Don't Self Destruct

Intro

Batman has the Joker

Panthers and the Dragons!

Hatfields had the McCoys

Apple has Android

Tonya Harding had Nancy Kerrigan

Dwight and Jim

Who is your greatest Enemy?

maybe you think about your bully in school or even your boss at work.

I remember as a kid being terrified to stand at a window at night.

I would run past or stand to the side as I shut them.

It’s easy to stand at that window and think my greatest adversary is somewhere out there, but in reality he’s staring at me in the mirror every morning.

My greatest enemy isn't out there, he’s right in here.

There’s something inside of me that sabotages my intentions, sidetracks my goals, and seems bent on self destruction.

I am my own worst enemy.

The apostle Paul has some words that we can all identity with. This is our theme verse for this new series were starting today.

Romans 7:18-25

For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

We all can identity with this.

We are our own worst enemies, but it doesn’t have to stay that way.

God came to rescue us, even from ourselves.

Throughout this series we are going to look at a guy in the bible named Samson.

This guy was legendary for his incredible strength, but he was also legendary for his weaknesses.

He had such abilities, but ultimately allowed giving into temptation to cause him to fall short of being the deliverer God had intended him to be.

Samson was an incredibly strong man, with a dangerously weak will.

Could accomplish amazing feats of strength, yet at the same time allowed his temper to win out too often, chased the wrong things, wrong women.

All of his strength couldn’t overcome his weak will.

I think so many of us can and will be able to relate to him.

nation of israel at this time is caught in a cycle.

Following and trusting God and living in freedom.

And then turning their back on God, worship others Gods and then falling under oppression from a neighboring nation.

They would cry out to God, and he would raise up a deliverer to get them out of their mess and back to him.

And then cycle would repeat.

Today were gonna pick up in a time right before Samson is born.

Israel is crying out to God again to save them. There have been a couple decades of oppression from and neighboring people the Philistines.

Judges 13:2-6

A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. 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.” Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name.

She was delivered this message, yoru son will be set apart for a very special purpose, to deliver by people.

he’s going to live as a Nazarite.

(numbers 6)

Taking the nazarite vow was a way for people who weren’t priests to set themselves apart to experience God in a special way.

it was a very different time int he olde testament, before Jesus came to make a way for us, only the priests could go into God’s presence.

other people could take this Nazarite vow to get closer to the lord.

3 things were required:

Don’t drink alcohol.

nothing at all… No wine, margaritas, no mikes hard lemonade.

We know the bible teaches us to not get drunk. and to be very careful as it comes to drinking alcohol.

But in a Nazarite vow they couldn’t have any.

Don’t touch anything unclean

There were lists of things that would make you unclean.

One of those was anything dead. No dead person, no dead animal.

Don’t cut your hair

When you were in a season of the nazarite vow you wouldn’t cut your hair.

Why?!?

It was just an outward expression of you being set apart.

hair was an expression of what was happening on the inside.

Not that weird.

We’ve always done this.

Show Pics.

Billy Ray Mullet. - i’m ready for business but i Still like to party.

Mr T Mohawk - I don’t care what people think.

JT Perm - I don’t listen to good advice.

Samsons hair said I am dedicated to God.

But we know...

Samson was an incredibly strong man, with a dangerously weak will.

Unlimited potential but kept falling for things that he shouldn’t have.

Everyone of us have the potential on the inside of us to accomplish and do more through and with God than we could ever imagine, yet too often we fall way short.

We give our passions to the wrong things, we give our attention and best to wrong things,

We can be sooo strong in some things.

Our career, our fitness. We can lead people and accomplish great things.

but at the end of the day we don’t lead our families, were passive on the things that matters.

We can be fully devoted to so many things, but can’t commit to God’s house, to serving, to being faithful to your spouse.

We can spend hours researching the right car part, crating technique, the next hair color and right golf balls to perfect the swing, but we can’t commit 5 min to God’s word.

We are so often misguided in our passions.

Same for Samson and wound up falling short of what God had for him.

3 Attitudes we see in Samson that led him to self destruction.

These same things are active in us.

and we have to understand and protect from these self destruct buttons of our life.

Judges 14:1-2

Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. 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.”

attitude 1

I WANT IT!

Samson lived in Zorah. represents home, community, safety, family.

he walked into enemy territory to a place called Timnah.

As he walks away from home and what he knows is right, he sees what becomes his downfall, Philistine women.

he has a thing for women, especially philistine women.

Get her as my wife.

This violated God’s covenant. he has said don’t intermarry with nations that worship other God’s.

God gives laws to protect.

But Samson didn’t care.

He just wanted what he couldn’t/shouldn’t have.

To you remember this place called Blockbuster...

yeah, you would go in, walk around and rend movies. Only if it was in stock.

You’d go through the newly returned movies because maybe they’d have the one you needed.

Then came streaming.

it’s so much better!!! Can watch when I want. No out of stock. No getting on shoes.

But we look back and say man, If i could just go back to the video store, it was so great. I miss that.

No I don’t!

But we want and glamorize what we don’t have and can’t get.

There are things the devil tempts us with and becomes our laser focus simply because we either don’t have it or can’t.

I Want it!

LUST.

Lust isn’t just sexual.

1 John 2:16

For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.

The three things by which we will fall.

Anything sinful that we do can be tied back to one of these 3 things.

Lust of the flesh - Samson’s downfall.

Not just sexual but can be. Physical pleasure.

but also in alcohol, drugs, food, anything that brings yoru body pleasure. and the need for pleasure is placed as more important than anything else.

Meditate on it, lust after it, want it, need it.

Lust of the eyes - possessions.

I need more. If I just had that.

I can’t live without that boat, those shoes, that new phone.

Then pride sets in to say look at all that I have achieved and accomplished.

See how great I am.

Ever wanting what I don’t and can’t have, never realizing what I do.

Samson is lusting after this Philistine woman.

parents try to talk sense.

Judges 14:3

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.”

Bro! You can’t find a woman among the people of God??

But when we don’t get a handle on our lust, our sinful desires, and it goes unchecked, we stop listening to, sound advice, common sense, to God’s commands, or even the holy spirit.

Judges 14:5-6

Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done.

Killed a lion, kind of a big deal.

If you think it’s not big deal let a lion chase after you....

How do you forget to bring this up, typical man.

Judges 14:8-9

Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion’s carcass, and in it he saw a swarm of bees and some honey. He scooped out the honey with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass.

Samson thinks to himself, that looks like a yummy snack...

He’s violating his nazarite vow not to tough unclean things, all for a little bit of honey.

2nd attitude.

I DESERVE IT

I can do what I want.

I’m gonna take what I want. do what I want.

I deserve it.

Entitlement.

This lust and desire grows and we convince ourselves I deserve that.

I’ve worked hard.

I’ve been a good person.

God wants me to be happy right.

I should get to have what I want.

Judges 14:10

Now his father went down to see the woman. And there Samson held a feast, as was customary for young men.

He’s falling deeper into this trap.

3rd attitude

I CAN HANDLE IT.

Ive got this, i’m strong.

I can control it.

he throws a feast, Hebrew word basically means a kegger...

It’s a drunken party.

violated command 2 of nazarite vow.

But it was the customary thing to do.

Everyone else was doing it.

Today we live in a very godless culture, and the reason that everyone else is doing it, or its how they live, is a very bad reason to do it.

Just because they are doing it doesn’t make it right.

it was not right for samson to do this.

it was customary didn’t make it ok.

But I can handle it. I’ll be ok.

This comes from Pride.

I don’t need God or anyone, i’m strong. I’m tough. I can do it.

This cycles of self destruction has the ability to trap every one of us if we aren’t careful.

The self destruct is real.

James 1:14-15

..each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

I want that, i need it.

We rationalize. i deserve it. look at all i’ve done. i’ve been under a lot of stress.

it’s not gonna hurt anyone, i can handle it!

no one even needs to know about this.

how many times have you walked this out.

It’s just a small thing. no big deal.

it’s just one time, just one night,

I’m strong, it won’t affect me..

I want that person. they may not serve God but man I want that.

I deserve it.

I can handle it. Ill be a missionary to them!!

I want that. I need that car.

I deserve it.

I can handle it. I’ll just struggle through the extra payment, Ill just stop giving to God.

CONCLUSION

When we fast forward, which we’ll get to, we find Samson’s eyes gouged out, hair us cut and strength is gone.

He because a laughing stock to the nation he was intended to conquer.

End of your life probably won’t look the same.

But if you keep going in the same direction you’ll look back and have been a slave to the very thing you thought you could handle.

That thing you think is no big deal will own you.

The important things around you will disintegrate.

You’ll have to deal with the reality that why so much has fallen apart is because of your own self destruction.

You’ll look around and see the ones around you are distanced from you and wounded because you cared more about your desires than them.

The life that you were create and meant to be a conqueror in has left you alone, ashamed, addicted and defeated.

you’ll have to come to the conclusion that it all never brought the joy, the fulfillment or contentment that you thought it would.

Or, it doesn’t have to look like that at all.

Yes how miserable the pulling of the fleshly desires in me, but Jesus!

I don’t know who in here to playing with some things you’ve been excusing.

Some of you are on the brink of the self destruct buttons taking you out and this is a wake up call from God!!

Jesus died in your place so you could walk as an overcomer, in freedom.

there is still hope for you!!!

The answer is always Jesus.

it’s never to late to become who you might've been when you come to jesus.

Let’s pray.

God’s wants to rescue you from yourself.

ANNOUNCE NEXT STEPS EVENT.