“The Spirit Began To Stir Him” is the title of our message by Mike Jarvis as we conclude the September study of the Book of Judges in our “Like-Minded In Christs Mission” sermon series. Join us for our Sunday service as we celebrate, worship, take communion together.
Worship is lead by and featuring worship teams from various sister churches.
Message Summary & Reflection
As we return to the cycle of sin/repentance that we see repeated in Judges we tern to the example of Samson. Whilst being commended for his faith he had several flaws: being brash, aggressive and arrogant. But God still used him. Of all the judges he failed to unite his tribe as all the other judges did to bring decades-long peace.
In one incident 3,000 men come to deliver him to the Philistines. Whilst, the holy spirit moves to set him free and leads him to kill the 1,000 philistines who had come to collect him, the question arises: could the 3,000 Jews who came to arrest Samson not have taken on the philistines themselves? Could Samson not have inspired them to fight for themselves rather than submit to philistine rule?
If one man filled with the holy spirit could take on 1,000 men what could the holy spirit do with 3,000 men? This is a key question, as we are a small church this is something to be encouraged by and called to – how can the holy spirit work through our community.
We need to be united around a central idea – an axiom. The axiom for us is the Word of God found in the Bible. This is why we spend so much time reading it and studying it.
This leads us on to share our vision. All of the Judges were leaders. Indeed, the leader is the word used in some translations of the bible instead of judge. Both in the world and in the bible the best leaders are visionaries.
It is said in the charity sector that people don’t give to a need, they give to a vision – not just what the problem is, but how we intend to solve it, and the idea of how life will be like after we have solved this problem.
When Samson was tied up in the temple he prayed one last time to God, to make one last stand. As a punishment, his eyes were gouged out. As he lost his sight, he gained his vision to serve God.
We have the problem of sin in our lives. We have received the vision of Jesus as a plan for our lives. What is our vision? Do we remember the mire that we lived in before we are Christians? Do we want the firm ground to stand on?
Do we want to be part of a small church? Do we want to stay small ourselves or do we want to do something big with our lives? I find all of these questions quite convicting. Particularly remembering how my life was before I had been met, I need to constantly be called higher and not slip back into the mire of my sin. I am also encouraged to reach out and consider how I see all aspects of my life and the life of the church moving forward.
The gratitude for how Jesuses sacrifice has changed us and our relationship with God will lead us to have a greater vision for our lives. This in turn will lead us to share our faith.
Finally, we see several examples of how the holy spirit empowered Samson. All of Samson’s victories were attributed to the holy spirit giving him strength, empowering him and controlling him.
We receive the holy spirit at baptism so we also have access to this great power. We too are called to be leaders in our church and our wider communities. Sow how can we be like the judges and be visionary, share our faith, walk in the holy spirit and unite our tribe around the living Word of God?
Scriptures Shared In This Message
This message will focus on the scriptures featured below:
- Judges 13
- Judges 14
- Judges 15
- Judges 16
