Feb. 15 & 16, 2025
Freedom Series Week 3: Hang-Ups
Speaker: Pastor Jordan Hansen
Note: due to the snowstorm we got early Sunday morning, both services were delayed 15 minutes and most people tuned in from home, so that’s why the auditorium is much emptier than usual.
What Are Hang-Ups? They are roadblocks that prevent our progression through God’s plan for each of our lives, typically shaped by bent thinking received in childhood or unhealthy attitudes adopted to cope with life’s challenges, which we all go through. Hang-ups can essentially be defined as anything that prevents us from getting closer to God.
Next, Pastor Jordan did an interactive activity with the congregation: if you currently struggle (or have struggled) with one of the things he lists, sit down. The list included anger, anxiety, arrogance, body image issues, codependency, depression, fear, greed, shame, lack of self-control, materialism, perfectionism, pride, procrastination, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness, jealousy, envy, control issues, and a few other things. The goal of this activity was to help the congregation be honest about needing God’s help. The Gospel message sets us free when we humbly come to Jesus and admit our powerlessness.
Pastor Jordan talked a little about our Celebrate Recovery ministry and preached out of Judges 16:4-22, which is the story of Samson and Delilah. He then proceeded to position Samson as the poster boy for CR because he had many hang-ups throughout his life. He also gave a little background on the book of Judges about how it was a time when everyone did what was right in their own eyes (typically the opposite of what God wanted them to do) and that God raised up judge to save the people from their enemies, but many of them had flaw as well.
In Judges 16:4-22, we see that Samson was a very prideful man; he joked with Delilah and lied about the source of his strength three times. He thought he was too smart and too strong for the Philistines, but it eventually led to his capture, blinding, and imprisonment. Many people do the same thing with their hang-ups, thinking that they are small and won’t hurt them. Samson’s vulnerability proved that the areas of our lives where we feel the strongest can lead to our downfall, and we see that he was impulsive, rebellious, angry, people-pleasing, shortsighted, and lustful. He thought he could do better than God, so he tells Delilah the real source of his strength; when the Philistines shaved his head as he was sleeping, we read that the Lord departed from Samson and that when he wakes up, the Philistines seize him, gouge out his eyes, and and throw him in prison. When we don’t walk in freedom, our enemies view God as weak and we can be controlled by our enemies.
Later in the chapter, starting in verse 23, we read that the Philistines gather to sacrifice to their false god and mock Samson, so he asks the young man guiding him to let him feel the pillars of the house so he can lean on them. Pride blinds us to the impact of of our hang-ups, and Samson realized that he is mere dust animated by the Spirit of God. God allowed his physical sight to be taken away so he could start seeing spiritually. Back to the story: when Samson is leaning on the pillars, he prays to God for strength one last time to avenge his lost sight; God grants him his request, so he pulled the pillars down, killing himself and all the Philistines in the house. We also read that Samson killed more Philistines at his death than he did during the rest of his lifetime. God used the Israelites (Samson included) to execute righteous judgment, ultimately to protect His people and guide them into freedom.
Pastor Jordan made the following points: if we don’t confront our hang-ups, they will confront us; deliverance and freedom are lifelong pursuits; we all need people in our lives to confront our hurts, habits, and hang-ups; and a hang-up in God’s hands gives life, while it will metaphorically gouge out our eyes and leave us for dead in the hands of the enemy.
Samson took the first step to freedom in Judges 16:28, where he prays to God for strength one last time; the New Testament formula for this is to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him daily. The first step in CR’s 12-step process is to admit that we are powerless to overcome our addictions/compulsive behaviors and that our lives have become unmanageable; acknowledging that we cannot do it alone is the first step to freedom.
Later, we see a video of Ken’s testimony; he is on CLC’s leadership team and he currently heads our CR ministry. After the video ended, Pastor Jordan transitioned to a time of communion and closed his message with this: discipleship isn’t about perfection, but faithfulness, even through failure; keep coming back to Jesus.