In Part 3 of the story of Samson, an explosive cycle of outrage and retaliation becomes a way of life between Samson and the Philistines. But in spite of it all, God is working to begin to deliver the Israelites from bondage and oppression. What can we learn about God and His sovereignty and grace, from this ancient account? Join Pastor Jim for this insightful study from Judges 15!
Sermon Notes
1. Retaliation is always a difficult cycle to break.
“Not to forgive is to be imprisoned by the past, by old grievances that do not permit life to proceed with new business. Not to forgive is to yield oneself to another’s control… to be locked into a sequence of act and response, of outrage and revenge, tit for tat, escalating always. The present is endlessly overwhelmed and devoured by the past. Forgiveness frees the forgiver. It extracts the forgiver from someone else’s nightmare.”
Lance Morrow
“If I don’t believe that there is a God who will eventually put all things right, I will take up the sword and will be sucked into the endless vortex of retaliation. Only if I am sure that there’s a God who will right all wrongs and settle all accounts perfectly do I have the power to refrain.”
Tim Keller
The Reason for God
2. Some people are comfortable in their captivity.
“I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.”
C. S. Lewis
God in the Dock
“In the new evangelicalism therapeutic self-concern overshadows knowing God, spirituality displaces theology, … marketing triumphs over mission, … concerns for power and relevance are more obvious than concern for piety and faithfulness, talk of reinventing the church has replaced prayer for revival, and the characteristic evangelical passion for the missionary enterprise is overpowered by the all-consuming drive to sustain the multiple business empires of the booming evangelical subculture.”
Os Guinness
Prophetic Untimeliness
3. YHWH pursues His purposes, even in our disappointment, even in our dryness, and offers His provision in our time of need.
“Human beings do not readily admit desperation. When they do, the kingdom of heaven draws near.”
Philip Yancey
The Jesus I Never Knew
“God often takes a course for accomplishing His purposes directly contrary to what our narrow views would prescribe. He brings a death upon our feelings, wishes and prospects when He is about to give us the desire of our hearts.”
John Newton