(Judges 13:1-1-4, 14:2, 16:1), (Exodus 20:3), (Nehemiah 8:10), (Hosea 4:6), (Psalm 9:17), (Psalms 91:17), (Proverbs 13:15), (Zec. 4:6), (Isaiah 54:17), (Daniel 11:32), (Hosea 4:6), (Amos 3:3), (Acts 19:15), (Mark 3:27), (Luke 10:21), (Luke 15:10), (1 Cor. 15:33), (2 Timothy 2:19), (Hebrews 10:25), (Hebrews 12:13), (John 2:16).
Sampson was a type of Church! He was the Strong Man and Great Deliverer of his day! In Judges Chapter 13, we find the secret of his Great Strength. The valuable lesson we learn is that this secret of his strength lied in his Dedication. The Angel told his parents that he was not to drink any strong drink, nor eat any unclean food. or cut his hair as He was a Nazarite! If Sampson had kept his dedication, he would have kept his strength!! But note, the angel said anything about his strength, but only about his DEDICATION!
Can you imagine a man 160 to 170 pounds with this kind of strength whereas he could lift the gates of the city? These gates would weigh two tons; he would carry them upon his shoulders to Hebron, which is up hill, and over 17 miles away! How can a 170-pound man carry two tons over 17 miles uphill! How can this man kill a lion with his bare hands? How can this man single handedly whip 1,000 trained soldiers in combat and with the jawbone of a donkey? WHAT IS THE SECRET OF HIS STRENGTH? This is the Million dollar question the Philistines wanted the answer to and were willing to PAY for this Great Secret!
They would go and fetch the best Harlot money could buy, Delilah! She was a professional harlot not just another cheap thrill, but Delilah would be considered the BEST! Other prostitutes could turn tricks but this one was the BEST she was a master of the game and very good at her profession! The Philistines would offer her more money than she had ever seen or dreamed of having! 1,100 pieces of silver from each of the Lords equals 5,500 pieces of silver! It was like winning the lottery! She could retire and be one of the wealthiest women of her time, but was she good enough to find out Samson’s secret? Was her sex and the things she did that good? Simply FIND THE SECRET OF SAMPSON’S STRENGTH!
Sampson, like so many, thought his actions would not cause severe consequences! He felt he could always just arise and shake himself and this Great Power was going to solve all his problems. Obedience is the key as once Satan can get the believer to walk in disobedience, he can take away his strength! As Believers, the SECRET OF OUR
STRENGTH IS IN OUR DEDICATION!
Sin began with Sampson’s eyes as he seen a woman that was so beautiful and of another tribe. A woman of Timnath of the Philistines: Sampson was crazy about this woman and drawn to her. Lust when it is conceived bringeth sin, and sin when it is finish bringeth forth death! (1 Cor. 15:33) Evil communications corrupt good manners! And a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump! He would tell his parents about this woman, tell them to get her for me she pleaseth me well! He felt he had to have her. (Judges 14:2). It’s amazing sometimes how we fail to realize we must first obey GOD and stay within the realm of obedience! Some things are not meant for us to have and there’s a reason JESUS does not want us to have them! The consequences of sin and disobedience have sent many to an early grave, and to hell! GOD allowed Sampson’s lust to cause an opportunity for GOD to deal with the Philistines!
We see Sampson again seeing another woman which is a Harlot; (Judges 16:1) old habits are hard to break! He goes into her home and while there in her bed, he feels secure as this is a city that has guards at the gate. As it is a gated community, and he is inside of her home! Who would even know he was there? False security lies when we are in sin! As the enemies have surrounded Sampson and ready to move in and destroy him! This is no place for a Nazarite! A man born to be a Nazarite separated from that which is unclean! Our body is the Temple of the “HOLYGHOST”! He awakens here in the night! GOD’s mercy, as the enemy is waiting on him! (John 10:10) the Thief cometh not but for to steal, kill, and to destroy! He leaves her home and when he approaches the gates of the city it seems the sentry and gate keeper is nowhere to be found so he lifts the gate posts which weigh two tons! He carries them walking up hill 17 miles! The killer that has surrounded him is astonished and stands down! This is one bad dude, and they are not prepared to mess with this night!
Since the Secret of our Strength lies in the Believers DEDICATION to GOD this is what the enemy will always target. Your time with GOD, your devotional time with GOD, the time you spend reading your Bible, studying, the time you spend Praying, the time you spend Praising, and worshiping GOD. The time you spend in church fellowshipping with believers! This is the Believers DEDICATION!
In a fast pace society where there is so much going on the devil tries to cause the believer to be too busy to have time to read their bible, too busy to have time to pray, too busy to have time to go to church, too busy to praise the LORD: all of this and then the movies, music, people on the job, family members, and conversations from people: Satan will work through all of this and more to attack your DEDICATION. Remember your dedication is the {SECRET} of your Strength.
The Angel told his parents absolutely nothing about his great strength, only about his Dedication! His Dedication held the secret of his great strength. If Sampson would keep his Dedication, he would keep his great strength! So, it’s safe to say, your strength lies in our dedication! Your relationship, and time with your GOD causes the anointing to flow upon you and to flow through you enabling you to also help and minister to others. So, this is why Satan must do everything he can to try to hinder and stop you from spending time with your GOD! Ile knows that he can do nothing with the Anointing that will flow through your life, and his attacks will not be able to penetrate or be successful against you. So, the Believer must always fight! With all, he or she must stay connected, meaning to keep our dedication. It is the believers’ umbilical cord to God.
Now we see three women as this is Sampson’s weakness. The old Baptist preachers use to call it the gold, the girls, the glory. We see Sampson’s weakness, but we all have a weakness, and we must strengthen our weak area. We must heal that which is lame, least it be taken out of the way! (Heb. 12:13). Work on your weak area until your weak areas become your strongest area! Every temptation we will face in this life will be in one of the categories listed in the (1st Epistle of John 2: 16) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the FATHER, but is of the world. Notice in the wilderness JESUS is tempted in these categories listed here in John. JESUS did not have a sin nature, so dealing with many of the lust on a level of a carnal man would not be the same. In other words, if you are not addicted to a certain drug, Satan will not tempt you with it as he knows you don’t want it. So tempted in every area, but not so much in a level of a carnal mind would think. Whereas Satan knows what we like and what we are attracted to! Now some people are stronger in certain areas than others, but everyone has a weakness that must be dealt with in one of these areas of the lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and the pride of life!
The first woman: the woman of Timnath, that he seen and told his mother and father “get her for me to wife, for she pleaseth me well!” How can a woman please him well by him just seeing her as he does not know anything about her personality or the kind of woman she is? So, Sampson is simply going by what he SEES! Second, the woman that is a Harlot whom he is with, notice something awakens Samson around Midnight! GOD has mercy on him as here we have a Nazarite in bed with a Prostitute! Our body is the Temple of the HOLYGJIOST! We must not defile it! Third, we see Delilah whom I mentioned earlier! Can you imagine the beauty she had? Sampson has shown he is going only by what the woman looks like, the outward and physical appearance? None of these women seem to
know or show any interest in Sampson’s GOD. How can two walk together except they agree? (Amos 3:3).
Delilah is offered 5,500 pieces of silver which is a fortune and each of the Lord of the Philistines would give her this! The seriousness here is shown in the Lords themselves meeting her and offering her this amount of money. They would not have met with just an average woman. They felt that if a woman could seduce Sampson, this Delilah could! Their confidence in her speaks volumes! She began to act as if she loved Sampson, and she questioned his love. Here we deal with not just one of the three things in this life that John spoke about which was the lust of the flesh, but we also deal with her bringing in the pride accusing Sampson of not loving her, because he refused to share the secret of his Great strength with her!
The Temptations began; If you get seven green withs which had not been dried and bind me! She gets them and binds him, then calls for the Philistines; he breaks them like a thread. A serious game of Russian roulette begins. Sampson fails to realize here a woman that really loves him she would not have his enemies lying in wait! Secondly, is where he tells Delilah to get some new rope that has never been used before and bind him.
Again, Sampson shakes himself and this great power breaks the ropes as if it were thread!
Third, he begins to tell her to weave the seven locks of his hair. Again, she does this and calls for his enemies! Again, Sampson shakes himself and his Great Strength comes. This becomes like a game to Sampson, but Delilah is not playing a game! She then began to press him, claiming how can he say he loves her when he will not tell her his secret? Day by day she challenges his love for her saying that how can you say you love me? You really don’t care anything about me. If you love me, you will not hold anything back from me! Finally, day after day of this Samson gives in and tells her that if a razor cuts his hair, his dedication is broken! That night she loved him like never before! He has become comfortable with being on the devil’s territory, not realizing that he is playing with his life! She loves him and uses every trick in her book! He sleeps with his head in her lap. It’s amazing how we take our dedication for granted! She calls for the enemies of Sampson and tells them he has told me all his heart. I have deceived him! Notice, the barber came, but they brought the money in their hands when they came as Delilah is a shrewd businesswoman. As Tina Turner said, “what’s love got to do with it”? The Believer must realize Satan does not love us!
The razor cutting his hair could have easily cut his throat as he slept! But the enemy had other plans! After his head is shaven with the barber’s razor she yells as usual that the enemies are coming! Sampson jumps up as he had done the past three times, and begins to shake himself, but this time he felt different! The Power was gone! His Dedication had finally faded all away! It’s like a candle finally burning out! He never saw it coming because he was blinded by lust and never dealt with his weakness! First, the three women and finally Delilah! Never realizing he was playing with his life. Even when she is calling in the enemies the previous three times, he just blows it off. He’s not seeing the treachery blinded by lust. He shakes himself, but no power! Can you imagine the horror when he finds himself in the band of the Philistines, but no power? They bind him and then burn his eyes! They have plans for Sampson. The devil wants to make a mockery out of Sampson! They take him to Gaza where the people there had seen his Great strength! He was a legend there and feared! Now, he is mocked and laughed at. Today the Church is mocked about the miracles and power of yesteryear.
The Anointing is gone from many of the men and women of GOD! They preach and sing, but no power anymore: their Delilah is their pet sin! The church has sadly lost its Dedication. There are very few praying men and women. Instead, programs that thrilled the flesh for a moment on Sunday, but then the bondage of sin continues! The strong man is bound! Where are the men and women today that their prayers once shook the heavens and where people would come out of a coma and off life support and the dead were raised? The secret here is DEDICATION! Satan simply gave many good jobs, and other things to do to tie the church up, so people were too busy to keep their DEDICATIONS! Too busy to spend quality time with GOD! As many Delilah is not a woman, but a thing! What is your Delilah? Everyone has had one. What is something that pulls us away from our Dedication?
Sampson is taken to Gaza and mocked. This was the place where he carried away the gates of the city upon his shoulders! His fame there is all everyone wanted to talk about! This would be the exact place where his enemies would take him and now, they would see this hero of the Israelites bound and blind! The last time they saw him he was carrying the gates and posts upon his shoulders. The people would come and look at the giant holes in the ground where the post of the gates used to be. The entire city knew of
Sampson’s fame. The gates of their city that had been there for many years were now GONE and the way they had been ripped out of ground and carried away spoke volumes.
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But now as they gathered around to see him, they saw a man blind and weak. When we see the Church today, many are blind and weak! Many of the Ministers and Pastors that had such a Great anointing twenty years ago; and so many great miracles, now have huge churches, lots of diamonds, giant homes, airplanes, and all kinds of expensive vehicles, but NO POWER, OR REAL ANOINTING ANYMORE! Yes, they can preach, yell, put on a show, give a fancy message, and go through the formalities of preaching, but NO POWER! The sick is dying, cancers eating up people in their congregations, others constantly dying that are members of the church! The real anointing Delilah has taken! Although the ministers still shake themselves and yell, but where is the Power to cast out devils to heal the sick, to raise the dead? Delilah has struck again in some cases. It was a woman or man and infidelity, other cases drug addictions, THE LOVE OF MONEY, PRIDE!! The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, the Pride of life! All of these played the role of Delilah! Anything we put before our Dedication is our Delilah! Satan chooses your Delilah very carefully because he knows YOUR weakness!
But Sampson in the Prison house had time to think! They had him working and grinding! But Sampson’s HAIR BEGAN TO GROW BACK! Glory! His Dedication began to return! No matter how short you cut your hair or shave it off, it can grow back! His soul is crying to God, REMEMBER ME PLEASE ONE MORE TIME! Oh, let me feel your presence one more time! I have played the role of a fool! In prison he had time to think about how he had been a Nazarite, but in bed with the Harlot while the enemies had surrounded him. While he lay in her bed GOD had mere and awaken him at midnight! He could have been killed, but when he was going through this he wondered why he could not see any of this! But now that he is blind, he can see these events in his mind and realize he had played the role of a fool many times! He had not paid attention to Delilah constantly asking him about the Secret of his Strength! How he played with his Dedication, the most sacred thing that he had! He did not treasure it or value it, but this he did not realize until he was in the prison house! Now he has time to think, and his hair is growing back!
Sampson grinding at the mill, and he can feel the load getting lighter and his great strength returning. Now, he is in the presence of his enemies so he must never allow them to know that his Great strength is returning! Oh, how good it feels although in bondage and blind, but to feel the presence of GOD again! Your hair can grow back! Your Dedication can return and be restored. The relationship you once had with GOD can be restored and made Greater than ever before! Now is the restoring of all things! Now is the time of Revival as JESUS is reviving and restoring the strong men and women of GOD! Shiloh is returning. the GLORY IS RETURNING TO THE HOUSE OF GOD! GLORY!
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POWER IS BEING RESTORED, THE GIFTS ARE BEING RESTORED, JESUS IS
REVIVING HIS CHURCH!! Run from Delilah, flee youthful lust, whatever your Delilah is get rid of it and away from it! Get the sin and slackness out of your life and turn back to GOD! REPENT AND CRY TO JESUS!! Turn back to your GOD as we are Kings and Priest unto our GOD! We are a Royal Priesthood, a Peculiar People zealous of GOOD works! Glory!
GOD REMEMBER ME ONE MORE TIME Sampson is praying! Let me feel YOUR Great Power one more time! Amazing how we don’t miss things until they are gone! The Lords of the Philistines, the same ones that paid Delilah 5,500 pieces of silver, is having a big party and inviting all the Philistines! They will worship their god Dagon and Praise him for delivering their enemy Sampson unto their hands. They decide to mock Sampson and they will bring him out now before all the Philistines and make a mockery of him! The enemy is mocking the Church right now, but GOD is raising up an ARMY! HE is restoring the strong men and women of GOD; their Dedications are being restored they have begun to pray again all night and praise and worship the LORD! None of the Philistines wants to miss this big party because it’s going to be the greatest feast they ever had! All the important Philistines will be there!
They are eating and drinking, and they now decide to go and fetch Sampson from the prison house. As they felt this was going to be the highlight of the feast! To be able to Praise their idol god Dagon for delivering the destroyer of the people to them. But they failed to realize Sampson is praying “LORD REMEMBER ME ONE MORE TIME!!” GLORY! He has the lad to put his hands on the posts of the temple and Sampson bows himself and with all his might he began to push the posts saying, LORD remember me ONE more time, let me feel your love and power one more time. Let the anointing flow through my body just one more time; let me avenge myself for them burning out my two eyes! Glory returns, the anointing flows greater than ever before and Sampson said, LORD let me die with my enemies! The posts began to move and crumble, the entire building begins to fall! The Lords of the Philistines would all be killed and all the rulers and leaders, over 3,000 would die as the building crumbles! Sampson would destroy more in his death than in his life! He would die but would die a Champion! He would die working for GOD and destroying the enemies of GOD! He would now die; not disgraced, but he would die a Nazarite! RESTORED BY GOD! LOVED BY GOD and all the people of God!
I want to say, we only have one life to live so let’s live it for the LORD! Because in the end, only what we do for the LORD will matter! Sampson finally figured it out the HARD WAY! In a prison, blind and humiliated! The Delilah’s in our lives we must deal with them. The pet sins and things we have allow hindering us from keeping our Dedication. We must now pray and return to GOD with all our hearts! There is Power, and an Anointing that awaits YOU. Let nothing stop you, it simply is not worth it! One life to live and we must fully live it for JESUS! You are the strong man! Your family and children, and relatives are counting on the call of GOD on your life! You were born to lead your family through the dark days ahead, born to fight off the sickness, and death that attacks your loved ones. You were born to be the strong man that destroys the devil’s kingdom and lead your family and loved ones to victory! Now is your time and season! DESTINY AND VICTORY await YOU!
GOD’S Servants: Bro Derrick and Sis Janice Kirtman
We Believe in YOU and the Call of GOD on your life!
