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It is impossible to overcome temptations unless the Word of God is within us.
We fight with our enemy through the Word of God, saying: "It is written..."
Jesus in every temptation responds: "It is written..." It is the only way you fight.
PSALM 119: 9 declares "How can young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your Word. With my whole heart I have sought you; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your Word I
have hidden in my heart, that
I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me your statues.
With my lips I have declared all the judgements of Your mouth. I have rejoiced
in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statues;
I WILL NOT FORGET YOUR WORD."
We see here a key that will keep us from temptation. ROMANS 6: 14 declares:
"For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace
JAMES 4: 7 says "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
If we resist the devil by the Word of God and he will flee from you. How do you resist?
I PETER 5: 9 says: "Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same suffering are experienced by your brotherhood in the world." TITUS 2: 11, 12 declares:
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly.
The Word of God says that the Grace of God that brings salvation appeared to all men.
Teaching that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteous
and godly in the present age. We cannot live that without God's grace. You can turn away from the filth of the world, you can turn away from what is ungodly by God's grace.
We have the power of God within us to say NO!
Now we turn to JUDGES 13: 3-5 to see the story of Samson, which is repeated over and over worldwide: "And the Angel of the LORD appeared to the women and said to her,
"Indeed now, you are barren no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son."
"Now therefore, please be careful not to drink, and not to eat any unclean thing.
"For behold, you shall conceive and bear the son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the
hands of the Philistines."
Here we see that Samson was introduced as a mighty man with a mighty anointing as in JUDGES 13: 24 - "So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and the
LORD blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to move."
Samson was anointed for service but he was weak for walking against enemy. He was so anointed, so Holy Spirit comes upon him and he was so weak in the flesh. And weakness was in the JUDGES 14: 1- "Now
Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman."
And the woman was his weakness in his life. And he wander into the enemy's territory.
He was in the wrong territory because Timnah belong to Philistines. Don't get into wrong territory, because Bible declares: "One sinner destroys much good."
Mistake No 1 was that he was in the wrong territory. JUDGES 14: 2 "I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore, get her for me as a wife."
The root of the problem is rebellion. All it is - rebellion. He disobey the Word of the LORD and went into Philistines to marry a woman
from the enemy's camp.
Samson being a Jew knew the Law of God from DEUTERONOMY 7 and did not care.
JUDGES 14: 3 - "Is there no woman among the daughters of your brothers,
among our people, that you must go and get wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?
The Christian wants to marry unbeliever is going to marry "uncircumcised" wife.
The problem No 1 is that he was in the wrong territory, in the land of Philistines.
The problem No2 is that this girl is not even from his own people, from Israelites.
The problem No3 is that He did not honour his father and mother, not obey to them.
For Samson said to his father, "Get her for me, for she pleases me well." He demanded.
He was rebellious son and God still keeps His anointing over Samson for His purpose.
JUDGES 14 : 6 - "And the Spirit of the LORD come mightily upon him, and tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in hand.
This man, Samson went from the Spirit to the flesh in one day as in JUDGES 14: 7 says:
"Then he went down and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well."
It is possible for man of God that after service with anointing of God, walk out of the service and mess with the lady as we see here above; from the Spirit to the flesh.
It is frighted that a heart of man can be that deceitful, that lustful, that wicked.
Say always to the Lord: I don't trust my heart, I trust you. Keep my heart towards you
David said in PSALM 51: "Create in me O LORD a new heart and give me a willing spirit." Lord, I cannot trust myself, I cannot trust this flesh and its deadly works.
We must depend on the Holy Spirit to keep us. And now we can see how the things are:
JUDGES 14: 10 - "So his father went down to the woman. And Samson gave a feast there, for young men used to do so." In ancient times it was up to father to make feast.
So Samson rebelled again against his father for taking over the wedding.
Listen, this happen every day to Christians, who feel the anointing on Sunday and on Monday they did exactly what Samson did. Christian - you play with fire which burn you.
Little flame begins with the spark and huge flame begins with the spark. Now back to JUDGES 16:1"Then Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her.
Now he is at worst state, he went to Gaza, the enemy territory and slept with a harlot.
But the anointing of God is still there that he arose at midnight and took hold of the gate of the city and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron. JUDGES 16: 4 says:
"Now afterward it happened that he loved a woman whose name was Delilah."
This is the third woman in his short period of life and her name was from Philistines.
He was anointed man whose sexual desires with women can not be controlled.
And Delilah was used with his enemies Philistines to destroy him. It is amazing that there are some Christians like him, who can not stop sinning with sexual desires.
I THESSALONIANS 4: 3 commands us for purity in everyday life, that you live a holy life: "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality."
Say No to this kind of sin! As believers we have a power to say NO
and the Word of God helps us to walk with God. Power of woman is something else.
God gave a man the office of authority but He gave a woman the influence.
Man got an authority and woman have an influence. Influence is sometimes more power-ful than authority. But God gave it to woman to influence husband to serve God.
Samson was so powerful that thousands Philistines can flee from him and it took only one women to entice him. So power of woman is so
scary. JUDGES 16: 16 says:
"And it come to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, that he told her all his heart." In verse 17:
"He said to her,'No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazarite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaven, than my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be
like any other man." And in JUDGES 16: 19 declares:
"Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for the man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him." It
is very dangerous dear gentlemen. Read PROVERBS 5 which warns men against this kind of women. Read PROVERBS 6: 20-35 as warning also.
Read PROVERBS 7: 6-27. The are warnings from the Lord about women after you.
Listen to any advice in the Word of God. EPHESIANS 5: 3 is another warning.
What is the answer? The Bible says: Flee fornication, run away from it, say NO to it.
I CORINTHIANS 6: 15 says that you cannot call himself a Christian if you giving your body to harlot. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Now we are finishing with JUDGES 16: 20, 21 - "And she said, 'The Philistines are upon you, Samson!' So he awoke from his sleep, and said,'I will go out as before, at other times, and shake
myself free!" But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. Then the Philistines took him and put his eyes out, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him and he become a grinder in the
prison."
PROVERBS 29: 1 has warned us against he who is often reproved and hardens his neck.
"He who is often reproved and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." First he lost God's presence than he lost his strength, than he lost his
sight, he lost his freedom, lost his position, he lost his life finally. But when even he was blind and slave, he prayed upon God and God answers. What a mighty God.
After he forsaken the law of God, after he dishonour his parents, after he went from one woman into another, God still heard his prayer. I don't care how deep the pit is that you in, I don't care how deep
in sin you are. Don't wait like Samson when he lost everything.
Just pray and say: Just one more time anoint me, Lord I am sorry for my sin against You.
And God will give you a greater victory over temptation in your life. We can say to God:
"YOUR MERCY ENDURES FOREVER" God will forgive you but people won't.
God has forgiven all great servants who fall, people won't. God says: I will not remember your sins, but people do remember your sins. Please, don't let it happen to you.
But God will rescue you in the time of temptation for He declares in His Word:
"Whoever calls in the Name of the Lord shall be delivered."
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