“Faith in Spite of Failure”

Series: Race of Faith
Hebrews 11:32
Many have been captured by the current movie, Amazing Grace, the story of William Wilberforce-a man whose heart was changed by God -and then changed his view of man—giving everything he had to end the slave trade—but according to the author Eric Metaxas—this wasn’t his greatest accomplishment--
“To fathom the magnitude of what Wilberforce did we have to see that the “disease” he vanquished forever was actually neither the slave trade nor slavery.
Slavery still exists around the world today, in such measure as we can hardly fathom. What Wilberforce vanquished was something even worse than slavery: he destroyed an entire way of seeing the world, one that held sway from the beginning of history, and he replaced it with another way of seeing the world.
Even though slavery continues to exist here and there, the idea that it is good is now dead. That is why it’s nearly impossible to do justice to the enormity of his accomplishment: it was nothing less than a fundamental and important shift in human consciousness.”
Wilberforce had to be a man of faith—who believed God for everything—even when it appeared hopeless—even when he couldn’t see how
Were the writer of Hebrews 11 still writing his chapter—Wilberforce would surely be there—alongside Enoch and Noah and Abraham and Isaac -men and women who stepped outside of their experiences
-beyond their comfort zones
-did not limit their sight to what was flesh and blood…
-to perceived certainty
-trusting God with the their lives—their futures—their possessions
-lives of risk intended to INCREASE OUR FAITH
This evening we look at the next illustration …found in Hebrews 11:32 (read)
-there is a quickening of pace
-sharp staccato beats
-no longer stories—he merely mentions names
-no longer writing—he is preaching
-what shall I say?
-preach it brother—tell it all!
-time would fail me to tell it all
-go for it brother—say it—preach it!
-I’d have to talk about Gideon and Barak, and Samson
And then—the congregation gasps
-wait a minute—have you lost your mind? Samson?
This is like arguing for Rob Bell as Calvinist of the year
- Ally McCoist to be given an oscar for his role in “shot at glory”
-my dog Skip invited to participate in crufts
-how can Samson be included in God’s Hall of Faith?
His story starts well enough in Judges 13
-verse 1 establishes the setting—Israel was in desperate shape (read verse 1)
-it was a situation of their own making
-their only hope was a deliverer—an act of God
-and there was—to a barren woman came this angelic announcement (read vss 4-5)
-there was something unusual, special about this man—like a Wilberforce in the making
-he was to be a Nazarite—a name whose very root implied separation
-set apart for God’s purposes
-marked by both diet and appearance
-and the chapter ends, telling his he became great and the blessing of God was on his life
-and the Spirit of God began to stir, disturb—shake things up inside him
Like a comedian who warms up the audience, that works to create anticipation—we’re ready for the curtain to open
-we expect something of greatness to descend on this world—as it did when
Hannah gave birth to Samuel, Elizabeth gave birth to John, Elizabeth Wilberforce gave birth to William
-we are ready for someone larger than life to excel in a religious vocation
-someone of heroic proportion, spiritual stature to come and shift the human conscience
-but from the outset, it is as if a wire got crossed
-and what transpires causes us to wonder if chap 13 and chap 14 are speaking of the same person
-we wonder if Samson’s parents picked up the right baby at the hospital
-or if they did—did they forget to inform their son of his marvelous destiny?
-for what follows is not heroic narrative—but a tragic-comedy
-and we wonder—how did he make it into the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11?
-for here’s what we find—
1. Samson from the start is a MAN OF IMPULSE (read 14:1)
-like some drunk driver—Samson runs his life with more speed than direction
-in almost every situation—he lives on the reckless edge
-in places he has no business being in-like Timnah
-the place on the other side—the land of the Philistines
-where Samson appears to be on the pull—checking out foreign women
-here is a man who knows what he wants—and he wants it now-(read 14:2-3)
-it does not matter what social protocol or Jewish law requires
-Samson is like Woody Allen—who when confronted about a controversial affair, explained—“The heart wants what it wants”
-we anticipate a man full of the Spirit—but Samson is introduced as a man full of self
-that will lead to a series of self-defeating choices
-as well as a betrayal of vows that had set him apart at birth
2. We discover a man NOT TO BE MESSED WITH
-there is a fierceness in the heart of Samson
-that intimidated his parents-manhandled lions
-in every story-Samson is the clear alpha male, the wild stallion
-the OT bad boy whose favorite movie is bad boys 2 or point break
-who spends his days letting people how tough he really is
-and with each assertion of his will- he lets people know!
Samson is the antitype of the tame, domestic, tidy, dutiful, expressive— and above all—nice man
-every episode reveals this in Samson
-look what happens at his wedding (read 14:12-19)
-this guy is a mess
-in chapter 15-Samson’s wife was given to his friend
-and Samson again will get his revenge (read verses 15-16)
-there he is—in all of his pompousness declaring—
-I have made idiots of my enemies!!
-but you can’t help but wonder—who is the real idiot?
-in chapter 16-Samson seems to be in full descent
-ruled by his passions—he seeks to satisfy his lusts (read verses 1-3)
—Samson seemed to look for intimacy in self destructive ways
The tension between Hebrews 11:32 and the narrative grows with each story
-for this thing is reading less like a spiritual biography
-and more like something in News of the world
-less like a devotional—more like a expose of Ryan Giggs
3. Samson is a man who will have the FINAL SAY
-still driven by his sexual addictions
-he finally meets up with his undoing
-her name is Delilah—whose name should have tipped him off—“flirt”
-she is a woman who is less enamored with Samson—more interested in
money (read verses 4-5)
-and in the end—she gets her way
-in the end—what goes around comes around
-whatever we invest in—we tend to get back with interest (read verses 20- 21)
-this bad boy of Israel becomes the Philistine’s trophy
-by day—a grinder in a prison
-by night—a lewd form of entertainment in the temple of Dagon
-but Samson isn’t finished—he will have the final say (read verses 25-30)
So what do we do with this?
-how do we reconcile this tragedy with Heb 11:32?
-where is the stuff of Abraham, Wilberforce?
-WHERE IS THE STUFF OF FAITH?
-even in his final, mighty act—it is as self serving as all the others
“Remember me O Lord…so that I might with one blow get my revenge”
1. Maybe it is this—that Samson had the faith to lay hold of the power God had given him
-that came upon Him time and again to do what otherwise could not have happened
-three times we read-“The Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power”
-and one can only imagine what would have been if he had not abused the power God gave him
-and there’s something to this
-because some of us lack the sort of faith that lays hold of what we have in
Christ
-lays hold of this—that we have also been set apart like Samson
-citizens of a different realm
-empowered by the same Spirit—such that when we seek God
-He is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine— according to the power working in us
-all too many people of faith do not step out and believe this is so
-and live weak lives—that evidence little of God’s might
2. But maybe the writer of Hebrews had something else in mind
-something less obvious—yet there for sure
-that Samson’s faith was this
-that though he made a string of bad choices
-that though his usefulness was nearly over
-his manliness bankrupt
-his spirituality stamped with the words—“lost potential”
-his life marked as “squandered opportunity”
-who could have resigned himself to be some circus freak
-someone destined to spend the rest of his life grinding stones
-he nonetheless stepped out in faith and believed that God can yet use him to accomplish His purposes
And that requires great faith
-because there is something of Samson in all of us
-most of us are a mixture of spiritual promise and sinful choices
-who might be here—barely—and certainly convinced God has no use for
If God would still come upon a Samson
-how much more will He come upon us
-use us to accomplish His will through us
CONC
Ask for the gift of faith, pray for more faith, step out in faith, and though you feel that life has passed you by, see how God will come upon you and accomplish his will through you.