Superman 1 [Opening Scene of the Adventures of Superman 0:00 1:00] (Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look, up in the sky! It s a bird, it s a plane! It s Superman!) Most of us have heard those immortal lines about the man of steel, Superman. He is in many ways the most popular and certainly the pre-eminent superhero of all time. Superman was born on a distant planet named Krypton, to a race of super-humans. When he arrived on earth as a baby he was taken in by a childless farm couple named Kent. From the beginning his parents knew that he was a special and unique child. As he grew they learned that this special child had a gift to share with the world. And at just the right time, Clark Kent left Smallville and headed to Metropolis where he could use those super-human powers to right wrongs and save the innocent from harm. Superman s story parallels the story of a biblical superman whose strength was to be used to save a nation. Samson was born to be a deliverer for his people, Israel; and like Superman we ll see later that Samson s strength was also vulnerable to a weakness. Samson lived at a point during the 400+ years between the conquest of the Promised Land and the rise of the Kings- Saul, David and Solomon. Samson s story is one of many recounted in the book of Judges- a word meaning leader men and women like Deborah and Gideon whom God raised up to lead his people out of periods of apostasy and oppression from their enemies. But I m rushing ahead because the key to Samson s strength begins before his birth. In Judges 13 an angel appears to a barren woman and announces that she and her husband are to have a child- and not an ordinary child- but one that will be set apart from before his birth.
Superman 2 Notice the parallel, Superman and Samson both come into the lives of childless parents in small towns. They are to be unique and powerful in their own respects. I appreciate the words of Samson s mother when she asks the angel, How do we raise a child like this? (13:8) Probably a question the Kent s asked themselves as they raised Clark. You and I could only imagine what it would have been like raising a child with superhuman strength. But those of us who have raised children can certainly relate to Samson s mom asking, How do I raise a child like this? Samson was set apart from before his birth to be a Nazirite- literally one set apart to be used by God. Some other biblical personalities who were Nazirites include the prophet Samuel and John the Baptist. The vows of a Nazirite were to avoid fermented drink, abstain from anything unclean and to never cut his hair. These were outward symbols of an inner commitment. As the angel announced to Samson s mother this commitment of Samson would begin the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines. As Samson grew and the Lord blessed him, the Spirit of the Lord began to stir in Samson (13:25). Samson was given his strength by God for a purpose. Superman s strength was also seen as a gift to be used for others by spreading the message of truth, justice and the American way! You and I may not be endowed with superhuman strength like a Samson or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound but God has certainly given us gifts which he purposes us to use for the benefit of others. Like Samson, you are set apart for God s use because God has gifted each of us uniquely. And it s not like we all have the same gifts, so we can just say, let George do it. We are to use these unique gifts for God s purposes. We are God s workmanship is how Paul describes us created to do good works. And God gives us the power of His Holy Spirit to enable us to do the work that he purposed for us to do. So in a real sense we are superheroes set apart and called by God to bring God s truth and justice to people in need. [Turn to someone and say, You re a superhero!
Superman 3 Now superhero, tell that person about your super power. Tell them about the gift or purpose that God provided you so that you could bring help to those in need and share the Good News of Jesus.] The difference between a Superhero and a villain often comes down to the course that their life takes. Superheroes use their special powers to aid others while villains give in to their selfish desires. But the greatest struggle that Superheroes- and heroes like you and mewill struggle with is how to stand strong in spite of the weakness that we possess. Superman had his kryptonite, you and I have our weaknesses; and so does Samson as we see in the story from Judges 14-16. Let me show you what happened to Samson. Now remember that Samson s Nazirite vow forbids him to drink fermented drink or eat the grapes used to make wine. But what do we see Samson doing; he enters a vineyard and at his wedding banquet he feasts (it literally means drinks a lot). A Nazirite also avoided becoming unclean which would have meant avoiding dead things. With all the killing that Samson did he had to have touched more than a few dead bodies- like when he disrobed 30 dead men so as to provide a wardrobe for those wedding guests to whom he had lost a bet. And herein is revealed one of Samson s fatal flaws- immoral women. He kept getting into trouble by his association and intimacy with women that the Lord had forbidden the people of Israel to marry. Superman had a weakness, but he guarded that secret carefully, and took steps to avoid falling into traps where he could be overpowered by his weakness. But not Samson! Samson s weakness seemed to bat its eyelashes at him around every corner. And what was worse is that Samson was so full of pride that he couldn t see that he continually put himself in touch with his weakness.
Superman 4 You see Samson s strength wasn t in his hair, that was only an outward sign of what should have been an inward change. Samson s stregnth was the spirit of God that entered into his life and gave him strength. This was a time when the Spirit of God came only to certain people whom God used for his purposes. Today, when a person accepts Jesus Christ as their savior, the Holy Spirit invades our lives to give us supernatural strength and remains in our lives even when we disobey God. Samson s downward spiral came to a sudden stop when he awoke from Delilah s shearing. Thinking that nothing had changed in his life, Samson boasted that he would go out as before and shake himself free of his captors. But he didn t know that the Lord had left him. How tragic that Samson had grown so insensitive to the Spirit in his life that he did not notice the change in his life. Contrast that image with the words of King David following his sin with Bathsheba. In Psalm 51, David repents of his sin of adultery and murder and recognizing how he had jeopardized his anointing David said, Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. (Ps 51:11). The bonds that entrapped Samson were not made of kryptonite, or even steel, they were forged with the recklessness of sin and the pride of thinking that his strength resided in him. After loosing his sight, being made a spectacle of by the people that he was to have overcome in rescuing Israel, and being forced to grind grain like a common animal- Samson had a moment of humility and repentance. Now he understood where his strength had originated. So Samson prayed, Lord, remember me. Strengthen me just once more. Why is it that we need to come to our knees before we repent and remember that God created with us a purpose? Before we find ourselves in the same position as Samson, what can you and I as God s superheroes learn about the weaknesses that can so easily entrap us.
Superman 5 Take for instance the big news story on Friday. Former senator, turned Presidential candidate John Edwards finally came clean on the truth about his affair. Amid all the noise of the commentators I heard a line in his press statement that I thought fit Samson and like wise many of us. In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic. When we start to believe that we are above giving in to weakness or that it is ok for me to engage in this behavior When we live only for our selfish pleasure that is the time during which we are most vulnerable to our weakness. It happened to Samson, it happens to politicians and to ordinary people. So what can you and I do to avoid giving in to our weakness? In 1 Peter 5:6, 8 we are offered some good advice: Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Humility is the first word. Mild-mannered Clark Kent was a great persona for Superman. Clark was portrayed as a humble individual who thought of others above self. That s far from the image of Samson. What he saw and wanted he got or took. His pride got so large that when Delilah nagged him for the truth about his weakness he couldn t see the trap that was being laid for him. In the end it was Samson s pride and arrogance that drove out the spirit of God and along with God s spirit- Samson s strength. When we are humble, God will be able to use us in ways that he intends; to use the super power that dwells in us through the Holy Spirit. Along with humility, Peter urges us to be self-controlled. The word translated self-control literally means to abstain from wine or strong drink. What Peter is conveying to his readers is that we need to avoid coming under the control of anything other than the Spirit of God.
Superman 6 The self-control that Samson lacked led to his mind being controlled by his desires or the act of revenge. When we hear of the spirit of the Lord leaving Samson it is as though God has given over control of Samson s life to Samson. God is literally saying to Samson, we tried it my way, and you didn t like it; so let s see what happens when you are in control. Of course the outcome was anything but pleasant for Samson who had his eyes gouged out, his legs in chains and tethered to a grinding wheel all day long. So when we speak of self-control we are really speaking about Godcontrol. And Peter adds to that be alert. Literally, stay awake; the same word used in the Gospels by Jesus when he spoke to his slumbering disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. We need to be alert because our enemy is seeking to devour us! Peter uses the image of the hungry lion stalking its prey to describe our adversary who wants to take us down and prevent us from using our superpowers for the purpose God intended them to be used. Samson was not alert. He was lulled to sleep in Delilah s lap and ultimately lost what power he had. On January 14, 2005, Shane Maixner died in an avalanche. The 27- year-old and four of his friends drove to the Canyons ski resort outside Park City, Utah, rode the ski lift, hiked up to the backcountry gate outside the Dutch Draw area, went through the gate posted with warning signs, and started snowboarding. On the second trip down the same slopes, someone in the party shouted, Avalanche! but Shane could not escape. Two days later, they dug his body out of the snow. Some of the media severely criticized the reckless out-of-bounds riders, picturing Shane as a novice unaware of the possible dangers. But that isn t the true story.
Superman 7 Maixner and two others in his party were avalanche-certified backcountry guides. The men owned special avalanche gear, but didn t bring it with them when they went to Dutch Draw. This is not an unusual occurrence. In fact, skiers with the most avalanche training are more likely to be seduced into faulty reasoning by factors like tracked slopes and group enthusiasm. Maixner didn t die because he was a fool. Like his friends, he was lulled into letting his guard down. When we are feeling strong and things are going well, especially, we tend to let our guard down. Maybe we don t read our Bible as much, or maybe we forget to go to God in prayer and thank him, or maybe we just don t attend worship services as frequently anymore. We re comfortable Christians at times. However, just like Samson, we all live with weaknesses along side our strengths. But how we choose to live determines which one wins out in the end. Superman always rose above his weakness. You and I can as well if we live humbly and under the control of God s Spirit.