{"id":11431,"date":"2023-05-21T09:08:06","date_gmt":"2023-05-21T13:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/?post_type=message&p=11431"},"modified":"2023-06-20T08:24:48","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T12:24:48","slug":"blind-but-now-i-see","status":"publish","type":"message","link":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/message\/blind-but-now-i-see","title":{"rendered":"Blind But Now I See"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Below is an automated transcript of this message<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Good <\/i><\/span> morning church. It’s good to see all of you here! Today, we’re continuing our journey through the book of Judges; we will be concluding the story of Samson today. Our sermon series is entitled, \u201cSearching For A True Savior.\u201d We’re looking at the sermon today, entitled \u201cBlind, But Now I See.\u201d You’ll hear more about that.

Let me pray for us. \u201cLord. I just want to thank You for this privilege to be able to preach Your word and for the strength to do it. We offer this sermon now, as worship, but we also offer it, asking You, Lord, to open up our ears, our minds and our hearts to receive it. I pray, first of all, for those that might be far from God, whether they’re watching <\/i><\/span> from home, in this room or in the room next door that you would be brought near, that the Holy Spirit would draw you and you would say \u201cyes\u201d today to following Jesus. For those of us that are already followers of Jesus, I pray that it may be \u201cfood for our souls,\u201d encouragement to us and that it would build us up. Also, that it would bring us to repentance where needed. Lord, we now humbly come before you, asking you to speak. In Jesus’ name, Amen.\u201d

\u201cBlind But Now I See\u201d is the title of today’s sermon, as we conclude this story of Samson. Samson is the twelfth of twelve judges. In the book of Judges, there are six \u201cminor\u201d judges and six \u201cmajor\u201d judges. They’re called \u201cminor\u201d judges because there may only be one or two verses about them. Whereas, the \u201cmajor\u201d judges have several chapters. Samson has chapters 13 through 16, there are four chapters on Samson. Really, two judges have the longest sections, Gideon and Samson . <\/i><\/span> We know those two the best, as a result.

Chapter 16 stands on its own very well because it’s beautifully written; it’s just an amazing work of the Holy Spirit to give us this chapter. In this chapter, we see a man with great potential, who God had given miraculous strength, but like many people who seemed to have it all together on the outside, he was pretty empty on the inside. He was a mess, indeed, on the inside. He was strong on the outside, but weak on the inside. Instead of living for the God Who had blessed him, he squandered his strength, doing what was right in his own eyes. \nSamson is emblematic of Israel. Whatever is wrong with Samson is what’s wrong with Israel. The truth is, as we watch this story about Samson, we have to be careful that it’s not also what’s true of us.

Here’s what was written in the book of Judges concerning Israel , <\/i><\/span> \u201cIn those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.\u201d That was the mark of Israel in this season. They didn’t do what was right in God’s eyes. They did whatever looked right in their own eyes. That was Samson’s problem, as well. Now, you’ll remember that God had promised to save Israel, to begin to save Israel through Samson. It was a promise He had given to the parents of Samson and given to Samson. How’s He going to keep this promise when Samson is such a mess? How’s He going to use such a sinful man to bring about His promise?

Samson has a problem. He can see with outward eyes, but he’s blind on the inside. He has physical eyes to see, but he has no spiritual vision. What will it take for God to use Samson to begin to save Israel? He will need to humbly recognize his own spiritual blindness before he can truly see <\/i><\/span> with spiritual eyes. He’ll need to be able to say, \u201cI once was blind, but now I see,\u201d but he’s not there yet. What will it take to, to humble, strong and confident Samson?

Well, that’s what this chapter is about. Will he have to lose his God-given strength? Will he have to lose those lustful eyes that always want to do what is right in them? What will it take for Samson to truly seek God for himself? We will find out in chapter 16.

What about you? What did it take for you to finally humble yourself and come to the Lord, or what will it take? I might say to some of you, have you yet humbly come to the Lord and said, \u201cI need you.\u201d What will it take living in America today? We’re not that different from Israel during that time. We are so blessed, but we tend to focus on the \u201cblessings\u201d rather than the \u201cblesser.\u201d It’s easy to do when you have blessings. Outwardly, it looks like we have it \u201call together.\u201d People <\/i><\/span> from around the world want to come and live here. Outwardly, Americans look like they have it all together, but on the inside, we’re a mess. It’s just the truth. We might have a nice job, a nice house, a nice car, look great on Facebook, but on the inside we have marital woes, family issues, physical issues and debt up to our ears. We are spiritually dark, but we look ok on the outside. We \u201cclean up;\u201d we look nice.

Where is God in all of this? Has God forgotten us or, like Samson, maybe we’ve forgotten God, speaking of how God’s blessings and prosperity can lead us to forget God.

Speaking of how God\u2019s blessings and prosperity can lead us to forget the God who gave them, Puritan minister from the 1700\u2019s ,John Flavel, said, \u201cOutward gains are ordinarily attended with inward losses\u2026\u201d Here’s what he’s saying\u2013this success is actually much more dangerous to us as believers than suffering, because success , <\/i><\/span> outward success, will often cause us to neglect our souls. It often takes suffering in order to get our attention, so that we actually look to the Lord. That’s often the case. It takes a hurt, it takes some suffering, it takes some shame before we’ll open up and say, \u2018I can’t do this by myself.\u2019 That’s, finally, where Samson ends up.\nGod is going to allow Samson to suffer some outward losses, so that he might finally look to the Lord.

In Judges 16, God revealed much about Himself and answered Samson’s prayer, his final, humble prayer, for help. I believe today that God still reveals Himself to those that will humbly ask. As we look at the text today, we’ll see three truths that God reveals about Himself to those who humbly ask Him. Today, I’m happy to tell you we’re only reading one chapter. Isn’t that nice? We will read chapter 16 of Judges. I must go ahead and tell you, that in the coming weeks, even though this is the last judge, we still have five <\/i><\/span> more chapters to go to cover in the next two weeks. Be praying about that. But today, let’s just enjoy the fact that we only have one chapter.

Judges 16 (ESV) 1 \u201cSamson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her. 2 The Gazites were told, \u201cSamson has come here.\u201d And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, \u201cLet us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.\u201d 3 But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron. 4 After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, \u201cSeduce him and <\/i><\/span> see where his great strength lies. And by what means, we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him and we will each give you 1100 pieces of silver. So Delilah said to Samson, please tell me where your great strength lies and how you might be bound that one could subdue you. And Samson said to her, if they buy me with seven fresh bow strings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man. Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bow strings that had not been dried and she bound him with them. Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. And she said to him, the Philistines are upon you, Samson, but he snapped the bow strings as a thread of flack snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known. Then Delilah said to Samson, behold, you have mocked me and told me lies, please tell me how you might be see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.\u201d 6 So Delilah said to Samson, \u201cPlease tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.\u201d 7 Samson said to her, bound <\/i><\/span>\n\u201cIf they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.\u201d 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. And she said to him, \u201cThe Philistines are upon you, Samson!\u201d But he snapped the bowstrings, as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known. 10 Then Delilah said to Samson, \u201cBehold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound.\u201d 11 And he said to her, \u201cIf they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.\u201d 12 So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, \u201cThe Philistines are upon you, Samson!\u201d And the men lying in ambush were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread. 13 Then Delilah said to Samson, \u201cUntil now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound.\u201d And he said to her, \u201cIf you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.\u201d 14 So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web. And she made them tight with the pin and said to him, \u201cThe Philistines are upon you, Samson!\u201d But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web. 15And <\/i><\/span> 15 And she said to him, \u201cHow can you say, \u2018I love you,\u2019 when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.\u201d 16 And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. 17 And he told her all his heart, and said to her, \u201cA razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.\u201d 18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, \u201cCome up again, for he has told me all his heart.\u201d Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. 19 She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then shebegan <\/i><\/span> began to torment him, and his strength left him. 20 And she said, \u201cThe Philistines are upon you, Samson!\u201d And he awoke from his sleep and said, \u201cI will go out as at other times and shake myself free.\u201d But he did not know that the LORD had left him. 21 And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison. 22 But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved. 23 Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, \u201cOur god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.\u201d 24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, \u201cOur god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.\u201d 25 And when their hearts were merry, they said, \u201cCall Samson, that he may entertain us.\u201d So they called Samson out <\/i><\/span> and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars. 26 And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, \u201cLet me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.\u201d 27 Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained. 28 Then Samson called to the LORD and said, \u201cO Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.\u201d 29 And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. 30 And Samson said, \u201cLet me die with the Philistines.\u201d Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his <\/i><\/span>his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life. 31 Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years.\u201d This is God’s word.

HOW GOD REVEALS HIMSELF TO THOSE WHO HUMBLY SEEK HIM\u2026

1. He shows His faithfulness.

He reveals his faithfulness. Now, you won’t see the word, \u201cfaithfulness,\u201d in this text, but, I can refer you to verse 28; this is Samson’s second prayer. There’s one recorded in chapter 15; the one in chapter 15 is not a good prayer. It’s a very weak prayer. God answered it faithfully, but it was a weak prayer. This prayer in verse 28 is a good prayer; it has three requests. That’s where God will reveal Himself.

In these three truths. The first request is the one <\/i><\/span> we’ll refer to now. 28 Then Samson called to the LORD and said, \u201cO Lord GOD, please remember me.\u201d Samson is thinking that God forgot Him. God hasn\u2019t forgotten Him. God has been faithful the whole time, but that’s not how Samson feels. He feels forgotten.

Then, Samson prays in verse 28, \u201cand please strengthen me only this once.\u201d He says, \u201cO God, that I may be avenged.\u201d Let’s deal with the first prayer request first. When he says, remember me, he’s actually asking God to do something that God’s been doing all along. He’s never forgotten. Remember that first prayer, there’s only two prayers recorded by Samson, the first ones in chapter 15 right after he had won the victory against 1000 Philistines and had won the victory with the jawbone of a donkey. But then, he was so thirsty afterwards. This is the prayer he prayed, you have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant. Shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised. That’s not a great prayer; it\u2019s more like a demand , <\/i><\/span>but you know, God miraculously brought a spring out of the rock there that remained even afterwards. God gave Samson a drink of water. Samson was faithful to pray for his thirst, even though he doesn’t even call on the name of God here. He just calls out to him.

Samson is praying differently now in verse 28. If you look at this, he’s thinking God forgot Him. The truth is that Samson has forgotten God and so has all of Israel. Look at Judges 8:34 (ESV) \u201cAnd the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side.\u201d May I say to you, that one of the reasons we gather on the first day of the week is because we have forgetful hearts. We forget what God has done. We forget to be thankful for all that He has given us and we begin to think that somehow we earned it or somehow we deserved it. We forget. We’re like the people of Israel. We’re often like the people of Israel. They didn’t remember the <\/i><\/span> Lord.

Samson is saying, in verse 28, \u201cO Lord GOD, please remember me\u2026\u201d The Lord never forgot him, but he had forgotten the Lord. Notice this improved prayer; this is a much better prayer. This is a humble prayer. He calls on the Lord. He’s throwing out every name he can think of to call on God. Now, it’s kind of unusual in the ESV version; they’ve got God in all caps here. I’ve never really noticed that before in other translations. \u201cYahweh,\u201d is God’s covenantal name, revealed first to Moses in Exodus 3:14, where Moses asks God what His name is, 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” \u201cI am Who I am,\u201d in Hebrew, is \u201cYahweh,\u201d or as some pronounce it, \u201cJehovah.\u201d Usually in the English translations, it will be all in caps, \u201cLORD,\u201d but here, in order to capture it, it would have been, \u201cO, Lord,\u201d which <\/i><\/span> would have made \u201cYahweh\u201d sound a little strange to the English reader. In the ESV translation, it would say, \u201cOh Lord God\u201d- Oh Yahweh. Samson’s praying this right now.

You see, Samson couldn’t \u201csee\u201d when he had eyes, but now that he doesn’t, he \u201csees.\u201d He’s looking for the Lord from the \u201cinside out.\u201d You see, he’s lost the outward strength. He’s lost his outward vision, but he’s looking to the Lord now and he’s calling Him by name. He’s remembering what his daddy Manoah taught him and what his mama taught him. He’s remembering the way they brought him up. He asked the Lord to remember him. He feels forgotten but he is not forgotten.

How could God use such a man as Samson? This chapter opens up in Gaza and ends in Gaza, like bookends. It starts off with Samson going to a prostitute down in Gaza. This is God’s hero, this is God’s savior who’s going to begin to save Israel <\/i><\/span>. The truth is, God always uses sinful men and women, redeems them and calls them to Himself. There’s no one here that can say, \u201cI was perfect and I’m still perfect.\u201d No. We’re all broken, if we’ll admit it. Then, we come to Jesus; He’s the one that’s perfect. He’s the one that lives within us. He’s the true Savior.

Samson is not the true savior. He’s only a foreshadowing of the true Savior, to prepare Israel and to begin to save Israel. He’s the one that God is going to use. He goes down to Gaza. There’s really three stories here: we have the story of him in Gaza, we have the story of him with Delilah and then we have the story of him in the temple of the God of the Philistines.

Let’s look at a map for a second. He’s from Zorah, right? We remember that this is where he’s born and bred. He tried to <\/i><\/span> get married to a Philistine girl in Timnah, but now, he’s decided to go all the way down to Gaza, which is the, the farthest distance, deep within Philistine territory, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the biggest royal cities of the Philistines. Samson is not afraid; no one can stop him. He’s got this amazing strength from God, but he thinks it’s his strength.

Samson goes down to Gaza and the Gazites hear that he’s there. They come up with a plan \u2013 they will get him in the morning when the sun comes up. We don’t want to fight him in the dark. He’s killed too many of them already, but Samson wakes up at midnight. He doesn’t just wake up; he comes to the gate. You can see him; he comes to the gate of Gaza. Now these gates, if you study archaeology and the size of ancient <\/i><\/span> gates, would have had probably stone work down the sides and in these huge pillars down the side. It says that he pulled them up by the post with the bar still attached and threw it over his back. If this would have been in the Guinness book of world records, then this would have been the heaviest \u201cclean jerk\u201d ever done. Samson throws it on his back, but he’s not satisfied with that. Here are the guards, you know, the \u201cnight shift.\u201d They’re thinking, We were supposed to wait till morning, but I think that’s him. Yes, that’s him. Well, at least we have the gate locked. Somebody go get the rest. We have him trapped. No, no, no! He pulled the gate up by the roots and threw it over his shoulders!

Does Samson dump the gate outside the city? No, he carries it like a trophy, on his back from Gaza to Hebron, which is nearly 40 miles, straight up hill. This is a climb of <\/i><\/span> 3000 ft elevation, from sea level to 3000 ft above sea level to the highest mountain in Hebron. He, then, props it up there like a trophy. That’s who he is \u2013he’s unstoppable. He thinks his strength is his strength. He thinks he can go squander it with whatever his eyes see that he wants and nobody can stop him because he is a self-made man. He’s got this and he can keep getting it. He doesn’t realize that it was God that probably woke him up at midnight to help him get out of there.

It’s God that’s still faithful to him. He didn’t realize that all of His strength and power still comes from God. God is faithful, \u201cbehind the scenes\u201d and \u201cbetween the lines.\u201d He is squandering what God has given him.

We, finally, see a woman that gets a name. We never knew the name of Manoah’s wife. We never knew the name of Samson\u2019s fiance\u2019. We never knew the name of the prostitute, but <\/i><\/span> we know the name, Delilah. Delilah lives down there in the Valley of Sorek, which is that same area where the towns Zorah, Timnah and Ekron are. The Valley of Sorek means the Valley of Choice Vines.

If you remember, as a Nazirite, He’s not supposed to eat of the fruit of the vine or drink from the fruit of the vine. He’s not supposed to go near a dead body and he’s not supposed to cut his hair. That’s the three-part vow of the Nazirite faith. He’s already broken two of the three vows. The only one he has kept is that he has not had a haircut yet.

Samson falls in love with this woman, Delilah. Her name sounds like the Hebrew for \u201cnight.” It doesn’t mean night time, but it sounds like the word for night time, night or darkness. Her name literally means \u201cdelicate, flirtatious, or feeble (enfeeble).\u201d She lives up to her name. She’s <\/i><\/span>, apparently, a Philistine woman. Five lords come to her; probably, five lords because there’s five royal cities. These five lords come to her and offer her 1100 pieces of silver each; that’s 5500 pieces of silver. She’s going to be a billionaire overnight, plus, the leaders of Philistia are basically saying this, \u2018It’s your patriotic duty. We must do something about this ravager who we can’t overthrow. We want to humble him. We want to bind and humble him.\u2019 May I say to you, nobody’s going to humble Samson unless God allows it, but God needs him to be humble because he can’t use him in his current state. He’s all about himself. Everything he does is driven by his lust of the eyes.

Finally, Delilah convinces him. It takes three times . <\/i><\/span> Here’s the thing about somebody that’s ever had a loss. They’ve never lost a battle their whole life.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee talks about him. He was born \u201cwith a silver spoon in his mouth.\u201d He never lost a battle, so he didn’t think he could lose. He’s kind of an \u201cadrenaline junkie.\u201d When he goes to see Delilah, he’s not afraid. She starts to ask, \u2018What’s the secret of your strength?\u2019 She has these guys in another room, hiding, that are going to jump him. Delilah is motivated by her patriotism and by a lot of money. He tells her, “If you tie me up with bow strings.\u201d Bow strings are really strong and it would cut you to try to break it, but he breaks them like flax that’s been burned.

Samson thinks his strength is all about him, but it’s not. It’s God in Him. It\u2019s God’s faithfulness. Delilah thinks <\/i><\/span> that Samson is making fun of her; he is not telling her the secret. Then, Samson tells her, \u2018I’ll tell you what, if you tie me up with new ropes that have never been used.\u2019

Samson likes to give riddles. He’s a \u201cjokester. \u201c He’s always teasing. She ties him up with new ropes. Verse 9, And she said to him, \u201cThe Philistines are upon you, Samson!\u201d But he snapped the bowstrings, as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the fire. He’s just showing off.

Delilah is starting to get on his last nerve about now. Samson tells her, \u2018I tell you what, if you tie the seven locks of my hair in a loom.\u2019 Samson has never had a haircut in his life; he’s a serious looking man. This guy is impressive. You wouldn’t want to be in a dark alley with him. guy. This guy was tough. Aloom<\/i><\/span>is where cloth is made.

While Samson sleeps, Delilah weaves his hair into the loom. Then, she wakes him and says, \u201cThe Philistines are upon you.\u201d He wakes up, shakes his head and breaks the loom all to pieces. Samson even had strong hair. He believes that he’s got his strength and nobody can stop him. He can do anything that his eyes want. He has forgotten God. With this test <\/i><\/span>, he kind of toys with the idea that that strength is in his hair. It’s got something to do with his hair, right?

This last time, she says to him, \u2018You told me, you loved me. If you love me, you will tell me the truth.\u2019 \u2018If you love me, you will tell me the truth.\u2019 She broke him down with that one. \u2018Your heart’s not with me. You’ve mocked me three times. You’ve not told me where your great strength lies.\u2019

It says in verse 16, that she pressed him hard with her words, day after day. It says that his soul was vexed to death. She broke him down and he finally told her his whole heart. He told the whole story. She didn’t deserve to <\/i><\/span> hear that whole story, but he broke down and said, in verse 17 And he told her all his heart, and said to her, \u201cA razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.\u201d

Delilah put him on her lap, put him to sleep and had his hair cut. When he woke up, he said to himself, after she had said, \u201cThe Philistines are upon you,\u201d I’ll shake them off like I always do. He did not know that the Lord had left him. He didn’t even notice that the Lord had left him. You see, he had all of this outward strength, but he had no spiritual inside awareness. He had these eyes that just went after whatever <\/i><\/span> they saw, but he had no spiritual vision. He didn’t even notice that the Lord wasn’t with him. God blessed him with strength, but God needs to show him humility.

It says in Psalm 138:6 (NLT) \u201cThough the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud.\u201d God can’t really use Samson in his current condition. What will it take for Samson to be humble enough to call out to the Lord and to recognize the Lord?

The Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza, where they bound him with bronze shackles and he ground at the mill in the prison. They hitched him up like a donkey; he walked in a circle, chained to it with bronze shackles and ground the grain for the Philistines at the prison. They’re treating him like an animal. That’s how <\/i><\/span> far he’s fallen. That’s how far and make no mistake. They would have never been allowed to do that if God didn’t allow it. God couldn\u2019t use Samson the way he was. Samson was full of himself; there was no room for God. God must be humble. The Philistines said they could have killed him, but God was faithful. God didn’t want him killed. God just wanted him humbled.

May I say to you, that sometimes God allows suffering to come into your life because you’re too full of you? That’s a hard word to hear. You’re too much about the blessings instead of the One who brings the blessings. Sometimes, the only way that we wake up is to have some suffering. God is faithful, even when we’re unfaithful. He’s always faithful.

It says in Lamentations 3:22-23 (NLT) 22 \u201cThe faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. 23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.\u201d Samson said, \u2018Remember me, please remember <\/i><\/span> me.\u2019 Well, the truth is he had forgotten the Lord; the Lord had not forgotten him. God was just waiting for that prayer to come out of his mouth; He was faithful.

In verse 22, it says that his hair started growing again, not because the strength was in his hair. The strength was never in his hair. The strength was in the Lord. We have that little bit of hope right there that the Lord is getting ready to do something.

The Lord remembers you. Are you saying, \u2018Lord, where You at right now? \u201c He hadn’t forgot you.\u201d Call on Him.

HOW GOD REVEALS HIMSELF TO THOSE WHO HUMBLY SEEK HIM\u2026

2. He gives His strength.

This point comes from the second prayer request that Samson says in verse 28, Then Samson called to the LORD and said, \u201cO Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.\u201d

Finally, Samson recognizes he has to be blind and weak before he would recognize that he needed spiritual sight and he needed spiritual strength. He prays for strength and the Lord gives it to him. Where does his strength come from ? <\/i><\/span> It comes from the Lord. The Lord answers his prayer to strengthen him.

The Philistines had given her 1100 pieces of silver per Lord. If there’s five Philistine royal cities, that’s five lords. That’s a lot of silver. That’s an unbelievable sum. It shows the desperation of the Philistines, but it didn’t matter how much money they spent on it. The Lord was going to strengthen him and answer his prayer, but he had to pray humbly.

You might be here today and you might be thinking, Somebody here probably needs to hear that, but not me. I have it all together. I have some plans. I came here today because I wanted to worship the Lord, but things are going great in my life right now. Well, that’s awesome. I’m glad for you, but don’t think it’s because of you. Don’t forget the Lord <\/i><\/span>. Remember that. We really don’t know how much we need the Lord until we’re in a weakened condition.

The last couple of years have been hard on churches in America. It’s been hard on a lot of people. It’s been hard on us, hasn’t it? The last couple of years since COVID have been hard. A lot of things have been testing us. A lot of people have had loss in their life and different things, different challenges, trouble with marriages and trouble with health. It’s like we’ve been trying to set a new \u201cnormal.\u201d

For me, personally, in the past couple of years, I have had double knee replacements. I am turning 65 this summer. I lost my baby brother last Fall; he \u201cgraduated\u201d to heaven. I’m supposed to go first. I’m the oldest; he preceded me. , A <\/i><\/span>couple of weeks ago, I broke my back. A lot of you’ve known me for a long time. The Lord enabled us to plant this church over 31 years ago, when I was young and strong. I used to tell people, up until recently, that I had a strong back and right arm, but I don\u2019t now. Ihave <\/i><\/span> been asking God over the past few weeks, \u201cAre you trying to teach me something?\u201d I don’t know the answer to that. But I know one thing \u2013 it wasn’t a lot of fun writing this sermon about Samson. I started thinking this week, What\u2019s <\/i><\/span> God doing to me? I am looking in the mirror today, in front of you and I give you permission to look in the mirror too, and recognize you’re not as strong as you think you are.

Will you go to the Lord? Will you do it? Hear His word today today <\/i><\/span>. Samson was the strongest man who ever lived. That strength was from the Lord. Samson asked Him, \n\u2018Please strengthen me again.\u2019 He’s humble now. \\

God is faithful. God <\/i><\/span> is strong and all that I have within me comes from Him. I’m nobody. He’s somebody. Lord, please strengthen me. Do you pray that prayer? Sometimes you have to get down. Sometimes you have to say, \n\u2018I’m empty; fill me.\u2019 I’m low; lift me up.\u2019

James 4:6-10 (NLT) 6\u2026 As the Scriptures say, \u201cGod opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.\u201d 7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

We don’t have to be afraid. Isaiah 41:10 (NIV) So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I <\/i><\/span> will uphold you with my righteous right hand. He’s my strength.

Paul said, \u201cWhen I am weak, then I am strong\u201d (2 Cor. 12:10). Admit your weakness. Admit your need. Ask God to be your strength.

HOW GOD REVEALS HIMSELF TO THOSE WHO HUMBLY SEEK HIM\u2026

3. He offers His salvation.

Samson said, \u2018please remember me and please strengthen me.\u2019 He also said this, \u2018please avenge me. Please let me avenge these Philistines for taking my two eyes.\u2019 This prayer seems a little selfish, but then again, let’s remember what God had promised. He had promised to begin to save Israel through Samson, which brings us to this third revelation of God. The third truth that we read about here is he offers His salvation.

You may be wondering, What are you talking about here? What do you see here, Gary? Well, let me help you.

First of all, let’s set up this story: Where is Samson brought to? He’s brought from the prison over to the temple of the Philistine God \u201dDagon<\/i><\/span>.\u201d Dagon has a man’s body from the waist up and a fish tail from the waist down. The statue of Dagon is probably there in the center of that big temple. The temple has a hole in the roof like a colosseum. 3000 people are seated on the roof, probably in colosseum seating. Down inside the temple, is the altar and that big image of Dagon. Samson is standing between the two key pillars that prop the whole temple up. He is entertaining them while they mock him. Samson has a little boy leading him around. Big old Samson has a little boy leading him by the hand because he can’t see. The people are praying to their God and they say, \u2018we give praise to Dagon because he has allowed us to get Samson and overcome him.\u2019

So, <\/i><\/span>you can see, Yahweh can’t tolerate this. He can’t allow this. It’s finally come to a head. God is going to begin the salvation of Israel.

I just want you to think about our true Savior and all the evil that surrounded the cross on the hill. They were thinking that they had Him, they had defeated Him. No, they didn’t.

This temple was full. There’s 3000 people on the roof and who knows how many were on the inside There might have been 6 to 10,000 Philistines. All five lords were there when this happened. It set the Philistines back for a while. There had never been a victory like this in all of Samson’s life. This was the greatest victory ever in his life.

Afterwards we see that <\/i><\/span> his parents had passed away but Samson had a brother, so apparently, his mother’s womb was open, not just for Samson, but she had other sons. They came and got Samson\u2019s body. There were no Philistines to stop him. He’d wiped them out. I bet Delilah was there too. She never got to spend her 5500 pieces of silver.

Samson said, \u2018Can you put my right hand and my left hand on the two main pillars so I can lean up against them. He spread his hands out. God had already gotten us ready for Samson. He’s the twelfth and last judge in the book of Judges. He starts off with Othniel, who leads a great army and overcomes a great army. Then we get to Gideon and God trims him down to a few 300. The first, that’s the original 300 by the <\/i><\/span> way, he wins with 300. But now with Samson, there’s no army. There’s one man, just one man. God’s trying to get Israel prepared for something. He is not going to save by an army. He is not going to save by many, nor by few. He is going to save by one and he’s going to die for it.

Do you see it? Do you see what Sampson is? He’s a foreshadowing of Jesus. He’s the last judge in the book of Judges. He’s saying that there’s one coming to Israel. There’s one coming and I’m only a shadow of Him.

Pointing to Him, consider this His birth was announced by an angel to his parents. He was miraculously born to a barren woman. He was called and empowered even before he was born to save His people. He was empowered by the spirit from birth. He was rejected by his brethren. He <\/i><\/span>was turned over to the Philistines. He was betrayed by the one he loved for silver. He was bound, tortured, mocked and ridiculed. He stretched out his hands to win the victory and he did it not by many, nor by few but by the death of one. This is who Samson is. He’s a picture of God’s salvation. In Jesus, the scripture said he would begin to save Israel, but Jesus finished it.

We read in the scripture, when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, \u201cIt is finished\u201d and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. Samson bowed his head and pushed with all of his strength. Jesus bowed his head and said in Greek, which means, \u201cIt is finished.\u201d Paid in full. Mission accomplished. Salvation complete. What Samson only began a foreshadowing of, Jesus did. He’s the true Savior. He’s the only Savior. He’s the faithful One. He’s the strong One. He is our salvation.

It says in <\/i><\/span>Romans 5:8-10 (NIV) 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God\u2019s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God\u2019s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Sampson was buried by his brothers. Jesus was buried, but He only stuck around for three days because He was raised by the Father and He lives today. He’s the only true Savior.

What about old Samson? Will he be raised? Will we see him someday? Well, it says in \nHebrews 11:32-34 (ESV) 32 \u201cAnd what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets\u2014 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness <\/i><\/span>, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.\u201d Samson is in the \u201cFaith Hall of Fame.\u201d

When Jesus returns, the one true Savior, and the dead will rise with Christ. Old Samson, he will rise and he will be a co-worshiper of the Lord. He finally got it. He finally called on \u201cYahweh\u201d the Lord.

What about you? Will you admit your need for God? Will you admit your need for a Savior? A true Savior? Samson points this Jesus to us. He’s the one who points to that for us. \u201cAmazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found. Was blind, but now I see. You’ll never \u201csee\u201d until you admit spiritual blindness. You can humble yourself or you can allow the Lord to humble you. He’s trying to draw you to Himself to see. You have to admit your need, humbly ask and He’ll reveal Himself to you <\/i><\/span>.

Let’s pray. Lord, thank You for the story of Samson. Thank you, Lord, that You would use sinners like us, that You’d redeem us, save us and call us into Your ministry. Lord, thank You. Lord, I pray for that one that’s either watching online, next door or in this room, that came in far from You today. They’ve never bent the knee. They’ve never said, \u2018Lord, I need You.\u2019 Would you do it right now, right where you are? You can pray right now, just expressing your faith. \u201cDear Lord Jesus, I’m a sinner. I need a Savior. I believe that You died on the cross for my sin, that You were raised from the grave and that You live today. Come and live in me. Forgive me of my sin and make me a child of God. I want to follow You all the rest of my life. I give my life to you.\u201d If you prayed that prayer of faith, believing, He’ll answer it. He’s the true Savior. Others are here <\/i><\/span> today and you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, but you’re going through something right now. You’re going through a season. Maybe you’ve been praying, \u2018Lord don’t forget me. Where are you, Lord?\u2019 Know this\u2013 He hasn’t forgotten you. He’s a faithful God. He’ll give you strength. Call out to Him say, \u201cLord help me to learn what I’m supposed to learn right now. Help me to listen. Lord, strengthen me. I’m hurting. I need help. I need You.\u201d Know this: He answers the prayer of a faithful and humble person. We pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What did it take for you to turn to God? Living in America, we are so blessed that we tend to focus on the blessings rather than the Blesser. Outwardly, we look like we have it all together. But on the inside, we\u2019re a mess! Nice job, nice house, nice car… but on the inside… marital woes, family issues, in debt up to your ears… And where\u2019s God in all this? Has God forgotten you? Or like Samson, have you forgotten God?<\/p>\n

In Judges 16, God revealed much about Himself in answering Samson\u2019s humble prayer for help. We can see how God reveals Himself to who humbly seek Him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":11256,"template":"","tags":[2019],"series":[2922],"scripture-book":[1274],"scripture-chapter":[1349],"speaker":[2007],"class_list":["post-11431","message","type-message","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-exposition","series-searching-for-a-true-savior","scripture-book-judges","scripture-chapter-1349","speaker-gary-combs"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message\/11431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/message"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message\/11431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11431"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=11431"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-book?post=11431"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-chapter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-chapter?post=11431"},{"taxonomy":"speaker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/speaker?post=11431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}