Fall into grace!

How to fall towards God instead of falling in a downward spiral towards the world!

As humans, we are going to sin, and we are going to experience times in our lives where we feel like everything is going wrong. Instead of falling in a downward spiral towards the world, we should fall towards God and His love for us! God will always be there to catch us and encourage us!

For this sermon thought bubble, we will be focusing on Samson’s life in Judges 16! It is a recap of the whole chapter, so there is not a specific passage.

Something to note before we take a deep dive into Samson’s life is that Samson was a Nazarite, and 3 things Nazarites would never do are (1) drink any wine, (2) touch anything dead, and (3) cut their hair. With the knowledge of Samson’s story, we know he does not follow these rules.

Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah. The name Delilah means “to bring low,” and that is exactly what she did to Samson. Samson wasn’t killing the sin in his life. His sin was going to kill him! Delilah was ordered to trick Samson into telling her the secret to his strength so the Philistines could defeat him. Samson knew about her plan, yet his pride made him stay with her. Delilah begged Samson to tell her his secret 4 times, and she eventually got it out of him. '

1. “(6) So Delilah said to Samson, ‘Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.’ (7) Samson answered her, ‘If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.’” Judges 16:6-7

2. “(10) Then Delilah said to Samson, ‘You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.’ (11) He said, ‘If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.’” Judges 16:10-11

3. “(13) Delilah then said to Samson, ‘All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.’ He replied, ‘If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.’” Judges 16:13

   Here’s where Samson messes up!

4. “(15) Then she said to him, ‘How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.’ (16) With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it. (17) So he told her everything. ‘No razor has ever been used on my head,’ he said, ‘because I have been a Nazarite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.’” Judges 16:15-17

As he was telling Delilah how to weaken him, Samson said that his strength would leave him. What he did not realize is that God Himself would leave him. “But he did not know that the Lord had left him.” Judges 16:20b

Samson’s hair was supposed to be a reminder of God’s role in his life, but he forgets about it because of his worldly desires! Samson got used to living a self-directed life and He didn’t realize God had left him. Samson was chosen by God to be one of the Judges, yet he let sin get the best of him. It doesn’t matter who you are; sin can and will destroy everything!!

Sin ended up making a joke out of Samson, someone who was once feared by the Philistines. “(25) While they were in high spirits, they shouted, ‘Bring out Samson to entertain us.’ So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them…(27) Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform.” Judges 16:25,27

Samson eventually realized that his strength came from God and not himself, and he acknowledged that God loves him and was sovereign over him! God gave him the strength to take over the Philistines in the temple, but he also killed himself in the process. Samson’s story is one that teaches us to fall towards God rather than worldly desires. How different would Samson’s life have been if he hadn’t listened to Delilah?

3 lessons from Samson’s life:

1. foolish choices carry consequences ~ Satan stripped everything away from Samson. Samson was left with nothing but shame for what he had done. “(7) Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. (8) Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows the please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Galatians 6:7-8

2. how you finish is more important than how you start ~ you can start the season off by winning every single game, yet you can lose the championship! God can turn your life around just like he turned Samson’s life around. Samson ended his life by following God’s plan, and by believing God was the source of all good things in his life!

3. when you fall, fall into grace ~ everyone sins and fails, but we should fall into grace and God rather than worldly things. “(22) But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.” Judges 16:22 - God was not done with Samson. He knew that Samson would need him again, and He delivered. God makes all things new, and He will be with you in times of need!

Samson’s story is one of my favorites because it is one I feel that everyone can resonate with. We all have worldly desires and temptations, but it takes a strong, Godly person to be able to turn away from them. Samson teaches us that we need to look to God in our difficult situations rather than looking towards the world. The world can trick us just like Delilah tricked Samson. God wants the best for us, and we just have to follow his plan!

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope to see you next week!

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33