up to her, up to them. In moral relationships, going against the law of God, neglecting the things that God has said were important. And then, eventually here, we see in this chapter here, the last hold off that he had that was keeping him true to any part of his Nazarite vow was his hair.
A lot of hair he had. And notice, even on the things, he gets closer and closer to telling her what it is. He eases into it slowly until he finally tells her the actual secret of it, and his vow is totally abolished. And it's then when God's presence leaves him. But you need to see the progression of neglect that happens there. And by the way, is this not true in our own lives? Our neglect of God always happens in a progression, usually. I mean, nobody who's a real follower of God comes out and says, you know, I think this is the year 2009, I'm going to neglect God. New use resolution? Oh, hey, it's the start of a new week, right? Monday. Let's do, what's the goal of this week? And neglect? God, number one. No, none of us do that. Number of truly followers of God. Nobody sets out to do that. But you compromise a little bit. And then it becomes a little bit easier to compromise again. I mean, I'm just like you. Now, I've been faithful having my quiet times many times, and all of a sudden, you know, I get out of sync with him. Before I know it, it's been like, gosh, how long was the last time I spent time in God's word? Spent time set aside to pray. We know how that goes, don't we? But it wasn't just neglect for God and his glory. It's God being the source of his strength that also led to neglect of the oppression of Samson's people. And we talked about this last week a little bit here about how, how so self-centered Samson's life was. Do you realize every time Samson was killing a bad guy, it had pretty much nothing to do with protecting God's people? Now, this is different than Gideon and other judges we've had before that. This is how things are getting worse and worse and worse. This is how this book is setting up the whole story of saying, look, ruling yourselves here without a king, without a righteous king is getting you nowhere and Samson's only getting it worse. The one that's got the greatest strength, the greatest power, the one who had the greatest potential in some ways, physically speaking, is the one that's showing you how just incredibly impossible it is to happen. It's when his father-in-law gives his wife to another man that he comes back and ties up the foxes and destroys the harvest. It's when his own people want to give him up back to the Philistines that he decides he's going to go in and kill the thousand men with a jawbone of a donkey. There is no account of Samson's life ever going in for the sake of his people because of their oppression, because of the glory of God to deliver his people. His acts and incredible acts of strength are all part part of this incredible self-centeredness that exists in his life, which began with the neglect of God himself. Well, what were the results because this chapter makes it really clear that there are very, very results that happen. The first one was Samson with stripped of his significance in this chapter, it wasn't he? The mighty warrior, the one who was tormenting the enemy, the one who was making a mockery of the enemy, one guy taking out a thousand of the enemy, is now imprisoned. He's imprisoned. He's the one in bronze shackles. Not only that, they put him to grinding. Who would be doing grinding in the prisons, the slaves? It was the very low end of the job, and it would be tonight that would be right there on display for those to see. They put him in charge of that. They took away and stripped him of his significance, but you know what was probably even worse than that to him of anything else? Who comes to his rescue? The Israelites? His people? Nobody. There's no account of the single person even saying, hey, that's our leader. Rally the troops. You've taken our leader, well, we've got thousands, and Israel have been back in charge for 20 years. Plenty of time to build up for a whole new generation of men to rise up. Nobody comes to his rescue or stands up. You want to think, well, can strip you of significance? How did that happen in your life? Find yourself in prison by whatever your circumstances are, and then find nobody coming to rescue you. And your significance is gone. Samson was also stripped not only of his significance, he was stripped of his dignity. You know, you can rewrite past it real quick and go, ooh, the gouges eyes out. Kind of a gross experience, and not something any of us would want or wish. But you can kind of go write past that and not put yourself in the context of what that would mean. Do you realize that real statistics here? What do you think percent of Americans who are blind are jobless? Any guesses on what percent? Today, and in the time when people who are struggling with disabilities have probably the most benefits they've ever had throughout time. Any guess? 70%. Did you know that 70% of those who are blind in this country today cannot hold down work.
That's terrible thing, but do you think that you would realize that how could they in a lot of ways? Now that's living today with all the modern niceties that we have. Do you guys have your eyes gouged out thousands of years ago? That was a kiss of death. To be in mighty warrior? Oh my goodness. No way. What if you were just a normal, simple, farm guy? How are you going to farm? How are you going to provide for a family? Provide for yourself or your blind? This was basically being resolved to a life of poverty and begging. I mean, think about it in the day of Jesus. What were the blind people doing in Jesus' day? One thing, begging, the only option they had.
Dignity was lost that day with Samson, and not only that, but he is humiliated by the enemy. He had been a humiliator, but now he's being the one humiliated. There's haunting him. He is what blockbuster is selling in their day and age. Hey, come see Samson perform. Now only as he's stripped of his own, on that, he is now serving to entertain his enemy in his humiliation. That is where we find Samson here. And let's make this a little more personal for us here today on this point. How about our neglect? Your neglect, mine neglect. Where are you neglecting God and his glory? Where are you not living for his glory above all else? Because the moment you start to compromise and not be living for God's glory, it leads in the birth of something called self-centeredness. God is the only thing in this universe that sets things in proper perspective and says, you know what you're not the sinner of the universe? God is. And from that reference point, all else is put in perspective. But you take God out of that or you neutralize God or you neglect God, then all of a sudden the natural, rightful person to take over the place of being the sinner of the universe is you. What is the other logical choice? Of course it's got to be us. So that leads way to the very next thing, the neglect of others. Once you neglect a God, just like Samson, once you've had a disregard for God's long, God's requirements, it led to a neglect of others. The reason why nobody came to his rescue, because he hadn't really cared about anybody else. Why would they? The reason why he still wasn't married to that born and resource wife had been killed by the enemy, but why he wasn't married? Because nobody cared enough to marry him because he didn't care enough to want to marry anybody else. He had chosen the neglect of God and led the self-centeredness which naturally led to neglect of others as well. And there's two ways that you and I can neglect people today. One is we can be look at others as being a distraction or two we can look at others as being simply a tool. These are the primary ways that we today, after we've neglected God and walked away, begin to neglect others just like Samson did. In the person that chooses to neglect others through distraction, they have chosen isolation and withdrawal as their way of coping with life and going through life. Or the person who simply makes a tool of others has simply said, wait a minute. Yeah, others are kind of annoying. And no, by the way, none of us do this outwardly. And no, but none of us would talk about it this way or very few would. Because then it would cause problems. Alright, we want to get what we need from relationships. But when we have a disregard for God that would put things in perspective, we naturally put ourselves at the center. And what nationally follows from that is that it's a disregard for others just like Samson experienced. And we'll look at others as simply being a tool for what we need. We'll look to manipulate others to get what we want. And we'll look to have co-dependent relationships with others and need something from them. And to only give to them if we can get something back, we'll need their affirmation more than their friendship. And things begin to suffer. You can see how it leads and what happens. And what happens to us is strips us just like Samson of significance and dignity. It takes the very thing that it did away from Samson. At some point though, Samson realizes that all he had done and all that he had had been given to him from God. And that leads to the next step for him. He goes from neglect of the strength source being God to number two, embrace of hope and weakness. He goes, once he gets to his lowest point there, once he's been stripped of all that he was fighting for, he goes to embrace hope and weakness. You know, one of those one thing is interesting in verse 22 that it tells us there about Samson. It says, but the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved. What's the significance of that? Not just to tell you that he wasn't cutting his hair or he was cutting his vow? His hair was coming back, but his strength wasn't. His hair was coming back. His fulfillment of his vow, but his strength wasn't. Because you got to believe, don't you think that Samson was thinking, oh man, you guys just wait. You just wait. This hair is going to grow. Man, when it grows, you were coming down. You saw what I could do with the jawbone of a donkey, just this chain on my shackle when I rip it out. Just you wait. Samson's hair is growing and the strength's not coming back. The presence of God's not coming back in his life. You know what? It's also a revelation. Notice there's a faulty understanding sometimes that God is looking for simply obedience to bless. Oh, if I just do the right things, if I just kind of go to church, if I just kind of make a few right choices in my life, God's going to click everything together and start to bless the life I've messed up. I can't tell you how many times I have witnessed people doing that as a pastor. I can't tell you how many times I've done it as a pastor. It's begun just to walk through and think, you know, if I just start clicking the right, pressing the right buttons again and getting doing kind of what God wants me to do, he's going to start pouring out the blessings on me because I'm obedient. Faulty reasoning, faulty theology, because God doesn't bless obedience. I'll tell you what he does bless in a second. But what does this lead for Samson? Because he doesn't get to the point of real despair that he's ready to crowd to God until my gosh, my hair's back, but my strength's not. I'm doing the things I'm supposed to be doing. By the way, he certainly wasn't having wine in prison. No way. So he was keeping that value. He certainly wasn't messing around with inappropriate relationships because he was in prison at this point. What woman would want in his position? Oh, he was keeping the law good here now. But God's strength in prison still wasn't there. And is at that point that we're told in the story that Samson cries out. By the way, the first time, this is the first time Samson cries out to God asking and praying. And he cries out to God to come and give him one more time strength to take vengeance on the Philistines. God is looking for humble faith, not perfect faith. God is looking for humble faith, not perfect faith. And why do I say that? Well, think about the faith that Samson's exercising here. Why does a text tell us, Samson wanted his strength regained? Because God had been defiled his reputation, his glory among his people, because oh, my goodness, look at the oppression that since he's been in prison has happened once again on his people. Is that why? What does a text say? Prevenge for his eyes. Samson's like, you know, this really stinks being blind. His reason even in the moment of crying out to God is still self-centered. Now, you know what? You should have two reactions to that. Your first reaction should be appalling. You should think, my goodness, what is up with this guy? And this guy was leading the people of Israel? That's the point. There was no king in Israel at that time. Everyone knew what was right in their own eyes. And those that were stepping up to lead were totally the wrong kind of leader. Now, that's the first reaction you should have. The second reaction you should have is going, you mean God actually answers prayers that come from mixed motives? Yes! Yes, he does. You mean God will actually respond to Samsoni that is unworthy? You better believe it. You mean that God's not looking for me to have perfect faith? But He'll take it just a little bit? Bingo. That should set you free. But by the way, don't stop being appalled. Be appalled to be set free. But just see yourself in the picture. Let Samson show yourself. Because what kind of faith does the Bible say God's looking for? Somebody. Huh? A mustard seed. Is that a big seed or small seed? Very small seed. It still produces a huge plant. But it's a small seed. What's God saying? He's not looking for perfect faith. Because you don't have it. He's looking for humble faith. He's looking for smiles. He says, God, I'm a wreck. I'm a mess. Could you do something with me? Anything? God's like, yeah. Now you're ready. Now you're ready. I have a third response. You used to have a look at something like this. This isn't appalling. I look at yourself in humbleness. And the third look should be, oh my gosh, look at Jesus. Look at the Son of God who exercised humble and perfect faith. That's the one I want paying my death penalty. That's the one spirit I want living in my life. See, the book of Judges wasn't just setting people up for a King David who would be a man after God's own heart. Just say, hey, this is the kind of guy you ought to be following. Because David fails miserably morally too, doesn't he? But David was looking to a Messiah. Who's called the Son of David? Jesus. Because there's the real King that's coming with that embrace of hope and weakness. So were they incorrect understanding? Was that God is looking for obedience to bless? Here's the correct. The correct understanding is that God is looking for faith that expresses itself an obedience to bless. God is looking for humble faith that expresses itself an obedience to bless. That's what he's looking for. So make that personal here. When where's the spirit inviting you to exercise humble faith this morning? Sit in your finances? Is God calling you to be a little more faithful in giving in your finances? And you're like thinking, this wouldn't be the time God would be asking me to do that. It would be, why not? It sounds like a perfect time for humble faith. What about in school? Kids or some of you big people still in school? Could God be calling you to find a love for learning, not just making it a grade? Find a love for learning about the world that God created. What about something in marriage? Could God be telling you that your earthly spouse is not it but your heavenly spouse is? God says he's your bridegroom. You're his bride. You're a follower of his. Quit looking here. Look here. Could that be the humble faith? Could God be saying your job situation? Hey, either be content where you're at. Maybe you're not happy with. Or for some of you who aren't in our looking, trust me to take care of you. Maybe that's the humble faith. Could it be maybe an apparenting situation, understanding and really embracing the truth? You know what? My children are more gods than they are mine. And if I really live that way, that should change the way apparent. If I really believe they're more gods than mine. Maybe that's humble faith. Number one, neglect of strength, source number two, embrace of hope and weakness. Samson experienced but third in the part of the story we like was deliverance of God's strength. Once we have repented from the neglect, once we have begun to embrace again, God's deliverance of strength comes. And then it happens here in the story as well. God's presence in strength came when Samson shifted his hope from himself to cry out to God to deliver him as imperfect as he did it. As soon as Samson's eyes shifted back to God, God's blessings began to be restored on his life, right? Remember the story of Peter walking on the water? As soon as Peter's eyes went back to the, oh my gosh, I'm walking on water, it began to sink. But the moment he cried out, fixed back on Jesus, the Lord helped me, saved me. Jesus' hand was there and he was saved. When our eyes come back and are fixed on God in his presence, God's deliverance is close at hand in those moments. Notice the progression that happens here, though in Samson's life, because it's the same for us, belief in God's presence is where it began. Somewhere in prison, and I'm telling you, when he finally was at the end of the rope and finally his hair, finally his earthly obedience still didn't get him God's favor, Samson looked to God. And many of us here as long-time Christians need to hear that, that it's not our earthly obedience that gets us God's favor, it's our eyes being fixed on Christ and humble faith moving towards him, belief in God's presence. It's the first time that we know for sure that Samson prayed other than the time he said, God, I'm thirsty, give me some to drink. The first time we really saw him, what came from that was a reminder of his faithfulness. Samson remembered what God had done in his life when he was more faithful and hadn't cut his hair yet and things like that. He remembered God's faithfulness and some of many of us need to spend time remembering how God has been faithful to us in the past. His prayer life was engaged at that point. He prays and cries out to God. You know what he had to do next? He had to trust God in his life circumstances. You know, there's probably a quarter of the texture. It's probably a really good reason to think this wasn't Samson's first time here in the temple of Degon there. He knew there were two pillars that he needed to be near that were supporting the infrastructure of the entire building. He was pretty acquainted with the spot. I wonder how many times he'd been in that same position. You think that was the first time he'd ever entertained him? You think he was a popular act? Two years running on Broadway, see Samson, somewhere along the way, Samson had to trust God in his circumstances that God had prepared him for something at that point, even in his brokenness that God could still do in his life. And for us, some of us, that's a meaningful word this morning, is that God is in control of your circumstances. Even your poor mistakes, poor decisions, failure to trust him that got you there. And in the midst of those circumstances, blind and humiliated, Samson steps out in faith, doesn't he? Praise, ask God to come in, and steps out in faith, and we see God come and deliver. And interestingly here, don't let it slip by, the text says, he killed more in his death than he did his entire life. Somewhere in that, as we transition to the Lord's table here right now, ought to go, that kind rings a bell. Who else has saved more in his death in some ways than he did in his life? If Jesus Christ had not actually suffered and died on the cross and experienced our death, there would not have been life given to all those who would trust in him. Don't miss for a second that the Book of Judges is not just setting the people of Israel up to say, you need a king, but it's totally setting them up to say, you need the king. And Book of Judges is so relevant for you this morning because it's telling you, you need the king. I don't know where you at here, you'll walk here this morning. I don't know if you would call yourself a follower of God. I don't know if you would say, hey, I've called myself a follower of God, but I know I'm really not. But God promises that you will reach out. If you will embrace Jesus Christ, you will say, Jesus, be my king. Take away, forgive my sins. Pour out your spirit, work in my life. He promises he'll do that. He promises to deliver you. And by the way, that would be humble faith that God looks to bless. The backside of your bulletin explains more how you could do that, and I'd be glad to talk to you and would love to do that. Let me encourage you here this morning. Jesus Christ came to be a king and a deliverer. He can be yours if you choose to. That's not your choice here this morning. We certainly respect that opinion. We'd love to walk that journey with you. Let me encourage you not to come and partake in communion here and actually eat and actually drink because this represents your surrender of your life to Christ. But with your permission, we still love to pray for you. You can just come forward and just say, hey, I'm not partaking. We'd love to pray for you. If you hear this morning, you are a follower of God, but you know for whatever reason, you are harboring disobedience in your heart that you will not turn away from. Not some mystery area. Then let me encourage you to be better if you not to partake. But what would be best for you is to let go of that. See if for what it is. See for how it's going to fail you because it's against the will of God and turn and trust God. And give over him that control of that area of your life and return from it. And then Jesus says, hey, now you're ready to eat. Now you're ready to drink. But come forward and we'd love to pray for you. If you're not ready to do that yet, just come forward and say, hey, I'm not partaking. And we'd love to still pray for you. But if you hear this morning, which I hope most of us are in this camp and you just realize your need fresh again for Christ, he says, come eat and drink. Because truly, more have been saved in the death of Christ in many regards that were saved and could be saved with just his mere life. So see that in the cross here this morning. See, Samson's failure that meant somebody had to pay the price. But please see yourself in Samson. And how does that cause the Son of God to be torn and broken into? Because when Jesus says, come take, eat this, my body broken for you. He's saying, you're like a Samson, but I will deliver. And when the Scriptures go on and say that he also took the cup which represented the new covenant in his blood, shed for many for the forgiveness of sins, Jesus say, look, all this stuff about wine and the Bible. Wine is the drink of joy and celebration. This is truly worth drinking too. Somebody's blood poured out for you. Somebody's life sacrificed for you. Somebody delivering you, no matter what your circumstances, common humble faith, humble faith and trust in me, look to Christ. He invites you to come this morning. So let me pray for us and it'll come as you feel led to partake during this time and continue in worship this morning.