Samson – The Blinded Champion (Part A)

Blinded grinding around there in the prison house of the Philistines would send us to Austin binds us blinds us grinds us is not original. I don't know where it came from but yours now and it is a portrait of the results of carefree sin. Another lesson from the book of judges like Samson. This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher. Rick asked Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Rick is currently teaching through the book of Judges. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching, but for now let's join Pastor Rick in the book of Judges chapter 16 as he begins a brand-new message called Samson the blinded champion. Judges chapter 16. This evening we finish up the 16th chapter and the life of Samson and as we stopped in the middle of the chapter, where Samson was betrayed by Delilah and arrested. We now continue this section course he's going to be blinded. That's the next thing will reading before we get to that you ask yourself knowing the story did he ever consider the consequence of telling the unrighteous where his weakness was, I mean this is foolish on every level, and that's one of the large things about the story of Samson or one of the large messages out of the story of Samson is the following that we must avoid as best we can use so busy enjoying God's blessings without ever taking the blessings seriously. I mean they were just as likely was gifted with a nice hot rod and that's how he went through life and failing to ever connect the gifts with God's will for Samson. The Philistines were the enemies of God's people, and therefore, God's enemy and it really didn't go much further than that to his death, and there are still a champion of the faith. In fact, this evening's consideration. I've entitled it.

Samson the blinded champion because he didn't do damage to the interest of of Satan and that is the part of the story that we like.

I would like to be a man who had or has Samson's physical strength in spiritual form and that is why he is a hero of the faith because of what God did in his life and the messages that come from his life to this day, so we look now in verse 20 having not arrested yet is going to be arrested now little review verse 20 and he said this Delilah and she said the Philistines are upon you Samson. So he awoke from his sleep and said I will go out as before.

At other times, and shake myself free, but he did not know that Yahweh had departed from him now again we're reviewing where we left off and so she says your enemies are attacking you now, Samson.

Let's see what you can do.

He did not know that the Lord departed from him strength was gone because the Lord had departed from his side. You will you we would say the Lord withdrew Psalm 118 verse six. Yahweh is on my side I will not fear what can man do to me policies, not by your side of Yahweh is not by your side and whatever man does. Do you really is not going to count much with God, and that's where Samson has landed himself. It was one of those unnoticed losses in life that he should've noticed that should not have happened.

Gradual and unconscious that he was losing ground with God and that his strength would be devoured by aliens, no less. These are shameful things is love-hate relationship with the Philistines. He hated the man he loved the women, laying his head in the lap of pleasure and self-indulgence. That's all Delilah incidentally had to offer. Psalm 51 verse 11.

David, after he had sin penned this song after he had sinned large do not cast me away from your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. And God did not God did not take his spirit from David Rossi never would have been able to write the 51st Psalm, which is one of the most beautiful of the Psalms and so there had been a time when every effort he put into a victory.

Turned out to be a victory, but not so this time horror that he found himself weak as other men that price repeated in the story for emphasis, because he did not know the Lord departed from him now week we continue. Verse 21 then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza brought him with bronze fetters and he became a grinder in the prison. While a dead Samson wasn't good enough for the Philistines.

It had to be abused and he had to be paraded trophy to their God.

True spiritual war. The world loves a defeated Christian champion.

To this day. They love it and his eyes being put out now there what got him into trouble. Saw woman in Temne and Philistine territories all our Barlett and Gosselin. He just kept seeing the wrong things because he was in the wrong place is vision for God never develop. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Samson doesn't appear to be ever have looked up now. We mentioned last time these. This is not the whole story of his life. Just the highlights are taken out if there were times when he did look up there not recorded as I think of and I know some folks something like this when I say that over the years. Not a big one but some can make it mountain up out of a mole hill.

Methuselah lived 600 and 969 years, but I hear any.

I am loving the Lord serving the Lord that omission of all that time is disconcerting doesn't mean he was bad, but I would I would not choose to have my name in the Scripture, the longest man who lived in no comment about my faith. That would be a tough pill to swallow. Says here about this great champion of Israel on the battlefield was careless about God because he was carefree about sin.

Basic lesson says in brought him to Gaza now this is the city where you taken the city gates.

Now every time I go on the Internet and I look up anything with concerning Christians. I get depressed I just don't do it anymore. Not too much. And today I went to look at see if I could find some you know engineering references on the structure of this temple for Dagon that were going to get to and really come up with any satisfy like mine better. But anyhow this soft cost is 500 movie clips of Samson which I disagree all of so again I'm human size WITH a click play and watch one or two of them. Just because I wanted to get my dander up, and the one when I was at this at the pulling the gates of Gaza up with all this training and suffering all his trauma didn't read the story. The spirit of God came upon him.

A repeat picked up the gates and it took them up the hill facing hand-drawn or we know you could've taken all way to have brought this was the miracles of Samson are the same cut of cloth as the miracles of Elijah and the miracles of Daniel to attend with miracle Daniel Dewey did quite a few of them interpreted the handwriting. No one else could do it interpreted dreams, it did Nelly tell the king what he of what the dream many told what he dropped, but that's a miracle. Daniel, of course true champion of the faith, one would Daniel thought I would do when you love to go to a Bible study by someone like Daniel well anyway coming back to this city of Gaza, where he had picked up the gates and walked out with them. Which is it just an incredible feat of strength.

This was also one of two Philistine cities that highly honored Dagon. This particular Philistine God Gaza and Ashdod.

Those two cities. They bound him with bronze fetters.

Why specify bronze will in the Scripture bronzes emblematic of judgment it's something you put into the heater to metal it takes heat better than than than other metals. A settling porch to produce a blend of brass and bronze things like that. This is an emblem of judgment for us to remember Samson that he toyed with the locks. The hair that emblem of that spoke of his vow to God. He poked fun at that which was wholly what is the secret of your strength. Instead of saying my relationship with my God and ending a whole thing like that. He decided that he was going to poke fun at the holy things that were something that was supposed to be pure and revered, not trivialized as the world would do and he became a grinder in the prison so they gouged out his eyes. They bring him to Gaza. They bind him with bronze fetters and they make him grind in the prison know this particular mill that he was grinding on didn't was, not one that required the brute strength of an ox.

This was considered by him in many of in the ancient world to be women's work in here he is doing it.

Strength is not there. That's why I point out there are some mills where you do need an animal and this was not one of them because he's such strong as an ox anymore blinded grinding and bound there in the prison house of the Philistines. It's what sin does to us in binds us blinds us and it grinds us is not original. I don't know where it came from but yours now and it is a portrait of the results of carefree sin. Another lesson from the book of Judges in the life of Samson makes you say where the young men to sit through a study like this, where are our 18, 19, 20-year-olds to sit and listen to the consequences of taking faith likely. Verse 22: he pause there where the older men to pray for the younger men while you can get away without getting stung. In the end, by the word of God because that's what we need, but where were the older men praying for the younger men will get that in Ruth's where the Naomi spring for the Ruth's verse 22.

However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven. This is one of the great however's of the Bible. It is a disjunctive gap is been captured is been blinded, prorated, he has been reduced to a grinder, but is a ray of hope, and that's in its various. It's a simple letter in the rudest stroke.

However, an this is how we find his name amongst the heroes of faith in Hebrews chapter 11 is that however what would've happened if that if he they made him grind until he dropped dead. That would've been a tragedy on every level it's attracted to tragic story to begin with. But there great achievements for God's people. Because of this one man so when it says.

However, his hair began to grow up.

I'm told it takes time for hair to grow I'm still waiting while the girls in the wrong places very quickly.

But this is a timestamp for us.

It says that he's had time for his his eyes to heal from from the injury for slots to return, but perhaps most importantly for him to ponder his faith.

I want to hear this verse from Haggai the prophet.

You know what was happening and in his day is the Jews had stopped rebuilding the temple there was a little pressure put on the lives it is quit but their lives get going.

They skip lining their pockets. They were still doing pretty well. The gist of the place of worship was just a vacant lot work that they'd started the foundation on the temple just became overgrown with whatever was growing so God raise up the prophet Haggai, Zechariah, and this is part of the message that he said to those people about this behavior. He said thus says Yahweh of hosts, consider your ways something Samson never did, never seems to yet you doing it now is considering himself now, but it's too much ground to make up a lifetime of carelessness when you were called to such a special blessing is not going to make up all the ground still going to be a little misguided in the end, but going to be better off than he was. Well, this also tells us that his power was not in his hair, but that it was a symbol of the power that the relationship that you have with God, which would any power he had in his life was because of that relationship, and there was supposed to announce that were everywhere saw Samson areas Nazirite from birth.

You can tell because his hair is uncut the locks of the end of this was part of it, but that his hair is growing back and he still weak, because when he gets to the temple. He can't push the pillars down without God. That's why he makes his prayer when he does right before he pushes the boundaries is just this once to God that my strength may return to me just this once I I don't want one filling of the Holy Spirit. I want multiple countless experiences in the faith. They were sure his blindness prevented him from being a brat gouged out his eyes is no longer a problem. We put him in bronze fetters. He can't break up his life is a picture in the parable. Again, the doesn't need much in explanation, you can just look at the life of Samson and is from the eyes of the born to be an born-again believer and you get. It's not a comfortable story. I don't think any Christian should read life of Samson with glee or sense of self-righteousness that would happen to him. It would have in me. I would be falling into the same folly that Samson fell into verse 23, the Philistines, unaware of what's happening with his consideration in the symbolism of his hair coming back because they felt he was a threat with his eyes out, they would've cut his hair again. Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon. There, God, and to rejoice. They said our God has delivered into our hands. Samson our enemy. Well this took time for the five warlords of the Philistines to plan such a gala they are in Gaza.

So again some time since his betrayal, the Lila to doggone their God. This is his temple will get that in verse 28 that's where the going to meet this temple was sort of an arena. It was large enough to hold probably 7000 people sort of six or 7000 people. We know that because 3000 of them are on the roof that leaves those down below the first floor. This named argon is a disputed name by theological linguist linguistic experts. The Hebrew root is fish but the Arabic is green, so is he the God of the sea, because the Philistines were people of the sea, or were they worshiping him as a God who provided grain which is in line with most other peoples of the world that worship idols. They worshiped the creature that gives them the life worship of the sun and of the Mayans and the Incas same you know worshiping those things it produced for them, the mountains, the hills, from where the rains would come. I think it is the God of grain, I think it's symbolic. Also in the story, because Samson set fire to the Greenfield perhaps mocking their God. Either way, they would've connected that they got him now the one who stole their grain their economy very hard, as well as their military. If this guy didn't get stopped. The Philistines would've been reduced to a marginal people and eventually gone and which did happen to them. Just not in Samson's lifetime. So Dagon, there God is this temple that they're going to is says here and to rejoice. That's because over the conquest of Samson. The Jews would later rejoice over the conquest of payment just saying and they said our God has delivered into our hands.

Samson our enemy is never a shortage of fake gods.

There's never a shortage of wrong views about the true God is never a shortage of blasphemers against Christ, pray to God there's never a shortage of Christians to meet these things head on Satan, of course, he is the author of the fake gods, but men are the publishers. They're the ones that door. They like the newsies there out there getting the word out on street corners, making these false opinions about God available Satan's golden and it is achieved. It has been to flood the earth with lies about the true God. This of course gives some people an excuse sin. We can really tell who tell who is God, and who is not only strong gods out there and I can't believe is only one God gave her that line acutely was only one way to God whose to say that another person's God is false and another one is real, but all can be false things like that. They hunt response to this, especially the unit whose to say that one is false and another is not why can't they all be God's.

They want says if there is more than one God, and who is in charge Dave Hunt style again with the God that he would raise up a Dave Hunter and a W toes are before the final call.

He continues Dave Hunt says if one God is stronger or has more authority than the others, then none of the rest of the gods can really be God this with the Greeks and Romans got wrong.

If he is a God, by definition, he is omnipotent versus not God is a benchwarmer or something is a created being. But he's not God. The definition this is where we come in. We went some of Salome Garbo. What is your God, tell me about your God is. I perceive he's a doofus and then I'll tell you about my God and was supposed to say to them.

Listen, by definition of God is not omnipotent and not to be messed with, and to use his name for every stupid thing that comes in your your site is not honoring any kind of omnipotent, all-powerful, self existent, holy and righteous being so these little things could count to the Christian church. That's why we are students of the Old Testament as well as the New Testament is God's word to us. It's it's interesting how well that I finished the day for noise.

One other thing is us up if one God is stronger or has more authority than the others, then none of the rest of the gods can really be God. So we are back to monotheism and quote it comes right back is only one God, the Trinity is not three gods. This is some of the difficulty of the difficulties the apostles had to face in writing the New Testament is presenting the Trinity without sending this message to a polytheistic world that we Christians have three God's. And so it is veiled, but it is there nonetheless. And when you were born again the veil comes up enough all the way because we were not were not capable of fully understanding everything there is to understand about God and even that much is this too much, but we can understand enough those of the world who have fake gods. They do not approach other truths. This way, only when it comes to the only true God. Do they kind of become very careless.

For instance, their pay stubs or their refunds. They make sure those lineup with the facts as best they can with the facts concerning God's truth. It doesn't matter to them and so Paul says about Satan's work on the people who think this way of which I was once says, whose mind, the god of this age is blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ was who is the image of God, should shine on them. Can you imagine that being said about any angel that Michael is the image of God be blasphemy see this that veil Trinity that veil of the deity of Christ I mean is not higher than God. We know the Holy Spirit as part of the Trinity, because Jesus said you know you can go ahead and make mistakes in your speech about the father and the son. But if you blaspheme the Holy Spirit. You can't say that about Michael or Gabriel or Moses or Paul or yourself or anyone else except God did these truths are woven into the Scripture and the Jehovah's Witnesses don't want to see the Mormons do not want to see it and they will be held accountable for this. Even, you know, Roman Catholicism has their doctrine that really hell is empty and this contradicts other doctrines. They have been surprised they want to try to draw out love God, which reduces the commandments to God to really makes God a liar. That view because he's promised judgment to those who reject him and to suggest that ultimately everybody ends up in heaven the universal God of everyone of the father of everyone is to make a mockery to say that what Jesus did all the diver everybody loves to forgive and I love to send Voltaire's words, I think was Voltaire. I don't know build I get the less I read those things and nights go from memory, and I miss them all, but I get close enough to hit the bull's-eye in some weird way, send them to limit a few miss words with the cakey genitals Psalm 86 verse 10 the Psalms of this life squeezing faith out of people. That's what the Psalms are some of you catching a good day to impacting all of them are not even Psalm 88, which is not have a happy ending. The only one still the throne of God voicing or expressing themselves before God's throne move. Thanks for tuning in to cross reference radio for this study in the book of Judges cross reference radio is the teaching ministry pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel in Mechanicsville, Virginia. If you'd like more information about this ministry, we invite you to visit our website cross reference radio.com you will find additional teachings from Pastor Rick available there, and we encourage you to subscribe to our podcast by doing so you will be notified of each new edition of cross reference radio.

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