Samson: 10 Tests for Real Men (part 2)
- Samson is a warning to XN Men
- I could be a lot like him & need to
??? Pass or Fail ???
Test #6. Anger
Judges 14:19 hot anger
- No example of love, joy, peace
- An angry man is often “successful” but lonely
=No wife or kids = unsafe anxious environment
Test #7: Relationships
Judges 15:12 “We [Israelites] have come down to bind you, that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves.”
Selfish & driven by pleasure
- Own people betray (15)
- Bosses dad & mom around
- No friends or family or team
Test #8. Leadership
- No strategic plan
- No authority over him (believing parents not Wise Counsel)
- No followers
- No team
Test #9. Forgiveness
Judges 15:7 [NLT] Samson vowed, “I won’t rest until I take my revenge on you!”
Judges 15:11 “As they did to me, so have I done to them.”
Judges 16:28 “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.”
Bitterness leads to Vengeance. Vengeance leads to Escalation. Escalation = lose/lose
Test #10. Finishing Well
Judges 16:29-31And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life. Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years.
Discussion Questions
- What did the Holy Spirit highlight in the talk for you?
- What test are you taking in life right now?
- How can we pray for you?
