Life Without Limits Is Not Life Without Boundaries

Looking at recent news articles, browsing through different blogs, walking down the streets, observing what is going on around us in the world today, I can't help but wonder what Jesus would think at his second coming. It appears that the story of Samson has been lost on this generation. Samson, who was born with so much potential but died with such disgrace, it is as though the story is unfolding in so many lives today.

Samson was born a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, called by God to begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines. (Judges13:5) In Biblical times, a Nazirite is someone who sets himself apart for the glory of God. The Nazirite law can be found in Numbers 6. Let us go through the Nazirite law.

Numbers6:3-4 - 'he must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. As long as he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins'. This part of the Nazirite law deals with the private life of a Nazirite. When no one is watching, do you have the integrity and will to do what is right? When no one is watching, do you still consider the law of God and the vow you made to Him?

Numbers6:5 - 'During the entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his separation to the LORD is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long'. This part of the Nazirite law deals with the public image of a Nazirite. When someone does not cut his hair for a long period of time, everyone notices! A Nazirite's long hair was public declaration that he/she has been consecrated to God. It was a sign of holiness and pure devotion to the Most High God. In the same way, God is still calling out for His people to boldly declare of their consecration unto Him in a radical manner! Will you do it? What will make you do it?

Numbers6:6-7 - 'Throughout the period of his separation to the LORD he must not go near a dead body. Even if his own father or mother or brother or sister dies, he must not make himself ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of his separation to God is on his head'. This part of the Nazirite law deals with the heart issue. How much of you is devoted to God? Luke14:26 'If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.' This were the very words of Jesus. Jesus is not calling us to hate our loved ones. Rather, he is calling us to love God to the point that our love for our loved ones pale in comparison to our love for Him. Comparing your love to God, your love for your family must be as though you hate them. That is the degree of love for God to which Jesus is calling us to! Our hearts must be fully yielded to God.

As I examine the life of Samson, I find a few learning points.

1. The grace of God is abundant
If we study the life of Samson, we realize that Samson broke every part of the Nazirite law, except one, which was his long hair. Surely as a man set apart by God from birth he should know better right? WRONG. Why did Samson eventually break almost all the parts of the Nazirite law? The answer is simple. Samson only did what he did because of what his parents placed on him. What he did did not come out of a willingness, but out of falsehood. Friend, you and I, what we do must flow out of who we are. It must come out of a personal relationship with God, out of a willingness. We cannot live on someone else's spirituality. What we do must flow out of who we are, not what we must do, but who we are! A religious Spirit will kill us. We must live our life out of our love for God, not of a wanting to be blessed (Greed Spirit). We must be careful of the way we live our lives. Samson lived dangerously. He broke almost all of the Nazirite law, but his strength remained. Likewise, God's grace is abundant for all of us. It is the grace of God that allows us to be successful. The Bible tells us that all our righteous acts are like filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6), we must be destroyed! BUT the grace of God has allowed us not only to survive, but also to live in abundance, experiencing the prosperity of Heaven. BUT friends, we must remember the story of Samson. We cannot take the grace of God for granted. We must remember that while God is a God of grace, God is also a God of judgment. Samson lost his destiny and died together with the Philistines because he failed to embrace God's calling upon his life. The Bible tells us that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1Peter5:8). The devil prowls around looking to rob us of our 'abundance' destiny, and we must stand guard against him! Take up our spiritual weapons, and be watchful! Don't let the enemy have his way. We need to learn to hate that which is unholy.

2. Ownership of our destiny
Studying the life of Samson, it is obvious that Samson did not have any ownership of his destiny. He most probably knew what God had set him apart, as seen from his following of part of the Nazirite law of having long hair. But although he knew, he never took ownership of his destiny. Samson lived dangerously. As I ponder upon this point, I can't help but wonder if we in the church are taking ownership of our salvation. Are we also living dangerously? The Bible tells us that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. And faith without deeds is dead. What kind of deeds are we doing today? Are we like Samson, living dangerously? Do we understand the difference between a move of God and plain emotion? Are we plain sensual creatures, the same as everything else in the world? Many of us are not standing guard. We receive everything that the world throws at us. I'm talking about sensual things.
a)Are we being a good steward of our speech? We talk sensually, using vulgarities in the same breath we use to worship God. Don't think that God doesn't understand you just because you curse and swear in Hokkien. God understands more languages than you, He knows heavenly language, you don't. Friends we need to be good stewards of our tongue, which holds the power of life and death. The Bible tells us that what goes into a man does not make him unclean; what comes out of a man makes him unclean. (Matt15:11)
b)Are we being good stewards of our clothes? Clothes were meant to be a frame for our faces, but in this generation it is becoming a frame for our bodies. Instead of covering our bodies, we're covering our faces. And I'm talking about those in the church community as well. We dress the same as the world does! For guys, clothes are getting tighter and tighter. For girls, your blouses are getting lower and lower, your skirts are getting higher and higher! If Jesus were to come today and walk down the streets, I tremble at the thought of what he'd say about us and the way we dress, believers and non-believers alike.
c)Are we being good stewards of our technology? We visit sensual sites, watch sensual movies, watch things we're not supposed to. What do our blogs tell people about God?
d)Are we being good stewards of our emotions? The spirit of anger and hatred has consumed this generation so much that we're numb to it. We take it as okay. We even have labels like 'emo'. Why are we practicing such lawlessness? Our emotions must be brought under subjection, lest we will be controlled by them. That's what the devil does. He will play with your emotions so much till you think you cannot control it anymore and then suddenly you are brought under its subjection. Don't let that happen.
e)Are we being good stewards of our relationships? Divorce cases are increasing. Abortion stats are going up. Teen pregnancy is becoming more prevalent. Casual sex is becoming a 'norm'. There is something serious going on, and we need to do something about it!
Friends, you and I, we need to take ownership of our salvation. We need to be in the world but not of it. We've been called to be world changers, not world followers. If we are to live in the abundant life of God, we need to keep away from death. Stay away from people of death, from places of death, from foods and drinks of death, from games of death, from sites of death, from objects of death. One thing that I'm talking about is our emotions. A lot of us get emotional breakdowns easily. We get angry and feel hurt easily. We cry so much not out of conviction of the Holy Spirit but out of self-pity. And then we vent our anger everywhere, on our blogs especially. This cannot be! Our blogs desperately need to be a testimony unto God! If we are to love the life of God, we need to hate the death of the devil. The truth is, if from today we truly hate the things of death, many of us will be turning our homes upside down. We'll be throwing much of our wardrobe, throwing away our computers, throwing away some of our books, some of our games. Today we need to start searching deep within our hearts. Right where you are, do it.

Friends we need to understand that having a good start does not guarantee a good ending. Samson had a great start. But he didn't finish well. The Bible tells us that the door is small and the path is narrow. (Matt7:14) You've gone through the small door, good! Now walk on the narrow path, and be careful not to be thrown off-course. You and I have a responsibility to follow as the Holy Spirit leads, to live our lives with fear and trembling. The world has promoted humankind so much that we have grown to love ourselves so much and think ourselves as infallible. Wrong thinking! The truth is, we need to live our lives with fear and trembling before God, because the day and the hour is unknown when the Son of Man will come. We need to be good and faithful servants, watchful day and night, in and out of season. (Matt24)


Everyone needs compassion,
Love that's never failing;
Let mercy fall on me.

Everyone needs forgiveness,
The kindness of a Saviour;
The Hope of nations.

Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.

Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

So take me as You find me,
All my fears and failures,
Fill my life again.

I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in,
Now I surrender.

My Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.
Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

Shine your light and let the whole world see,
We're singing for the glory of the risen King...Jesus

Mighty To Save - Hillsong United