Greetings everyone, let's examine the thirteenth chapter of Judges. The more you read Judges, the more confused you become, witnessing one melodramatic saga after another. By the time we get to Samson, the melodrama has reached an extreme. We are perplexed: what is this all about? I find our God to be truly wonderful. The theme of Judges chapter thirteen is "The Wonderful God Performs Wonderful Salvation." Although it may seem like a soap opera, I tell you it is God's miraculous work, beyond your imagination.

I. The Israelites Again Did Evil in the Eyes of the Lord

You will notice a pattern in history, a pattern of decline from one generation to the next. Have you noticed this? Each generation is worse than the last, deteriorating until it becomes utterly corrupt. I find this very similar to the history of the church. Then, when things reach their lowest point! I tell you, the Israelites again did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and as a result, the Lord handed them over to the Philistines for forty years.

Can you imagine? If someone lived to be forty and died, their entire life might be spent being oppressed by the Philistines, from birth to death. If someone started being oppressed by the Philistines at twenty and died at sixty, their life would be miserable. The Israelites were handed over to the Philistines for forty years, and even after those forty years, the situation was still dire.

God raised up Samson during those forty years, specifically for twenty of them. During those forty years of being oppressed by the Philistines, Samson served as a judge for Israel for twenty years. And Samson's story sounds different from the other judges. Deborah led troops into battle and achieved a great victory; Gideon led three hundred elite soldiers into battle and achieved a great victory. But with Samson, we don't see him leading Israelites into battle; he's just a strongman doing things that don't seem like the work of a judge. This is the wondrous thing God did in that generation.

I lament that after the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, their hearts became increasingly hardened. At this point, people's hearts became very rigid. They used to know to call upon God, but this time no one called upon God; they even felt content to be oppressed by the Philistines! Can you understand this? It's incomprehensible.

People's hearts became very hardened. Why? Because these Israelites, I suspect, felt resentful. They thought: "Lord God, isn't this the promised land you were going to lead us into? Why is the promised land like this? Why are we being oppressed today and again after a while? And then you send a judge to save us." The Israelites blamed the sun, the moon, and God, but not themselves. We must understand that the root of all problems is people doing what is evil in the eyes of the Lord.

When people do what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, they feel pretty good at the time. The Israelites thought: "Hey, nothing happens after doing evil; nothing happens even after doing it again." But when the Philistines attack and oppress them severely, they become even more hardened, living a difficult and miserable life. It's hard to understand; the Israelites said: "God, wasn't it better for us to be slaves in Egypt? Being slaves in Egypt was better than this! Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Is this the promised land?"

The Israelites are not just talking nonsense. In reality, they felt resentful and didn't understand. Even now, many churches are being beaten down by the devil, rubbed into the ground. What is the reaction of these people? They say: "This is bearing the cross; I must bear the cross." And then those people are not healed and are in great pain. They feel that healing and deliverance are outdated, and then they explain a lot of nonsense.

I suspect the Israelites felt similar to the churches today. Why do people get sick? People feel that getting sick is normal; birth, aging, sickness, and death are normal. Some people get very sick, like some pastors whose children get sick. One of our members came with a tumor in their brain, and their father, a pastor, used to tell his sick congregants: "Sickness is a blessing in disguise." Now that it's happened to his child, what do you think? People are confused: "God, what are you doing?" Now people don't call out like that anymore.

Now people say: "God, you are just that kind of God." They describe a good God as a very wicked God. It was like this in Samson's time, very difficult. If you look closely, those people didn't commit any major sins; it just seemed like the officials were a little corrupt, which is normal, isn't it? The judges were given gifts, which is normal, isn't it? Whoever gave more gifts won the lawsuit, which is normal.

Actually, there were many of these shady things. The oppressed looked for reasons, wondering: "Why are we being oppressed?" Then they felt unbalanced. The oppressors also found a lot of reasons, and the days of misfortune were filled with reasons that formed theories. In other words, people doing what is evil in the eyes of the Lord had already formed theories. Some time ago, one of our sisters, oh my goodness, the obstacles in her mind, we couldn't fix them.

From the day this sister came, we observed her, wanting to adjust her values, but in the end, we couldn't change her. She kept saying things like: "If you don't sin, can you survive in this world?" So you have to do what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, and these people feel: "God is just that kind of God." Then why do you call upon God? If you feel that God is just that kind of God, a God who causes the brothers and sisters in the church to get cancer, a God who causes the pastors to get cancer, that's not a blessing, that's nothing. That's our God, that's God's blessing. These people think this is normal.

I tell you, Chinese Mingding Destiny saw too many of these tragedies in this kind of situation. We earnestly sought God's word and discovered that God is a good God! Actually, repenting a little is not enough.

One of our brothers, who seemed very loving and active and even led a small group, had his warehouse burned down one day, losing a lot of money. I said to him: "Brother, think about it carefully. Would this happen to someone protected by God? It wouldn't, right?" But this brother said: "If not this, then what?" After a while, cancer, and after a while, he died. He still thought it was normal. I told him: "Cancer is a curse. The fire that burned down your warehouse is a problem. You need to examine yourself." But he felt: "An unprovoked curse won't come upon me." Actually, many pastors in churches interpret it this way.

II. God Himself Will Perform Wonderful Salvation

This time the Israelites did not call upon God, they did not have a way to call upon God for salvation. Our God is very wonderful. God doesn't not want to save, but tries everything to remind these Israelites: "You have again done evil in the eyes of the Lord!" But people didn't react. God shouted left and right, but there was no reaction. It's like the prophets in the Old Testament, witnessing to the Israelites and calling them to repent, but everyone said: "Is there a problem? Everything is peaceful."

As a result, God found a woman who could not have children and made her have a child. When everyone heard that a Samson was born, that his mother had seen an angel of God, the people should have said: "Wow, this is the person God will use to save us." But there was no such reaction. Instead, they said: "Is there such a thing? Samson's father made up the story." Later, Samson really did become a lonely judge, very difficult. Why? When Samson shouted: "Come!" no one came. Before, when Gideon shouted: "Come!" thirty thousand people came. When Jephthah shouted: "Come!" even those who weren't called came. But with Samson, he worked alone until late at night. Isn't that amazing?

The Israelites saw that a woman who could not have children could give birth, and they still thought it was normal. Oh my goodness, God's warm face was met with a cold shoulder, and then God found a Dan tribe. You know that Samson belonged to the tribe of Dan. The tribe of Dan was one of the most miserable tribes. Even at this time, the tribe of Dan didn't have their own land. From the time of Joshua, when they crossed the Jordan River to seize the promised land, to the time of Samson, the tribe of Dan was still displaced, very miserable, the most miserable tribe.

Manoah, Samson's father, finally found a piece of land, cleared it, and could farm it. Then an angel of God appeared to him. This wonderful method is hard for us to understand, but I tell you, God is like this. God wants people to come out of this curse. How many of us are still living in self-righteousness? People who live in self-righteousness end up being cursed, not prospering in anything, very difficult. Then God used this wonderful method to show the Israelites His determination to save.

We must know that God wants to save you. You must come out of your numbness and rigidity. You must begin to know what God wants, what it means to live a blessed life, how to live a blessed life, and not be oppressed by the devil anymore. Brothers and sisters, from now on, let's re-know God. God wants to heal you. Although we are already very numb inside, we feel that the choices we make and the things we say are self-evident, but are those God's words? Are those what God wants?

God, in this generation, in Samson's generation, chose a Nazirite. I tell you, if a person is willing to dedicate themselves to the Lord as holy: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." I tell you, you are not an ordinary person! That is a Nazirite in God's eyes. That is God's hope for people to live a holy life, to live a God-centered life.

We feel that the things we experience are normal: "Isn't it normal for people to eat grains? Isn't it normal for people to encounter this and that?" No, it's all because people sin, do what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, and turn the promised land into a hell. Maybe not eighteen levels, but at least two or three levels.

So I think God found such a family and let Samson be the way to bring salvation in this generation. You will find that it was Samson alone. Samson was a judge for twenty years during the forty years, during the Philistine oppression of Israel. Later, he was handed over to the Philistines, his eyes were gouged out, very miserable.

"There was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”" (Judges 13:2-5)

The woman went back and told her husband, and her husband prayed.

"Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, and said, “O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again, and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born.” And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. Then the woman ran quickly and told her husband, and said to him, “Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!” So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, “Are You the man who spoke to this woman?” And He said, “I am.” Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What shall be the boy’s rule of life, and what shall we do for him?” So the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman, let her be careful. She may not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.” Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.”" (Judges 13:8-15)

This dialogue is very interesting, and then the angel ascended to heaven on the flames.

III. God's Name is Wonderful

Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please tell us your name, so that we may honour you when your words come true.” He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.” (Judges 13:17-18)

I offer you a hope: the Israelites were taken to Egypt, hence the Exodus. Because the Israelites encountered many difficulties during the Exodus, there were the ten miracles of the Exodus. Because of the Red Sea in front, there was the parting of the Red Sea. Because of the Jordan River, there was the miracle of the parting of the Jordan River. Because of the oppression these people faced, there was God's salvation. Our God is always a God of salvation. Whether it's a pain in your body or something growing somewhere, I tell you, it's all a result of oppression.

People today are much like the Israelites in the Old Testament, living under the oppression of evil spirits. I tell you, when people do evil in the eyes of the Lord, God allows evil spirits to come and hands you over to them. Who does this? God does. But when people are handed over to evil spirits, God begins to choose a judge to bring salvation, so do not despair. Our God, whose name is Wonderful, saves in ways that are marvelous, beyond our imagination.

If you are a rebellious people, you will be set free. If you are oppressed, you will gain freedom. If you are sick, God's marvelous work will be manifested in you. But what is the problem? The problem is, what exactly is in our hearts? If people are still filled with the stubbornness of Israel, it is difficult; repentance must come first. It's like we are filled with a lot of rubbish, and some curses are passed down from our fathers.

If your father was a preacher, the descendants are very tired. Why? Because there are many preachers who offer strange fire. So it's not that our God doesn't want to save. In the days of Samson, in the days of Manoah, Samson's father, the Israelites were oppressed by the Philistines for forty years. Even in such a state, the Israelites did not call out to God, but God took the initiative to strike, even if He used a hot face to press against a cold backside, He still wanted to bring salvation.

So God, throughout the ages, is looking for usable vessels. I thank God that there are many among us who are willing to be vessels used by God. We are no longer stubborn, but humble and soft before God, and then we suffer less. No matter what the illness, in God's will, do you know God's will? God's will is to heal you.

Because of the hardships we have encountered, the oppression of these evil spirits, perhaps we can experience the marvelous God. The miracle that appeared to Manoah was very marvelous. As a result, the burnt offering that Manoah offered, once it was burned by fire, I tell you, that fire was God's fire. Maybe he put the burnt offering up, and the fire came down. That big flame shot up so high, it was no ordinary fire. It was God accepting Manoah's burnt offering. After he offered the burnt offering, the person next to him stepped on the flame and ascended.

When Manoah saw this, he said, "I have seen God, God has appeared before me." I ask you, this faith is truly inspiring. And God is truly a marvelous God, God truly wants to bring salvation. Manoah said, "My son Samson, who was born in my house, will truly be a Nazirite with God's presence."

Manoah experienced God. When he told his neighbour, "Hey, yesterday I offered a burnt offering, and then an angel of God stepped on the flame and ascended," the neighbour thought, "Are you out of your mind? Let me see, are you normal? Go to the hospital to check if you have a mental illness. Did you have visual and auditory hallucinations yesterday?" This made Manoah very angry. Imagine such a conversation, you say you saw something yesterday, and then people say you are mentally ill.

Later, Samson was born, and God was with Samson and blessed him. It is difficult for us to imagine how God blessed Samson. It is not recorded in the Bible. But the process of this child growing up should be a very miraculous process.

IV. Manoah and His Wife's Understanding of God

After Manoah saw God, he said, "I have seen God, we will surely die." I ask you, will you die if you see God? How can you die if you see God? It is not that you have seen God, but that God has appeared to you. This is a very distorted understanding in Manoah. Manoah's understanding of God is far behind his wife's. So many of our sisters have a better understanding of God than their husbands. Many husbands just don't turn their heads.

But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or told us this now.” (Judges 13:23)

Manoah's logic is really incomprehensible. I see that this is really not an ordinary head; this head really has some problems. People haven't sent him to a mental hospital yet, but he already has a lot of hallucinations of a mentally ill person in his head. Manoah thought, "The angel of God stepped on the flame and went up, we are finished, we are all going to die." What kind of talk is this? His wife's head is clearer, but unfortunately Manoah's wife did not record it, and the Bible does not record her name either, but it is not important.

The angel of God first appeared to Manoah's wife, and the second time also appeared to his wife. His wife went to find her husband Manoah. After Manoah came over, he said, "Hey? Are you that person?" That's the story. So sisters are sometimes more sensitive to spiritual things than brothers. The brother's brain, the logic is not clear; worldly things are not very shrewd, and godly things are quite foolish and slow.

Now be careful and drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” (Judges 13:4-5)

As a result, did Samson's mother keep it? She kept it. In fact, God's will to this day is to live a holy life. If you want to be a person who is holy to the Lord, if you want to be a Nazirite, a Nazirite is a person who is holy to the Lord, letting yourself be detached from the world, and then dedicating yourself to God, Samson's mother kept it. This child grew up from a young age, and his mother firmly remembered what the man of God said to her, so the Spirit of God moved Samson. I tell you, Samson was incredibly strong from a young age. The way God used Samson, the way God gave Samson, the way God used Manoah and his wife, were all marvelous works.

We all look forward to God's marvelous works and marvelous salvation being manifested in us. We begin to soften. If people do not call out to God, God still accomplishes it in a marvelous way. If people call out to God and turn to God, what a salvation that is! So I have faith that God is a healing God. In the process of serving in the past few years, I have found people to be particularly evil. There was a Taiwanese man who got cancer and came to us. Oh, he was so miserable. Later, he was healed by a young pastor among us. Marvelous? Marvelous. After a check-up at the hospital, there were no problems, but there was something wrong with his head.

I ask you, if a person experiences such a thing, what would you do? I want to challenge you. If it were me: Oh my God, what is this, this is the marvelous God! A person like me can be healed, so marvelous! I ask you, can trusting in God be eaten as food? Yes. Can it be taken as medicine? Yes. But people are confused, and then we look for him again, and he almost blocked us from contacting us. Later, when he contacted us again, it was more than a month later. He was desperately making money in that month. In fact, we also understood, because he owed a lot of debts outside, and he thought he could pay off his debts by desperately making money. In fact, God handed him over to the devil.

So did God save him? He saved him. What happened after the salvation? After the salvation, he went to do evil in the eyes of the Lord again. When he came to us again more than a month later, all the diseases came back, and they were more serious than before. When I saw that our pastor was serving too hard, I directly took over to serve him, and he also experienced many miracles. But the problem is not that the body is broken, but that the head is broken.

I give you a reminder, is your head a good head or a bad head? If a person's head is broken, the head is not working well, and he can't tell which is the treasure, and his head is full of worldly things, and his head feels that doing evil in the eyes of the Lord is very normal, even if God performs a marvelous salvation, he can't save a person whose head is broken. Later, some pastors said: Driving out demons is useless. It's not that driving out demons is useless, it's that the truth can set us free. God can't wait to save us.

In Samson's case, God wants to bring about a marvelous salvation. Did you see it? God hopes that the Israelites will see such a thing as Samson and say: Oh, this is God's marvelous salvation, let's quickly repent and turn to God. People's heads will work well. Don't be like the person I served, that is really a broken head. Are the heads of his family working well? The heads of his family are not working well either.

Later, he died. I served him the night before. The next morning, I quickly called over. His eyes were wide open, but there was no breath. He was lying there dead, not closing his eyes. Until his death, he didn't know what he had done. On the night before, he couldn't get out of bed. After I led him to pray, he was able to get out of bed and walk. Marvelous? Marvelous! But people's brains are broken, and they will always fall into their own worldly logical system, which is too miserable!

So, our understanding of God, is it Manoah and his wife's understanding of God? God can't wait to use us. Later, Manoah's wife gave birth to a son and named him Samson. You will receive the grace of the Lord God, you will receive the grace of Jesus Christ, you must turn to God from that corruption; no longer follow the worldly logical system, and then be handed over by God to the Philistines, and be handed over to the devil, that is very miserable. Believing in the Lord without believing well is a tragedy!

May God bless everyone!