JUDGES

DATE:  1 September 2002
SPEAKER:  Pastor Tayo Adeyemi
TITLE:  How do you spell relief?
TEXT:  James 1:12-15, 1 Corinthians 10:13

In Judges 16:1-22, we see the account of Samson's story. It is a sad testimony of aborted destiny. It is the account of a man who forfeited his place in the annals of greatness because he could not triumph over temptation.
Let us take a close look at Samson's story. This account in Judges 16 is commonly known as the story of Samson and Delilah. But the truth is that this story did not start here. It began many many years earlier.
Samson did not fall because of what he did in Delilah's house. He fell because of certain decisions that he had made (or failed to make) long before he met Delilah.
When does a person really fall? Is it when they first sin or when their sin becomes exposed to the public? It is neither. A person falls the day they conclude in their hearts that what they're doing is okay.
In Genesis 3:6, Eve concluded that it was all right to eat the fruit. There was a certain destructive pattern that kept recurring in Samson's life. He had followed the cycle of temptation over and over again. It just so happened that this time in Delilah's lap, he ran out of grace - his time was up.
Let us examine certain tendencies that kept recurring in Samson's life.

He lacked visionProverbs 29:18 says where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint. There was no restraint on Samson's life because he was not a man of vision.
When the Philistines gouged out his eyes, they where only doing to him physically what he had previously done to himself spiritually. His enemies were only making to happen on the outside what he had allowed on the inside.
Samson was born to be a judge in Israel. His destiny was to deliver God's people from the Philistines - Judges 13:5. But Samson never fulfilled his destiny. Today Samson is known more for his physical prowess than he is for his ability as a leader.
He was anointed by God, but he used his anointing to fight personal battles, not to deliver God's people. He killed the Philistines, not because he was focussed, or because he had a strategy to bring deliverance to God's people. All his fights were a personal vendetta, and most of them were a reaction in anger.
Samson did not get the big picture - he wasted his time fighting small battles. He lived his life dealing with trivia - the unimportant issues in life. Choose what mountain you will die on - don't major on minors. 90% of the things you consider to be important today will mean very little to you in 5 years.
Samson had no strategy for his life. As such, he went from one crisis to another. He made shortsighted decisions, because they were based more on his feelings than on the will of God for his life. When you make decisions purely on the basis of feelings, they tend to be shortsighted. Samson never made a commitment to be the man that God called him to be, or to do what God called him to do.
He did not take the call of God on his life seriously. His enemies took the call of God on his life more seriously than he did. Samson lacked a sense of identity.
When the devil takes the call of God on your life more seriously than you do, you're in serious trouble.
Jacob valued Esau's birthright more than Esau did. Consequently Esau forfeited it.
Because of Samson's lack of vision, he could not really fulfil his destiny. What he was born to do had to be accomplished by Samuel, a few generations later. 1 Samuel 7:13.

He could not curtail his appetites. Judges 14:1-4 This brings us back to that same word - DESIRE If you don't master your appetites, they will eventually master you. If you don't control your desires, they will take over you and control you.
Samson did not know how to say 'No' to his flesh; and eventually he lost his ministry. 1 Corinthians 9:27 Samson came to the point that he felt he was powerful enough to have whatever he wanted.
NOBODY IS ALLOWED TO HAVE EVERYTHING THEY WANT. Why? Because your flesh will always desire something it is not supposed to have. Samson insisted on having whatever he wanted. When you insist on having something that God has not given you, you will lose something he has given you.
David insisted on having Bathsheba - he lost his throne. Some people insist on holding on to their tithes - the devourer comes and takes everything.
Adam and Eve insisted on eating the forbidden fruit - they lost the entire garden. You will notice that what God intends for you is much greater than what you insist on having.
Part of Samson's problem was that his father did not prevail on him. His parents knew he was going against the will of God, yet they let him have his way.
Parents, you must love your children enough to deprive them of what will destroy them. If you let your children have everything they want, you are setting them up for destruction. Judges 14:3 - Samson insisted "Get her for me for she pleases me well". He was saying "I like her. I'm in love with her; I've gotta have her".
Just because you are in love with someone doesn't mean they're the right person for you. We know that what Samson had here was more of infatuation than true love. How do we know? Because when a crisis occurred, he walked away from the relationship. In fact the woman did not love him either - because she betrayed him.
If you want something badly enough, you will get it - even though it may kill you eventually. Don't always insist on having your own way. Listen to the counsel of the godly people in your life.
Something else that Samson could not control was his temper. Whenever anything upset him, he flew into a fit of rage - and went on a destructive rampage. Judges 14:19, 15:3-5, 7-8. That is not the mark of strong man - but of a weak man. Proverb 25:28, 16:32.

He Played games with the enemyDon't play games with the devil, thinking you can walk away when you like. Samson tested the limits of his fate. He pushed his boundaries to see how far he could go. He enjoyed the adrenaline rush of teasing his enemies.
From day #1, he knew that the Philistines were the enemy of God's people - but he insisted on marrying a wife from among them. Not only that, he negotiated with them. Judges 14:10-15, 15:10-15.
Samson knew that the Philistines were after him. He knew they were out to get him. He knew that Delilah was conspiring with them against him, but he felt he could handle it. When he should have fled, he stayed and played games. But this time he went too far.
Samson was used to the Philistines coming after him. He was also used to defeating them. He took it for granted that he would always beat them at their own game - so he played along. He was too confident.
In the past the Philistines had always located Samson physically, but he had always them. Judges 16:1-3. On this occasion, however, they located him spiritually. They knew more about him than they were supposed to. In reality, it wasn't the Philistines that overcome Samson, it was his desires. Think about it, they did not even change their strategy. They just got Delilah to keep asking him the same question over and over again - until his resistance broke.
Somehow, Samson did not associate Delilah with the Philistines. He could not see the connection between the object of his affection and his enemies. He did not realise that for every bait there is a hook, a line and a rod - and that there is a hand holding the rod. It is not enough for you to know that the devil is your enemy, you must also realise that he uses people - sometimes good people.
So Samson and delilah keep playing this game, each one determined to outwit and out smart the other. But Samson underestimated the danger involved in this game. In his mind he was playing a gane with someone he loved, but in Delilah's mind, she was dealing with the enemy - and a lot of money was involved ($5,000 = in today's money) Judges 16:4-5
By round three of the game, Samson made a big mistake. - he involved his hair. He said to himself, "I will let the enemy come close, but not too close". Delilah is manipulating him, and he is falling for it. He was too involved to realise that it was not by coincidence that the Philistines were in Delilah's room on the first two occassions. Samson was carrying this game too far - he was testing the limits of God's grace and his own resistance. He wanted to see how close he could come to the edge without crossing the line.

He failed to deal with old destructive patternsThere were certain recurring patterns in Samson's life, which he failed to deal with. Lust, temper, revenge, wandering into enemy territory, betrayal by the woman in his life, negotiating with the enemy, playing games with the enemy, allowing himself to be bound …………. The list goes on. Eventually those old patterns caught up with him and destroyed him.
Old patterns don't just away with time - they simply go underground and just lie there, dormant and latent, waiting for the right opportunity to erupt. If you don't put those patterns to death, they do not die by themselves. They simply sit there waiting to be triggered. You need to be honest with yourself. Don't live in denial. Expose those patterns to God and ask him to deliver you.
Be sure of this, if these tendencies are in you, the devil knows they are there. The Philistines knew that Samson had a way of opening up to the women in his life. They knew he had not crucified that part of his life. Ephesians 4:22-24. Ask yourself: "what does the devil know about me that I don't know about myself?" Jesus said: "the prince of this world is coming, and he has nothing in me" John 14:30

He found relief in the wrong place
You see, Samson was a very strong man - he was a judge in Israel. There was a great deal of expectation from the people. He was constantly under pressure to perform - under much more pressure than normal people. He was so strong, he could over power lions, catch foxes bare handed, slaughter Philistines, remove gates, and do many other mighty exploits.
But every strong man gets tired, and when you are tires, you can fight many enemies and overpower them, you cannot fight your own tiredness or overpower it. In fact, what usually happens is that your tiredness overpowers you.
There is nothing wrong with being tired - even Jesus was tired. John 4:6. But the big question is, when you get tired where do you go to get refreshed? Where do you rest your head in your times of weariness. When fatigue sets in, how do you spell relief?
On the outside, Samson maintained his macho image, but on the inside he was deflated. And he really could not be defeated until he was deflated. Inspite of his name, fame and acclaim, there was a void within him. No one had ever really treated him like a real man. But it seemed like Delilah knew how to massage his ego.
Delilah's weapons to defeat Samson were not her lips, hips or fingertips. The greatest weapons she had were his tiredness and inner emptiness. As a matter of fact, we do not really read any description of a sexual relationship here- only of a man badly in need of rest and refreshing, who went to sleep on the wrong person's knees.
A tired man is a vulnerable man. When you are tired, you do the Samson thing - you lie down too long and open up too much. Unfortunately our world today is run by tired men - who are "exhausted but still pursuing". Judges 8:4.
When you are tired, whatever you do, don't rest your head on Delilah's lap. Your Delilah does not have to be a woman.
Your "Delilah" is anything that you find illegitimate relief in. It can be your career, an inordinate relationship, the occasional escape into the world of fantasy, experimenting with drugs, the drink that drowns your worries, the eating binge, the pornographic habit, the shopping spree. Delilah's lap is the forbidden place you go when you've had enough.
How do you recognise your Delilah? It is the thing that comes into your life to deplete your strength.
When you are under pressure, there is a wrong way to relief the pressure, but there is also a right way.
When you are tired, there is a wrong place to go for rest, but there is also a right place. Psalm 61:1-4, Isaiah 40:29-31.
There is a Rock that is higher than you - and that's the place where true relief, rest and refreshing come from. The sad thing is that Samson knew that place - Judges 15:18-19. He simply failed to go there.
Lift up your eyes now, for your help comes from the Lord
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