BECOMING A FRIEND OF GOD – Part 7
“The
example of Jephtah and Samson”
Pastor Mike Barnett
Hebrews 12:1 says:
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that
so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for
us.
Judges 11:1-40 (pg. 179)
says:
1 Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His
father was
1) FRIENDS OF GOD ______________________(ATTRACT)
THE KIND OF PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW THEM INTO _________________(ACTION). V. 3
3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in
the
2) FRIENDS OF GOD DO NOT NECCESARILY
___________________(FORGET) THE PAST – THEY JUST CHOOSE NOT TO _______________(LIVE)
IN THE PAST. Judges 11:7-11
7 Jephthah
said to them, "Didn't you hate me and drive me from my father's house? Why
do you come to me now, when you're in trouble?"
8 The elders
of
9 Jephthah
answered, "Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD
gives them to me—will I really be your head?"
10 The
elders of
·
Friends of
God keep short keep _____________ _______________(short accounts) realizing God
has forgiven them.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:38-48 says:
38"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye,
and tooth for tooth.'[a] 39But I tell you, Do
not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to
him the other also. 40And if someone wants to sue you
and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41If
someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42Give
to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow
from you. 43"You have heard that it was said,
'Love your neighbor[b] and hate your enemy.' 44But
I tell you: Love your enemies[c] and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his
sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the
unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what
reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more
than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect,
therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
·
Friends of
God realize that the ______________(past) does not equal the
____________________(future) – they realize past events ought to be kept in the
past and do not ____________________(project) them onto the future.
3) FRIENDS OF GOD USE ______________________(WISDOM)
AND ______________________(DIMPLOMACY) WHEN NECESSARY TO RESOLCE
__________________(CONFLICT). Judges 11:12-19
12
Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question:
"What do you have against us that you have attacked our country?"
13 The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah's
messengers, "When
14 Jephthah
sent back messengers to the Ammonite king, 15 saying: "This
is what Jephthah says:
3) FRIENDS OF GOD TRUST THE LORD’S SPIRIT
TO _____________________(LEAD) THEM AND NOT THEIR OWN EMOTIONS – THEY DO NOT
_________________________(COMPROMISE) THEIR GOD GIVEN
_____________________(CONVICTIONS) BY GIVING INTO FEAR. Vs 21-29
21
"Then the LORD, the God of
2 Timothy 2:6-8 says:
6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the
gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of
power, of love and of self-discipline. 8So do not be
ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with
me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,
4) FRIENDS OF GOD ARE SACRIFICIAL AND
WILL ____________(PAY) THE HIGH __________________(PRICE) OF LEADERSHIP – THEY
ARE WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE MOST OTHERS ARE NOT. Vs. 30-31
30 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD : "If you
give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out
of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites
will be the LORD's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering." Judges
11:30-31
5) FRIENDS OF GOD REALIZE THAT THE ____________________(
32 Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and
the LORD gave them into his hands. 33 He devastated
twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim.
Thus
6) FRIENDS OF GOD SOMETIMES MAKE _______________
________________ __________________________(RASH COMMITMENTS) THAT THEY LATER _____________________(REGRET). Vs. 34
34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who
should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of
tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor
daughter. Judges
·
Jephthah made
a vow to be fulfilled to God - he said he would offer up whatever came out of
his house at his return from battle.
·
Jephthah
defeated the Amorites, and on his return, his daughter, an only child, came out
to meet him.
·
He told her
of his vow and declared he could not go back upon his word.
7) FRIENDS OF GOD ___________________
_________________________(FOLLOW THROUGH) ON THEIR COMMITMENTS TO GOD EVEN WHEN
IT COST THEM MORE THAN THEY ____________________(WANTED) TO GIVE. V. 35
35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried,
"Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have
made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break." Judges
8) FRIENDS OF GOD DO THEIR BEST TO _____________________(RAISE)
CHILDREN WHO ____________________(LOVE) THE LORD. V. 36
36 "My
father," she replied, "you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me
just as you promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the
Ammonites. Judges
9) FRIENDS OF GOD ARE _____________________________(FLEXIBLE)
PEOPLE WHEN THEY CAN BE WITHOUT _______________________(BREAKING) THEIR WORD. Vs.
Judges
37 But grant me this one request," she said.
"Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I
will never marry." 38 "You may go," he
said. And he let her go for two months. She and the girls went into the hills
and wept because she would never marry. 39 After the two
months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed. And she
was a virgin.
From this comes the Israelite custom 40 that each year the young women of
·
The daughter
begged for two months to go away and mourn her virginity and he was fexible
enough to grant her this wish.
·
On her
return, her father fulfilled the vow.
THE EXAMPLE OF SAMSON – Judges 13 (pg.
180)
·
Samson is
another example of someone whose success brought him the attention of those who
did not wish him well.
·
Like Jephthah,
Samson was a renowned fighter and warrior leader.
Judges 13:1-5
9) FRIENDS OF GOD ARE __________________
__________________(SET APART) FOR GOD’S HOLY __________________(PURPOSE).
Judges 13:5
Judges 13:5 says:
5 because you will conceive and give birth to a son.
No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set
apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of
·
Samson’s
birth was foretold by an angel of the Lord, who instructed his mother never to
cut his hair.
·
Samson was to
be set apart for God from the day of his birth. The angel proclaimed that
Samson would begin the deliverance of
·
Samson grew
up to become very strong – the strongest man in the world.
10) FRIENDS OF GOD ARE
RELIANT ON GOD FOR _______________________(POWER) AND _______________________(PROVISIONS).
Vs. Judges
Judges 15:14-20 says:
14 As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward
him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. The ropes on his
arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. 15 Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and
struck down a thousand men.
16 Then
Samson said,
"With a donkey's jawbone
I have made donkeys of them. [a]
With a donkey's jawbone
I have killed a thousand men."
17 When he
finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath
Lehi. [b]
18 Because
he was very thirsty, he cried out to the LORD, "You have given your
servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of
the uncircumcised?" 19 Then God opened up the
hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength
returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, [c] and it is still there in Lehi.
11) FRIENDS OF GOD ARE
______________________(STRONG) WHEN THEY ARE ________________________(RELIANT)
AND _______________________(FOCUSSED) ON GOD! Judges 15:14-20
·
The Bible
says that Samson tore a lion apart with his bare hands.
·
Later he used
the jawbone of a donkey to strike down a thousand Philistines.
·
Samson went
on to lead
12) SOMETIMES FRIENDS OF
GOD___________________(LOOSE) ___________________(FOCUS) OVER TIME AND ___________________(TALK)
TOO MUCH, REVEALING TRUTHS THAT THEY SHOULD NOT. Judges 16:1-22
Judges 16:1-22 says:
1 One day Samson went to
3 But Samson
lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of
the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose,
bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the
hill that faces
4 Some time
later, he fell in love with a woman in the
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 thongs [b] that have not been dried, I'll become as
weak as any other man."
8 Then the
rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh thongs that had not been
dried, and she tied him with them. 9 With men hidden in
the room, she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!"
But he snapped the thongs as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes
close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.
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."
12 So
Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the
room, she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" But
he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.
13 Delilah
then said to Samson, "Until now, 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." So while he was sleeping, Delilah took
the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric 14
and [c] tightened it with the pin.
Again she called to him, "Samson, the
Philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin
and the loom, with the fabric.
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 tired to death.
17 So he
told her everything. "No razor has ever been used on my head," he
said, "because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my
head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any
other man."
18 When
Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the
Philistines, "Come back once more; he has told me everything." So the
rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. 19 Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to
shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. [d] And his strength left him.
20 Then she
called, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!"
He awoke from his sleep and thought,
"I'll go out as before and shake myself free." But he did not know
that the LORD had left him.
21 Then the
Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to
·
Samson was
greatly used by God to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines.
·
But in his
later years, Samson lost his first love and began to flirt with the world.
·
He slept with
prostitutes.
·
Later, He met
a Woman named Delilah and feel in love with her.
·
Delilah did
not love Samson but used him for her own selfish gain.
·
The
Philistine rulers approached her, offering to pay her to lure Samson into revealing
the secret of his strength.
·
Their goal
was to overpower him, tie him up, and subdue him.
·
Delilah
wanted the money, so she asked Samson to tell her a secret of his great
strength and how he could be tied up and subdued.
·
The
Philistines hired her to find out the secret of his great strength, so they
could take it away from him, and thereby crush the Israelites.
·
Delilah
pestered Samson day and night.
·
Samson got so
tired of her nagging that he told Delilah too much information out of
exasperation.
·
Three times,
he gave her false answers. But she continued to nag him, so finally he told her
the truth: “No razor has ever been used on my heard,” he said, “because I have
been a Nazarite set apart to God since birth.
If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become
as weak as any other man”.
·
Delilah sent
word to the Philistines, who came with the money they had offered. When Samson
feel asleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his
hair.
·
When Samson
awoken his strength – and the Lord- had left him.
·
The
Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, bound him and with bronze
shackles, and put him in prison.
·
Delilah had
become a false friend, and Samson was now in the hands of his true enemies…but
he didn’t give up.
Judges
17 So he told her everything. "No razor has ever
been used on my head," he said, "because I have been a Nazirite set
apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me,
and I would become as weak as any other man."
13) FRIENDS OF GOD
___________________(LOOSE) THEIR ______________________(POWER) WHEN THEY LOOSE
THEIR FOCUS AND GET _______________________(DISTRACTED) FROM GOD. Judges
16:18-21
Judges 16:18-21 says:
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything,
she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, "Come back once more; he
has told me everything." So the rulers of the Philistines returned with
the silver in their hands. 19 Having put him to sleep on
her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so
began to subdue him. [a] And his strength left him. 20 Then she called, "Samson, the Philistines are upon
you!"
He awoke from his sleep and thought,
"I'll go out as before and shake myself free." But he did not know
that the LORD had left him. 21 Then the Philistines
seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to
13) FRIENDS OF GOD WILL
BE _________________________(BETRAYED) BY FALSE FRIENDS IN THIS WORLD – THEY
CHOOSE TO MOVE _________________________(FORWARD) WITH THEIR INTENTIONS TO LIVE
FOR GOD AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE ANYWAY. Judges 16:4-5, 30
4 Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the
30 Samson said, "Let me die with the
Philistines!" Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple
on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died
than while he lived. Judges 11:4,5,30
·
The Philistines
brought Samson from the prison to entertain them at the temple. All the Philistine rulers were there. Up above, on the roof of the temple, some
three thousand men and woman watched Samson.
·
Samson asked
the servant who had held his hand to lead him to the pillars that supported the
temple.
·
Then Samson
prayed to the Lord, asking for strength just one more time.
Judges
30 Samson said, "Let me die with the
Philistines!" Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple
on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died
than while he lived”.
·
Samson reached
for the two central pillars and prayed: “Let me die with the Philistines!”
·
He pushed
with all his might, and down came the temple.
·
In this way,
Samson killed more enemies in his death than during his life.
·
Delilah
betrayed him, and the Philistines blinded and imprisoned him, but Samson the
warrior succeeded anyway.
15) FRIENDS OF GOD ARE
JUST ONE ______________________(PRAYER) AWAY AND ONE _____________(ACT) OF _________________(OBEDIENCE)
AWAY FROM BEING USED BY GOD. Judges
·
Both Jephthah
and Samson were strong warriors that God used and both of them suffered the _________________________(consequences)
of their __________________ _________________(loose speech).