In this sermon, the preacher discusses the story of Samson from the Bible. He highlights how Samson, after experiencing a great victory, decides to relax and have fun, which ultimately leads to his capture by the Philistines. However, Samson manages to break free and kills a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. Despite his triumph, Samson becomes thirsty and cries out to God for water. Miraculously, God provides water from the jawbone, demonstrating His grace and power. The preacher uses this story to emphasize the importance of Christians being separated from the world and not succumbing to worldly pleasures.

This morning, Samson, Delilah, and the Secret of Strength. But before I minister, I want to just throw out some things that I heard this week. First of all, a charismatic church in an eastern city. I mentioned before, but I got a little more details on it. Introduced ballroom dancing in the church. They already have dancing during their services. They can dance in the spirit on Sunday and then the next Saturday night in the flesh. In Southern California, the big new hobby among swinging Christian couples is trading wine lists. They used to meet for prayer and Bible study. Now, they party and sip and trade their special imported wine. Under show business this week in Time Magazine, the headline read, New lyrics for the devil's music. It described four Christian heavy metal rockers, and I'm reading from it. They come on stage in tight leather and spandex costumes, crisscrossed with black and yellow stripes, piles of makeup, spiky hair, dangling chains. Their music sounds like a swarm of angry bees. Their stripes, they say, represent the stripes of Jesus by which we're healed. And they said, we are rock and roll evangelists. We are modern day John the Baptist crying out in the world of rock and roll. Also, it said radio stations are popping up all through California now and around the country, offering 24 hours of evangelical pop. They said, we give you fun without hitting you over the head with the Bible. Hitting you over the head with the Bible? One of the top female vocalists, Amy Grant, said, I want to play hardball in this business. I want to be on the same level professionally with all the performers in all areas of music. I love to hear Billy Joel, Kenny Loggins, and the Doobie Brothers. And why not? I aim to bridge the gap between Christian and pop. For what? So all Christian young people can walk over that bridge over to the devil's territory. Is that it? Here's a so-called Christian rock band. This is Petra, Miami reporter. And here's the leader of Petra saying, so many people have the misconception that being a Christian means hiding in the closet, not having fun of any kind. But we have a tremendous time at our concerts. We dance all night. It's a full-fledged rock and roll show. Just a different spirit. That's the background for my message. Samson, Delisle, and the Secret of Strength. That fired me up. I'm ready to preach. Heavenly Father, we have got to be separated from this godless world. You've drawn a clear line, and you've not let us pass over it. My God, awaken us this morning. Lord, we're not down on anybody. We're not trying, Lord, to minister in anything but a spirit of meekness and love. Now, our spiritual blood does boil at times when we see and hear of things that are happening in the church that are so stupid and foolish and sinful. But Lord, we want to minister in the meekness of the Holy Ghost, and yet with the power and the firmness of the Lord. So help us to find now Your mind. And Lord, we're not preaching to these people out there that we're talking about. We're preaching this audience this morning. We're preaching to those who hear this message here now. In Jesus' name, Amen. Total separation from the world is the secret of all spiritual strength. Separation from the world is the secret of all spiritual strength. It's also the secret of authority, spiritual authority among men here on earth. Now, the Bible said, the man who is spiritually weak flees when nobody is pursuing, but the righteous are as bold as the lion. And that's why you see so many young people fleeing when nobody is chasing them. That's why you see so many young people who have no strength like a lion, because they're mixed with the world. There's no spirit of separation. Now, God, I believe, is calling out for Himself a people who are going to be very strong in these last days because they're very separated. Very strong because very separated from the spirit of this world. You show me a Christian who's totally separated from this world, and I'll show you somebody who's going to stand against every satanic attack that comes from the pits of hell in these last days. And the Bible said, Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down unto you having great wrath, because he knows, what? His time is short. I wish some Christians knew as much as the devil knew about the coming of the Lord, that the time is short. But we need those who are strong in the Lord, who will be able to stand up and be able to say, As Jesus did, Satan cometh and hath nothing in me. Satan is moving, he's coming toward the whole world, but he can't touch me because there's nothing in him, nothing in me that attracts him. Now, Samson is the strongest physical man on the face of the earth, but one of the weakest prophets God ever had. I read a commentary yesterday that says, Please don't judge this man too severely, because he had his good points. Well, I want you to know that the life of Samson stands out in stark contrast to David and to John the Baptist, and it's a sign, it's one of the greatest failures in all the Word of God. It is not a success story, it's a story of what happens when a man mixes with the world and loses his power and his strength. This man took one of the greatest anointings God ever gave a man and squandered it playing around with the world. Squandered it, threw it away. I read Samson's lifestyle and there's something in me that cries out, Oh God, I don't want to be like Samson. I don't want to destroy God's anointing and truth in my life. I don't want lust or pleasure to take anything away from me that God gave me. I don't want to end up in a blind stupor like this man. And believe me, he did wind up in a blind, hopeless stupor. Now, Samson teaches us two important things. First of all, the secret of strength and then how to lose it, how to deplete it and throw it away. And I think that's very important for us now. Let's begin in Samson's life. First of all, Samson was separated under God from the womb, the Bible says. Here it is, Judges 13, chapter 5, For lo, thou shalt conceive and bear a son. This is the angel of the Lord talking to what would be the mother, Samson. You're going to bear a son and no razor shall come on his head. For the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb. And he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. Remember, because of sin, God turned Israel over to be harassed by the Philistines. I'll tell you, God always has a rod when you go wrong, doesn't he? He always has a rod. The Philistines were a rod because they had turned their backs on God and they were destined, the Bible said, to 40 years of harassment from the Philistines. And now God's raising up a deliverer. He was to be very special. Totally separated under God. And let me show you what a Nazarite really is. And you have to go to Numbers, the 6th chapter. Now don't turn there because you're just going to be going all through the Bible with me here and you'll be chasing everywhere. Listen to me. Take it from me, it's in your Bible. Numbers, the 6th chapter, the whole chapter gives the distinctions of a Nazarite. Three of them in particular. A Nazarite, first of all, it says, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. Now that's all that was in the Bible. That a man is separated under God and doesn't drink, that would be good enough for me because I tremble at God's Word. Some of you want a whole Bible to get you off of your drinking, but I just need a Scripture verse. He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. Number two, all the days of his separation he shall be holy and shall not let the locks of his hair grow. In other words, no razor shall come upon his head all his days. Third, he shall not touch any dead body. All the days of his separation he's holy under the Lord. In fact, this man was not to compromise, not for his father, not for his mother, not for his brother or his sister because he's separated under God. He couldn't even go to his father's funeral. He couldn't go to his mother's funeral. He couldn't go to his brother's sister's funeral. He went to no funerals. That's why John the Baptist preached in the wilderness. He knew that death was in Jerusalem. He went out in the highways and byways. He went out where there was no sign of death. Couldn't touch a dead body. Now, you know the spiritual significance of that. A child of God touches nothing that has anything to do with the death in this world. You don't touch it. You're to be totally separated from it. Now, it was common for a Nazarite often to take just the 30-day vow. And you remember when Paul shaved his head, he was under a 30-day Nazarite vow. It was his way. In fact, I see two times in the Bible that Paul takes this Nazarite vow. Jeremiah was a Nazarite. John the Baptist was a Nazarite. That's why John the Baptist was one from the womb, just like Samson. This was not a 30-day vow. The Bible said, this boy is going to be a Nazarite from the womb until he dies. This man is going to be separated unto God. He's special. God says, I'm going to put my hand on him. I'm going to use him. He's my man. Now, those who took the short vow, shaved their heads, and then after the purification, the last eight days, they took their hair and threw it in the fire. Remember, underneath the peace offering. Not on the altar where the sacrifice was laid, but this polluted hair was thrown under the peace offering and burned. A sign of burning everything that was contaminated by the world, consumed by the Holy Ghost. Now, those who were separated from the womb were not to ever cut their hair. And that symbolized to everybody that they were not of this world, that they were put aside under God. Remember, the New Testament, Paul said, it's a shame that not nature itself teaches that it's a shame for man to have long hair. Now, this was a shame. This was bearing the shame of God. This was a shameful thing as far as the world was concerned. Now, not the Christians. Those who really loved God, honored and respected this man because he was separated from the world, laughed at him. It was a shame. It was a horrible shame for this man to have that long hair. Here's a hypocrite. Here's a holy roller. Here's a man all set. Here's the fanatic. That was a symbol. That was an outward sign that this man was set apart to God. There was no strength or power in his hair. That's what it represented. Now, follow me please. These were outward signs and symbols of an inner truth. There were very few Nazarites, including Samson, who understood. I don't believe any Nazarite understood the inner working of their outward signs even during the day of Jesus Christ. None of the Nazarites during Christ's time understood that God was looking for something inward. They believed that as long as they didn't drink, as long as they didn't cut their hair, as long as they never went to a funeral, touched anything dead, they were absolutely pleasing to God. But God looks on the heart rather than the outward appearance. He was trying to give them an object lesson. He said, I want to see in the heart that you show on the outside. That's why those who've gotten rid of your television sets, those of you who don't go to movies anymore, and you don't do this, you don't do that, that means a thing unless you have your heart right. Until there's an inward work, and that is just an outward expression of something the Holy Ghost has done inside. Nothing else. Now, in this new covenant age in which we live, the new birth is a Nazarite vow. It's a Nazarite separation under God from the womb. Every one of us that are born again have been born in the womb of the Holy Ghost. We've been born in the Holy Ghost, the Bible says. There's no such thing as a 30-day vow, a Nazarite vow in the new covenant. Every single man or woman, boy or girl, that's born into the kingdom of God is born as a Holy Ghost Nazarite. Totally separated under God. We are not to touch anything in this world that speaks of death. Now, from the very beginning, God has called His people, His wealth, His precious treasury, locked up to Himself. In fact, it's under a Hebrew word, both in Hebrew and Greek, called peculiar. Have you ever heard of a peculiar treasure? Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice, saith the Lord, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people. For all the earth is mine, and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Then in Deuteronomy 14, For thou art a holy people unto the Lord your God, and the Lord hath chosen you to be a peculiar people unto Himself above all nations that are upon the earth. David said, For the Lord hath chosen Jacob to Himself, and Israel for His peculiar treasure. Paul said, He gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous to good works. Peter said, But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and peculiar people. There it is, all through the Old Testament, all through the New. And both in Hebrew and in Greek, the word peculiar, and I read it here, right out of the definition of Hebrew and Greek, the word peculiar means secured and safe treasure. In other words, a treasure that's locked up in a safe. It means a precious set of jewels. Peculiar means His special will. You are my special will. You are locked up to me. I own you. It's like a man who is very wealthy and he takes out of his treasury these jewels and he lays them there and he admires them and he uses these jewels to his glory. He said, You are my special will. You are my people. Peculiar has nothing to do with strange. I know God has a lot of strange people too. No, He's talking about God saying from now on, since your new birth, you're very personally mine. You're my glorious treasure. You belong only to me. You've been set apart. You've been locked up to me. And if you've been born again by the water and the spirit, the blood, you and I have no right to our bodies. He purchased our bodies at the cross. He paid a dear price for this special treasure that's locked up to Himself. What, know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's. In 1 Corinthians 7.23, you are bought with a price. Be not ye the servants of men. Don't take God's special wealth out and squander it in the world. Now, Samson was born as God's special, peculiar, separated treasure from the world. And so are we. Our birth by the Holy Ghost is as supernatural as that of Samson. It's as unique. It's as separated. It's as special as Samson. It's to be just as dramatic, just as severe. He was not allowed to party. He was not allowed to be a part of the world. He was not allowed to drink. He was totally separated under God. The whole world knew it. He knew it. His parents knew it. Everybody, this man is separated to God. And that's supposed to be the distinctiveness of the Christian, all of us. That our parents know it. The world knows it. We know it. We are different. We're separated. Now, we don't wear the long hair necessarily. But the long hair represented the crown of separation. It was a crown. But you see, this man, Samson, had a divided heart. Specially born, uniquely born, uniquely called, uniquely separated. But this man, from the very beginning, and I don't know how young it was, it must have been when he was a teenager, because when he was less than 20 years old, the Spirit of God began to move on him. Well, listen to it. The Bible says the Spirit of God began to move on him at times in the camp of Dan. Now, I want you to notice the difference between John the Baptist. It says that this man, Samson, stayed in the camp. God's always worked outside the camp. That's where John the Baptist went. He went outside the camp, set himself in with God, and the Word came to John. No, nothing in the Bible about the Word coming to Samson. Occasionally, the Spirit began to move on him at times in the camp. But while he's still mixing in the camp, when he should have been out like John the Baptist, alone with God. He should have been out of prayer. He should have recognized this special anointing on him. But Samson has a divided heart from the very beginning. Remember what the Bible says about David? David panted after the Lord as a heart or a deer pants after water. This deer is running around the hills and that deer has been running, fleeting. And he's looking for water and his tongue is hanging and David said, I'm like a deer that prances in the mountain and I long for God's Spirit like a heart pants after water. David's greatest fear was that even for a moment God would take the Holy Ghost away from him. He thought the worst thing that could happen in his life that the Holy Spirit should be lifted. Samson was called to deliver Israel. He needed the Holy Ghost at all times, didn't he? The Bible says, and the Spirit of God moved on him at times. Now, this is something that really bothers me because you see, the Holy Spirit, it says here, why didn't God's Spirit move on him constantly like it did in David? I say it's because he had a divided heart. Outwardly, this man was holy. Outwardly, this man was separated. But Samson had a driving lust in him. A driving lust that drove him all his lifetime. There was a secret sin in his life. There was something that he didn't deal with from the very beginning, probably from 15, 16, 17 years of age when this young man had the very juices of life flowing through him, something happened in him. In spite of the fact that he was separated under God, Samson had a driving lust because right after you read that the Spirit of God began to move on him at times, then the next verse, Samson went down to Timnah. Now, that's enemy territory. He would not go to Timnah. What does he do? The first thing he does when he gets to Timnah, he sees a girl and falls in love with her. And he comes home and says, Dad, get her for me. And his father was enraged and his mother said, Aren't there any girls in Israel? You have to go down to an enemy territory? They know he was separated. This was against the law. Now, I know the Bible says, and I can quote it to you right here, that his father and mother knew not it was from the Lord. Now, I will tell you, right now, God does not win his victories by breaking his laws. He doesn't win his victories by breaking his laws. That was against the law of God. It's against the law by which God honored. But Samson is the only thing God has to work with. And Samson goes down to Timnah and he says, Get her. And God is actually saying, Well, that's all I have to work with. I'm going to make his wrath praise me. I'm going to have to turn that evil deed into good. I'm going to have to make that serve my purpose because this is the only man I've got. There are some of us today that are moved upon by the Holy Ghost at times. They're up and down, hot and cold. And you see, there's some of you here this morning that once had a real touch of God in your heart. And I want you to listen close because this is the key. You were on fire. You were ready to go all the way with the Lord. You were ready to leave the whole world behind. You said, Yes, I'm separated. I know God's touched me. God called me. But the next time we meet you, you're almost a stranger. The fire's gone. You're no longer all out for God. You act and talk and think like the world. You're all mixed up in hearts. You're divided. There's no consistency of the Lord in you. When you're around Christians and there's fire, you catch a little of that fire. But then when you go out and get with the crowds, you catch that spirit. And you see, my question is, are you separated or are you mixed? And it all depends on what day it is and who you're with. And that's wrong. This idea of when I'm in the presence of God and I'm with Christians, I'll be on fire for God. When I'm out here with this crowd, I'll be like them. It's up and down, in and out, hot and cold. No consistency. And the Spirit of God moves on them at times. I've seen drug addicts come in at Teen Challenge New York City. They'd walk out. They'd been really touched and filled with the Holy Ghost. They'd go out because they still have this thing, this mixture in them. They'd go out and serve the devil and then they'd come in and get saved again, you know, saved and resaved. And boy, the fire of God would move on them and they'd stand and prophesy and you'd say, boy, he's got a real touch of God. But the next day you'd see him in chapel and he's looking like he's half dead. And he's dry and he's empty because there's something in his spirit driving him. There's still the spirit of lust that's never been dealt with. There's no consistency. Samson had one eyeset on God and another eyeset on Gaza. Remember the story right after this? By the way, God keeps Samson from marrying this girl, this heathen girl. God wouldn't allow that. God says, I may have to turn your evil deed into My glory. I may have to work through that stupid move you've made, but I'll not let you touch her and He didn't. God kept the man. And sometimes the only reason God keeps us is because of His mercy and His sovereign grace. Not because we want Him to. He does it even against our will sometimes because He has a purpose for our lives. And you know, here's Samson now later on and he kills, by the way, almost everything that happens from here on to the last two years of Samson's life. Those 18 years he judges Israel. There are not many victories. You know, when you're not serving God with all your heart, there aren't very many victories are there? And here he is now the last two years of his life and he's got a thousand Philistines. They bind him a thousand Philistines take him prisoner and he's bound by cords and suddenly he snaps the cords off takes the jawbone of an ass and kills a thousand Philistines. And he's sweating and he's tired and he's weary and he's laying down and he's thirsty and he says, My God, you gave me a great victory but now I'm going to die of thirst. And God in His sovereign grace comes down and opens up a cleavage in the jawbone of the ass and out pours water. And he drinks miraculously from water out of heaven. And what a glorious miracle that's done in this man's life. What an anointing! But the next verse here he goes again Then went Samson down to Gaza. Then he just killed a thousand Philistines one of the greatest victories in his life in fact the greatest victory up to that time. He's had a miracle in his life God has miraculously touched this man's life. Now he runs down to Gaza. Gaza in Hebrew means hardness impudence self-reliance greed covetousness power. Samson was suddenly drawn to this wicked enemy place. Look at this the man goes to Timnath that belongs to the Philistines it's enemy territory and now he's down in Gaza and I know what's going through his mind he's saying just had the greatest victory in my life seen a great miracle it's time for a little relaxation time for a little fun. And I'll tell you something this idea Christians relaxing and having fun is 90% of the hell that's created. He said well after all I've done my dead level best I've worked hard I've put my time in for God I've had my nose to the grindstone every Christian should relax a little bit everybody ought to have a little fun. Yeah. You see he's got his eyes on Gaza now I don't think he intended to do anything wrong what he should have done was say God you're with me and I know that your spirit's on me and he should have walked away from that battle of the Philistines he'd been re-strengthened by that miraculous water from heaven and that all spiritual water that comes in the Old Testament is Christ. He's drunk freely from the life of Christ. What he should have done is say there's a city right near here less than 40 miles from where I sit and it's full of harlots and it's full of wickedness and I'm going down and I'm going to tear the walls down and I'm going to destroy it I'm going to wipe it off the map and he could have done it. He should have had a holy zeal for God. He goes down there and he's got a little curious streak in him he's got this thing in him I want to relax I want a little fun I'm not going to do anything really bad and he hears the music and he begins to snap his fingers and I see it in young people everywhere I go this this Saturday night fever Friday Saturday night look at all the young people everywhere you go Friday Saturday night it hits them it hits a lot of housewives it hits husbands here he goes down to Gaza and you've got to say watch out Samson because you're headed for trouble because Gaza is hardness of heart that's self reliance you relied on the Holy Ghost now you're going to rely on your own strength you've got a spirit of greed in you you're going to become impotent toward the Lord because that's the spirit of Gaza that is impotence against God that's a hardness of heart it's going to set in on you and destroy you now almost every Christian has a Gaza in their life a place or a thing that tempts you and beckons you and calls you it's a something in you that says come on down just relax a bit now don't go crazy come on down look around and be one of us Samson goes to Gaza sees a hardness and goes to bed with her the man who should have been torn apart sleeps with a hardness you look at that man of God under great Holy Ghost anointing there he is frolicking on a bed with a hardness don't tell me this is a story of victory it's a shameful shameful story and listen to Philistine Samson has come here there Samson is one of us there's nothing special about him he doesn't have a touch of God he's just like the rest of us and that's exactly what the devil's crowd says when you go down and mix with them nothing special there's a guy supposed to be saved and filled with the Holy Ghost look at him just like us and nothing nothing separated about him nothing unique about him boy and I I hear the spirit screaming in me don't go to Gaza you know your weakness you know that thing that calls you and when it calls you you stand up and say that's Gaza calling and I refuse to go down to Gaza because that's where I'll get a hard heart that's where I'll become impudent against God that's where I'll get greedy for more you know what your Gaza is this morning everyone in this building you know what your Gaza is I know what my Gaza is and I step and I say oh God I'll not go down to Gaza I'll not touch it I won't come anywhere near it I'm staying separate and clean to the Lord I know what that spirit means I know what's down there some of you were saved out of drugs some of you got out of drinking and every time you get down and weep there's Gaza calling you come on in and you know what's inside those doors you know the moment you stick that bottle in your mouth that that's Gaza calling you you know you'll wind up in bed and I'm not talking about just going to bed with a heart you'll go to bed with a bottle you'll go to bed with that sin and I'm telling you right now and I hear it ringing in my heart and I'm telling you out of my heart I know the Holy Ghost told me to say it to everyone that's listening to me now you've got a Gaza calling some of you have a Gaza calling to you right now come on down and relax don't do anything wild don't go crazy but you can't be serving God night and day every man has to have a little fun it's this cry of fun it's this cry of fun that's leading Christians down to Gaza don't go to Gaza now look midnight Samson crawls out of the harlot's bed and listen to what he does listen to this this is stupid absolutely dumb he took the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts and went away with them bar in all and carried them up to the top of the hill that's before he'd brought now what kind of victory is this? gets up at midnight and he sees the gates and it's locked and he said I'll show them and so he picks up the gates and look at this man wasting his strength on a dumb gate that would be built the next day stupid wasting squandering the energy of God what kind of victory is this? the man should have been tearing any man that could tear the gates down could have torn the walls down any man that can tear those gates could have torn harlots apart instead of sleeping with them but you see that's how what kind of thinking this man has now he should have set that city on fire he set the fields on fire why didn't he get by a hundred those foxes and set them loose inside that city and burn it down there's nothing accomplished the Philistines see that man walking off with their gates and they're laughing at him now what was Samson's sin? what was the sin of Samson? is that just simple fornication? I wish it was I wish that was just a simple fornication example that he's given to us but it's so much more than that he'd touched the dead he'd drunk in the wine of pleasure he'd already lost his sign of separation the Nazarite vow had been broken absolutely broken everything Samson had done in Gaza broke now he's God in his mercy had not forsaken him yet but he'd touched the dead he'd blasphemed the name and the honor of God he's now married to the world because he that's joined to a harlot is one and not married to God anymore he's not separated he's married to a harlot there's no sign he ever went back to the Bible said that if you lay with a harlot you're one flesh in the sight of God you've created a oneness if you're one with the world you're married to it that's what the Bible says if you're one with the world if you're mixing with the world you're married to the world now the word Samson means sunlight but very soon this man's never going to see the sun again he's headed for horrifying darkness his divided heart's about to cost him everything his anointed testimony is going to become the laughing stock of the nation both of the Christian and the sinner the children of God and the children of the devil because you see a man who goes down to Gaza is going to end up in the lap of Delilah and Delilah is the end of the road for anyone who mixes with the world Delilah's the end of the road Delilah it says and it came to pass afterward that he loved a woman in the valley of Sork whose name was Delilah Delilah in Hebrew means languishing now listen to this it means to ease up let up it means to weaken it means impoverished that means to lose everything and to become feeble that's what her name means they named people in the Old Testament after characteristics that's what her name means Delilah means take it easy lose everything become weak and everyone who has a divided heart who rejects their Nazirite vow of separation under the Lord will end up in the lap of Delilah and what is that lap? it's a spiritual weakness it's boredom it's slowly giving in and easing up and finally losing everything to a spirit of apathy total apathy you know what's amazing I read that Samson loves a strange woman down in Timnath I read that he loves a harlot loves a harlot and I understand here now that he loves Delilah I see him the record shows that he loves three women but I don't find once in that whole story that he loved God not once is it said that this man loved God he loves Delilah he loves a harlot he loves that Philistine woman in Timnath but he doesn't love God and that's why Christians mix with the world that's why you still go with the crowd because you don't love Him if any man loved the world the love of the Father is what is not in him Samson loved the world and that's why we know the love of the Father wasn't in him he didn't love God there's no record of it if he'd loved God he would have said I'll not go down with that wicked crowd I'll not mix with the evil crowd I will not bring reproach on the holy name of my God and not do it now let's get it straight Samson's strength wasn't in his hair it was in his Masorite separation the secret of strength is separation from the world the Holy Spirit came upon him giving him strength it was the Spirit of God coming on him the Bible makes that very clear the Spirit of God I believe that there was residual strength have you ever been in a Holy Ghost meeting and the glow continues for hours and hours he had residual strength after every anointing but then finally he needed a fresh anointing just like all of us because this is a sight this is a type as long as he was separated God's Spirit would move on him and empowering him he became weak not because Delilah had his hair cut off but because he lost his identification of separation he lost the crown of glory of separation he had become one with the world I want to tell you something God means business on this matter of separation God means business boy does he mean business and his judgments are severe on those who mix I want every one of you have a divided heart but who's going to admit he's got a divided heart maybe I ought to rephrase that any of you who are sitting here on the sound of my voice this morning who can't acknowledge that your heart is passionately in love with God you have a passionate love for God above all things in this world I want you to listen the Bible said this is Delilah and Delilah 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 seven is God's number and she began to afflict him taunt him tease him in other words and his strength went from him and all this happens without him knowing it because he's fast asleep and he wakes up and he says I will go out as at other times I'll just shake myself but he knew not that the Lord was departed from him the first act of divine judgment on a divided heart is that the glory of God departs the glory of God departs I've seen preachers stand in the pulpit who had been guilty of adultery I've listened to some men that I knew were homosexuals and you stand up and you listen to them speak and there is not one ounce of anointing there's no glory anywhere within a mile the glory of the Lord is departed from their life and therefore I'll get up and preach just like I always have I'll testify like I always have I'm the same man I always was but Samson is not the same man he was now well you know you read that story of Samson and all the times he goes down and lays on the lap of Delilah and he's playing this game with his anointing it breaks your heart he's playing games with Delilah he's flirting with her he's getting a big kick out of saying you put green bonds on me and I'll be open and he breaks them he plays all these games three games that he plays with this woman and you say what kind of man is this that takes the anointing so lightly what kind of man is this that has such a lack of respect for what God's done in his life and that's what bothers me about Christians who mix with the world and bring dishonor to the name of the Lord you say what kind of person is this that so dishonors has such a lack of respect for the work of the Holy Spirit in their life how can you be so disrespectful of what God's done for you and it grieves me I look at that and there's something rises up in me and says Samson what kind of a peculiar spirit are you of what is it in you driving you like this what is it you know that your nation is bound by these Philistines and you're playing games with them you know that's the enemy and you're flirting with them what kind of man are you and I want to say that to these Christians the kind I read to you here you know the rock and roll evangelist and all these others trying to build bridges I want to say what kind of a personality are you what kind of a spirit are you all that you can't understand the separation that God demands how can you mix and of course the first thing that happens to all these kind is that the glory of the Lord departs and boy what a sad picture look at this man waking up and he looks at all the Philistines because you know this man is crazy Stanton I don't believe it because the whole time he's having a affair with Delilah the Philistines are in the room they're in the room he's so blind he doesn't even see them they're under the bed they're in the closets read it the Bible says as soon as he told the secret the Philistines were there they're there this time and they're watching this is the great holy man of God this is the man that sends fear on our nation sleeping with one of our harlots and he gets up and shakes himself and there's a man peeking out of the closet he's the one who cut his hair and he's got a pair of shears in his hand he's got seven locks in his hands and she wakes him Samson the Philistines are upon you and out of the closet one comes in the door another and out from under the bed I don't know where they come and they say holy man of God let's see what you've got and they try him and Samson smiles he said it's getting kind of boring having to handle these stupid men I'll just get up shake it and I'm going to tear the room apart this time and he gets up and you look at that man shrugging every vein in his body he's pulling and stretching he says something's wrong something's wrong tell you what's wrong the glory's gone the spirit of the Lord is gone and they're upon him like vultures and Samson says I'll wait until I get outside maybe I need some sun when he gets out and the more he pulls the tighter it gets he's a nothing but a bald headed old weak pussy cat look at him they're leading this great man of God bound and they're pushing him they're spitting on him they're mocking him it wasn't shame to Samson it was shame to almighty God the enemies of the Lord were rejoicing and that's what grieved David's heart he said I've made the enemies of God rejoice and that's the sin of Samson here the Philistines you want to know the second act of judgment on people who mix and won't be separated under God and break their Nazarite vow not only the glory of the Lord departs but blindness spiritual blindness the Bible says and the Philistines took him and put his eyes out and you see those guys they're laying him down they're sitting on him and some big old man digs his fingers in and digs his eyes out of his sockets digs his eyes out he had two holes where he once had two eyes no chance of ever seeing he didn't just lose his eyesight he lost his capacity to ever see again if they had just temporarily blinded him or thrown some acid there may have been a chance but he lost his capacity to ever see and that's the trouble with mixing you don't only just become blind you lose your capacity to ever see the spiritual truth of God again now Samson's not only weak he's blind and that's the horrible danger a lifetime of spiritual blindness to hear preaching after preaching there's some of you here right now preaching my heart out and it's still not getting to you and you don't hear a word I'm saying because you're blind somebody the devil plucked your eyes out and here he is being led around by the enemy look at him a little teenage boy is walking him around by the hand and that's what happens you end up being led like a little boy by the wicked crowd you're led anywhere you go anywhere with anybody because you lost your direction and you say brother Wilson how can God do that to a man that's so greatly annoyed how can he do that to such a high holy calling how can God let a man's eyes be plucked out be bold and weak before the enemies of God why does God allow himself to be laughed at like that why didn't God just kill the man you see the final step is that the man who mixes not only has the spirit of God depart from his life he not only becomes spiritually blind he winds up in prison doing hard forced labor and the Bible says they bound him with fetters of brass and he did grind in the prison house and boy they heathen I mean they came from all over Philistine country they came from miles around to see this man and you know what they did they had Samson do sport listen to it they praised their God for they said our God is delivered into our hands our enemy and they made him do sport for them in other words silly acts Samson let's see how many stones you can lift hey Samson show us how strong bend this piece of iron and Samson was forced to stand there in silly stupid acts of sport makes you want to cry doesn't it you say nothing mixing with the world tell that to Samson tell Samson that God will wink at it tell Samson that there's nothing to just going down and relaxing until Samson that to me the saddest thing about Samson's life the way he died and it's not just because he pulled a whole house down of 3,000 Philistine princes on his head not because he died under the rubble of the enemy not because he had these 3,000 polluted corpses on top of him who were dead he wasn't even to touch them in life but he has to touch them in death that's not the tragedy of Samson's death it goes deeper than that you see even in his dying day there was no repentance only revenge and that really bothers me that really stuck out in me when God began to open this chapter to me there's not a word in his life about sorrow for disgracing the Lord and there he is grinding at the corn he's grinding this huge grist mill and the Philistines are laughing and little kids are coming up and pulling on him and kids are pinching him and people are laughing and they're saying Hall Prophet of God Mighty God of Israel look what happens he's mocked and spit not once does Samson say oh God I've grieved you look what I've done I've made the enemies your enemies mock you there's no godly sorrow in his heart not one ounce of godly sorrow in this man all he's concerned about is his body now I want you to listen to it here because it's very sad very very sad oh Lord God remember me I pray thee he's saying one last burst of energy that I may be a vengeance of the Philistines for my two eyes there he is all day long he's boiling inside he said oh God give me one chance to get even look what they've done to me look how self-centered this didn't you know what Gaza is self-reliance greed self-centeredness that's the spirit he's of now look at me look at the suffering God if you just all I want to do I want to live long enough to get even God give me one last burst he didn't say God give me one last burst of power that I'll bring glory to your name God give me one last chance to redeem the sin of my life this divided back-slidden man looks God right in the face he says oh God just enough power to get even for my two eyes and that's how you wind up finally when you mix with the world all you do is have revenge in you you have nothing about the honor of God you end up like Samson self-centered angry revengeful trying to make somebody pay for all the bad things that have happened to you what a tragedy now I'm closing let me let me wind this up now Samson was the salt Jesus is talking about Samson is the salt that lost its savor and God had to discard him listen to the scripture ye are the salt of the earth who? those who are separated under God are the salt of the earth but if the salt have lost its savor wherewith shall it be salted it is therefore good for nothing but to be cast out and be trodden under foot of men now oh boy these people that are preaching that you know God is merciful yes he is but he's also severe there comes a time when God says your purpose your purpose on my behalf on this earth is to be salt and you lose your purpose there's nothing left for you to be cast aside and be trampled on and you go all through the bible and you can see Saul who is divinely called of God he separates himself away from God and he goes to the world and finally consults with the witch and God says you've lost your savor and he casts him out and he's trodden upon you see it with Solomon a man who has such a great anointing and he mixes himself with the strange women and the strange gods of this world and he becomes salt that loses its savor and God says because you've lost your savor you're good for nothing to be cast out and trampled on so God cast him out and he was trampled on and I can take you all through the bible and I can take you all through the new testament how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation come out from there for be a separate and touch not the unclean thing then I reveal the father to you then I receive you he doesn't receive you until then the bible says you cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils you cannot be partaker of the Lord's table and the table of devils you can't well I'm going to tell you one last time with all the love in my heart God makes it clear the secret the strength is separation from everything that's of the world and anything that touches it separation holy separation unto God not just separation from something but separation unto something most people that are Christians are separated they finally come I'm separated from television now I'm separated from movies I'm separated from drink from cigarettes and drugs I'm separated no you're not separated until you're separated unto him not until there's a passionate love in your heart to him until he becomes everything in your life and you're separated from and unto then you're completely separated from the world is spirit of Samson still in the church oh yes it is I think I'd like to write a book someday about religion in Dallas I think Dallas, Texas and Fort Worth becoming the seed bed not only the prosperity gospel it's the seed bed of all the mixtures and all the confusion that is everything that God hates in the church building big fancy temples on freeways out doing each other oh you ought to see how the preacher comes on stage now the trumpets are blowing God's great man here he comes fresh from the golf course who was it tell him the other day called the preacher he was out and he said well what about service tomorrow oh he gets up about 7 o'clock and puts something together just hustles something together little bit of hash for the people play and then Sunday morning about 7 o'clock dig something up just throw it out like to a dog not only you know that program Dallas that damnable program on television called Dallas, Texas man it's not just Dallas, Texas that and folks it's not just Dallas, Texas it's here too it's everywhere I got up this morning thinking Dallas must be the most backslidden city on the face of the earth and I hear people say the reason I moved to Dallas is because I don't think the bombs are going to fall in Dallas probably the first place everybody says all those homosexuals in San Francisco God's going to wipe out San Francisco He's not nearly as upset about those homosexuals who are dead and trespassing and sinning He's more concerned about all these mixed Christians all of these worldly Christians in Dallas and other places that's what grieves the heart of God well don't you think it's time we got consistent with God I'm going to stand up and be pounded for the Lord let the world go their way I'm going with God Hallelujah I woke up this morning and said oh Lord I don't want to be like Samson I'm not going down to gossip the Holy Ghost is upon me the Holy Ghost is going to keep me and I pray I acknowledge the Holy Ghost in my life I acknowledge His presence I want you Holy Ghost to keep convicting me of every sin that's in my life and I want to obey you and the more you obey the Holy Ghost the easier it is He'll make it easier for you obey Him this time He'll speak to you again and finally you'll recognize that voice so clear the voice of the Holy Ghost will be so clear He'll say go here go there He'll direct you He'll keep you from the wicked one Glory to God Oh Holy Spirit do that for us this morning keep us from the wicked one Lord I bind the spirit of Samson that may be in some this morning we've got to have an open heart to that to say Lord I want that out of my life I want nothing of Samson in me Hallelujah Let's stand for a minute in His presence