It’s Complicated - Week 5 - Healthy Relationship with Success
Pastor Mo Huggins
Judges 15:11-20 ESV
11 Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so have I done to them.”
12 And they said to him, “We 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.”
13 They said to him, “No; we will only bind you and give you into their hands. We will surely not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.
14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands.
15 And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men.
16 And Samson said, “with the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey have I struck down a thousand men.”
17 As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of his hand. And that place was called Ramath-lehi.
18 And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the Lord and said, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”
19 And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore; it is at Lehi to this day.
20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Judges 15:11-20 ESV
“…for I am watching over my word to perform it.” Jeremiah 1:12 ESV
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 ESV
4 WAYS GOD HELPS US SUSTAIN SUCCESS:
1. God, help me stop seeing problems as
“His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.” Judges 14:4 ESV
“Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings” Exodus 3:7 ESV
“Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:10 ESV
2. God help me to always be
“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 ESV
“But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.” Judges 3:9 ESV
3. God help me to stay
“Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’” Deuteronomy 8:17 ESV
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” 1 Corinthians 15:10 ESV
4. God help me
“for the righteous falls seven times and rises again…” Proverbs 24:16a ESV
“And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the Lord and said, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant…” Judges 15:18a ESV
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 ESV