Choosing True Love: Lessons from Samson and Delilah

"we don't want to be like them because they are they are some of the the best of the worst if you know what i'm saying like their their story their story is one of the best it is one of the the greatest anti -examples of all time i mean even even here the delilah's unsubtle uh uh maneuvering because i am convinced that here delilah isn't actually trying to figure out the secret of samson's strength no no right here i think delilah is actually trying to figure out the secret of his weakness how he could be bound how he could be tied how he would become like anybody else and y 'all that isn't love that looks that tries to manipulate our weakness that's not love that's actually the very opposite of love that wants to plunder us um jesus would say as much jesus in the gospel of luke would say that no one can enter" [00:10:48]

"Three things that get in the way, three things that, bind us up in our pursuit of love, in our pursuit of love as spouses and as singles and as families and as friends and as followers of Jesus too. Because if we don't get this right, if we don't get this love right, then all the other loves in our lives will suffer. Three things for us this morning." [00:12:43]

"this what gets in the way of love number one our feelings and that's probably kind of strange to hear it's strange to say but oftentimes one of the biggest obstacles one of these strongest foes that we have to face in our pursuit of love it's it's our feelings and we we see it right here that is samson's story because here he is he is this big macho passionate emotional sort of fellow he is the strongest person to have ever lived but even samson wasn't strong enough to control his emotions samson wasn't strong enough to control his own feelings he gets aggravated he's irritating he's vexed to the point that he wears down and he tells all you see it's this it's this cautionary tale it's a warning it's meant to say yeah just because we might be gifted just because we might be physically strong and just because we might be mentally strong it does not mean it is no guarantee that we are emotionally strong and woe be unto us if we don't understand that difference because here's the thing about love love" [00:13:11]

"Real love, just like real and true faith. Love is not a feeling. It's a choice. Love, like faith, is a choice. Love, like faith, is a decision. Because hard times are going to come. There are going to be problems. There are going to be challenges. There's going to be a chill. All that passion, all that burning passion that we once enjoyed. There's going to be seasons. There are going to be times when it's going to cool down." [00:14:30]

"And maybe we won't feel it like we once did. And there are going to be times whenever we are tempted to walk away. And that's when we have to dig deep. That's when we have to choose. I choose to love. I choose to stick. I choose to stay. Because, y 'all, that's whenever love, grows up. That's whenever it stops being just like the high of hormones. That's whenever love becomes love." [00:15:12]

"Maybe one of the scariest, one of the hardest, maybe one of the heaviest feelings of them all, maybe the most binding feeling that we have to confront is fear. A couple of years ago, it was actually back in the mid -90s, there was this play, it was this kind of rom -com musical that debuted up in New York City. And it was called, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change." [00:16:02]

"the fear I can understand why we may just be a little hesitant to open ourselves up again I get it I get why we might be scared to trust again or to be vulnerable again or to commit again or go deeper again especially especially if we think that God's love is like the world's but God's love is perfect God's love is the perfect reflection of that first Corinthians 13 sort of love that pastor John was talking about a love that keeps no record of wrongs and thank God for that because like the the psalmist said if you Lord kept a list of sins who could stand but with you there's forgiveness so that's the thing about love that's the thing about real love that's the thing about perfect love perfect love casts out fear it's kind of like it's kind of like the story that good buddy of mine sent this past week story says a an old man met a young man who asked him do you remember me unfortunately no son I don't remember you the old man replied I was one of your students the young man said oh how nice" [00:17:07]

"the older man said and tell me now what do you do I'm a teacher a teacher how wonderful like me yes like you in fact I became a teacher because you inspired me to be like you and the old man then curious asked the young man at what point he decided to become a teacher and the young man told him his tale he said one day a friend of mine also a student came in with a nice new watch and I decided I wanted it so I stole it I took it out of his pocket but shortly after my friend noticed that his watch was missing and complained to our teacher he complained to you then you addressed the class saying the students watch was stolen during classes today whoever stole it please return it but I didn't give it back because I didn't want to so you closed the door and you told us to stand up and form a circle you you were going to search our pockets one by one until the watch was finished but you told us to close our eyes because you would only look for the watch if we all had our eyes closed and so we did as instructed and you went from pocket to pocket and when you went through my pocket you found the watch and you took it but you kept searching everyone else's pockets and when you were done you said open your eyes the watch has" [00:18:26]

"being found, but you didn't tell on me. You never mentioned the episode. You never shared who stole the watch. That day you saved my dignity forever. It was the most shameful day of my life, but it changed me. You never said anything, nor did you even scold me or take me aside to moralize. Do you remember this episode, professor?" [00:19:45]

"Friends, when it comes to God, there's no need to fear. Because even though he doesn't close his eyes, he's opened his heart. He's opened his heart with a love that wants to redeem us and wants to refine us and wants to revive us and wants to restore us. Don't let love be bound by fear. And then finally, what gets in the way of love? Our focus." [00:20:24]

"a couple of weeks ago I was I was reading in time used to be time magazine I don't know what it is now but I was reading in time and and there was this article that I ran across and the title of the article was love doesn't have to be unconditional and I read it with with great interest and y 'all it was just close your ears students it was just malarkey it's pretty strong word in church don't you think it was just drivel and self -justifying rot because y 'all love that is love true love it's gonna cost us something it's gotta cost us something but in return it offers us everything it's it's that love that we see in Christ it's that love that we see on Calvary and there was there was nothing self -serving about that it was not a selfish. It was selfless and unconditional and focused on us. And there wasn't an ounce of that selfless sort of love in Samson and Delilah here." [00:21:06]

"Could it be possibly that Billy Graham so loved the Lord, that his focus was so on Jesus, that it affected every area of his everyday life, even out on the golf course? And I don't have to tell you, it's hard to shine the light of Jesus on a golf course. But to love God like that, to love God with all of our heart, and with all of our soul, and with all of our mind, and yes, with all of our strength, to love God like that, this is the first and greatest commandment still," [00:25:08]