Welcome to the Liberty Baptist sermon archives.
The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty, Baptist
Church in Eastern Massachusetts. You can find out more about us
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message from God's word will be a blessing to you.
Please turn in your Bibles to Judges chapter number 13, this
evening. Some of you remember the old
commercial it said this a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
You remember that a mind is a terrible thing to waste and the
thought behind that is basically this.
It's a waste when there's potential to do great things,
but that potential isn't realize a mind is a terrible thing to
waste. Potential is a wonderful thing
in a lot of ways. Every year, the NFL has As a
draft. Now, the other sports do too,
but it seems like the NFL is the one that people pay attention to
the most where teams look forward to a class of draft
picks. And it's probably the only time
where every NFL teams fan bases, happy during the NFL draft
because even if you are year was bad, even if the season before
was bad. There's now hope because you
have a crop, a class of draft picks that are going to come to
your team, and hopefully, make an impact for the next year.
There's a team that just Stop picked a starting quarterback
that is going to maybe just change the direction of that
organization or it could be that they were needing some wide
receiver help and they selected a couple of wide receivers.
It really could make an impact they and and everyone in that
draft has all the potential in the world but then something
happens, will he start playing games?
And all of a sudden some of those draft picks end up far
exceeding, what people thought they would be able to do for
instance, a Tom Brady, or for instance, and Aaron Rodgers that
far exceed those expectations, that others have of them.
But there's also a large class of pics that were supposed to do
a lot of things and then do anything and there's a term for
that in the NFL and it's a term we use maybe in other parts of
life, as well as this. They were a bust, they were a
bust, they should have had a great career, they should have
been able to change an organization.
They should In game changers in many different ways, but they
didn't realize the potential that was inside of them, for
whatever reason. And because of that, they'll be
labeled. Sure an NFL player for the rest
of their lives because they did have a cup of coffee in the
National Football League, but in the end to always be remembered
as a NFL bust, they didn't live up to the potential that they
were touted to have, you know, one of the things that each of
us or it's hard for me to swallow, as a pastor sometimes
is knowing this that God has given each of us, talents and
gifts. But yet with all the potential
that can be found within a church building at any given
time, with all the potential that can be found in a Believer,
there are some that truly never live up to the potential of what
God has called them to be. There are some who are mediocre
their lackluster, their lukewarm Christians and that was never
God's design. That was never God's plan for
them. In fact, God gifted them to be
much more than a lukewarm mediocre Christian, a so much so
that we put it this way that God gave them, the greatest start
possible when he gave them his holy spirit, to live inside of
them, to be able to do that, which seemingly was impossible
for them before they got saved. But yet despite all that
potential Nothing much really happened.
Because of that. Could we put it this way?
Spiritually, they were a bust. That was never God's plan that
was never God's design. In fact, God, help them and
enabled them to be much more than that.
It's hard as a pastor to watch knowing that there are some that
could do great things for God. But yet, or just mired in
mediocrity, I was given this quote this afternoon and
unwittingly it fit along, very well with what I was preaching
here tonight. So, I'm just gonna read this
text from my phone. This was Charles Spurgeon.
He said this, why is it that some Christians, although they
hear many sermons? Make but slow advances in the
Divine life because they neglect their closets and do not
thoughtfully. Meditate on God's word, they
love the wheat, but they do not grind it.
They would have the corn, but they will not go forth into the
fields and gather it. The fruit hangs upon the tree
but they will not pluck it. The water flows at their feet
but they will not stoop to drink it from such Folly Deliver Us O
Lord. It's a great thought knowing
that there are those who have the desire the potential to do
great things for Oh God but yet because it does require some
level of work and it does require some level of self
denial because of that they never unlock the potential of
what God called them to be friends.
We speak this evening of Samson, Now we understand that this
could be said of us tonight, but I first want to look at Samson
here in the word of God. Now we have to be careful in how
we present Samson. I'll be honest with you, even in
preaching it. I want to be careful in how I
present Samson. Do you here tonight and over the
next few weeks because Samson wasn't all bad.
In fact, Samson, in many ways was a man of faith.
I know that because Hebrews 11 tells us, he was a man of Faith.
There's no doubt about that. Over the 20-year judgeship that
he had. He He had trust and faith in God
that allowed God to use him in amazing ways, but who we put it
this way tonight. God, desired much more out of
Samson than what Samson delivered God, granted Samson
such great ability that in many ways.
He squandered these great gifts that God gave him.
And I want to look at this here tonight, but I also want to draw
some conclusions to help us. Not be mired in mediocrity to
Not just have potential to serve God but then just sit around as
nothing more than a Divine lumps.
Just kind of waiting for heaven to come along that God has
created us, and God has enabled us to be much more for him.
But there's some things that get in the way of our god-given
potential. Would you stand, please for the
reading of God's word or in a reading, Judges chapter 13,
beginning in verse number 24, I don't want to scare you.
I'm not getting Wild on you tonight, but once we get to the
end of the chapter going to keep reading.
Okay, so, don't don't get scared on me.
All right. Elrod to read more than one
chapter at a time. Okay.
It says this in Judges 13 24 and the woman bear a son and of
course, that is the unnamed mother of Samson manoah's wife
and the woman bare a son and called his name Samson and the
child grew and the Lord blessed him.
And the spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp
of Dan between zorah and eshtaol and Samson went down to Timnath
and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughter of the Philistines
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, For get her for me to wife, then his father, and
his mother said unto him. Is there never a woman among the
daughters of thy Brethren or among all thy people, that thou
goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised.
Philistine, 's, and Samson said unto his father, get her for me
for. She plays it with me well.
Now, Mark that phrase right there because it's important
for, she pleases with me. Well, but his father, and his
mother knew not that it was of the Lord and that he saw an
occasion against the Philistines.
For at that time, the Philistines had dominion over
Israel. I just want to say here for a
moment. This does not mean that God
approved what Samson was doing, but it does mean that God is big
enough to take our mistakes and to be able to use them to
further his program in his glory.
So, let's just make sure we're clear about that verse number 5.
Then when 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 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, his mother
what he had done, then he went down and talked with the woman
and there's this phrase again, she pleased Samson well and
after a time he returned to Taker and he turned aside to see
the carcass of the lion and behold, there was a swarm of
bees and honey in the carcass of the lion and he took there for
their of in his hands and went on eating and came to his father
and mother and he gave them and they did eat and he told them
not that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the The
lion, you may be seated. Haley, will you in a moment?
Just get me another bottle of water, please.
Thank you for that. Well, it may seem strange for us
to just read from one chapter into another this evening.
I believe, reading from chapter 13 in to chapter 14, gives us a
contrast to see two different portions of Samson's life that I
think are important for us to look at and first tonight, if
you're writing this down, is this?
I see number one? Sampson's, great potential.
I see Sampson's, great potential that's represented there.
In really all of chapter number 13 but particularly in chapter
verses number 24 and 25 after the birth of Samson and it says,
and the woman bare a son and called his name Samson.
Thank you. And the water and the child grew
and the Lord blessed him. And the spirit of the Lord began
to move him at times in the camp of Dan between zorah and
eshtaol. We could put it this way
tonight. Samson was born in a spiritual,
with a spiritual spoon in his mouth.
Samson was born with, great advantage, and great privilege.
Some of us would say this evening.
Wow, I wish that I had had to Head Start spiritually in life
that Samson had. Maybe you didn't grow up in a
Christian home, you didn't grow up in a Christian environment or
you didn't have loving parents, or maybe it wasn't that you
found Jesus Christ. Until later in your life.
Here is a man who had Godly Parents.
He didn't just have parents that new Of God, they were Godly
Parents, who were interested in, raising him in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord, he had the blessings of God upon him in
his life. You say, well, how do you know
that? Well, the end of verse number
24, it says, and the Lord blessed him.
I mean, that's pretty simple right there.
It doesn't take a real Theologian to realize that God
was blessing him because God's word says that God was blessing
him and beyond that, it said that he had the spirit of God
move upon him in verse number 25.
And this is important to us because you'll remember that the
Of the holy spirit in the Old Testament.
Before Jesus Christ died was buried and resurrected is
different than it is. Now now, we understand that the
Holy Spirit indwells, the believer, you'll find that the
Bible is full, in the Epistles of references, to the fact that
the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, he's the earnest of our
inheritance, the literal down payment of Heaven that lives
inside of us, but that was not the case in the Old Testament
and Jesus eluded this. John when he's talking, the
disciples before he goes to the cross.
In the Old Testament, the hole. Lee Spirit would move at certain
times and certain Seasons come upon a man or a woman.
And then depart in the same manner, we see that at the life
of Samson, we're going to see it near the end of Samson's life.
One of the great examples of this assault you'll remember
that there were times that Saul had the spirit of the Lord move
upon him. He did great things for God, but
there were also times that he disobeyed God and because that
the spirit of the Lord departed from him and then he was
bothered and then it was the spirit of Satan who then moved
upon him. And it was David who played the
harp, that brought peace and calm to his heart.
And so we can put it this way. Sometimes we take for granted
the fact that the Holy Spirit lives inside of us I would have
to imagine Old Testament. Believer would not have that
same type of interaction because it was not a given that you
would have the Holy Spirit come upon you.
Like it is for us when we get saved.
It's a guarantee for you that when you get saved the Holy
Spirit lives inside of you. If you say, well, Pastor, the
Holy Spirit doesn't live inside of me, my answer that is, well,
you ain't saved because that's what the Bible says, but in the
Old Testament, that wasn't the case.
So he has this great Privilege. He has this great potential
Godly Parents, blessings of God upon him, and the spirit of God
began to move upon him, and that Spirit would continue to work in
him all throughout his ministry. For 20 years, the reason I know
is boy, spoiler alert Delilah is going to end up cutting his
hair. Who is she?
You'll find out in a couple months.
She cuts his hair and the Bible says that when she cut his hair
and he woke up, he didn't understand that the spirit of
the Lord had departed from him. And so that gives us a little
bit of an understanding of how the ministry of the Holy Spirit
would have work at that time. You know, Sampson reminds us of
many Bible characters. And again I'm always careful how
I use that term character because we're talking about real
people but he's reminiscent of many Bible characters who had
great potential to serve God, I think of made a banner by who,
who grew up with Aaron as a father, and Moses.
As an uncle Aaron, the first high priest of Israel and Moses.
Well, Moses, the leader of Israel out of Egypt.
Nadav and avihu would Growing up in a home with great potential.
I just mentioned Saul Saul was the very first king of Israel
and on top of that he had Samuel as his Minister and Samuel as
his priests and Samuel as his prophet and what potential Soul
had, when the whole of Israel selected him of course, Lord
selected him. But they were so excited about
coordinating him and saying, God, Save the King.
He had every Advantage possible. So, did I think of Demas in the
New Testament who traveled with Paul, he would have been one of
the traveling Companions of Paul, how would you You like to
literally sit at the feet of Paul and learn of Jesus Christ,
who I believe, sat at the feet of Jesus Christ.
In Heavenly places for three years.
I mean can you imagine what great advantage that would be
for you? That far exceeds any Bible
College that far exceeds any Seminary to literally sit at the
feet of the Apostle Paul and around the campfire at night,
learn more about, Jesus Christ. Now be an amazing thing.
You want to talk about a day and how about Judas Who literally
walk with me. Maybe the only thing better have
sitting around for three years or four years with Paul would
have been for sitting around three years with Jesus Christ
and being able to see the Miracles and to be able to see
the compassion and be able to see things that you can't
explain with what you have seen with your natural eyes and what
you're hearing with your ears and to be around that all the
time. But each and every one of those
people that I gave you were people with potential that
didn't realize their potential NATO.
Been a by who went into the Tabernacle of the Lord and
offered what the Bible called? Strange Fire.
Whatever it was, they offered something that they knew they
ought not to offer. God killed them for it.
So we understand went slowly into madness and he ended up
persecuting David and persecuting anyone who was
aligned with David, he thought everyone was against him, he
consorted with a which near the end of his life, to try to hear
from God because he couldn't hear from God himself anymore,
the man dissolved into madness and at the the end of his life
killed himself on the battlefield because he thought
the Philistines were going to slay him know.
He was a man with great potential but a man who didn't
realize that potential at the end of 2nd, Timothy Paul says of
Demas, he says, but Demas has forsaken me, having loved this
present World, I'll show you one of the saddest verses you'll
find in the Bible. Is that verse about Dimas?
That Dimas literally said to Paul see you later because he
loved the world more than he loved the ministry of Jesus
Christ. What potential?
But what a waste And Judas, we need say no more but to
understand that he had such great advantage to walk with
Jesus Christ, but yet the Son of Perdition died hanging himself,
and then getting carried along, headlong the rope breaking.
And having his literally body burst on the Rocks.
Below his name was a byword to all those in those days.
And his name is a byword today. So much that nobody wants to
call their kid, Judas. All the potential in the world
and nothing in each of these cases.
Potential doesn't translate into successful service for God.
In each of these cases, potential didn't translate into
successful service, for God. Know what I've seen through the
years, I've seen a lot of Christians, like the old saying
goes, they blow in, they blow up and they blow out They come in
maybe sometimes they think they're going to teach
everybody. What Christianity is about even
though they just barely figured it out themselves.
And then before, you know, it with all the potential in the
world, they're going the potential being gonna realize, I
say this not gleefully. I say this was not a hint of
sarcasm of my voice as a pastor breaks, my heart to think.
There are some that God has gifted with great potential,
some with one Talent, some with five talents, some with ten
talents. Remember the parable of the
talents each gifted differently but each gifted by God listen, I
give you a gift. You can like our you don't have
to like it but you've been gifted by God.
Which every single one of us who are saved, have been to use
those gifts and service for the savior, I've seen it happen
where people don't realize their potential, I've seen 10 Talent
Believers. I mean I'm talking about some
that is just like they look at something and they can do it for
the Lord they say it. They have all this potential but
yet they take these talents and they hide them under a bushel.
Some of us would say, boy if I could do that, I would I wish I
could do that. So I would do it for the Lord,
but they hide it under a bushel. I've observed some who have
acknowledged a special calling on their life but then because
time makes them afraid or because they grow lukewarm, even
though they have the special call in their life, you know
what they do, they start to walk it back.
Maybe that wasn't what I was thinking.
If that wasn't what I think for a year and a half, I lived with
the fact that I knew God called me to preach, but I didn't want
to preach. I Ooh, that's not what I wanted
to do. So what did I do?
I just kind of mired myself and mediocrity.
I wasn't going to realize my potential.
I'm not saying that I couldn't have done something else for a
living, but I would say this, nothing else would have mattered
because I knew what God had called me to do.
Nothing else would have mattered.
I wouldn't have realized my potential.
Well what if you'd made a million dollars while I'm not
now, but I tell you this, I have realized my potential if I made
a million dollars and didn't do what God called me to do.
There are so many that now, how does this happen?
How do people get themselves in this situation?
Why I think that we see from our text tonight, this thought
you'll never realize your full potential for God, When Your
Personal Pleasures, Trump gods revealed will for your life, you
will never realize your full potential for God.
When Your Personal Pleasures Trump, the Lord's revealed will
have thine own way. Lord have nine own way.
Thou Art, the Potter. I Am The Clay as long as you'll
do. What I tell me that, you know, I
tell you to do. But that's often what Christians
with great potential but nothing realized will say.
So number one, I see Sampson's great potential but number two,
I see this Samson's. Greater problem Samson's,
greater problem. This is where the contrast takes
place. Chapter 13 tells us how Sampson
had all the advantages. But chapter 14 tells us how the
advantages start to unravel in his life.
Look at all the things that happened.
Just in these nine short verses that we just read.
First of all, we see he wanted a wife of the Stains.
Now why is that a problem? They're called the uncircumcised
Philistine. The reason why is because they
were a people of that land who did not believe in Jehovah.
God, I have to mention this almost.
Every time I preach and talk about the intermarriages of the
land and have to remind people every single time that God was
not against interracial marriage and God was not against mixed
marriage. That was not the point of that,
what God was against. And God is still against today.
By the way, is having marriages, where there are those who are
unequally yoked where There are those who are unbelievers and
Believers, joking, themselves together?
I'm not talking about people who get saved and then all of a
sudden, they're saved and their spouses not.
That's different. You supposed to stay with your
spouse, love on your spouse and win them to Christ through their
love. But, but the understanding is
this is that you as a saved person should not go and
willingly find an unsaved person and try to bring them together
as one because you have different directions that you're
going. And let's be honest, the Jews
and the Philistines were going different directions and so God
said this, don't marry together. Unless there was a Philistine
who became part of the household of the Jews by believing in
Jesus Christ, you said oh that never happen.
Well, there's a just happens to be a few of them in the line of
Jesus Christ. One like a ray, have the Harlot,
another like Ruth, who would have been able to say, I am not
of the Jewish people but I realized the god of the Jews is
the God of all and the God of all is now the god of me.
That's why Ruth said under his wings, will I come to trust and
that's why she Today is in the line of Christ and Ruth and Boaz
married would end up having a son, who would have a son, who
would have a son, who would have David?
But we also understand that the Israelites in general, we're not
to marry the Philistines, by the way, Deuteronomy 73 through for
says, the reason why neither shalt thou make marriages with
them die daughter. Thou shalt not give unto his
son, or his daughter shalt thou, take unto thy son for they will
turn away thy son from following me that they may serve other
gods. So will the anger of the Lord be
kindled against you and Destroy these suddenly?
Well, Pastor is that really the way it is?
I don't know a Solomon. Because Solomon had 1000 wives
and concubines. Many of them turn his heart away
from God of course first of all the problem of having 999 too
many wives but on top of the fact that many of them did not
believe in God and before you know it Samson in a bid to make
them all happy because I mean imagine if you were one of a
thousand there's a lot of reasons not to be happy and do a
bid to make them happy. He would build temples to their
gods. To try to appease them.
So, no, you weren't supposed to intermarry.
And so here's what we see here. It says, in verse number 2, I
have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines
now, therefore, get her to me for wife, but that's not the
only problem that he was going to intermarry with the
Philistines. He also broke his vow that
Nazarite vow, That was supposed to be so important that we read
in last message last week and talked about, although briefly,
but he broke his down. You say, well, how did that
happen? Well, it said in verse number 5,
that he was going down through the vineyard and goes and comes
into conflict. Efrain Tatian with a lion and he
rips that line apart like a kid. So just like a harmless little
goat, he ripped that line up, like it was nothing and then
went through that, same Vineyard a few weeks, or months later and
as he does, so he looks into the carcass of the lion and sees.
Honey, that is a honeycomb inside the carcass and says,
hey, you know what? That honey looks pretty good.
Now, this isn't the illogical but I just had this on my mind
all week. First of all, That's disgusting.
I've been wanting to say that all week or I feel so much
better about that. I mean, you're looking inside a
car, I don't care. If it's just bones, I don't care
what it is, but I'm not going around.
Looking inside a roadkill saying, I wonder if there's
something good in here to eat. I mean, that's what that's
literally what he did. And so, he looks in the carcass
of the lion. He says, well there's honey in
there and he dipped his hand into the carcass.
I don't care what he thought he touched or what he thought.
He didn't touch. He's eating carcass honey.
And so he takes that honey. He eats it and he goes to Mom
and Dad and said, hey, here's some honey.
I think you're going to like it and they liked it.
He didn't tell him where it came from.
Um, one of the reason he didn't tell them where it came from.
Was because by reaching into that carcass and scooping out
that honey, he broke his Nazarite vow.
You say well I don't see that anywhere in the Nazarite vow
either in Numbers, Chapter 6 or in Judges chapter 13 where we
read last week. Well, here's the issue to have a
dead carcass would be to have something that was ceremonially
unclean. He was told not to touch the
things that were unclean and should the minute.
That he put his hand into the carcass and pulled out that
honey. He is now broken.
And the Nazarite vow, it was a clear violation.
So how does this happen? How does he take a woman of the
Philistines that he knows? He's not supposed to have
including the fact that his parents told him you're not
supposed to do this? How does he take of the honey
that he looks in there? I mean it says honey, I mean how
great could it be to literally break your vow that you have
kept all of these years for carcass honey?
Why would you do that? Well, I think the answer is
right in that verse that I mentioned to you.
Just a few moments ago, I said, A mark in your mind.
It's in verse number 3, and it's in the final words of the verse.
It says this, get her for me for she pleases me, well, and it's
reiterated in verse 7, she pleased Samson.
Well, Why did he not fulfill? Fulfill the potential of what
God had called him to do? Because he allowed his Personal
Pleasures to Trump. What God had called him to do in
his life? Because it pleased him?
Well, he was going to do it, it didn't matter what his parents
said, it didn't matter what God said, he blew through all the
guardrails in his life and he said, you know, I know what God
wants, I know what his way is, but I'll tell you this, I'll
have it my own way. Not have thine own way but I'll
have it my own way and that's what brother Turner used to call
Burger, King Christianity. I'll have it my way.
You know, you can go to Burger King and have no pickles and no
onions and no lettuce but when it comes to the word of God you
can't pick and choose when it comes to God's calling upon your
life. We must take it all for who it
is for who he says he is and what he has said, it is in the
word of God or we have to leave it behind.
It's either all or nothing. You say that sounds like that's
a really Well that just sounds like something that doesn't make
a lot of sense. Pastor I mean everything has
mistakes and you kind of in life you have to filter through
things and pick and choose and understand and certainly I
understand that's the case when it's a doctor you have to do
that when it's a work situation you have to understand that when
it's any of those life situations you have to do that
but when it comes to the word of God, we don't get to pick and
choose when we allow our Personal Pleasures and our
personal ideas and what pleases us, well to Trump, the word of
God, we do not well in the Christian life, and you will
never Fulfill your potential when it's all about what you
want and what you want to do and what works best for you.
And here's Samson and he blows through all of these guardrails
that God's put up. By the way, God put up a lot of
guardrails to keep him from trouble in the first place, I
just wrote These down, he gave him god-breathed Commandments,
you know, he had the word of God.
We know at least you had the Books of Moses at that time.
He obviously did have judges if he'd had judged you could have
read about what was coming up. It said more, I shouldn't eat.
That carcass hunting, it's pretty bad but he didn't have
that. Did he?
But he did have the books of Moses, as well as the It
commands of the Angel of the Lord, that were given to his
parents in the previous chapter. He had God-fearing counselors.
His parents were people who loved the Lord, and wanted to
nurture him, and treat him in the things of the Lord.
In the proper way, he had a god-given conscience.
Romans 2:15 tells us that our conscience Bears witness to us.
So, even if we don't have the Holy Spirit living within us,
some of you will remember that before you got saved, even your
conscience would tell you what, times, this isn't right now.
Our conscience can be Romans. Sir one seared with a hot iron
mean that after a, while you ignore your conscious long
enough, you know, you're in big trouble if that's the case, like
cauterizing a wound that you can't feel anymore.
You can literally cauterize, I believe your conscience by doing
wrong. So long, and there are some that
God gives up in Romans chapter 12, a reprobate mind, the Bible
says, and you'll see the sin that they get themselves into
when that happens. But Samson, had a god-given
conscience. He also had this god-ordained
common sense. You know, I think Common Sense
isn't so common anymore and there's time we probably need to
talk about it anymore because just what do you think something
is just common sense? You say?
Well they don't seem to think so.
But think about this. Sometimes people say, you know,
Pastor, I just don't understand, you know, I don't go to the bars
and, you know, I just look, I'm not gonna drink, you know,
hanging around with the people I used to park but I'm not gonna
party. Like I used to pasture.
Did you notice where was Samson? When this whole Escapade with a
lion happen? Go back and look real quick.
What we're was Samson audience participation today.
Where was he? Anybody he was on his way the
Philistines, but he was going through a place.
He's going through somewhere. He's going to Timnath all right,
but this happened in a location B tovah.
A Vineyard. Hey, B.
Tova question. Number two.
What are they growing Vineyards? What do they grow in?
Vineyards. Oh, grapes, that's right.
Grapes. What does our man Samson?
Is he supposed to be avoiding? The product of the grape, he's
literally supposed to avoid the product of the great god-given
Common Sense would say this I probably don't need to go
through a Vineyard. If he had not gone through the
vineyard, he would have seen the line and he hadn't seen the
lion. He wouldn't have killed it and
he would have gone back later on and seeing the carcass and
heating up the carcass honey and violated his Val.
If he had just said this, God has told me not to do something
so my god-given common sense says don't get close to it and
it's amazing to me as Believers. How often people want to get as
close to the line as possible without going over it as if sin
is just this line that needs to be crossed and as long as you're
on this side, Side of line. It's okay, listen.
Anything that is unrighteousness is sin and there is no line in
the middle, like the sliding scale, where we go back and
forth, listen, that's what it is.
And so we don't need to put ourselves in situations where
we're going to get ourselves to a place where we will please
ourselves. Well, instead of trying to
please the Lord, he had no business being going through a
Vineyard. You say, well, there's nothing
that says he shouldn't have gone through a Vineyard.
Well, common sense says he shouldn't have We don't say that
the word of the Lord told him not to but Common Sense
shouldn't have and there are some things listen that for some
of you are trigger points and there's some things that you
know, that Satan will use for you as a problem and you maybe
will defend yourself at certain times, they will.
It's not like God says, I couldn't do it.
Listen god-given common sense says, if this is a problem for
you, in your life, stay away from it because it's going to
keep you from the potential. You're going to ruin that
potential that God has for you to do great things for him
because you'll end up getting into things that you ought not
to stay out of the vineyard. You just stay away from it, your
Vineyard may be different from Samson's Vineyard stay away from
it and don't defend it by the fact.
Well, the Bible doesn't say anything that's just legalism
one. You don't know what legalism
means if that's what you think, because legalism talks about
adding into salvation but secondly, we also realize that
no, it's not legalism, it's one of the weights that we saw from
Hebrews chapter 12, I just need to put it aside for Samson, you
know, if God doesn't want me to touch the great product, I
probably should stay away from the grapes.
We don't have many, you know, grocery stores here today in our
state. When one of the few things that
you know, I believe honors God here in the state.
We don't have any grocery stores that sell alcohol, very few of
them. I thank the Lord that I'm sure,
that'll change at some point and every other state I've lived in
alcohol is a main part of the grocery store.
I could walk through an aisle at the grocery store that has beer
and wine in it. Not even think anything of it
but that's something for you. You know what you ought to do.
I walk down that aisle, stay away from me, stay away from the
store. I just go in the pack, you'll
get a bag ice. Go to 7-Eleven.
Instead, you'll do yourself a favor.
All right. Stay out of the vineyard because
it could end up costing, you what God is trying to do and
perform in your life and you'll never realize your full
potential for God, When Your Personal Pleasures Trump, the
Lord's revealed. Will you can blow past the
privilege of the guardrails God has given you your life but the
end result is that your potential will go large.
Be untapped by God. But let's address this.
You might say tonight but but Pastor, Samson did great things.
We're going to read in the next chapter.
Some really great things that Samson did you just mention
that? He's in Hebrews chapter 11 And
that's true. However, verse for does show us
that that does not mean that that was an approval of his
actions by God, just because God used his actions.
And just because he did do great things over the 20 years and he
did for the Lord, doesn't mean that he realized his full
potential for God. Let me ask you this.
If he's not with Delilah in a few chapters, does he have to
die as a blind man? Who is a prisoner of the
Philistines? Know.
Did his life story have to end like that?
No. Why did his life story?
And like that personal pleasure, trumped the will of God.
He looked at Delilah and said this, she pleased with me.
Well, And that was obviously his trigger point for Satan women.
He pleases me. Well, now God did you Samson,
mightily and I thank the Lord for that.
But God used Samson, despite his sin and not because of it.
It's fair to suppose that God may have used Samson in a far
greater way. If he had made him if Samson and
made himself a clean vessel, this is what it says in second
Timothy to 20 and 21 but in the great house there are not only
vessels of gold and of silver but also of wood and of Earth
and some to honor and some to dishonor.
If a man therefore Purge himself of these he shall be a vessel
unto honor sanctified. And meet for the Masters use and
prepared unto every good work. If you want to be a vessel that
the Lord can use. You have to be a clean vessel
and I understand we're not going to be perfect here in this earth
and I understand that. But sometimes we use that as an
excuse, and then just go ahead and do what our Personal
Pleasures want us to do. But no, God says this.
Purge yourself of those things. And be a Sanctified set apart
vessel that can be filled with the spirit, to be able to be
used for God's honor and God's glory. so, we have to think
about this tonight. How much different would
Samson's life have been if he had said what Jesus said in the
garden? Luke 22:42.
Father, if thou be willing remove this cup from me,
nevertheless not my will, but thine be done.
May I ask you how different human history would have been If
Jesus personal pleasure and I understand all the theological
implications, I may be oversimplifying this but just
follow what I'm trying to say overall tonight.
That when Jesus says, not thy will not my will but thy will be
done that because of that, we were able to be saved.
Do you realize what we can do for God when we say not my will
but thy will be done Have Thine Own Way.
Lord Have Thine Own Way, a clay not trying to jump off the
wheel. A clay not fighting the hands of
the one who is forming him on the wheel, but a clay who is
moldable able to be used of God and then as a vessel to do what
God has him to say have not, not my will but thine be done.
You know, you're never too old for this prayer.
Not my will but thy will be done.
And I also say this, you're never too young for this prayer.
Not my will but thy will be done.
You're never too experienced as a Christian.
You never to Elder of a Christian to say well not my
will but thy will be done and you're never too young in the
faith. To say not my will but thy will
be done. You know, there's a phrase that
goes along with this that I think would help us tonight.
I'm going to give you this and we'll be done.
It was probably seven or eight years ago that a couple
different things were happening at the same time.
One, I completed, my chaplaincy program through a organization
out in the midwest, as I Was preparing to be able to help be
a chaplain here in Easton and it looked like for a while, but
that was really something was going to happen.
I already done my first ride along with the sergeant here in
town. I'd actually gone to the local
lock up to be able to look around and walk around with one
of the wardens for the day. All part of Chaplaincy
preparation. And so, I had that going on.
Also, at the same time, we had just got our church van and we
had bought it, but we hadn't been able to register it
properly yet, because of the fact that the church was
organizing and we had to change our name legally from what we
were before to Liberty, Baptist Church of Easton with the state.
And we really couldn't register the van until we had that work
taken care of. And so, there were several
months where our church van was literally sitting out in the
parking lot without plates. Just sitting there waiting.
Going to be able to run it and I remember it was about 3:00 in
the morning or so sometime in the winter.
Several years ago when I got a call and I slipped on my phone
and said, Easton police department and immediately I
woke up I was like this is it it's time.
It's Chaplain time and so I'm trying to find my clothes.
I'm getting ready. I'm going out in the other room
and I'm and I'm going to call back and I'm still really not
quite with it. Because like three in the
morning for me is like, Three in the morning.
And so I'm not quite with it yet and so I was like, hello.
This is is Pastor Rivero, is everything okay?
And they said are you the owner of a green Ford Econoline van
and I said, excuse me, still not really making the connection
said, are you the owner of a green Econoline van and I said
oh well our churches he said well I want you to know tonight
that there's been a crime in your vehicle has been involved
That crime this evening and so immediately my mind starts going
to what what's going on here. What's this?
All about? I thought I was going to help
someone with a crime and I'm the victim of a crime.
Well, that took a turn immediately.
Well, it ended up that because that Dan had sat there for so
long, the battery was dead. Well, that's not a problem
because the van wasn't going anywhere.
Someone at 3:00 in the morning, was trying to take the van,
steal, it pulled away. So they're trying to hotwire it
and they didn't realize that the battery was dead.
Now I'll be honest with you, they were able to hotwire it.
I probably would give him a medal.
Well, I mean that would have been incredible if they had the
ability to be able to hotwire this hand.
But so anyway, a Cruiser pulls up and, you know, here's a guy
trying to hotwire a van with no plates and he says, sir is
everything. All right, he goes on to.
This is my van. I'm just trying to get it
started and he says, well why doesn't your vein have any
plates? And his only answer was to drop
everything and run. And so he ran about three or
four blocks to the South probably maybe stop by Ralph and
Tom's, who knows, but going that direction.
He's picked him up, they caught him and there was no problem,
but the police called me to be able to inform me that the
Church of the victim of crime. They had trouble tracking me
down because it was still registered the previous owner.
They called the previous owner 3:00 in the morning who, by the
way, was a very appreciative of it, who gave him.
My number and said, don't even own it anymore.
Call this guy. So I get the phone call.
Anyway, I was still kind of psyched up at being able to help
as a Chaplain. And I'm still kind of confused,
and it's till 3:00 in the morning.
And so he explains all this to me and, and he says, all right.
Well, you know, You know, Pastor in the morning, you know, just
come down, the station will work everything out of the van should
be fine, but we do just need to get a statement from you.
About the van, work, some details out.
And I don't know what it, what it was about, being up all this
going on, all the swirling, my mind, I'm still so tired and
immediately, you know, I mentioned to him that I, you
know, I thought, you know, I would serve in a police chaplain
all these things. And I said something that I feel
like I've seen in movies and television before, but I said, I
said, this is what I said. And I said, well, thank you.
I said I serve at the pleasure of the Easton Police Department.
and then I hung up and I thought That's one of the weirdest
things that's ever come out of my mouth and my life.
I serve at the pleasure of the Easton police department, but
that's like a phrase that people use in police or in politics,
especially if you're talking about a cabinet, the cabinet
serves at the pleasure of the president, technically, in a
police department, you serve at the pleasure of the chief.
And that means that if Chief says do or don't or come or Go.
That's what you do. It's really not up to you.
You do what they say because you serve at their pleasure.
If the president says, I want you to sign this bill or a sign
this treaty or not, or I want you to draw up this this
legislation or not. It's not up to you service but
you don't want to do it. That's fine.
He's just going to fire you and by the way, history is born that
out. That's the way it works.
But I love that phrase, maybe a little too much apparently from
that night. I serve at the pleasure of You
realize we serve at the pleasure of the Lord Jesus Christ. we
ought to realize that, but I feel like a lot of Christians
don't we often times serve at the pleasure of our pleasure.
Lord. I serve at the pleasure of my
pleasure. Say, well, let's take a little
too far. She pleases me.
Well, I serve at the pleasure of my pleasure, do you realize that
I believe God derives, great pleasure from our obedience
knowing that we're able to reach souls for Christ knowing they
were able to do the things God calls us to do that.
We literally are to serve at the pleasure of the Lord, and that
means if he wants us here, we're here.
If he wants us to go, we go. If he says, come, we come.
If he says go, we go. If he says, talk, we talk.
If he says, hold your mouth, we hold our mouths.
We serve at his pleasure, but I'm afraid far too.
Many Christians serve at the pleasure of pleasure and because
of that what ends up happening is not much ends up happening.
There's wheat that doesn't get taken in.
There's fruit that doesn't get plucked.
There's water at our feet, that doesn't get drawn up that all of
these things that God has potential for us to do and all
these things that God has gifted us to be able to do.
We don't end up doing and because of that people are
spiritual busts. Now, I would never look at a
person and say, you're a spiritual must because, let's be
honest, there have been times in all of our lives, that that
could be labeled against us. I have no desire to look.
Someone and say that that's for God to decide in God alone.
But I do have to wonder the Judgment seat of Christ for some
who are saved, who think they're getting gold and silver and
precious stones. And their think there's some of
God's choice is servants wonder if God will look at them and say
sure, you acted with two talents, but I gave you a 10,
you wasted 8, what did you do with those eight give account
for them, you say, God, won't ask for account.
He asked for the account of the one, from the man who broke it
and buried it in the earth. And he said this, you didn't do
right with it, give it to the other one.
I'm going to deal. Oh with you separately because
you didn't trust me to be able to get the Returns on the
investment of what I gave you with the one.
So tonight, do we serve at the pleasure of pleasure Or do we
serve at the pleasure of our savior?
Sometimes you're too busy. Skipping Around The Vineyards.
We're too busy looking at what we want to look at and doing
what we want to do. And then when God asks us to do
something, or the church asks us to do something where the pastor
asked us to do something. It's almost as if someone's
asked you to construct the Hoover Dam by yourself.
Brick by Brick. When we realize what was asked
of Jesus Christ by the father, was to go and be born to a
virgin to live for 33 years to die in a cruel cross.
To know that he would go under go suffering, that no human
being has ever suffered and to undergo suffering, not just
physically, but spiritually that no one's ever gone through that.
Literally the connection, I believe between Father and Son
for several hours were severed there because of the sinfulness
that was brought Upon Jesus Christ, which is why he said my
God my God. Why hast Thou forsaken me?
The only time in the word of God, he doesn't call him father.
And we look at those great sacrifices that were made, but
yet it was for the joy that was set before him.
Hebrews chapter 12, he says not my will but thy will be done.
But for God's children, it's about my pleasure.
What I want, we've got it backwards friend, and until we
get it right this nation won't see Revival churches won't see.
Revival families won't receive Revival.
I'm not saying I've got it all figured out, I don't, but I want
to do better. I want to move forward and doing
that means. My Personal Pleasures, cannot
Trump, gods revealed will, and God's reveal word in my life.
Thank you for listening to this sermon from the pulpit of
Liberty, Baptist Church. If this message was a blessing
to you, or if there's any way we can serve you, please let us
know by contacting us at info. At my Liberty Baptist dot org.
Or you can visit us this Sunday at 800 Washington Street and
East. And Massachusetts, may the Lord
bless you as you grow in his word.
Thank you for listening to this sermon from the pulpit of
Liberty, Baptist Church. If this message was a blessing
to you, or if there's any way we can serve you, please let us
know by contacting us at info. At my Liberty Baptist dot org.
Or you can visit us this Sunday at 800 Washington Street and
East. And Massachusetts, may the Lord
bless you as you grow in his word.