WEBVTT 00:00:04.719 --> 00:00:07.040 Welcome to the MetaCurch Podcast. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.160 My name's Clayton. 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:10.400 I'm the pastor here at MetaCurch. 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:18.079 And my hope is that today's podcast finds you at the perfect time in your life that God uses it to inspire and enlighten you. 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:20.640 I hope that you enjoy today's message. 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:29.120 All right, MetaCurch, thank you so much for joining us again, for continuing to stream with us. 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:31.760 If you're new with us, my name is Clayton Tyner. 00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:33.920 I'm the lead pastor here at MetaCurch. 00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:43.840 And uh a lot of times we are in kind of these very involved, uh long series where we have a main point and we're trying to point people to a certain end. 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:57.600 But right now, in this very unprecedented time that we're living through, uh, we're very simply going into God's word and we are asking for a word from him to help us during this time of coronavirus. 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:05.280 So we're not really in a series, but every week God has been showing us things to help strengthen us during this time. 00:01:05.519 --> 00:01:11.519 As a matter of fact, we've even changed our main method and approach to ministry during this time. 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:14.879 Normally we say we meet together and we move together. 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:18.799 And what we mean by that is it's a very application-based environment. 00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:25.439 We're not just trying to hear the word and feel good about coming to church, but we want to actually do the word and apply it in our life. 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:34.159 And right now, while we can't meet together, we have changed it up, and for now, for a limited time only, we are going to stream together and serve together. 00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:36.400 And so many of you have been doing that very thing. 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:41.599 You've been streaming with us week after week, and you have been finding ways to serve. 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:50.159 You have been able to emerge and see in the midst of this emergency, and MetaCurch has been making a difference during this time. 00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:52.719 Uh, I'm so thankful that you guys have joined us today. 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:56.719 And if you're new with us and live stream, this is an interactive service. 00:01:56.879 --> 00:02:07.439 When we get to have people in the seats, uh, right now I've been asking some of our staff to come and social distance for each other so that I have someone to look at while I'm preaching and someone that maybe can say amen every once in a while. 00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:11.840 But but when we have a full house, we have an interactive service. 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:16.960 I don't just preach to you, you preach back to me, and we're trying to replicate that in the live stream. 00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:23.680 And you guys know every week, every week, I pray for open minds and open hearts. 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:33.120 For people to be receptive to what God might say, and even to be expectant, to be expecting God to say something to us. 00:02:33.599 --> 00:02:42.639 And so, what I want you to do right now is um if you are receptive and you are expectant, right now in the chat, I want you to write two words. 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:43.840 I'm ready. 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:46.080 Fill the chat up, I'm ready. 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:49.360 If you are like grammar proper, you can do three words. 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:50.879 I am ready. 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:55.039 And while you're filling up the chat, I'm gonna tell you right now, those are dangerous words. 00:02:55.360 --> 00:03:05.919 You don't have to be in a building for the Spirit of God to get a hold of your heart, to show you a new way, to change your life, to challenge how you're living, to convict you, to encourage you. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:08.800 And sometimes the one thing we don't want is encouragement. 00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:16.560 What we wanna do is just wallow in our disappointment and our sadness, and the joy of the Lord might come upon you if you are ready today. 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:18.960 Type it in boldness, type it in faith. 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:20.319 I'm ready. 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:21.520 Let me pray for us. 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:23.520 God, we're ready. 00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:28.319 We're ready to meet as your church today. 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:32.319 And we don't need a building to be your church. 00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:36.960 Your spirit goes with us wherever we are, and so we look to you. 00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:39.039 And God, we are receptive. 00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:45.439 Our hearts are ready, our minds are ready, ready for whatever you have for us, and we're expectant. 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:46.800 We're ready, God. 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:48.319 We're expecting you. 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:56.639 Not the words I'm gonna say, but God, the spirit that connects all of us, speaking to the deepest parts of us, we're receptive, we're expectant. 00:03:56.800 --> 00:03:59.039 I pray that you'd guide us, that you would guide me. 00:03:59.199 --> 00:04:03.919 We would dig into your word and you would have a unique thing for us today. 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:06.879 We give it all to you, and we pray it in Jesus' name. 00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:07.759 Amen. 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:14.800 We're going to be uh to be looking at one of my favorite people in all of Scripture when I was a little kid. 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:19.040 We're gonna be talking about what it means to see an end in sight. 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:26.480 This is one of the most difficult things about the season that we're living through, is there doesn't seem to be any end in sight. 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:28.079 We just can't see it. 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:32.160 And all of the information coming out seems to be very conflicting. 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:39.199 You know, a lot of us went into quarantine and shelter at home, and we really thought we were a couple weeks away from going back to normal. 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:42.160 And then school got canceled for a week, and we thought that was weird. 00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:43.759 Another week with our kids home. 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:47.839 You remember those days when you thought you were gonna have one week with your kids home? 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:56.639 And now the entire school year is canceled, and we're taking steps to reopen, but just because we're reopening doesn't mean it's the end. 00:04:57.279 --> 00:05:03.279 And some people say there's gonna be a vaccine and it's gonna be soon, and some people say there might not be a vaccine at all. 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:09.040 And on one day, they say that the virus isn't mutating, so we'll only need one vaccine. 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:14.079 And the next day they'll say they have found various strains, and we might need 10 different vaccines. 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:19.040 And on one hand, they say if we can just weather it out, if we can just wait, we'll get back to normal. 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:23.839 And on the other hand, they say if we get back to normal, there's almost for sure going to be a second wave. 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:26.079 Even when it's over, it's not really over. 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:29.360 And humans are so resilient. 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:33.120 The spirit of humanity is unbelievable to me. 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:36.639 It's like we can weather any storm. 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:43.839 We can stand up under any burden as long as we can see the end. 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:45.839 We can do anything for a time. 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:49.920 And the thing that's been so difficult is there isn't really a sense of time. 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:52.480 There is no end in sight. 00:05:52.720 --> 00:05:56.000 There is no light, no hope at the end of the tunnel yet. 00:05:56.160 --> 00:06:00.240 We're just continuing to drive through in darkness. 00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:04.079 My message is end in sight. 00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:10.160 One of the difficult things about being a human is that we tend to make our decisions based off of what we can see. 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:12.639 We like to know what's coming. 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:14.879 We like to use our senses. 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:19.360 And so we get a picture in our mind and we go off of it, and we can work with it. 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:25.439 And as long as we have a sense of clarity in what we can see, we can move forward with some type of confidence. 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:27.519 Almost everyone at some point is afraid of the dark. 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:28.639 Why is that? 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:30.480 Because you can't see. 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:32.480 When you're a kid, the lights go out. 00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:36.639 You know everything in your room, poster there, lamp there, bed table. 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:41.600 But when you can't see it, your mind goes to the worst case scenario. 00:06:41.759 --> 00:06:46.160 A lot of us are worrying about things that aren't even reality right now because we can't see the end. 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:48.639 We're in the dark about what's coming. 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:52.160 And so we build the worst case scenario and we begin to worry even more. 00:06:52.240 --> 00:06:55.199 And because there's no end in sight, people are being crushed under this. 00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:57.920 We like to be able to see it. 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:00.160 Today we're gonna talk about Samson. 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:05.759 And I'm probably not alone in that when I was a little kid, Samson was like the hero of all of Scripture. 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:08.800 I I loved him, and I loved him because he's like a superhero. 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:11.519 When I think of Samson, I still think of Thor. 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:17.519 Like I think of uh Hemsworth, one of the big Hemsworth, the one with the muscles, and he's swole, and we got some of the women who are cheering. 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:20.560 I got my first amen from this side because of Chris Hemsworth. 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:22.720 Thank you a lot, Thor, getting me some amens today. 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:25.279 I'm sure there's some some big eyes in the chat right now. 00:07:25.439 --> 00:07:26.480 Everyone loves Thor. 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:28.000 It's like the long hair. 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:31.839 Oh man, when they cut Thor's hair, and somehow he got even more handsome. 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:32.720 Well what's that? 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:39.360 It's like I see Thor when I think of Samson, and that's kind of who he is in scripture. 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:40.079 And you know what? 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:43.600 I never saw, I never saw his purpose. 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:52.160 And I grew up, and I read Samson, and I realized he's actually one of the most screwed-up people in all of scripture. 00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:59.680 And all of a sudden, a guy who I could never actually put myself with, I could never see myself in Samson. 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:01.920 All of a sudden, I get it. 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:06.800 He's broken, he's one of the most jacked up people in the whole book. 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:11.040 But when you're a kid, you don't see the purpose, you just see the picture. 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:15.759 We live by sight, we live by what we can see. 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:19.680 I wonder if you know Samson's purpose. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:35.200 In Judges chapter 13, verse 5, it says, Indeed, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you must never cut his hair, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth, and he will begin to save Israel. 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:39.679 God's chosen vehicle in the Old Testament to bring about his plan of redemption. 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:46.080 Samson will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines. 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:54.559 It's interesting, in the announcement of his birth, there's nothing said of the ultimate picture that we have of Samson. 00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:58.799 It doesn't say he will be born with muscles on muscles on muscles. 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:01.759 It doesn't say at five he will deadlift a Buick. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:03.279 It doesn't say any of that. 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:08.399 It says he will save Israel from the power of the Philistines. 00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:10.480 And I never knew that. 00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:12.080 And I knew the whole story. 00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:14.720 And I could tell you all the feats of strength. 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:16.960 And I never knew the purpose. 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:20.879 Because we don't see purpose, we see the picture. 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:25.679 We walk by what we can see, we live by sight. 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:28.799 We marry off of what we can see. 00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:32.399 Who do we choose to date and get engaged to and marry? 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:37.039 The one who's hottest, the one who's hottest that's reasonable for us to get. 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:39.600 I'm a four, maybe I can get a seven. 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:45.759 I'm not crazy, I'm not going for a ten, but I could get a seven, and so you look for sevens, and it's what you can see. 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:53.759 And it's almost sad because everyone has always had these beautiful stories of where they met their spouse. 00:09:54.240 --> 00:10:04.639 Like Katie visited the church that I worked at for the first time, and all of a sudden there was just a spotlight on her, and angels were singing, and the wind was blowing her hair back, and it was just this incredible moment, and I can always tell my kids about that. 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:08.799 And in 50 years, everyone will have the same story. 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:10.960 Hey, so where'd you meet mom? 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:16.639 Well, I was on Instagram and I I saw a picture. 00:10:17.039 --> 00:10:24.480 It's picture-based, it's what we can see, and the divorce rate is over 50% because the picture changes. 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:25.919 Can I have all the young people? 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:27.919 Can I have all of the people who are dating right now? 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:29.519 Can I have all of the single people? 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:32.080 I need you to understand something because you're not thinking ahead. 00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:33.519 I need you to understand something. 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:38.639 Someday, everything sags. 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:43.919 Someday, everything, someday, everything wrinkles. 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:48.080 You know the old people you see that are saggy and wrinkly? 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:53.679 The person you're looking at, the the DMs you're sliding into, someday it all sags. 00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:54.240 It all ran. 00:10:54.639 --> 00:11:05.600 I might have found the exception, and somehow my wife gets hotter every year, but I have to assume, I have to assume she's a human being, and someday, someday it all sags and all wrinkles. 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:14.559 And in 20 years, you wake up and they don't look like the picture, and you realize you married someone without ever lining up your purposes. 00:11:16.320 --> 00:11:20.320 And we can't, we can't see your credit score. 00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:28.559 But we can see your car, and we can see your house, and we can see the brands you wear, and we can see the restaurants you eat at, and we can see the vacations you post. 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:32.639 We live by sight, we can see the picture. 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:36.000 We can't see your broken credit score. 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:45.440 We can't see that you're drowning in debt, and so you just keep buying because we live by sight, and some of you are in careers that you hate. 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:49.519 You have climbed to the top of a ladder that you never wanted to be on. 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:52.000 It just was a job that looked good. 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:58.879 We can see the picture, and we're so driven by the picture we rarely stop to address the purpose. 00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:04.480 And I was a worship leader for years, and I felt God's putting a new purpose in my life. 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:08.720 I felt a calling and a drawing to begin to preach. 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:20.159 But thousands of people had a picture, and so I would preach my little heart out, and people would come and say, Hey, that was fine. 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:21.919 When are you gonna sing again? 00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:25.440 They couldn't see the purpose and where God was pushing me. 00:12:25.600 --> 00:12:29.039 They just had a picture of who I was supposed to be to them. 00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:32.320 Hey, you're preaching now, that's adorable. 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:34.159 Are you gonna keep singing? 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:38.879 And some of you are watching uh The Last Dance. 00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:39.279 That's right. 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:41.759 I have a Michael Jordan analogy for every sermon. 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:44.559 Sometimes I leave him out, but I've got one for and you know what? 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:46.960 We could not accept him as a baseball player. 00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:49.679 It didn't fit our picture. 00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:52.559 And you probably think he was trash. 00:12:52.879 --> 00:13:01.200 And you talk to his GMs and you talk to his coaches, and he got better every day, and he got better every month, and he got better every game. 00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:06.879 He was good, he was better than the top 1% of most baseball players will ever be. 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:14.639 But we're like, you can't go from dunking on Dekimbe to sitting in a dugout for half, like, it's not our picture. 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:16.720 Who cares about his purpose? 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:20.960 It's not how we see his life going for him. 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:27.840 We can see the picture, we can't always see the purpose, and the picture of Samson is so impressive. 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:30.960 And maybe you don't really know the story, but let me share some of the highlights. 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:40.639 In 14.5 Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother and came to the vineyards, and suddenly a young lion came roaring at him. 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:48.799 Let me tell you right now, a young lion comes roaring at me, and I'm gonna run faster than anyone has ever run in the history of humanity. 00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:50.080 I am out. 00:13:50.960 --> 00:14:00.399 A young lion comes at him, roaring at him, and the spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands. 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:04.080 Just like he might have torn a young goat. 00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:06.879 Tore a lion in half. 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:09.519 You know what this means? 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:12.240 Samson is the real tiger king. 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:13.120 That's what that means. 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:24.080 Some of you know the power of a young lion because I know you watched Tiger King, and I know you saw that their teeth are this big, and even a young one weighs 600 pounds, and he picked it up and tore it end to end. 00:14:25.200 --> 00:14:27.440 That's the picture, that's what we see. 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:30.559 You go to the next chapter, his exploits continue. 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:35.519 In 15, 14, he's been taken captive, they have bound him in rope. 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:46.960 And when he came to Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him, shouting, and the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him, and the ropes that were on his arms and wrists, he broke through like burnt flax. 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:49.120 Ropes. 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:51.840 Have you ever been tied in a rope? 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:54.480 Have you ever tied a knot in a rope? 00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:57.200 Can you like even even our heroes? 00:14:57.679 --> 00:15:01.440 Even our heroes, James Bond doesn't burst out of ropes. 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:02.879 He has a little laser. 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:05.440 He's gotta have a gadget. 00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:08.080 He just explodes them off of him. 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:09.679 And he's not done. 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:12.080 He found a fresh jawbone. 00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:14.799 The jawbone of a donkey. 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:20.480 And he reached out his hand and he took it, and he killed a thousand men with it. 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:22.480 They wouldn't put this in a Marvel movie. 00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:24.320 It's too unbelievable. 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:26.639 That's the picture of Samson. 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:29.440 That's why Samson was my hero when I was a kid. 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:33.440 He's doing stuff no one could do, and when I was a kid, it didn't say donkey. 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:37.200 He was literally opening up a can on a thousand guys. 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:39.759 And I could see the picture. 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:44.480 And I went my whole life and I never knew the purpose. 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:59.840 And I'm gonna suggest that Samson began to live his life based off the picture of who he had become in his physicality, and he lost the sense of who he was meant to be in his purpose. 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:02.799 And if you're Samson, you get what you want. 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:05.200 And if they don't give it to you, you take it by force. 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:07.759 And Samson's not a guy that you can argue with. 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:09.759 All he's gotta do is find a jawbone. 00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:10.240 You're done. 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:11.279 A thousand guys. 00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:13.440 He can do whatever he wants. 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:22.240 And in verse 14, he went down to Timnah, and what he wanted was a young Philistine woman. 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:26.879 Now just a refresher, because we haven't said it for a few minutes. 00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:29.600 But what was Samson's purpose? 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:39.519 You see, he went back and he told his father and his mother, I've seen a young Philistine woman, and now get her for me, get her for me as a wife. 00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:43.600 And what's his purpose? 00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:50.480 His purpose is to save Israel from the power of the Philistines. 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:52.720 We go way back with the Philistines. 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:54.240 You remember David and Goliath? 00:16:54.480 --> 00:17:05.039 If you don't know the story of Samson, you might know the story of David and Goliath, where there was a giant over nine foot tall, and he was coming against the Lord's armies, and he was standing in defilement of the one true God of Israel. 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:12.160 And little David, the shepherd boy, prepubescent, he got a sling, and he Goliath was a Philistine. 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:17.599 The Philistines are who stole the Ark of the Covenant, representing the presence of God. 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:20.720 The Philistines have been giving Israel hell from day one. 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:23.519 They are enemies, enemies of God. 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:34.720 Samson was birthed with a purpose, a purpose to begin to save Israel from the power and the might and the influence and the mockery of the Philistines. 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:49.359 And now he has lost so much sight of his purpose by living out of his picture that he is going to marry into what he was supposed to deliver them out of. 00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:52.480 And you can't argue with him. 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:54.160 You can't talk him out of it. 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:55.440 You're not gonna win. 00:17:55.599 --> 00:17:58.640 He's not listening to God, he's not listening to his parents. 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:05.039 In verse 3, his mother and father said to him, Can't you find a young woman among your relatives or among any of our people? 00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:06.480 Let me just hit the brakes right now. 00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:10.559 As far as relatives, they all see themselves as descendants of Abraham. 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:15.519 He's talking about marrying another Israelite, standing in solidarity with the purposes of God. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:19.519 Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines for a wife? 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:23.839 And Samson told his father, get her for me. 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:26.559 She's the right one. 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:39.920 And if we look at the Hebrew in Judges 14, when he says, She's the right one, literally translated means she is pleasing in my eyes. 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:44.079 And we live by what we can see. 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:49.440 And he was born with a great purpose. 00:18:49.839 --> 00:19:01.279 And if he's marrying for purpose, he'll find someone that he is attracted to on the level of picture, and that he he is in step with on the level of purpose. 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:10.240 But he's walking and living and making decisions by what he can see, and he sees the picture of what is pleasing to his eyes. 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:22.640 And he sets his purpose aside, and instead of marrying someone who will just enable and empower and push him towards his purpose, he marries someone who will stand in opposition to it. 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:26.960 He's so confident. 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:41.599 He's so confident in what he can see, what he can see in himself, the picture of who he's become, what he can see that's attractive to him, these selfish desires. 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:44.720 And Samson's strength was given to him as a gift. 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:48.640 The strength wasn't the prophecy, the prophecy was that he would save Israel. 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:51.440 The strength is a vehicle for the gift. 00:19:51.680 --> 00:20:00.319 And even though it was a gift from God, he is now taking that gift and using it for his own selfish means and his own pleasure. 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:02.799 Now, of course, this marriage didn't work. 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:04.319 How could it? 00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:07.519 It was destined to fall apart. 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:10.720 The Philistines hate the Israelites, the Israelites hate the Philistines. 00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:15.039 The Philistines don't just reject the God of Israel, but they spit in the face of the God of Israel. 00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:18.400 They are completely at odds, their families are feuding, and it doesn't work. 00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:23.519 It falls apart in pretty dramatic fashion, and you would think that maybe this was rock bottom. 00:20:24.480 --> 00:20:26.880 Maybe this is where he changed course. 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:38.880 Maybe this is where he remembered that he has a greater purpose than just marrying the hottest chick that he can find, that he was actually born with words prophesied over him by God Himself. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:41.839 Maybe that would be the moment. 00:20:42.079 --> 00:20:46.720 And if you put your money on him changing, you would unfortunately be wrong. 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:56.960 If we move forward to Judges chapter 16, in verse 1, Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute, and he went to bed with her. 00:20:57.839 --> 00:21:02.559 And in verse 4, sometime later, he fell in love with a woman named Delilah. 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:07.759 And Delilah lived in the Sorek Valley, and he found Delilah in the Sorek Valley. 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:10.160 And the Sorek Valley is on the way to Gaza. 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:11.920 And Gaza is where the Philistines lived. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:14.640 And Gaza is where Samson went to sleep with the prostitutes. 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:18.720 And Samson probably met his new boo on the way to seeing a prostitute. 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:21.279 But he saw Delilah and got distracted. 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:23.519 And now here he is again. 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:26.400 Hey there, Delilah. 00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:33.759 Like this is the moment, this is the moment that he sees a picture and remembers, oh, I'm into Philistine chicks. 00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:35.440 Like this is my type. 00:21:35.680 --> 00:21:36.960 This is what I'm about. 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:38.960 This is who Samson is. 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:42.079 And Samson gets what he wants. 00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:43.440 You can't argue with him. 00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:47.039 And if you don't give it to him, he'll take it by force. 00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:54.319 And Samson and Delilah are together and the problems start immediately. 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:59.680 In verse 5, the Philistine leaders went to Delilah and said, Persuade him to tell you where his great. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:05.680 Strength comes from so that we can overpower him, tie him up, and make him helpless. 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:11.119 And each of us will then give you 1100 pieces of silver. 00:22:12.319 --> 00:22:14.799 And it's like, surely, I mean, they're in love, apparently. 00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:15.839 And she's got Samson. 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:17.599 You talk about the perfect picture of a man. 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:20.319 She's married to the Hemsworth brother, she's married to Thor. 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:21.200 She's got it all. 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:23.920 Like, this is, she's not gonna turn on him like this. 00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:26.160 Like, money can't turn her that quickly. 00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:30.240 Next verse, so Delilah said to Samson, please tell me, where does your great strength come from? 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:33.200 1100 pieces of silver, he's hot, but he's not that hot. 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:34.160 I'm about to be rich. 00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:36.799 She turns on him immediately. 00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:38.240 And of course she does. 00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:44.480 It's not like they share a purpose, they just like each other's picture. 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:46.640 There's no foundation. 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:52.000 It's just all built on what they can see. 00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:55.599 She said to him, Where does your great strength come from? 00:22:55.839 --> 00:23:01.039 How could someone, I don't know, like tie you up, maybe even make you helpless? 00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:03.039 Like, what an odd line of questioning. 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:05.440 And Samson's not all the way an idiot. 00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:08.000 So he throws her off and he starts lying to her. 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:10.799 Oh, if they did this, oh man, I would be completely helpless. 00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:13.119 And so she tries it and he just breaks out. 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:14.559 He's not gonna tell her the secret. 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:19.839 I mean, he married someone that he knows is at odds with his purpose, and so it's like he can't really trust her. 00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:26.160 And she tries and fails, and tries and fails, tries and fails. 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:28.319 And then she gets crafty. 00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:35.759 In verse 15, she says, How can you say, I love you, when your heart is not with me? 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:38.799 She begins manipulation. 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:45.279 This is the third time you've mocked me and not told me what makes your strength so great. 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:46.960 I thought you loved me, Samson. 00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:49.519 I thought we had a real thing here. 00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:51.440 Hey, is this because I'm a Philistine? 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:52.640 Is that what this is about? 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:54.559 You say you love me, but you won't tell me. 00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:56.400 I thought we could share everything with each other. 00:23:56.559 --> 00:23:58.400 I mean, I thought we could put it all on the table. 00:23:58.559 --> 00:24:00.319 I thought we were gonna keep it 100, Samson. 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:02.240 Is this is this how it's gonna be? 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:11.920 In verse 16, because she nagged him day after day after day and pleaded with him until she wore him out. 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:14.240 He told her the whole truth. 00:24:14.559 --> 00:24:20.480 And he said to her, My hair has never been cut, because I am a Nazirite to God from birth. 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:23.440 And if I shaved, my strength will leave me. 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:27.680 I'll become weak, and I will be like any other man. 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:29.599 And some of you think God is boring. 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:32.079 Some of you don't realize how creative God actually is. 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:34.160 God gave this fool magic hair. 00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:42.319 God can do whatever he wants, he works in mysterious ways, and now this hair is a metaphor for all of us. 00:24:43.359 --> 00:24:51.200 He's handed over the secret manipulation, persistence, love, using all of the tools in her toolkit. 00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:53.359 She finally gets it out of them. 00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:58.720 The hair is a symbol, it's a symbol of the strength. 00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:03.680 And the strength wasn't the purpose, the strength was a gift to enable the purpose. 00:25:03.920 --> 00:25:07.359 And so many of you have so many gifts. 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:13.440 And some of you don't even realize the gifts that you have because you don't yet see who you are in Christ. 00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:22.640 You don't yet understand that you are one of God's children, that He has gifted you all that you need for the purpose inside of you. 00:25:22.880 --> 00:25:50.960 And some of you are making money, and some of you are building influence, and some of you are sleeping with everyone inside, and you got plenty of notches in your bed poles, and man, everyone looks up to you in your social circle, and some of you have got the great looks, man, you've got it going on, and none of it is fulfilling because you've taken the gifts that God has given you to enable the purpose inside of you and squandered them on the picture that others expect of you. 00:25:53.680 --> 00:26:07.599 And the apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament that we, followers of Christ, we walk by faith and not by sight. 00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:20.079 We walk by faith, and everyone is looking at the picture that they prefer and not considering the purpose inside of them. 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:30.960 And when we live for the picture, we might even be able to, for a time, match our life up with those expectations, but if it is not your purpose, it will fall short. 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:40.880 And maybe what Samson is teaching us is that your senses are not always what makes sense. 00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:47.359 And we can actually become blinded by our sight. 00:26:47.519 --> 00:26:48.799 What a paradox. 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:51.680 Blinded by our sight. 00:26:51.920 --> 00:26:53.680 We walk by faith. 00:26:53.920 --> 00:26:55.279 What are we walking into? 00:26:55.440 --> 00:26:58.240 We are walking into the purposes and the ways of God. 00:26:58.480 --> 00:27:02.240 And some of us cannot see the purposes of God in our life. 00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:09.599 We are blinded to them because we are relying so much on what we can actually see in the physical world in front of us. 00:27:09.759 --> 00:27:11.759 When some of you said, I'm ready, God, I'm ready. 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:22.000 I'm ready, I'm receptive, I'm expectant, and he's speaking to you right now because you have taken the gifts that he's given you and you have used them to give back to yourself. 00:27:24.880 --> 00:27:28.720 And you can try, and maybe you can get there. 00:27:29.039 --> 00:27:38.240 But at the end of it, I've lived it, you've lived it, you've lived it, we've all lived it, we've all walked to the end of ourselves and found that it's not enough. 00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:55.119 It is only the purposes of God inside of us lived out through a life of faith and love that truly satisfies, that is truly significant, that is truly powerful, truly meaningful, that finally fills the hole that exists inside us all. 00:27:56.799 --> 00:27:59.839 Samson was captured. 00:28:00.960 --> 00:28:05.599 And can you imagine Samson, the one who killed a thousand Philistines in a day? 00:28:07.200 --> 00:28:13.039 The one who struck terror in the hearts of everyone in Gaza, and now he's a prisoner. 00:28:13.839 --> 00:28:20.960 And the first thing they do, in verse 21, the Philistines seized him and they gouged out his eyes. 00:28:21.119 --> 00:28:26.720 And Samson, who has lived his life by what he can see, has now physically been blinded. 00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:34.720 And they brought him down to Gaza, and they bound him with bronze shackles, and he was forced to grind grain in the prison. 00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:46.799 And a man who was born to begin to save his people from the force of the Philistines is now a prisoner in the Philistine dungeon. 00:28:48.480 --> 00:28:54.640 He lived his life off of the picture, which took him away from his purpose. 00:28:55.039 --> 00:28:58.240 And now he has found himself captured. 00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:05.359 And it's such a sad ending to his story, except that the most interesting thing happened. 00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:09.759 For so long, Samson had been blinded by his sight. 00:29:10.400 --> 00:29:14.880 And because of his sight, he could only go after his desires. 00:29:15.200 --> 00:29:27.440 But now that his physical sight has left him, his spiritual eyes are open, and instead of living for the desires of this world, he begins to live for his God-given destiny. 00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:30.000 And he sees it in verse 29. 00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:35.599 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars supporting the temple. 00:29:35.839 --> 00:29:41.359 And he leaned against them, one on his right and the other on his left. 00:29:42.799 --> 00:29:47.279 The news traveled quickly that Samson had been captured and they had this great idea. 00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:50.640 Let's throw a party, let's have this big feast, let's all get wasted. 00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:56.640 And what we'll do is we'll bring Samson out, we will chain him to the pillars, and we can finally have our day. 00:29:56.799 --> 00:29:59.839 We can laugh at him and spit on him and beat him. 00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:01.519 We'll ridicule him. 00:30:01.839 --> 00:30:03.359 We'll embarrass him. 00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:08.559 We've taken his freedom, we've taken his eyes, and now we will take his dignity. 00:30:09.599 --> 00:30:13.920 And Samson stretched out his arms and he leaned against the pillars. 00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:18.880 And Samson prayed, Let me die with the Philistines. 00:30:19.759 --> 00:30:21.599 Now his strength is gone. 00:30:23.039 --> 00:30:26.799 He walked away from purpose, he walked away from his gifting. 00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:29.680 And he asked God for one more. 00:30:30.799 --> 00:30:38.319 One more, one more, one more, one more time, one more ounce of strength, one one more just overcoming of the power of God inside of him. 00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:40.559 Let me die with the Philistines. 00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:43.279 And he pushed with all his might. 00:30:43.440 --> 00:30:47.039 And the temple fell on the leaders and all the people in it. 00:30:47.200 --> 00:30:53.759 And those he killed at his death were more than he had killed in all of his life. 00:30:54.079 --> 00:30:56.319 3,000 Philistines. 00:30:56.720 --> 00:31:01.119