When Getting Even Does Not Get You Ahead

INTRODUCTION

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This morning I want to talk about a little sin that has brought down brought down many of big men and woman.

 It is the sin that caused Cain to kill his brother, Abel.

 It is the sin got the archangel, Lucifer, kicked out heaven.

 It is a sin that caused God to reject Moses and to choose Joshua, instead.

 It is the sin that caused Ananias and Sapphira to tell a little lie saying that they gave everything in order to make themselves look big.

 It is the sin that caused the elder brother of the prodigal son to be puffed up, pointing out what his wayward brother got and asserting what he, the faithful one deserved.

 It is the sin the caused Samson to fight, when ever anybody crossed him.

 It is a little sin that if not controlled, can cause big damage.

This morning I want to talk about Samson sin. I want to talk about the sin pride.

A GOOD PRIDE AND A BAD PRIDE

Let me suggest that there is a good form of pride and there is a bad pride.

A bad pride is the kind that God hates.

According to proverbs 6:16, there are six things that God hates and pride is the first one.

Proverbs 6:16-19 (KJV) 16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

1. 17 A proud look,

2. a lying tongue,

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3. a hands that shed innocent blood,

4. 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations,

5. feet that be swift in running to mischief,

6. 19 A false witness that speaketh lies,

7. he that soweth discord among brethren.

But there is also a good pride.

A good pride is the kind that makes you feel good about a job well done.

A bad pride stems self-righteousness – look at what I did.

A bad good pride stems from God-consciousness – look at what the Lord did for me.

At the heart of bad pride is the notion that I’m better than you, what I think is right and what you think is wrong.

At the heart of bad pride is the notion that I’m smarter and I know more.

I am superior and you are inferior.

A bad pride poses the arrogant question, “who are you?”

“Who are you to tell me?”

At the heart of bad pride is the notion, “Don’t you know who I am?”

Psalm 10:4 explains that the proud are so consumed with themselves that their thoughts are far from God:

“In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.”

A proud man is so consume with asserting his own position, his own superiority, is own rightness, that there is no room for God to reveal his wrongness.

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Nobody is right all the time.

Nobody is smarter than everybody else all the time.

This kind of pride is the opposite of the spirit of humility:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).

The “poor in spirit” are those who recognize their utter spiritual bankruptcy and their inability to come to God aside from His divine grace and his mercy.

A humble man recognizes that it was God’s grace and his mercy that brought him through and he is able to say that I’m living each moment because of you.

Proverbs 16:18-19 tells us that:

“pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Why is pride so sinful?

Pride is a sin because it has kept many people from accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Pride keeps us from admitting our sin and acknowledging that in our own strength we can do nothing to inherit eternal life.

Pride is giving ourselves the credit for something that God has accomplished.

Pride is taking the glory that belongs to God alone and keeping it for ourselves.

Pride is essentially self-worship.

Anything we accomplish in this world would not have been possible were it not for God enabling and sustaining us.

PRIDE AND ANGER GO TOGETHER

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But I can’t talk about pride this morning, without also talking about his two first cousins.

If you think pride is bad, wait until he and first cousins gets together.

They are like peas in pod.

When you see one, you are bound to see the others.

When pride shows up, his cousins are not far behind.

Pride’s first cousin is called anger.

Most of the sins in human life are either directly or indirectly

connected with pride and his cousin.

 Pride will keep you from being saved.

 Pride will cause you to lie on someone else in order to save yourself.

 Pride will cause you to steal what belongs to somebody else because you think you deserved it – or her or him.

 Pride and his cousin anger have gotten a lot people killed.

 Pride and anger go together.

 Pride says I didn’t get what I deserve, therefore, his cousin anger shows up.

 Pride says you didn’t treat me right, and then his cousin anger emerges.

 Pride says you didn’t listen to my opinion, accepted my views, give me my props, and then anger shows up.

I said last week and I believe that it is worth repeating:

Pride says:

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 I am better than you.

 I make this much money.

 I have a college degree.

 This is my church.

 I pulled myself up.

 I got a good job.

 I make a lot of money.

 I am the president of that group.

 I am the pastor of that church.

 I am the head of that organization.

 I, I, I,. . .

 I can’t even walkout God holding my hand.

 I can’t even breathe, without God blowing the breathe of life through me.

When pride and anger get together they can make a physically strong man spiritually weak.

Pride sent Ahab to bed crying because he could get Naboth vineyard.

Pride cause David to kill Urriah so he could get Bathasheba.

Are you aware that most sin, including stealing, drunkenness lying, etc.,

cannot continue in hell. However, the Bible says, an angry man will

continue to be angry even in hell; in fact he will be gnashing or grinding his

teeth in anger even in hell (Mat 8:12).

Pride and anger go together.

At the heart of Samson’s down fall were the combination of pride and anger.

Pride and anger, if left unchecked, have a tendency to pull in their third cousin and his name is revenge.

ENCOUNTERING THE TEXT

It was pride, anger, and revenge that got Samson killed.

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Have you ever the expression “revenge oh sweet it is.”

Revenge is a lot of things, but sweet is not one of them.

At the heart of revenge is the notion that when you get them back, you get ahead, you win.

The foundation of revenge or justification for revenge is that getting them back will make me feel better.

But I won’t you to know “Getting Even Will Not Get You Ahead.”

REVENGE, PRIDE, AND ANGER WILL GET YOU ISOLATED

Look at Samson! He got the Philistine back, but eventually he ended up in cave all by himself.

Do you notice that Samson did not have friends or companions and the people who he thought were on his side turned against?

Every great figure in the Bible had a companion or at least someone to counsel them.

David had Jonathan as a friend and Nathan as a counselor.

Lot had Abraham mentor.

Paul had Barnabus as spiritual father.

Job had his friends as counselors – they gave bad counsel, but at least there for him.

Moses had Joshua to succeed.

Joshua had Aaron to accompany him.

Jesus had his disciples beside him.

But Samson had no one.

In fact we read in verse 8 that after he got through fighting the Philistines he ended up hiding in a cave all by himself.

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And even his own people turned.

Judah turned him over to the Philistines in order to save themselves.

Don’t be surprised if you end up in a cave all by yourself if every little things cause you to get angry.

Don’t be surprised if you end up in a cave all by yourself if pride, and anger, and revenge are leading you instead of the Holy Spirit. Anger will always lead you in the wrong direction.

Revenge will cause you to be isolated.

REVENGE WILL CAUSE YOU TO DO FOOLISH THINGS

Revenge will cause you to do foolish things.

When the Samson’s wife told his secrets, he lost a bet. He then traveled 30 miles to kill someone else in order to steal their clothes to pay off his bet.

Anger will cause you to do foolish things. Getting even does not get you ahead.

When Samson discovered that his bride had told his secret, he got angry and went home to live with momma and daddy – the same momma and daddy that told him not to marry that women.

Anger will cause you to do foolish things. Getting even does not get you ahead.

When he went home to live with momma and daddy, his father in law assumed that he did want his daughter so he gave Samson’s bride to the best man, instead.

Some of us are watching soap operas, turn the TV. and read your bible is want some drama.

Getting even does not get you ahead. It causes you to do foolish things.

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When Samson found out that the Father in law had given her to the best man, he got angry and tied the tales of 300 fox together and sent them running through the town and burned up their harvest.

When the Philistine discovered that he had done this they killed the father-in-law and daughter to pay Samson back.

When Samson heard this he took the jawbone of donkey and defeated their army.

Revenge is a lot of things but sweet is not one them.

Getting even will get you a lot of things, but it does not get you ahead.

Revenge does not get you ahead. Revenge causes you to do foolish things.

Verse # 7, Samson said when I get through, it will be over.

When it comes to revenge it is never over.

Violence begets violence.

Revenge actual spirals until it is out of control.

Some people feel justified in seeking revenge.

I heard a story the other day about a man and his wife who were getting a divorce. Out of revenge he bulldozed over the house so she could not have it. He then stated that he was justified in doing so, because he got a permit bulldoze the house.

You may have license to do wrong, but you don’t have right to do wrong.

Revenge escalates until its out control.

Tit for tat.

You kill my dog, I’ll kill your cat.

Mahatma Ghandi said that the “an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind.”

Notice that Samson says in 7, I am going to get them back.

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In verse 11 he says, I am going to do to them as they have done unto me. Samson has been wronged so he seeks vengeance and the Philistine decides that he is going to pay him back.

Getting even will not get you ahead.

Getting even will get isolated. Getting even will get you cause you to do foolish things.

GETTING EVEN WILL INTERFERE WITH YOUR WORSHIP

Revenge, anger, and pride, will interfere with your worship.

This one of the most striking things about Samson’s life.

He was:

1. Handpicked by God,

2. Raised by righteous parents who loved the Lord,

3. Shaped in his formative years according to disciplines of the Nazirite vow, moved by God’s spirit,

4. Given courage and strength to fight the Lord’s battle,

Yet not once do we see any indication that he had meaningful devotional life.

Not once do we see him worshipping the Lord.

Not once do we hear him singing praises. In verse number 16 he sang praises to himself for what he had done.

As far as we know, he didn’t even pray unless he was in desperate trouble.

The reason Samson didn’t worship God is that worship is, ultimately, an act of humility.

When you bow before the Lord, you’re acknowledging that He is greater than you are.

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When you bow before the Lord you’re confessing your weakness.

You’re admitting that you need His help.

Proud people like Samson, just have a hard time doing that.

Notice the first time that he prays in verse 18, he prayed for himself because he was thirsty.

The next time he prayed in chapter 16, he prayed for strength to fight his enemies.

Only when he suffered in the flesh was he ready to give God the glory.

Only when he got mad was he willing to fight for God.

He did pray to tell the Lord thank you. He prayed because his back was up against the wall.

When he was down he called on the Lord, when he was up he served himself.

BUT LOOK AT GOD!

Samson didn’t pray because he loved the Lord. He prayed when he was thristy, but God gave him the water and revived his spirit anyhow.

God honored him, even though he was wrong.

Samson was chosen to be a deliverer, but he was defective.

God chosen him to be a savior of his people, but he was a lover of himselve.

God called him to perform a very important task, but he was an imperfect vessel.

Look at somebody seat next to you and tell them you ain’t perfect.

Now tell the person next who told you that you are not perfect, “you ain’t perfect either.”

Imperfect people have no business throwing stones.

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Imperfect people have no right to point fingers.

Imperfect people have no right to be prideful.

Imperfect people are not justified in their anger.

And after God blessed him, he was still selfish.

He name the place “the whale of one who cries.”

He does not name it after God.

He named it in honor of his own needs.

How could God use a man like Samson?

He was a defective deliverer?

He was an imperfect vessel.

But the story is not about the acceptability of Samson, it is about the extraordinary power of God.

God can use weak people. God can work through am imperfect vessel like Samson.

Getting even will not get you ahead.

You are so busy trying to win, that you fail to see what you are losing.

You are so busy trying to be right, that you are blinded to your own wrong.

Despite Samson’s waywardness, God still got his way.

Samson’s plotting did not get in the way of God’s plan.

In spite of his anger, in spite of his pride, in spite of his revenge seeking God still got the glory. But in order to use Samson, God had to work around him.

CELEBRATION

Pride says I know everything.

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But I have learned that when you get to the point when you can say that I don’t know anything, then God does not have to work around you, he can work through you.

When you get to point when you can say I don’t understand,

I can’t fix it,

I can’t handle it,

I can’t pick myself up,

That’s the point where God steps in.

But as long as you are your own God.

God has to work around you instead of through you.

You have to humble yourself.

I remember Job said – he said that I heard you with my ears, but now I see you with my eyes.

You see in the Bible the eyes represent understanding.

A whole lot of people hear the sermon, hear the Word of God, but they don’t understand, because their pride gets in the way.

A whole lot of people have heard sermons about love, pride keeps them from understanding how to love.

A whole lot of people have heard sermons about forgiveness, but anger keeps them from understanding how to forgive.

Why because the word of God is in their heads, but its not in their hearts yet.

And when the word gets out of the head and gets into their heart then they will not only hear with their ears, but they will understand it in their spirits.

Let me say it differently. You can actually hear the sermon but still be lost. You can come to church, without coming to Jesus.

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You can go to the worship service, but never have a worship experience.

When the Word gets out of your head and gets in your heart, then you really understand better by and by the things you thought you understood.

I don’t care how often you go to church, how many times you show up for Bible study; you can show up to Sunday school every Sunday but if its not in your heart, its not going to do you any good.

And if the Word of God gets in your heart there is going to be a change after a while.

If the Word gets in your heart, there will be a change in your life.

The Word will cause you to repent.

But are you aware, that before you can repent you have to confess.

But in order to confess, you have to humble yourself.

Pride will keep you from confessing your sins.

And that presents a real problem for some people.

Some people are so perfect that they have never done anything wrong.

Ever met anybody like that.

I don’t mind telling you that I have made a whole lot of mistakes in my life and I not afraid to tell you.

And the Word says that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, but the gift of God is eternal life.

When you agree with what the word says, that is the beginning of the repentance process. After you agree you then turn around and go in the other direction.

Getting even will not get you ahead.

People may talk about you like a dog.

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They may turned their backs on him.

But don’t get even, because whatever you so, that also shall you reap.

Rather them get them back, take them to the Lord.

Anybody every been there.

You prayed for the folks that did you wrong.

Don’t talk about them, don’t fight against them pray for them, pray for them, pray for them.

And if you pray for them, God is gonna bless you in the end.

Pray!

Talk about you, pray.

Stab you in the back, pray.

Lied on you, pray.

Don’t half speak to you, pray.

Gossip about you, pray.

Scandalize your name, pray.

And the Bible said that God turned Job’s situation when he prayed for his friends.

Oh there is still power in the Word of Prayer.

And how many of you realize that when you pray for somebody else, you get blessed in the process.

When you witness to someone else you get blessed in returned.

When you reach out to someone else you lifted up in return.

But I don’t know about you, God been too good to me to give up now.

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He brought me a might long way.

And I’m not going let this world steal my joy,

 he can’t destroy my faith,

 he can’t kill my spirit,

 he can’t sap my sap,

because I realize that in the end – God is gonna give me double for my trouble.

For all the nights I couldn’t sleep – he’s gonna let me sleep just a little bit better and little bit longer.

For all of the friends that I lost, God’s gonna give two to replace the one and they are not going to be so called friend – they are going to be real friends.

For all the money you’ve lost when you lost your job – God’s gonna give you a better job with better benefits.

He gave Job double what he had before.

God’s gonna give you double for your trouble.

I came to tell that inspite of the old sapsucker and because my savior, I still got joy after all that I’ve been through.

Joy in the morning when I wake up.

Joy when I lay down to go to sleep at night.

Joy when I’m sick

Joy when I’m well

Joy when when I have friends

Joy when I don’t

Joy in poverty

Joy in prosperity

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Joy in good times

Joy in the bad times

Because the joy of the Lord it is my strength