Sometimes our troubles result from the unwise decisions we make. How do we overcome adversity in such situations? Tune in to this insightful morning prayer to find out!
Morning Prayer with Pastor Sean Pinder
What If It's My Fault?
Good morning. This is Minister Jeffrey Zimmerman, and I am sharing with you today about the story of Samson. What an amazing story the story of Samson is. And we want to talk specifically that God gave Samson a second chance. How many of you know God is the God of a second chance? I can't wait to get into this word with all of you today. And we will shortly. But before we do that, we want to open up with worship. Hallelujah, find the glory. Hallelujah, amen. Hallelujah, find the glory. Revive us again. Sing it to him. Hallelujah, find the glory. Hallelujah, amen. Hallelujah, find the glory. Revive us again. Oh, come on and give him praise this morning. Come on and give him praise. Give him praise. Give him praise. Glory to God. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah. Oh, we praise you Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Glory to God. Good morning and welcome to another morning prayer broadcast. This is Jeffrey Zimmerman sitting in once again for Pastor Sean with you on this amazing platform. Melanie and I are honored and privileged to serve alongside Pastor Sean and Pastor Amy and ministry. It's always a pleasure and we're just excited about what God is doing and we're excited to be here among you again today, the precious saints of the Most High God. So we're going to get right into the message today, but first let's pray. Father God in the name of Jesus, I pray for every person listening under the sound of my voice. Melanie and I join our faith with your wonderful people today. Lord, I ask that you would take these lips of clay, let people not hear Jeffrey Zimmerman, but let them hear Jesus Christ. Let them see Jesus in the broadcast today. Let the word be so simple that even a child can understand what the Lord is saying to his people today in Jesus name, amen, amen. So we're going to get right to it. Today, the title of the message is, what if it's my fault? And sometimes, you know, we go through hard times on this earth, amen, especially as Christians. You know, we know the Bible says, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. So just because you're going through something doesn't mean it's your fault, but sometimes, how many of you know that we do put ourselves in bad situations? You know, sometimes we disobey God or we don't hear him properly or we don't do exactly what he says, the way he says to do it, and then what do we do? We wind up making a mess, we get ourselves in trouble, and then sometimes we get in a situation we can't get ourselves out of. You know, and that was the case with Samson. Let's take a look at that in the book of Judges chapter 16. Starting with verse 17, I am reading from the new living translation. It says, "Finally, Samson shared his secret with Delilah." So just to give you a little background, you know the story of Samson and Delilah. You know, Samson liked Delilah, he was in love with her, and he was hanging out with her. Now, Delilah was a Philistine. See, Samson was the judge of Israel, but Delilah was a Philistine. She did not believe in God, you know, she was a heathen, you know, and so her people were the enemies of Israel. You see, Samson had done many amazing things by the power of God when the Holy Ghost came on him. Samson killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey, you know. He took a lion and tore it apart with his bare hands. You know, he took the gates of an entire city and lifted them off their hinges and carried them, you know. So Samson did amazing feats of strength because the power of God was with him in that way. But he was hanging out with this woman, Delilah, and his parents had warned him to stay away from women like this, you know. But he didn't listen and he had a weakness there, you know. So he wasn't listening, he wasn't paying attention. And Delilah was trying to get from him the secret of his strength so that the Philistines could take him out. Now of course she didn't tell him that, but she was trying to get him to tell her the secret. And he would just tell her some things to do that had nothing to do with his strength and then she would do it. And then when the Philistines would come to attack, he'd just break free and go whoop them all, you know. And I guess he thought it was a game, but it wasn't no game to Delilah. It certainly was not a game to the Philistines. Amen. They didn't enjoy it at all. But finally, verse 17 says, "Samson shared his secret with her. My hair has never been cut, he confessed. For I was dedicated to God as a Nazarite from birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me and I would become as weak as anyone else." Now a lot of people say, "Well, Samson's strength was in his hair." Now it wasn't in his hair. You see, Samson had been dedicated as a Nazarite because that's what God had told his parents to do. So Samson had certain covenants that he had to keep before God in order for God to continue to anoint him with strength as God did, you know. And so Samson had his part to play. How many of you know that just because you have the anointing or you have a gift, you have a part to play. You've got to keep your part of the bargain. You've got to do what God tells you to do. And if you ever stop doing that, then God is not obligated, you see. And so in verse 18, it says, "Delilah realized that Samson had finally told her the truth so she sent for the Philistine rulers. Come back one more time," she said, "for he has finally told me his secret." So the Philistine rulers returned with the money in their hands. Delilah sold him out for money. She acted like she loved him, but she really didn't love him at all. She was after the money that the Philistines were paying her to turn Samson over to them. Delilah loathed Samson to sleep with his head in her lap. And then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way, she began to bring him down and his strength left him. Then she cried out, "Samson, the Philistines have come to capture you." When he woke up, he thought, "Huh, I will do this before and shake myself free." You see, when the Holy Ghost came on Samson, he would shake like he does, like we do sometimes. You know, when the Holy Ghost comes, sometimes, sometimes we shake. And so Samson shook himself. But this time, it says he didn't realize the Lord had left him. It's not a good place to be, folks. We don't ever want to be in a place where God leaves us to ourselves. Because then we're really in trouble. Verse 21, "So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes." Wow. They really did him in. They took him to Gaza where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison. Now, Samson was in trouble. His eyes were gone. He would never see again in life. He had to grind grain like a beast of burden. He was being treated horribly. But no one could, he couldn't blame anybody by himself, you see, because God had told him what to do. He didn't do it. He didn't listen to wise and godly counsel. He didn't do what he was told. And he wound up in this trouble because, and it was his fault, right? And sometimes that happens to us. We wind up in a situation because it's our fault, because we did it. But look at this in verse 22, "But before long, his hair began to grow back." Oh my goodness. Isn't that a good news? You know, I'm sure when Samson felt his hair start to grow back, he thought, "Oh wow. God is causing my hair to grow back. God has given me another chance." How many of you know that God is the God of a second chance? You may have blown it. You may be in a bad situation and it may even be your fault. But you know what? God is merciful. And if you come back to him, he will accept you with open arms. Watch what happened. So we know the story. They took Samson. They put him out in the middle of an arena and he began to entertain and amuse the Philistines. It's like 3,000 of them watching him, you know. And so, Samson asked a young servant that was with him, "Hey, put me against the pillar so I can lean on it and rest." Well, he didn't want to rest. He had him plan. And then he prayed to the Lord. He humbled himself before God. He said, "Sover and Lord, remember me again. Oh God, please strengthen me just one more time with one blow. Let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes." And then Samson put his hands on those pillars and he pushed with all his might. And God allowed his great strength to return. And he brought, he literally brought the house down. And those Philistines died that day. And the Bible says he killed more people when he died than he did during his entire lifetime. How about that? And guess what else? Samson made it. He made it into the Hall of Faith in Hebrews chapter 11. Watch verse 32. How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Brock, Samson. It says by faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. Isn't that awesome? Let's just give God a hand clap of praise. He gave Samson a second chance. Samson didn't deserve it. He was in the situation that he had made for himself, but God is merciful. He doesn't treat us according to what we deserve. He treats us according to the attitude of our heart. Samson was humbled. He realized, man, I blew it. And he must have asked God for another chance. He might have, I don't know, but God definitely gave it to him. And he made it into God's Hall of Faith. Father, God, I pray, Melanie and I join our faith with your wonderful people today. Lord, there may be people listening on this broadcast that have blown it one way or another. Lord, they missed God. They did something wrong and maybe they're in a situation that is their fault, but God, you are saying to them today, you're giving them another chance. Lord, encourage your people today. Let them know you love them. Let them know you're here for them. You're comforting their souls. And you're giving them another chance today. Hallelujah. Praise God for a second chance. Amen. God bless. To give in this offering, you can visit us online at shawntpinda.net/give. You can also give through the ministry app. You can also give through the ministry PayPal account that address is paypal.me/shawntpindaministries. You can also give through the ministry's ZEL account. The ministry ZEL email address is info@shawntpinda.net. You can also give through the ministry cash app account. The ministry cash app address is the dollar sign shawntpinda ministries. You can also give through the ministry Venmo account. The ministry Venmo account is @shawntpindaministries. You can also text to give. All you have to do is text the letters SPM to the number four, five, eight, eight, and a link will automatically be sent to you. You can also give by mailing your donations into the ministry. Just remember to make your checks and money orders out to shawntpinda ministries, PO Box 2726, McKinney Texas 75070. Listen, main past Amy, we love all of you. We appreciate you and a tremendous and huge thank you to our partners who make this broadcast possible to help us take this gospel around the world. We love all of you. Join us again on tomorrow morning for another morning prayer broadcast. God bless you. [MUSIC]