If you have your Bibles, turn with me to the book of Judges chapter 13.
We're continuing our study about choices.
And today I want to preach about the consequences of our choices.
And we've chosen to use Samson as the life we're going to look at.
We're going to do a case study of his life and read about six, seven passages,
just real brief little passages,
and see what conclusions we can draw from what we've read about his life
because I think he's a wonderful example of what we're trying to say to you this morning.
Before I do that, I want to read just a single verse.
You don't have to even turn to it.
You may put it on the screen. I think you're going to.
It's in Proverbs 13, 15.
And this is what it says,
Good understanding gives favor, but the way of the transgressor is hard.
We had a fellow on our staff years ago who did counseling with a lot of different folks
who had addictions, all kinds of problems.
And he would often say to them as he would listen to them tell their story,
at the conclusion of a sentence or a paragraph,
they would look up and he would say,
Yeah, I'm sorry.
He said, The way of the transgressor is hard.
And they would talk a little bit more
and they would tell something else that had gone amiss in their life.
And he would again repeat that phrase, driving home that biblical idea
that the way of the transgressor is hard.
And that's something we all need to think about
and remember in our life when we make bad decisions.
And I want to tell you, I've made a host of them
and every one of us in this room have.
So don't think that you're being singled out this morning.
Everybody, if you live long, you're going to make some bad, bad choices.
But when we do, we shouldn't be surprised
to find that what the scripture tells us is true.
The way of the transgressor is hard.
Boy, it's tough living life.
But it's especially tough when you make bad, bad choices.
In Exodus chapter 20, we're given the Ten Commandments.
I'm sure most of you, if not all of you, are aware of that.
You get ten statements there, nine of them negative,
one of them positive.
And they're admonitions from God.
Don't do this.
And that one single one, do this.
Honor your father and mother.
Your days may be long upon the land.
The Lord thy God giveth thee.
If you read the scripture from Genesis to Revelation,
you find in the Old and the New Testament alike
that God continually uses men to tell us,
here's some things you want to avoid.
Don't do these things.
And then there are other things.
Paul, for instance, in Colossians 3,
admonishes us to do certain things,
to put on certain behaviors,
to reflect certain ideas and behaviors
in our walk and in our life.
Jesus does that in the Sermon on the Mount, you'll recall.
So, if you think about it,
what that indicates to us is this.
We have a choice in the life we live.
You ever thought about it that way?
The scripture would never tell us,
don't do this,
if it were impossible for you not to do that.
The scripture would never admonish us,
do this.
God would be rather mean in telling us,
do this,
if it weren't possible for us to do that.
You understand that?
So, we have a choice in the life we live.
And the choices we make in life
determine, in many respects,
the course our life takes.
Now, a lot of folk think that it's fate,
it's just God decides everything in our lives,
we don't have much voice in it,
circumstances determine,
this determines, that determines,
my parents determine,
but I don't have much say in the life I live.
I'll tell you something,
that is not true.
God certainly has predetermined
certain things about you
you're never going to change.
And there are certain circumstances
and environments we live in
that impact our choices.
They impact,
they don't make the choice,
but they impact that choice.
We've all seen folk in our lives
who you look at them and you think,
man, where this guy comes from
and the situation he finds himself in
and even just who he is as a person,
nothing he's done,
but just the life that's been put upon him,
he doesn't have much shot at making it.
And to our amazement, what happens?
Sometimes they just rise to the top
and just live incredible, incredible lives.
And I could give you a list of names of people
I've known personally who that's the case.
You look at them and on the outside you think,
they just don't have much of a chance.
But boy, they just soar in life.
One of my best friends in that category.
And I've also seen this so many times.
Here are people who are given every opportunity.
I mean, they just are blessed with everything.
They've got looks, they've got smarts,
they're athletic, they're that.
And you just think,
they're going to just knock the top out,
so to speak, in life.
But you look at them
and over the course of their life,
they're pretty much dismal failures.
Not in every case.
I don't mean to imply that
everybody who's born in that kind of situation
is always going to fail.
They're not.
Most of them are going to do well.
But sometimes you're surprised to think,
hey, is it this person ends up like this
when they seeming they had everything going for them?
Can I tell you what that's about?
It's about the choices we make in life.
You are not the victim of fate.
And secondly, a lot of people think,
well, okay, I have a choice,
but that choice just doesn't matter much.
It matters to a huge degree.
Every choice you make matters.
Which leads me to the third thing.
Choices always come with consequences.
Choices.
Choices always come with consequences.
When you act in a certain fashion,
make a certain decision,
there's a consequence that comes along with that.
Good or bad, right?
You make some choices that pays,
well, great dividends in your life.
You make other choices,
and boy, you just reap heartache over that.
Two quick things I'm going to say,
I'm going to jump in the message.
One is this.
If I were a parent or a grandparent,
and I am, and I've tried to do this,
and I'm admonishing you to do the same,
you instill in your children,
you have a choice.
Can I just be real honest with you?
I am sick to hear of hearing people talk,
and they've been doing it since I was a boy,
but it's grown more and more,
that voice is louder and louder,
peer pressure.
I want to tell you something.
Peer pressure is out there,
and it's real,
and I'm not denying that,
but I'm just telling you,
you have defaulted.
If you come to the place that you think
because of all this peer pressure,
you don't have a choice.
You do.
And I'm not just talking to teenagers.
I'm talking to young adults,
and middle-aged adults,
and older adults.
You get roped into believing,
I just don't have a choice
because here's how the whole world's going,
and here's what society's saying,
here's what my friends are doing,
and here's what they're telling me to do.
Here's what my family's counseling me to do.
Don't buy into that idea
that you don't have a choice
because you do.
And secondly,
teach your children
there are consequences that come
as a result of the choices you make.
I'm going to hit on this later
at the end of the message,
but let me just briefly
plant the idea in your mind now.
You are not doing your child,
your grandchild,
a favor when they make a bad decision,
and you rescue them
and bail them out.
You may think,
well, I'm just being loving.
No, you're not.
You're depriving them of learning
one of the lessons
God intends for them to learn
from the time
their little bitty children
own up through adulthood,
and that is,
with choices come consequences.
It's not that I'm pounding on them,
and I'm wanting them to see,
see what you did was so bad?
I'll stand there at their side
and walk with them through that crisis,
but I want to tell you something,
I don't want to be the one
who rescues them
from the heartache
that they have brought on themselves
by their bad decision,
because when I do that,
I'm telling you something.
Here's the lesson they learned.
Mom and Dad bail me out today.
They'll bail me out down the road.
When you start in the third grade,
bail in that little third grader out
because he doesn't do his homework,
and you send that crazy excuse
to the teacher,
says, well, he couldn't do it
because the cat ate it,
or he couldn't do it
because we were away,
and we were doing this
or doing that,
you're not doing him any favor.
When you finish that science project for him
rather than let him get an F,
you've not done him any favor at all.
Now, I want to show you
a good biblical example of that.
Go with me to the book of Judges.
We're going to look real hurriedly.
We've got to move fast.
Look at chapter 13
and verse 1 through 3,
and then here's what we're going to do.
I'm just going to let the cat out of the bag
before we get there.
Every one of these passages,
as I read them,
I want you to be surmising,
what does this tell me about Samson?
We're going to do a case study of his life.
What does this teach me about Samson?
Well, look at verses 1 to 3 in chapter 13.
The Israelites again did
what was evil in the Lord's sight,
so the Lord handed them over
to the Philistines 40 years.
They were always their nemesis.
Verse 2,
There was a certain man from Zorah
from the family of Dan
whose name was Manoah.
His wife was barren and had no children.
The angel of the Lord appeared to the woman
and said to her,
It is true that you are barren
and have no children,
but you will conceive
and give birth to a son.
Now please be careful
not to drink wine
or other alcoholic beverages
or to eat anything unclean.
For indeed you will conceive
and give birth to a son.
You must never cut his hair
because the boy will be a Nazarite
to God from birth
and he will begin to save Israel
from the power of the Philistines.
So what do we learn
from these three verses
we've just read?
Here's the first thing.
Here's this couple
who have always wanted a child.
Now, in all likelihood,
I don't know who all is here today,
but there's probably somebody
in this audience,
probably more than one or two couples,
who can identify with Manoah
and his wife.
You've wanted kids,
you've tried to have kids,
you can't have kids.
It's a pitiful situation.
But then suddenly,
something changes
and you now are expecting a baby.
Boy, those couples
who've tried and worked hard
to have a baby
and they can't
and suddenly they become pregnant.
There is a joy in their face
and in their life
that's just,
you've seen it before,
it's just incredible, right?
They're so thrilled.
At last, we're pregnant.
That's how this couple was.
Secondly, we know this.
Even before prenatal care
was a phrase,
she was already getting
good prenatal care.
This angel,
the Lord told her,
he said,
don't drink alcoholic beverages,
don't eat food
that will defile you,
and the reason is because
this is a special boy
you're going to bear.
So for her health,
the health of the baby,
for what the Spirit of God
has told her through this angel,
she just takes great care
of herself during this pregnancy.
Third thing I realize is this
when I read these three verses,
this boy is destined for greatness.
Now, every one of you,
when you first held your baby,
if you're like me,
you thought,
pro football player, right?
Smartest doctor right here
who's ever lived, right?
All those kind of things.
We see our children
as one day being great,
but listen,
God speaks to her
through this angel
and says,
your baby is destined
for greatness
and even says,
here's what it's going to be.
He's going to be
a great Savior of Israel.
These are the chosen people of God.
They brought them
in the promised land.
We know from reading this book,
he became a judge in Israel.
Not a judge
with a black judicial robe,
but a judge
in the biblical sense
who was a warrior.
He was a champion,
a war hero,
if you will.
He's going to rescue
his people physically
from the hands
of the Philistine.
So right off the bat,
man,
he's got good genes,
good parents.
He's destined for greatness.
Look at the second passage.
Look at chapter 14,
verses 1 to 3.
Samson went down to Timnah
and saw a young Philistine woman there.
He went back
and told his father and mother,
I have seen a young Philistine woman
in Timnah.
Now,
get her for me
as a wife.
Well,
that sounds a little bit abrasive,
don't you think?
I mean,
get her for me
as a wife.
But his father and mother
came to him,
can't you find
a young woman
among your relatives
or among any of our people?
Must you go
to the uncircumcised Philistines
for a wife?
So,
again,
what do we discover?
Well,
we discover
as a young man,
he's wanting to date
a Philistine
and even marry
a Philistine girl.
Now,
to you,
that's just a word.
But in his society,
man,
that's a big deal.
Because you see,
when God
allowed them
to go in
and take possession
of the land,
he gave clear instructions.
This has been going on
for years and years
and years.
don't marry
outside the Hebrew race.
And there was
a track record
that proved
that was good advice.
Both before
and after this,
ask Israel
about King Ahab
who married
Jezebel,
a foreign woman,
and brought all
that religious garbage
with her
into that marriage.
And so God says,
keep the race pure.
Don't marry anybody
but a Hebrew.
He had parents
who told him,
advised him,
hey,
here's what the Scripture says.
Here's what God says.
Why do you want
to go marry
this philistine?
Don't do that.
Go get me
that woman.
I want to marry.
He's pretty strong-willed,
don't you think?
He doesn't heed
the advice
of his parents.
I want to ask
for a show of hands.
I wouldn't embarrass
anybody here,
but I want to tell you
something.
Every one of us
in this room
were parents.
There's been some
point in your life,
they may have
heeded 99%
of your advice,
but there's not
a parent in this room
at some time
you looked at your child
and you said,
don't do,
and they did,
right?
Or you said,
do this,
and they didn't,
right?
So sometimes
our words fall
on deaf ears.
I have a feeling
by looking at
his response,
I don't want to
wrongly judge him.
I have a feeling
this young man
who his parents
may have doted on him,
I get the feeling
here's a young guy
who he doesn't know
the word no.
I mean,
he's not used
to hearing
the word no.
He certainly
has not been
willing to
easily accept
the word no.
Look at the third
passage,
chapter 14,
this time
verses 5 through 7.
Samson went down
to Timnah
with his father
and mother
and came
to the vineyards
of Timnah.
Suddenly a young lion
came roaring
at him.
The spirit
of the Lord
took control
of him
and he tore
the lion apart
with his bare hands
as he might have
torn a young goat.
But he did not
tell his father
or mother
what he had done.
Then he went
and spoke to the woman
because Samson
wanted her.
Well,
what do we learn
from this?
A,
he still got it
bad for this
Philistine girl,
right?
Have you ever seen
your kids get
head over heels
in love with somebody
and they just
lose all reason?
I mean,
you can tell them
until you're blue
in the face,
don't do it,
and that's what,
they're going
in that direction.
Well,
we know that,
first of all.
But there's
something else
I see here too.
And the only way
I know to put it
is this.
He is freaky,
freaky strong,
right?
Any of you
ever been out
walking in the
neighborhood
and a dog
get after you?
Kind of scares you
a little bit,
big dog,
showing teeth,
driving,
snipping at your heels,
you're trying
to get away,
you're looking
for a stick
or a rock
and you're kicking
him or trying
to get away from him?
This isn't
a neighborhood
dog.
This is a lion.
I mean,
a lion.
Can you imagine
that?
I mean,
I just can't
get my head
around.
A lion
comes out
of these vineyards
and he attacks
him.
What does he do?
He grabs that
lion and he
rips it as
though it
were a baby
goat.
He just
tears it to
shreds.
I'm going
to tell you
something.
He's a bad
dude.
He is
freaky,
freaky strong.
He's
otherworldly
strong.
You know
somebody strong
and picking.
Some of you
right now
got an image
of somebody.
No,
you don't
know anybody
like Samson.
I mean,
he just
rips this
lion to
shreds.
He's freaky
strong.
Well,
what else
do we know?
Look,
you will,
at chapter
14 and
this time
verse 10.
His father
went to
visit the
woman and
Samson prepared
a feast there
as young men
were accustomed
to do.
When the
Philistine saw
him,
they brought
30 men to
accompany him.
Let me tell
you a riddle,
Samson said
to them.
If you can
explain it to
me during the
seven days of
the feast and
figure it out,
I will give
you 30 linen
garments and
30 exchanges
of clothes.
But if you
can't explain
it to me,
you must give
me 30 linen
garments and
30 changes
of clothes.
Tell us your
riddle,
they replied.
Let's hear it.
You know what
they're thinking?
He's all
muscle.
He doesn't
have anything
between his
ears.
He's one,
we're 30.
Give us your
riddle.
Give us seven
days.
We're going to
take your
clothes.
So he said
to them,
out of the
eater came
something to
eat and out
of the strong
came something
sweet.
Now,
most of you
here already
know this
story,
but some of
you maybe
don't.
if you
read between
the verses
we read
just prior
to this
and what
we've read
just here,
you find
that he
keeps going
back and
forth to
Timna to
see this
girl.
And on
the way
down there
to see
this girl
one day,
this lion
comes running
out and he
tears it apart
as we read
just a minute
ago.
Here's what
you didn't
read.
On a trip
back home,
he passes
by that same
lion's carcass
and guess
what?
Bees have
come,
honeybees,
and they
have built
a hive
inside the
carcass of
the lion.
And so
it puzzles
him.
He reaches
down and
he pulls
out some
honey and
tastes it.
And that's
when he
comes up
with this
idea about
this riddle.
Who would
have ever
thought you'd
get honey
out of a
lion?
Now,
I want to
tell you
something.
If I'm
looking at
this and
putting all
this together
and trying
to get good
info on
Samson,
do a profile
of Samson,
you know
what I
immediately
determine
from that?
If you've
got the
image,
here's this
big muscle
bound guy
and he's
just stupid,
you're wrong.
This guy
has got
not only
brawn,
he's got
brains.
I mean,
you read
this poem,
right?
That's pretty
smart writing.
I mean,
that's pretty
cool thinking.
He's a guy
with some
good ideas.
He's not
anybody's
dummy.
I think
God has
just positioned
him.
He's
given him
everything he
needs to be
successful in
life.
He's given
him physical
strength,
but listen,
he's given
him intellect
as well.
Now,
here's the
sad thing.
We often
mistakenly think
if you're
smart,
boy,
you can
just write
your own
ticket.
You're
smart.
You're
just going
to be
smart in
everything.
Can I
tell you
something?
I know
folk who
are real,
real,
real smart
in one
area of
life.
They don't
have the
sense to
get in
out of the
brain in
another
area of
life.
Common
sense just
isn't so
common
anymore.
Have you
found that?
I mean,
I know a
lot of
folk who
they're
brainiacs.
I mean,
they can
think about
things I
can't even
consider,
but it
doesn't mean
they're smart
in every
walk of
life.
It doesn't
mean they
make good
decisions.
There's a
difference in
being smart
and having
good judgment.
You know
what I mean?
You've
known folk
who didn't
have a lot
of education
who weren't
just the
sharpest
pencil in
the box,
but they
used what
they had
and they
had good
judgment.
They didn't
make bad
mistakes.
Samson is
lacking that.
Super smart,
not very good
judgment at
all.
Well,
I want you
to see
something else
about him.
Look at
verse 10
to 14.
We just
read that.
One last
thing I want
to say about
that before
we press
on.
One of
the things I
know about
him from
reading this
passage,
you probably
have already
guessed it,
he's a
risk taker.
He's a
gambler.
And I don't
mean in the
sense that he's
going around
gambling a lot.
I don't know if
he put down a lot
of money a lot
of times or not,
but I know this
from what he
did.
He likes
living on
the edge.
He likes
getting right up
to the edge
of life.
He likes
living on
the edge.
He pushes
the envelope.
When I use
those kind
of phrases,
does it bring
somebody to
mind in
your life?
A son,
a daughter,
maybe you,
maybe somebody
you work with,
they're just
always taking
risks.
You say,
well,
preacher,
how do you
get that out
of what we
just read?
Here's how I
get it.
I know because
I know the rest
of the story.
He doesn't
have the money
to cover this
bet.
He's just
bet 30
garments.
He doesn't
own.
He's bet
30 changes
of clothes.
He doesn't
have.
So he's
risking something.
He doesn't
have to pay
off if he
loses.
You know
why?
Because he's
arrogant,
because he's
confident,
because he's
impetuous.
He thinks
he's a sure
thing to win
this thing,
which is what
risk takers
often do.
They don't
consider,
what if this
thing goes
sour?
They just
want what
they want.
They're driven
by greed.
They're impetuous.
And they don't
see any way
this can go
bad when there
might be a
hundred ways
it could go
sideways.
But he
doesn't see
that.
You understand
that?
So he just
puts himself
out there.
Well, how in
the world
could they
figure out
this riddle?
Well, you're
about to find
out.
Look, if you
will, at the
fifth passage.
The fifth
passage.
Beginning in
the latter
portion of
verse 14,
we read
these words.
After three
days, they
were unable
to explain
the riddle.
On the
fourth day,
they said to
Samson's wife,
persuade your
husband to
explain the
riddle to
us, or we
will burn
you and your
father's
household to
death.
Did you
invite us
here to rob
us?
So Samson's
wife came to
him weeping
and said,
you hate me
and you
don't love
me.
You told
my people the
riddle but
haven't explained
it to me.
Look, he said,
I haven't even
explained it to my
father and
mother, so why
should I
explain it to
you?
She wept the
whole seven
days of the
feast and at
last on the
seventh day, he
explained it to
her because she
had nagged him
so much.
And all the
men said,
amen.
Then she
explained it to
her.
Then she
explained it to
her people.
On the
seventh day
before sunset,
the men of
the city said
to him,
what is sweeter
than honey and
what is stronger
than a lion?
Well, she
did him in.
Now, let's
just be honest
a minute because
we always see
this from
Samson's
perspective, but
if you're that
girl, you
haven't known
him long.
You don't
know him
well.
This is an
arranged marriage.
They've come
threatening to
kill you and
your family if
you don't tell
them the answer
to the riddle.
I'm going to
tell you
something.
I understand
exactly why she
did what she
did.
I'm not
excusing it.
She should
have found
another way.
He shouldn't
have put her
though under
that kind of
circumstance.
Wouldn't you
agree?
So, it's
just a mess.
And what I
realize is
this, this
guy cannot
say no to
a pretty face.
And I'm
going to tell
you something.
There are a
lot of guys
out there and
gals like that,
but more guys
than gals, if
I'm honest about
this morning,
my experience
has been,
who they just
have such an
attraction to the
opposite sex,
they lose their
mind.
You know what
I'm saying?
They just so
want this other
person, they
just lose their
mind.
Well, look at a
sixth passage
found in verses
19 and 20 of
chapter 14, the
last two verses.
The Spirit of the
Lord took control
of him and he
went down to
Ashkelon and
killed 30 of
their men.
Did you just
hear what I
said?
He killed 30
other men.
I want to ask
you to raise
your hand if
you know
somebody in
your lifetime
who's been a
murderer.
But I know
this, you
don't know
anybody who's
murdered 30
people.
I mean, when
you start talking
about people who
killed 30
people, that's a
lot of folk.
That's a lot of
people.
This is a man
with a bad,
bad, uncontrollable
temper who has
put himself in
between a rock and
a hard place and
now he kills 30
people in order to
capture their
clothes.
He stripped them
and gave their
clothes to those
who had explained
the riddle in a
rage.
Samson turned to
his father's house,
returned to his
father's house,
and his wife was
given to one of the
men who had
accompanied him.
Boy, here's the
final thing I see
about Samson I'm
going to tell you
today.
He is bad with
women.
He's lost his
marriage and is
only seven days
old.
He's bad with
women.
And this isn't the
only episode he has
with women, he has
others, but the
climactic ending
relationship is with
a woman by the
name of Delilah,
another Philistine
woman, and you
know that story.
That's the one that
makes Samson famous.
It's found in
chapter 16, so I'm
not going to read
it.
Let's just rehearse
it together for a
moment.
Remember how that
story goes down?
He goes to her
house.
They're talking.
He's wanting to be
with Delilah.
He's sweet-talking
her.
She's sweet-talking
him.
The Philistines have
come unbeknownst to
Samson, and they say
to Delilah, find out
the source of his
strength.
There's got to be
something that makes
this guy so strong.
If you can discover
that, here's how we'll
reward you.
So she plays him.
He's got his head in
her lap, and she says,
Samson, you're so
good-looking.
You're so strong.
Would you tell me the
secret of your strength?
He probably tries to put
her off at first.
Then he just makes up
this cockamamie tale.
And so, to his
amazement, when he goes
to sleep finally, she
does exactly what he
says would rob him of
his strength.
And says, Samson, the
Philistines are upon
you.
And he jumps up, and
it's obvious that was
not the truth.
Well, she allows him
to lay back down in
her lap, and I can see
her brushing his hair.
You're so good-looking,
Samson.
You're so strong.
Man, I'm so lucky to
have you.
But you know what?
You and I, we're not as
intimate as we need to
be because you just
won't tell me the source
of your strength.
You lied to me while I
go.
Tell me what the real
source of your strength
is.
Now, I'm not a very
smart guy at all.
But you know what
should have been going
off in his head?
Wait a second.
I just told you how I
go lie, but you used
that lie against me, and
if it had been the
source of my strength,
well, I'd be in big-time
trouble right now.
But that never
registers, apparently,
with Samson.
So he spins another
tale, but this time,
get this, this time,
it involves one aspect
of the story.
It involves his hair.
Sure enough, it's not
the truth.
She does the same
thing, tries to use
his strategy to make
him helpless.
They're upon you.
They rush in the room.
He's as strong as ever.
He causes them to
flee.
Third time, he's in
her lap.
Samson, you just
won't be honest with
me.
You won't tell me.
You don't love me.
If you loved me, you'd
tell me.
Like the goofball he
was, he tells her a
third story.
Again, not the truth,
but watch what's
happening.
Remember what I said
about he liked living
on the edge?
He tells another story
about his hair, but
this time he's getting
closer and closer to
telling him the real
secret.
She does that, again,
to no avail.
Fourth time, he's fed
up.
He's tired.
And he just says,
okay, here it is.
I'm a Nazirite.
I've been a Nazirite
since the day I was
born.
I've never drank
alcohol.
I've never done this.
I've never shaved my
head.
If I cut my head, I'd
be like anybody else.
He falls asleep.
She does just that.
They rush in, and his
strength is gone.
They power him down
and gouge out his
eyes.
Can you imagine the
inhumanity of that?
Can you imagine
taking your fingers and
ripping out somebody's
eyes right out of the
socket?
That's what they do.
They hate him.
He's public enemy,
number one.
You go to a Philistine
post office, and there's
Samson's picture.
I mean, they hate him.
They hate him.
He's killed so many of
their folks.
He's taken 300 foxes,
tied them tail to tail,
and put fire on their
tails, and had them run
through their fields and
destroyed their landscape,
their economy.
They hate his guts.
And finally, they got the
upper hand.
His strength is gone.
They gouge out his eyes.
I want to show you a
pitiful, pitiful picture,
and then I'm going to make
some summary statements,
and we'll close.
Go with me, if you will,
to chapter 16, and I want
you to look at verse 21.
The Philistines seized him
and gouged out his eyes.
They brought him down to
Gaza and bound him with
bronze shackles, and he was
forced to grind grain in the
prison.
Here's this superhero,
superhero in the minds of the
little boys and girls in
Israel.
Can you imagine a little boy
or girl passing Samson?
Hey, y'all.
Samson.
Strongest guy in the world.
Philistines run from him.
And I want you to look at him
now.
Here he is in the basement of
this prison, and he's pushing
a lever around and around this
mill, grinding their grain.
And his eyes, I don't mean to be
grotesque, but his eyes are
gouged out.
It's not that he's blind.
We just kind of think blind.
No.
There's no replacements in these
sockets.
They're just empty.
It's hard to look at him in the
face.
They're just empty sockets.
And he is a shell of the man he
once was.
And here's what I want to ask you.
Who would have ever, ever, ever
guessed it?
Who would have ever envisioned
that's how he'll end up one day?
So we go to him.
And we say, Mr. Samson, do we have
a word with you?
We've been your fans.
We've seen you in Israel.
And man, you're so highly regarded
over there.
But we look at you now and,
well, you're a mess.
Your strength is gone.
You're used to being a slave.
You're in shackles.
You're not free to go and come as
you please.
You can't get around unless somebody
leads you by the hand.
How did it get like this?
How did it end up like this?
You know what experience as a
counselor tells me he would
probably have said, if we're being
honest about it this morning?
He'd have probably turned,
especially in the early going,
a day or two after it happened,
in the early going, he'd have
turned and he'd have looked at you
and he said, it was that
stinking Delilah.
She did this.
I trusted her.
She nagged me.
She begged me to tell.
And I put my faith and trust in
her because I loved her and wanted
to be with her.
I wanted to be her husband.
And she did this.
It's her fault.
Well, those Philistines,
they're barbarians.
Who would do this to a man?
Who would belittle?
Why didn't they just kill me?
Why didn't they just kill me
instead of make me a prisoner
and subject me to this kind
of lifestyle?
It's those barbaric Philistines.
They're to blame.
Boy, if you'd had a lot of courage,
you'd have really been tempted
to have said,
Mrs. Sampson, with all due respect,
didn't you do this to yourself?
Isn't this kind of about the bad
choices you made?
Do you bear any of the
responsibility for this?
You say, well, certainly you had to.
I want to tell you something.
I meet a lot of people in life,
have met a lot of people in life
over the course of 50 years
of being a pastor.
They never take any responsibility
at all.
It's their mama.
It's their daddy.
It's their grandparents.
It's the house they lived in.
It's the job they didn't get
or the job they were forced to do.
It's their bad spouse.
It's their rotten children.
It's their rotten parents.
It's the breaks.
It's God's fault.
And they never come to grips
with, you know what?
You made some real, real bad choices.
Three things I'm going to say
and I close.
One, no one is responsible
for your choice but you.
Just as no one is responsible
for my choice but me.
Have I been pressured at times?
Oh yeah.
You can't be a pastor
and not get pressure
from the outside
and the inside and everywhere
to do something that you know
is not the right thing to do.
But I'm going to tell you something.
At the end of the day,
when I make a decision,
when I make a choice
about anything in my life,
it's mine.
I may not want to own it
but it's mine.
It's only mine.
And you can say,
well my boss made me do that.
That's how this company operates.
I wouldn't have a job.
No.
It was your decision.
Were they wrong?
Yeah, they were wrong.
But that was their decision.
You're responsible for your decision.
So I'm going to tell you right now,
whatever bad thing
you may have ever done in your life,
whatever bad decision you made,
the best thing you can do right now
is to own up to it
and say, you know what?
That was my decision.
I know the circumstances were bad.
I know the situation was bad.
The environment was bad.
A lot of pressure.
But at the end of the day,
I got to own that decision
because I want to tell you something.
I can never put it behind me.
I can never repent of it.
I can never move on
until I come to own it.
And you've made some bad decisions
in your life.
I've made a lot of bad decisions
in my life.
The question is,
have you ever owned them?
Have you ever just stepped up
to the plate
and put on your big boy pants
and said,
I own this.
This is mine.
I did this.
It's not anybody else's fault
but mine.
Secondly,
our choices,
as I said earlier,
have consequences.
They always do.
It's called the law of the harvest.
Galatians 6-7 says this.
Listen.
Paul writes,
God is not mocked.
Be not deceived.
God is not mocked.
For whatsoever man sows,
that shall he also reap.
So if I do this good thing,
I can expect something good
to come out of it.
But if I do a bad thing,
I should expect to reap
a bad harvest.
You understand that?
Good decisions bring blessing.
Bad decisions bring heartache.
And I know as parents
and grandparents,
we want to do it on our children
and love our children
and give them every opportunity
to help them to rise to the top.
I want to tell you something.
The way you do that
is not by doting on them
and erasing their mistakes
and saving them
and rushing in,
saving the day
and being the savior
and the hero
and bailing them out.
The way you do that
is let them learn
as a little bitty child
and all the way through life,
I'm here for you.
I'll stand beside you
but I'll not pay the penalty
for you.
I'll not bail you out
because I want to tell you,
it's in their best interest
to learn
there are consequences
to our decisions.
I didn't plan to say this
and the service
didn't say it in the last
but I know our time's late
but I just feel so compelled
to tell you this.
I'm watching TV
in about the year 2000
and a news flash comes up.
There's been a shooting
in a middle school
in Alabama.
The cameras show
a little 14-year-old boy
he's being arrested
he's being put
into a squad car
he's taking his grandfather's shotgun
who he lives with
his grandfather
to school
and he shot
a schoolmate.
They're putting him
into the squad car
they're beating him over
you know how they do
to keep him from
bumping their heads
and they're putting him
in the squad car
and he looks back
out the door
and there's a guy
with a camera there
and the guy's asking him
what were you thinking?
And this is what he said
I'll never forget
he looks in the face
of the camera
and he says
I just want to go home.
I just want to go home
to my grandpa
I just want somebody
to take me home
to my grandpa
and as a parent
and a grandparent
he just broke my heart
because I thought to myself
son you're never going home.
You're not
have your folks
not taught you?
There are consequences
to your actions
and your world
has just changed forever.
Forever.
And I'm telling you
and not just kids
and teenagers
and young adults
but middle-aged
adults
and older adults
boy you better think
before you act
because every action
has a consequence
and there's some
actions you take
they're not very significant
where I eat lunch
they don't matter
a whole lot
but I'm going to tell you
something
if I'm unfaithful
to my wife
that can wreck
my whole life
if I take something
that's not mine
if I deal under the table
if I'm not honest
boy that can have
the implications
that just
devastate
my whole life
do you understand that?
Teach your children
and by teach them
I don't mean
just verbally
tell them
you got to let them
experience it
you got to be
standing there with them
and say
boy I'm sorry
and like my friend
put your arm around
and say
the way of the transgressor
is hard isn't it?
boy I'm sorry son
I'm sorry daughter
boy when you mess up
there's a price
to be paid in
and I'm sorry
I'm sorry you didn't
get to go to Disney World
I'm sorry you didn't
get to be on that
ball team
I'm sorry you didn't
get that scholarship
but we'll learn
from this
when we're going forward
way better thing
to do than to rescue
them every time
they fail
thirdly
good choices
lead to a good life
and poor choices
lead to a bad life
of undue heartache
well if you spill
enough heartache
we don't need to make
it harder on ourselves
I close by telling you this
the book of
Proverbs
is about wisdom
it's called wisdom literature
that word wisdom
people think of this
white sage
long beard
he's like a contestant
on Jeopardy
who knows all the answers
no
the word wisdom
actually means
skillful
and he was used
in a variety
of circumstances
but let me just tell you
three of them
they used that word
wisdom
about skillful
of a surgeon
who could take a scalpel
and cut somebody's body
and instead of doing
them harm
relieve them
of a bad
organ
or bad tissue
right
take skill
to do that
they used it
of a gem cutter
who would take a stone
and carefully
take a hammer
examine that rock
carefully
and put that hammer
in exact place
and strike that
with a
that chisel
with a hammer
in exactly the right spot
and you'd have
multiple good diamonds
instead of just ruining it
they used it
of the navigator
at sea
in ancient days
who could take a ship
and in the middle of the night
without any of the
modern scientific methods
we have
take just a sectant
and just a few tools
and a knowledge
of the stars
and he could guide
that ship
to its destination
that's skill
and that's what
the writer of Proverbs
is saying
leave your life
skillfully
so that you do this
you're walking
through life
and here's this obstacle
and you just
step around that
and you move over here
and here's another obstacle
and you find a way
to get around it
and you just skillfully
walk through life
versus
you've seen those folk
who every day
they live
it's like a bull
in a china shop
they're just
wreaking havoc
and breaking things
and you just
kind of shake your head
and say boy
it's just one disaster
after another
you know what that's from
a lifetime of making
bad bad bad choices
so in the closing moments
of this sermon
here's what I want you to do
I want you to take a good
hard look at yourself
forget the past
you can't do anything
about that
but right now
today
are you in the midst
of making some bad decisions
some good decisions
some godly decisions
some ungodly decisions
some decisions
that will
help your family
some decisions
that could
train wreck
your family
what kind of decision
are you making
right now
today
financial decisions
social decisions
some of you
have friends
I want to be honest
with you
you ought to lose them
because they've got
your ear
they're speaking
things into your ear
that's influencing you
you're not even aware
at times they are
but they're influencing
you down a path
and you're going to
wake up one day
and say you know what
I didn't really want this
but I guess this is
a choice I've made
I'm asking you right now
to do inventory
in your life
and say
what about my choices
young
old
in between
what about my choices
right now
am I making choices
that a year from now
I'll be glad I made
or am I making
some choices
a year from now
my whole family
could have blown apart
because of my stupidity
let's bow together
in prayer
father
lead us and guide us
today
in this time
of invitation
time of reflection
more than anything
to think about
the choices
we're making
every one of us
young and old
in this room
if we're making
God honoring choices
lord I'm so grateful
for that
and I know many are
but there's some of us
who are being careless
and reckless
in our decision making
and I pray God
that you bear to mind
today
give us a warning
signal today
awaken us
from a stupor
that would allow us
to see
you know what
I'm headed down
a road that leads
to disaster
and teach us
Lord
it's never too late
never too late
to do the right thing
we ask this
in your name
for your sake
amen