Your Decisions Set Your Direction (2017)
Judges 13-16
Our decisions set the direction of our lives. We’ve all made “short-sighted” decisions in our life. We’ve all had tunnel vision when it comes to making decisions. We’ve all made decisions not thinking that we were actually setting the direction of our lives.
And there may be no better example in the Bible of this truth than the extreme life of Samson. Samson was called by God – before his birth. He was set apart by God for God’s work. Yet the direction of his life was set by his own “self-serving” decisions.
What’s incredible is God still used Samson even with his sinful choices. But Samson still destroyed his own life by making short sighted decisions to serve himself and serve his own desires.
And maybe you’re wondering how can Samson make decisions that destroyed his life AND God work within those sinful decisions to accomplish God’s purposes – at the same time. Well, that is part of the wonder of God’s sovereignty.
One of the definitions of God’s sovereignty in the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary is this:
God’s Sovereignty
God rules and works according to His eternal purpose, even through events that seem to contradict or oppose His rule.
God’s sovereignty works in the midst of the decisions we make AND our decisions still set the direction of our lives.
Samson was a man “set apart” for God’s use, who ended up enslaved and destroyed by his own decisions. There is so much that can be studied and learned from the life of Samson that we can’t study it all today. And so today, we’re just going to look at how Samson’s decisions set the direction of his life.
Samson was the last of the Judges of Israel. The Judges of Israel were not judges as we think of judges today. They were called by God to be deliverers and leaders of Israel. And the time period that Samson was a leader (Judge) of Israel was especially difficult.
The Philistines had captured the Ark and they had totally disarmed the Nation of Israel. And Israel was living in subjection to the enemy. They were oppressed and dominated by the Philistines. And Samson was called by God to deliver Israel from the Philistines.
And for this task, Samson was empowered by God and given miraculous strength. But Samson consistently made his decisions based purely on his flesh and his own desires and his decisions set the direction of his life.
In Judges 13 the Angel of the Lord appeared to Samson’s mother and told her to dedicate Samson to the Lord from his birth as a Nazarite. The Nazarite vow included avoiding alcohol and dead bodies and allowing the hair to grow. But the vow was really to be set aside for God’s use.
But in Judges 14 we see Samson begin to make short-sighted decisions that would ultimately set the direction of his life.
Judges 14:1 (NLT)
1 One day when Samson was in Timnah, one of the Philistine women caught his eye.
And if you’ve heard any stories about Samson, you know he was absolutely controlled by his desire for women. But please, don’t turn this into just a lesson on lust and sexual sin (although it is a great lesson on that.) Women are what caught Samson’s eye and caused him to make decisions that set the direction of his life.
But, what is it for you that “catches” your eye? What is it that tempts you to make decisions that will set the direction of your life? I promise whatever it is – it has something to do with what you want for yourself. For Samson, it was women that we wanted ABOVE GOD'S PLAN for his life. For you (and me) the object may be different. But believe me, the lesson is the same.
So we read in Judges 14:2,
Judges 14:2 (NLT)
2 When he returned home, he told his father and mother, “A young Philistine woman in Timnah caught my eye. I want to marry her. Get her for me.”
Samson also had a real problem with demanding what he wanted. And don’t we have the exact same problem? We want what we want because that is what we want. It seems perfectly logical to us, even as Christians. But it is actually us demanding our own will and serving our own flesh.
And so read in Judges 14:3.
Judges 14:3 (NLT)
3 His father and mother objected. “Isn’t there even one woman in our tribe or among all the Israelites you could marry?” they asked. “Why must you go to the pagan Philistines (who are the enemy) to find a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Get her for me! She looks good to me.”
That’s such a lovely son you have . . .
Does he always talk to you that way?
The Israelites were forbidden by God to marry the Philistines and Samson was a leader of Israel, and he was “set-apart” by God to be a deliverer of God’s people – from the Philistines.
But Samson wanted what he wanted because that is what he wanted.
And so he says to his father, “Get her for me! She looks good to me.”
So continuing in Chapter 14, Samson and his parents head to Timnah (Philistine territory) to “get” this woman for Samson. And along the way Samson kills a lion with his bare hands. Then Samson’s dad works out this sinful marriage for Samson. And when they are headed back for the wedding, Samson finds the lion he’d killed and some bees were making honey inside the carcass of the lion. So Samson scoops out some of the honey and eats it, which was against his Nazarite vow to God – not to touch corpses. But Samson wanted some honey from his trophy. It was just one choice – one decision. Just like wanting a Philistine wife.
Then, still in Judges 14, Samson throws a big party that verse 10 says, “As was the custom for Elite young men”
And so this party would have certainly included good wine, which was also against Samson’s vow to God. But again, it’s just one decision, one choice – plus it’s what Samson wanted to do. And then the bride’s father sent thirty Philistine men to join Samson in his party. An so now Samson is partying with the enemy before marrying the enemy.
Please listen to this math equation. One decision + One decision + One decision = One direction.
And so Samson decides to mess with these thirty Philistine men and he tells them a riddle designed to get him thirty sets of fine linen garments (one from each of the men.) Because what person dedicated and set apart to God doesn’t want thirty sets of fine worldly garments?
It’s just one decision.
And so he tells the men a riddle based on his lion and honey and he gives them three days of partying to figure it out. But instead, they go to the bride (who has no commitment to Samson) and they tell her they’ll burn her alive if she doesn’t get the answer for them. So she goes to work on Samson to get the answer to the riddle.
And in Judges 14:17 we read,
Judges 14:17 (NLT)
17 So she cried whenever she was with him and kept it up for the rest of the celebration. At last, on the seventh day he told her the answer because she was tormenting him with her nagging. Then she explained the riddle to the young men.
Every decision Samson made with a woman set the direction of his life, and that direction was always toward destruction. And so the Philistine woman told the Philistine men which brought on another direction setting decision from Samson.
Remember, God had given Samson miraculous strength to be used to free Israel from the oppression of the Philistines.
And so we read in Judges 14:19-20,
Judges 14:19–20 (NLT)
19 Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. He went down to the town of Ashkelon (Philistine town), killed thirty men, took their belongings, and gave their clothing to the men who had solved his riddle. But Samson was furious about what had happened, and he went back home to live with his father and mother.
20 So his wife was given in marriage to the man who had been Samson’s best man at the wedding.
Partying with the enemy and trying to marry the enemy didn’t work out so good for Samson, did it? But it was enough to change the direction of Samson’s life.
In Judges 15 Samson decides to go back to the Philistine woman and give her a goat to make up with her. But when he gets there, she is already married to the best man from Samson’s wedding. And so we see for the second time Samson’s direction setting decision of anger.
Judges 15:3 (NLT)
3 Samson said, “This time I cannot be blamed for everything I am going to do to you Philistines.”
God is accomplishing his purposes, even in the midst of Samson’s self-serving decisions. But Samson is allowing his self-serving decisions to set the direction of his life – to destruction.
And so this time Samson takes three hundred jackals, ties their tails together in pairs, puts a torch between each pair and has them run through the Philistine’s grain fields, also destroying their vineyards and olive groves. But vengeance begets vengeance.
And so (Judges 15:6) the Philistines take this woman and her father and this time they do burn them both to death.
And then, that vengeance which came from the previous vengeance brings more vengeance from Samson. Vengeance + Vengeance + Vengeance = Vengeance. (Not rocket science.)
Judges 15:7–8 (NLT)
7 “Because you did this,” Samson vowed, “I won’t rest until I take my revenge on you!”
8 So he attacked the Philistines with great fury and killed many of them. Then he went to live in a cave in the rock of Etam.
Now the leader of Israel is living in a cave nursing his pride, and again, vengeance begets more vengeance. And so the Philistines retaliate to Samson’s retaliation and they set up camp in Judah and begin attacking – making life miserable for Israel.
Then we read in Judges 15:11,
Judges 15:11 (NLT)
11 So 3,000 men of Judah went down to get Samson at the cave in the rock of Etam. They said to Samson, “Don’t you realize the Philistines rule over us? What are you doing to us?” But Samson replied, “I only did to them what they did to me.”
Oh this is classic. Really big of you, oh Deliverer of Israel… I only did to them what they did to me (which is not true.)
Samson is a man who was dedicated to God, but enslaved by his own desires and by his own opinions. And so often we are just like him.
And so the Israelites convince Samson to allow them to turn him over to the Philistines. But when the Israelites bring Samson to the Philistines Judges 15:14 says, “The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson”
And then we read in Judges 15:15-16,
Judges 15:15–16 (NLT)
15 Then he found the jawbone of a recently killed donkey. He picked it up and killed 1,000 Philistines with it.
16 Then Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, I’ve piled them in heaps! With the jawbone of a donkey, I’ve killed a thousand men!”
Samson gives no credit to the Lord – at all!
Samson is consumed with “I.”
“I” have piled them in heaps
“I” have killed a thousand men
Samson is consumed with himself. No wonder we envision him like Fabio in the romance novels. He wants what he wants. He does what he wants. He sees himself as always right and he always gives himself all the credit.
The real miracle in all this is that God is actually using Samson –to some extent - in the midst of Samson destroying his own life.
As a side note, in the King James Version, this verse says Samson killed one thousand men with the jaw bone of an ass. And there is a saying in the ministry: Samson killed 1,000 men with the Jaw Bone of an Ass - & many more churches than that - have been destroyed by the same thing.
Then at the beginning of Chapter 16, Samson goes the Philistine town of Gaza (still to this day home of the enemies of Israel) and he spends the night with a prostitute. (Just another decision of lust.) The Philistines try to kill him but Samson makes a dramatic escape.
Then finally Samson falls in love with Delilah, who is also a Philistine woman, which is following the same direction that his decisions have been setting for his life. But Delilah is more loyal to her people (Philistines) than Samson to his people (Israelites.) And at the offer of a ton of money, Delilah devises a plan to take Samson down. Samson manages to put her off three times.
But eventually we read in Judges 16:16-17,
Judges 16:16–17 (NLT)
16 She tormented him with her nagging day after day until he was sick to death of it.
17 Finally, Samson shared his secret with her. “My hair has never been cut,” he confessed, “for I was dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as anyone else.”
His hair was not actually his strength. His VOW to God was. His hair was just a symbol of his vow. And so we read the continuation of Samson’s “direction setting” decisions.
Judges 16:20 (NLT)
20 . . . When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him.
He didn’t realize the Lord had LEFT HIM
Samson had been making decisions to benefit himself for so long… he thought the Lord would always put up with it. But the Lord will not always put up with it. It is only by his grace that he puts up with it at all, and eventually God will make things right.
And so then the Philistines capture Samson and then they gouge his eyes out and they turn him into a human ox to grind grain in their prison. Then, before long, the Philistines held a great festival to celebrate their idol god Dagon and make fun of the God of Israel. And they brought Samson out for sport to make fun of him and of his God.
And it is here we see the closest thing to a prayer of repentance that ever comes from Samson.
Judges 16:28 (NLT)
28 Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes.”
Samson asks God to remember him and give him strength one more time. But notice, it’s not for God’s glory; it’s actually for more revenge. But God does give Samson strength one more time. And Samson pushes over two pillars that held the temple up, killing himself and three thousand Philistines.
What a life – dedicated to God but constantly serving himself. Called by God to serve God’s people, but consumed with care only for himself. And ultimately the decisions that set the direction of his life led to his shameful destruction.
Did God work within Samson’s life? Yes.
But the direction of Samson’s life was set by his own decisions – one after another, after another.
But please listen carefully to me.
Our decisions do set the direction of our life. BUT that direction can be changed by us changing our decisions.
God is the author of U-turns. Jesus Christ came to enable you to make a U-turn. To repent means to make a U-turn, and about-face. To turn around and head the other direction.
Yes, your decisions set your direction. But your decisions can also change your direction.
The gospel message is that Jesus Christ came to change the direction your life is headed in. But for that to happen, we must stop making decisions that turn us AWAY from God and toward the enemy and start making decisions to follow God’s direction for your life.
The New Testament is full of these eternal, life-changing u-turns and the words that start it all are repent and believe.
To REPENT means to take a u-turn in the direction your life is going.
To BELIEVE means to put your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Life changing faith is making decisions that are based on your faith and trust in God.
James 2:17 (AMP)
17 So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).
Your decisions set the direction of your life.
And Jesus Christ came and died to give you the opportunity to make a U-turn in the direction your life is going. Not with just ONE DECISION, but with a lifetime of decisions to follow Jesus – one choice at a time.
If we are making decisions to serve our own will and satisfy our own flesh then we are following self – not Jesus. Which is exactly what Samson did. We need to stop saying we serve God while we are constantly making decisions to serve our own will and our own flesh.
Galatians 2:20 (NLT)
20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
That word trusting means adhering to and relying on Jesus Christ. It means I don’t make my decisions for my “self” anymore. I make my decisions based on WHO Jesus IS and WHAT Jesus SAYS. That’s what is means to actually follow Christ.
Our decisions set our direction.
Let’s make them for Christ, one at a time. As each decision comes to you, make that decision for Christ, and don’t worry about what might happen. Don’t worry that you can’t see what might come from that decision.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV)
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
The word WALK means to set the direction of your life. Set the direction of your life by faith- not by sight.
Set the direction of your life toward God by making our decision toward God – by faith.
Because – OUR DECISIONS SET OUR DIRECTION.
And there may be no better example in the Bible of this truth than the extreme life of Samson. Samson was called by God – before his birth. He was set apart by God for God’s work. Yet the direction of his life was set by his own “self-serving” decisions.
What’s incredible is God still used Samson even with his sinful choices. But Samson still destroyed his own life by making short sighted decisions to serve himself and serve his own desires.
And maybe you’re wondering how can Samson make decisions that destroyed his life AND God work within those sinful decisions to accomplish God’s purposes – at the same time. Well, that is part of the wonder of God’s sovereignty.
One of the definitions of God’s sovereignty in the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary is this:
God’s Sovereignty
God rules and works according to His eternal purpose, even through events that seem to contradict or oppose His rule.
God’s sovereignty works in the midst of the decisions we make AND our decisions still set the direction of our lives.
Samson was a man “set apart” for God’s use, who ended up enslaved and destroyed by his own decisions. There is so much that can be studied and learned from the life of Samson that we can’t study it all today. And so today, we’re just going to look at how Samson’s decisions set the direction of his life.
Samson was the last of the Judges of Israel. The Judges of Israel were not judges as we think of judges today. They were called by God to be deliverers and leaders of Israel. And the time period that Samson was a leader (Judge) of Israel was especially difficult.
The Philistines had captured the Ark and they had totally disarmed the Nation of Israel. And Israel was living in subjection to the enemy. They were oppressed and dominated by the Philistines. And Samson was called by God to deliver Israel from the Philistines.
And for this task, Samson was empowered by God and given miraculous strength. But Samson consistently made his decisions based purely on his flesh and his own desires and his decisions set the direction of his life.
In Judges 13 the Angel of the Lord appeared to Samson’s mother and told her to dedicate Samson to the Lord from his birth as a Nazarite. The Nazarite vow included avoiding alcohol and dead bodies and allowing the hair to grow. But the vow was really to be set aside for God’s use.
But in Judges 14 we see Samson begin to make short-sighted decisions that would ultimately set the direction of his life.
Judges 14:1 (NLT)
1 One day when Samson was in Timnah, one of the Philistine women caught his eye.
And if you’ve heard any stories about Samson, you know he was absolutely controlled by his desire for women. But please, don’t turn this into just a lesson on lust and sexual sin (although it is a great lesson on that.) Women are what caught Samson’s eye and caused him to make decisions that set the direction of his life.
But, what is it for you that “catches” your eye? What is it that tempts you to make decisions that will set the direction of your life? I promise whatever it is – it has something to do with what you want for yourself. For Samson, it was women that we wanted ABOVE GOD'S PLAN for his life. For you (and me) the object may be different. But believe me, the lesson is the same.
So we read in Judges 14:2,
Judges 14:2 (NLT)
2 When he returned home, he told his father and mother, “A young Philistine woman in Timnah caught my eye. I want to marry her. Get her for me.”
Samson also had a real problem with demanding what he wanted. And don’t we have the exact same problem? We want what we want because that is what we want. It seems perfectly logical to us, even as Christians. But it is actually us demanding our own will and serving our own flesh.
And so read in Judges 14:3.
Judges 14:3 (NLT)
3 His father and mother objected. “Isn’t there even one woman in our tribe or among all the Israelites you could marry?” they asked. “Why must you go to the pagan Philistines (who are the enemy) to find a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Get her for me! She looks good to me.”
That’s such a lovely son you have . . .
Does he always talk to you that way?
The Israelites were forbidden by God to marry the Philistines and Samson was a leader of Israel, and he was “set-apart” by God to be a deliverer of God’s people – from the Philistines.
But Samson wanted what he wanted because that is what he wanted.
And so he says to his father, “Get her for me! She looks good to me.”
So continuing in Chapter 14, Samson and his parents head to Timnah (Philistine territory) to “get” this woman for Samson. And along the way Samson kills a lion with his bare hands. Then Samson’s dad works out this sinful marriage for Samson. And when they are headed back for the wedding, Samson finds the lion he’d killed and some bees were making honey inside the carcass of the lion. So Samson scoops out some of the honey and eats it, which was against his Nazarite vow to God – not to touch corpses. But Samson wanted some honey from his trophy. It was just one choice – one decision. Just like wanting a Philistine wife.
Then, still in Judges 14, Samson throws a big party that verse 10 says, “As was the custom for Elite young men”
And so this party would have certainly included good wine, which was also against Samson’s vow to God. But again, it’s just one decision, one choice – plus it’s what Samson wanted to do. And then the bride’s father sent thirty Philistine men to join Samson in his party. An so now Samson is partying with the enemy before marrying the enemy.
Please listen to this math equation. One decision + One decision + One decision = One direction.
And so Samson decides to mess with these thirty Philistine men and he tells them a riddle designed to get him thirty sets of fine linen garments (one from each of the men.) Because what person dedicated and set apart to God doesn’t want thirty sets of fine worldly garments?
It’s just one decision.
And so he tells the men a riddle based on his lion and honey and he gives them three days of partying to figure it out. But instead, they go to the bride (who has no commitment to Samson) and they tell her they’ll burn her alive if she doesn’t get the answer for them. So she goes to work on Samson to get the answer to the riddle.
And in Judges 14:17 we read,
Judges 14:17 (NLT)
17 So she cried whenever she was with him and kept it up for the rest of the celebration. At last, on the seventh day he told her the answer because she was tormenting him with her nagging. Then she explained the riddle to the young men.
Every decision Samson made with a woman set the direction of his life, and that direction was always toward destruction. And so the Philistine woman told the Philistine men which brought on another direction setting decision from Samson.
Remember, God had given Samson miraculous strength to be used to free Israel from the oppression of the Philistines.
And so we read in Judges 14:19-20,
Judges 14:19–20 (NLT)
19 Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. He went down to the town of Ashkelon (Philistine town), killed thirty men, took their belongings, and gave their clothing to the men who had solved his riddle. But Samson was furious about what had happened, and he went back home to live with his father and mother.
20 So his wife was given in marriage to the man who had been Samson’s best man at the wedding.
Partying with the enemy and trying to marry the enemy didn’t work out so good for Samson, did it? But it was enough to change the direction of Samson’s life.
In Judges 15 Samson decides to go back to the Philistine woman and give her a goat to make up with her. But when he gets there, she is already married to the best man from Samson’s wedding. And so we see for the second time Samson’s direction setting decision of anger.
Judges 15:3 (NLT)
3 Samson said, “This time I cannot be blamed for everything I am going to do to you Philistines.”
God is accomplishing his purposes, even in the midst of Samson’s self-serving decisions. But Samson is allowing his self-serving decisions to set the direction of his life – to destruction.
And so this time Samson takes three hundred jackals, ties their tails together in pairs, puts a torch between each pair and has them run through the Philistine’s grain fields, also destroying their vineyards and olive groves. But vengeance begets vengeance.
And so (Judges 15:6) the Philistines take this woman and her father and this time they do burn them both to death.
And then, that vengeance which came from the previous vengeance brings more vengeance from Samson. Vengeance + Vengeance + Vengeance = Vengeance. (Not rocket science.)
Judges 15:7–8 (NLT)
7 “Because you did this,” Samson vowed, “I won’t rest until I take my revenge on you!”
8 So he attacked the Philistines with great fury and killed many of them. Then he went to live in a cave in the rock of Etam.
Now the leader of Israel is living in a cave nursing his pride, and again, vengeance begets more vengeance. And so the Philistines retaliate to Samson’s retaliation and they set up camp in Judah and begin attacking – making life miserable for Israel.
Then we read in Judges 15:11,
Judges 15:11 (NLT)
11 So 3,000 men of Judah went down to get Samson at the cave in the rock of Etam. They said to Samson, “Don’t you realize the Philistines rule over us? What are you doing to us?” But Samson replied, “I only did to them what they did to me.”
Oh this is classic. Really big of you, oh Deliverer of Israel… I only did to them what they did to me (which is not true.)
Samson is a man who was dedicated to God, but enslaved by his own desires and by his own opinions. And so often we are just like him.
And so the Israelites convince Samson to allow them to turn him over to the Philistines. But when the Israelites bring Samson to the Philistines Judges 15:14 says, “The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson”
And then we read in Judges 15:15-16,
Judges 15:15–16 (NLT)
15 Then he found the jawbone of a recently killed donkey. He picked it up and killed 1,000 Philistines with it.
16 Then Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, I’ve piled them in heaps! With the jawbone of a donkey, I’ve killed a thousand men!”
Samson gives no credit to the Lord – at all!
Samson is consumed with “I.”
“I” have piled them in heaps
“I” have killed a thousand men
Samson is consumed with himself. No wonder we envision him like Fabio in the romance novels. He wants what he wants. He does what he wants. He sees himself as always right and he always gives himself all the credit.
The real miracle in all this is that God is actually using Samson –to some extent - in the midst of Samson destroying his own life.
As a side note, in the King James Version, this verse says Samson killed one thousand men with the jaw bone of an ass. And there is a saying in the ministry: Samson killed 1,000 men with the Jaw Bone of an Ass - & many more churches than that - have been destroyed by the same thing.
Then at the beginning of Chapter 16, Samson goes the Philistine town of Gaza (still to this day home of the enemies of Israel) and he spends the night with a prostitute. (Just another decision of lust.) The Philistines try to kill him but Samson makes a dramatic escape.
Then finally Samson falls in love with Delilah, who is also a Philistine woman, which is following the same direction that his decisions have been setting for his life. But Delilah is more loyal to her people (Philistines) than Samson to his people (Israelites.) And at the offer of a ton of money, Delilah devises a plan to take Samson down. Samson manages to put her off three times.
But eventually we read in Judges 16:16-17,
Judges 16:16–17 (NLT)
16 She tormented him with her nagging day after day until he was sick to death of it.
17 Finally, Samson shared his secret with her. “My hair has never been cut,” he confessed, “for I was dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as anyone else.”
His hair was not actually his strength. His VOW to God was. His hair was just a symbol of his vow. And so we read the continuation of Samson’s “direction setting” decisions.
Judges 16:20 (NLT)
20 . . . When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him.
He didn’t realize the Lord had LEFT HIM
Samson had been making decisions to benefit himself for so long… he thought the Lord would always put up with it. But the Lord will not always put up with it. It is only by his grace that he puts up with it at all, and eventually God will make things right.
And so then the Philistines capture Samson and then they gouge his eyes out and they turn him into a human ox to grind grain in their prison. Then, before long, the Philistines held a great festival to celebrate their idol god Dagon and make fun of the God of Israel. And they brought Samson out for sport to make fun of him and of his God.
And it is here we see the closest thing to a prayer of repentance that ever comes from Samson.
Judges 16:28 (NLT)
28 Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes.”
Samson asks God to remember him and give him strength one more time. But notice, it’s not for God’s glory; it’s actually for more revenge. But God does give Samson strength one more time. And Samson pushes over two pillars that held the temple up, killing himself and three thousand Philistines.
What a life – dedicated to God but constantly serving himself. Called by God to serve God’s people, but consumed with care only for himself. And ultimately the decisions that set the direction of his life led to his shameful destruction.
Did God work within Samson’s life? Yes.
But the direction of Samson’s life was set by his own decisions – one after another, after another.
But please listen carefully to me.
Our decisions do set the direction of our life. BUT that direction can be changed by us changing our decisions.
God is the author of U-turns. Jesus Christ came to enable you to make a U-turn. To repent means to make a U-turn, and about-face. To turn around and head the other direction.
Yes, your decisions set your direction. But your decisions can also change your direction.
The gospel message is that Jesus Christ came to change the direction your life is headed in. But for that to happen, we must stop making decisions that turn us AWAY from God and toward the enemy and start making decisions to follow God’s direction for your life.
The New Testament is full of these eternal, life-changing u-turns and the words that start it all are repent and believe.
To REPENT means to take a u-turn in the direction your life is going.
To BELIEVE means to put your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Life changing faith is making decisions that are based on your faith and trust in God.
James 2:17 (AMP)
17 So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).
Your decisions set the direction of your life.
And Jesus Christ came and died to give you the opportunity to make a U-turn in the direction your life is going. Not with just ONE DECISION, but with a lifetime of decisions to follow Jesus – one choice at a time.
If we are making decisions to serve our own will and satisfy our own flesh then we are following self – not Jesus. Which is exactly what Samson did. We need to stop saying we serve God while we are constantly making decisions to serve our own will and our own flesh.
Galatians 2:20 (NLT)
20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
That word trusting means adhering to and relying on Jesus Christ. It means I don’t make my decisions for my “self” anymore. I make my decisions based on WHO Jesus IS and WHAT Jesus SAYS. That’s what is means to actually follow Christ.
Our decisions set our direction.
Let’s make them for Christ, one at a time. As each decision comes to you, make that decision for Christ, and don’t worry about what might happen. Don’t worry that you can’t see what might come from that decision.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV)
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
The word WALK means to set the direction of your life. Set the direction of your life by faith- not by sight.
Set the direction of your life toward God by making our decision toward God – by faith.
Because – OUR DECISIONS SET OUR DIRECTION.