The Number One Way to Live a Life Void of Meaning

Dr. Larry Petton tells the story, “A well-known author once told this story of an account he had with seagulls: “Several years ago our family visited Niagara Falls. It was spring, and ice was rushing down the river. As I viewed the large blocks of ice flowing toward the falls, I could see that there were dead fish embedded in the ice. Gulls by the score were riding down the river, feeding on the fish. As they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would go out, and they would escape from the falls. “I watched one gull which seemed to delay and wondered when it would leave. It was engrossed in the fish, and when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went its powerful wings. The bird flapped and flapped and even lifted the ice out of the water, and I thought it would escape. But it had delayed too long so that its claws had frozen into the ice. The weight of the ice was too great, and the gull plunged into the abyss.”

How sad that even though the bird had plenty of time to fly away, it paid the ultimate price because it delayed. Now think of this story in terms of the Christian life. When we become overly enthralled with the things of this world, we lose sight of what lies ahead, and we can be brought down as we “fish” for the things of lesser meaning than our overall well-being.

That story and scenario are a perfect visual for what happened in Samson’s life. As Scripture gives us an overview of the life of Samson from his birth to his death, things start with the realization that Samson’s conception was a blessing from God as a result of his mother's prayers. His parents declared over their home that their child would be in a covenant with God upon his first breath. As part of this covenant, Samson was never to be in a relationship with a woman not of his faith. However, Samson disobeys and enters into an intimate relationship with a pagan woman named Delilah.

Pagans were the enemy of God. And, that truth quickly proves itself in Delilah’s life as she is bribed with money to help Samson’s enemies bring him to destruction. She is paid to find out where the source of Samson’s power originated. Samson misleads Delilah, playfully telling her a lie about how he can be defeated…and even though several red flags are raised...he is so overcome by lust that he can’t see them.

Lust can make us blind – and if may be so bold, stupid – because it distorts our ability to discern what is happening. That’s why people wreck their whole world for a one-night stand or lose everything they’ve worked for to get just one more hit from a drug. Lust desires a feeling that one does not presently have, and if the fire in one’s flesh becomes intense enough, one of the first things it consumes is our rationale.

I encourage you to be ready in advance for such setups from the enemy. Invite the Holy Spirit to gift you with the discerning of spirits. Because throughout your life, you are going to meet the same spirits repeatedly. Names and faces will change, but personalities will stay the same, and you need to be aware of many of these ill-intentioned personalities at hello!

A secondary element of the covenant between God and Samson also indicates that he was never to allow his hair to be cut. But after he betrayed this commitment with confession to Delilah, she had the seven locks of his hair shaved while he was asleep. When he woke up surrounded by Philistine soldiers, he wrongly anticipated that God would bail him out again. Samson thought he was above the rules. He reached a place in his spiritual journey where he evidently thought the conditions of the covenant were not required for him. He was too strong, famous, and powerful to have to abide by regulations that would have applied to anyone else in covenant with God.

What happens next is devastating:

And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. -Judges 16:20 (NKJV)

Those might be the saddest words in the Old Testament. To think that a man who was used so profoundly could become so distant from God that he lost any sense of God’s departing presence. So deceived was he that he didn’t even realize when God was fully removed from his life.

The enemy soldiers took him captive. He was then enslaved and mocked endlessly. They made him perform, like a jester, for their amusement.

The number one way to live a meaningless life is to become a performer. Performing for others in your career, church, home, and marriage has no meaning. Acting and performing for others is empty and done in vain. We see this all the time in modern-day Christianity. Meaning gets lost because we ignore the covenant of God. Haven’t you seen the performance-oriented, concert-style venue with a speaker offering a motivational talk with only a slight God slant? All performance, little meaning, and yet we wonder why true transformation isn’t taking place.

If you want to lead a meaningful life, you don’t just go to a small group, lead a prayer group, or throw money in a bucket to perform – it must have meaning. Your serving must come from the foundation of a powerful prayer life. Let it bubble up from a personal and intimate relationship with God.

You can not – WE can not – settle for performance.

Scripture shows Samson’s hair grows back, but he is found performing for the enemy. Why is he unable to break free? Why is he settling for just being a performer? I believe this verse answers the question.

Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and took him down to Gaza…they set him to grinding grain in the prison. -Judges 16:21 (NIV)

The first thing the enemy did was take out his eyes because they knew if his strength came back, it wouldn’t matter as long as he couldn’t see what he was swinging at. Solomon hath wisely shared:

Where there is no vision, the people perish… -Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)

Thankfully, Samson eventually prays the second prayer of his life and cries out to God, asking God to make the enemy pay for every day he had spent without vision:

Then Samson called to the Lord, saying, “O Lord God, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance… for my two eyes!” -Judges 16:28 (NKJV)

Maybe you lack vision, as you are distracted by life's current events. Right now, ask God to give you a vision for your family, allowing you to see the unseen and know the unknown. Ask Him for wisdom in areas where you have lacked it. Ask for a God idea, not just a good idea.

We must realize the strength that God gave us is not meant for performance; it is intended to impact the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and push back the powers of darkness, putting the enemy in his place. God’s got something MORE for you than simply performing for the amusement and pleasure of others. Never settle for a lifestyle of hypocritical performance – that approach will only lead to a downward spiral in your life and a life without meaning.

Samson’s life reveals we must live prayerful lives, seeking God for discernment, because being a performer never leads to meaningfulness. All the while, we must have the vision to keep moving forward. Walking out these things in our own lives will lead to a meaningful life, a life well-lived:

1. Pray for the gift of the DISCERNING of spirits.

2. Refuse to settle for PERFORMANCE.

3. Never live a day without VISION.

I invite you to view this message in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/yQcFRq9R8Dk

We want to connect with you and help you take your next steps!

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving peace in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.
   

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.
   

3. Do you feel God prompting you to take your next steps? If yes, BEGIN is waiting for you! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin
   

4. Would you like to make a difference in our community? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.
   

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WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE| MESSAGE NOTES

You Can Live a Strong and Meaningful Life

A woman called a pastor to visit the house where her father was battling a terminal illness. He goes to the house not knowing whether the man is a Christian or not, but he notices as he talks to him the man must be a Christian. Interestingly, there is an oddly placed chair sitting close by. Convinced it has meaning, he asks, "What's the chair for?'' The man replied, "Well, I'll tell you, but don’t tell my daughter; she’ll think I'm crazy…I've always had trouble praying. I knew a man in my early years who said to me, 'All you need to do is put an empty chair in front of you. Envision God sitting in that chair and that you’re getting to talk to him.’ So, I put an empty chair in the middle of the room and started talking to God as if he were sitting there, and it got so good that now I talk to him for hours at a time…and, he talks to me! But, if I tell my daughter, she'll think this disease I’m battling is also taking my mind." Upon departure, the pastor thought about the profound wisdom in such a simple act. The story of the man’s approach to prayer stuck with him. But, some months later, the man died. When the Pastor called to check on the daughter, the conversation eventually led to the question, "How did he pass?" The daughter explained, "Well, the sickness just finally got him. When I arrived, he had already passed, but we found his body in the strangest position. I discovered a chair sitting in the middle of the floor. He had pushed himself out of bed, crawled across the room, and put his head in that chair…he died kneeling with his head laid in the chair…"1

In Scripture, we find a man named Samson. Perhaps, he was the strongest man who ever lived, but unlike the elderly man in our story, he didn’t have a chair. The Spirit of God would come upon his life, equipping him with supernatural power, but his life does not end well. I think it’s because he seems to have never valued prayer. In fact, Scripture only records Samson as praying two times in his entire life. Last week’s message focused on Samson’s First Prayer, while this pass records his second prayer:

Then Samson called to the Lord, saying, “O Lord God, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance… for my two eyes!” -Judges 16:28 (NKJV)

If we can learn anything from Samson, it is that: prayer changes everything. And, if we want to live a meaningful life, we MUST be people who lead prayerful lives.

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Cynthia Lewis offers this imagery of prayer, “If your day is hemmed in with prayer, it is less likely to come unraveled.”

E.M Bounds, a great author on the subject of prayer, says, “God shapes the world by prayer. The more praying there is in the world, the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil…”

Elisabeth Elliot shared, “Prayer lays hold of God's plan and becomes the link between His will and its accomplishment on earth.”

Charles Stanley, the well-recognized pastor from Atlanta and of an international radio ministry, states, “An unschooled man who knows how to (prayerfully) meditate upon the Lord has learned far more than the man with the highest education; who does not know how to meditate.”

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God used him in powerful and mighty ways, but Samson failed to live a meaningful life despite being so strong because he did not prioritize prayer. Allow that to sink in.

So here is a lesson we can learn from Samson’s life: your gifts can take you where your character is not prepared to keep you. When you have a gift or some release of God’s power in your life, it’s easy to start thinking that everything is okay. But, we neglect one crucial fact, we must allow God to keep working on us, shaping and developing our character. This development happens through prayer.

Because of Samson’s prayerless life, we repeatedly see him in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people, even though he came from a prayerful family. His parents were faith-filled, and they had an intentional prayer life. Their prayer life was meaningful! Even Samson’s birth was a blessing from God due to his mother's prayers. As a result, his parents declared over their home that their child would be in a covenant with God upon his first breath. Samson was blessed because of his parent’s prayers!

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Do you want to be a parent who prays powerful prayers over your family? Then, check out this post: Five Blessings to Ask God for That Will Change Your Life Forever.

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But, unfortunately, although his parents prayed, blessed him, and entered into a covenant with God, Samson never developed his own personal relationship with God. Instead, he relied too much on his family’s faith and not on his own. Personally, he only uses prayer as a last resort – when he is already in undesirable situations and turmoil.

Each of us must have our own personal and intimate relationship with God. And, let me be clear, because this is important, just because your life looks good on the outside does not mean you are right with God.

You could simply be riding on the coattails of faith and prayers offered by someone who really cares about you (such as your parents) while the enemy lulls you to sleep and sets you up for destruction in the future. AND, unfortunately, this is what happens in Samson’s life! His demise reveals it is possible to overlook the fact that God’s power is starting to distance itself from our life, but we can avoid this disaster by asking God to ignite your prayer life and to strengthen you with His Spirit.

You need somewhere to lay your head, and as we will further evaluate on Thursday, it is not the lap – or chair – of Delilah.

I invite you to view this message in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/yQcFRq9R8Dk

We want to connect with you and help you take your next steps!

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving peace in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.
   

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.
   

3. Do you feel God prompting you to take your next steps? If yes, BEGIN is waiting for you! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin
   

4. Would you like to make a difference in our community? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.
   

5. Subscribe to EricGilbert.org using this link: https://www.ericgilbert.org/subscribe. You’ll be able to receive updates directly to your email inbox as we post blogs every Monday, Thursday, and Friday morning.

1 Story of the prayer and chair adapted from a sermon illustration by Ricky Nelms; originally delivered in his message, Hallowed Be Thy Name, 7/14/2010.

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE| MESSAGE NOTES

This Is Why Stubbornness Is So Dangerous Spiritually

Then he became very thirsty; so he cried out to the LORD and said, “You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant; and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?” - Judges 15:18

This Scripture is the record of the first time Samson prayed. He had been in the fight of his life. One-thousand men came to apprehend him, the enemy had marked his life, and wanted to take him out. He fought back to survive, and God helped him. With the jawbone of a donkey, he kills a thousand men!

But we have to wonder, why is there a jawbone of a donkey in the hand of a great and powerful warrior: not a knife, sword, spear, or even a bow and arrow. A jawbone? And how did Samson find himself in this undesirable situation, to begin with? On his own, vastly outnumbered, and fighting against an enemy who wanted to destroy him, completely unprepared and thirsty for more than just water?

Because there is more happening here than meets the eye on the surface. God is trying to reveal something to Samson through his situation and his surroundings.

Donkeys are known for being stubborn. They don’t want to listen and they won’t do anything unless they want to do it. You can beat them or bribe them and a donkey is still a donkey. He’s not going to do it unless he wants to do it.

Interestingly, in this narrative, this particular jawbone belonged to a donkey that we can assume wandered off into the wilderness where there was no substance for life and

died of thirst. Very possibly it broke free from its bridle – reigns that were meant to protect it from its demise. Almost, undoubtedly, the donkey's stubbornness killed it.

Samson himself was stubborn. He wouldn’t listen, and he didn’t take correction well. God would put a mandate on his life, and then he would then jeopardize the covenant with God through his inability to comply and be coachable. Likely, the jawbone of a donkey represents Samson’s stubbornness and how it was ruining him. His stubbornness was standing in the way of who and what he could be. It was stopping him from living a meaningful life. I believe God was saying to Samson, allow me to take you in my hands and use you the way I want to use you.

But because Samson couldn’t get this reality straight, he was thirsty in the physical despite how God was using him in the spiritual. Samson had a lot of positive things in his life that God wanted to bring him through to impact the lives of others in a meaningful way. And a lot of times this is true for us too!

Some of the battles we’ve gotten ourselves into directly respond to our stubbornness. This is a direct response to our unwillingness to be teachable and acknowledge what God wants to do in our lives. Like Samuel, we look victorious on the outside, but God desires to work through the stuff going on inside of us. On the outside, one might appear to have it all together. But inside, we are drained, exhausted, and thirsty. Maybe it’s time for some of us to stop being stubborn and admit that we need a refreshing – even strong men and women must occasionally admit they are thirsty if they are to be rejuvenated.

So God (split the hollow place and) caused water to gush out of the ground at Lehi, and Samson was revived as he drank. Then he named that place “The Spring of the One Who Cried Out,” and it is still in Lehi to this day. - Judges 15:19

There is still the opportunity to cry out to God, the one who is greater than you, and receive revival, refreshing, and renewal! The only reason you're thirsty now is that God is reminding you that you can not go without Him. You need Him to continue!

God will hear your cry, but He can not listen to what you do not release! You have not because you ask not. So it’s time to let out a cry. It’s okay to let God know you need a drink of His Spirit, His presence. A drink of what only Heaven can offer you.

He will fill the thirsty! You can come to the crevice of prayer, despite how hollow, empty, or undesirable it may have felt up to this point.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. - Matthew 5:6

I invite you to view this message in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/hI4Lemjz2tM

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE| MESSAGE NOTES

We want to connect with you and help you take your next steps!

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving peace in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.

3. Do you feel God prompting you to take your next steps? If yes, BEGIN is waiting for you! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin

4. Would you like to make a difference in our community? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.

5. Subscribe to EricGilbert.org using this link:https://www.ericgilbert.org/subscribe. You’ll be able to receive updates directly to your email inbox as we post blogs every Monday, Thursday, and Friday morning.