Samson and Humility (Audio)

Samson and Humility (Judges 16:23-31) Yearly Theme:  “Love Is…” Series Title:  Kind of a “BIG” Deal July 28th, 2019   Something to think about:   “Phillip Brooks made an apt comment when he said, ‘The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is.’”[1]   We come to the end of our series today on Samson.  Samson’s pride throughout the course of his life as a Judge over Israel, finally got the best of him.  His strength became his weakness, and pride became his downfall.  The love of his life, Delilah, would be his demise, and in a moment of weakness Samson would be betrayed into the hands of his enemies:  The Philistines.  While he slept in Delilah’s lap, his hair would be shorn off like a sheep’s wool.  He would away to a surprise attack only to find out that the LORD had left him, and so had his strength.    Now, with his eyes gouged out and imprisoned by the Philistines as their slave, Samson was brought to his lowest point ever.  But, as we remember from last week’s message, Samson’s hair began to grow back (16:22).   Today, we come to the last moments of Samson’s life, and the redemption of God on Samson’s life as he would finally become victorious over the enemies of God:  The Philistines.  Because of Samson’s humiliation, he would be humbled enough to be used of God.  Let’s take a look…   Turn in your Bible to:  Judges 16:23-31   What we learn in these few verses is, Samson had to learn the hard way that…   Key Point:  “Humility leads to victory.”   How does this play out in Samson’s final hours?  Let’s take a closer look:   Pride leads us to believe we’re victorious, when, instead, we’re on the verge of defeat.   Judges 16:23-24 (NLT),  23  The Philistine rulers held a great festival, offering sacrifices and praising their god, Dagon. They said, “Our god has given us victory over our enemy Samson!” 24  When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, “Our god has delivered our enemy to us! The one who killed so many of us is now in our power!”   Being humbled drives us to repentance and reliance on God.   Judges 16:28 (NLT), Then Samson prayed to the LORD, “Sovereign LORD, remember me again.  O God, please strengthen me just one more time.  With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes.   Humility brings greater action and victory that pride ever can.   Judges 16:30 (NLT), [Samson] prayed, “Let me die with the Philistines.”  And the temple crashed down on the Philistine rulers and all the people.  So he killed more people when he died than he had during his entire lifetime.   Something to take home:   Samson would have to be humbled in order to have the strength to overcome his enemies, and the Philistines would die in their pride believing they were victorious over Samson.  Sometimes our enemies may seem to have bested us, but if we are humble, and focused on Christ, no enemy can ever truly overcome us.  God is our refuge and strength; He is an ever-present help in times of trouble.  Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, thought its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.[2]    Humility requires repentance and complete reliance on God.  It requires complete submission to Christ and waiting upon the Lord to renew our strength.  The truth is, humility brings greater action and victory than any amount of human strength or fame ever could.  Humility is the currency of God’s kingdom.  Humility is the only way anyone can enter heaven.   Key Point:  “Humility leads to victory.”   [1] E. Skouglund, Burning Out for God, p. 11. [2] Psalm 46:1-3.