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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 air. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the BibleLineMinistries.org homepage. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s concluding message of this teaching will be a blessing to you and your family.

Look at number 19. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Him and went down to Askelon with 30 men. So he killed 30 people, took their robes so he could pay his debt. But while he was gone, well, the daddy gave his wife to somebody else, because they didn’t know he was coming back. Now when Samson heard that you gave my wife away, now he really got, and not only that, he gave him to one of his friends.

See, the last part of verse 20, but Samson’s wife was given to his companion whom he had used as his friend. So you see even though you have this great power and you can do some great things in time, what you do that’s wrong can still get you in a lot of trouble and bring you a lot of heart that can grieve. So there is a price to pay for doing good things the wrong way. And so there’s a price that he had to pay.

So now that really made him mad. You know one of the hardest things for me to understand in the scriptures, I’ve tried to figure out this, but realizing that the Holy Spirit was on this guy. I could see that the Lord did this. How does a man catch 300 foxes? Would you like to try to catch one fox? I was up here in the mountains with my son Eddie. And I saw something run across there and it was red.

It was a red fox. But I could say this now because it was about 30 years ago, 35 years ago. And I shot at that, but that fox went back and forth And then I’ll find out later you can’t kill a fox. Not a red fox. And that thing was all over the, it was so fast. How in the world could a man catch a fox? But you know what Samson did? Caught 300 of them. See there in verse 4, chapter 15.

Samson what I didn’t caught, 300 boxes. And then what did he do? Tired pales together and put a little torch in between them and set it on fire. Now, would you, have you ever tried to get two dogs and try to tell us type two dogs tails together, would a dog be snapping at your hands? Have you ever tried to take some food away from a dog? Especially if it’s a big old nice dog bone, try to take it away from the dog and see if you’re like, I don’t give, you know, it will bite the hand that feeds him.

He had 300 of them. So that means time that tells together 150 times he had to do that. And then he says he put a, a firebrand in between the death and they were set him loose. Now, and they would run wild all through and he waited to the right time to wheat harvest so that they would run through the fields and burn up all their fields. Now, Samson had revenge in his heart. that, Samson was, I’ll get even with you.

He didn’t let anything go. He got even with them. And so they asked them in verse 6, then the Philistine says, who did this? And they answered Samson. And the reason was, it says, and the Philistines came up and burnt her and her father with fire. And Samson said to them, though you have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will stop.” So he brought some judgment upon the Palestinians. And God used this one man as a one man army, and he did a lot of damage.

Now look down in verse 11, and then 3,000 men of Judah, because now they’re mad at Samson. Because you’re going down there and you’re stirring them all up, you’re making them mad at us, and they’re just going to make it worse upon us. And so they turned on Samson. He says, we came here because we want to bind you and take you to the Philistines because they want you, and then they’ll maybe leave us alone. This isn’t wonderful to know that they got you back.

I mean, he was doing what he was doing because he’s killing Philistines and they’re mad at him. Now, sometimes you just don’t always perceive things the way they really are. You see, they didn’t see things the way God was in this. And it’s amazing how God moves in strange and mysterious ways. And the reason God can use you and me is because we’re not perfect either. And that’s why we stumble at times. We make wrong decisions. We’re wonderful saints of God and then we’re a little devil sometimes because we got two natures.

We got a new nature. We got a new one. So he says that this is what I’m going to do. Now look down in verse 14. He said, all right, if I let you tie me up and deliver me, you’re not going to come on me yourself, are you? And they said, no, no, no, no. No, we’re just going to deliver you to the Philistines. In other words, you’re not going to try to kill me. He said, no. So he says there in verse 11, the last part of verse 11, he says, what is this that thou hath done unto us?

He said unto them as they did unto me, so have I done unto them. Now one man against all the Philistines. things. He said, this is what I’ve done. So in verse 14, when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him, and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arm became his flax, which was burnt with fire, and they just snapped. His bands loosed him from off his hands, and he found a new jawbone of an ass as a donkey, put forth his hand, took it, and salute get this a thousand men a thousand now you know if you killed a ten men that would be a pretty good battle wouldn’t it you could kill ten of them but what did you could kill a hundred that’d be a lot but he killed a thousand of them for the job on the

Madonki can you imagine what a fight that was And they could not kill this guy. Now, I’d have loved, I wish that had been videotaped. When we get to heaven, there’s a few things I won’t God to give us a rerun on. Surely he videotaped all this stuff so we can get to see what happened. I want to see another picture of the flood. And I like to see the Garden of Eden and see exactly as that happened, you know, that would be awesome.

You know, it could take eternity to satisfy all of our desires with everything we want to know. But this is it’s interesting what he did but a thousand of them and Samson, he was thankful, he was proud, see there in verse 16, Samson said with the jawbone of an ass heaps upon heaps with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men, he knew what had happened but he says in verse 18 and he was sore thirst, called on the Lord and says Lord I’m thirsty and so he made some water appear in the jawbone of of this donkey and he got something to drink.

And in verse 20 says, he ruled and judged Israel for 20 years. Now look how many, see what those people from Judah did, 3,000 of them, delivered him to the Philistines and then he killed a thousand of them. See God works in strange and mysterious ways. God can take the decision to misunderstand the people and still work His will. And so God is going to deliver them. And that’s coming. Now in verse one of the next chapter, He goes to this city and goes to see a harlot.

So that’s ungodly. That’s wrong. Of course it’d be wrong. But He did it anyway. But so now the people are upset because of what He did and to take the gun to get him. And so He just gets up in the middle of the night about midnight and walks up and gets the gates and walks off out of the city, takes the gates and the gates are supposed to be made out of metal, big old heavy metal and just picks them up and walks off with them.

Anyway that’s what he did put them on top of his shoulder, carried them to the top of the hill in verse 3 of chapter 16. Then you all have heard the story of Samson and see there you knew Delilah. We really don’t have any information about what happened to Delilah. Bobbitt doesn’t say but we know what happened to Samson. Now Delilah evidently was a beautiful woman and Samson says I want that one so he went after Delilah and she wanted to know how come you’re so strong.

Yeah well if you bind me with some cords from you know like a bowstring and you tie me up with them he says that is that so what she would do it she would do it to him tie him up and then she holler the felistines are up on you and so you don’t love me all right new ropes She tried it with that. But anyway, he says, if you do that, I’ll be weak just like any other man, because he knew he was not like any other man.

He wasn’t like any other man. So he says, according verse seven, and Samson said unto her, he hath thou bind me with seven green wisth that were never dried, then shall I be weak and be as another man. Then the Lord of the Philistines brought her up seven green with which they had not been dried and she bound him with them. Now there were men lying in wait abiding with her in the chamber and She said unto him that the listings be upon the Samson and he break them as a thread and his strength Was not known the lie in verse 10 said in the Samson behold thou has mocked me Told me lies now tell me I pray thee where would thou mightest be bound?

He said unto her if they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak and be like any other man.” Now you would think by now he was sent, you know, I think she’s trying to trap me. Why can he figure this out? Can you believe that if he knows he’s telling her a lie and what she’s doing, why would you tell her the truth? Well, Samson had a few lives that he had deceived himself one.

He says, in the word, you can’t stop me. You can’t catch me. You can’t harm me. And God won’t judge me. He thought, I’m locked into this. I’ll never lose my strength. Do you know who I am? Well, he had made some fatal mistakes. You think you would be smarter than this. But anyway, as it goes down through here and it makes a statement in verse 16, and it came to pass when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him so that his soul was vexed unto death.

Now that’ll probably do it. The Bible says that a contentious woman is like a continual drip of water dripping. slow but the consistency of it to drive a man man and just staying it nag nag nag nag nag. Just nag nag nag. I’m glad we don’t have anybody like it in our church. But there are people who just nag nag nag and no one knows when to quit. Well, she nag until she finally broke him. This great big man and probably some little petite woman and she was able to say just the right thing And it’s of course you don’t love me or anything.

So it says down here that you don’t love me in verse 15 She said to him how can I say I love thee when thine heart is not with me thou hast mock me these three times Well, that why are you doing this? Why would you tell of the truth? What if he told of the truth and she calls for the Philistines and And they do capture you. Then what are you going to do? What if you did become just like any other man?

Well He says up there if I be shaven then my strength will go from me verse 17 If I be shaven then my strength will go from me and I shall become weak And be like any other man so when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines saying come up this once, for he had shown me all his heart, then the lords of the Philistines came up under her and brought money in her their hand.

She sold him. She did it from money. And she made him sleep upon her knees and he she called for a man and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head. And she began to afflict him and his strength went from him. And he, she says, the felistines be upon these sins and he awoke out of his sleep. And he says, I will go out as as other times before and shake myself. And he wished not that the Lord was departed from him.

See, the strength was the Lord. It was not his hair, but it was a sign of his bow. And he had broken that bow. No razor was to come up on his head. The Holy Spirit was where he got his power from. He was not that the Holy Spirit was taken from him. So that’s where the strength and just think that power that was in Samson, they gave him all this mighty power. for the same Holy Spirit that was in us.

And the wisdom that God gave to a man like Solomon, nobody was ever as wise as Solomon before after nobody. But the Spirit gave him that. You know the Holy Spirit of God, God can pick and choose in service. Salvation is all the same. Whosoever we leave it. But there are certain individuals that God may raise up and because He wants certain things done. And He may allow things to happen, put you in different spots. And you can’t always figure that out.

But when you read and studied the Bible, you’ll see some of the most important, the greatest dynamic stories in all the world are right here in the Bible. And they’re awesome stories. The thing is, they’re true. But it comes from God. So God was able to give him this strength, this power. So whenever they took him, it says that they blinded him. And I preached the sermon years ago on the binding, the blinding, and the grinding. Don’t that make a good three point outline sermon?

He was bound and then he had to do some grinding. And the reason because they were able to capture him, because I wonder why they took out his eyesight. You know, what he looked up on was things he shouldn’t have looked upon. And so, God took out his eyesight. He had women problem. This was the he-man that had a she-woman problem. Anyway, there’s a sermon there too. But in verse 22 it says, how be it the hair of his head begin to grow again after he was shaven.

So the hair was the sign of the vow that had been broken, but now the hair began to grow. And Philistines they had their God and they wanted to have a great big banquet and have their God honored. they needed somebody like a court jester somebody to mock funnel. So guess who they thought to invite to the banquet? Samson was invited to the banquet and so they had to have a little child that would lead him and here’s this great big strong man and he’s been led and they are gonna make sport of him.

See there in verse 27 Now the house was full of men and women. And all the lords of the Philistines were there. ”; And there were upon the roof about 3,000 men and women. That beheld while Samson made sport. Samson called unto the Lord and said, Oh Lord God, remember me. I pray thee and strengthen me. I pray thee only this once O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. Now do you think God heard his prayer?

I believe God heard his prayer. And so there were some fatal mistakes that were made by the Philistines. See they did not understand the judgment of God and how God works. They didn’t understand that. and they worship a false God because their God wasn’t God. And the courage of Samson, see, Samson was a great man of courage. He was willing to do what he could do. Didn’t say he was the wisest man in the world. He was the strongest man in the world.

Solomon was the wisest man in the world. So you can have strength without wisdom and you can have wisdom without the physical strength. Wouldn’t it be needed if you had all of that in one person where you are not only strong, but you were wise? Well, I guess we’ll have to wait till the millennium and then maybe then we’ll be all pretty smart. We’ll have glorified bodies. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? But until then, God just lets us see a little pace of what He can do and power that God does have.

But He said, I want to be avenged of these, my two eyes. So in verse 29, and Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood and on which he was born up of the one with his right hand and the other with his left. And then he asked the Lord, you know what He wanted to do. But the down there in verse 26, look at verse 26, when he says this, And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, permit me, suffer me, that I may feel the pillars, whereupon the house stands, that I may lean upon them, upon the pillars.

So I think he had a plan. And I believe that he knew what he was going to ask God for. And… God talks about Samson in the book of Hebrews as a great man of faith. God used him. But he makes his statement here. In verse 30, Samson says, let me die with the Philistines, and he bowed himself with all his might. And the house fell upon the Lord and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead, which he slew, at his side.

his death were more than they which he slew in his life. Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, took him and brought him up and buried him and he judged Israel 20 years. So they came and got his body and it’s good that however the walls fell and however the temple fell and all those people who was up on the roof, they had to fall in such a way that they were able to get his body and take it back and bury it.

Now do you believe the story of Samson? There’s people that say this is a myth. It never really happened, but it names people and places. Timon, he was one of the judges of Israel. So if this isn’t true, then I guess you’d have to say Hebrews isn’t true. Because Hebrews talks about Moses about Noah, Abel, Joseph, Jacob, Solomon, all these people. So his name’s right there. So if he’s not real, then what? Maybe none of it’s real, or maybe it’s true.

And what we have recorded actually happened. And the Bible says this is the power of the Holy Spirit. And he also makes the statement, the power that raised up Jesus Christ from the dead is the same power that indwells our physical bodies. And at the right time, the Holy Spirit is going to change these bodies from being a physical body, a corruptible body into an immortal body, incorruptible, and we will be like the Lord. And what kind of strength will we have?

I don’t know. I don’t know. But the Bible says we’ll have a body like this. And just think about this. In the upper room, all the doors locked and Christ is able to appear and disappear. Won’t that be a neat trick? I say, I want to go to Mark’s. I’m there. You know, I’ve often thought about the planets. You know, wouldn’t it be neat if God made that a seven-hole golf Of course, you just happen to be seven of them.

But anyway, he was the 13th judge, the 13th judge over the children of Israel. And some people don’t like the number 13. Maybe there’s a reason that he was a great man and God honored him. And you’ll read some of those names mentioned in the Hall of Faith chapter. And you’ll know some of these people, they didn’t always do the right thing. But God can use the vessel for His honor and for His glory. And this is why we work with people.

We’re not trying to help challenge people that are already perfect. There is none. So we work with people. And am I perfect? Ha ha ha ha ha. He said, nope. And neither are you. We’re all just safe centers. people that will honor the Lord at times and dishonor them another times. Look up here. This hand represents you and me. This wallet represents sin. We all have sin on us. The Bible says God loves us but he hates our sin.

For us to pay for sin, eternal separation from God in hell. See God doesn’t want us to go to hell. I’ll be honest. I don’t either. Christ died to pay for my sins so that I could go to heaven. You see, heaven is a perfect place, and I’m up. I wasn’t. So how can I get to heaven? God says, you can’t earn it. You can’t work your way to heaven. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God in the flesh.

He came into the world because he loves us, hates our sins because our sins separates us from him. So Jesus Christ, who had no sin didn’t have to die, he took all of our sins, paid for them on the cross, came back from the dead and said, we would believe he did it for us. He would give us a free gift ever last in life when we get to go to heaven or what Christ did for us.

If I offered you my wallet and you accepted, you’d have a wallet. Empty wallet. I offered you my Bible and you accepted you’d have a Bible. If Jesus Christ came in here and offered you eternal life and you accepted it, you’d have eternal life. If it’s eternal life, this is a hard question. How long would it last? Forever. Well, if it lasts forever and all of your sins are paid, all of them, past, all of them paid. Where would you go?

die to heaven. So can I know that I’m going to heaven before I die? Yes. I know I have eternal life. I know that I’m going to heaven. It’s not because I’m good, because he’s good. It’s because of his great love. He loved us. He loves you. Will you trust him to take you to heaven when you die? You don’t trust this church. Don’t trust the preacher. Whatever you do, don’t trust the deacons. Don’t trust anybody. Trust the Lord, only the Lord.

And he said he would save you and give eternal life. Let’s pray, shall we? Every head bowed and every eye closed, no one looking around. If you hear this morning and you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, would you just talk to the Lord? See, I can’t save you. So no sense trying to trust me or this church. But will you trust Jesus Christ? He’s the Lord. You can’t make a mistake by trusting the only true in living God there is.

Would you believe that he died and paid for your sins? And if you will trust him right now, God said he would save you right now and give you the free gift of eternal life. Doesn’t that make sense? Will you trust him? If you will, I’d like to have prayer for you. And so I’m going to ask in just a moment, I’m going to ask if you’ll raise your hand. Raising your hand is just to let me know that what I said made sense and you’d like for me to have prayer for you and close them.

And I sure would. So anyone before we close, yes, that made sense to me and I’ll trust Christ as my Savior. Just slip it up very quickly and put it right back down. Yes, God bless you, hon. I see that. God bless you, sir. I appreciate that.Pixel just a, It’s just a sound of good judgment. Anyone else before we close? Yes, that made sense to me. And I will trust Christ as my Savior. Anyone else? Anyone else? If you trust in Christ as your Savior, you don’t have to do it again.

But if you’ve never done it, don’t leave without trusting the Lord. Our Father, we thank You so much for all You’ve done for us. We’re thankful for the free gift of eternal life. We ask to blessings upon these that indicate upon an uplifted hand that this day, this moment, they accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. By doing so, they become Your child, Your child forever, that You’ll never cast Him out, never lose Him. And Father, we ask Your blessings upon this church.

We do pray especially for the Babylon, the Radio Ministry. Father, there’s people out there that can be able to give and support it, but Father, we have to leave it in your hands. And we just trust that Your will will be done. Thank you so much for this day. Bless each one in Christ and we pray. Amen. Hello friends. Thank you for listening to Bibleline, and thank you to those who write in and tell us how Bibleline is making such a big impact in your lives.

It’s such an encouragement when we receive your letters and emails. Can I ask, how is your prayer life? Does it need some help? Most Christians think of prayer as a secondary or last resort. Do you realize that Jesus spent hours upon hours in prayer to His Heavenly Father? And yet we so often fail to practice prayer as a priority in our lives. Well during this month, for a gift in any amount, we’re going to send you Dr. Arnold’s Four Sermon Series on the Power of Prayer.

Perhaps prayer is a shortcoming in your life. Your life is a shortcoming in your life. Our mailing address is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Don’t forget to include your mailing address as well. God 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. So live today and every day. Believing that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.