19 Sermon Illustrations on Samson

Boys and girls are all fond of riddles, and I am sure you will be surprised to know that there is one of the best riddles of all in the Bible, one that is very hard to guess, and yet one that has a fine lesson in it when I tell you the answer. This riddle was told by Samson on his wedding-day, and nobody would ever have guessed it if his wife had not let the secret out. But first I must tell where Samson got his riddle. Well, one day with his father and mother he was walking down the road to the land where the Philistines lived. And according to the story, a young lion rushed out at him from behind some bushes, and Samson, being a very strong man, broke its jaws and killed it, and left its carcass behind some bushes by the roadside. Some time afterward he was going down that road again, and he turned aside to see what had become of the carcass. And what do you think he found there? This: a swarm of wild bees had made their nest in that carcass. Now, Samson was fond of honey, and he took the comb of honey with him and ate it as he walked along the road. And as he walked he made up this riddle: "Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." That means that out of this lion which would have eaten him up he got something to eat, and out of this strong beast he got something sweet. I suppose you will wonder what sort of lesson for boys and girls anyone can draw from that. You say you will never meet a lion on the roadside. I am not so sure of that. I think boys and girls meet things every day that are very much like lions. Of course, in these days we call them temptations. But, then, they jump out at you very suddenly and unexpectedly sometimes. And they would devour your souls just as this lion would have eaten up Samson had he not killed it. And when you kill a temptation by not giving way to it you can make a riddle just like Samson, and you can say, too, "Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." For just like Samson, every time you come to the place where you have overcome a temptation, -- it may be to say unkind things, or to be quick-tempered, or to be hateful, -- you will find that you will be stronger to overcome it next time. And the remembrance of how you were able to overcome your feelings will be sweet, just as that honey was to Samson. God says that if we trust Him, "the young lion shall ye trample under foot."

Sermon for Children's Day (not used due to time).

"ALL-ROUND MATURITY" Luke 2:52

"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."

I. Everyone wants to be mature.

A. Instantly.

B. Genuine maturity takes time.

II. Four areas of life in which Jesus (and us) grew to maturity.

A. Intellectual.

B. Physical.

C. Spiritual.

D. Social.

III. The importance of balance in maturity.

A. Samson was strong, but morally weak.

B. Solomon was wise, but spiritually weak.

C. King David was spiritual, but weak in relationships.

D. Jesus was perfectly balanced.

Outline by Dr. J. B. Williams

Why Do We Fail ?

Judges 16:20

"And she said, 'The Philistines be upon, thee, Samson.' And he

awoke out of his sleep, and said, 'I will go out as before and

shake myself.' And he wist not that the Lord was departed from

him."

There are always reasons for the success of successful people.

Go back in their life and somewhere we will find a basis for

their progress and advancement in life.

There are principles that are followed and discipline that is

exercised. That is their secret of success.

The same can be said regarding those who make failures of their

lives.

Samson was a man with a Godly heritage. He had good Godly parents.

He abused his privileges.

Why did a child with such a good background make such a failure?

His failure is a lesson for all of us, and it is so simple to

see.

There are certain principles a child of God must follow if he

is to march in the front lines of the Lord's army.

Failure to follow these principles for success and advancement

in the christian life and service, spells disaster. It did for

Samson, and will for all who follow in his train.

We must look at some of the reasons for Samson's failure, and

see to it that we do not make the same mistakes.

Until we follow the principles for spiritual growth, we cannot

enjoy the blessings of christian progress. Notice;

I. SAMSON FAILED TO DISCIPLINE HIS INNER LIFE.

The lesson we learn from him is, we must discipline our inner

life. Sadly, christian discipline is not observed by most

christians.

Strangely enough,this results in the lack of christian maturity.

Christian maturity includes both spiritual maturity as well as

emotional maturity.

It is amazing how in one generation old-fashioned home discipl-

ine has dissipated. That generation was taught self-discipline.

How do we discipline our inner lives ?

1. By saying "no" to the wrong things, and "yes" to the right.

2. By observing the principles of growth, without which there

can be no spiritual growth. These are:

[1] An organized study of God's Word. I Peter 2:2.

"As new born babes desire the sincere ( pure-unadult-

rated ) word of God, that ye may grow thereby."

Biblical truth is the spiritual diet. Studying requires

discipline.

This study includes sunday school attendance, other

church provided means of study, in worship services and

prayer meetings, etc.

[2] Application of these truths [exercise] for spiritual

growth. John 13:7. Again discipline is required.

3. Regular attendance at church services. Discipline re-

quired.

4. Giving of our means to the Lord's work. This requires dis-

cipline as to how we spend our income.

5. Set the correct priorities in life. First things first.

Samson failed because he tried to satisfy the desires of the

flesh in the forbidden way.

II. SAMSON FAILED TO DISCIPLINE HIS OUTWARD BEHAVIOR.

He failed to watch his conduct. Negligent about his outward

behavior.

1. He was not careful about the Places to which he went.

He went to Timnah, a border town of the Philistines.

Had he not gone there, he would not have been subjected to

temptations and fallen into sin.

Wrong places leads to real problems.

2. He was not careful about the People with whom he associated.

He became involved with three women that he should have

shunned.

[1] One of the daughters of the Philistines, whom he married.

[2] A harlot in Gaza.

[3] Delilah, who brought the final ruin upon him.

We must be careful with the people with whom we mix.

They may "clip our wings", as well as "cut our hair".

3. Samson was a Nazarite and did not faithfully discharge his

duties to the Lord.

He was careless about his testimony before the world.

He took lightly his responsibilities of sacred things.

Likewise, we must watch our conduct. This is where Samson

failed.

III. SAMSON FAILED TO DISASSOCIATE HIMSELF FROM GOD'S ENEMIES.

Samson played the fool because he constantly flirted with

sin.

He should have resisted temptations and lived in God's will.

He should not have allowed the lusts of the flesh to deter-

mine his conduct.

He allowed lust instead of love to be the basis of his

choice of a girl friend.

Samson failed to build his inner life to maturity, conse-

quently, he failed to pick the right places and people in

his life.

He failed in spite of the help he could have received from

heaven.

I Cor. 10:13. "There hath no temptation taken you but as

such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not

suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will

with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be

able to bear it."

Deliverance is available to all you seek it.

There is another very important principle that must be rec-

ognized from this tragic waste of life;

Separation from the enemies of God.

Samson failed to separate from the lusts of the flesh and

evil companions in his Conduct, but he also failed to sep-

arate in Creed.

He failed to disassociate himself from the enemies of God.

The Philistines had a different religion from the Jews.

Their concept of God and a relationship with Him was wrong.

Samson should have disassociated himself from them.

This is an important principle that God has required in

all the ages.

At the turn of the present century there were those who, in

opposition, separated from the enemies of God.

These true servants of God, have for almost 100 years opposed

liberalism, false religions [even those who claim to base

their religion on the Bible], apostasy, new age movement,

inclusiveism, the compromise of the truth, and have stood

upon the principles of the purity of doctrines, of purity of

conduct, and separation from the enemies of God.

God does not desire His people to associate with His

enemies, and to separate from those who do not separate

of their own accord.

In the plan of God, ecclesiastical separation is an obligation

just as binding as is personal separation. 2 Cor. 6:17-18.

"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate,

saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will

receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be

my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."

END

I know what Samson looked like. The children's story books in our church library depicting the Bible's strong man as an early version of Arnold Schwarzenegger have it all wrong. You know the image---muscles on top of muscles, bulges everywhere, veins apoppin', long hair flowing in the wind. But, alas, he did not look that way at all. Not even close. The reason we know this is that....

People wondered about the source of his strength. They watched him slaughter thousands of the hated Philistines bare-handedly and stood in awe. Where did he get such strength? Samson could not have looked like Mr. Olympia with a 46-inch chest and 32-inch waist and biceps the size of my thighs. Had he done so, everyone would have concluded his strength came from his great muscles in the same way that works for everyone else on the planet. That's why we must conclude that....

Samson looked like any other average Joe. Just your ordinary citizen. Don Knotts, maybe, with a pony tail. You recall the secret to his strength lay in a Nazirite vow he had lived under since birth, requiring him never to enter a bar or a barbershop. Judges 16 narrates his foolish dalliance with the treacherous Delilah and his fall from grace. And that's one more reason why we say....

We know what the Lord Jesus looked like. To be more precise, we know what Jesus did not look like. But first, let's remind ourselves that it was for good reason that...

The Bible does not describe Jesus' appearance. We ought to give thanks for that every day. Imagine how we would distort and misuse such information. Jesus had wavy black hair and an olive complexion, stood 5 feet 10, carried 185 pounds of muscle. That sort of thing. Anyone looking like Jesus would feel superior, everyone else inferior, entire racial groups would feel excluded, and the plastic surgeons would have a field day reconstructing bodies into a physical Christlikeness. As it is, every culture on earth reads the New Testament and pictures the Lord Jesus as one of them. That's exactly how it should be.

The one thing we can say with certainty about Jesus' appearance is that....

Jesus looked like everyone else. He would not have been chosen by Hollywood to play Himself. No shining face, radiant robes, piercing eyes, perfectly shaped head, with hair to die for. (I'm remembering the time when Charlie Chaplin was living in France and entered a contest for the best imitation of himself. He lost.) We may know that Jesus looked like the average person because....

The prophet said so. “He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him” (Isaiah 53:2). Understanding that such prophecies originate in heaven and are handed down to the prophets, we have no difficulty believing this to be an accurate statement about Jesus' earthly appearance. Especially when we read the entire 53rd chapter of Isaiah and see how stunningly precise were the rest of the predictions. Jesus' earthly body would look quite ordinary. That's why we are not surprised when....

We turn to the New Testament and see that no one recognizes Jesus. At His baptism, the only way John knew Jesus as Messiah was that God had told him it would be the person on whom the Holy Spirit manifested Himself (John 1:33). When the dove hovered over Jesus, John had his man. Otherwise, he could never have picked Jesus out of the crowd. Bruce Larson says this also explains how....

Jesus disappeared in the crowd at Nazareth. Luke 4 describes how in response to Jesus' keynote sermon in his hometown synagogue the people rose up and dragged him out to the brow of a hill to kill him. Then, inexplicably, we read, “But passing through their midst, He went His way.” In his commentary on Luke, Bruce Larson says, “... my favorite theory is that He walked right through the crowd simply because He was so ordinary. He was there someplace but indistinguishable. They couldn't pick Him out.” He goes on to conclude that “if, by divine revelation, you were told that Jesus would appear at your church some Sunday morning, you probably wouldn't be able to find Him.” People could not find Him in His own day. You may recall that....

On Jesus' last night on earth, the religious leaders bribed a disciple to identify the Lord for the arresting officers. As many times as they had seen Jesus teaching on the streets and in the temple, they still could not pick Him out. I find this remarkable and revealing. Among the hundreds of possible lessons here, perhaps the most important is that....

Jesus was truly one of us. During His years on earth, He tasted the human experience to the fullest. He felt the loneliness, the pain, the tiredness, the hunger and thirst, the rejection, the impossible demands, the unreasonable expectations, the ignorance, the suspicion and the temptations that He knew would be the lot of anyone who chose to follow Him. That's why the writer of Hebrews boldly proclaims that....

“We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” The writer concludes from this that we may therefore “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4).

Poor Roger. He was back, sitting in my living room on another Saturday night, pouring out his hurt and the pain of rejection. Mildly retarded, Roger was grown now and held down a job at a fast-food place. He drove a pickup truck around town and wanted so badly to have a girlfriend. Someone told him he should not date married women, so Roger had stood on the street corner downtown that day asking the women who walked by, “Are you married?” They pulled back in fear and rushed away. Through his tears, Roger said, “Joe, why doesn't God know how it feels to be me?” I said, “My friend, you can ask me a lot of things I do not know. But I know the answer to that one. He knows precisely how it feels to be you. Everything you are feeling now -- all the rejection and loneliness and hurt -- He has felt. He has been where we are.” And that's one more reason why....

We make so much of Jesus. He has been where you are. He knows how it feels to be you. He is one of us. He is a Savior unlike any who have ever claimed the title. Jesus Christ is Lord. He is worthy of all worship and praise.

*

I love to teach on Spiritual warfare and for those of you who have subscribed to the E-Meds for several years you have received many teachings on the subject. I realized that new subscribers have not received many teachings recently so I will be teaching on Spiritual warfare this week.

Today, I want to share a teaching which I believe is an essential prerequisite for the other teachings.

Some Christians are under more attack than others. I've met many soldiers of Christ who are battling satan on every level while other Christians seem untouched by his attacks. Which probably identifies the two extreme views about Spiritual warfare. While some believe satan is under every rock, others don't believe in satan's attacks at all. Unfortunately, both views are in error.

satan isn't under every rock or the source behind every uncomfortable thing that happens. Yet, Scripture clearly shows that satan is indeed alive and well, prowling around on this earth looking for some Christian to devour. It is very important to maintain balance when studying Spiritual warfare.

This balance is best achieved when we realize that it is not just our role as Christians to flush the devil out of dark places and rebuke demons in Jesus' name. It is also our role to become more like Christ. I've met many soldiers of Christ who battle satan and all he possesses that they've forgotten the Christ-like Spirit which we are to possess.

We are not to forgo becoming more like Christ in our effort to defeat the enemy. There are many mean-spirited people, who are rebuking the devil in Jesus' name. The power of Christ comes as we live out the purpose of Christ.

The authority of Christ comes as we authenticate our lives in Christ.

To rebuke demons we must first rebuke our own demon of refusing to be more like Christ.

So before you saddle up and put on all your Spiritual armor, let me ask about your heart. We can prepare by gaining knowledge, but if the heart is not prepared, the battle is already lost.

We can be more successful in defeating satan with a Christ-like heart and Spirit than with a mouth full of victory-rebukes.

The greatest preparation for Spiritual warfare is to know Christ and be known by Him.

The Lord sent out seventy-two others ahead of him in groups of two with His authority to heal the sick and to proclaim that the Kingdom of God was at hand(Luke 10:1-8). When the disciples came back from their assignment they proclaimed with great joy, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name”(Luke 10:17).

What would Jesus say in response to their joyful proclamation? Would He say, “Praise God!” or “Of course they would!”

Notice Jesus' response carefully, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven”(Luke 10:18-20).

Which deserves greater celebration: That we can rebuke demons or that our name is written in heaven? It is more important that we know Christ and He knows us. We are to rejoice that our names are written in Heaven more than we are to rejoice that we rebuked an evil spirit.

We cannot afford to become so enamored with driving out demons that we forget to let in the Holy Spirit.

To go into Spiritual battles knowing the enemy but not knowing the Lord is satanic sabotage.

As we prepare for the next four days of teachings on Spiritual warfare, please take time today to prepare your heart. Be sure you are walking close to the Lord, enjoying that your name is written in Heaven. Ask the Lord to give you wisdom to know what is of the devil and what is not. Pray that as you draw close to Christ that you will win the battle not with weapons, but with the heart and power of Christ in you.

Dear Heavenly Father, as we prepare to understand Spiritual warfare we pray that You would prepare our hearts. Help us to draw close to Christ. Help us not to give more credit to satan than is due, but to glorify You by being more Christ-like in all we do. Help us achieve this proper balance, In Jesus Mighty Name, AMEN!

All week long I've been teaching on Spiritual warfare from Judges chapter 14-16, the life of Samson.

Samson is often called a renegade judge of Israel. Being extremely strong, he was brought down by such a small weakness. Today, we'll look at similarities between what Samson faced and what we face, especially in the area of Spiritual warfare.

In Judges 16, we read of Samson and Delilah. Samson fell in love with Delilah. It didn't take long for the rulers of the Philistines to approach her about obtaining the secret to his strength. Twice she asked Samson to confide in her with his secret but he only teased her with phony explanations.

On her third attempt, Delilah was successful. "With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death. So he told her everything" (16:16-17a). The secret to his strength was that no razor had ever been used on his head. He was a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth.

Samson was a Nazirite, which involved three specific things to separate oneself to God: No alcohol (wine or strong drink), uncut hair and must stay away anything dead, even his own family members who died (Numbers 6:1-8).

A Nazirite vow often was only for a short period but in the case of John the Baptist and with Samson it was from birth to death. The Apostle Paul took the Nazirite vow (Acts 18:18). When the period of this vow was over, they would cut their hair and burn it at the entrance of the Tent of Meetings (Numbers 6:18).

But more than following mere rituals the one taking the Nazirite vow was considered holy and dedicated to the Lord. Taking such a vow showed intense focus upon accomplishing God's will. Throughout the world we hear many groups declaring "holy war." Yet, none is more true of a holy war than what we see in the life of Samson. He indeed is set apart by God to carry out a holy war against the Philistines.

In addition to a greater level of holiness, perhaps the three levels of abstinences of the Nazirite vow represents the focus and intent of the warrior's heart: No time to keep the hair well groomed. No time to relax and enjoy wine. No time to mourn the death of others.

Only after the period of this vow was over, would they cut their hair and burn it at the entrance of the Tent of Meetings (Numbers 6:18). Then they would enjoy wine and choice food as a way of celebrating what God accomplished through the vow.

Delilah put Samson to sleep on her lap and had his hair shaved draining him of his strength. His strength was not just in the length of his hair but the obedience to the vow he had made to God. He violated the Nazirite vow when he took honey out of the carcass of the lion in Judges 14:8-9. He violated it again by having a wedding feast where it was customary to have wine. And now he violates the last part of the vow by allowing his hair to be cut. Three strikes and he loses his strength.

Like Samson we are set apart to God from birth, not our physical birth but our Spiritual birth. As we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, from that moment on we are set apart to serve the Lord and to advance His kingdom. We are given strength through our salvation. Being filled with the Spirit we are able to accomplish great things for the Lord.

Even though we have such Kingdom power, authority and strength, our strength is often stolen away by our own Delilah's, nagging at our faithfulness and purity until we finally give in.

satan found a weakness in Samson and in the same way satan seeks after our own weaknesses in order to drain us of our strength. The devil seeks to bring us to a point of disloyalty toward God; nothing draws us away from the Lord as quickly as disobedience.

As Delilah continued nagging and prodding Samson day after day, satan does the same to us tempting us over and over. We might say Samson fell asleep at the wheel. He literally fell asleep in his deceiver's lap.

We each have soft-spots, places of weaknesses which satan seeks to use to overpower us. Once the devil gains control of our weakness he gains control of our strength. Rather than allowing satan to gain a stronghold, we must learn to live in the stronghold of God.

Samson gave his weakness to his enemy, thus he lost his strength. But when we give our weaknesses over to the Lord, He makes us strong.

When we give Christ every part of our life, He deals with every one of our weaknesses. Christ wants every area of our heart not only that we might live totally for Him but also to protect us from satan by redeeming our weaknesses.

One by one, Samson was lured to violate all three aspects of his Nazirite vow.

It must have been a sickening feeling when Samson went to rely upon his strength only to find it was gone. How many Christians are dozing, allowing the devil a chance to zap them of their strength through various demonic strongholds?

Samson was careless with his vow, and many Christians become careless with their faith. Carelessness toward our faith makes us an open target for the devil to erode away our Bible reading, our prayer time and our commitment to do the Lord's will.

Today, as we follow Samson's life from Judges 16, we learn that we must remain faithful and set apart if we are to honor God. We must not fall asleep at the wheel of our Spiritual lives, but we must remain steadfast and focused upon our calling.

"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation" (Matthew 26:41).

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace that sustains us. Forgive us when we wander away from our commitment to You. Give us wisdom to know when the devil is getting a foothold in our lives. May we never give up our strength through own weakness. But as we give our weaknesses over to You, You make us strong. In Jesus' Mighty Name, AMEN!

One of the strongest men of all time was a Canadian named Louis Cyr. From the age of 12 he worked in a lumber camp and impressed his co-workers with his feats of strength. One of his biographers says his mother decided he should let his hair grow, just like Samson in the Bible. She curled it regularly.

At age 18 he lifted a full-grown horse off the ground. In his prime he lifted a platform that had 20 men sitting on it. He could lift 1,000 pounds with one finger.

One of his most memorable displays of strength occurred in 1891. Louis was given the leads to two sets of draft horses and he resisted their pull even as helpers stood cracking their whips to get the horses to pull harder in opposite directions.

But Louis had a weakness for sweets, got chubby, and died of kidney disease at age 49.

There are different ways to be strong - and weak. One of strongest men in history was the original Samson. He killed lions with his bare hands. He could rip doors off of city gates. He killed literally hundreds of Philistines. Yet he was undone by his weakness for women.

How strong a person are you?

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Adapted from "Cyprien Noe Cyr – World’s Strongest Man," by Dennis Mitchell, January 23, 2010, http://www.usawa.com/tag/louis-cyr/

All week long I'm teaching on Spiritual warfare from Judges chapter 14-16, the life of Samson.

Samson is often called a renegade judge of Israel. Being extremely strong, he was brought down by such a small weakness. There are similarities between Samson and Christians today. As Samson was lured and deceived by Delilah, we too are easily lured away from the Lord by the deceptions of the devil.

Today, as we follow Samson's life from Judges 15, we find him still bringing revenge upon the Philistines. In our previous teaching on Samson, we learned many valuable lessons on Spiritual warfare.

As I was praying through and studying Judges 15 I was amazed at the many principles on Spiritual warfare.

First, let me point out that every time the enemy comes against Samson, God shows up and gives Samson strength and ultimate victory. Let's look at the examples that are confined to chapter fifteen:

1) The Philistines acted treacherously toward his wife and father- in-law which led Samson to burn their fields and destroy their vineyards and olive groves.

2) Because of the Philistines cruelty toward his wife and her father he "attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them"(15:8a).

3) His own countrymen came against him, turning him over to the Philistines. But as his enemies neared, and while he was still bound "The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men"(Judges 15:14b-15).

4) Exhausted from his battle and thirsty to the point of dying, Samson cries out to God and God "opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived"(15:19).

Too often, Spiritual warfare is over-glamorized. A deliverance ministry is often seen as a favorite ministry because of the power that surrounds the one doing it. However, while Samson was used by God to defeat not only his personal enemy, but an enemy of God, warfare took its toll on Samson. He lost his wife, his father-n-law, and his own countrymen betrayed him and turned him over to his enemy. His battle left him physically, emotionally and Spiritually exhausted to the point of death.

King David's victory over Goliath was glamorized as the women wrote songs to honor David. Indeed it was a God-given victory. Yet, later the brothers and descendents of this Philistine giant would be another battle yet for David(I Chronicles 20; 2 Samuel 21). Even Jesus, after defeating the devil in the wilderness, would face him again at a more "opportune time"(Luke 4:13).

From Samson's encounter with his enemies we see the ugly side of true Spiritual warfare.

This is indeed why many people completely stay away from the front lines. There is no doubt a price to be paid.

If we are to pray, teach and discipline our children there is a difficult price to pay. Parenting is not for cowards. Sometimes it means having tough love, asking hard questions of our children and standing strong for what is right and best for them. It means standing in the gap for them, waging war against the enemy for their souls!

If we are to thwart the plans of satan and pursue the plans of God there will be a fight. When the battle intensifies, like Samson, sometimes our own countrymen, brothers and sisters in Christ betray us, causing us to question, doubt and to become more susceptible to defeat. Some Christians would rather continue being comfortably oppressed than uncomfortably set free. It's a sad day when the Church is seduced into her own oppression of comfort and ease toward sin.

Certainly, as we wage war against the devil and his emissaries we will enjoy moments of great victory. Yet, like Samson, until the Lord returns, satan will be back for a more opportune time, with a stronger temptation or worse, a more subtle, even stealth approach.

Yet, we must continue to defeat evil. For example, we might conclude that Samson set the foxes tails on fire to seek personal revenge upon the Philistines. However, the grain from the fields, their wine and their olive oil would have been dedicated to their false god, Dragon. Instead, through Samson their harvest became a burnt offering to God's justice.

Today, many Christians find themselves much like Samson's wife. Overwhelmed with fear, she sinned and went against her husband robbing him of the secret to the riddle hoping to avoid a battle. What happened to her for hoping to avoid the front lines? She found herself there anyway.

We cannot hide our heads in the sand from Spiritual warfare. We cannot retract from the front lines of fighting evil and promoting righteousness. The devil must be confronted. Evil cannot be excused for fear of the consequences.

Samson had reason not to take on a thousand enemies. For one thing, he was out numbered. Yet, another important principle we learn is that one person plus God is an army!

Another principle from today's chapter is learning that when fighting the devil, the timing must be God's not ours. We'd love to jump right in as soon as we hear it's wrong. Yet, Samson did not resist the 3,000 countrymen who would bind him and turn him over to his enemy. Why? He was dependent upon God's timing.

As his enemies approached he waited until "The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power"(15:14b). The Spirit of the Lord set him free from his bondage. "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom"(2 Corinthians 3:17).

God's timing, the Spirit's power plus our obedience equals victory.

Finally, those who fail to honor God with shouts of praise may one day honor Him with prayers of affliction. "I have killed a thousand men"(15:16). Samson did not give glory where glory was due -- God.

Perhaps his close call with death by dehydration was God's way of humbling him, reminding him who sustains him. Reckoning with his own thirst causes him to cry out, "You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?"(15:18).

In response, God opens up the hollow place in Lehi and from the water that poured out of it, Samson was strengthened and revived. The place is called En Hakkore which means "the place of the caller".

Those of you who are marred, scared and weary from a past Spiritual battle can be comforted to know that Springs of refreshment can be yours if you cry out. Where you are right now can be your place of En Hakkore if you would only call out to the Lord to refresh you. Refresh you for a life of ease? No. Refreshed for another day on the front lines for Jesus!

Dear Heavenly Father, in everything we do, may we glorify Your name, and continue to forcefully advance Your Kingdom, even as satan and his kingdom attacks us. May we be Spirit led and Spirit refreshed, In Jesus' Mighty Name, AMEN!

It is not by accident or coincidence but through God's providence that you are reading this teaching today. There are things going on in your life today that are the devil's way of keeping you down.

Like a ship at sea, heavy-laden with barnacles, satan loves to attach his barnacles to our Spiritual life hindering our walk with Christ. Boats and ship must occasionally be cleaned, removing the barnacles for continued smooth sailing.

Has satan secretively attached to an area of your life which is keeping you defeated, depressed, discouraged and distraught? If you aren't having the impact for Christ like you know you could, you've probably allowed the devil to slip in and drag you down or distract you from doing the Lord's will.

The devil not only wins by luring us into evil, but by luring us away from God's will. The devil is a professional distracter. Just when we are focusing upon God's plan and will for our life, satan approaches, not with an evil attack, but with an inviting lure. This is Spiritual warfare!

All week I will be teaching on Spiritual warfare from Judges chapter 14-16, the life of Samson.

Samson, a man of great strength, was lured by Delilah to reveal the secret of his great strength(Judges 16:5). It wasn't so much that she lured him into evil, but lured him through distraction so that he was outside of God's will. In fact, there is so much that we can learn about Spiritual warfare from Samson.

Samson is often called a renegade judge of Israel. Being extremely strong, he was brought down by such a small weakness. There are similarities between Samson and the nation of Israel during the time of Judges. As Israel prostituted herself to the false gods of Canaan, so Samson chases women of ill-repute which leads to his downfall. Yet, even in the midst of it all, God is at work.

Just prior to Samson's birth Israel was doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years (Judges 13:1). Samson's birth was announced to his parents by an angel, and his name means "brightness". Given all of this, Samson is a special individual, given by God to be a judge on behalf of God and Israel.

In addition to his God-announced birth Samson was also given special strength from the Spirit of God (Judges 14:6). "He grew and the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him" (Judges 13:24b-25a).

Samson wanted a Philistine who lived in Timnah for his wife. When he told his parents, they tried to talk him into taking a wife among his own people rather than from the "uncircumcised" Philistines (Judges 14:1-3). This seems wrong. Why would Samson entertain such an idea and why would he be so demanding of his parents to fulfill his wishes?

Sometimes when everything seems so wrong we conclude it is from the devil. This was not the case with Samson and his Philistine wife. "(His parents did not know that this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel)"(Judges 14:4). This was not only not from satan but was actually from the Lord!

God uses the weaknesses of Samson to accomplish His purpose. God desired to confront the Philistines for how they were ruling over Israel and He accomplished His confrontation through the weaknesses of Samson, a man of great strength.

Samson accomplished great things through great strength prompted by great weakness and even sin. This is not an example so that we might live likewise. However, it is an example of God's providence, reminding us that God is at work even when situations aren't right and even when the intent of man is meant as evil.

As Samson buddies-up with the Philistines he lures them to solve a riddle: "Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet"(Judges 14:14). If his Philistine friends can solve the riddle within the seven days of the marriage feast, they win thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. If they cannot, Samson gets the same.

A Spiritual warfare principle we gain from Judges is that even though God works through our sinfulness and weaknesses, there are still consequences we must face. This was the case for Samson and the case for Israel-thus the book of Judges.

His Philistine friends were so obsessed with solving the riddle that they threatened Samson's wife, to burn her and her father's household if she did not get the answer from Samson.(They actually did burn Samson's wife and her father to death in chapter 15.) On the seventh day she was successful, and she stole the answer and gave it to "her people"(14:18).

They used violent means to accomplish their will and violence came back upon them. Little did they know Samson would strike down thirty Philistine men and strip them of their clothes and belongings in order to fulfill his end of the bargain.

Let me summarize several aspects of Spiritual warfare from our study of Samson so far.

God used the weakness and sinfulness of others to bring about His discipline.

To flirt with evil in any way, shape, or form will not only separate us from a close walk with Christ, but invites greater evil influence into our lives.

We can never afford to make any sort of bargain with the enemy. If we ever sit down at the bargaining table with the devil, we have already been taken.

Even though God works through us in the midst of our weakness, we will reap the consequences of what ever evil we sow.

Finally, Spiritual warfare always has the potential to leave deep wounds, even after victory. While Samson may have defeated some Philistines his wife was given to a friend.

Friend, the battle between good and evil is very real. It begins In the book of Genesis and will not end until satan is finally thrown into the Great Lake of Fire as mentioned in Revelation 20.

In our greatest Spiritual battles, like Samson, our human nature can lead us into heartache and ruin. Before we defeat the enemy within, we'll have little effect on defeating the enemy out there.

Today, consider your own renegade qualities which are keeping you in conflict with others and less Christ-like. Christ knows the evil qualities within us that must go. He knows the Christ-like qualities that we must embrace.

Perhaps like Samson, every day we face our own "Philistines." It's not so much that God would defeat the enemy through us, but the enemy in us.

Dear Heavenly Father, sanctify our hearts, our minds and our ambitions. Redeem any renegade spirit within so that we might not operate in the flesh, but in the Spirit. Destroy the evil desires of our hearts so that being more like Christ we might become the salt and light which destroys evil. In Jesus' Mighty Name,

AMEN!

Outline by Dr. J. B. Williams

Why Do We Fail ?

Judges 16:20

"And she said, 'The Philistines be upon, thee, Samson.' And he

awoke out of his sleep, and said, 'I will go out as before and

shake myself.' And he wist not that the Lord was departed from

him."

There are always reasons for the success of successful people.

Go back in their life and somewhere we will find a basis for

their progress and advancement in life.

There are principles that are followed and discipline that is

exercised. That is their secret of success.

The same can be said regarding those who make failures of their

lives.

Samson was a man with a Godly heritage. He had good Godly parents.

He abused his privileges.

Why did a child with such a good background make such a failure?

His failure is a lesson for all of us, and it is so simple to

see.

There are certain principles a child of God must follow if he

is to march in the front lines of the Lord's army.

Failure to follow these principles for success and advancement

in the christian life and service, spells disaster. It did for

Samson, and will for all who follow in his train.

We must look at some of the reasons for Samson's failure, and

see to it that we do not make the same mistakes.

Until we follow the principles for spiritual growth, we cannot

enjoy the blessings of christian progress. Notice;

I. SAMSON FAILED TO DISCIPLINE HIS INNER LIFE.

The lesson we learn from him is, we must discipline our inner

life. Sadly, christian discipline is not observed by most

christians.

Strangely enough,this results in the lack of christian maturity.

Christian maturity includes both spiritual maturity as well as

emotional maturity.

It is amazing how in one generation old-fashioned home discipl-

ine has dissipated. That generation was taught self-discipline.

How do we discipline our inner lives ?

1. By saying "no" to the wrong things, and "yes" to the right.

2. By observing the principles of growth, without which there

can be no spiritual growth. These are:

[1] An organized study of God's Word. I Peter 2:2.

"As new born babes desire the sincere ( pure-unadult-

rated ) word of God, that ye may grow thereby."

Biblical truth is the spiritual diet. Studying requires

discipline.

This study includes sunday school attendance, other

church provided means of study, in worship services and

prayer meetings, etc.

[2] Application of these truths [exercise] for spiritual

growth. John 13:7. Again discipline is required.

3. Regular attendance at church services. Discipline re-

quired.

4. Giving of our means to the Lord's work. This requires dis-

cipline as to how we spend our income.

5. Set the correct priorities in life. First things first.

Samson failed because he tried to satisfy the desires of the

flesh in the forbidden way.

II. SAMSON FAILED TO DISCIPLINE HIS OUTWARD BEHAVIOR.

He failed to watch his conduct. Negligent about his outward

behavior.

1. He was not careful about the Places to which he went.

He went to Timnah, a border town of the Philistines.

Had he not gone there, he would not have been subjected to

temptations and fallen into sin.

Wrong places leads to real problems.

2. He was not careful about the People with whom he associated.

He became involved with three women that he should have

shunned.

[1] One of the daughters of the Philistines, whom he married.

[2] A harlot in Gaza.

[3] Delilah, who brought the final ruin upon him.

We must be careful with the people with whom we mix.

They may "clip our wings", as well as "cut our hair".

3. Samson was a Nazarite and did not faithfully discharge his

duties to the Lord.

He was careless about his testimony before the world.

He took lightly his responsibilities of sacred things.

Likewise, we must watch our conduct. This is where Samson

failed.

III. SAMSON FAILED TO DISASSOCIATE HIMSELF FROM GOD'S ENEMIES.

Samson played the fool because he constantly flirted with

sin.

He should have resisted temptations and lived in God's will.

He should not have allowed the lusts of the flesh to deter-

mine his conduct.

He allowed lust instead of love to be the basis of his

choice of a girl friend.

Samson failed to build his inner life to maturity, conse-

quently, he failed to pick the right places and people in

his life.

He failed in spite of the help he could have received from

heaven.

I Cor. 10:13. "There hath no temptation taken you but as

such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not

suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will

with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be

able to bear it."

Deliverance is available to all you seek it.

There is another very important principle that must be rec-

ognized from this tragic waste of life;

Separation from the enemies of God.

Samson failed to separate from the lusts of the flesh and

evil companions in his Conduct, but he also failed to sep-

arate in Creed.

He failed to disassociate himself from the enemies of God.

The Philistines had a different religion from the Jews.

Their concept of God and a relationship with Him was wrong.

Samson should have disassociated himself from them.

This is an important principle that God has required in

all the ages.

At the turn of the present century there were those who, in

opposition, separated from the enemies of God.

These true servants of God, have for almost 100 years opposed

liberalism, false religions [even those who claim to base

their religion on the Bible], apostasy, new age movement,

inclusiveism, the compromise of the truth, and have stood

upon the principles of the purity of doctrines, of purity of

conduct, and separation from the enemies of God.

God does not desire His people to associate with His

enemies, and to separate from those who do not separate

of their own accord.

In the plan of God, ecclesiastical separation is an obligation

just as binding as is personal separation. 2 Cor. 6:17-18.

"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate,

saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will

receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be

my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."

END