Steven Furtick - God Gave It to Me
Now it is time for the Word of God. What a wonderful time of worship today. I trust that wherever you are you've been able to worship, to prepare your heart, warm your heart to God's presence. I want to take you over to Judges, chapter 15, for just a moment. There is a classic rock radio host I listen to, and he has a segment called "Bands That Should Have Been Huge But Weren't". I think one day I'll get to do a series called "Bible Stories That Should Have Been Huge But Weren't".
This is one of those. I've never preached it before on a Sunday. I was privileged to share it with some leaders a year and a half ago, and today I would like to share it with you, prayerfully, that God would open your heart as I open my mouth, and that he would open the heavens over your life and your home to speak to you exactly what you need for the challenges you face. Judges 15:14-20. We're going to talk about Samson for a moment today. Not that story. Not the one where he got his hair cut off and lost his strength and Popeye didn't eat his spinach. Not the cartoon part.
You know, we cartoonize these Bible characters. We kind of make them like these mythical figures, but the only real hero in the Bible is Jesus. Everybody else we study is human. We love that, because they do heroic things, but they have human tendencies. If I looked long enough at your life, I'm sure I'd find some heroic things, some amazing accomplishments, some incredible characteristics about your life, your kindness, the way you love, and the way you are used by God. But if I looked a little bit closer, I'm sure I would find some human tendencies. Even these singers behind me.
Don't let the fact that they sing like angels fool you, because all of us, whether we preach or sing or parent, have deeply heroic capacities and deeply human instincts. Samson, of course, is used as a model for that. But I want to tell you about something in his life today that you've probably never heard about before. The Bible says in Judges 15:14, "As he approached Lehi, the Philistines…" That was the enemy he was delivering Israel from. "…came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him".
Let's note something really quickly. It says the Philistines (plural) came toward him (singular). So he's outnumbered. He's outmatched. He's outmanned. So, whatever is going to happen, if he's going to survive it, it is going to have to be supernatural. Somebody in here is looking at something running toward you in your life right now, and for you to survive it, something supernatural is going to have to happen. Well, the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. "The ropes on his arms became like charred flax…"
I didn't even see a fire. Some of the stuff God does to set you free you won't see; he'll just do it. You won't even see the fire, but he'll free you. "…and the bindings dropped from his hands". What was God doing? He was freeing him for the fight. God is freeing you for the fight. Not from the fight. You've still got to fight, but you're going to have two free hands to do it with and the Spirit of God. Now look at verse 15. He has two free hands, but he needs a weapon.
The Bible says, "Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men. Then Samson said, 'With a donkey's jawbone I have made donkeys of them. With a donkey's jawbone I have killed a thousand men.'" Samson has a little rap career over there on SoundCloud. Now listen to this. This is crazy. "When he finished speaking…" When he finished killing a thousand enemies…one man…with a donkey's jawbone. Here's a little diss track to the Philistines… "When he finished [that] he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi". Which means Jawbone Hill. Really creative guy, Samson.
"Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord, 'You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised? [Into the hands of my enemy? Into the hands of these Philistines?]'" The Bible says, "Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi. Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines".
The last several weeks, I've been in a little spontaneous series. I didn't even realize it was a series when I started it off. Many of the things you start on in your life, God doesn't show you what they are until you get through them, so don't give up. I preached a few weeks ago a sermon called God Can Use This Too. That was the first week. Then the next week I came back and talked about how God Will Work It In. We were surprised, because we were expecting to hear, "God will work it out," but we realized that a lot of times the external conflict in our lives is not God's primary priority; it is our character.
We realized he is building us up on the inside so that whatever he blesses us with, we will be able to accommodate that blessing. God will work it in. Anything that is shocking or surprising to you in your life does not have that same effect on God. He has seen whatever it is you're dealing with before, and he uses all of those things for his purpose. Then last week, I had a really good time talking about God's Got the Hard Part, just to remind you that when you get there, God might have already done the thing you thought you were going to have to do that kept you from wanting to show up. I just thought of this example when the women went to the tomb, and they were like, "Who's going to roll the stone away? We're not strong enough for that".
When they got there, they found out God dispatches angels in advance of your arrival. The angel had already rolled the stone, and they were like, "Oh! God already did that". "Oh! I could have just relaxed and enjoyed the journey. Oh! I didn't have to stress about that so much, because God's got the hard part". Well, these are three statements you can make whenever you find yourself in a fight, wherever that fight breaks out. I talked earlier about how you're freed up to fight. Well, I believe you sometimes also have to have some faith statements to fight with. These three things are powerful tools.
So when the Enemy says to you, "I can't do this," and you get that thought in your head, and you say, "I can't do this…" That's the Devil talking, but he's just using your voice to do it. You're saying, "I can't do this," so you just remind him, "God's got the hard part". Or when something comes up…it just pops up, and you didn't see it coming…you say, "Oh, God will work it in". Then when something happens that you didn't want to happen, you just say, "Oh, God can use this too, the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, the emotions I want and the emotions I can't get counseling to cast out. God can use this too".
Today I want to give you a fourth statement. The title of my sermon is God Gave It to Me. Say that out loud. "God gave it to me". And don't say it timidly, like you have to be shy about it. Look at your neighbor and say, "God gave it to me". Ask them, "Do you like my hair? God gave it to me. If you think I ought to have more, take it up with him. He gave me the follicles he gave me. God gave it to me". This view toward life will keep you from becoming prideful, because you will realize that even the things you are good at are things that came from grace and were grown by God. You will never boast again in a gift that God gave you, because if it was a gift, what are you bragging about? If it was a gift, then why would you feel puffed up?
I'll show you a Scripture about this. In 1 Corinthians 4:7, the church was fighting about different leaders. They liked this leader and that leader and this preacher and that preacher. Paul asked a series of three questions. First Corinthians 4:7: "For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not"? Tell your neighbor, "You're not that smart". The idea you had… That hurt your feelings a little bit? You felt like I'm attacking your IQ? No, I'm just saying there's a difference between a good idea and a God idea, and the ones that really change our lives are the ideas that come from God.
How many know God can give you one idea that can revolutionize your company? One idea, one person to reach out to who can help you with the challenge you're dealing with that you don't know who to ask about. God can give you one idea that can result in a brand-new path for your life. So we learn to value what God gives. It's different when God gives it. Another Scripture I would share with you before we talk about Samson briefly is when Jesus told his disciples, "I'm leaving you physically, but I'm giving my peace to you internally. And I do not give as the world gives".
What does that mean? They can't take it away because they didn't put it there. So, nobody can steal your peace without your permission. Nobody can ruin your day unless you turn the responsibility over to them. The Bible says, "This is the day that the Lord has made". So, the one who gave you the day, the one who put you in this moment of your life, the one who gave it to you, also expects you to guard it, to guard what you have been given. It is so important that the gifts God has put inside of you, the ways he has blessed you, the things he has put in your life and called you a steward over, that you take care of what God gave you. "You take care of the car I gave you. Take care of it. Clean that thing up. I gave it to you. I know you paid a little bit of it, but I paid most of it, so take care of what I gave you".
The Bible I'm preaching from today… First of all, it's very big, and secondly, it's very special. This Bible belonged to my father-in-law. He had it for 20 years. (He's still living. It sounded like I was doing his funeral for a minute there, didn't it?) I told him over and over again I would go sneak and read this Bible at his house, because he was a pastor for 20 years, and he put every note he ever preached from in this Bible. I would go down there and steal sermons. I would go in his basement and flip through pages and steal sermons and outlines from him, because they're all there in the margin. I don't know if you can see that. It's very special to me. You couldn't buy this Bible from me, because a couple of Christmases ago he said, "You don't have to wait for me to die. I'll just give it to you now. That way you'll pray for me to stay alive longer". And he gave it to me.
So, if you want a Bible today here at church, we will give you one. We have them to give to you for free, but not this one. You can't have this one because it was given to me. It has the same words as the free one on the phone, but it was given to me, so it's different. So don't offer me $100. You can't have it. Don't offer me $1,000. You can't have it. If you get to $10,000, we can talk. Maybe you just copy the notes and you take the Bible and I take the wisdom. But I'm saying it would take a lot. There is a number. Oh, there's a number. But this one is different because of who gave it to me. Sometimes I worry about you, because I think you give stuff away too cheap that was given to you by somebody really important.
I see you giving away your dignity sometimes just to defend a political position. You would give away your dignity, your respect, your kindness, and the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, to come down to a hateful level that was dictated by a cancerous culture? You would give away your healthy heart to engage in a hellish debate? I just want to say this isn't a political message, but Jesus gave us unity as his church. So let's not let a devil divide us over stupid stuff when it took his precious blood to bring us together. It's different when it's given. If we're just unified over some good ideas… This is what is remarkable to me about the story of Samson. He represents a flawed figure who was given at a specific time in history to deliver a people from their sin.
One of the interesting things about Samson is that from his very birth he was different. I don't know if you know this about Samson, because all we ever talk about is how Delilah cut his hair off and he was a dummy and he shouldn't have done that. Just like we do with everybody, by the way. We just summarize their whole life down to one thing, either their gift or their glitch. Glitch one time and we will write your biography with one sentence on your one glitch. On the other hand, we are just as good at deifying people for what they do well. So we will call you a singer… This dude Instagram messaged me one time. (I just told y'all not to get caught up in this stuff, but sometimes I do.) I was singing a song that I wrote, and he said, "Preachers preach. Singers sing. Stick to preaching, Steven".
I wanted to tell him what he could do with that comment, because you don't get to tell me what to do with the song God put in my heart. It's different when it's given. (Now I'm up here carnal, and I need to pray just to reset the whole tone of the auditorium through the Holy Spirit.) Let me encourage you with this. Never let anybody identify you with your gift or with your glitch, because you are so much more than both of those. You are so much more than addict. You are so much more than that. You are so much more than organist or guitarist. You are so much more than mom. Don't even let your kids narrow your life down to the one thing you do for them, because you are so much more than that.
Married couples, quit being your kids' administrative assistant before you're each other's spouses. You end up without a marriage, and they left your house and don't even come see you when they go. Don't let people shrink you down to one thing. I love Samson because he gives me hope to know that God gives great callings to flawed people. He delivered Israel from the Philistines for 20 years, and he flirted with the Philistines that he delivered them from.
As a matter of fact, when I read you the passage in Judges, chapter 15, I didn't get to tell you much of the background, to flash back to all of the things that led Samson here, but in fact, it was his insistence to go get a Philistine wife that caused this issue to begin with. His parents warned him against it. His parents tried to dissuade him from it, but he had to have this Philistine girl. The problem with it was he liked what God had given him to fight. He liked the Philistine, but the Philistines were the ones he was called to fight against.
So now I understand in my life the complication of my desires. Some of the things God has called me to do and be effective in will be wrapped up in things I struggle with. Some of the things God will call me to make my contribution in will be wrapped up in the things I am in constant conflict with. This was the case with Samson. So, he marries this woman who's a Philistine. His parents said, "I'm telling you, this is not going to end well," and it didn't, because she was given to another man in marriage while Samson was away. When Samson found out about that, he was very angry, and since Samson was very impulsive, and since Samson was very innovative… Oh yeah. He was both. He was impulsive and innovative. I can be both things at once.
Innovative, impulsive Samson found 300 foxes, tied their tails together, found a match, and set their tails on fire. This is in your Bible, the Bible that you say is boring, the Bible that you don't read enough. This is the greatest Bible story you've never heard before. He takes 300 fox tails, ties them together, lights the tails on fire, and sends them running through the fields of the Philistines. He destroys their fields. The Philistines hear about what Samson did. They send their army to Samson's ex-wife's house and burn the house down. Samson is mad about that. They're mad at him. They're looking for Samson. They come to the people of Judah. They say, "We want Samson". They say, "You want Samson? We'll give you Samson. We'd rather you take Samson than take us," because when it comes down to it, we're all kind of selfish in our hearts.
So they come to Samson, and they tie him up and turn him over. As he's walking down to the Philistines, we come upon chapter 15, verse 14, that I read to you a moment ago where the Bible says that suddenly the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson. When the Spirit of the Lord came on Samson, the ropes that were holding him became weak. Because of the Spirit of the Lord, he was stronger than what bound him. Because of the Spirit of the Lord, he was free from what held him. Because of the Spirit of the Lord, the thing that restrained him one moment had to release him the next. When the Spirit of the Lord comes on your life, you might be surprised what you can do that you couldn't do before you knew to call on God.
The strength Samson needed to break the ropes in the passage was given to him from God. He didn't break those ropes with muscles; he broke those ropes with God. You didn't break those ropes with muscles; you broke those ropes with God. I mean, just to realize how much God has done in your life is reason enough to come to church every Sunday, because a whole week passes, and you don't remember what he released you from. A whole week passes, and you don't remember what he redeemed you from. A whole week passes, and you are so consumed by the next struggle that you didn't even give credit for the last blessing.
So, Samson is now free to fight, and there are a thousand Philistines coming at him. He has two hands, but he's only one man, so he needs a weapon. We all need weapons from time to time. I just want to ask a question, Elevation Church. I want to ask a question to everybody online. Of all of the weapons God could have put in Samson's path, if Samson had been given the option to select a weapon, do you think he would have chosen this one? Read again in Judges 15:15. I love how the Bible says it like it makes sense, but it doesn't make any sense. "Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men".
With no explanation of how one jawbone in the hands of one hot-tempered man killed a thousand men. There is no nuance given to it. There is no mention of his prowess or his skill. There is no talk of his training, that when he was a little boy he used to practice with jawbones of donkeys. He always had a thing for donkeys ever since he was little. When they would talk about donkeys in elementary school, he was drawn to donkeys. Since he was a little boy, he always had a thing for donkeys, a fascination with donkeys…the curvature of their jawbones, specifically, the density of their jawbones. It was absolutely incredible.
So, if Samson would have been able to select a weapon, don't you think he would have selected a better one than the jawbone of a donkey? Let's just name a few, just off the top of your head. I know you didn't study Judges 15 this week, but just work with me for a moment. What would be a better weapon that existed in this time? I have to clarify or you all will be shouting out all kinds of illegal stuff. But something that existed in this time. Yeah, a spear would have been better. Definitely, I'd rather stab them with a spear than hit them with the jawbone of a donkey. A sword? Yeah, I'd rather have a sword. If I have to fight a thousand Philistines, I'd rather fight them with a sword. What else? A slingshot? Yeah, I kind of like that too, because then you could keep your distance. Right? That way you can know they're coming. That way there's no… I mean, the jawbone of a donkey. This is bloody.
You say, "The Bible doesn't say it was bloody". Yes, it does. Look at verse 15 again. Did you see it? It said he found the jawbone of a donkey, but not just any jawbone. Yeah, it's a fresh jawbone of a donkey. Oh, well, that makes it better. Think about this. It's a thousand of them and one of me, and I have the jawbone of a donkey, but at least it's fresh. At least it's a fresh one. At least it's not a dry one. At least it's not brittle. If it was a dry one, it would be brittle, and if it was brittle, it would break. But the Bible says that Samson, with a thousand Philistines shouting at him and running toward him and his life on the line… He needs something in this moment, and his hands are free, but he has no weapon for the fight he didn't expect.
Who am I preaching to today? You have no weapon in your hand for the fight you didn't expect, and added to this, the one you found is not the one you would have chosen if you had been asked about what weapon to fight with. But God says… And I don't care about what they say. But God says… And I don't care about what your mind says. But God says… And I don't care about what the economy says. But God says… And I don't care about what your background is. But God says… And I don't know how big they are. God says the worst weapon with him is better than the best one without him. So, I'd rather have a jawbone of a donkey than a semiautomatic weapon.
If God is with the donkey, I'll take the donkey every time. Give me that jawbone! It's not the best weapon, but it's a fresh weapon. It's not the best weapon, but it's the one I have. I used to come home telling Holly all the time, "I don't know if I'm equipped to be a pastor. I don't know if I'm good at being a pastor. I don't know if I know enough to be a pastor. I don't know if I have experience enough to be a pastor. I just don't know if I'm the pastor that people need". She would say, "Well, you're the one we've got". Which weapon is the best? The one you've got. Which one is the best? The one you've got. Look at your kids today and tell them, "I know I might not be the best at this raising you. I might not be the parent you would have picked, but I'm the one you've got".
I might be a donkey, but I have a destiny, and God made me to be this in your life right now. So I feel kind of confident about it, because I feel kind of like it doesn't have to look like much to do a lot. I feel kind of like it doesn't have to be that impressive to be effective. That's what the donkey's jawbone teaches me. It's effective even though it isn't impressive. Samson. Impressive. I even brought my preaching folder today. I put my notes in this folder that I bought from a thrift store in honor of Samson. All that baby oil. The Ultimate Warrior. Y'all don't know nothin'. Don't make me start calling on the Lord.
I was trying to make a list. I was thinking about how… Okay. This is going to be really corny, but I'm going to try to do it. The Ultimate Warrior. That was a wrestling character from back in our day. I know wrestling is fake, and men in tights, and all that grosses you out, and all that, but some of us love it. We don't know why we love it. We don't even admit that we love it sometimes. It's an ultimate expression of masculinity. Anyway, we would think of Samson as being a warrior with weaknesses, and we would say that he accomplished great things externally, although he battled with greater things internally. We would know that the story of Samson ends in a crushing defeat for his own life.
I want to point something out to you from this passage. When it starts with God, it ends in victory. When it starts with me, it ends in defeat. Now take that and apply it over your day, over your business venture, over your relationship. I'll say it again. If it starts with God…your day, your career, your relationship…it ends in victory, even if it goes through seasons of defeat. So, if it started with God, there may be a season of defeat (a silent Saturday, a bloody cross), but it will end in victory (an empty tomb).
The sad thing about Samson is that he was born supernaturally. His mother's womb was barren. An angel came to his mother and said, "You're going to have a baby". Her husband wasn't there. When he came back, she said, "An angel just told me I'm going to have a baby". He was like, "What angel? Who came and told you you're going to have a baby"? The angel came back and said, "You're going to have a baby, and because this child is special, protect it. God is giving you this child, and this child is not just given to you; this child is going to be given to the whole nation. This child is going to do amazing things. So you need to raise this child in a very special way because he is given". It's different when it's given.
When something is given by God, it must be guarded. Here we see Samson doing something amazing with a donkey's jawbone. It's amazing what he did, but it's ridiculous what he does next. You would think that after seeing such an incredible intervention of God, such a sovereign display of the strength of God… "Hey, a minute ago I couldn't even use my hands, and now I'm looking at a thousand dead Philistines, and I'm still breathing". You would think he would praise God, but Samson does something so stupid. I do it too, and you do it too. After Samson won a great victory… Some of you are in here, and you have won a great victory. You have seen God do amazing things in your life, but here comes the mistake.
Verse 16: "Then Samson said, 'With a donkey's jawbone I have made donkeys of them. With a donkey's jawbone I have killed a thousand men.'" You mean God just saved your life and you want to write a song about a donkey's jawbone? Samson is like, "Oh, this is amazing. Wow! Incredible". He's still holding the jawbone, and he goes, "'With a donkey's jawbone…' Let's see. God just gave me a great miracle. God just gave me a great success. God just did a great thing. What should I sing about? 'With a donkey's jawbone I have killed a thousand men.' No, let me put this in there. 'With a donkey's jawbone, I have made donkeys of them.' Yeah, that's clever. See? Because I'm talking about donkeys, and I made them donkeys".
Why are you singing about donkeys when God just delivered you? Why are you praising the thing he used when you know good and well it wasn't enough to get the job done? Why do we become so attached to jawbones? Why do we get so addicted to jawbones? "What do you mean by that, Pastor Steven"? I mean when you start to think the thing God did through you proves how great you are. I read Samson's song over and over again. "With a donkey's jawbone I have made donkeys of them". He's talking about them. He's talking about the donkey. He's talking about the jawbone. He's definitely talking about himself. He's talking about killing.
This is a violent song. This is a specific song. But where is God in your song? Why didn't your song start with God? You know the miracle did. You know it wasn't a jawbone. You know it was only God who kept the jawbone from breaking. So, don't praise the thing you used; praise the one who kept it from breaking. Don't depend on the donkey's jawbone; depend on the one who could use something as ridiculous, as small as a donkey's jawbone. How many of you, God has done so much through some ridiculous things in your life that it just doesn't make sense?
All right. So, don't sing to the thing that doesn't make sense. Don't worship the thing that doesn't make sense. Don't depend on the thing that doesn't make sense, because the truth of the matter is, Samson, if God had left your hand tied, you couldn't have even used the jawbone to begin with. If God wouldn't have brought you out of that situation, you wouldn't even be here today. If God would have let you get caught, you wouldn't have had mercy; you'd be locked up. If God wouldn't have brought you through that season, you wouldn't be singing about the joy of the Lord. So, don't worship the way it came; worship the one who gave it, and turn your song around, and turn your spirit.
"With a donkey's jawbone…" I don't care what melody you put to that. That's a dumb song to sing. "With a donkey's jawbone". With the power of God, with the strength of God, with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, with the "get up and go" of God, with the resurrection power of Jesus, with the Word of God, with the promise of God… That's what I'm praising. Not a jawbone. I'm praising the God of the jawbone. I'm praising the God who knew I would need a donkey to decompose right there and have something for me to grab. The truth of the matter is the only reason we're here today is because we grabbed what we had and God did what he does.
How many have that testimony? "It wasn't enough. It didn't make sense. It didn't look good. They were screaming and coming my way, but I grabbed what I had. I didn't have a sword. I grabbed what I had. I didn't have a spear. I grabbed what I had". Some of you didn't have a dad to raise you. "I grabbed what I had". Some of you didn't get a college education. "I grabbed what I had". Some of you don't have the best health right now. "I grabbed what I had". "I didn't have the best team around me. I grabbed what I had. I wasn't raised in that culture, but I grabbed what I had, and God did what he does, and I'm not singing to a donkey".
Grab what you have. You don't need a better weapon. You need a more worshipful spirit. You need greater faith. You need more innovation. "God gave it to me. It's a jawbone, yeah, but God gave it to me, and a jawbone with Jesus, a simple thing with Jesus, a silly thing with Jesus, a small thing with Jesus is better than the world's best weapons without him". "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds".
So, a crazy thing happens to Samson. He praises the thing he has to throw away. After you get done glorifying the jawbone… Hey, God gave you that job, but it's just a jawbone. If that one goes away, God will kill another donkey. I don't know who this is for, but you'd better get this while you can, because God gave this message to me for you, because he wants you to know you don't need better weapons. He can do it with a jawbone. You don't even have to like your job for God to use it to provide for you. When did we start raising a generation that thought, "I have to like everything"? "I have to like my job".
I don't even like myself half the time, let alone people I work with. But God can use it. The miracle of the jawbone is that it was fresh so it didn't break. That is the miracle of your life: you didn't break. A jawbone is only 18 inches. It isn't big, but it didn't break. It isn't bougie, but it didn't break. Am I talking about a jawbone or your car? It isn't the best one, but it didn't break. That's the miracle. It didn't break. Come on, get this in your spirit. It didn't break. Think about the miracle of God in your life. It didn't break. "Yeah, my heart was torn, but it didn't break. It's still beating. It's still loving. It's still pumping. God still has a purpose for me. It didn't break".
In verse 17, Samson throws that bone away, and the place was called Ramath Lehi, which means Jawbone Hill. Of course, rather than naming the place something about God, Samson names it something about the jawbone. We name stuff wrong. We get caught up… I want to show you something that can happen in your life. Samson is winning, but he's worn out. Did you know that's possible? You can be winning and worn out. People think the only people who need preaching of encouragement and inspiration are those who are losing. You know, you're in a losing season. You just lost a relationship. You just lost someone you love. Nuh-uh. You can be winning and worn out. Everybody can look at you and envy you and not have empathy for you, because their envy doesn't know how much energy it cost you to win.
I'm preaching what I know. Everybody around you loves to lean on you when you're like that. They'll say things like, "Oh, you're just my rock. You're just my everything". Well, I'm not supposed to be your everything. Please don't make me your everything. I'm not supposed to be. I don't want you to come to me as your full-time giver of love and joy. See, you can be winning and worn out, because the people who are with you don't even know what it takes. That's a dangerous place, because then you get to where Samson was in verse 18. He begins to feel like, "Even though I won…for what"?
Have you ever felt that way? "Even though I won…for what"? It can be very empty to stand in a victory you believe you produced. It can be impossible to sustain a victory you think you started. Samson's whole life started in a barren womb. It started with God. Samson's strength was given by God. The thing Samson forgot while he was busy making up poems about the instrument God used… I heard a story about a guitar player. He was playing a very expensive guitar, and he was playing it so beautifully. He was a great guitar player, a master musician. He played it, and everybody around him was talking about how beautiful the guitar was, the wood it was made from, the intonation of the guitar, even the inlays of the guitar, all of the ivory on the guitar, how expensive it was.
The whole time he was playing it, they were all talking about how wonderful the guitar was. Finally, very quietly and humbly, he took the guitar, set it gently in the stand, looked back at the audience, and said, "How does the guitar sound now"? While you were busy noticing the instrument, you did not realize the mastery was not in the wood; it was in the one who knew what to do with it. Your life gets confusing and hard when you start praising the guitar, the jawbone, the thing, the skill, the gift. When you start praising that, here's what happens.
Verse 18. Samson was very thirsty, because he won, but he was worn out. He won. He was delivered, but he was dry. He won a victory, but he was thirsty. He cried out to the Lord. "You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised"? He's asking a question. "God, what good is winning if I'm just going to die of dehydration"? Look at what happens in verse 19, something very interesting. The Bible says, "Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi…" Somewhere that water should have never been. "Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it".
So, it was a dry basin, but then… It was a depressed place, but then God opened up the hollow place, and water that was beneath the ground came up out of the ground. "When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi". I want to focus on that one word then, because I want to go back to the verse before it and see what happened that made God open the spring so Samson could be revived. I want to see in this season of my life what is going to have to happen for God to refresh me so that I can do everything he has called me, named me, known me, empowered me, graced me, freed me, raised me, appointed me, and assigned me to do. It's so simple you almost miss it in verse 18. "Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord, 'You…'"
That's the first time he talked to God in this whole passage. When he said, "You have given your servant this great victory…" Then he goes on to complain. "Must I now die and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised"? He didn't even pray right. Just the fact that he did… Verse 19: "Then…" When he said, "You," then… I have to get you to then, because you can't die in this dry place. You can't die in this discouragement. What good is it for God to give all of this victory and you die because you have nothing to drink? When Samson's song changed from "I have" to "You have…" "You did it, God. You made it happen. You gave me victory. You made it enough. You supplied my needs. You brought me through that. You gave me victory. You, you, you, you, you".
Then God opened the spring. Then God did what only he could do. Here's the principle: when you refocus, God refills. When you refocus, God refills. I feel a fresh flow coming to somebody's life today. I feel a fresh flow coming to somebody's family today. I feel fresh strength coming to your freed hands today. Refocus. Not on the donkey, not on the dryness. God gave it to me, and if he gave me this calling, no one can take it. My very best friend in the world comes to church every week and sits in this seat. This week, he happened to wear a jacket I gave him. Stand up, E, and show them that Vuori hoodie thingy that I gave you.
Now I want you to find him in the lobby and try to take it from him. He doesn't even know how to fight, but he'll fight you so good you'll think he's Brazilian jujitsu. You will think he's a UFC fighter if you try to take it. Why? Because I gave it to him. Because it means something to him. Because I wanted him to have it. Offer him $100. He won't sell it. Offer him $1,000. He might take it, buy another one, and not tell me what happened. What I'm saying is it's different when it's given. You can't take it because it was given. It's different. It's special to me. I fought for this. I bled for this. I cried for this. I survived for this. I did not come this far to give it over. Besides how hard I fought, I did not earn it. It was given.
I want you to hold to this word in this season of your life, everything God has spoken over you, everything you know is supposed to come to pass, every seed he put in your heart (I'm tying it into last week) that hasn't become a stalk yet. You just haven't made it to your then yet. But if you will stop singing about donkey jawbones and stop crying about donkeys who left your life… If you will stop focusing on the donkey and start focusing on what God did for you, I'm telling you, there is a spring in Lehi. There's a joy spring. There's a hope spring. There's a peace spring. There's a new spring. Do you not see it? Do you not perceive it? God gave it to me! Take 20 seconds and praise him for this day.
Take 20 seconds and praise him for your breath. Why am I praising him? Because he gave it to me! I have to make the most. He gave it to me! I can't go down just yet. He gave me this assignment. High-five at least 10 people and say, "Praise him for what he gave you". Don't praise what he gave you; praise him for what he gave you, because if it goes away, he can give you another one. I want you to get grateful. I want you to get joyful. I want you to start listing some victories and start giving some credit to the God who made you like he wanted to make you to use you how he wanted.
Listen to me. Stop despising what God gave you, how he made you. You are glitches and you are gifts, but you are neither. You are God's. I went through a season a few years ago where I hated the sound of my own voice. You would too if you had to listen to yourself as much as I do. Somebody told me recently… It was my dental hygienist. She was talking my head off, cleaning my teeth. I didn't know how to have a conversation with the thing in my mouth. She said, "I saw a clip of you on Instagram". I said, "Huh"? She said, "The one you posted today". I said, "I don't post those. I don't know which one they posted today". She said, "You don't post your own clips"? I said, "Would you want to go through everything you said and have to listen to yourself say it again and think of how you could have said it better? It's torture".
How many of you like to hear your own voice if you ever hear it back on a recording? How many of you just enjoy that? Well, repent of pride. No, I think it's great. Honestly, God had to deal with me about that, and he did it through a conversation I had with Abbey. I was talking to her about singing, and she said something negative about her voice. At that time, I was going through such a season of dealing with this… She was much smaller, so I don't even know if she remembers this. As she was saying, "Oh, I don't have a great voice" or "I'm not a great singer," or this or that, I said, "Hey, hey, hey. Let's make a deal. God gave you your voice, and I want you to value it".
I'm not one of these parents who tells their kids, "You can sing better than Adele". Because she can't. What I was trying to get her to do… I said, "You don't know how God wants to use that voice, so let's value your voice". I get to work with all of these incredible singers. You would think that would be wonderful, but it's also… Try to stand next to Chris Brown in a songwriting room and sing something. I would listen to myself sing, and I would hear them sing and all the vibrato and the timbre and the beauty of the instrument.
I went home one day, and I was thinking, "I hate my voice. I hate my voice". This was a few years ago. The Lord said, "You hate what I gave you"? So, I realized the Enemy was trying to get me in a cycle. Now, I'm telling you a "me" story for a "you" application. This is not confession time for me; it's illustration time. God said, "You can't hate what I gave you and pray for me to use it". One side of it is pride. "I killed a thousand men". The other side of it is insecurity. "I have nothing to give". Both of them are rooted in the wrong starting place. God gave it to me…my voice, your voice, your personality, your listening ear, your wisdom, your guidance, your experience, your style. God gave it to you.
Do you know what this means? You don't have to be jealous of what he gave anybody else. You are not in competition with them. You don't have to apologize for it or diminish it. I saw it like this. On one hand I'm tempted to diminish it. "I hate my voice. I hate my height". Well, what are you going to do about that? You'd better get some heels. Get a couple of extra inches, but that's about as good as it's going to get. You'd better take your 5'4" self and get out there and be God's jawbone. The beautiful thing about it is I'm no longer tempted to diminish it, and I'm not tempted to depend on it, because I know it had nothing to do with the success of the weapon; it had to do with the strength of my God. God gave it to me.
Now I want you to confess that over this challenge you're going through too. "God gave it to me". Even the challenge, even the giant, even the fight. "God gave me this fight. He must know I can win it. He must be planning to do something to show how great he is". "God gave it to me. God gave me this thing to face". It's a matter of stewardship. When Samson's life comes down to it all, it has to do with how he used his strength. What are you doing with the strength God gave you? What are you doing with the stuff he gave you? What are you doing with the days he gave you?
If God gave it, you don't get to waste it. If God gave it, you don't get to bury it. Do you remember the parable about the man who was given a talent and hid it because he had one and somebody else had five? God gave you that one. Do something with it. Use it. You are listening to a preacher preach to you right now who doesn't even naturally like the sound of his own voice. Don't tell me what you can't do for God. Don't tell me what God can't use. Don't tell me what God can't do. I don't want to hear it. He is the God of the jawbone. I want to pray over those things in your life right now, whether they are gifts or glitches. I want you to see them as in the same hands, the hands of God.
Bow your head and close your eyes. There's something significant God is trying to get you to take responsibility for today. As you take responsibility for that thing, he is calling you to re-frame it and refocus it. The starting place is not the problem; the starting place is God. So now, God, we worship you because you're great. We thank you for all of the battles you've won for your people. We thank you for all of the times that all we had was a donkey's jawbone, but you did it. Say it out loud. "You did it". He's the one who cleansed you. Tell him again. "You did it". He's the one who set you free. Tell him again. "You did it".
God, we're not going to get to this place in our lives and think we have to do it by ourselves. We have a really good record of what you've done. Right now, I want to give somebody an invitation to receive Christ who has never placed their faith in Jesus. The starting place of your salvation is not you; it is God. Salvation is not spelled D-O; it is spelled D-O-N-E. Done. The work for you to be saved is finished by Jesus Christ. Right now, God is calling some of you to repent of your sin and give your life to him. He gave it to you to begin with.
If God has brought you here this day and is calling you right now to come to Jesus, I'm going to lead you in a prayer. This prayer is not magical, but it is miraculous. For the Bible says if you will call on the name of Jesus… Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Not might be saved, not could be saved…will be saved. Today, if you will call on his name, he will save you and change you from the inside out. So, as a church family, for all of those coming to God, repeat after me.
Heavenly Father, today is my day of salvation. I am a sinner in need of a Savior. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world, and today I make Jesus the Lord of my life. I believe he died that I would be forgiven and rose again to give me life. I receive this new life. This is my new beginning.
On the count of three, shoot your hands up if you prayed that. One, two, three. We're celebrating you all over this room. God bless you. God keep you. God make his face shine on you. God be gracious to you. Let's celebrate all of those who just placed their faith in Christ. Come on, lift up a great shout of praise, church!