Sunday, July 12, 2015

Zero to Hero: Samson

Judges 13: 1-5, 24-25

What does God want for us in our hearts?
Is there anything that can separate us from God?
How many act as though they are the Lord of their own life?

God expects more of us than what we give.

Samson was directed of God to take the Nazarite vow for his lifetime.
Review of those vows Numbers 6.

The long hair is to represent devotion to God.

Yet in spite of his vows and his love for God, Samson had three glaring flaws

  1. a desire for women
  2. a penchant for violence expressed in fits of rage 
  3. a rebellious heart
[Pastor talked about the idiocy of both Samson and Delilah in the games they played with respect to the secret of Samson's amazing strength.]
Finally we see that Samson is more loyal to Delilah than he is to God. He gives in to her nagging, and here we read the saddest line in all the Bible: He did not know that the Lord had left him.

The choice between God and an ungodly and unhealthy relationship.
This time Samson's choice took him too far.  His captors gouged out his eyes and marched him to the mill to turn the stone.  He had taken the place of the donkey.
Sin will make a donkey out of you.

The sin of Samson brought him to his knees.  If sin is not dealt with it will bring you to desperation, and sooner or later to your demise.  Samson's sins are common today.  Samson loved God, but his issue was sin.

1.  Lust.  There has never been a greater battle to fight.  We must be careful not to succumb to this sin.  Pornography is rampant.
We love God, but we love our sin.
  God needs us to relinquish all that we have to Him.

2.  Violence, anger and rage.  We know the Golden Rule, but we are really bad at living it.  Like Samson, we want people  to "get what they deserve" for what they have done to us.  forgetting God's kingdom, we are trying to be Lord of our own lives.  As Jesus said to Peter,
Put your sword away.

3.Rebellious heart.  Every one of Samson's Nazarite vows was broken.  He sold his soul, and only in repentance and by the grace of God did he find redemption.

If we could but see the filth and decay and disgusting stuff that results from these sins we could but ask "How enticing is this?"
What kind of dangerous road are you on?

Pastor Johnnie Blair
Sunday morning

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