Entrapped by Weakness | Sunday, September 15, 2024

Amen. Thank you, Christian and Eli. Good morning, church. You can have a seat.

In honor of the great James Earl Jones, I decided to bring my deep voice this morning to church. I actually have a bit of a cold, but a funny thing about James Earl Jones is that I found the New Testament in the King James Version read by him. I was playing it this last week, and my oldest son asked, "Is that Darth Vader reading the Bible?" I replied, "Yes, yes it is, son." So, it's an interesting one for you.

I do have a bit of a cold and a sore throat, so prayerfully, I'll make it through this service and the next. I was over at my parents' house helping them with something yesterday, and as I was leaving, my mom asked, "Are you going to teach tomorrow?" I said, "I'm planning on teaching tomorrow." My oldest son, Ethan, chimed in, "I got your back. If you can't preach, I'll jump in there." I thought, "Alright, well, he's ready to go." Garrett is actually ready to go as well.

If you would take out your Bibles this morning, we are in the Old Testament. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand. We are in the seventh book of the Bible, which is called Judges, and we are in Judges chapter 14. We are continuing a study about the life of an individual who had strength but weak character—a strong man with weak character. If you know anything about that section of Scripture, you know we're talking about Samson today.

Three thousand years ago, a great wise king named Solomon was really good at short sayings from the Old Testament, which we call Proverbs. In Proverbs 1:17, he said, "Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird." In other words, how foolish it is to set a trap right in front of the one who is going to be ensnared by it. It seems kind of crazy and foolish to set the trap right in front of someone if you're trying to ensnare them. They know where it's at; they're not going to step there.

Yet, so frequently, it seems that people fall into those traps that are so easily avoidable. I mean, that makes up every suspenseful movie that ever happened. The main character is like, "No, he's not really going to open that door. He can't possibly open that door; the bad guy is behind that door." And, of course, they always open the door. You think, "Come on, man!" It's the predictable trap—the irony of the predictable trap. We see that here in this passage, and we'll see that in the next couple of weeks as well.

The story of Samson always seems to trigger the trap, and Judges chapter 14 sets it up. Look at Judges 14:1; it says, "Now Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah, of the daughters of the Philistines." That's exactly what you anticipate at that point if you know nothing about Samson other than what you read in the previous chapter.

In that chapter, we are given the setup of the story. Before he was conceived, before he was born, there was a promise from God through an angelic messenger, who I think is actually a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus. He shows up to tell Samson's father and mother that this child is going to be born, and he is going to be consecrated with a lifelong vow, which is connected to a Nazarite vow. You can learn about it in the Book of Numbers, chapter 6. He is going to be committed to God for life, and through him, God says He is going to begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines, who at this point had been ruling over and dominating the children of Israel for at least 40 years.

By the time we get to Judges chapter 14, you have to add some time to that. For more than 50 years, the Philistines have severely oppressed the children of Israel. If all you know about Samson, because you've never read the story before, is just that he had a divine call, a godly purpose, and an empowering from God supernaturally, then you would assume that he is going to be great.

If all you had to go on was the very last verse of chapter 13, the last two verses, look at Judges chapter 13, beginning at verse 24. "So the woman, Samson's mother, bore a son and called his name Samson. The child grew, and the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to move upon him." If that was all you knew about Samson—the divine calling, the supernatural empowering, the blessing of the Lord, and the Spirit coming upon him—then you might begin to think, "Oh, finally! Finally, Israel is going to have a good judge. Finally, Israel has this divinely planned and prepared judge from birth who has good, godly, God-fearing parents."

No doubt, God is going to move mightily upon and through this individual. The Lord's blessing is upon him, the Spirit's moving is upon him, and he is going to destroy the Philistines. However, point number one, if you're taking notes, is: don't underestimate the...

Stupidity and weakness of strong men should not be underestimated. We will see this theme prominently in the text of Chapter 13, and even more so in Chapters 14, 15, and 16 next week.

Samson went down to Timnah, where he saw a woman among the daughters of the Philistines. From where Samson lived, in the northernmost tip of the nation of Israel among the tribe of Dan, he resided in the Hill Country. Timnah was a Philistine city located in the valley. Throughout ancient times, the children of Israel often lived in the Hill Country, while the Canaanites and Philistines inhabited the valleys. Geographically, Samson is moving down literally from the Hill Country into the valley of Timnah.

However, there is a vivid image here that represents more than just a geographical shift; he is going down in a spiritual sense as well. We see a similar picture in the early story of Abram in Genesis. When God first called Abram to follow Him, Abram set out by faith to follow God's call and ended up in the land of Canaan. God appeared to him there and gave him a promise about descendants, land, and blessing. When God appeared to Abram, he built an altar and worshiped God, naming the place where this happened Bethel, which means "House of God."

This creates a great picture of the great father of our faith, Abram, who later became Abraham. He was dwelling in the House of God, but he did not stay there for long. Genesis 12:8 states that he moved from there to the mountains east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. Ai means "heap of ruin."

Location, location, location: when you move from the House of God, you begin to drift. Now, instead of being at Bethel, the House of God, he finds himself at Ai, the heap of ruin. The text continues, stating that after he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east, he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. Thus, Abram journeyed still further south. He moved from Bethel toward Ai, continuing to drift southward. Finally, we read in verse 10 of Genesis 12 that there was a famine.

In the land, Abram went down to Egypt. Egypt, in the Scriptures, is frequently connected to what some theologians would refer to as a type of the world. We have this shift in Abram's life; he was fully committed and fully trusting in God, the provider, Jehovah Jireh, dwelling and worshiping God in a place called Bethel. However, he drifts outside of the house of God toward the Heap of Ruin, Ai. Then, still going toward the south, he experiences a famine and ends up in Egypt. Nothing good happens in Egypt.

The same is true with Samson; nothing good happens in Timna, as we will see. In fact, this city, Timna, is connected to another wild story. Someday, we will go to it in Genesis with a great man of God, or who was supposed to be a great man of God, named Judah. Judah met Tamar on the road to this town. Now, that may be a reference you don't know, but if you do know, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Nothing good happens in Timna.

Samson saw a woman in Timna, one of the daughters of the Philistines. As I mentioned a moment ago, before Samson was born, God had given a promise—a promise of a blessing to Samson's parents. In verse 5 of Judges chapter 13, it says that through this child, who is going to be born, Samson, God will begin to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines.

I assume that when Samson was born, his parents had completely dedicated themselves to being consecrated to God for this child and for his future. They never envisioned what we are going to see in this passage regarding his future. Every parent, when they find out that they are going to have a child, starts to imagine or envision what is going to be for that child. You can be certain that they had those visions as well, especially since they had this word from the angelic messenger that God would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines through this child.

Now, Samson goes down to this Philistine city. We should not underestimate the stupidity and weakness of strong men. When we see the story of Samson, especially we men should take careful note of this. It reminds us of what we learned in the New Testament, in 1 Corinthians 10:12: "Take heed when you think you stand, lest you fall."

Fall reminds us to meditate upon the words of Solomon in Proverbs 16: "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." It reminds us, as Micah tells us, that God has called us to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk in humility. We need to be those who endeavor to have a right and honest view of who we are. Even though we might have great strengths and gifts, we should never lose sight of the fact that we are also weak. This is not only for men; it is also for women as well.

We should understand and recognize, as I mentioned last week, that I am what I am by the grace of God. We are not sufficient of ourselves to think anything as being of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. Second Corinthians 3:5-6 says very clearly that we need to acknowledge and recognize that we are still fallen and still weak. It is crucially important that we maintain humility because even if you are a strong man, every strong man has many weaknesses. We will see that so clearly with Samson.

In Judges chapter 14, verse 2, we read that Samson went up to his father and mother and said, "I have seen a woman in Timnah, of the daughters of the Philistines. Now therefore, get her for me as a wife." Oh man, Samson! His father and mother said to him, "Is there no woman among the daughters of your brethren or among all my people that you must go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?" You can almost hear Samson's Jewish mother saying, "Couldn't you please get a young girl among the Jewish girls, possibly?"

But Samson said to his father, "Get her for me, for she pleases me well." The Hebrew of this text could be literally interpreted as "she is right in my eyes." Maybe she was attractive, a Philistine, and Samson wanted her. This is something for us to consider. The Proverbs would do well for you to read. There happen to be 31 chapters in the Book of Proverbs, and most of you know that frequently there are 31 days in a month. It is not a bad idea to develop a habit and pattern of reading a chapter each day.

A chapter from Proverbs states that a chapter a day will keep foolishness away. Proverbs 27:20 says, "The eyes of a man are never satisfied." He looked upon this woman and said, "That's the one I want. She is right in my eyes," and he declared, "I want her as mine."

Our culture, for at least as long as I've been alive—and probably much longer—has encouraged us to lay hold of whatever our eyes see and our hearts desire. That is bad counsel. Pursuing whatever your eyes see and your heart desires is misguided because John tells us in the New Testament, in 1 John, that all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

What does that mean? The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life can be summarized as: it looks good, I want it, and I deserve it. Our culture emphasizes that mindset. I would argue that the culture Samson lived in 3,200 years ago was not so dissimilar. All that is in the world is indeed the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

However, if you follow after those things, I think you'll find exactly what Solomon found when he pursued those things 3,000 years ago. The great wise King Solomon set himself to try out the thesis that you should go after whatever you see and whatever your heart desires. He wrote about it and gives us his conclusion in Ecclesiastes chapter 2. He states, "I denied myself nothing my eyes desired and refused my heart no pleasure." He would have fit in perfectly in California in 2024.

Then, this was his conclusion: everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained by that way. How many lives could be preserved? So much pain, so much sorrow, so much failure could be avoided by considering that conclusion.

James, in James chapter 1, says, "Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Desire, when it is conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death."

Death. Point number two: Don't underestimate the strength of your flesh and its weakness in the face of temptation. Again, we go back to that text that I frequently return to in 1 Corinthians 10:12: "Take heed when you think you stand, lest you fall." Don't underestimate the strength of your flesh; it's weak in the face of temptation.

Now we come to what is, quite honestly, one of the head-scratchers of Scripture. It's one of those verses that you look at, read, and just wonder, "What in the world is that all about?" Look at verse four of Judges 14: "But Samson's father and mother did not know that it was of the Lord." Wait, what are you talking about? Deuteronomy 7:3 says it explicitly: God commanded His people, "You are not to take wives of the daughters of the Philistines."

Here is Samson, divinely called by God from birth, prepared for God's purpose, empowered by the Spirit. He goes down to Timnah, sees this Philistine woman, and says, "I want her for myself." He tells his parents, who respond, "Couldn't you maybe find a Jewish girl? You know the law says you're not to take a wife of the Philistines." But Samson insists, "I want her; she pleases me."

Yet we read, "But they did not realize that it was of the Lord." What in the world is going on here? How does this fit? How do we reconcile this? God was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines, for at that time, the Philistines had dominion over Israel for probably more than 50 years.

So, what on Earth is going on in this situation? How do we reconcile this reality that God commanded in Deuteronomy 7:3 that they not have marriages with the Canaanites or the Philistines, and now He is doing this? How could the Lord endorse this? How could He allow this?

Notice that the text does not say that the Lord was seeking for Samson to marry a Philistine. It says the Lord was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines, but it does not say that God was seeking for Samson to marry a Philistine. Could God have stirred Samson to go down to Timnah to begin to move against the Philistines, and Samson got distracted by a really cute Philistine? That's entirely possible. The text doesn't say that, but I'm sure you've never met a young man distracted by a girl. So, it's entirely possible that God had a plan to use this.

God has a plan to accomplish His purposes against the Philistines, and that plan will be fulfilled regardless of Samson's full faithfulness to God's call. It is quite possible that he gets distracted. Could Samson have misinterpreted or misunderstood what it was that God was doing and directing him to do in Timnah? Sure, though we are not entirely sure about that. Whatever the case, this is not the only time or place in the Scriptures where we find God moving His purposes forward in spite of the lack of faithfulness, shall we say, or the lack of consistency of the vessel that God is using.

If we go through the Scriptures, there are numerous individuals that God used in spite of their constant failures. I think of Jacob, Gideon, Moses, David, Peter, and Paul. The list is infinitely long because all God has to work with is a whole bunch of flawed and broken vessels. Samson was one of those flawed and broken vessels, and still, God is going to use him. As it has been said, God uses crooked sticks to draw straight lines because all He has is crooked sticks.

Point number three: don't underestimate God's ability to accomplish His purposes through our weaknesses. What has God chosen to do in His plans? First Corinthians says He has chosen the foolish things, the weak things, the base things, the things that are despised, and the things which are not. We fit into those categories: the weak, the foolish, the despised, the things that are not. Why does He choose those things? Well, as I said, that's all He has to use; that's all He has to choose from.

This is also true: First Corinthians says that no flesh would glory in His presence. If all God ever used were the rich, the good-looking, the strong, and the awesomely intelligent, then every single one of us sitting here today would say God can't use me because I'm not that. But when we see God use a flawed individual, it reminds us of His grace and power.

Samson, I have to be able to say I think God could use me because I fit the bill. We praise God for His grace, amen. We see God's grace abundantly in the life of Samson. Even though, as I mentioned last week—and I'll probably say it again—I don't think he ever fully reached the potential that God could have used him for, had he been fully steadfast and submitted to the Lord in his faithfulness.

But God will take us where we're at and use us however He possibly can to accomplish His purposes. Why? Because God's counsel will stand. Isaiah observed that in Isaiah 46:10: "No purpose of God will be thwarted." Job said in Job 42:2 that God's word and will shall accomplish what He pleases. Isaiah also said in Isaiah 55:1 that not only does God have the ability to accomplish His purpose through our weakness, but His purpose will stand and not be frustrated in the face of man's weaknesses or inconsistencies. This is such a good thing for me to meditate upon as we approach another presidential election.

You see, the temptation is going to be that whatever happens, there will be a very large segment of people that just freak out. What are we possibly going to do? Here’s the awesome thing about being a Christian: we know how it ends. We know that God ultimately, in the end, has a kingdom that He will rule and reign over forever and ever. My hope is not in this world or this kingdom, and I trust that whatever happens, I believe that God is on the throne and in control.

In Judges chapter 14, verse 5, we read that Samson went down to Timna with his father and mother and came to the vineyards of Timna. Now, to his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him. The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon Samson, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. He did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.

I think this is another one of those facepalm moments for Samson in the text. I mean, the first one comes by the fact that he is aiming to marry a...

Samson, a Nazarite, is described in Numbers Chapter 6, which outlines three key observances for those who take this vow. First, they are not to partake of anything from the fruit of the vine. However, Samson finds himself hanging out in the vineyards. While he is not eating or drinking from the vine, being close to it may not be the best plan for a Nazarite. It raises the question of whether he should be in that place at that time.

The second rule is that they are not to touch anything unclean, specifically anything that is dead. The third requirement is that during the period of their vow, they are to grow their hair long, with no cutting allowed. These were the three requirements for a Nazarite.

Samson is walking a fine line between faithfulness to God and the vow he made, and the folly of the flesh. He is in a situation where he ought not to be, and to his surprise, a lion comes roaring against him. This strong man is boldly going where wise men would never venture, and he is attacked. His actions reflect a foolishness; he is a strong fool. It is important to recognize that one can be rich, good-looking, or even intelligent and still be a fool.

Romans Chapter 1 states that professing to be wise, they became fools. Foolishness is evidenced by a person's actions, and here we see this foolhardy man walking where he ought not to be. Interestingly, while he is in this place, the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him mightily. This serves as an important reminder that one can have spiritual power and still engage in unspiritual actions.

It is striking because we ought not to boast in the spiritual power that we have. Verse 7 states that he went down and talked with the woman, and she pleased him well. Hebrews 11 says sin is pleasurable for a season.

In verse 8, after some time, when he returned to get her, he had gone down to Timnah with his parents, and apparently, they had arranged the marriage. In that custom of the day, they were now in the betrothal period, something like the engagement period—not exactly the same, but they had entered into the betrothal period with Samson and this woman. He then returned home for a time, and as time passed, he was going to return to get her, which would begin the marriage process with a marriage feast. This feast often took place over seven days, as we see in this text.

Now they were going down to begin the marriage feast, which would culminate in the actual marriage on the wedding night. After some time, he returned to get her and turned aside to see the carcass. Come on, Samson, a Nazarite was not to partake of the fruit of the vine and was not to touch anything unclean. Yet, he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion.

I wonder what happened with that lion. It was such a cool day; just strolling along, that lion came, and I ripped it to pieces. Who has ever seen such a thing? That was incredible! I have to see if that thing is still around. I don't think I would have told anybody about that. Man, that should be in a book somewhere!

Behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the carcass of the lion. What is Samson doing here? He is walking the line, walking the lion, right into a ring of fire. He is playing stupid games, and what do we say about playing stupid games? You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. Man, he is about to get the jackpot of stupid prizes.

It is wise to keep in mind, point number four: don't underestimate the sweet seductiveness of temptation and sin. He goes to see this carcass of the lion that he had killed with his bare hands in the vineyard. He gets there, and there is that dead lion rotting away. He notices a hive of bees there in the lion, and for some reason, he is enticed to partake of that honey. I mean, I like honey; it's sweet, even if it smells real bad.

Around here, I sure do like honey. Like Jason said, once you get over the gag reflex, it's no problem. He took some of the honey with his hands, as mentioned in verse 9, and went along eating it. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some of it to them, and they also ate. However, he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of a lion.

Samson has now made himself ceremonially unclean according to Jewish law. By partaking of this honey from a dead carcass and touching that dead carcass, he has made the honey unclean as well. Not only has he made himself ceremonially unclean, but he has also officially broken his Nazarite vow. Furthermore, by giving the honey to his parents, they have unknowingly entered into sin as well. This is not exactly what you would have assumed for this great man of God, who was called by God from before his conception, anointed by God, blessed by God, and empowered by God. This is not what you would imagine he would be doing.

We learn from this incident that your sin is never a private matter; it always affects others. Sin is insidious, dangerous, and destructive. When I talk about the private matters of sin in 2024 in America, probably the most private sin is the privatized sin of pornography. You often hear people say, "It's no big deal; it's only your thing. It's not affecting anybody; it's private." I guarantee it is affecting you and everyone around you in ways you can't even fully comprehend.

What is so dreadful about this is that with the advent of artificial intelligence and graphic generation, it has become easier to claim that it doesn't affect anyone else. People think it's privatized and not hurting anybody because it's just a computer generating the image, and it has nothing to do with actual people any longer. However, I guarantee you it is destroying your soul, and I think it's greatly affecting those around you as well.

Our culture affects us in negative ways, and it always impacts others. The crazy story of Samson continues.

Look at verse 10. Samson's father went down to the woman, and Samson gave a feast there. This is probably the time when they are entering into this marriage feast, which young men used to do. It happened that when they saw Samson, they brought thirty companions to be with him. He showed up, and he doesn't seem to be a guy who has too many friends. Apparently, the Philistines thought, "You're going to come throw a party, but you don't have anybody with you." So, they invited some Philistines over to hang out with Samson because he seems like kind of a loner.

Samson then said to them, "Let me pose a riddle to you." For some reason, every time I read this story, I'm reminded of Cassius Clay and Muhammad Ali—a strong guy with a way with words who loves these little ditties. So, Samson gets these guys together and says, "Hey, let me pose a little riddle to you. If you can correctly solve my riddle and explain it, then you're going to win a prize. Within seven days of the feast, if you do this, I will give you thirty garments and thirty changes of clothing. But if you cannot explain it to me, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing."

They said to him, "Pose your riddle that we may hear it." He said, "Out of the eater came something to eat; out of the strong came something sweet." We instantly know what that is because we've been reading the story, but they certainly didn't. For three days, they could not explain the riddle.

On the seventh day, they said to Samson's wife, "Entice your husband to be, that he may explain the riddle to us. Or else, we will burn you and your father's house with fire. If you don't do this, we're going to kill you." That's pretty intense. The Philistines don't mince words, do they? They accused her of being in on it with her husband-to-be, claiming she was trying to rob them blind. So, they demanded that she find out what her husband knows.

Riddle means to tell us, or your toast literally, we're going to burn you and your father's house down. So, look at this; tactics have not changed in 3,200 years.

Then Samson's wife wept on him and said, "You only hate me; you do not love me. You have posed a riddle to the sons of my people, but you have not explained it to me." He replied, "Look, I have not explained it to my father and my mother, so should I explain it to you?" She had wept on him for seven days while the feast lasted. It happened on the seventh day that he told her because she pressed him so much. This is a foreshadowing of future trouble. She then explained the riddle to the sons of her people.

The men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, "What is sweeter than honey and what is stronger than a lion?" He responded, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle."

Samson is quite a character—a fascinating guy with a miraculous birth. His mother was barren, not just a miraculous birth but a divine call, purpose, and mission. He had supernatural empowering from God and supernatural strength, as we've seen in the text and will see even more. He was a man of awesome potential and great opportunity, yet he had a great weakness for failure. He was weak when it came to temptation, possessing tremendous potential and power, yet a penchant for doing the dumbest of things.

In verse 19, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson mightily, and he went down to Ashalon, one of the key cities of the Philistines. He had to pay up on his debt; he owed these guys 30 linen garments and 30 changes of clothing. So, he went to Ashalon and killed 30 of their men. He just killed 30 Philistines, saying, "Oh, you look nice, come here," and took them out. He took their apparel and gave the changes of clothing to those who had explained the riddle. His anger was aroused, and he went back to his father's house. Samson's wife-to-be was given to his companion.

Companion who had been his best man, as I said previously, do not underestimate the weakness of strong men. But also, don't underestimate God's ability to accomplish His purpose through weak individuals. He will ultimately accomplish His purpose. We can hope in and trust in that, maybe not to the extent that He could have, and maybe not at the speed that He would have if Samson had been completely dedicated and committed to his vow.

Point number five, and I'll wrap it up: God's purposes and plans will stand no matter what. Samson is a man full of contradictions, like every single one of us. He is one of the strongest men, divinely chosen and empowered by God, and yet he frequently falls into traps that are set right in front of him. Traps that, as you're reading them, you think, "Come on, Samson, why would you do that? No, please don't do that." There is going to be a lot more of that in chapter 15 and chapter 16.

His story serves as a potent reminder to us that even those who are chosen by God for great purposes can fall prey to their own weaknesses. In that, we should take heed when we think we stand, lest we fall. These things, as stated in 1 Corinthians 10:1, were written for our instruction and admonition. I guarantee you we are living in a time that, in many respects, is similar to the world in which Samson lived—a world that was filled with carnality, a world that was filled with brokenness.

God is looking for, seeking instruments that He can use for His glory and His purposes in a world like this. He has called every single one of you and empowered every single one of you to be a part of that task. However, it does require a level of dedicated consecration from us. Samson, in spite of his divine calling and supernatural strength, had flaws, particularly his weakness for women and his pride. These led him to compromising situations time and time again, and ultimately, they will lead him to brokenness and devastation. Yes, God will accomplish His purpose.

Some major things happened through his life, and yes, his name is listed in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews chapter 11. However, I am always left, every time I read this story, thinking it could have been so much better—a life fully dedicated to the Lord.

This reminds us to maintain humility. It reminds us to be vigilant and circumspect against temptation. We need to commit ourselves to and trust wholly in God's overarching purpose and plan. It also reminds us to recognize our vulnerabilities, to guard our eyes and our hearts from the things of this world, to seek wise counsel, which Samson never did, and to not underestimate the power of temptation because it is far stronger than we think. Though the spirit may be willing, the flesh can be so weak.

When I read this text, I think, "Don't waste your life." God, take what we have and use it for Your glory. By grace, we have been saved through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is not of works, lest anyone should boast. We have been saved for good works in Christ Jesus, that we should hopefully walk in them today and this week. Amen.

Let's stand together and close in prayer.

Father God, thank You for this text of Scripture. I thank You for the story of Samson. Even with all of its issues, Samson certainly is a guy who had lots of issues, and every single one of us standing here are people with lots of issues. Yet, You love us, You call us, You save us, and You seek to sanctify us. You desire to use us for Your glory and for Your name's sake.

God, would You help us, by the enabling power of Your Spirit, to once again commit ourselves and our way to You, to trust in You, and to allow You to work in and through us for Your glory? God, would You please accomplish great things through our lives, through this church, and through the other members of the body of Christ throughout this county and this nation? God, do a work. We ask this in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, "Amen."