WHEN WHAT YOU WANT IS NOT WHAT YOU NEED Judges 14:1-20 (KJV)

2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.

3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that 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.

4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.

6 And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.

7 And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.

8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.

9 And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.

10 So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.

11 And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.

12 And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:

13 But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.

14 And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle.

15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not so?

16 And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee?

17 And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people.

18 And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.

19 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.

20 But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.

INTRODUCTION

What would you say if I told you that you are rich? Would you believe it if I told you that every one of us here is rich?

You may assume that I am speaking in spiritual terms. No!

I am speaking in financial terms.

Finally, every one of us here is rich. Perhaps then, you would deduce that I am talking in prophetic terms. No! I am not talking name it, claim it; it’s coming into the future. You are rich, and you are rich right now!

We live in a country full of riches. Even the poorest Americans are richer than those who live in some third-world countries. Church, we are rich. Despite how rich and blessed we have been, America is plagued by the get more syndrome. We are subtly and sometimes not so subtly led to believe that getting more will get us a better life. We live in a consumptive world.

With the advent of mass consumerism, we have been conditioned to expect more and more for less and less. We have become a world of a gimme, gimme, gimme, want, want, want, and take, take, take. In other words, we have reduced ourselves to the status of three-year-olds who want what they want, when they want, and how they want it. And, like three years, as adults, we can be hard to handle if we don’t get what we want.

The trick of consumerism is this: if I can convince you that getting more will give you a better life, you will buy my product, even if what you buy is not something you need.

TRANSITION

So this morning, let me press upon us that sometimes “What You Want Is Not What You Need.” If ever there was someone who demonstrated this principle, it was Samson.

ENCOUNTERING THE TEXT

Last week we looked at the birth of Samson in the 13th chapter of the Book of Judges. We determined that Samson had strong credentials, but he had weak character. Your credentials are what others see when they are looking. But your character is who you are when nobody is looking. We live in a world wherein you need strong credentials. The world is more competitive and more challenging than ever before. It would help if you had strong credentials. But the temptation of this life is to worry more about your credentials than your character.

The temptation is to worry more about what man thinks about you rather than what God thinks about you. Samson had strong credentials, but their credentials themselves were not enough. Samson was called and equipped by God to fulfill a heavenly purpose (strong credentials), but he spent most of his time pursuing worldly pleasure (weak character).

The nation of Israel was at an all-time low:

She had forsaken her God,Stuck in the cycle of sin,Enslaved by the Philistines, a small nation. So God raised a strong man named Samson to deliver his people. But Samson spent more time pleasing himself. He had a lot going for himself; he had a faithful mother and a praying daddy. Not only did he have Godly parents, but God also chose him. All of the other judges were called when they were adults. But Samson was chosen before he was born.

SAMSON WAS ARROGANTSAMSON loved Samson.Samson was caught UP IN Samson.Samson was a he-man, but he had she-weakness.Samson was strong physically but weak spiritually. But not only that, but often, the things that Samson Wanted Were the Things that He Didn’t Need. Verse # 2 in the New Living Translation records that when Samson went down to Timnah, upon laying eyes on Philistine women, he says to his momma and his daddy, “Get her for me, because she is the one that I want.” Did you hear Samson? Get her for me because she is the one I want.

WHAT HE WANTED VIOLATED WHAT GOD WANTED FOR HIM

The problem with what Samson wanted is that what he wanted violated what God wanted for him. He wanted this Philistine woman to be his wife. But according to the Mosaic Law, God explicitly prohibited the Israelites from marrying someone from a different religion. People have used the Bible to justify not marrying someone of a different race. That’s not the point. That is a bad reading of scripture. Regardless of your race, we are all God’s children. What God frowned upon was marrying someone from a different religion, not a different race.

Samson’s parents were not upset because she was from a different race; they were upset because she didn’t believe in their God. Notice that his parents called the girl an uncircumcised Philistine. Recall that when David saw Goliath, he asked the question who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he Should defy the army of the living God. Circumcision was a religious act, not a racial act. Marrying a girl from a different religion, one who did not believe in God, was the issue.

What Samson wanted was not what God wanted for him. Look at how Samson made his choice. In verse #1, he only sees her. From this sighting, he decides to marry. He does not talk to her until verse #7 after he has decided to marry her and after he made preparation to have her.

Samson selected her after he saw her.He hadn’t talked with her.He had only seen her.He didn’t interact with her; he saw her.He didn’t spend time with her; he saw her.He didn’t even know her name.He saw her.He didn’t check out her credentials, reputation, or spirituality; he saw her.He was checking sometime else out.He was not checking out what she looked like on the inside; he was attracted to what he saw on the outside.Looks can be deceiving.Everything that looks good to you is not necessarily good for you.

Are you aware that the eyes are the opening to the Soul? Are you aware that your senses are the opening to your Soul? What you see gets in your spirit if you are not careful. Samson didn’t just see her; she got in his spirit; therefore, he wanted to have her. Seeing was not the problem. We all see things. That’s life. That’s reality. But the problem is not seeing. The problem is what you do after you see it. Abraham prayed, and he went in one direction. But remember, Lot saw that Jordan looked good and moved his family in another direction. He moved to Sodom.

Remember, David saw that Bathsheba looked good and killed her husband to have her for himself. Samson saw the Philistine woman and asked his parents to get her for him. The problem is not in seeing. The problem is what you do after you see it. The problem is different from what gets into the eyes. The problem is that what gets to your eyes will get into your spirit. He saw and, therefore, he wanted. Are you aware that generally, when people have an “EYE” problem, it indicates an “I” problem?

Generally, when people have an “E-y-e” problem, it points to a bigger problem; they have a capital letter “I” problem. Look at Samson’s vocabulary. Get her for “me” because “I” want her. When his parents objected and tried to give him wise counsel, he then said, “Get her for “me” because she pleases “me.” She was the object of his affection. We live in a world wherein women are the object of men’s gratification. Notice that he wanted her because she pleased him. Have you ever noticed that the Bible labels women of the world a harlot and sometimes worse but places no such label upon the men they encounter?

Samson’s “E-y-e” problem was only symptomatic of his capital letter “I” problem. I am reminded of the parable in the 12th chapter of Luke about the man who was so blessed by his harvest that his barns were too small. Notice how often the man uses the words, I, me and my.

“What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said This will I do:

I will pull down my barns and build greater;

and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

And I will say to my Soul; thou hast many goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, [and] be merry.”

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 walk out, God holding my hand.

I can’t even breathe without God blowing the breath of life through me. The man in the parable had a selfish agenda.

Samson had a conceited spirit and a self-serving disposition. Everything in his life was centered around pleasing himself.

When what you want goes against what God wants for you, then perhaps what you want is not what you need.

WHEN WHAT YOU WANT DISRESPECTS OTHERS, THEN WHAT YOU WANT IS NOT WHAT YOU NEED

But also, if what you want causes you to disrespect somebody else, then what you want is not what you need.

Circumcision was God’s distinguishing mark. Suppose signified that someone believed in God. His parents objected because she did not believe in God. But Samson refused to listen to his parent's advice. In Biblical tradition, the parent’s duty was to get the wife. It was the parents’ duty to bless and arrange the marriage. In adamantly disagreeing with his parents and insisting that he wanted her because she pleased him, he was disrespecting his parents and disregarding his traditions. He was disrespecting his parents when he decided to marry the girl against their advice, given their cultural traditions.

Sometimes Momma and Daddy know best.

There is a modern-day Samson story that I bet our young people are familiar with.

"I can't, get to work on time,

Can't believe the words to her I just said

But who the hell argue 'n fight like dogs at 6 in the morning? (in the mornin')

I know its gonna' be some more shh tonight mm ooh

Our pastor's callin', tellin' me I done went too far in

I'm seen around town and my friends can't recognize me,

'Cause I took a chance on love (love), it's like (like), I'm dyin' (ooh dyin')"

For you I gave my heart and turned my back against the world 'Cause you were my girl, girl, girl

I done almost near lost my mama,

I done been through so much drama

I done turned into the man that I never thought I'd be.

I'm ready to sign them papers, papers, papers

Raymond Usher, the 4th, famous R& B singer, was groomed to be a singer by his mother, a choir director. She groomed, nurtured, and even managed him to the point of worldwide fame. But when Usher met an older woman, he saw her, and she pleased him. He decided to marry her against the advice of his mother. After a divorce, the loss of millions of dollars, and much heartache, he realized his mistakes he wrote those words. Like Samson, he got what he wanted, but what he wanted was not what he needed.

If getting what you want causes you to walk over somebody else,Play over somebody else’s life,If getting what you want causes you to disrespect somebody else, then what you want is not what you need, especially if that person is your mother or father. Honor thy mother and thy father, and thy days shall be long upon the earth which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

That does not mean that your mother and father are always right. It does mean that regardless you can still honor and respect them. He disobeyed the Word of God. He disrespected his parents. But he also comprised his integrity.

GETTING WHAT HE WANTED CAUSED HIM TO COMPRISE HIS INTEGRITY

Not only did Samson's desire for the Philistine woman goes against God’s word, but it also went against his vows. According to chapter 13, Samson was a

Nazarite. He had the vow to serve God for the rest of his life. There were three elements, three prohibitions that were associated with his vow:

He was not permitted to drink wine,He was not permitted to touch anything dead or unclean.And he was not permitted to cut his hair.

According to our text, they had a seven-day drinking party when he married the Philistine woman. He violated vow number 1. Notice that he killed a lion and came back and found a bee hive with honey in the carcass. He got the honey and gave some to his momma and his daddy. When he touched the carcass, he violated vow number 2. And when he told Delilah his secret, and the Philistines cut his hair, he violated vow number 3. If getting what you want causes you to violate your integrity, then what you want is not what you need. Some people are so rootless and driven for success that they would sell out their momma to get what they want. If you have to pull somebody else down to lift yourself, what you are trying to accomplish is not worth gaining.

I have always been the kind of guy who shoots a straight arrow. I don’t play politics or engage in gamesmanship. I’ve always believed in being upfront and direct. So I might rise to the top as quickly as some other people who brown nose their way to the top. But I might not get there quicker, but because the Lord will help me get there, he will keep me there. I might not get there quickly, but my integrity will be intact when I get there.

If God ordains, he will sustain it.

If I have to compromise my integrity, I would assume being content where I am.

Getting what you want causes you to compromise your own integrity; what you want is not what you need.

Samson made a mess because what he wanted was not what he needed.

But how many of you realize that God can take a mess and create a miracle? Look at verse #4

Judges 14:4 (KJV)

4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

Samson went against God, his parents, and his integrity when he married this uncircumcised Philistine, but God took Samson's mistake and used it to create a miracle. Samson was supposed to fight the Philistines. But instead of fighting the Philistines, he was chasing their women. When the woman turned on him and told him his secrets, he got angry. When he got angry, then he fought against the Philistines. God used his anger and bad marriage to defeat some Philistines.

CELEBRATION

He takes your mess, and he changes it into a miracle.

He can take a prostitute and change her into a prophetess – ask Rehab about it.

He can take a murderer and turn him into a minister – ask Paul about it. If you can save a drunk like Noah

If he can use A Pimp like Abraham, A hustler like Jacob

A thugette like Deborah, A baller like Sampson, A player like David

A player like Solomon

A ghetto soldier like Peter and a roughneck like Paul, God can use you. God can use me.

He can take my mess and turn it into a miracle. Is there a witness in the building?

Say yes! Say yes! God will. God will. Yes

God will!

He can take water and change it into wine.

He can take a sinner and turn him into a saint. You, a mess, can become your miracle.

Things designed to destroy your life can become the occasion to determine your destiny.

Things that threaten to tear you down become the things that build you up. People determined to weaken you become the ones who strengthen you.

Tricks designed to trip you up become the occasion by which you are built up.

Schemes designed to make you fall become the things that lift you.

When what I wanted was not what I needed a made a mess, God turned it around and made a miracle.

And now I know that I don’t have to worry about what I need because the Lord will supply all of my needs according to his glory.

He woke me up this morning. Started mine on my way.

Put breathe in lungs.

Move the blood in the veins. My heart is pumping in my chest. Put joy in my Soul.

Clapping in these old hands. Running in these old feet.

Pick me up when I was down.

Turned me around when I went backward. Gave me sight when I was blind. Found me when I was lost.

He will give me what I need. Healed me when I was sick. Blessed me when I was broken. Won’t he do it?

He will give you what you need.

But not only that, I read in the world that he will also give me what I want.

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these others things will be added.

He will give you what you want.

I also read in the world that if you Delight yourself in the Lord, he will give you the desires of your heart.

I hope you don’t mind if I delight myself in the Lord. The Lord’s been good to me.

Jesus, Mary’s baby,

Jesus, the bright and morning star; Jesus, the alpha and omega,

Jesus, Lion of Judah; Jesus, the King of Kings Jesus, the Lord of Lords; Jesus, the Prince of Peace, Jesus, the mighty God,

Jesus, the everlasting father; Jesus, the wonderful counselor,

Jesus, the great physician; Jesus, my savior,

Jesus, my Redeemer,

Jesus, the way, the truth, and the light. Jesus, the good shepherd,

Jesus, son of David

Jesus, the seed of Abraham Jesus, the Christ

Jesus, the Messiah Jesus, the lamb of God; Jesus, the bread of life,

Jesus, the rose of Sharon, Jesus the light of the world, Jesus my rock in a weary land,

Jesus my shelter in the time of storm, Jesus the builder that the stone rejected, Jesus the chief cornerstone,

Jesus, the great I am that I am Jesus, Balm in Gilead

It's about my Jesus

Jesus, Got up with all power in his hand; Jesus, Walk right power.

Jesus, Talk right power, Jesus, Do right power.

Jesus, love my neighbor right power Jesus, Forgive my brother right power Jesus, Love my enemy power.

Call on him, Jesus

When I burden down Jesus,

In good times call on him, Jesus; in bad times, call on him, Jesus,

When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all he’s done for me, my Soul cries hallelujah, thank God for saving me.

Related Media

Related Sermons