Lessons from Legends: Samson – Strength that Cannot Be Stolen

Pastor Bryan – Lessons from Legends

SAMSON – STRENGTH THAT CANNOT BE STOLEN

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

Hebrews 12:1

BIG IDEA: You don’t have to lose your to be .

“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” Helen Keller

^18 “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint but blessed is he who keeps the law.”

Proverbs 29:18 (ESV)

WE CAN BE

• Blind to for our lives.

^5” You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.”

Judges 13:5

• Blind to the power of .

² When he returned home, he told his father and mother, “A young Philistine woman in Timnah caught my eye. I want to marry her. Get her for me.” ³ His father and mother objected. “Isn’t there even one woman in our tribe or among all the Israelites you could marry?” they asked. “Why must you go to the pagan Philistines to find a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Get her for me! She looks good to me.”

Judges 14:2-3

³³ Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”

I Corinthians 15:33

² “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: ³ If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”

Ephesians 6:2-3

• Blind to the .

¹⁹ Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him. ²⁰ Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him. ²¹ So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison.

Judges 16:19-21

³ Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.”

Genesis 6:3

¹ What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? ² By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Romans 6:1-2 (ESV)

WHAT WE NEED TO LEARN FROM SAMSON

1. the .

^19”Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Do not scoff at prophecies, ²¹ but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. ²² Stay away from every kind of evil.”

I Thessalonians 5:19-22

^30 “And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.”

Ephesians 4:30

        2. your relationships .

^20 “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.”

Proverbs 13:20

^25 “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”

Hebrews 10:25

        3. is never .

²⁸ 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.”

Judges 16:28

^15 “This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. ¹⁶ But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.”

I Timothy 1:15-16