Samson

When I don't see God's purpose for my life, I am in danger of settling for an earthly counterfeit.  

(Hebrews 12:1) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 

Remember that all heaven can see what we do upon the earth. 

For when you think you see everything clearly all on your own… 

“You don’t have to lose your eyes to be blind.” 

We can be… 

· Blind to God’s purpose for our life.

(Judges 13:5) “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.” 

(Proverbs 29:18) Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint. 

· Blind to the power of relationships. 

(Judges 14:2-3) When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.” 

His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? 

Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” 

Show me your friends.  I'll show you your future.  We can't see our relationships clearly on our own.  Samson made his biggest mistakes through his relationships.  

(1 Corinthians 15:33) Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 

1. Nurture important relationships.  

2. Restore broken relationships.  

3. Sever harmful relationships.  

4. Cultivate intimate relationships.   

(Ephesians 6:2-3) “Honor your father and mother”--which is the first commandment with a promise—“that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” 

· Blind to the nature of God. 

(Judges 16:19-21) After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him. 

Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” 

But he did not know that the LORD had left him. Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. 

Don't take the presence of God for granted. We must not trample upon God's goodness.

   

Hebrews 12:29 (ESV)

29 for our God is a consuming fire. 

(Genesis 6:3 KJV) And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man… 

Psalm 91:1 (ESV)

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

Don't step out of the umbrella of God's covering.  We must have a healthy fear of God.  

(Romans 6:1-2 ESV) What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 

Samson’s Words of Encouragement 

1. “Protect the presence of God.” 

(1 Thessalonians 5:19) Do not put out the Spirit's fire. 

The priority of the relationship cultivates the presence of God.  We must put God first.  

(Ephesians 4:30) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

2. “Choose your relationships carefully.” 

(Proverbs 13:20) He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm. 

(Hebrews 10:25) Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 

3. “Failure is never final.” 

(Judges 16:28) Then Samson prayed to the LORD, “Sovereign LORD, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more...” 

God honors the one who messed up the most.  Who cries out to God at His worse.  

(1 Timothy 1:15-16) Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 

But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 

Proverbs 24:16 (ESV)

¹⁶ for the righteous falls seven times and rises again,
    but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.

Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands
https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/samson

All scripture is from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Life's 5 purposes

1.  Know God and love Him... Worship.

2.  Love other people... Fellowship.

3.  Grow up spiritually to be like Christ...  Discipleship.

4.  Learn to serve others... Ministry.

5.  Share your life message with others...  Mission.

Rick Warren, Saddleback Church

How God Reveals our Purpose

1. The call from birth. 

(Jeremiah 1:4-8) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” 

“Alas, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 

Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD. 

2. Growing awareness. 

(Genesis 50:20) You (my brothers)  intended to harm me (Joseph), but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 

3. Walking through open doors. 

(Esther 4:14-16) For if you (Esther) remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. 

And who knows but that you have come to your royal position (as Queen) for such a time as this?”… 

I (Esther) will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” 

4. A God encounter. 

(Acts 9:1-6) Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. 

He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 

As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 

He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 

“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. 

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 

“Now get up and go into the city, 

and you will be told what you must do.” 

God created me on purpose for a purpose.  

Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands

All scripture is from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

The Enemies of Purpose

(Proverbs 29:18 MSG) If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; 

but when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.

If you can't see it, you can't do it.  

(Psalm 16:11 NLT) You will show me the way of life (my purpose), 

granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. 

Here is the sequence. 

Know God. 

God is the answer.  

You can't solve the problem without the answer.  

Find Freedom. 

Most people feel settled or stuck.  

We must settle yesterday. 

Discover Purpose. 

You were made for something.  

Make a Difference.

Let's find what you were made for.

The Enemies of Purpose 

(Romans 12:2 NLT) 

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. 

Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 

· Comparison.  

If you are a bird, don't swim. Fly.   

· Confusion. 

Psalm 139:13-16  (NIV)

¹³ For you (God) created my inmost being;

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,

    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;

    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

· Counterfeit.

Don't copy someone else's purpose.  

God's design in me reveals God's destiny for me. 

Check these 7 areas.

1. Natural talents.

2. Spiritual gifts.

3. Inward desires.

4. Results and fruit.

5. Affirmation and recognition. 

6. Passions and convictions.

7. Circumstances and opportunity.

Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands 

Our Ultimate Purpose

(Proverbs 29:18 KJV) Where there is no vision, the people perish.

(Proverbs 29:18 NIV) Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint.

If you focus on your purpose, you will surrender your life to God's will.

  

(Proverbs 29:18 MSG) 

If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; 

but when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.

We need to see the big picture like God sees it, so we will be blessed.  

The Way of Life 

(Psalm 16:11 NLT) You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence 

and the pleasures of living with you forever.

(John 10:10) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 

Know God.

1 Timothy 6:21 (TLB)

Some of these people have missed the most important thing in life—they don’t know God. 

Find Freedom.

John 8:36 (ESV)

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

If you don't wipe the smudge off your life from yesterday, you can't see.  

Discover Purpose. 

Galatians 6:4-5 (MSG)

^4-5 Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. 

Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.

If you don't know God's purpose for your life, you're probably not free. 

Make a Difference. 

John 15 (NIV)

⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

My Ultimate Purpose 

(John 17:18 MSG) In the same way that you (God) gave me a mission in the world, I (Jesus) give them a mission in the world.

There is a gravity pull towards selfishness if you don't know your purpose. 

(Acts 20:24 NCV) I don’t care about my own life. The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me—to tell people the Good News about God’s grace.

Reaching the world really shrinks the size of your problems. It reduces your anxieties. 

(Ephesians 2:10) For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. 

(Acts 1:8) “You will be my (Jesus's) witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  

Jerusalem are people close to me.  

Judea and Samaria are close to me but different from me. 

The Ends of the Earth are those far in from me in distance.  

We as people have to have a purpose to chase. 

1. Make a difference in my world. 

(Mark 5:19 NCV) Go home to your family and friends. 

Tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you. 

(Proverbs 3:27-28 MSG) Never walk away from someone who deserves help; 

your hand is God’s hand for that person.

 Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now.

2. Make a difference beyond my world. 

(1 Corinthians 9:22 TLB) Whatever a person is like, 

I try to find common ground with him so that he will let me tell him about Christ and let Christ save him. 

(Galatians 6:2 MSG) Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. 

Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law. 

3. Make a difference in the whole world. 

(Mark 16:15 NCV) Jesus said to His followers, 

“Go everywhere in the world, and tell the Good News to everyone.”

(Mark 10:29 LB) Jesus replied,

“Let me assure you that no one has ever given up anything... for love of Me and to tell others the Good News, who won’t be given back, a hundred times over...” 

I will never be satisfied making a dollar when my purpose is to make a difference.

Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands

All scripture is from the New International Version unless otherwise noted. 
https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/chase-the-rabbit1