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What living lessons can 21 st -century Christians learn from Samson about STRENGTH ?

What living lessons can 21 st -century Christians learn from Samson about STRENGTH ?. Spiritual Strength Comes Only from God The Lord chose Samson even before conception – 13:1-5 The Lord chose Samson to be set apart to Him – 13:5 Samson was to be “a Nazirite to God” – 13:5

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What living lessons can 21 st -century Christians learn from Samson about STRENGTH ?

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  1. What living lessons can 21st-century Christians learn from Samson about STRENGTH? • Spiritual Strength Comes Only from God • The Lord chose Samson even before conception – 13:1-5 • The Lord chose Samson to be set apart to Him – 13:5 • Samson was to be “a Nazirite to God” – 13:5 • The Hebrew term “nazir” means “one separated” • Unlike other Nazirites, Samson’s vow: • Was determined for him – 13:5; cf. Num. 6:1-8 • Would last from his birth to his death – 13:5, 7 • Required dietary restrictions on his mother – 13:4, 7 • The hair was a major part of the Nazirite vow • Unshorn hair was a primary mark of a Nazirite’s vow

  2. What living lessons can 21st-century Christians learn from Samson about STRENGTH? • Spiritual Strength Comes Only from God • Before Samson’s birth, God had delivered Israel into hand of Philistines (using pagans to punish His people) – 13:1 • However, God already had a plan for delivering them • He set apart Samson to “begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines” – 13:5 (Deliverer=Judge) • Samson “judged Israel 20 years” (15:20) but Philistine yoke not thrown off until Samuel (1 Sam. 7:3-13) • Despite some things we know about Samson, one thing that stands out is that he honored his Nazirite vow. • It was the guiding principle of his faith. • God listed him as a hero of faith in Hebrews 11:32.

  3. What living lessons can 21st-century Christians learn from Samson about STRENGTH? • The Lord worked with and through Samson • Key points: • The Lord worked with and through Samson for His Divine purposes • The Lord worked with and through Samson when Samson kept his vow • “The Lord blessed him” with physical strength (which came from the Lord) and “the Spirit of the Lord” began to move upon him – 13:24-25 • When the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, he did something great

  4. What living lessons can 21st-century Christians learn from Samson about STRENGTH? • The Lord worked with and through Samson • Episode 1: The Lion • When the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, Samson tore the lion apart with his bare hands – 14:6 • Later, he touched the dead lion and ate honey from the carcass – 14:8-9 • At his wedding feast, Samson posed a riddle to the Philistines about the honey from the lion – 14:12-18 • Killing the lion and posing the riddle allowed him to begin to fulfill God’s purpose for him

  5. What living lessons can 21st-century Christians learn from Samson about STRENGTH? • The Lord worked with and through Samson • Episode 2: The Philistine Wife • Samson saw a woman – 14:1 (lust of the eyes) • Samson desired a wife of pagan nation – 14:2-3 • More interested in pleasing self than God – 14:3, 7 • Still, God would use this occasion for His purposes against Philistines – 14:4 • The pagan wife connived the riddle’s answer from Samson – 14:15-18 • Samson was obligated to fulfill the stakes – 14:18-19 • The Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he killed 30 Philistines – 14:19 (beginning to fulfill God’s purpose in delivering Israel)

  6. What living lessons can 21st-century Christians learn from Samson about STRENGTH? • The Lord worked with and through Samson • Episode 3: The 300 Foxes • His wife’s deception angered Samson and he left her – 14:19-20 • Later, Samson sought to make peace with her but he was refused – 15:1-2 • In retaliation, Samson sent 300 fox-tail-tied-torches into grain fields of Philistines – 15:1-4 • As punishment for burning their food supply, the Philistines killed Samson’s wife and her father – 15:6 • Out of revenge for that, Samson attacked “up one side and down the other” with a “great slaughter” – 15:8

  7. What living lessons can 21st-century Christians learn from Samson about STRENGTH? • The Lord worked with and through Samson • Episode 4: The Jawbone of a Donkey • The Philistines reacted again (against Samson’s “great slaughter”) by going to Judah and arresting Samson – 15:9-10 • Samson’s actions had placed Judah in a precarious position with the Philistines • So, 3,000 men of Judah assisted in the Samson’s arrest – 15:11-13 • Samson allowed this to happen to perpetuate a bigger plan • The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson and he killed 1,000 men with the jawbone of a donkey – 15:14-17

  8. What living lessons can 21st-century Christians learn from Samson about STRENGTH? • The Lord worked with and through Samson • Episode 5: The Gates of Gaza • The Lord was not done using Samson yet. • Samson’s lust caused him to sin again – 16:1 • When the Gazites thought they had Samson trapped and were perched to kill him, his strength prevailed again – 16:2-3 • Samson took the doors of the gate, the two gateposts, the bar and all – took hold of them, pulled them up and put them on his shoulders – 16:3 • Then, he carried to them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron (35-40 miles away).

  9. What living lessons can 21st-century Christians learn from Samson about STRENGTH? • When Samson Broke His Vow with God, God Broke His Vow with Samson. • Samson’s lust-filthy and pride-filled heart finally catches up with him! • For years, he had been true to his Nazirite vow. • But, his own passions brought his doom.

  10. What living lessons can 21st-century Christians learn from Samson about STRENGTH? • Samson Broke His Vow w/ God, God Broke His Vow w/ Samson • Episode 6: He loves another foreign woman, Delilah – 16:4 • The lords of the Philistines bribe her with 5,500 pieces of silver to entice him – 16:5 • “Please tell me where your great strength lies” – 16:6 • “Seven fresh bowstrings…I shall become weak” – 16:7 • “Please tell me what you may be bound with” – 16:10 • “New ropes…I shall become weak” – 16:11 • “Tell me what you may be bound with” – 16:13 • “Weave the seven locks of my head” – 16:13 • “Have not told me where your great strength lies” – 16:15 • “Pestered him daily…His soul vexed to death” – 16:16

  11. What living lessons can 21st-century Christians learn from Samson about STRENGTH? • Samson Broke His Vow w/ God, God Broke His Vow w/ Samson • Episode 6: He loves another foreign woman, Delilah – 16:4 • Samson “told her all his heart” – 16:17 • The issue is not his hair as such, but the relationship with God that it represents. • His strength was not in his hair but in God! • “His strength left him” – 16:19 • “I will go out as before…!” – 16:20 • “But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him” – 16:20 • The Philistines finally had him • Put out his eyes, bound with bronze shackles – 16:21 • Made him grind grain in the prison – 16:21 • Became a source of entertainment/sport – 16:25, 27

  12. What living lessons can 21st-century Christians learn from Samson about STRENGTH? • The Lord Could Still Use Samson • “The hair of his head began to grow again” – 16:22 • Reflects on the Philistine’s inattention • Implies that Samson’s strength could be returning • The lords of the Philistines and a temple full of men and women gathered to celebrate – 16:23-27 • The Philistines claimed their god, Dagon, had given them victory – 16:23-24 • They blasphemed the God of heaven!

  13. What living lessons can 21st-century Christians learn from Samson about STRENGTH? • The Lord Could Still Use Samson • Episode 7: Samson (blind, mocked, humiliated and humbled) called to the Lord one last time – 16:28 • “O Lord God, remember me, I pray!” • “Strengthen me, I pray, just this once…” • “O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance…” • “Let me die with the Philistines!” – 16:30 • “The dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life” – 16:30 • “He shall being to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines” – 13:5 • God “was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines” – 14:4

  14. What living lessons can we learn from Samson about SPIRITUAL STRENGTH? • Does not make a person perfect or remove all weaknesses. • Is knowing we have weaknesses and knowing what they are. • Comes only from God and not from self or our own abilities. • Comes only when we are true to God. • Is given by God for the purpose of fulfilling His purpose. • Guards where our eyes and feet go. • Steers away from ungodly companions. • Is not to be thought of for personal gain but for His gain. • Personal pride and arrogance will destroy spiritual strength. • One may think God is still abiding with him when in reality He left. • Spiritual strength can grow back. • Let God use you (again)! • After we repent, God can still use us! • Your greatest spiritual victory may still be ahead! • By God’s grace and power we are what we are and do what we do.

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