Faith’s Source

  

 

TITLE: Faith’s Source

TEXT: Hebrews 11:32; Judges 13-16

TONE: Encouragement

TARGET: Believers

TASK: Encourage believers with the following biblical principles regarding faith that are demonstrated in Samson’s story: God is the source of faith because He initiates, preserves, refines, and completes it.

TELL: Hebrews was written to believers who were experiencing pressure, persecution, and discouragement. They were tempted to turn back from following Christ because obedience had become costly. The author writes Hebrews to remind them that Jesus is better and that the only proper response to the supremacy of Christ is persevering faith. Hebrews 11 is not a list of perfect people. It is a testimony of imperfect people who trusted a perfect God. The repeated phrase throughout the chapter is "by faith," but the emphasis is not ultimately on the greatness of their faith. The emphasis is on the greatness of God in whom they placed their faith. When we arrive at Hebrews 11:32, the author mentions several Old Testament figures, including Samson.

TEACH:

Companies spend millions of dollars creating slogans that people immediately recognize. If I said, "I'm lovin' it," you would think of McDonald's. If I said, "Just do it," you would think of Nike. Likewise, certain biblical characters immediately come to mind when we think of specific events. This man built an ark: Noah. This man led Israel out of Egypt: Moses. This man defeated Goliath: David. This woman became queen and saved her people. What if I asked you to name someone remembered primarily for their faith? I doubt many of us would immediately answer, "Samson." We think of Samson as a man of extraordinary strength or perhaps extraordinary failure, but not necessarily extraordinary faith. Yet in Hebrews 11:32, the author includes Samson among those commended for their faith. Why? The individuals mentioned in Hebrews 11 mutually shared a defining characteristic that was not their accomplishments, their abilities, or their moral perfection. Their defining characteristic was that they trusted God and lived in dependence upon His promises. Hebrews is not celebrating the strength of Samson's faith, but God’s faithfulness to Samson and to fulfill His promises.

 

Transition- This morning, as we turn to Samson's story in Judges 13-16, we will discover that God is the source of faith because He initiates, preserves, refines, and brings it to completion.

 

 

TRUTH:

     I.                  God is the Source of Samson’s Identity and Calling: Judges 13

●      Explanation: Samson's story begins not with Samson, but with God. Judges 13 opens with Israel once again doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord, resulting in forty years of Philistine oppression (Judges 13:1). Unlike previous cycles in Judges, however, there is no recorded cry for deliverance from Israel. Instead, God graciously takes the initiative. The Angel of the Lord appears to Manoah's barren wife and announces that she will bear a son who is to be consecrated as a Nazirite from the womb because he will "begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines" (Judges 13:3-5). Before Samson was born, before he had accomplished anything, and before he could contribute in any way, God had already established His purpose for Samson's life. His calling was not based on his future faithfulness, moral character, or abilities, but on God's gracious initiative.

○ God initiated Samson's birth: verses 2-3

○ God initiated Samson's calling: verse 5

○ God initiated Samson's purpose: verse 5

○ God initiated Samson's identity as one set apart for Him: verse 5

 

In the same way, faith does not originate with humanity but with God. The Christian life begins because God graciously initiates a relationship with His people and calls them according to His sovereign purpose. Before we ever had faith, God graciously worked. Before we ever sought Him, He sought us. Before we ever belonged to Him, He called us to Himself.

 

●      Biblical Principle: Faith is initiated and given by God.

 

●      Illustration: Kids swimming with a life jacket

 

●      Application: Believer, have you forgotten that your faith was initiated and given by God? Ask God to reveal where you have placed confidence in yourself rather than in the One who graciously called you and gave you faith.

 

○ “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10

 

 

   II.                  God is the Source of Samson’s Preservation: Judges 14

●      Explanation: Judges 14 immediately reveals that Samson is far from the ideal servant of God. Rather than pursuing the mission for which God had called him, Samson demands that his parents arrange a marriage with a Philistine woman simply because she was pleasing in his eyes (Judges 14:1-3). As he travels through the vineyards of Timnah, he places himself where his Nazirite vow was intended to avoid (Judges 14:5). Later, he touches the carcass of a dead lion to retrieve honey, thereby defiling himself ceremonially (Judges 14:8-9).

 

From a human perspective, Samson appears to be squandering God's calling. Yet the narrator provides a remarkable insight: "His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines" (Judges 14:4). This statement does not excuse Samson's sinful desires, but it demonstrates that Samson's failures could not overturn God's purposes. God remained faithful to preserve His servant and continue accomplishing His redemptive plan despite Samson's repeated unfaithfulness.

 

Likewise, believers can take comfort that while God disciplines His children for sin, He does not abandon those whom He has called. Our hope ultimately rests not in the consistency of our faithfulness but in the steadfastness of God's faithfulness.

 

●      Biblical Principle: Faith is preserved by God.

 

●      Illustration: Parent walking with child and holding onto them

○ "Remember, therefore, it is not your hold of Christ that saves you—it is Christ; it is not your joy in Christ that saves you—it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument—it is Christ's blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to your hand with which you are grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to your hope, but to Jesus, the source of your hope; look not to your faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul." Charles H. Spurgeon

 

●      Application: Believer, are you experiencing doubt, unworthiness, condemnation, or shame because of your failures? Rest in God's patience, mercy, and faithfulness to forgive and preserve you.

 

 

 III.                  God is the Source of Samson’s Refinement: Judges 15

●      Explanation: Judges 15 records a series of escalating conflicts that expose both Samson's weakness and God's faithful work in his life. Samson experiences betrayal (Judges 14:20), rejection, continual opposition from the Philistines (Judges 15:3-8), and even abandonment by his own people, who bind him and deliver him into the hands of Israel's enemies (Judges 15:11-13).

 

●      Although many of these hardships result from Samson's own impulsive decisions, God sovereignly uses them to accomplish His purposes and to teach Samson dependence upon Himself. After God empowers Samson to defeat one thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey (Judges 15:14-17), Samson suddenly finds himself physically exhausted and near death from thirst. For the first time in the narrative, Samson cries out to the Lord in humble dependence, acknowledging that only God can preserve his life (Judges 15:18). The Lord graciously responds by providing water from the hollow place at Lehi (Judges 15:19).

 

●      Through these trials, God was teaching Samson that true strength was never found in himself but in the Lord alone. Likewise, God often refines the faith of His people through hardship, using trials to expose self-reliance and cultivate greater dependence upon Him.

 

●      Biblical Principle: Faith is refined by God.

 

●      Illustration: Gold is purified through intense heat. Diamonds are formed through intense pressure. Muscles are strengthened and grown through intense resistance.

 

●      Application: Believer, are you weary because of the trials and afflictions God has allowed into your life? Remember God's promise that “He works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

 

 IV.                  God is the Source of Samson’s Fulfilled Purpose: Judges 16

●      Explanation: Judges 16 brings Samson's story to its lowest point. After revealing the secret of his Nazirite consecration to Delilah, Samson is captured by the Philistines, his eyes are gouged out, and he is forced to grind grain as a prisoner (Judges 16:18-21).

 

The irony is striking: The man once renowned for his strength is now powerless. The judge who pursued what was right in his own eyes is now blind. The deliverer of Israel has himself become captive to Israel's enemies. Yet the narrator quietly notes that "the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved" (Judges 16:22), signaling that God's work with Samson was not finished.

 

In the climactic moment of the narrative, Samson prays, "O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once" (Judges 16:28). Although Samson's motives are still mixed, his prayer reveals genuine dependence upon God rather than confidence in himself. God answers his prayer, empowers him once more, and through Samson's death accomplishes greater victory over the Philistines than at any previous point in his life (Judges 16:30). Hebrews remembers Samson not because his faith was perfect, but because God faithfully completed His purpose through a flawed servant whose faith rested in Him. Likewise, believers can have confidence that the God who begins His work in His people is faithful to bring it to completion. (Philippians 1:6)

 

●      Biblical Principle: Faith is brought to completion by God.

 

●      Illustration: Marble block

 

A block of marble sitting untouched in a workshop may appear ordinary, rough, and unfinished. It has imperfections and lacks the beauty of the masterpiece it will one day become. However, when that same block of marble is placed into the hands of a master artist, its potential is no longer determined by the condition of the stone but by the skill and ability of the one shaping it. The artist sees what others cannot see and patiently works until the intended design is revealed. In many ways, this illustrates the story of Samson. Samson's life was filled with failures, weaknesses, and moments where he appeared to have forfeited God's purpose for him. Yet, Samson's story did not ultimately end with his failures. At his lowest moment, when he was blind, powerless, and humiliated, God was not finished with him. Samson cried out to the Lord, and God strengthened him one final time to fulfill the purpose for which He had called him (Judges 16:28-30). Samson's faith was imperfect, but his God was faithful.

 

Christian, the same is true for you. Your faith may be weak, your obedience may be inconsistent, and your life may contain seasons of failure, but the completion of God's work in you does not depend upon your perfection. God is the One who began the work, and He is the One who will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6). He is faithfully shaping His people according to His purpose, taking what is broken and unfinished and conforming them into the image of Christ for His glory. The masterpiece is ultimately not a testimony to the strength of the stone, but to the skill and faithfulness of the Artist.

 

●      Application: Believer, do you think your inabilities, weaknesses, or limitations make you unusable to God? Embrace your weakness, surrender your inadequacy, and trust that the God who began His work in you will faithfully bring it to completion.

 

 

TIE-UP: When we come to the end of Samson's story, we are reminded that the source of God's work through His people has never been found in human ability, perfect circumstances, or extraordinary strength. It is found in God Himself.

A beautiful example of this truth is the life of Lottie Moon. In the late nineteenth century, Lottie Moon went as a missionary to China, entering a culture and country filled with tremendous difficulty, opposition, and political turmoil. By human standards, she was an unlikely instrument for God to use. She was a young woman with limited resources, surrounded by challenges far greater than herself. Yet God used her life to make an eternal impact because her confidence was not ultimately in herself, but in Him.

Lottie Moon understood that the effectiveness of God's servants does not come from the strength they possess but from the God they depend upon. She gave herself completely to the Lord's work, trusting that He would sustain her, preserve her, and accomplish His purposes through her life.

Samson reminds us of the same truth. Samson was not used by God because he was impressive. He was used because God is faithful. His faith was imperfect, but his God was perfect. The same God who called Samson, preserved Samson, refined Samson, and fulfilled His purpose through Samson is the God who calls, preserves, refines, and completes His work in every believer.

So Christian, do not look first to the strength of your faith. Look to the strength of your God. Do not rest in your ability to hold onto Him perfectly. Rest in His promise that He holds onto you. Because the source of our faith is not found in who we are, but in who He is.

As Hebrews 12:2 reminds us, we endure by "looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith." The God who began His work in us will faithfully bring it to completion.