The Bondage Called "Me"

Judges 16:15-21 • 2 Corinthians 3:17 • Galatians 5:1

Our Current Freedom From Bondage

We can now successfully and rightfully boast in the Lord of our freedom from many different forms of bondage…

• Sin
• Drugs
• Sex
• People
• Religiosity

Liberty vs. Bondage

• Synonymous with the Spirit of the Lord is the Spirit of Liberty.
• Bondage, of any kind, cannot co-exist with the Spirit of God.
• Once you have embraced the liberty available in Christ Jesus through His Spirit, you are to be mindful to not allow yourself to be entangled again under the yoke of any bondage.
• There is no acceptable bondage…!
• While we have made great strides in dealing with our external bondages, we have yet to deal with our internal bondage.

The Bondage Called "Me"

St. Matthew 16:24

The bondage yet to be dealt with is… The Bondage Called "Me"…!

• Personal & cherished fears
• My own personal mindset
• My delusions of grandeur
• My personal lover called "hurt"
• My ever increasing need for attention
• My exaggerated opinion of my own spirituality

The problem with retaining our internal bondage is that it leads us back into our external bondages. 2 Peter 2:20

Samson

• Samson, a child of destiny, was destined to deliver Israel out the hand of the Philistines.
• Samson's life & lifestyle had a way of not matching his destiny.
• Samson's greatest enemy was not the Philistines, but that he was bound to himself.
• Originally God used Samson's "pledge to himself" for His purposes, but just because God used Samson's flesh does not mean that God validated his flesh.
• Samson's allegiance was so pledged to himself that he led himself to his own destruction.
• The Bondage Called "Me" will have you looking right at the path of your undoing and keep walking the same path.
• After Delilah made it clear she meant him no good, Samson continued to trust her.
  • …bind me with seven green that were never dried…
  • …bind me fast with new ropes that were never occupied…
  • …weave the seven locks of my head with the web…
  • …No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazarite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man…
• "Bind me…"
• Notice how he got closer to his undoing with each disclosure.
• We give the enemy too much information.
• Samson liked playing too many games.
• Many of us are playing games with our safety.

Judges 16:27-30

• The reality of Samson's destiny was not realized until he was willing to die.
• Samson finally came to the end of himself.
• There is a death to self that is necessary to release the Bondage Called "Me".