I want to talk again to us from our series of sermons entitled Handling God's Dark Room.
Tony Campolo in a book written around I think about 1984, the title of the book I have it on my
shelf it's entitled it's Friday but Sunday is coming and in that book he tells a story of a man
who broke into a department store but he did not break in to steal anything he went into this
department store and spent all night switching price tags items that cost $500 he put a price tag
on it for $50 items that were $380 he put a price tag of $38 he spent all night switching price
tags got up the next morning went into the store and went out with a King's ransom of items because
it was three hours before the store manager realized that price tags had been switched
Satan has switched the price tags he's made us believe what is up is down what is right is wrong
what is black is white what is good is evil and we spend sometimes an entire lifetime never
realizing that the devil has switched the price tags this truth is underlined emboldened and
italicized in the life of this man Samson a cursory reading of the text would make us think
that Samson's problem was Delilah and that his sin was sexual immorality less we rushed to the
wrong conclusions the aforementioned Delilah and sex are not the sin but rather sins offspring
Samson sin your sin and my sin and the sin which turned Lucifer the bright son of the morning
into Satan the deceiver is the sin of pride Satan has so switched the price tags that we like
Samson expect advantage without adversity we expect power without pain we expect wisdom without
weakness according to the author Steve Brown authenticity is possible only in the context of
public shame forced honesty or Christian experience God delights in making some bodies into no
bodies so he can make the no bodies into the some bodies he had in mind in the first place
brothers and sisters hear me this morning the crown is yours you can have it but across comes
with it Samson was a man with great potential but he never quite reached the level of life
he was capable of living his name Samson means distinguished and strong but he was anything
but what his name implied because of his rebellion and his sin Samson found himself in
God's dark room and his life is telling and testimony listen to me his life is telling
and testimony of how strong people are sometimes coaxed in the great imbecility what begins with
reluctance to the truth soon moves to resistance to the truth and when you resist the truth long
enough if you're not careful it soon becomes rebellion to the truth though strong as Samson
brothers those strong as Samson Christian friends look out for Delilah's scissors physical
development intellectual attainment social position financial accumulation can make one
weak enough to fall asleep on Delilah's lap and the sin is not sexual as much as an evil
association sudden success much can lull you into the false sense of security believing
that you hit a triple when you were just born on third base brothers and sisters let's look
this morning at Samson's life to take away some lessons of how to handle God's dark room
I want you to look with me at the road to the dark room look at the road Samson takes
to end up in prison when Samson's birth was announced his parents were told that he was
to be a Nazarite a Nazarite not one from Nazareth but a Nazarite was devoted concentrated
to God with some rules attached he was not to cut his hair he was to refrain from wine
or strong drink and he was to avoid contact with all dead bodies like many prominent people
who have fallen into public disgrace Samson's parents spoiled and indulged him consequently
he never learned to delay gratification though he had potential as a judge of Israel he failed
because of a selfishness and a feeling of entitlement Samson did not understand that
his strength was not in the length of his hair his strength was not in his body but
his strength was in his position chosen as a Nazarite by God and you and I have strength
this morning not because of anything that we've done but we are a chosen generation
a royal priesthood I wish I had a Bible reader you are not who you are because of where you
came from you are who you are because God chose you you didn't choose him he chose you
the spirit of God is the underlying force of Samson's character and the spirit of God
alone secures for him his rank in the long line of mediators of divine truth and supernatural
revelation Samson's passion overcame his reason and in spite of his physical strength he was
powerless against his flesh Samson left the landscape of his life littered with the bodies
of his enemies but his life was also one disaster after another his parents were left heartbroken
his family humiliated his wife given to another man the name of God and the testimony of Israel
were damaged in the eyes of heathens because Samson who was called by God to lead fell
because he could not control his urges like many of us he walked away from God one bad choice at
a time it's the picture of a frog in a kettle here's how you kill a frog in a kettle if the
water is boiling hot and you put a frog in it it'll immediately jump out but if you put a cold
kettle of water on the stove put a frog in it and turn up the heat gradually the frog will stay in
the pot and die because the heat is imperceptible we walk away from God like frogs in the kettle we
surround ourselves with things that don't matter we pay attention to things that will not bring us
any success we surround ourselves with people who don't mean us any good and before you know it you
walked away from God one step at a time brothers and sisters get this this morning we are born
looking like our parents and we died looking like our decisions good or bad now this this this man
who was who was born for destiny born for greatness born to give God glory never wanted what God put
on him Samson was crazy about women he married outside his tribe and then it was not bad enough
that he married a canine night he started messing with canine night prostitutes the liner was not
the first of the prostitutes he was with two other prostitutes before the liner and the liner was
the one who caused him to fall asleep because she kept nagging him tell me your secrets tell me
your secret where does your great strength come from because he killed a thousand men with the
jawbone of an ass he killed 30,000 men just to win a bet he was the strongest man that ever
lived but the liner kept asking where does your strength come from it obviously did not come from
his physical appearance because if he had muscles like Hercules she could have known where his strength
came from so he lied to her like men do and she kept nagging him like women do
somebody ought to help me preach it if you love me you would tell me what your secret is
you say oh god just put some spider webs around me and I'll be weak as any other man she tried
that and it didn't work she said if you really love me you tell me what your strength is he
said tie me with some ropes and and and that'll do it I'll lose my strength she tried that and
it didn't work she said if you're gonna get in this bed with me forget all this talking sweet
and all that because listen she had already made a price with the Philistines she had already
bargained with the Philistines she she was she was thinking about getting paid
she wanted to make this relationship matter financially see how quiet y'all getting right
baby mama drama ain't just started last week the Bible is full of cheating women cheating
men rape murder lives gossip the scripture is full and what I love most about the Old
Testament is its rawness the liler said if you go if you're gonna get with me I'm gonna ask you
one more time what is your secret Samson said Lord this girl gonna drive me to drinking he said
all right if my head is shaved my strength will be gone she calls the Philistines and says come
now because I know his secret but before the Philistines come she makes him fall asleep on her lap
be careful my grandmother would say like this everything that shine yeah y'all was raised
like I was raised be careful where you take a nap be careful how you let your guard down
take heed when you think you're standing lest you fall and when you see somebody in
trouble don't gloat over that because the Bible says if a man be overtaken in a fault I wish I
had a Bible reader ye who are spiritual restore him in the spirit of meekness here it is considering
yourself let's you be overtaken in the same fault because the only reason you are not in prison is
because we ain't been caught we've done some of the same stuff somebody else has done but messy
grace the blood of Jesus covers us what can wash away my sin I wish I had a witness here I'm not
talking to you good at two shoes people in here I'm not talking to y'all here who got your clothes
on but your wings are underneath your dress or underneath your jacket I'm talking to some crooks
like me in here this morning who seemed enough just yesterday that you ought to be dead and in your
grave and that's why we can sing with authority amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a
wretch like me I once was lost but now I'm found I was blind but now I can see through many dangers
toils and snaz I have already come I need somebody here today who's got a shot left in you because
God brought you through some stuff that you could have lost your mind God opened the door that
somebody had clothes in your face somebody lied on you and tried to bring you down but God made
your enemy your foot stew won't he do it here I'm trying to hurry here is the is the scariest
most frightening verse I think in all of the scripture Samson shook himself and got up like
he had done before but the Bible says he did not know that the spirit of God left
I don't want to show up to work on Sunday and God has fired me I don't want to stand up to
pray or to teach or to preach and God takes his power from me I wish I had a witness here I need
somebody here who knows that you stand up in the power of the living God it's not because you've
been so holy it's not because you've been so righteous it's because he looks beyond your fault
I'm I'm known I'm known in my life preachers whose gospel used to flash with fire
but the spirit of God left him and they became an empty echo a proverb of a bygone era I'm
knowing people who could sing until the hairs on the back of your neck would rise but they
thought they were the one in whose place they had been called to praise and God stripped them of
their power because God is not going to let you get glory that belonged to him I don't care how
good you think you look I don't care how well you think you preach I don't care how smart you
think you are God will get the last word you don't have to take my word for that ass never
kidding as he stood on the roof of his palace and he admired the great gardens of Babylon the
one of the seven wonders of the ancient world he stood up on his palace roof and said all
Babylon the great how wonderful how great have I made you old Babylon and the Bible says in the
same hour he grew feathers like a bird he grew claws like an eagle he ate grass like cattle and
it was not until he raised his head and realized who God was that his reasoning returned if you
think you're more than you really are you are fooled you have lost your mind if you think you
in here this morning because you such a good Christian if you think you in here this morning
because you so righteous and holy you are crazy and then you look the only one worthy of praise
this morning is the Lord Jesus Christ he's the fountain from which all else flows he's the root
out of which all else grows I wish I had one or two witnesses here I'm trying to close this
little sermon but he's a rock in a weary land a shelter in a time of storm I don't know anybody
in here like that he's the root of David he's the stump of Jesse I don't know anybody in here
like that he's the ancient of days he's the day spring of Israel he's a bright and the morning
star I don't know anybody around here like that he's God's only son there's nobody
like him Samson got up to fight spirit of God had lifted them they bind them bring him in
the prison and the road to the dark room leads to the realities in the dark room the road to the
dark room leads to the realities in the dark room he forfeited his fellowship he fell from
his position from his power and from his purpose and his fall was public
there are some folks you can't recover from because God has to publicly shame you so that
he can again publicly own you because it is not until God empties you of you that he can
feel you with him and then you can sing I am dying oh Lord I've heard your voice and they
told you love to me and I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to the
consecrate me now to your service Lord by the power of grace divine let my soul look up with
a steadfast hope and my will be lost in dying he forfeited his fellowship he forfeited his
faculties not only did he lose his physical sight but worse he lost his spiritual sight
because it is possible brothers and sisters to have your eyes and can see it is possible
to lose your vision before you lose your sight I wish I had somebody to help me God has
destiny written all over your life God wants to use you God wants to bless you God has
a consecrated space for you but you want out on it because you want to be like everybody
else you want everybody to like you you want them to like your posts on Facebook talk back
to me if you can you want to you want to you want to go viral on Facebook you want to do
something spectacular and grand and great something nobody else has ever done so that
you can get acclaimed and public attention and God will let you get it only for you to
discover that what you are running after is not gonna last because soon people move on
you remember when James Brown was the man I feel good like I knew that I would so good
I got you hit me one time baby baby baby
but then MC Hammer came along and then Michael Jackson came along and then Jay Z came along
the people stars fade somebody else comes to take their place because people are fickle
they like you on your Facebook page for a minute and it fades away because their attention
span is not long but when you know who you are and who you belong to and what your purpose
is and what your destiny is you can just run your race put some blinders on you don't
pay attention to who's on the right or who's on the left you just live your life if they
like your good that they don't like you to hell with them I got Jesus and I don't need
nobody he walks with me I'm through the realities of the prison is he he forwarded his fellowship
he forwarded his faculties and then he forfeited his freedom he's blind bound and grinding
he's blind his eyes have been gouged out he's in chains bound and the ladies man is doing
ladies work look at the irony of that the women who swooned when he passed by he's
now doing work that ladies have to do grinding corn that doesn't even belong to him the strongest
man who ever lived can be bound now by change your strength my strength is not in our academic
excellence it's not in our rhetorical prowess it's not in our field centric piety my strength
your strength comes from God not by power nor by might but by my spirit says the lord you
don't want to sing god will take some woman dancing on a pole and put it in this trek
Sunday morning and she'll sing rings around you you don't want to teach your class stay home
God will sober up some alcoholic and put him in your Sunday school class Sunday morning
and he'll teach circles around you because the power doesn't come from you God can use whoever
he wants to you i'm through but samson comes to the end of his life in a dark room
our brothers and sisters listen to me there's there's a road that led him to the dark room
there's a harsh reality he has to face in the dark room but if you stay that long enough
there's restoration in the dark room
i'm through preaching the choir took all my time i'm through
the only door that leads out of the dark room is the door of repentance
here it is samson called on the lord
i want you to see this restoration and i'm through god knows i wish i had more time to
stay right there but i want you to see this restoration while he's blinded
while he's blinded while he's grinding his hair is growing
because remember his strength was in his hair
and the enemy wasn't paying attention
because if the enemy had been paying attention then never would have let his hair come back
but while his enemy hadn't blinded and blinded and grinding god was letting his hair come out
and while your enemy is at work lying on you
you god is letting your hair grow back
while that negro who walked out on you talking about you ain't gonna be nothing without me
god is letting your hair grow back
some people who thought that by now you'd be dead or independent you're it god is letting your
hair and you know how your hair keeps growing keep coming to church keep praising god keep telling
god thank you for another day keep thanking god for letting you see a brand new sunrise keep on
waving your hands in the sanctuary and god will let your hair grow back
here it is
samson samson said lord
i know i've been a disappointment
lord i know i have not done what i was born to do
you lord i know that i have not lived up to my full potential
they got me blind they've taken my eyes out i'm a public embarrassment
i've brought dishonor to your name i'm ashamed even to call myself your child
heathens are laughing at me and in turn they're laughing at you because i was supposed to honor you
i was supposed to make your name great in israel and i have been a public embarrassment
i have brought shame and dishonor to israel my nation and to god my father but listen to his
prayer he said to the servant who was leading him by the hand because he's blind he said bring me
to the pillars that's holding up this building bring me to the middle of this palace and just
let me stand there because they are making sport of me that's what the king james says they want me
to entertain them so bring me to the middle of the building that i might be made sport of
by my enemies and the man leads him to the center of the building and they began to ridicule him
they began to mock him they began to laugh at him but samson ha is growing
you're gonna help me close this won't you while they are laughing at him his hair is coming back
while they are mocking him god is letting his hair come back while they are making fun of him
god is letting his long locks flow again and i want you to hear samson's prayer and i'm going
to be through he says lord i know i've shamed you lord i know i have not lived up to my full
potential but lord i want to ask you one more time give me my strength back restore unto me
the joy of my salvation give me back what the devil stole from me and i will bring honor and
glory to your name he tells the man bring me in the middle and put me between the pillars
that's holding up this building and the bible says when he prayed god gave him his strength back
and he pushed with all his might and the walls came tumbling down and he killed more people in death
than he ever killed in his life there's another champion i want you to look at this moment
he came to a hill called calvary they mocked him they ridiculed him they criticized them
they talked bad about him they gambled for his garments they put him in the middle
of two fees one on the right hand and one on the left hand he didn't pray the prayer samson prayed
he said father forgive them for they know not what they do you're gonna help me close this won't you
and then he bible says they hung him on the cross he died he didn't kill more in death than he did
in life he saved more in death than he did in life there is a fountain filled with blood
drawn from in manuals veins sin is plod beneath that flood lose all that guilty stain is there
anybody here been saved by his blood is there anybody here know you're been washed is there
anybody here know your name is written in the land's book of life if you're saved and you're
not ashamed to testify if he kept you and you don't care who's looking at you why don't you
tell somebody he saved me he saved me he saved me he saved me he washed me he redeemed me by the
blood of the land he's washed me why that's smooth figure for your blood figure that he died but
brother you're gonna help me please this won't you Sunday morning he got up with all power i know he's all right