It's hard to fight against darkness if we are dating darkness.

For a total of 6 weeks we studied the life of Samson in the book of Judges via the Collection of Talks titled: Dating Delilah, observing how God's call was upon Samson. God had given him specific commands to follow, but unfortunately he fixated his eyes on his desires and wants vs. God's plan. Although he had the strength to win external battles, he was losing on the inside, losing who God had called him to be. God's deliverance showed up time and time again, but Samson continued a vicious cycle because he succumbed to temptation allowing himself to become deceived to the point of delusion. Even then God's mercy was enough and at the end of his life he had the opportunity to repent using his God given potential to kill his enemies.

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To resource our community we developed a website. Below you'll find a brief summary of the 6 weeks of content.

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Dating Delilah: The Call and The Command

The lines on a football field are not there to limit you, but instead to help you know how to score.  God's commands are not meant to limit us, but instead they are meant to guide us into success. He calls us, but also gives us commands. Our obedience to his call and his commands should be the commitment of our lives.

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‍Dating Delilah: From Fixation to Fury‍

What our eyes fixate on our mind will focus on. Where our focus goes our life will follow.

It matters what gets our attention. It matters where our wonder drifts. Samson found himself drifting away from his calling and God's commands. When we fixate our eyes on the Spirit of God we will be led by His Spirit. When we fixate our eyes on the flesh we will be led by the flesh. We must ask ourselves if we are bearing flesh fruits or the fruit of the Spirit?‍

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Dating Delilah: When Winning Leaves You Feeling Empty

It's easy to think that our strength, our intelligence, or our abilities have provided us with success.  But when “success” leaves us empty, we realize that there is only one source of true joy and fulfillment and that is God. He is the source of our strength, intelligence and abilities. ‍

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Dating Delilah: When Deliverance Isn’t Enough

When we treat symptoms without addressing their root cause, we only ease the symptoms of pain, but never truly heal the underlying wound. Similarly, God can deliver us from our sins repeatedly, but if we keep returning to them, it is an indication that we have not allowed Him to heal the deeper cause at the heart of those sins. When we reveal our wounds, and work at removing them, God is able to restore us. Deliverance sets us free, but healing will keeps us free.‍

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Dating Delilah: Breaking Up with Delilah

As fishing lures are used to bait the fish, temptation lures us to fall in its trap. No one is exempt from being tempted. Daily our mind and thoughts are given an invitation to engage in such things like, lust, envy, greed, pride and so much more. But we have been given free will to decide whether to take on this invitation or not. Temptation is not a sin, it is an invitation away from God’s heart. An invitation we do not have to accept.‍

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Dating Delilah: Potential Suicide

Potential is great, but if unused it is simply dormancy. To avoid the binding, blinding, and grinding of sin, we must surrender and submit our potential to the One who gave it - Our Living God. Being in the will of God requires dying to yourself daily. However if found in the place of demotion from judge to jester, we serve a redemptive God who deals in grace. God can use anything, we only need to lean on Him and His pillars of grace and truth. Grace will remind you, you didn’t do anything to deserve it. Truth will remind you that sin will kill you if you don’t kill it.