Don’t Give up The Secret

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Father, we thank you. I asked for something this morning, Lord. I asked for passion. I asked for passion to deliver this message, the sequel to last week's message. Where the incarnate Christ gave his name. And it was wonderful. It was a secret that was divulged to the parents of Samson. And Lord, this morning I just ask for your passion, your love, demonstration, your power, whatever is necessary to bring this swimming to fruition. In Jesus' name. Amen. Don't give up the secret. Don't cast your pearls before swine. Samson in Judges chapter 16, verse 1, Bible says, then went Samson to Gaza. That's a famous name, even today. And saw there a harlot and went into her. What does it mean that Samson went to Gaza? Trapp's commentary says, not by a call from God, but of his own mind as something presuming upon his strength, and therefore justly deserted and foiled. Ah, look at me. I am so strong. I go anywhere I want. I could do anything I want. He didn't go by the leading of the Holy Spirit. What was Gaza? One of the chief strongholds of the Philistines. Samson went in the flesh. He went in his carnal thinking. Never go into the enemy stronghold without the leading of the Lord and the full armor of God, because you will be eaten up for breakfast. Romans chapter 8, verse 5 says this for they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the spirit, the things of the spirit. For to be carnally minded is death. But to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity, it's an enemy against God. For it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If so be that the spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. If you don't have him, you're not one of his. That's what the word says. That's what was written. The Bible said that he saw, he saw what? He saw a harlot. What does it mean to see? He looked and he inspected and he observed and he looked after. He gave his attention to and he gazed at her. And she mesmerized them. Just like today, people are looking at things that they shouldn't be looking at. People are looking at things that they shouldn't be looking at. And they gaze at it. And they stare at it. And what happened? Will you do that? The Bible says he went into her. Trapp's commentary says, carried away by human infirmity, forgetting God and his high calling, thus falling into the foul sin of fornication. Or when you gaze too long, my friend, you're gonna fall. When you gaze too long, you're gonna fail. And you're gonna go into some territory that you don't have protection over, and it's gonna bite you like a snake. You know, let's talk for a moment about fornication. You probably have heard of a psychologist by the name of Dr. Laura Schlesinger. So the other day I got this short little video on my phone, don't know where it came from, and I know who she is, and I've read some of her material in her books. And this 50-year-old man calls up and says, Hi, Dr. Laura, how are you? And he said, She I said, she said, I'm fine. How are you? What's what can I do for you, Jim? He says, Well, I'm living with my girlfriend. She said, Stop, you're shacking up. Wow. That's how the conversation started. She said, You're not living with her. You're shacking up. Wow. She's not even a preacher. He wants advice what to do. She said, I will give you advice, but you're not gonna listen. Because you're gonna tell me it's two better to live apart and not marry because it's cheaper or whatever. But I'm gonna tell you what your problem is and what your issue is. He didn't want to hear that. He didn't want to hear that what he was doing from a secular psychologist who's calling him out, he did not want to hear that. How many times have I preached in this pulpit concerning that issue only to see young people fall to the sin of fornication? And I'm gonna say it, even to the point of having children. It still continues. Because young people think I am so strong that I can overcome those emotions and those hormones. Never, never, never, Solomon says, Allow love to spring up before it's time. Never allow it to spring up before it's time. How many conversations have I had in this pulpit in my office to say that what's in an unequal yoke is just not of God? Do people listen? Absolutely not. Some do, some don't. But when you don't listen to the word and you break the legality of his word, you'll get bit. The ministry has become, for a lot of people, immoral. It has become profane. Samson began with a wife in the previous chapter. Now, a woman of the world, and eventually we'll get to Delilah, it was a downward cycle. When I was put into motion by my evangelism director, he said, I want to give you a warning, son. You and your wife, you especially, wine, women, and wealth will destroy your ministry. Sir, yes, sir. Got that message real fast. The Bible says in uh Judges chapter 16, verse 2, and it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson has come hither. See, he did a lot of damage to them in the previous chapter. And then compassed him in and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him. The enemy is always on the prowl to jam up, seeking whom he may devour. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5 8, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. We just put that to the side and think, oh, I'm okay. He's not gonna get me. I'm so strong. Look at me. None of us are. And if you start boasting that way, you're gonna go down. What does he mean to devour? To drink you down and swallow you, to swallow you up and destroy you. This is what his game is. He's a murderer, he's a thief. In verse 3, it says, And Samson lay till midnight and arose at midnight and took the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of a hill that is before Hebron. What happened here? Samson went into the harlot. He got his pleasure. Short term. Never thought about the consequences. You see, people engage in short-term pleasure and never realize the long-term benefits of serving God and walking with him in purity. Listen carefully. He arose at midnight from the bed of what? Fornication. That was his downfall. He had so much lust in him, he just had to get that fulfilled. But how why did he rise from his bed? Was it guilt? Was it intuition that danger ahead? Poole's commentary says this he arose at midnight, being either smitten in conscience for his sin, that's conviction. That's conviction. When he first awaked and then fearing danger, as he had just caused to do, or being secretly warned by God in a dream or by an inward impulse for prevention of his design instruction. In this chapter, we find him behaving in such a wicked way. And we wonder how God can redeem this man. We wonder how God has redeemed us. Many question whether he was a godly man. But but the apostle, Paul the Apostle, who we believe wrote the book of Hebrews, says this in Hebrews 11:32. And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and of Barak and of Samson. He's in the Hall of Fame in God's New Testament. So somehow he made his way back to God, and we'll get to that in a few moments. But here's a man that was so steeped in sin and in lust that you would think there was no way back. But the mercy of God. But the love of God, the long-suffering of God, the forgiveness of God. But Samson began to slip more. You see, he went from the harlot, he had a wife, he went to the harlot, and now it comes in verse number four, and it came to pass afterward that he loved a woman in the valley of Surak, whose name was Delilah. Whose name was Delilah? The commentary says this traps commentary, a fit name for a harlot, for it comes from the word Delal, which signifies to exhaust or to impoverish. It's the property of such female sinners to exhaust the purse, drain the strength, dry up the credit, and waste of all the mightiest Samsons. What does the word Delilah mean? Feeble. It was the Philistine mistress of Samson who betrayed the secret of his great strength and by cutting his hair enfeebled him and delivered him to the Philistines. The word enfeebled is very important because it means eventually when he did cut his hair and tell the secret, the word enfeebled means weakened. It means debilitated, depleted, exhausted, fatigued, sapped, undermined, and emasculated. Don't we see that in a society today? Where are the real men? Where are the real men? Where are the men that leave their homes? Where are the men that are the security for their wives and their families? Where are the men that read the word of God and get on their knees and pray before God? Where are the men? So many have been emasculated. So many have become passive. Samson had a wife, but his ministry became profane and the same today. Then he went to the prostitute, then he went to Delilah. Let me tell you something. The church has laid in the lap of the world and stroked us to sleep. The church has put our hands in the lap of Jezebel's, of Delilah's, and has stroked us to sleep. With pleasure. The world has stroked us to sleep with pleasure. Take thy ease. Has resulted in the church becoming enfeebled. No power, no presence, no presentation. We're lacking. And we need to get back to the old rugged cross. We need to get back to the old-fashioned gospel that was good for Paul and Silas, and it's good enough for us. This new fangled church stuff, smokes, lights, mirrors, entertainment, beautiful people behind a pulpit, 10-minute sermonettes, appeal for money so we could build a bigger kingdom for men and put their names in lights. No, it's not the way of God, my friend. It's not the way of God. The Bible says in verse number five, and the lords of the Philistines, these are the powerful leaders. Said unto uh uh this woman, Delilah, entice him. Man, look at the enticement today. Look at the enticement. Come on, come on, my husband's away. Come on, come on to that phone, come on to that site, come on, come on, come on to that drug, come on to that, come on, come on. You can't watch a sports program without it being all about gambling now. They gamble about everything, about everything. Will he take his hat off at third base in the third inning? They gamble about everything, and they'll give you 50 bucks to start. And in fine print, very fine print at the bottom of those advertisements. If you have a gambling problem, call 1-800, blah blah blah. No, my friend. You're enticing people, you're enticing them to the arena, you're enticing them to the table, you're enticing them to pleasure. That's gonna drain them just like a Delilah. What does it mean to entice? It means to persuade, it means to deceive, and it means to seduce, and that's exactly what's happening in the world today. Paul's commentary says this the lords of the Philistines, the five of them, the lords of their five principal cities, which seem to have you been united together at the time in one aristocratical government, or at least were leagued together against him as the kind of common enemy, to afflict him, to chastise him for his injuries done to us. They mean to punish him severely as they did, but they express it in mild words, lest the horror of its might might move her to pity him. Just entice him, bring him into your lap, give him pleasure. Get the secret, get the secret. Where does he get his power from? Where does he get his strength from? How was he able to do that in the previous chapter and kill all those people? The jawbone of an ass. Entice him. Too many are selling out for silver, too many are selling out for filthy lucre, too many are selling out for muddy, fame, and recognition. Many sell out for immorality because sometimes behind the pulpit people think there's a double standard, and I can do this, but you can't. No, there's only one standard, and God forbid we fall, God forbid we become immoral, God forbid. I saw a clip of a great man of God that I followed. I stood on the same stage with him in Long Island when he was young and preaching that word and preaching with that finger. Millions of people followed him. Millions, millions, tens of millions. When he was caught with the woman of the world, he went before his church and he said, It's none of your business. Oh, my friend, no, it's his business. Those people supported you, those people build your ministry. What do you mean it's none of their business? You can't go out to a hotel and do that. And then come into church and on television have some tears and come to your church and say, it's none of your business, it is our business, it's church business, whether you're sitting in the pew or standing behind a pulpit.

unknown 17:33

That's right, right.

SPEAKER_02 17:35

What's happened to us? Soothing messages, ten-minute sermonettes, therapy, put them on the couch. No, let's come back to the altar and praise God, hallelujah. Clark's commentary says, All these considered Samson as a public enemy. I want to tell you something, my friend. You are a public enemy when it comes to hell this morning. Your name is in the post office, and that roaring lion's looking for you. That murderer and that thief is saying, Let me get that face good. Because I want her. And I want him. I want to bring her to the bed of fornication. I want his lust to get up to here.

SPEAKER_00 18:24

And then I'll get him.

SPEAKER_02 18:27

And I'll rip that page down and say, one down, and how many more to go? Oh, considered Samson a public enemy, and they promised this bad woman a large sum of money if she would obtain from him the important secret wherein his strength lay that depriving him of his supernatural power, they might be able to reduce him to bondage. Five lords, eleven hundred dollars, eleven hundred pieces of silver each, five thousand five hundred pieces of silver was a big bounty. Woman, got some money for you. Look at the clothes you could buy, look at the jewelry you could buy. You don't need him. He's garbage. We're gonna get him, we're gonna kill him. But we want you to have a little bounty. We want you to have a little bit of money. Let me ask you a question this morning, my friends. What bounty is on our heads to deprive us of our supernatural power that God has given us through the cross? How much bounty is on your head to slaughter? What's the bit in hell? What demon is coming and saying, hey, give it to me, boss? Give them to me. Because these little guys, they've had no effect on that life. What's the bounty? What do I get out of this, Satan? You see, that's what people are doing in the flesh. They're selling their soul to the devil to become famous and rich. But there's always a price to pay when you do that. There's always a sacrifice that has to be made somewhere down the road. Somewhere down the road. So she says in verse 6, and Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. So Samson is going to go back to silly little games, and that's what people play. You know, there was a word given in this church some time ago that God was going to get rid of the foolishness in the house of God. He was going to get rid of our indifference, bring us back to the word, and then he said he would heal us. There was basically four things. But one of the things was to get rid of foolishness. And you have to define that for yourself, whether it's in your life or in the life of your family. Foolishness. And Samson said unto him, If they bind me with seven green widths, seven green cords that were never dry, then shall I be weak and be as another man. He's lying. He's lying. He's not telling the truth. Samson is guilty both of the sin of lying, though he does dress up the lie in such circumstances as might make it most probable, and of great folly, encouraging her inquiries. He's playing with her like a cat with a mouse, which he should at first have checked. But as he had forsaken God, so now God has forsaken him and deprived him of common prudence. Otherwise, the frequent repetition and vehement urging of this question might easily have raised suspicion in him. Tyson, keep nagging. Break them down. That's exactly what's happening in our homes. That's what's exactly happening in our marriages, in our relationships, in our church, in our country. Break them down, break them down, break them down. Make them think this is not important anymore. This stuff here, hey, church of Head is low. Forget that. Isaiah 63 and 8. The Lord says, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie. So he was their savior. Have you ever caught a Christian in a lie repeatedly? Lying all the time. Cover up a lie for a lie. It's a measure. People think you're stupid. People think you're a fool. Exaggerations, lies, pretense, false motives. Think nothing of them. Probably a defense mechanism they used when they were young to get out of trouble. And in the carnal state, we bring back those defense mechanisms in the present moment, and we forget the spiritual, and what do we do? We lie. And we justify our rationalizations and our justifications to other people. Let me tell you. And then you're looking at this person and you're saying, Man, you're lying and you're dying. And you think I'm a fool. Bible says in verse 8, then the lords of the Philistines brought up the seven green cords which had net been dried, bound him. Now there were men lying in wait. You see, there's always an enemy looking for you. There's always someone to conspire against you. He's saying, Well, Pastor, are you like a conspiracy theorist? In some ways, yeah. Because I know the enemy is always lurking about. And I know he uses people. He puts those demons in them to try to assault you and harass you. They're lying in wait in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And as as he breaks the cords, as a thread of toe is broken when it toucheth the fire, so his strength was not known. They were just like little shoelaces to him.

SPEAKER_01 24:04

They must have been like, Wow.

SPEAKER_02 24:08

Those are strong chords. You see, the world is mocking the church. Listen to this. The Bible says in verse 10, and Deliah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me. What are you talking about? You're setting me up. The Philistines are in your house, in the other room, ready to get me and kill me. And you are telling me I'm mocking you. Oh, yeah, he was playing games with her. And she said, she called him, and you told me lies. But we don't like when people tell us you're lying. A husband doesn't like his wife to say, you're lying, man. And vice versa. Friends don't like to hear and say, you're lying. We don't like to hear that. We want to be squeaky clean before other people. We want to have this presentation. I'm going to read to you what I wrote here in the Lord. The world is mocking the church. And rightfully so, when so many are advertising Jesus, but in reality promoting themselves. Too many use Jesus as a calling card to gather others for their own benefit and recognition. Too many are prophesying smooth things to win the favoritism of their audience. When we come to terms with our carnal plans, then we will realize John 15 and 5, I am the vine and you are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, but without me you can do nothing. We will realize Matthew 5.8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. And you know what this means? This means God make sure my motivation and my motives are pure before you. John 3 30, he must increase, but I must decrease. Our prayer should be this hide me behind the cross and only allow people to see Jesus in my life. People getting rich off the gospel. And then when a news reporter goes to their compound to question them, the goons come out near the electric fences and say, What are you doing here? Well, we want to just talk to the person that's in charge here, and that's the man of God. You can't talk to him. Oh, why is that? You got a gated community here, don't you, sir? Yes, we do. Can you see Jesus living in a gated community with electronic fences, guard dogs, and guards living on hundreds and thousands of acres of land and mansions and compounds? Listen, I think people should live comfortable. But don't ask me for money to buy you a plane.

unknown 26:48

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 26:49

When I got to ride in my car and bank gas.

SPEAKER_00 26:52

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 26:53

Because you don't you don't want to be next to people in public. And you're a freacher. How can you even say that? I don't like to sit next to people on a plane in public. Well, what's the gospel about? Sitting next to the guy on the plane and telling him about Jesus. While you're in your lofty plane private. These people are on a plane going to hell, and nobody's telling them nothing. Because you want your space. Okay, you want your space. So he's going to continue with the lies and the games. He said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak and be as another man. Delilo therefore took new ropes and bound him therewith and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. What doesn't Delilah understand here? And there were liars, means people lying in wait, abiding in the chamber, and he broke them from off his arms like a thread. He was saying, You're playing with me again. Why are you doing this? I want that money. Five thousand, he doesn't know about the money. All he knows is these people are after him. And Delias said to Samson in verse 13 and 14, Hitherho thou hast mocked me and told me lies. Tell me where it thou mightest be bound. And he said to her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web, and she fastened it with a pin and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of sleep and went away with the pin of the beam and with the web. He got out of that too. Is she gonna try again? Yeah, because she's a nag. And she's enticing. Samson continues to play little silly games, leaving her on, just like that 50-year-old man. You don't want to marry her. You don't want to make commitment, you don't want to be the spiritual leader of your own service. You just want to shack up. You just want some tail. That's what you want. And isn't that so true in society? So true. What happened to love? What happened to commitment? What happened to people coming to the altar and saying, Jesus, I'm lost and undone, man. I need you. I can't lead a fly. It's like I'm sitting in a parked car and I'm going nowhere and nobody's following me. And the only reason that's so is because you don't have Jesus. Because you don't have Christ and you're running after the pledges of the world, and you're looking for the Delios, and you're looking for the Jezebels, and you're looking for the harlot, and you're looking for the street girls, you're looking for the one that looks so beautiful. Isn't she gorgeous? Yeah, as she takes you down to the pit. Read the book of Proverbs. Read the book of Proverbs. It'll tell you everything about life, about romance, and the rest. Verse 15. Samson plays little games. So Isaiah chapter 30, and you see, this is what's happening today, if you follow it. The seers are out there, the prophets are out there, and there's some good ones, but there are some ones that are saying some stuff that's just not right. Listen to a few things here. Isaiah 30 and 10, two verses I'm going to read, two different versions. Who say to the seers, those who have visions, do not see, and to the prophets, do not prophesy to us right things, speak to us smooth things, and prophesy deceits.

unknown 30:35

What?

SPEAKER_02 30:36

Psalm uh Isaiah 30 and 10. Tell the sees, seers, stop seeing visions and tell the prophets, don't tell us what's right, tell us nice things, tell us lies. It's gonna be we're gonna have the golden age. We don't even need Jesus to return because we're gonna take over the country. It's gonna be like the Garden of Eden. When the Bible says this in 1 Timothy 4 1, now the speaketh spirit expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. 2 Timothy 4 3, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and they shall turn away with their ears from the truth and shall be turned into fables. And this is exactly what's happening. The fooling away has begun. The people asleep, they've given up their secret, they've yielded to the lust of the world, they've laid their head in the lap of Delilah, and they were pleasured into sleep. Think about that for a moment. Verse 15, and she said unto him, How can thou say I love thee? Oh, and now she's playing the love game. If you love me, you would go to bed with me if you love me. Shut up. Control yourself. Playing the game if you love me. How many girls have been put into that web? If you love me, you will do what? Go back where you came from. Go home to your dad so he could paddle you. If you love me, when thine heart is not with me. Oh, she's playing that guilty game now. Thou hast mocked me three times and has not told me wherein thy great strength lied. Three times, Samson, you've toyed with me. You know, the enemy has the same desire to toy with you like a cat playing with the mouse before the kill. James chapter 4, 7 says this submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Resist. Why would you resist the devil? Because he's coming after you. Because he wants you to fall, he wants you to go down, he wants to ruin your reputation. He wants people to say, Have you heard? Have you heard?

SPEAKER_00 33:21

Have you heard? Heard what? Oh, let me tell you. She got herself in trouble. He got himself in trouble. Have you heard?

SPEAKER_02 33:31

You see, people don't like this kind of preaching. And you know, one of these days, some of you might not like me anymore. Maybe you don't like me now, I don't know. Because it's hard preaching. But how in the world are we gonna get to heaven unless we have the word of God? The sincerity behind the pulpit. I'm a sinner saved by grace, man. I'm no better or different than you. But oh God, I love Jesus and I need Jesus every day, and God help me not to fall. Because if I fall, God, a lot of people who know me are gonna be discouraged.

SPEAKER_01 34:08

People don't think about that.

SPEAKER_02 34:12

They don't think about that. And it came to pass in verse 16 when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him so that his soul was vexed unto death. Wear it down, wear him down, wear him down, wear him down, and then he'll become passive in America. Not leaders, not warriors, not more than conquerors, looking at their wives as their mommy instead of their wife. Something wrong with that, my friend. He had one mommy that gave birth to you, and that was his one. You don't need another mommy for a wife. Listen, nagging day after day, got him to compromise, and he told her where his strength came from. He gave up the secret, he gave up the wonderful, the Christ. Compromise will always give up the Lord for some silver, some pleasure, some sin, some rationalization, some justification. But you don't understand. I just want to be happy. Happy people go to hell. I said, happy people go to hell, they're not happy. God knows my heart. Yeah, he does. He says our heart is deceitful, uh deceitfully wicked above all things. Who can know it but God? Oh, we think sometimes we're squeaky clean, but we're not until we go before him. And that light shines in our heart and says, you know what? You got this, and it needs to go. We have left the enemy in the church. When Delilah realized that he had told her her secret, she sent for the Philistine tyrants, telling them, Come quickly, this time he's told me the truth. They came bringing the bribe money. Reminds me of the king who showed the enemy his treasures in the old testament, only to allow her to bite him later. The truth be told. Verse 17 that he told her all his heart. Ah, what a mistake. When you tell a Delilah or a Jezebel all your heart, you're in trouble. There had not come a razor upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite unto God from my mother's womb. And if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man. He's telling her his secret. You want to know why I'm so macho and strong? Because my mother was a Nazirite, and I was raised as a Nazarite, and my hair has never known a raiser. Betrayal. It's the worst. Betrayal. And when Deliah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once for the shore be all his heart. And then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her and brought money in their hand. Here's your guy.

SPEAKER_00 37:43

Here's your penny. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:49

That's what you want. Go your way, lady. Because we got what we wanted. See, that's the way the world is, greedy. They want what they want. And they'll take in any way, shape, form, or fashion from you to get what they want. Employers do it, friends do it, family does it. People who say they're Christians do it. That's why Paul said that he was in danger of his own brethren. What did that mean? He wasn't dumb. He had discernment. What happened here? She made him sleep upon her knees. And she called for a man and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head. And she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. And when she got him to sleep, his head on her lap, she motioned to a man to cut off the seven braids of his hair, and immediately he began to grow weak. His strength drained from him. Just like the water that goes down the sink to see it no more. The power. Like air out of a balloon. Like water being emptied out of a pitcher. You know the sad part? You want to know the sad part? The enemy has cut off the hair of the church for the most part in America. Give us a cook job. And you might not like what I'm saying here this morning. That's your business. That's your business. But I'm telling you what the word says. And I believe God is trying to say something to us. As she said, the Philistines be upon me, Samson. He awoke out of his sleep and he said, I will go out as other times before and shake myself. And he was not that the Lord was departed from him. I'm gonna shake myself.

SPEAKER_01 40:19

There is no unction, there is no anointing, it's just words.

SPEAKER_02 40:33

He shook himself. You see, many shake themselves today, but there's nothing there. And then she said, The Philistines are on you. He woke up thinking, I'll get out like always and shake free. He didn't realize that God had abandoned him. God never let that happen. He abandoned him. You know why? Because sin blinds, sin binds, and sin grinds. It says in verse 21, but the Philistines took him and put out his eyes. I can't see. Just think of somebody gouging your eyes out. You get a little piece of hair in your eye, and it's like you can't see. And you gotta get it out. Imagine somebody coming with a poker and gouging your eyes out. Was it worth it to sleep with the harlot? Was it worth it to sleep with Delana? Was it worth it? Was it worth it to play silly little games?

SPEAKER_01 41:36

No.

SPEAKER_02 41:40

They gouged his eyes out and brought him down to the Gaza and bound him with fetters of brass and did grind in the prison house. You know what this was all about? The enemy withheld within has blinded many in the church. You see, we could leave this church this morning and stay the same. We can leave this church this morning and not apply the word of God if it fits for our soul. We can leave and say, hey, have a great day. What's the fruit? The enemy has blinded many in the church. They have grabbed many and gouged their eyes out so they can no longer see the truth. Dead, dried up religion. The blind lead the blind. The Philistines grabbed him, gouged out his eyes, and took him down to Gaza. They shuffled him in irons and put him to work in the grinding of the prison. Samson was blind, bound, and grinding in the prison house. Grinding at the mill was the work of women and slaves, which shows you to what low estate Samson was reduced to. He was reduced to slavery.

unknown 42:47

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 42:48

And we are reduced to bondage or slavery when we sin.

unknown 42:52

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 42:53

And if you listen to the podcast that Rosemary put up on Gary Wilkerson, we don't want to talk about sin anymore. We don't want to raise that question in our home anymore. We give it a lot of different kinds of names. But God calls it sin if we're sinning and breaking the word of God and it separates us from Him. We're cute now. Abortion is a medical procedure. Millions and millions of babies are boarding. Medical procedure. Really? That's all you got. But let me tell you something. See, the Philistines, the enemy's dumb. See, the enemy will tell you what he's gonna do a lot of times. But the enemy does not have the knowledge of God or the power of God. And you know, we always say this phrase, but God. You see that we're dumb. His hair off. They took him to the barbershop. But they didn't realize something. Verse 22 howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaven. Oh, God's not done, my friend. He's not done with me. He's not done with you. He's not done with the church. He's not done with America. Because God, but God can grow the hair, praise God, upon the head of the church again, upon the head of Christians again, upon the head of nations and friendships. But God, we can grow the hair again. But God. Judges 16, 22 in the message version, but his hair, the dough cut off, began to grow again in the YLT version, and the hair of his head begineth to shoot up when he had been shaven. Oh, you know what that says to me? A quick work. Man, I play. I'm telling you something. I believe God, this is the last days, and I believe God wants to do a quick work. And those that are lingering, those that are on the outer edge, those that are on the perimeter are not gonna hear this or see this. But God is calling a remnant for it, God is calling a people for it, He's calling His chosen, He's calling His anointed, He's calling His sons and daughters by God, and He's saying, I'm gonna grow the hair on your head once more, and it's gonna be a quick work. It's gonna cost you, though.

SPEAKER_01 45:26

It's gonna cost you.

SPEAKER_02 45:30

Oh, that the hair of the church would shoot up, and that we would move in the anointing and the power of the Holy Spirit. The Philistines celebrated prematurely, just like in sports. Make a touchdown in the first quarter, and they're doing their stupid dance in the end zone, and they end up losing 40 to 7. Bunch of idiots. Celebrating too early. Do the dance when the clock stops! Fourth quarter, no time, and you won. Doing their pik pam ping. Like a bunch of children. Watch sports from years ago when a guy by the name of Tom Landry was the coach. The coach dressed up in a suit and a top hat. Nobody celebrated, you just played the game and got off the field. The old generals didn't put up with the nonsense. Today you'll get fired if a player doesn't like you. You'll get traded. You'll get sent out to the whatever somewhere. Then the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon, their God. Oh, look what our false God did. And they rejoiced, and they said, Oh, God has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hand. Oh, wait a minute, fellas. But God, wait a minute. You see, the world's ridiculing the church. And when the people saw him, they praised their God, for they said, Our God has delivered into our hands our enemy and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. And it came to pass when their hearts were merry that they said, Call for Samson that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house, and he made them sport, and they set him between the pillars. You know what it means to make sport, to laugh at him, to mock him, to play with him, to jest with him, to toy with him, and make him the toy. That's what they were doing. Bring him out here so we can laugh at him. And you know, when we fall into sin, that's exactly what the world does. They laugh at us. Oh, I thought you were a Christian. I thought you went to that church. I don't go there no more.

SPEAKER_01 47:53

I don't believe that stuff anymore. I'm not one of them.

SPEAKER_02 48:01

Okay. Judges 16, 24. I'm gonna close. And when the people saw him, they joined in, cheering their God. Oh, the enemy likes to cheer. The enemy likes to join in. Our God has given our enemy to us, the one who ravaged our country, piling high the corpses among us. Then this, everyone was feeling high, and someone said, Get Samson, let him show us his stuff. They got Samson from the prison and put on a show for them that he had them standing between the pillars. Bring him out. Bam. Bring him out. Let's see what he's gonna do now. That he has no strength. But you see, the enemy miscalculated. His hair was growing quickly, shooting up. And verse 26, and Samson said unto the lad, Oh, thank God for the little kid that held him by the hand. He said, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars where upon the house standard, that I may lean upon them. Now the house was full of men and women, and the lords of the Philistines were there, and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women that beheld Samson and made sport of him. You know, previously in the beginning of the sermon, you know when he picked up those gates? Some people he ran with them for 20 miles. That's how strong it was. Supernatural. Supernatural. Some say he ran to Hebron for 20 miles with those gates. But look what he's reduced to now. But what they didn't understand, his hair grew back. I'm gonna tell you something, and you need to hear this. It's about position on how you defeat the enemy. Get the word. It's about position, it's about our posture, it's about our operating image, it's about our command presence when we walk into a room. Any contact sport, the aim is to get the opponent off of balance. The enemy of your soul works hard to get you off spiritual balance. When you walk in a room and you're like, you command no presence, you command no respect. When you're dismal, down, depressed eternally, you command no presence, you have no posture, you have no position. And the enemy's looking at you and he's saying, Wow, this is easy. This is like flicking a flea over the back of a dog. There is no resistance.

SPEAKER_00 50:49

You got me, get me. I'm so tired of fighting.

SPEAKER_02 50:58

He's already got you. Because you have no posture, you have no command presence. And when you walk in a room, nobody's looking at you except to see a dilapidated house that's falling apart. The timbers fall. I told my wife the other day, I read this little article. What women find attractive in men when they walk in the room.

SPEAKER_01 51:36

It's not your muscles. It's not being buffed.

SPEAKER_02 51:44

They look at your fingernails, they look at your posture, and they look at your forearms for some reason as a show of strength to them. And they look at your eyes to see if you look at. Now, who would ever thought that women are attracted to men who have command presence? Look into their eyes, look at their forearms, and make sure their nails are clean. What's the image that we have in America? Yeah. And then where do we go from there? Spiritual man. This was a secular article. But I believe women are looking for a spiritual man to lead them, to show them the light. And when you don't have the light, you can't lead. You can't lead. You will end up in a ditch eventually. Samson called upon the Lord and he said, Oh Lord, God, remember me. I pray thee and strengthen me. I pray thee only this once. One more run, one more time. Just like in a basketball game, when a team is behind, every team has one more run in them. One more big effort. And he said, Oh, God, that I may be at once avenge of the Philistines for my two eyes. Why? He wanted those eyes, he wanted to see, he wanted to see God, and they took out his eyes. He couldn't see the light. All he had was darkness in his brains. And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars, which the house stood on which he was born up, and one with his right hand and the other with his left. And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might, and the house fell upon the Lords and upon all the people that were in. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. And in verse 31, it says this. Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zora and Eschatol in the burying place of Manoah, his father, and he judged Israel for twenty years. Samson died by himself. The end of Samson was death, spiritual at times, yet under the power of carnal appetites. Mighty in physical strength, but yet weak and resisting temptations. A few verses to close. Romans 6 23, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Ezekiel 18 and 4 says, The soul that sinneth, it shall die. Ezekiel 18 and 4, another verse, for all people are mine to judge, both parents and children alike, and this is my rule. The person who sins is the one who will die. Ezekiel 18 and 4 in the message version. Every soul, man, woman, child, belongs to me. Parent and child alike. You die for your own sin and not another's. You can't blame the preacher. You can't blame the church, you can't blame your spouse, you can't blame your friend. Sin separates us from God. And you know, sim, people are proud of their sin. They boast about their sin. They think they're going to take a six-pack to hell and have a jukebox and have a good time for the rest of their eternity. No. You see, sin always results in something terrible. Many have played the game and come up losers. It's just not worth the consequences of death when we can have the promise of eternal life with Jesus Christ. My friend, it's all about choice short-term pleasure or long-term benefits. Short-term pleasure or long-term benefits. Father, thank you. Thank you for the word. Thank you, Lord, that we could ascribe to that word and be safe. That, oh God, our branches will not be cut off and pruned, that our tree will not be cut down because it's become evil. But God, because it's good, Psalm chapter 1. Help us to be a refreshing. Help us to have the green leaves. Help us, oh God, to be blessed in what we touch in our homes, in our families, in our relationships. Oh God, help us to have the hair grow upon our head like a shoot quickly, so that we can do the work of God and move in the power of the Holy Spirit. I pray for people today that might hear or listen or see whatever. That God, you would touch them if they're in the dungeon of hell, if they're in the dungeon of pit, if they're in the dungeon of sin. I pray, God, that you would bring them out in the name of Jesus and grow their ear once again. And oh God, give them their strength back that they might move in the power of your will and the power of your spirit, that divinity would invade their beings. They would know the only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Thank you for the word today. Thank you for your people. And thank you for the opportunity to express, oh God, what I believe you wanted to present to this church today. In Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you. Would you stand with us?