How To Live Beyond Our Mistakes
I am glad that I live in the age of computers that have spell-check. It’s not that I am a really bad speller – it’s just that I’m not a really good one. To tell you the truth – I have gotten better at spelling over the years – but I am not perfect and I am still thankful for spell check. If you’re not familiar with spell-check – it will correct some of the spelling as you typing – but not always. If it doesn’t automatically correct the misspelled word it will underline the spelling mistakes in red. As you go deeper into spell-check it will give you suggestions on how the word should be spelled – but not always. There are times when a word so badly misspelled that even spell-check can’t help. (At least that’s what happens to me.) That’s when a really big mistake has happened – at that point you have to go to another source to get that mistake fixed – that’s when I have to pull out the dictionary.
Sometimes I wish there was a “spell-check” for daily living. You know something that would correct you as you go from day to day. Maybe it could be named “mistake-check.” Sometimes it could fix things automatically as you went along. Sometimes it would just underline the mistakes and let you know of your errors – and give you options. But then when the really bad mistakes happen – you realize that you need to go to another source to fix that.
Is there anyone here who has not made a mistake in their life? I know we all have. I probably make mistakes every day. Some of them I can fix on the spot. Others are not so easy. It’s those big mistakes that haunt me. They come around like the ghost of ‘Christmas Past’ to let me know what I did wrong.
Today I want to look at a man who made some pretty big mistakes in his life. His name was Samson.
Samson was a ruler-judge of Israel for twenty years. He seemed to have everything going for him. Yet he was one of his own worst enemies – he made some huge mistakes during his lifetime. Samson had super-natural strength and good looks and he had God working in his life – but even all that did not keep him from blowing it over and over time again. He brought all kinds of troubles on himself.
The story of Samson’s life is told in Judges chapters 13-16. We’re not going to read all those chapters this morning – but let’s look at his birth and talk about his life. In Judges we find that he had a supernatural birth. The Bible says:
“Then the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman (Samson’s mother) and said to her, "Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son. Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines." Judges 13:3-5 (NASB)
You see right from the start that the child has promise. He will have a supernatural birth and he will have a mission. He is to help his people out of the hands of the Philistines. Later on in the chapter we find:
“Then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the child grew up and the LORD blessed him.” Judges 13:24
But as Samson grew up – his moral character went down.
Two really big problems that he had to deal with were anger and lust.
He never really learned to control either of them. All of his life they plagued him – and later they caused his downfall.
Two Big Weaknesses In Samson’s Life
A. Samson had a problem with anger.
He often got angry – frequently he blew up. A primary motive for his actions was revenge. At one time Samson killed thirty men because he lost a bet. He killed thirty men so he could take their possessions and pay off the bet.
Another time he got mad and caught three hundred foxes – tied them together – put torches between them – lit the torches on fire – let the foxes go and set the field ablaze because he was angry and wanted to get even. The Bible says it burned up the standing grain, along with vineyards and groves.
Because of the fire – some men killed Samson’s ex-wife and her father. Samson became angry again – and do you know what he did? He swore that he would take revenge on her death. It says in the Bible that he tore into them and ripped them limb to limb – it was a great slaughter (Judges 15:8 Msg).
Later he killed a thousand men with the jaw bone of a donkey. He was a strong man – who had a temper.
But that’s not all:
B. Samson had a problem with lust.
He was physically strong but morally weak. He never really got control of this problem in his entire life. It caused his downfall.
In chapter 14 Samson saw a Philistine girl. He wanted her. She looked good to him – so he took her as his wife. It did not matter that she was not of the tribe of Israel. It did not matter that his parents advised against it. All that mattered to him was that she looked good and he wanted her. Later she would be killed.
In chapter 16 Samson had a relationship with a harlot. Her name was Delilah and he fell in love with her. Later on she would betray him. In fact – both his first wife and Delilah betrayed him. But Delilah’s betrayal would lead to his death.
Samson had a rough life. As I look at his story I can only step back and shake my head. Samson how did you get yourself in such a mess? But then I realize that Samson’s life shows us the most common ways that we bring troubles on ourselves. These ways still foul us up today because human nature is universal and it really has not changed. We all tend to fall into the same kinds of traps.
Samson made a mess of his life because he made mistakes over and over again. If we can identify the principles that cause us the most major mistakes perhaps we can work out the problems that we’re in right now and we can avoid some of our mistakes in the future.
Moving Away From Mistakes
First:
1. Learn from your MISTAKES
Samson never seemed to learn from his mistakes.
Folks if you don’t learn from your mistakes – that’s the biggest mistake you can make.
How many of you have ever put your hand on a hot stove? What happened? You got burnt! Did you ever do that again – on purpose?
You’ve got to learn from your mistakes. The book of Proverbs says:
"O naive ones, understand prudence; And, O fools, understand wisdom.” Proverbs 8:5 (NASB)
The Message Bible says it this way:
“Listen, you idiots--learn good sense! You blockheads--shape up!” Proverbs 8:5 (Msg)
If something burns you – don’t do it again. Learn from your mistakes – if you don’t you may have to repeat them.
Second:
2. Choose your friends WISELY
Somebody has said, “If you want to soar with the eagles you can’t run with the turkeys.”
You will eventually become like the people you spend the most time with. That’s why it is so important to choose your friends wisely.
Samson was defeated by bad associations – he had unhealthy relationships even though God had chosen him for a special task. Samson’s birth was a miracle. Before he was conceived his mother could not become pregnant. God told her that she would have a special son who would be a deliverer of Israel from the Philistines. So Samson was special from the very start – but the choices he made – the relationships he had – led him astray.
God has a special purpose for each of us, but we get ourselves into trouble when we choose the wrong people to hang out with. Good friends influence you – but bad friends do too.
Here’s a challenging question: Do your friends keep you from living for God? Do they tear you down or do they build you up? Do you find yourself having to conform to things you don’t like to do? The Book of Proverbs warns us over and over again about negative associations. Constant exposure to wrong attitudes and wrong values will eventually take its toll in our lives for it’s always easier to pull somebody down than it is to lift him up.
What kind of friends should you have? The kind who bring out the best in you – who lift you up – who encourage you – who make you a better person – who make you a better Christian.
Third:
3. Take God SERIOUSLY
Samson was careless about his spiritual life. He never did get really serious with God and it showed up more than one way.
*In the first place – he was always doing his own thing.
He lived for himself. His was basically a very selfish lifestyle, and he let his own personal desires dictate his actions. Samson lived by the philosophy, “If it feels good, do it.” God’s plan for Samson was greatness, and that’s God’s plan for you. He has a purpose for your life – you weren’t put here on earth by accident. But Samson’s pattern was carelessness – he just kind of took thing for granted and never really got serious and the result was uselessness in his life.
*Another thing – we see in Samson’s life is that he never prayed until the end of his life.
He was impulsive. He was impetuous. He did not ask God for direction. He just went ahead and did whatever he wanted to do.
We would save ourselves so many problems and so much pain if we would just stop and ask God for direction before we jump into something with both feet and get all messed up.
Samson turned to God only when he got in a jam and that was at the end of his life. To a lot of people – God is just kind of an afterthought – a convenience. When things get tough and tight – they turn to Him in desperation. But when everything is all right – they ignore Him. That seems to be Samson’s life. He never really got serious about living for God until the very end of his life – after everything had finally fallen apart. He was captured by his enemies. They put his eyes out – they made him blind. They made him grind grain at a mill – a job normally reserved for animals.
Samson finally prayed at the end of his life. As you will recall, Samson was brought to the great temple of the false god Dagon so that thousands of his enemies could laugh and joke about him and also about Samson’s God – the true God of Israel.
Samson was placed between the two main pillars of the temple, and with every last ounce of strength that God gave him in answer to prayer. Samson prayed then he pushed the columns down – the roof of the huge building collapsed – killing everybody in the temple plus 3,000 people on the roof. God had sent Samson to conquer this enemy nation in the first place and now God was able to accomplish more through Samson in his death than He did in his life. That’s a sad statement on Samson’s life, but he finally did defeat the enemy.
Because God gave Samson a second chance – Samson had the greatest victory at the end of his life.
I wonder what kind of life Samson would have had if he had prayed right from the beginning. Why did he have to wait until everything fell apart before he finally turned to God? The result of Samson’s prayerlessness is that he totally lost his potential in life.
But here is the most important that anyone can do:
4. Never Give up on GOD
This would be a hopelessly tragic story if it just ended there – but it doesn’t. Do you know what we find? We find that over in the New Testament that Samson’s name is mentioned among the heroes of the faith. Even with all the mistakes that Samson made – even with his anger – even with all his impulsiveness God puts him on the list of those who lived by faith. In the book of Hebrews it says:
“By faith the Israelites passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace. And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.” Heb 11:29-34 (NASB)
In a sense this is a comforting fact. Why? Because God can take a person who made mistake after mistake after mistake and still use him. If God only used people who were perfect – nothing would ever get done. But instead He uses ordinary people – those who have weaknesses and have failed in life.
Maybe you feel that you’ve messed up your life so badly that God will never love you and use you again – but remember Samson. God never gave up on Samson and He has not given up on you. God sees your potential and He remembers why He made you – you were created for great things.
What should you do if you’re a Samson? What should you do if you have made some major mistakes in life? Exactly what Samson finally did – turn your life over to the Lord. Give Him all the pieces, and let Him say to you, “I will give you the power to break loose out of those things that are tying you down and causing your hang-ups and preventing Me from working in your life.” Only God knows the greatness and potential in your life, but you’ll never bring it out on your own – He must do it in His strength. Let Him start today.
(I want to thank Rick Warren for the sermon starter ideas.)
