00:00Hello everyone, this is William Chambers. It is good to be with you all once again today.
00:05Love being with people that love to hear the Word of God.
00:08So today, we're going to look into the text.
00:11Today, if I had a title for this message, it would be called,
00:13How Men Slowly Step Away From Their Purpose.
00:19Most believers are not walking in their purpose and are not walking in their calling.
00:24Some start off walking in their calling, but stop for various reasons.
00:30And we're going to talk about why men and women slowly step away from their purpose and calling in life.
00:41Today, we're going to look in the text and see how Samson slowly drifted from his purpose before his fall
00:48was visible.
00:49He already was drifting from his purpose before we see them take out his eyes,
00:54before he's bound up and taken to prison.
00:56He's already drifting away.
00:59Ah, help us.
01:01Then his father and his mother said unto him,
01:04Is there never a woman amongst the daughters of thy brethren,
01:08or amongst all my people,
01:11that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistine?
01:15And Samson said unto his father,
01:17Get her for me, for she pleaseth me well.
01:21Now, this is father and mother coming unto Samson.
01:27Father represents authority and counsel.
01:29Mother represents care and nurture.
01:31He has all this counsel that's with him.
01:33And they're astonished that he is taking a Philistine woman,
01:38a woman outside of God's people.
01:42They're astonished because there's plenty of other options.
01:45They're telling Samson,
01:46Is there not a woman amongst your own brethren?
01:49Is there not a woman in all of Israel that you got to take an ungodly woman?
01:53So they're in shock.
01:55So they're trying to give their son counsel.
01:57But as we look in this text,
01:59we're going to see that Samson ignores this counsel.
02:02And one thing that happens when we slowly drift away from our purposes,
02:06we ignore godly counsel.
02:09Help us today.
02:10So we're talking about how men slowly step away from purpose.
02:14They ignore godly counsel.
02:15The next thing that they do is they follow unchecked desires.
02:20He has a desire.
02:23The text says,
02:24Get her for me, for she pleaseth me well.
02:27That woman pleaseth me.
02:28I'm going to follow my desires.
02:31What pleased him led him.
02:34And that is dangerous.
02:35It is dangerous when our natural desires lead us.
02:42Our natural desires are supposed to be governed by us.
02:47They're not supposed to be the compass.
02:49We're not supposed to be following that.
02:51Oh goodness.
02:52It is dangerous for us to follow our natural desires.
02:56Young men, do not follow your desires.
02:59They need to be governed.
03:01Or you will neglect the calling of God and totally destroy your life.
03:06Older men need to be telling young men that.
03:09Ah, Lord help me.
03:10Decisions that are shaped by our desire is how many people drift.
03:15They desire, they want something that's not their calling.
03:19They're not focused on their calling.
03:20They want it, they go after it.
03:22And before you know it, their calling or their purpose becomes secondary.
03:26Or not priority at all.
03:29He's called as the deliverer of Israel.
03:32He's a deliverer.
03:33He's a judge.
03:34He could have brought peace under Israel.
03:36He could have set an example, influenced Israel.
03:38He could have helped Israel to overthrow their enemies.
03:41And they would have had peace for a while.
03:43But none of that happened because he was focused on what pleased him.
03:47He's not thinking about God's purpose.
03:49He's not thinking about Israel's condition that they're in.
03:52Oh Lord, when our leaders only think about what pleases them
03:54and don't think about the condition of those underneath them.
03:57Oh Lord, help us.
03:58I know exactly what this is.
04:00Lord, have mercy on me.
04:02He wasn't thinking about Philistine oppression.
04:05None of that.
04:06He was thinking about what pleased him.
04:08He was carrying a purpose from God.
04:11He was carrying a calling from God.
04:14The called deliverer of Israel speaks the language of appetite.
04:18I'm more interested in my appetite, not my assignment.
04:22I want what my taste buds want, what I'm lusting after.
04:26I want that and not the assignment that God has given him.
04:30Samson speaks of what pleases him.
04:33Oftentimes, we see it so often, if we tell him the truth, self-interest causes us to overlook
04:41our purpose and calling.
04:43More interested in yourself, more interested in your comfort, more interested in your pleasure
04:47than you are.
04:48The purpose of God means that you are self-centered, more self-focused.
04:53Help us.
04:54Have mercy on us, God.
04:55Samson's calling was to begin deliverance in Israel.
04:59He was a deliverer, I said.
05:01But in much of his story, all you see is personal conflict.
05:06Oh, believers, when we look in your life, is all we see personal conflict and no pursuit
05:12after the things of God and no pursuit after the goals and the calling of God is all that
05:18we see, personal conflict mainly.
05:23Have mercy.
05:24Are your decisions governed by what pleases you?
05:29Are your decisions governed by how to advance the purposes and calling of God in your life?
05:37I pray that your decisions are governed by how to advance God's purposes in your life and
05:44not your appetite and not what pleases you.
05:47Help us, Lord, to learn from the lessons of Samson.
05:50Samson could have been more, but his story is tragic because he went after his desires.
05:57And not the call of God.
05:59Help us, God.
05:59We need you.
06:00In Jesus' name, we pray and say, amen.
06:01Amen.
06:02Amen.
06:04Amen.
06:06Amen.
06:07Amen.
06:08Amen.
06:08Amen.
06:09Amen.
06:09Amen.
06:10Amen.
06:10Amen.
06:11Amen.
06:12Amen.
06:12Amen.
06:13Amen.
06:13Amen.
06:13Amen.
06:14Amen.
06:15Amen.
06:17Amen.
06:17Amen.
06:18Amen.
06:18Amen.
06:18Amen.
06:19Amen.
06:19Amen.
06:20Amen.
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