Yielding Faith

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YIELDING FAITH

Text: Hebrews 11.32-34

Introduction:

A. Faith proven by what the possessor of it does.

1. No proved his faith by building the ark.

2. Ab aham proved his faith by leaving Er of the C deans.

3. ak proved his faith by calling for 10,000 men to fig t the Canaanite invaders.

B. Our ro for today's study proved his faith by perfo ing many daring feats of strength, but he is best membered for yielding to temptation and debili ting sin.

I. SAMSON' PARENTS HAD FAITH IN GOD, Judges 13:2-12.

A. In an character study it is good to give some attent on to the person'sparents. Samson'sparents:

1. W re members of the Danite tribe, vs 2;

2. Th y were childless;

3. Th y rejoiced at the angelic announcement that they wo d have a son.

B. Mano ~sprayer, verses 8-12.

1. As ed that God send the angel again to teach them ho to raise the child.

2. Be ieved God's promise: "Nowlet thy words come to s," vs 12.

3. requests: "Howshall we order the child?"

b. "Howshall we do unto him?"

C. In fai h they accepted the instructions, and so orde (trained) the child.

1. mother drank no wine nor grape juice.

2. never cut her son's hair, nor permitted him to wine or eat any fruit of the vine. child grew and the Lord blessed him. n. FAITH IN GOD, moved by the Spirit of the Lord, Judges

B. ormed many outstanding feats of strength.

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1. He kill d a lion in the vineyards of Timnath with his bare ds, Judges 14:6.

2. He sle thirty Philistines to satisfy a debt to his weddin guests, Judges 14:19.

3. He ca ht 300 foxes to which he tied firebrands (torche ) to burn the Philistines' wheat fields, Judges 15:3-5.

4. Though securely bound by some men of Judah, he easily b oke the ropes and slew a thousand Philistines with th jawbone of a donkey, Judges 15:14-16.

5. He pull d up the gate posts, and carried the gates and the pos s to the top of a hill before Hebron, Judges 16:1-3.

m. SAMSONYIE ED TO TEMPTATION,Judges 16:1-22.

A. An illustra ion: Malaria was once the scourge of the South.

1. Quinin· was the only known effective antidote.

2. But a b ttle of quinine capsules in the medicine chest did not ard off the chills and fevers of Malaria.

B. So with f tho It is no help against temptation and ruin, unI it is used.

C. Samson f1i ed with sin, and finally yielded to it.

1. He love Delilah, a Philistine woman, vs 4.

2. He repatedly played games with his great strength.

a. Th gifts of God are not to be used for the am ement of self or of others.

b. To 0 use the gifts of God, is to tempt God.

3. One d vastating weakness of Samson's was his flirtatios with Philistine women. A woman's tears ove e his will like the hot sun of summer melts butter.

a. Wi her tears his Philistine wife extracted from the secret of the riddle he had put to his gue ts, Judges 14:16,17.

b. Th re is little reason to doubt that Delilah cried "cr odile tears" before him to obtain the secret of his eat strength.

4. And so :e finally yielded.

D. The sad ults when faith yields to the temptation of sin.

1. Samson got his first haircut and shave, vs 19.

2.

3. en, "The Lord was departed from him," vs 20. H was captured by his enemies, the Philistines.

a. They put out his eyes.

b. They bound him in fetters of brass.

c. They made him grind like a beast of burden in the prison house, vs 21.

ERS OF FAITH ARE REKINDLED, JudgesIV. THE E 16:23-31.

A. S

1.

2.

3. ,n grinding in the prison house. H d time to meditate on the cause of his downfall. t regrets he must have entertained. H repented, but rivers of tears of repentance could n t restore his precious eyesight.

4. H wever, his hair began to grow again. The idolatrous P .. tines were negligent in that they did not shave . head and face every day. An evident absence of f th on their part.

B. S n's day of triumph and revenge.

1. ~e lords of the Philistines were observing a special .~of celebration for their victory over Samson.

2. ey praised their gods for victory.

3. ey put blind Samson on public display in the hands o a mere lad. n's death was accompanied by his greatest , glory and the mightiest feat of his physical h. . called upon the Lord for renewed strength, that he t be avenged of the Philistines for his two eyes.

2. H took hold of the two supporting columns of the b . ding, pulled them down,and the building collapsed.

3. G d granted his request and he died with the p," tines.

4. H slew more in his death than he had in his life.

D. His b thren, though they had refused to help him in . feud with the Philistines, did show him the court of removing his corpse from the collapsed bull ng, and buried it in the family plot.

Conclusion:

A. When victo

c. is yielded to God, the person enjoys

B. Faith must be used if one is to successfully resist temptation

C. When faith ~elds to temptation:

1. The result is sin and devastating defeat.

2. There ~.I heartache and suffering: physical and spiritual.

D. Through p yer and dedication, the smoldering embers of f lth may be made to flame up again.

E. But when one yields to sin many precious things are lost, an~ though the person repents, they can never be re~ained. Witness:

1. Samson' precious eyesight,

2. His self-respect and reputation in the community.

Index