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Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, here God’s truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the You can reach us toll-free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the Bibleignmenistries.org homepage. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

We’re going to talk about something tonight. Let’s see. What’s a good subject? Okay, go to the book of judges. We never did finish up about the guy named Samson. We were talking about Samson, but we got him up to that first woman. Remember, there were two other women after that. So we’ll take a look at some of the things and hopefully, you know, maybe finish up the night with a few thoughts. But in the book of Judges, it talks about a guy named Samson.

And Samson was what? The wisest man in the world? Oh, what was he? Strongest man in the world. Yeah, that’s what he was. He was probably built something like myself. You know, muscles ripped. You can’t see me, Tom. You don’t know it. You don’t know. I mean, I may have muscles just bulge in all over the place. I have a strapping physique and then my straps broke. You know how I built up my muscles? I used to fill the bathtub up full of water and then I’d pull the plug and then fight the current.

So anyway, in the book of Judges, the story is about a man that had what you would call, well it was just look in chapter 13, we just get a couple of ideas here again. They were unsurpassed promises. In other words, a man that was predicted to be born, a man that had God’s promise behind him. He was born for a purpose. God told his parents what they were supposed to do, how they’re supposed to raise him, what kind of a kid he’s gonna be.

And no razor was told to touch his hair, and he was not to have any strong drink. And all that, I mean, this was one special kid. Born for a special purpose. You can’t say he didn’t have a reason to live. He was designed with God’s purpose in mind. All of us suppose to think we are a little special. I’ve always felt a little special between me and God. Don’t you feel like God made you for a reason? And you just have trouble sometimes trying to figure out what it is.

And this is why there’s an emptiness inside of every person until they find the Lord. Till you know the Lord, you just can’t put it together. You know there’s something there, but you don’t know exactly what it is. But this was something that he had been given, special parents, because they were to have this special kid. Told him you’re gonna have a son, and I got something that I want him to do, and he’s gonna be a deliverer of Israel, because now you know that little yo-yo that the nation of Israel had been gone through.

But you know, Lord forgive us, send God, wouldn’t forgive them, and then they would leave God and go for a false God. And then they would worship this God, and then next thing you know, they have to have a heathen come in and whip the tar out of them. And then they’d bellyache unto God, and God would send a deliver, and they’d be all right for a while. Well, they’d been under the Philistines for a while. And so, Samson was designed to deliver them from the listings.

And so, he had special parents and he had a special promise of what God was going to do to this guy. And so, not only that, but this guy was going to have special power. How would you like, I mean, if you talk about the super hero, sometimes you’re in the advertising of these super heroes today, today. This was the real superhero. I mean this was a guy that could whoop anybody. It didn’t matter how many, do you realize in his lifetime he killed over 4,000 people?

Over 4,000. I mean this man was, he was quite a man. You can’t say he was a sissy, but this he man had a she problem. He really did. And so he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. And so when you go through here and they asked the Lord says Lord, how do you know? we supposed to raise this kid? So the Lord told him things that He wanted them to do and so they found out what they were supposed to do and how was it supposed to raise this kid?

So this kid had special guidance. God told them special things how to raise this kid so that this kid would be able to do so you have to admit this kid had potential to do great things for God because he had special parents. He had special power given to him and a special promise of publishing something to be a deliver of Israel. That sounds awesome. Sounds good. So look in verse 24. Verse 24 of chapter 13 and the woman, bear a son.

Call his name Samson. The child grew and the Lord blessed him. Can’t get it any better than that. Now you think what a man with a beginning like this, buddy, he’s really going to do a number on all the enemy and he’s really going to be great and God’s going to really do this guy is going to be one spiritual giant. Well, not exactly. He had a problem. But understand this. In chapter 14, there are a few of these claims that we would call unusual pitfalls.

You know, some things that would cause you to fall. is he had a great disrespect for his parents. They would tell him what to do, but he didn’t want to listen to his parents. He sounded like the typical teenager, doesn’t he? I mean, he had godly parents, but he wouldn’t listen to them. Now, God was able to use even his disobedience. Remember this when it comes to how God chooses. When it comes to salvation, God has chosen to save everyone that believes.

When it comes to service, God could use heathen. God could use heathen nations or individuals. He used Pharaoh to display his wrath upon. So God can use anything and anything about it. He even used a donkey one time. He even used a gourd one time. He even used a worm at one time. And you know if he can use a worm, he can use you, right? So there’s hope for everybody, but God can use the wind. Remember what Jonah?

And he could use a great fish, remember? So God can prepare anything at any time. God can do what God wants to do. But He’s chosen to give man a free will. When it comes to service, He got to use anybody, even rebellious people, in order to demonstrate him, his righteousness against sin. So if a lost man sins against God, God can use him as a vessel of wrath. If a Christian rebels against the Lord, God can use him as a vessel of wrath.

But if we decide to serve the Lord, God can use us as a vessel of mercy. So you see, a lot of what God does is dependent upon our decisions. So even though God is told him what he was going to do. He had this respect for his parents, but he also was a lustful individual. He, well, you know the story of him and delight, all right? They went to the woman’s barber shop and, you know, well, that wasn’t his first woman, but it was his last as far as we know.

You see, there had already been several instances before that. And so he had set up some wrong patterns in his life. He was a worldly minded individual. Now as you read the story about Samson and these few chapters, there’s a lot you can learn about the times in which we live. Not much has changed. There were pretty women back there. Are there pretty women today? Or are there hunks walking around today? I mean beside myself. I mean, is there?

So you know you look out and you see, I mean, there’s always guys and girls and the girls are looking at the guys good. You know. And the guy looks at the girl that knows coming from. And so, remember, we used to have a skit done in Ranch called Penelope. Penelope. Oh, Penelope. Oh, Penelope. Anybody was a funny joke. Forget Penelope for right now. We’re talking about these three ladies here in this book. And so, you have here the promise of chapter 13 was such a wonderful beginning.

14 should have never happened. Did you realize that God has given to us so many wonderful opportunities to serve Him? And we have such great potential. God not only saves us, He gives us eternal life, He gives us the Holy Spirit and gives us an opportunity to serve and then we bloke. Have you ever seen a guy that maybe used to be a movie star and then they ruin their whole lives because they can’t get away from a bottle and they become a drum.

You remember a guy named Audie Murphy? Audie Murphy was the most decorated man in the Second World War and he ruined his life with alcohol. There are so many people that are ruining themselves or somebody can sing real good and then get off in the drugs and they ruin their life. And you can see how foolish they are but then Many of God’s children turn around and do the same thing. They get drunk on something of the world. They get drunk on making money.

Drunk because they can’t control their lust for something. Or the pride. And there’s always something that brings them down is always going on. So this didn’t have to happen. It just shows you that, you know, some things went to pot. And as you go through here and you see all these things, you think this didn’t have to happen, but in verse one of chapter 14, Samson went down to Timothy and he saw a woman. The first thing that says about the guy, you know he was born and God blessed him, his parents grew great, and the first thing that starts off with, he saw a woman.

Now you know where this is gonna lead, don’t yourase. And it was a strange woman in a strange place and he should have never been there, but he did. Now in chapter 15, you have talking about an unanswerable paradox. You wonder how in the world could God use a man like Samson to accomplish his will? He didn’t deserve to be used. He was a bad man. He wasn’t spiritual at all. He wasn’t God-dee-it-all and yet he had such wonderful potential and yet at the same time God used him at times in his life.

Did you know that Samson didn’t get away with all of his sin and he didn’t get away with it. You would think, well, he got away with it. No, he didn’t get away with it. Let me just give you this. You see, Samson had four no-nose. You know, things he shouldn’t have done. But Samson did it anyway because that’s just the way Samson was. He didn’t always listen. See, he developed some or established some wrong patterns in his life.

You see, he saw this woman. Then he has desired. He said, hey, I want y’all to go down and get me that woman. Go get me this woman. They said, son, why can’t you just get one of the women from Israel? He wanted that one. So he was disrespectful to his parents. He was breaking a law that’s found in the Word of God about you’re not supposed to do that. But he didn’t care. He did what he was going to do.

And so he developed up at him, see, whenever he went with the first woman and that turned into chaos. And then after that, well, 20 years passed and he judged Israel. 20 years. And then the next thing it says, he went down and saw harlots. He’s there in verse 1 of chapter 16, then went Samson to Gaza and saw there a harlot and went in under her. That means he did a no-no because he had developed some no-no’s, not actually to say he should have, but he didn’t listen and he did not obey you.

But now the key thing is this, you see there in verse 20 of chapter 15 and he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines 20 years. So If he was about 20 years age, when he started, 20 years has passed, so he’s maybe 40 something years old. I guess you could say this man was in his midlife crisis. That’s when they say you’re in your midlife crisis. When you go back and you don’t think right, you don’t do right when you’re messing up your life.

And first thing it says in verse one, he saw another woman. Well, that’s what happened over there in the other chapter, 14, he saw a woman. You see, he set and developed some patterns in his life, but they were wrong patterns. And because he got away with it, God didn’t really beat him up because of the first one. Now he can go and have a whore and not be, have to worry about that. He’s gonna get away with that.

But see the pattern was, God is a good God, and a gracious God, and God gives a person time to correct a problem. But if you don’t, he’s gonna let you get caught, and it’s gonna really cost you good. The third one did him in, and that was Delilah. So he developed some no-nos in his life. things that he should not have done, but he did it anyway. He went to the wrong places. You see down there in verse four, when it says in chapter 16, and he came to pass afterwards that he loved a woman in the Valley of Soric, and that’s a stronghold, and that’s a border town, and so, you know, it’s right on the edge.

And there’s a lot of people who just live on the edge. They don’t play safe. They wanna see how close they can play with sin get away with it. Like, it won’t get me. It won’t get me. He got him. And so he says here, whose name was Delilah. And so you have here a story about this woman and how she was able, because of her beauty. She got her a man. And then sometimes that’s all along. God, I got me a man.

He got two legs. I’ll take him.” So she wasn’t a spiritual woman, a godly individual. She was greedy. She was willing to sell him for a price and she did. But he went to the wrong places and he also, he met the wrong person. You see, if he hadn’t been there, that opportunity would not have prevailed. He would not have had that opportunity. See, when you don’t do right and you don’t think right, you’re opening up your doors of opportunity to really mess up your life.

You have to guard yourself all the time. And so it was a price that he didn’t have to pay. But because of his rebellion, he paid a great price. So here we have in chapter 16, it shows you his unbridled passion. He had a passion for the opposite sex and it brought him down. It ruined this man. When you read the Bible, you’ll be surprised how many so-called good men messed up their lives because, hey, she’s cute. Hey, listen, you may fall in love with that little temple, But when you marry that temple, you get the whole thing.

They say, well, marriage is love is blind. Yes, but marriage is an eye-opener. And you’d be surprised, the price that some people pay instead of waiting. In any way, as you go down through here and you see this, how could a man sow so much carnality and not reap a harvest. As you read about his life, you see all the wrong that he did, his decision, the patterns that he said in his life that were wrong and going to the wrong place and meeting the wrong people and paying a price, it didn’t have to pay.

But you see, God is a good God and God will give you certain liberty to obey or even to disobey. And at times when it says in the book it ecclesiastes, when sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, there is when the heart of man the desire to do more because, I’ve got to wait with it, nothing happened, nothing happened. And that becomes your trap. Because whenever you use certain things or sins to satisfy that burning, passion, desire, and then whenever it comes again and it always comes again, you’ll have a tendency to satisfy the same sexual desires the way you did the last time and it gets easier and easier and easier.

And next thing you know you ruin your whole life and it doesn’t have to be that away. And so there is a price that you have to pay. Remember this, Samson believed about four lies, four major lies. You see, he thought because of who he was, the power that he had. You can’t stop me. Do you know who I am? Do you realize what I can do? You can’t stop me. And he also thought, you can’t catch me. Did you realize this guy was able to go out and catch 300 foxes?

Have you ever tried to catch one fox? I tried to shoot a fox. I’m glad I didn’t because I’d probably been put under the jail, but I couldn’t even hit one. I mean, that thing was running all over the place. You thought there was a war in Vietnam. And they don’t host you. And this man was able to catch 300 foxes. And he tied their tails together and he put a stalk between them and set it on fire and send them into the corn fields so they would burn up all their hearts.

harvest. Said everything on fire. The man was fast buddy. You can’t catch me. You can’t stop me. So do you see there could be an element of pride in this thing? Just a little bit. He says, you can’t harm me. They’d try to tie him up and you could just snap him like that. walk off with the gates of the sea. I mean, the guy was one strong individual. He was as strong as God wanted him to be. He could do whatever God wanted him to do.

He could do it. And so he also felt under another lie, God. God won’t touch me. God won’t judge me. Because I did this, and I got away with it. I did this, and I got away with it. I can get away with it. Do you think it’s possible he could have believed the lie? Do you know what people do to themselves? They deceive themselves. They lie to themselves and then believe the lie. Satan will lie to you. He’ll tell you that God won’t do this and God won’t do that and God doesn’t love you and this won’t work and next thing you know, you’re living in total fear and you have put a prison of rocks all around yourself.

I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t. Next thing you built a prison for yourself to live inside of. I don’t like all those I can’s I can again I can I can I can I can live like a free man because you and God make a majority and you and God you can do more than you ever dreamed of So as you go down through here, I want you to notice that Delilah was trying to find out where is his strength coming from Because some people wanted to know and they were willing to pay for this knowledge So he says, if I am bound by some rope that’s never been used, and she’d tie them all up, and then she’d say, the felistines are upon you, and cleanly break all those things, you know?

I could try that with some wet noodles, or, in the sense if I could break those. And you have the various tests that she would do. Then she got crying how a woman has to put the tears in her eye, and she’s all in motion, and you don’t love. And he says, if you do this, I’ll become weak. Look up there in the last part of verse 17, where it says, And if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.

He knew he was not like any other man. He knew he was different, but he says, I’ve been a Nazarite. And therefore, a razor has never come upon his head. So he takes a nap with his head in Delilah’s lap and lo and behold she shaved him, cut off his hair. And then she says, the Philistine be upon you. And he says, I will just shake him off like I did before. See that in verse 20? And she said, the Philistines be upon these samsom and he awoke out of his sleep and said, I will go out at other times as before.

It’s going to be just like all time. I’m going to have victory just like I did before, but it didn’t work that away. He didn’t have victory this time. And he says in verse 20, and he wished not that the Lord had departed from him. He didn’t know. His strength was in the Lord and God had honored the vow of the Nazarite vow, but now his hair was cut. the vow was broken, the Lord left him. And because he didn’t have the Lord, he didn’t have the strength and they got him.

And I preached a sermon one time on the binding, the blinding and the grinding. Don’t I make a good three-point outline? Don’t you like that, Bob? That’s a good outline. I think every preacher has preached that But you’ve got to realize, he bound himself. He brought this up on him. It didn’t have to be this way. This is not all that God planned for him. But God can use anything. God can use your rebellion in order to whoop you and use you as an example.

God wants us, he says, be thou an example of the believer in word and deed and attitude and all these things. God tells us what he does want, but if you choose a rebel, God can use you as an example. Alright, have you ever had, especially whenever I was in school, I’d had a teacher tell me, he said, I’m going to make an example out of you. Oh, I don’t think I like that. I’m going to make an example.

I don’t want to be an example, but it didn’t have to me. So I got a lot of spankings. That was back in the day. the days when the teachers didn’t mind bruising you a little bit, putting a few whelps on you. I mean they picked me clean up off the floor. I mean my backside was so burning red I couldn’t sit down. It stinging, it burned, it hurt. I mean I cried. I was a teenager too, but if they take me down to the boiler room, just drop them.

And then they said bend over and they take that panel with both hands on it and come through it heartily and come up and lift you clean up off the floor. You say they’d ever do that. Yes, they did. They beat my sisters, both of them, with rubber hoses. They come home with welts on their body. Not today, I think they would probably go to jail. But most of us probably were raised by parents that would today be guilty of Calibuz.”

Well anyway we’ll move right along. So there was something to understand about all this here that was going on. He was not that the Lord had departed from him. So in verse 21 the Philistines took him, put out his eyes. Look at that. Did he have problem with his eyes? He had problem with his eyes. Every time he turned around he was looking at the women. Okay, should that serve as a warning? What about girls looking at boys? You can get trouble too.

Be wise, be careful. God tells us in advance and it can happen and you can fall very quickly. And then he says they put out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with fetters of brass. Now he doesn’t have the Holy Spirit on him. He did not know the Lord had departed, but now he does and they bound him with fetters of brass and he did grind. So he was the blinding, the grinding and the binding.

All these things happened to him and he ground in the prison house. How bit the hair of his head began to grow again after it was I don’t know why it would say that. I think something’s up. His hair begins to grow, and so God’s honor. That is what David and Goliath was all about. God’s honor. And you don’t give God’s enemies an opportunity to blaspheme God’s name. And this is what a lot of times we do. We give the enemy an opportunity to blasting the Lord.

You’ve been listening to another great message from Dr. Arnold, and we hope that Bibleline is a blessing to you. In appreciation for your support of this ministry, we’d like to send to you a gift. During this month, for a gift in any amount, we’re going to send Dr. Arnold’s teaching on the subject of marriage. This nine lesson CD series includes titles such as God’s View of Divorce, eight pressures of raising children, how to love your wife, and the humorous but insightful teaching, and then the war began.

Whether you are married, single, or dating, you will certainly benefit from this teaching series on God’s design for marriage and divorce. And this CD Series is yours for a donation at any amount. Our mailing address is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. And don’t forget to include your mailing address as well. bless you and thank you again for supporting Bibleline. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline. If you are in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634.

And now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound, and we will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. live today and every day. Believing that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.