Seeking God’s counsel
Prov 14:15 NIV
15 A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.
We have a free choice, we decide what we say, think, or do, our conscious can either help or hurt, it’s not fool proof.
We can ignore it
Some have been seared as with a hot iron. (No feelings, unmoved)
It can be faulty
1 Tim 4:1-2 Even the word of God says There is a way which seem right to a man, but the end is destruction
We should give thought to the steps we take in life.
Failing to seek God’s Council: Samson was a man who needed Godly guidance in his life, a man who needed help beyond his strength. (Physical strength is a great gift, but without moral integrity, and guidance it will only serve to weaken and destroy us.)
Judg 16:15-22 NIV
15 Then she said to him, "How can you say, ’I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength." 16 With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.
17 So he told her everything. "No razor has ever been used on my head," he said, "because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man."
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, "Come back once more; he has told me everything." So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. 19 Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.
20 Then she called, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!"
He awoke from his sleep and thought, "I’ll go out as before and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had left him.
21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison.
Spiritual lessons from Samson (We was confidant in himself, he didn’t seek council with God)
But in spite of his great physical strength Samson was a foolish man
Samson was a person with great potential who fell short because of his sin and disobedience.
Mighty in physical strength, he was weak in resisting temptation.
His life is a clear warning against the dangers of self-indulgence and lack of discipline.
Samson was a wild, self-willed man.
Passion ruled. Samson lost at once his godliness and his manliness; it severed him from God the strength of his manhood.
Samson was virtually to reduce him to the lowest state of degradation and shame.
Casting the pearls of our faith before godless people can lead to our own spiritual blindness and slavery (16:4-21 see Matt 7:6).
We can clearly see the importance thinking about our steps.
Ps 111:10 NIV
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.
Prov 2:10-11 NIV
10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.
Prov 10:23 NIV
23 A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct, but a man of understanding delights in wisdom.
Spiritual lessons from Samson (Be Confident in God and seek council)
1. Knowing that God is your ability, and not yourself
Samson felt invincible, he did not worry about the consequences of his actions.
A correct perspective keeps me going or cripples my progress.
It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope.
When my perspectives are right, there’s no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.
2. Seeking Godly councile leads us in walking with God, and making the right choice’s
There is a solemn choice in life. Life and death, light and darkness, truth and lies are set before us.
At every instant the cry comes for us to choose one or the other, and the choice of one involves the putting away of the other. And we must choose.
Samson ignored this great power
3. Our Choice determines our fate
Life is not always fair or easy, but we have the ability to determine the out come of our lives, by the decisions we make.
Decisions made by maturity or by ignorance.
Fortunately there is help, life can be turned around, healing can take place. Our lord came that we might have life, and even a more abundant life.
Even so, one single decision is enough to determine man’s destiny, either heaven or hell. Have you made the right decision?
4. The greatest blessing God gives is His presence. If I could choose any of life’s blessings.
I certainly would not ask for wealth, because wealth cannot bring freedom from pain, concern, or anxiety.
I certainly would not ask for popularity, because there is no rest for the worlds leaders. My choice, my highest honor, would be to have God with me always.
When God is with us, there is no difference between Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace (Dan. 3:19) and a comfortable bed. It does not matter! We will be happy in either.
When God is with us, His divine love surrounds us.
If you are poor, despised, or slandered, this blessing is not shortened. Take it with you, and go on your way rejoicing.
5. Walking with God empowers us when we face life’s difficulties
A. To be beat-up, or to be up-beat.
To say with Jacob in Genesis 42:36: All these things are against me. Or to say with Paul in Romans 8:28: All these things are working together for good to those who love the Lord.
B. For Holiness to leads to maturity.
In the cockpit of an airplane their is a fine-tuned radar mechanism. All during the trip, the plane is flown on automatic pilot, which continually yet imperceptibly corrects the course of the plane to keep it on track. That’s what God’s Word does for us. It nudges us to keep us on course. It keeps affecting the way we think the way we draw conclusions, and the way we make our daily life decisions.
C. For a understanding of holiness
Many seem to think that holiness is the end of your identity, fun,
But nothing could be further from the truth, Holiness is the everyday business of every Christian. It evidences itself in the decisions we make and things we do, hour by hour, day by day
There is a beauty of Holiness,
Fullness of life, Fruit of God’s Spirit, Communion with God, freedom, and removal of guilt and shame.
Summery
YEARS AGO Joe Bayly, the late Eternity magazine columnist, visited some German Christians who had been devoted soldiers in the German army during World War II. Two of them had been put up for promotion to become second lieutenants in the Nazi army. The commandant told them he would approve the promotion on one condition: that they join the Officers Club. Being a member of the club would require them to attend some weekend dances. These young men believed that dancing was wrong because it could lead to immorality. Because of their convictions, they turned down the promotion.
Later in their military careers these same men were assigned to the death camps where thousands of Jews were stuffed into ovens and killed. Even though they did not directly participate in the slaughter, they knew what was going on. Yet they never voiced any protest.
When Joe Bayly talked to them many years after the war, they looked back on their experiences with no regret, convinced that they had made right decisions. For them, not conforming to social pressure and refusing to dance was an act of righteousness. And conforming to patriotic mass murder and remaining silent while thousands of Jews burned in ovens left them with no feelings of unrighteousness.
1. When we set our own standard of external righteousness, we are capable of any evil.
Samson acted by what he valued
2. When we are filled with His righteousness, no good is too great.
Act by what God values
Prov 14:15 NIV
15 A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.
