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[0:00] We're talking about the heart, the home, and the church. The heart, the home, and the church. So next week someone's going to be talking about the home.

[0:11] And we'll be going through this series for the next month or so. And I'm looking forward to this because the theme that we're going to be talking about is reaching in and also reaching out.

[0:24] Reaching in and reaching out. Reaching in our hearts, our mind, what's going on on the inside. Because what happens on the inside we can't see.

[0:36] I can't see what's happening in your heart. I can't see what's happening on the inside. But it does manifest itself on the outside eventually. When we say reaching out, we're going to be talking about reaching out to our world, reaching out to our community, reaching out to families.

[0:54] Okay? So today we're going to kick it off and we're going to be talking about the heart. The heart. And matters of the heart. Let me ask you a question.

[1:06] Have you ever been so confident in something that you ignored all the warning signs? So confident that you could handle something or do something all on your own?

[1:17] Only to find out you needed help. Only to find out that you actually needed some support. I got this. No, I got it.

[1:30] I actually needed some help. So my daughter, well, I got two stories about it. I, you know, okay, us men, let's be real, okay?

[1:44] Groceries. My wife gets home. Groceries come up. Pull them out of the trunk.

[1:54] Or even because we get stuff delivered to our house. So we try and get it all. And guys, I don't know why it's in us. We try to just do it all in one trip. Or at least I do. So we fill up our hands.

[2:06] We put it on our fingers. We put it all in our arms. Anywhere we can get it. And we try and carry it in. We're like, what's the point of making multiple trips? I can just do it all at one time.

[2:17] And sure enough, I've got everything on my arms. Everything on my fingers. I mean, my hands are killing me now. Everything is so heavy. And I'm carrying them in.

[2:34] Thank you. Great question. I get everything done. That's exactly. Everything on my arms. I go to the door. I'm like. How am I going to get in the house?

[2:49] So I had to put it all down. Or most of it down. I had to open the door. And get it all up again. And get it inside the house. But I needed help. Thank you, sister.

[2:59] Wow. Did you hear my notes? My daughter, Isabella. She's a feisty little one. I remember.

[3:11] I think we have a video of it, actually. I wish I could have played it. But she couldn't do something. There's like, she's trying to open something. And then she's like. I can't do it.

[3:23] And then we're like. Well, let us. Let us help you. She's like. Oh. No. No. No. And she's like. I can't do it. And then she finally opens up.

[3:34] She goes. I did it. There's times where we try and do things on our own. There's times where we try and do things on our own.

[3:48] And our own power. And we think. Oh, we're fine. But the truth is. Sometimes. We need some help. We need some help. We need people to come into our lives.

[4:00] And help us. We need to ask for some help. Or we just. We need to reach out to people to help us. You know. Bags. I've seen. I've seen.

[4:10] Videos of guys trying to get everything on their arms. Or bags on their arms. And things just break. I used to. I was a grocery clerk at. Knob Hill Foods years ago.

[4:22] I was like 16, 17 years old. And I remember. You know. I'd. I'd say. Hey, sir. I've got your bags. Your groceries loaded. I'm going to walk you over to your car. And I'd say. Oh, no.

[4:32] I got it. Well. No. He's like. No. I'll take care of it. And sure enough. He grabs all the paper bags. On his hands. And on his arms. And he's got them.

[4:42] And he's walking out to the. To the street. To his car. And the bags just. Ripped right open. And there's groceries. Everywhere. And I'm thinking. See. You could have used my help.

[4:53] Couldn't you? Or guys try and get a stick. And they put all the groceries on the stick. And they carry it. And the stick breaks. Or whatever it was.

[5:04] Break. Because it's so heavy. All I'm saying is. Sometimes we just need some help. We just need to ask for some help. We ignore all the warning signs.

[5:14] Of the bag beginning to rip. The thing beginning to break. And we keep telling ourselves. And we keep telling people. Oh I got it. You know it's crazy. Sometimes people come into our lives.

[5:25] Say. Can I help you with that? And we say. No, no, no. I got it. I got it. I got it. I can carry this. And then we fall. Or we drop it. And we break it.

[5:36] Or something breaks. And something is shattered. But we ignore all the warning signs. We stop asking for help. We ignore the people that are offering their assistance.

[5:47] Only to realize. After the fact. I really could have used some help. I really could have used someone. That person that offered their help.

[5:58] To help me get through this thing. To carry this thing. And there are some things that people carry in their lives. That are heavy. Emotionally. That are heavy.

[6:10] Mentally. That are heavy in their lives. That they refuse. To get help. Refuse to accept the help. Only because of a prideful heart.

[6:22] I got this. I got this. I'll take care of it. Only to leave you. To pick up the pieces.

[6:35] To pick up the issues. Like the guy that all the groceries fell in the street. Having to pick up the apples and the oranges. But I went out to help him pick up the pieces. But see that's the problem with who we're going to talk about today.

[6:49] Samson. A man with supernatural strength. Called by God. Lots of promise. But so full of pride that he ignored. Every warning sign.

[7:01] Refused the help. Refused the assistance. Refused it all. But it was the matter of his heart.

[7:11] It was the matter of asking for that help. But why does this story matter? Why does this issue matter? Because pride is just as dangerous today as it was then in the scriptures.

[7:24] Pride today is just as dangerous. I mean we might not be tearing down city gates or ripping tigers apart or lions apart with our bare hands.

[7:36] But pride makes us think we're stronger than we really are. Pride makes us think that we're able to handle things more than we really are.

[7:47] It blinds us before it binds us. Ooh that's good. I'm going to say it again. Pride blinds us before it binds us in our lives.

[8:00] Now whatever it is when we decide to take things into our own hands. Sometimes we can cause bigger issues. It's like that guy, that dad that wants to fix the sink.

[8:11] That wants to fix whatever it is. Oh I got this. But then a pipe bursts or something breaks and there's a big mess on the ground. I mean I can, I tried fixing a sink one time.

[8:23] Thought I could take care of it and water everywhere. Made a huge mess. But that's what happens when we try and take things into our own hands. That we don't quite fully understand the whole scope of the problem.

[8:38] And when it comes to the heart, when we try to heal our heart. Or when we try to fix our heart on our own. When we try to do some self-help on our own.

[8:50] Like Samson did. We can make a bigger mess. A bigger issue. And a bigger problem when it comes to our heart. Let's talk about the heart for a minute.

[9:05] We talk a lot about the heart, don't we? I heart you. We say that. I remember in high school, I heart you. We actually use that phrase, right?

[9:16] Oh I heart you. People write me letters. Yeah we wrote letters. We didn't just text. We couldn't. Okay we had letters we had to write. Oh I heart you. Or they, I read letters. Oh I heart you. I love you.

[9:28] But doctors say that the heart is the most important organ. We know this is pretty common sense. In our body it pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood a day. It beats about 100,000 times daily.

[9:39] And if it stops, well so do you. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in America. It's responsible for one in five deaths every year.

[9:52] You don't have to feel sick for it to be deadly. But sometimes the first symptom is the last symptom. Heart issues. Heart issues. The world's obsessed with the heart.

[10:05] The songs that we hear are obsessed with the heart and with the passions in our lives. What does the world say about the heart? One song has a line that says follow your heart.

[10:17] Another line says listen to your heart. Madonna said open your heart. Billy Ray Cyrus said achy, breaky heart. And Frank Sinatra said young at heart.

[10:31] Our culture romanticizes the heart. It does. It romanticizes. Hallelujah. I feel the Holy Ghost. It romanticizes the heart issue.

[10:43] The heart of the matter. The heart of our lives. But the Bible tells us a different story about the heart. Jeremiah 17 and 9 tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things.

[10:56] And it's desperately wicked. Who can know it? Proverbs. Proverbs 4.23 says keep thy heart with all diligence.

[11:07] For out of it are the issues of life. Mark 7.21 and 22 tells Jesus said from within. Out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts.

[11:21] Adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, and deceit. And on and on and on. The scriptures tell us that the heart.

[11:33] You can't trust it. But we hear follow your heart. Follow your heart. I heard that when I was growing up. Oh just follow your heart.

[11:44] Or I'd have you know. Anyway. These people I was in relationships with. They. Oh I just. I'm going. Following my heart. And you know.

[11:55] I love you. I'm like. No. I. Okay. I'm done. But people follow their heart.

[12:06] And they think the heart is the answer. They think the heart will guide them. You know in high school. I followed so much. Of our emotion. I follow so much.

[12:18] Of just what I felt. And you know. I remember one time. I was in a relationship. And this. This girl told me. I love you. I was like 14, 15.

[12:30] I love you. I'm like. I don't even know what that is. I don't even know what that means. What you. I said. I'm. I said. Okay. This is over. I.

[12:40] I'm gone. Because. We're taught. As young people. As children. We don't follow our hearts. Follow what we feel. But the scripture warns us.

[12:51] To not trust the heart. Because it's wicked. And deceitful. And it warns us. The heart is not the best guide. In fact. It could be. Your biggest problem.

[13:02] But why. Why does all this matter? What does this. Talk about the heart. Why does this matter. About pride. And stamps. And your feelings. Because. Spiritual heart disease.

[13:14] Is more dangerous. Than physical heart disease. Spiritual. Heart problems. Are more dangerous.

[13:26] Than physical heart problems. Because. Physical heart problems. You die. Spiritual heart problems. You die twice. Amen. You die physically.

[13:38] And you die spiritually. This is why it matters. Because a bad heart. Will ruin your life. Faster. Than a heart attack will. A bad heart.

[13:51] Spiritually. Will lead you in a direction. Of destruction. A bad heart. Spiritually. Will lead you. In a direction. Of.

[14:02] Of hurt. Of pain. For yourself. For your family. For your children. And for your future. I'm telling you. I don't.

[14:13] I mean. And here's the thing. We all know this kind of intuitively. Don't we. We've seen it. We've seen people who follow their hearts. Who follow their emotions. And they think. Oh. Oh. I'm just following what I feel.

[14:25] Following my heart. Only to see them. Needing help. Needing guidance. Needing. Jesus. In their lives. Because they.

[14:35] Trusted their heart. Rather than trusting. The one who can give them. A new heart. They trusted. Their. Hurtful. Sinful. Heart. They trusted it.

[14:47] Rather than trusting. In the one. Who can give them. A clean. A new. Heart. Because our hearts. Will lead us in a direction. Our heart. Will lead us. On a pathway.

[14:59] Our heart. Will show us. And lead us in a path. Amen. Of destruction. If we. Follow it. And when we. Look at Samson's life.

[15:09] We see. A man. In the scriptures. Who followed his heart. A man. Who followed his emotions. And pride. Got the best of him. A heart.

[15:20] That said. I got this. A heart. That says. I don't need this. A heart. That said. I can take care of this. I'm okay. And all is well.

[15:35] But just ask Samson. The strongest man in the Bible. Had the weakest heart. He won battles. But he lost. Himself. He had power.

[15:46] But he had. No self. Control. Samson's biggest problem. Was not the Philistines. You hear what I'm saying? His biggest issue. Was not the Philistines.

[15:57] His biggest problem. Was his heart. Was his heart. His biggest issue. Was not Delilah. It was not the women.

[16:08] Of the Philistines. It was not. Trying to get all these things. But his biggest issue. His biggest roadblock. His biggest deterrent. From his purpose. In his life.

[16:19] Was the pride. That he had. In his heart. Says. I got it. I'm okay. I don't need to hear this. This was his issue. That was his problem.

[16:29] So this morning. I want to talk about. When pride. Takes over our hearts. When pride. Takes a hold of us.

[16:40] And gets a hold of our lives. Amen. Because I want to save us. From having a story. Like Samson. Because Samson. We're going to talk about him. In a minute. But Samson was a man.

[16:50] That was full of promise. A man full of purpose. A man full of direction. That God had for him. Amen. But because he followed his heart. And because he was prideful. I got this. I don't need all.

[17:01] It led him to a path. Of destruction. I'm saying this. Because there are. I'm speaking to a group of people. Who have promise on their life. I'm speaking to a group of people. Who have purpose.

[17:12] Amen. Who has a God. Call on their lives. Amen. And the direction for your life. But when we. Start relying on our hearts. For direction.

[17:23] And we start relying on our hearts. For wisdom. And we start relying on our heart. For direction. We're going to end up just. Like. Samson.

[17:35] Praise God. His heart was out of control. So from birth. I mean Samson. Samson had promise. He was set apart. He was a Nazarite.

[17:49] He had strength. Unlike any man. Had ever. Had before. He was set apart. He had purpose. He had promise. But he also had boundaries.

[18:02] He had boundaries in his life. See. Boundaries. Everyone say boundaries. Boundaries. They. They protect us. They. They keep us safe. They protect us from harm. If anyone knows.

[18:15] If anyone drives here. I mean. We understand. We got lanes. Right. We got lines in our. In our lanes. When we're driving. So. When someone moves into our lane. We know we're in danger. Or we begin to veer out of the lane.

[18:27] We know that. We could be in danger. Or they're in danger. We know someone's on their cell phone. I remember. Coming. I mean. This is a common occurrence.

[18:38] But I mean. You're headed home. And you see people. Going like this. Who's ever seen someone do that? Someone. They're in their car. And they're like this. Yeah. And then you.

[18:49] You kind of move over a lane. You go around. You look at them. To kind of give them. Come on. Be truthful. People. Come on. We give them a stare. Come on somebody. Do you guys give them a wave?

[19:04] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No. No. No. We look over. We see them. They're on their phone. Or if it's at night. We see the reflection of their phone. Yeah. We see it. And we look over. Come on man. But our.

[19:17] But boundaries. They keep us safe. They keep us. Protected. When we start thinking that. We're too good for guardrails. Or too good for protection. Or too good for our boundaries.

[19:28] We take them down. And find ourselves. In dangerous. Territories. But Samson had boundaries. That were set by God. He had boundaries in his life.

[19:39] As a Nazarite. And in the Bible. The Nazarite was someone who. Took a vow. Of dedication to God. They would abstain from certain things. They were consecrated.

[19:51] They would abstain from alcohol. They would avoid contact with dead bodies. They would let their hair grow. As a sign of separation to God. So he had a vow.

[20:03] On his life. He had promise. On his life. But Samson was a different character. Samson was. I don't know if you understood.

[20:13] The magnitude of the promise on his life. But he was led by his feelings. And by his emotions. And by his heart. And we could get a look into Samson's heart.

[20:25] In Judges 14 and 3. When he says. Then his father and his mother. Said unto him. Is there ever a woman. Among the daughters of thy brethren.

[20:35] Or among all thy people. Whom thou goest to take. A wife of the uncircumcised Philistines. And Samson said unto his father. Get her for me. For she pleaseth me well.

[20:47] He was all about pleasure. Outside of the will of God. Outside of the purpose of God. Because he wanted. What he wanted. And here's my point. That pride.

[20:59] Doesn't. Break rules. It bends them. Until they snap. Pride. If not. Checked. It will break.

[21:09] It doesn't just break the rules. It bends them. To our purpose. And it bends them to our will. Until they snap. Until they.

[21:20] We break them. Until we are out of alignment with God. But here's the thing. How often do we do the same? We know the boundaries that God has set for us.

[21:31] We understand the guardrails in God's word and in our lives. But how often do we. Do we stray from those boundaries. Stray from those guidelines. In our marriages.

[21:42] In our relationships. In our spiritual lives. But we think. Oh we can just bend them just a little bit. It's just one drink. It's just one puff. It's just one line.

[21:53] It's just one little compromise. And before we know it. We're outside the guardrails. And we're exposed. To danger. And pride whispers. I can handle it.

[22:03] I got it. Come on somebody. I'm talking to a people of purpose. I'm talking to a people of promise. I'm talking to a church.

[22:14] That's on the verge of revival. And I'm telling us today. That we need to check our pride. We need to check ourselves. At God's altar. And we need to make sure that we are correct. And in alignment with God's word.

[22:27] Amen. Amen. Because God is ready to pour out a blessing. God is ready to pour out revival. And bring souls into this church. He's going to. You're going to see a stream of young people.

[22:39] Begin to show up in this church. I'm telling you. I have it. God just put it in my heart. God just put it in my spirit. I was praying the other day. And I was saying God. God we need revival.

[22:50] We need hope. God we need young people. We need children and families in our lives. Praise God. But we need to create a safe space.

[23:03] A safe environment. Can you give me a drink of water please? A safe place where families and children can come to. It's like the kid right.

[23:15] The kid that's. We say don't touch the stove. Were you that child? Come on. Were you that child? I guess.

[23:26] I look at. I. I. Look. I talked to some of you. I talked to everybody. But. I know who's the feisty one. Hey. Don't do that. You better not touch that.

[23:38] I'm not going to tell you again. Okay. But we're just so feisty because we want to. We want to be told what to do.

[23:49] And we can't submit ourselves. Thank you. And when we push those boundaries. Something happens. When we push boundaries.

[24:02] Something begins to happen. We begin to think we can handle everything. And we start overestimating our own strength.

[24:14] We get away with it one time. Nothing happens. We get away with it the second time. Nothing happens. We get away with it the fourth and the fifth and the sixth time. And we think nothing can happen.

[24:25] I'm not going to have any consequences. Until God calls for payment. You see. What happens.

[24:36] Sin is like a credit card. There is a limit to it. And people want to keep spending. And spending. And spending. Swiping that credit card.

[24:47] Until finally they can't swipe anymore. And then the bill is due. I'm telling you. You think you can get away with sin? You think you can get away with keep doing that stuff? You think you can keep getting away with doing those drugs?

[25:00] Or drinking that drink? And sleeping with those women? And having no problem? Until finally there's one day. There's judgment that's called for you. That bill is due. Amen.

[25:11] Praise God. I feel the Holy Ghost right now. Can we pray? God I pray right now in the name of Jesus. Lord. Speak to our hearts.

[25:22] Lord. Bring conviction. Oh God. Bring conviction into our hearts. Lord. And help us open up to you. Oh God. Correct the heart issues in my life.

[25:32] Lord. I need you. Oh God. More than I think. Or than I care to admit. God. Would you speak to us here this morning? Oh God. Speak to every man. And every woman.

[25:43] Lord. In this house. In Jesus name. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. My second point, a proud heart overestimates its own strength.

[25:57] I mean, there's an old saying, pride comes or goes before a fall. And Samson was the strongest man that we know that ever lived. I mean, he thought his strength was invincible. I mean, when I was a young person, I remember I could do anything.

[26:10] I would go in half pipes. I would jump off of ledges. I would jump off of, I would go over, you know, these berms and banks, and I would just jump over all these things. But now when I get on my skates, I can't do any of that stuff anymore.

[26:26] I don't have that same strength. I don't have that same power. I don't have that same agility like I once was. I remember the first time for my birthday, Deanna bought me these rollerblades. And I put them on after years and years and years.

[26:39] I thought, oh, I could just jump back on these things. I put them back on. And I don't know what happened, but I got momentum, and I went out the front door, and I had to jump, like, literally out my front door like this.

[26:51] And then I had to hop the curb. And then I don't know what I was thinking, but I went, I took a turn to go downhill, then taking a turn to go uphill. And I remember going down.

[27:03] I'm like, I'm going to die. And I'm going downhill. I'm like, I'm going downhill. And I'm like, it's over. I'm like, God, forgive me my sins. I don't know. It gave me all my heart to be right.

[27:13] And I'm like jumping over the bumps in the road, and I thought, I'm going to die. And as soon as I get to the street, and I'm like, I'm looking, and I'm trying to slow down. And all these cars are like, you know, the room, room, room, room, room, room.

[27:27] But unfortunately, there was nobody going down the street. So I'm like, I'm not as young as I used to be. I was able to admit it. But that's, listen, Samson thought he was invincible.

[27:43] Every time trouble came, he shook himself. The Spirit of God came upon him and given him power to break free from whatever he was involved with at the time.

[27:54] Because Samson believed he was untouchable. He thought he could do it all. And that's where pride led him. It led him astray. And here we have, now he meets this Philistine woman named Delilah.

[28:07] And she was a Philistine. The Philistines were a group of people who came from over the Aegean Sea. They were seafaring people who had different gods. And Dagon was the most popular one.

[28:19] But the Philistines were, they had crazy practices. They would sacrifice children to their gods. They would burn them and put them through the fire.

[28:29] And I don't have time to go into all that. But I'm telling you that Delilah was associated with sin and debauchery and filth. And just disgusting practices of their rituals and sacrifices to their god.

[28:44] But he meets this woman. This Samson, this Israelite. This guy who has promise on his life. He's letting his heart lead him astray.

[28:55] And he meets this woman, Delilah. He's like, ooh. He starts doing the yard walk. He starts walking into the strut. Okay.

[29:07] He sees this lady. He starts like, he just starts picking up stuff out of nowhere. He's like picking up rocks. He's boldly.

[29:20] And Delilah. That's okay. But he sees this woman who's, you know, he's smitten. He has to have her. And he starts to introduce himself.

[29:35] But see, Delilah was not right for him. Not only was he from a people that God said, don't associate with these people.

[29:46] He was, she was also very manipulative. Now I know women here are not manipulative. Okay. Praise God. Nobody in this room, no woman in this room is that kind of lady.

[29:59] Not manipulative. Praise God. But Delilah, she was into playing games. But imagine this Samson, this superhero of the Bible.

[30:10] Is out there lifting these gates and killing these lions. He's got this legendary strength. And then Delilah enters the picture. A woman who really wants to make, she wants to know what makes Samson tick.

[30:26] She wants to know what it is about Samson that makes him move and his passions. And she wants to know. She wants to know. But there's something happening behind the scenes in her life that's going to ruin Samson's life.

[30:44] But Delilah had a game plan. She tries. She fails. And she tries several times for Samson to spill the beans. Look, there's a big story in all this.

[30:56] I'm just kind of going over the highlights. She tries to get Samson to spill the secret of his strength. And it's like a bad episode of Guess My Secret. First she asks him.

[31:07] And then she ties him up. And voila. She tries to hand him over to the Philistines. And Samson easily escapes. He breaks out of what's holding him down.

[31:20] And she's like, oh, babe. You don't love me. Oh, babe. Come on. You're not telling me what's going on. You know those people that call each other babe?

[31:32] You know, you see them on the street. They go, hey, babe. How you doing, babe? Love you, babe. Deanna will not call me babe. She will not call me babe.

[31:45] I try calling her babe a few times. She's looking like, no, don't do that. But Delilah's like, come on, babe. Come over here, babe.

[31:57] Don't you love me? Don't you trust me? Don't you, don't you, can't you confide in me, Samson? Come on. And Delilah's trying to be really, really manipulative here.

[32:10] And like the hopeless romantic that Samson is, not seeing the writing on the wall, he gives in and tells her the truth.

[32:21] We've all had that one friend that we've said, you shouldn't get involved with that girl. You shouldn't get involved with that girl. She's going to be trouble.

[32:33] And our friend's like, oh, no, it's cool. I got it. No worries. It's all love. It's all love. Until eventually it's all heartache. But Samson, not seeing the writing on the wall, not seeing the issue that was there, gives in and tells her the truth.

[32:47] His strength is tied to his hair. His strength is tied to his vow. So now we're going to fast forward to Delilah, who gets Samson to fall asleep.

[33:01] And then his hair is cut, and now he's powerless. And then she again says, Samson, Samson, the Philistines, they're upon you.

[33:12] And he jumps up. He's going to be able to handle the situation. He shakes himself like he always had, only to be taken down and tied up.

[33:24] And we look at Samson, and we go, dude, we saw this from the very beginning. We saw this from the very get-go, and this whole relationship. What are you doing, Samson?

[33:38] What are you doing? In Judges 16 and 20, after Delilah betrayed him, all those times, Samson woke up thinking he could do the same thing he had done.

[33:50] I'll go out there as other times before and shake myself. But here's what the Word of God says. But he wist not that the Lord was, he didn't know that the Lord was departed from him.

[34:05] And Samson had overestimated his strength. He had overestimated who he was. And he was used to relying on his own power. And he didn't realize that the anointing of God had left him.

[34:19] It's like driving a car with a check engine light on. Oh, but I've been driving this car like this for weeks now. I've been driving this car. Nothing's going to happen to my car.

[34:30] No big deal. Someone tells you, you should get that checked. I'll be all right. You should get that checked. Oh, I'm good.

[34:40] I'm good. Until we're not good. Anybody know who I'm talking to? Come on. Eventually your car's not going to start.

[34:53] It's going to break down on the freeway. You've ignored the warning signs and now you're stuck. Here's the thing. Pride makes you feel invincible until you're not.

[35:05] Pride makes you feel invincible until you're not. How many of us are doing the same thing? We think, I don't need God. I can handle this. I can keep it together.

[35:16] I can hold this together. I can do all this on my own. And you think everything is fine and that you don't need to put in the work. Or maybe you've neglected your spiritual life thinking, I'll get back to it later in life.

[35:32] Because pride makes us think we're invincible until we realize that we're not. And we stop depending on God. That's when we fall. But here's the sobering truth.

[35:45] That sometimes you need to hit rock bottom before you can be restored. Sometimes you need to hit rock bottom before you can be restored.

[35:56] Come on somebody. He was broken. But that brokenness was able to lead him to a place, I need God.

[36:09] God, I need you. How many of us are here today thinking we're okay? I think we're fine and we got this.

[36:20] I've lived this long. I've lived my life with this check engine light on for so long. And people have warned us and told us, you should get that checked. You should get that looked at.

[36:32] Let me pray for you. And you know, I'm okay. I got this. I'm going to be okay. Only until finally our hearts fails us. And we're broken.

[36:43] And we're in need. And we're in a place where we need a touch from God. Because we thought we could handle it. See, Samson's pride led to his downfall.

[36:56] He lost his strength. He lost it all. He lost his dignity. He was blind. He was bound. He had his eyes gouged out. And he was back in the middle grinding and grinding and grinding like an ox.

[37:10] Humiliated. Samson's life, a man who was strong and he was able to call on God and shake himself and do whatever he could. He can get those ladies.

[37:20] He was a ladies man. He was ripped. He had the six pack. He had the big old packs. He had it all. Only for him to understand or come to a place in his life, I'm broken.

[37:39] I'm ruined. I'm grinding in a meal like an ox. But he had no one to blame but himself. He had no one to blame but Samson.

[37:55] But here's a turning point. Even in brokenness, God heard his cry. I don't know where you are today in your heart.

[38:07] You know where you are. You look, let me tell you, you all look good. Okay? I'm looking at, you look good. I look good. Cash, you look good, dude.

[38:20] Grayson got a haircut. He looks good. We all look good. We all look good. But we know what really is happening inside here. We all know what's really happening on the inside.

[38:33] We all know what we're covering up, what we're hiding, what we're going through. And we're going back to the same thing, thinking, I'm going to be okay.

[38:44] We keep swiping that credit card, thinking it's going to be okay. We keep going back to that bottle. Keep going back to that line. Keep going back to those things. And we keep swiping the credit card. You'll find there's going to be a day where there's no more.

[38:57] You cannot swipe that credit card any longer. And the bill is going to be due. Hallelujah. This is where Samson got to.

[39:08] He got to the place where he can no longer swipe that credit card. And now the bill was due. But even, here's the hope for us, that even in his brokenness and even in his pain, God heard his final cry as he stood between those pillars with his eyes gouged out.

[39:28] God heard him. Amen. Hallelujah. And I'm here to tell somebody today, God hears you. God hears your brokenness. God hears your cry.

[39:39] God hears your desperation because I know you're saying, I don't want to do this anymore. But you keep going back to it. I want to get free from this. But you keep going back to it. I want to stop doing these things.

[39:50] But you keep going back to it. God, help me. God, in my time of need to stop doing this stuff, Lord. But see, that's where we need to get to sometimes.

[40:03] In that place of desperation. A place of where, you know what, we realize we're blind and we can't see. We can't, we don't know, up from down, left from right. And we're stuck.

[40:15] We're stuck there in sin. We're stuck there in desperation. Hallelujah. But I'm here to tell someone God hears you. God hears your voice. God hears your cries.

[40:26] God hears your prayers. Come on. I'm preaching to somebody here this morning. God knows where you are. Hallelujah. But you need to reach out to him and say, God, I need you.

[40:37] And I submit myself to you here today. God hears your cry. In Judges 16, 28, Samson prayed.

[40:51] He had lived his life. He lived life to his fullest. Whatever he wanted. He had girls. He had women. He had strength and good looks and all that stuff. And strength.

[41:04] Now he found himself in a mill. Like an ox. His eyes are gouged out. Bound. By the very people God told him to separate himself with.

[41:16] The people that he found pleasure in. The people that he found happiness in. They were putting him to work. He says this.

[41:27] Oh, Lord God, remember me. I pray thee. And strengthen me. I pray thee only this once. Oh, God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

[41:43] And then God answered his prayer and gave him the strength to pull down the pillars of the temple. Killing more this day in his whole life.

[41:55] Pride is like a slow leak in a tire. At first you can drive for a while. But eventually the tire is going to blow out.

[42:06] You can ignore it for so long. You can keep going to the gas station who has freak air. And you can fill that tire with air. And think you can get to the next spot.

[42:18] Only to realize I need to get some more air in there. Until finally you keep trying over and over. Instead of dealing with the issue. Instead of getting the patch. Instead of getting a new tire.

[42:29] You keep refilling it. Trying to just keep it going. Until finally it blows out. And you're stuck and you're stranded. How many times have you done that?

[42:48] I'm just going to put a little bit of air. I'll be all right. And the next time you come outside to go to work. It's flat. Can you baby it to the gas station?

[43:00] You walk into the store. Can I get some air? Turn the air on please. Thank you. Okay I'm good. I'm going to drive again in a little bit. You're at work.

[43:11] It's a flat tire. I'm telling you because I know this just happened to me. I go to the mechanic. Hey can you put some air in my tires? Let's get a new tire.

[43:22] I know. I know. I'll do it later. Come back the next day. Hey can you put air in my tire again? It's where I work again. We got all the mechanics.

[43:33] And they put air in my tire. It was like. Mom, Mateo, I told you. Go get a new tire. I'm like okay. So finally.

[43:45] I went to Bruce's tires. And he says you know what? It's all. This isn't safe to take out. I go why? Because look. It's all worn out right here. You can start. I mean it was. Anyways.

[43:56] It was bad. All because I wouldn't just take care of it then. All because I wouldn't just deal with it then. Church. We just need to deal with some stuff.

[44:09] We just need to deal with some stuff right now. Because you're going to get to a point. A point in your heart. Where your heart. And your life. Is out of control. Your heart and your life.

[44:20] Where it's going to lead you to destruction. Church. We just need to take care of some stuff. Here this morning. Hear the word of the Lord. Take care of it this day. Take care of the pride. Take care of the issues.

[44:31] Because it won't go too long. To where your tires are going to blow out. Your heart's going to blow out. Your life's going to blow out. Even more out of control. But that's the thing. It's not just going to be us that suffers.

[44:42] It's going to be our children. It's going to be our wives and our husbands. It's going to be our family. It's going to be our moms and dads that are going to suffer with us. Because we wouldn't deal with some heart issues that we have right now.

[44:55] Hallelujah. Let's deal with it today. If you're broken today. Whether it's your marriage.

[45:06] Whether it's your relationships. Your mom or your dad. Your walk with God. There is hope today. God didn't leave Samson in his brokenness. And he won't leave you either.

[45:18] But God's going to require humility out of us. Remember to say humility. He's going to require humility out of us. It's going to require God asking God for some help.

[45:33] It might even require you asking a brother or sister for some help. It requires you to let go of pride and say, God, I can't do this on my own anymore.

[45:47] I need you. I need you, Lord. If your marriage is struggling, help yourself and ask God for help. If your kids are drifting away from God or they're totally gone, pray like never before.

[46:03] If your heart is hard, let God break it before life breaks you. Hallelujah. Samson's story isn't just tragedy.

[46:13] It's also a story of hope. Let it be hopeful to us today that God can restore you. God can bring you back. Even though you're broken and that life seems like you just can't get a hold of it.

[46:26] God is able to restore you and bring hope into your life. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Why does this matter to me?

[46:37] Turn to the neighbor and ask, why does this matter to me? Because pride is a dangerous thing. Pride is a dangerous thing.

[46:48] It leads us to break boundaries, overestimate our strength, and fall into a place of destruction. But the great news is that we serve a great God.

[46:59] Amen. The great news is that we serve a God who can restore us. A God who can heal us. Amen. But somebody needs to submit themselves. And I understand our American way of living.

[47:14] I'm an American. I'm an American. Our 21st century way of living. I got this. I can do this. I'm not saying this is everybody.

[47:25] I'm not saying that. What I am saying is that we got to get past. I can handle this. I can take care of this. I got this. I don't need help. We need God to work on our hearts.

[47:36] And we need God to fix us. Amen. Amen. If God is ever going to lead us into revival, we've got to submit ourselves to him. We've got to humble ourselves before him. Say, God, have your way inside of me, God.

[47:51] Restore me, O Lord. Help me, God. If you've been pushing against boundaries, ask for God's strength to stay healthy. God will do your life.

[48:02] If you've been relying on your own strength, admit your weakness and submit yourself to God. If you're broken today, don't wait for rock bottom. Humble yourself and ask God for restoration.

[48:16] Let's all stand. Hallelujah, Jesus.

[48:37] If you would, let's all close our eyes for a minute. Let's take a moment to evaluate our hearts.

[48:57] This is what I'd like us to do this morning, if you would. I'd like us to evaluate our hearts and look at your heart right now. Nobody else. This is about you.

[49:09] I know it's tempting to tell our neighbor, yeah, you need to look at your heart. Or to tell our wife or husband, you need to look at your heart. Yeah, yeah, do that. But I'm asking you to please look at your heart.

[49:24] Evaluate it. Are you pushing boundaries you have no business pushing? Come on. Let's be honest right now.

[49:37] Are you touching things you shouldn't be touching? Are you going places you shouldn't be going? Are you looking at things you shouldn't be looking at?

[49:49] Are you involved with people you shouldn't be involved with? Because I understand the temptation is to keep swapping that credit card.

[50:00] And we get our stuff and we live our lives. But I'm telling you, it's going to run out one day. It is going to run out one day. And the bill is going to be due.

[50:13] And in this life, we can ignore the creditors. We can ignore the phone calls. But when the bill is due for sin and the effects of pride in our lives, there is no ignoring that call.

[50:30] There is no ignoring that bill. Are we pushing boundaries? Are we overestimating our strength? Are you telling God, Lord, I know, God, I got this.

[50:46] Come on. Let's be real. Let's humble ourselves before God and ask for his help. Because he's ready to restore you today.

[51:02] Hear that? He's ready to restore you today. He's ready to give you a new heart. He's ready to give you a new life. Hallelujah.

[51:13] He's able to forgive your sin. He's able to forgive you. And restore you. Lord, we come before you today, oh God.

[51:25] Acknowledging our pride and asking for your forgiveness, oh God. Help us, God, to set the boundaries and guardrails in our lives, God, that protect us and direct us.

[51:39] God, help us to trust in your strength and in your provision and in your power, Lord. And we humble ourselves before you today, oh God.

[51:51] Restore us where we're broken. Make us whole again today, oh God. And we pray. In Jesus' name, Lord, we pray.

[52:03] We pray. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you.