Breakthrough: Joyful - Judges 13:25

Within all of us, there is a tendency to drift away from God. Through salvation and the gift of God's Spirit, we can be restored to God and find New Life in step with Him. If not for the Spirit's lead however, we all inevitably and helplessly fall away. The story of Judges features the nation of Israel drifting from God, even though they had ample reasons to trust Him and worship Him. God raised up deliverers in this generation to bring the people back to Him and to help reestablish their connection with Him. While the judges were pictures of Jesus, they also are pictures of Christians. Yes, they acted as saviors for their people, but they were still sinners themselves. If not for their reliance on the Holy Spirit, they would never been able to help the nation. In this message, we look at the story of Samson and see how his life was changed by the Spirit of God. We observe how joyful he was when he remained in step with God. The goal of this conversation is to cause us to see how vital the Spirit is in keeping us in God's orbit. We also identify and punctuate the joy and fulfillment available to us if we walk in the Spirit. At the conclusion of our message, we arrive at four important reminders with regard to being joyful and sustaining our joy: 1) Joy is found in God's presence - 1 Chronicles 16:27 2) Joy is found in our pursuit - Psalm 37:4 3) Joy is found within God's parameters - Psalm 40:8 4) Joy is found in our persistence - Matthew 25:21