All right, we're here in Judges chapter 16 and the second sermon here today is very informational about creation and evolution
So I wanted this sermon to be a practical sermon here today
And the name of the sermon is how sin destroyed the life of Samson how sin destroyed the life of Samson
We're going to go in verse by verse and cover this entire chapter
But I wanted to start off here in verse number one notice what the Bible says
Then when Samson to Gaza and saw there in harlot and went in unto her
Okay now drop down to verse number four and it came to pass
Afterward that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah now if you're kind of quickly reading Judges 16
And you're not paying close attention
You might think that Delilah is the harlot you might think that Delilah is the prostitute
But she is not the prostitute because the Bible says in verse 4 and afterward is when he meets Delilah
So verse 1 is a different woman
We're basically as a one-night stand or a quick relationship with this woman this harlot
But afterward he's involved with this woman named Delilah, okay
verse number 2 and
It was told the gays I'd saying
Samson has come hither and they compass him in and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city and were quiet
All the night saying in the morning when it is day
We shall kill him and Samson laid till midnight and arose at midnight and took the doors of the gate of the city and the
Two posts and went away with them
Bar and all and put them upon his shoulders and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron
So you see that Samson ends up being with a harlot being with a prostitute and then all of a sudden
He wakes up and the Philistines are trying to destroy him
It was told the gays lights are coming after him and then all of a sudden
He just kind of gets out of there and is okay because of his great strength
Then it says in verse 4 and it came to pass
Afterward that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah and if you're familiar with this chapter
He enters into a relationship where he's regularly fornicating with this woman Delilah
He is regularly sleeping with this woman that he is not married to now stop and ask yourself this question
What is worse?
Sleeping one time with a prostitute or every single night committing fornication
See point number one is the
Desensitization of sin because here's the thing it might feel worse to us
To have a one-night stand with a prostitute because that sounds disgusting
It's obviously a horrible sin, but is that as bad as every single night committing fornication
What is worse is every single night committing that sin over and over and over and over again now look
I'm not justifying
Sleeping with a prostitute, but but here's what I'm saying a lot of people in the Philippines would say I would never do that
While they're living with their girlfriend
While they're living with their boyfriends, I would never sleep with a prostitute no
But you'll commit the same sin a thousand times and think nothing of it. Which of those is worse
Obviously the first one is pretty disgusting. I mean you're likely to get an STD. It's a wicked sin
But entering into a relationship where you're regularly doing it is worse, but what takes place with this godly man Samson he becomes
Desensitized to sin, I'm sure when he slept with a prostitute
He thought this is wrong, but then all of a sudden he gets desensitized
And it doesn't seem so bad anymore
And he's regularly committing the same sin over and over and over and over again
Go to your bio to 1st Corinthians chapter 6
1st Corinthians chapter 6
Unfortunately desensitization is just like a normal process that takes place pretty much in any area
Right when when I first moved to the Philippines I got to be honest
I I was pretty shocked every time I saw a crossdresser now. I'm just kind of used to it I
Mean it's just as wicked as it's ever been it's just I've seen it so many times that it's not like whoa
That is an ugly woman right now. I'm just kind of used to it. It's like my wife's like no. No, that's a guy. It's like
Kind of used to it now
Idolatry is just not that common in the US compared to here in the Philippines
So when I first came here
And I'm going soul winning and people have like the black Nazarene in their house or this massive statue or idol
It's it's kind of like man
What are they doing?
But then you just kind of get used to seeing it as you go out soul winning and it's just kind of becomes
Common you get used to it. Yeah, it can also be true for good things as well
I mean when you first go soul winning, it's so exciting
You're seeing people get say I mean praise the Lord
But then you kind of get used to we're kind of some of the excitement can kind of die out because it's no longer new
Right when it comes to sin if you allow sin in your life you can become
Desensitized that even though it's just as bad
It doesn't feel as bad as it did when you first did it and this is why sin is so dangerous
Notice what it says here about fornication in 1st Corinthians 6 verse 18
Flee fornication
Every sin that a man do it is without the body
That but he that committed fornication sinneth against his own body now when the Bible says flee fornication
Meaning run away from fornication
I don't think that what it's saying is put yourself in a horrible position and
Just develop the willpower to run out last second before you mess up your life
I mean the Bible says make not provision for the flesh if you are a wise person
Then you're not going to trust your flesh that much
Because your flesh is weak your flesh is sinful and if you put yourself in a bad position a hundred times and you're successful
99 times
Then you just screwed up your life and now you are desensitized to the sin where you might start doing it more often
So wise person will not put themselves in that situation
But the Bible says that you sin against your own body when you commit fornication
You sin against your own body when you commit sexual sin
Why does the Bible mention this about this sin and not about drinking and not about smoking? What is the difference?
My opinion is the Bible is trying to teach you that this is kind of a sin that just kind of sticks with you
I mean if ten years ago you used to get drunk, it's not something where you're going to carry guilt
With your it within your life and these memories and all these things but with sexual sin
It's just kind of something that sticks to you. So you're sinning against your body because it's kind of like you can't fully shake it
Whereas with other sins, I mean if you used to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day and you don't anymore
Past is the past but unfortunately with sexual sin
I mean young people listen up before you've messed up your life
If you mess up your life by doing this that is a wound you can take with you your whole life
That's what the Bible is teaching go in your Bible to 1st Corinthians 10
1st Corinthians chapter 10
Now look obviously whatever anybody's done in the past the past is the past
I'm not trying to make you feel bad for something you did two years ago five years ago ten years ago or whatever
The past is the past but here's the thing. I think all of us that are parents want something good for our kids
Look, you know, I my parents were very strict growing up, you know, I was home schooled starting in middle school
But you know, I still watched a lot of bad movies
Listen to a lot of bad music and look I just have a high plan for my kids
I hope that a lot of things that I was exposed to as a young person and saw and experience they never do. I
Hope that they can just grow up godly and they never get those
influences of the rock music and the bad movies and all of those things and I hope as a parent that is your goal for
Your child that they can have a better start and a better situation to end up serving God than maybe what you got growing up
And I'm just telling you young people here today. The Bible says flee fornication
Do everything in your power not to put yourself in that position
Obviously every man and every woman has a natural desire that has been given by God
But there is a proper place and a proper time for that desire to be fulfilled
It is not something to fulfill before you are married according to the Word of God 1st Corinthians chapter 10 verse 8
Well pastor, I mean everybody is doing this. So is it really that big of a deal?
I mean over half the people in the Philippines
1st Corinthians 10 verse 8 neither. Let us commit fornication as some of them committed and fell in one day three and 20,000
You know what the Bible means when it says fell in one day. It means they died
23,000 dead in one day why because they committed fornication
That's what the Bible says you say well pastor people are committing fornication all the time and they're not dropping over dead
Well a couple things number one
You're a Bible believing Christian that actually knows what the Bible teaches and you hear the Word of God preached
so you're in a different situation than someone that doesn't know what the Word of God teaches if
You know the truth. God's gonna hold you accountable for what you know
You know what one thing that I will never understand at all
You know, there's a lot of people that are like really into the online movement of listening to sermons
But they don't even go to church and it's like they listen to all these sermons online
They get all this knowledge and they never do any of it
and I'm just thinking look a better strategy would be never listen to a sermon because God's gonna hold you accountable if
You hear the Word of God and then you don't apply it
but you know as well as I do there are people that are not that far from our church and
they're very zealous on the new IFB online, but they never come to our church and
It's like some came, you know once or twice or something like that, but they don't come and it's just like well
Why do you listen to all these sermons if you're not gonna do them because God expects you to to do what you hear
He holds you accountable
But number two, let me just explain to you why it's foolish to envy those that are committing this sin
Look sin is never worth it. It's always gonna make you feel guilty. It's always gonna bring about that guilty conscience
It's always gonna bring about judgment and even above that it's a sin that's gonna stick with you you sin against your own body
Look when people in the world are committing this sin that is not going to help them have a better marriage
20 years down the road
It's not I
remember I had a class in college and
I'm trying to think what what the class was
I think it was in like communications class and the teacher was asking all the students, you know
People that live together before they're married
Versus people that do not live together until they're married and she was asking for a poll, you know
who thinks that you're more likely to have the marriage work out if you live together before you're married and
She was asking for everyone's opinion and to elaborate and then everyone raised their hands
I think it's really important to live with someone before you're married
Because then you can kind of get to know their personality and see if it works and the teachers like, okay
Okay, anybody else and she's asking she's asking for a show of hands
everybody raises their hands your marriage is more likely to last if you live together before you're married and
Then she's like was anyone think that you're more likely to stay married if you don't live together before you're married and then
My hand is the only one up in the room and she's that like actually all of you are completely wrong
She said you're four times as likely to have a marriage that lasts if you do not live together and everyone's like, oh
I
Couldn't believe it
It's like wow, imagine that maybe the Word of God is actually true
Maybe the wisdom of the world actually fails
Maybe we should just do what the Bible says
And yeah, you know, it's tough when you're waiting for the right person and there's temptations and desires
But look you can screw up your life if you're not able to be patient and wait the Bible says flee this sin
It's not going to help you you're sinning against your own body when you do this go to first Samuel 25
First Samuel 25 I
Originally wrote this sermon
Intending to preach it in Cebu and I decided to preach a different sermon
so I have some statistics here that I gathered for that sermon and
in
the Philippines
Most children are born out of wedlock
Over 50% in fact, it's way over 50% at this point. I think it's like 55% or something like that. I mean, it's definitely rising
Obviously this sin people are getting very desensitized. It doesn't seem like that big of a sin here in the Philippines anymore to people
but in Metro Manila
62.9% of births are illegitimate or out of wedlock. That's five out of eight
Sixty two point nine percent and once again, I'm not trying to you know hurt your feelings if you're guilty of this in the past
I'm sure many people at our church you may you committed sins in the past, but you love God now
You're serving God now, but we want the young generation not to make these same mistakes, right?
We want them not to do the same things that we might have done
Sixty two point nine percent in Central Visayas and you know, I prepared this for Cebu is fifty four point three percent
But you know, what's sad is that you look at the B A R M M
Bong Samoro
autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao
Which is ninety point nine four percent Muslim and only four percent of births are illegitimate. I
mean, it's sad when you make a comparison between
Islam and
Catholicism and it's like well, I mean
Islam seems more righteous
Because we're meant to be representatives of Jesus Christ and obviously the Catholic Church has a million problems and we get that
But people look at it and what Muslims are going to say is well
We're not having kids out of wedlock like you are
This past week. I talked to a couple Filipino Mormons and I'm always amazed
When I meet Filipino Mormons, it's like why?
I'm not INC. Why are you a Mormon, right? And
I
Asked them like well were you raised Mormon and they said that they were raised Catholic and I said, why'd you choose Mormonism?
They said because the Catholics are pretty ungodly
They said the Catholics are you know sleeping around
getting drunk and
committing all these sins and they said, you know, we had a family we had family members that were Mormon and we just looked at
them and
They were just more righteous in our Catholic relatives now
That's not the reason to pick a religion and obviously Mormonism has a million problems
But it's like there you can understand where they're coming from
Because you see these Catholics and look, you know, people are just sleeping around having kids out of wedlock and you know
What also takes place?
Baptist churches in the Philippines people have kids out of wedlock. They are never removed from church
There's no such thing as church discipline in most churches
It's amazing. It's like they get pregnant and then nothing said about it
It's like it's no big deal
Well, I think it's a big deal when you're taking the name Baptist and you're doing things that the Muslims are not doing
It's an embarrassment to the name of Christ and look as God's people
We need to live a high and a holy life and makes the decisions
I'm not going to commit this sin and look
I'm not I'm not trying to make you feel bad for anything you did in the past
The past is the past but you know moving few forward. Let's live a godly life
Let's live a separated life and let's teach our kids to fear God and obey his
Commandments for this is the whole duty of man
First day with 25 verse 42 and
Abigail hasted and arose and wrote upon an ass with five damsels of hers that went after her and
She went after the messengers of David and became his wife now should David have married Abigail
Absolutely not you say why because he's already got a wife
He's already married to Michael, you know, Mikhail, Michelle, however you want to pronounce that okay
He's already married to her now. Here's the thing. His first marriage is so Magalo
His father-in-law really messed it up and I get that
But that doesn't change the fact that if you're married to someone and it doesn't go
Well, you do not have the right to just marry somebody else
Yeah, David's marriage was a mess with his wife that doesn't mean you just go and marry somebody else
But here's what I want you to realize all of a sudden in verse 42. He marries Abigail notice verse 43
David also took a high name of Jezreel and there were also both of them as wives
How is it you go from one to two to three really quickly because you get
Desensitized to the sin at first David's thinking thou shalt not multiply wives under them thyself
Right, you know till death do us part. I
Mean you become one flesh
But then once he marries a second wife, it's like well, you know, why not a third?
And he doesn't stop there. I mean you want to keep going with the story of David. Why not a fourth?
one out of fifth one out of six and
Then you teach your kids
Do as I say not as I do Solomon and a million wives later
Look if you want your kids to actually do what you say don't be a hypocrite
You say then, you know, you need to read the Bible every day, but you never read the Bible
Don't expect your kids to start reading the Bible
They need to love soul-winning and love church and live a godly life
But if you're not doing it, they are not going to do it either and Solomon starts off
Well, but he goes down the same road that his father went down as well
But what I'm saying is you get desensitized to sin go to Judges chapter 16
judges chapter 16
I'm sure probably everyone can relate to this maybe think of movies or music, you know, and I hope you've gotten rid of ungodly music. I
Remember, you know after I got saved and I was starting to make some changes in my life because I started going to church and
Reading the Bible and I you know, you reach a point where you realize I should not listen to this music
But I still want to listen to this music
Right. I should not watch these TV shows
But I still want to watch them and then all of a sudden you get guilt for doing this
But see the thing is if you just allow yourself to partake in it
You just get desensitized where it doesn't feel like that big of a deal anymore
You just got to make the decision
Hey, I'm gonna draw a hard line in the sand and say I will not commit these sins. I will not do this
I'm gonna live a clean and a godly and a holy life
Point number one we see the desensitization of sin
But point number two, let us see the deception of sin sin will deceive you sin will lie to you
verse number five and
the Lord's of the Philistines came up unto her and said unto her
entice him and see where in his great strength lieth and by what means we may prevail against him that we may bind him to
Afflict him and will give thee every one of us 1,100 pieces of silver now the Philistines are saying we cannot figure out
Why this guy is so strong
Find out where in his strength lieth now
Let me ask you a question if the Philistines are looking at this man and they're like we cannot figure out why he's so strong
Do you think he's really muscular?
No, I
Mean look if he looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger
It's like we can't figure out why he's so strong. He just won like the world lifting competition. I mean, that's the reason why
Now I'm not saying that Samson was a girly man
But I'm saying he probably looked like any one of us guys in this room. Like none of us are like the incredible Hulk in
this room
Right. I mean if he looked like he's been taking steroids for a couple years then of course they're gonna realize hey
This is why he's so strong. I think Samson looked like an ordinary guy and they cannot figure out why is he so strong?
He looks like everybody else, but he's so much stronger, right?
And that's it that just kind of shows you when because I've seen movies with Samson and Delilah or animated
Whatever pictures and you just get that picture stuck in your head. It's the same reason why people think Jesus had long hair
It's like no, he did not have long hair. Okay, but you see the picture
I mean I was in a tricycle yesterday. You see the picture. It just kind of gets ingrained in your head
It's like no, but that's not what the Bible actually says
Samson was just an ordinary guy, but his strength was in his hair
The Bible says he had the Nazarite vow upon him, which was something that you know, few people did in the Old Testament
But they're asking hey, you know figure out why is he so strong verse 6 and Delilah said unto Samson
tell me I pray thee wherein thy great strength lieth and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee and
Samson said unto her if they bind me with seven green wits that were never dried then shall I be weak and be as another
Man, then the Lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green wits which had not been dried and she bound him with them
Now there are men lying in wait abiding with her in the chamber and she said unto him
The Philistines be upon thee Samson and he break the wits as the threat of toes broken when it touched the fire
So his strength was not known. So I mean he's committing fornication with this woman
She is willing to sell him for money
It shows how much she really cares about him and she ties him up and what happens the Philistines are upon
You and he just breaks free
So he feels like I got away with it
No big deal now
At this point you ought to break up with this woman. I mean
The Philistines gets you best-case scenario. You're gonna stay in jail or very likely they're gonna kill you
So it's like it's time to break up
I mean when when the person you're dating is trying to kill you
It's probably time to end that relationship and it seems crazy
But honestly, there are plenty of relationships where men will literally beat their girlfriends and give them a black eye
Well, he's a really nice guy when you get to know him
It's just if he's had a little bit too much to drink. Sometimes he loses his temper and it's just like, you know
What are you doing?
Right and the opposite is true as well if your girlfriend's trying to poison you or whatever
It's like what's it's time to like move on to a normal non-psychopath or whatever, right?
Verse
number 10 and
Delilah said unto Samson behold thou hast mocked me and told me lies now tell me I pray thee wherewith thou mightest be bound
He said unto her if they bind me fast with new ropes that never occupied then shall I be weak and be as another man
Delilah therefore took new ropes and bound him therewith and said unto him the Philistines be upon thee Samson and there were liars in wait
Abiding the chamber and he break them from off his arms like a thread
So once again, he's committing fornication and all of a sudden he just breaks off the ropes
I mean, it seems like it's no big deal
Verse 13 and
Delilah said unto Samson hitherto of thou hast mocked me and told me lies
Tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound and he said unto her if thou weavest the seven locks in my head with the web
And she fasted it with a pen and said unto him the Philistines be upon thee Samson
He waked out of his sleep and went away with a pen of the beam and with the web
So once again just shakes himself off no big deal, right and see here's the thing
You could be in this room right now and you have certain sins that you are thinking about right now
you have certain things that you know are wrong that you keep doing and
every time you do it you feel bad and then all of a sudden it's like but is it really that big of a deal and
You keep committing the same sin and what you're thinking in your head is I haven't been judged yet
Nothing bad has happened yet. So maybe it's not that big of a deal. I mean other people are doing worse than me. I
Mean, I might be doing this wrong, but 99% of people are committing worse sin. So maybe it's not that big of a deal
Verse 15 and
She said unto him. How canst thou say I love thee when thine heart is not with me and
You know, I would respond. How can you say you love me when you're trying to kill me, right?
Thou hast mocked me these three times and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth 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 stop and ask yourself this question does sin make you happy?
No
Doesn't seem like it does it
vexed unto death I don't even want to go on anymore and
She pressed him daily with her words to the point
He's just like I don't even want this life anymore
And you know
It's sad because he could look back a decade before and he's doing great things for God and now in his life
He's committing these horrible sins that he knows are wrong that he's told others are wrong and yet
He's doing the same thing over and over and over again
It says in verse 17
That he told her all his heart and said unto her
There hath not come a razor upon my head for I have been a Nazarite unto God for my mother's womb
if I be shaven then my strength will go for me and I shall become weak and be like any other man and
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 hath showed me all his heart
Then the Lords of the Philistines came up unto her and brought money in their hand and she 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 and she began to afflict him
And his strength went from him and she said the Philistines be upon thee Samson
and he awoke out of his sleep and said I will go out as at other times before and
Shake myself and he wished not the Lord was departed from him
You know there comes a point in life when you play around with sin where you can no longer just shake it off and go
About your routine like nothing took place
Eventually, the judgment is going to take place
What is the deception of sin well the Bible says be not deceived
God is not mocked for
Whatsoever man soweth that shall he also reap
Sin is deceptive
You start committing sins, and you know it's wrong, but then as you do it over and over again
Maybe it's not that big of a deal
Yeah, but here's what you got to understand
Your life might be perfectly fine right now, and you're experiencing no judgment
That doesn't mean the judgment is not going to come
And it could be God is long-suffering and eventually when the judge then you might get right with God and all of a sudden the judgment
Is coming well when I was sleeping with my girlfriend nothing bad was happening
So maybe I should just go back and do this that is a foolish way to look at the world in your situation
The Bible says fear God and keep his commandments
But the deception of sin teaches you maybe it's not that big of a deal because nothing bad is taking place
And you deceive yourself into thinking it's okay
God's not that upset you're not going to be punished and then what ends up taking place your life ends up getting destroyed
Go to your Bible to Jonah chapter 2
Jonah chapter 2
The Bible also says the heart is deceitful
Above all things and desperately wicked who can know it
Well I mean the heart wants what the heart wants
Yeah, it doesn't mean the heart has to get what the heart wants
The heart is deceitful
Sin is deceitful, and yeah your heart wants something, and it will lie to you. It will deceive you it will mess up your life
Sin is deceptive your heart is deceptive
I mean I'm amazed how and this is true whether it's liberals conservatives almost every
Religion under the Sun will teach you just follow your heart
I'm just thinking that is the exact opposite of the advice I would give
What in the Bible would ever teach you to follow your heart?
I mean the exact opposite is true
It's like well. You know I mean this doesn't seem like it's a good idea
I mean it might make me commit sins it might screw up my life, but I mean I really want it
It's like use your brain
Use logic you can't just follow your heart
You say why because your heart is deceitful your heart is sinful and your heart is going to destroy your life and the heart of
Samson let him down this road to enter into this relationship with Delilah where he messed up his life
Jonah chapter 2 verse 7 and
In Jonah chapter 2 this is when Jonah is inside of the whale's belly
He's already been swallowed by the whale or the big fish as a punishment from God
And it says in verse 7 when my soul fainted within me. I remembered the Lord
and
My prayer came in under the end of thine holy temple
they that observe
Lying vanities forsake their own mercy
So we're talking about the deception of sin and Jonah makes a very profound statement that if you observe lying
Vanities you forsake your mercy
What does that mean it means that when the judgment has come in your life if you make?
Excuses for why you committed that sin if you make justification if you say well, I mean other people did worse
Okay, I mean that makes you feel good pat yourself on the back, but you're forsaking mercy I
Mean when you're being judged by God you got to just admit. I messed up. I screwed up. There is no justification
I knew what the Bible said
This is the punishment and just accept it and if you do and you get right with God you can have mercy
but if you live your life wanting to be
Deceived and wanting to be lied to you're gonna destroy and lose your mercy, and you're gonna destroy your life
Turn your Bible to Judges 16
Judges 16
And
You know when you think about the deception of sin and your heart deceiving you and
You know be not deceived God is not mocked
It's like you know when when people are committing sin and look obviously all of us are sinners
I'm also a sinner as well and oftentimes what we do when we commit sin or we do wrong
Inside of our head we justify it
We make an excuse why it's not that big of a deal like we know what the Bible says
And then when we choose to do wrong inside of our head we're thinking well
You know I don't know
I don't know if that's really wrong or maybe it's not that big of a deal we try to justify you say
why is that because we like to pretend like we're good and righteous and
Sin is deceptive and what the devil wants to do is make you think it's not that big of a deal
It's
Not that big of a deal brother so-and-so or sister so-and-so. I mean look you know it's okay
I mean you're still living a better life than other people. It's okay to just have this one pocket of sin in your life
It's just this one area you struggle with it's not that big of a deal
Don't beat yourself up about it
It's like no
I mean when you when you commit sin and do wrong you need to get right with God and
Realize it is a big deal and not lie to yourself and not be deceived by sin
Point number one we see the desensitization of sin
Point number two we see the deception of sin sin will lie to you sin will trick you sin will deceive you
Point number three we see the destruction from sin
Notice what it says in verse 21
But the Philistines took him and
put out his eyes and
Brought him down to Gaza and bound him with fetters of brass and he did grind in the prison house
So he's captured by the Philistines and they take his eyes
Now this might seem very crazy
But there have been times when people in sporting events they had a collision or an eye poke and it
You know knocked their eye out of their socket, so you know this is possible
It's pretty gross to think about and it's about the worst thing that could happen to you
I mean, I can't really think of things that are much worse than this
Right go to Proverbs 16, Proverbs 16
I mean
For me personally. I would say I value my eyesight more than my ears I
Mean honestly I'd say of my senses
I would say my eyesight would probably be the one I'd put at the top as the one that I would value the most
Especially if
You're born and lived your life with the ability to see and then you just lose it out of nowhere
Obviously some people are born blind and they they're able to adapt and they learn
But wouldn't it be pretty hard if you woke up tomorrow, and you could not see anymore
I may be very hard to function
I mean you're probably not gonna. I mean you're not gonna be able to work the same job that you have
You're not gonna be able to do the same things anymore. I mean it would take a long time
I can't even really imagine being able to try to function like that
You know having lived my life with the ability to see and then Samson's eyes are taken out
Just in a moment of time and here's the thing about this it seems like nothing is happening to Samson, right?
Nothing takes place
Nothing takes place, and then the punishment is it a small punishment or a big punishment
It's a pretty big punishment
It seems like nothing's happening then all of a sudden you lose your eyes
It's pretty scary
And what it shows you is hey, you know you might get away or think you're getting away with sin for a while
But be not deceived
God is not mocked you will end up reaping what you're sowing according the Word of God
Bible says in Proverbs 16 verse 16
How much better is it to get wisdom than gold and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver?
The highway of the upright is to depart from evil he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul
Pride goeth before destruction and in haughty spirit before a fall. You know when we're living in sin
We're filled full of pride
We feel like it's okay. It's no big deal. Nothing's going to happen to me
Nothing bad has happened. I'm doing okay. Well the Bible says pride goeth before destruction
And look you know you see this in the world all the time where people are very prideful
And then they eventually fall flat on their face, and it's like well
Pride goes before destruction and as a bible-leaving Christian. We ought to know better
We know these stories in the Word of God
We know what the Bible says and yet people end up doing the same things that other people have done in the past
Turn your Bible to first Corinthians chapter 5
first Corinthians chapter 5
Now look obviously
There's levels to sin
And there's not a single person in the world that lives a perfect life or is even close to it and we get that
But you know here's the thing about this the punishment meets the crime
Right the punishment is fitting for the sin that is committed
We all sin every single day, but there's a difference between stealing a pin from the bank
Telling a little white lie
Versus well, let's look at David adultery and murder
Here's the thing about this everybody's a sinner
But not everybody has their son try to kill them has their son killed their daughter raped and all these things take place
Has their baby die and all these punishments from God take place to David as a result of a sin
Look, I don't want to go through those things in my life.
I understand I'm a sinner, and I'm going to pay for those things that I've done, but you commit a big sin
It's like well you got a big punishment. That's going to be coming
All of us sin, but not all of us are sleeping with prostitutes and then regularly fornicating like Samson
Here's the thing Samson does it over and over and over and over again. What ends up taking place his eyes are taken out
That's a pretty big punishment
Baba says in 1st Corinthians chapter 5 verse 9
I wrote unto you an epistle not to company with fornicators yet
Not altogether with the fornicators of this world or with the covetous or extortioners or with idolaters
For then must he needs go out of the world
But now I've written on you not to keep company if any man that has called a brother be a fornicator
covetous or an idolater or a railer or a drunkard or an extortioner with such in one know not to eat
For what I've I to do to judge them also that are without do not ye judge them that are within
But then that are without God judgeth therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person
See the Bible says that there are certain sins that will get you kicked out of the local church and
When you get kicked out of the local church, what does the Bible say them that are without?
God judge it
Yeah, I
Unfortunately when you run a church, I mean there are gonna be times when people get kicked out of church
it's just the way it is and
When people get kicked out, it's like and here's the thing depending
This is not every time depending on what the sin was or why someone get gets kicked out
There can be the opportunity to return if they get right with God
Now, of course what the Bible says in second Corinthians chapter 6 is the fact that you know, you have to have godly sorrow
It's not just or you know second Corinthians chapter 8, you know, you have to have godly sorrow. It's not just well, you know
I'm sorry
Let me back in church me you have to actually show it and time has to go by to prove those things that the Bible
Says and of course, they're gonna be certain sins that are committed where you're not allowed back
So for example, if we find out you're a homo you're out of here. You're not coming back
Certain sins you commit it's like
You're not coming back no matter what but there are some sins where people commit where there is an opportunity to return if you get
right with God
But here's the thing when someone gets kicked out of the local church
God's the one judging them
And you know, it's pretty rare when someone gets kicked out for them even to want to return because it's a pretty humbling thing
To say I messed up. I deserved it because if you say well, I didn't deserve it. Well
If you're not willing to admit wrong, you're not gonna be able to come back
So that's a pretty humbling thing for someone to do
But if someone goes on in their life and they start to serve God somewhere else
Them that are without God judges if they get right with God and they're serving God somewhere else then we'll praise God
right, but
What the Bible's saying is you get kicked out of the local church what takes place?
Well, God's the one that's gonna judge you and here's the thing. God is a tough judge
God is long-suffering but you got to realize if you commit major sins to the point where you're getting kicked out of a local church
It's like well
Then God might be really mad at you and the judgments gonna be a lot worse than just getting kicked out of church
I mean losing your eyes
That's far worse than anything that I would ever do to you by kicking you out of church
Right what happens to David is far worse. I mean you really shouldn't worry about. Oh, no
I mean, I might get kicked out of church. You ought to be worried about wait a minute
God is seeing everything that I'm doing and who knows what God is gonna do to me
Go to Judges chapter 16
Judges 16
And here's the thing even if you think you're getting away with it or God's never gonna come down hard on you
Here's one thing that's undeniable
Sin doesn't make you happy
It makes you miserable. You see that with the life of Samson. He's not happy. He's not in a better situation
He's miserable sin will never be fulfilling sin
Will never make you happy and one of the worst things in this world is just having a guilty conscience
There there have been people that got away with crimes and then like a decade later
They ended up going to jail and then sometimes they do interviews and they'll say, you know
Basically, my mind was torturing me every single day. I was scared to death
It was almost like once they actually got caught it was like a feeling of relief. It's like I no longer have to worry
It's just taking place because they couldn't escape the fact now obviously a lot of people that commit
You know big crimes are gonna be reprobates
But not all people that commit crimes or go to jail are gonna be reprobates and those that are not and they commit certain crimes
Their conscience they just feel guilty and it's just like they're so scared. They're gonna get caught and
Here's the thing about this, you know, what sin is gonna make you have that feeling
Sin is gonna make you feel miserable. You're gonna have that guilty conscience. It's never gonna make you happy
But here's the thing about this. God will judge you because the Bible says be not deceived. God is not mocked
He will come down. He will end up judging you in this life. You will pay for the sins that you commit
Obviously God is not gonna send you to hell if you're saved
So, where is God gonna judge you? Right here
Point number one you see the desensitization of sin. Point number two we see the deception of sin. Point three
We see the destruction from sin
But point number four we see the dawn after sin
What is the dawn? The dawn is the first appearance of the sun in the morning
You know you step outside
It's dark and all of a sudden you start to see a little bit of light, right?
And you have to realize that
One thing God did when he created the Sun and he gives us, you know, basically a new day every day
It's sort of a reminder to us that it's a new start. It doesn't matter how bad you messed your life up before
It's a new start. I can get right with God and I can serve God now. Now, of course you might pay for sins
You've committed
But you have a new start. Wouldn't you say this is true for yourself?
Sometimes you go to bed and you feel guilty. You weren't serving God. You're being lazy
You committed some sin or whatever it is and you feel bad
And it's really hard in that day to just kind of flip the switch and start serving God
but then you wake up the next day and
You pray to God first thing the Sun appears. It's like, you know what? It's a new start
It's a new day where I can get right with God
Judges chapter 16 verse 22
How be it
The hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven
So Samson loses his eyes. He has a big judgment, but the Bible says his hair begins to grow again
Remember his hair was the source of his strength. So the reason why cuz like why is this verse in the Bible?
What's the purpose obviously when you shave your head it grows back. That's just the way it works, right?
But the Bible mentions this to just let you know it's not like he could never serve God again, I
Mean he's able to start over
Now if you commit certain sins
You might not be able to serve God in the same
Capacity like if a pastor were to commit adultery or a major sin, then of course, they're not gonna be a pastor anymore
now I say of course, but there's a lot of Baptist churches here in the Philippines where
They've been known to commit adultery and they're still pastoring. It's like
Obviously if you commit major sins
Then you know if you're at our church and you're in a position of leadership and you commit a major sin
And you get right with God and you're allowed back at church
It's like you're not going to be in the same position of leadership that you were after committing a major sin
Right, but you can still serve God and of course
What's the number one best way to serve God in this life that?
Anyone that's saved can get involved in if they have the health and the ability to speak and the ability to do
Soul winning and
So you might mess up your life, but you know what you get right with God and like David said in Psalm 51
He said then why teach transgressors my ways
So you can start over
Get right with God and you like you can come out soul winning and get people saving God can still use you in a great
Way Samson commits these major sins. He has the judgment of God on his life
But there's the dawn after sin of getting right with God. Let's just finish this chapter here verse number 23
Then the Lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice on a day gone their God and
To rejoice for they said our God hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. You know what?
Obviously losing your eyes is a horrible punishment
But it's also embarrassing and an insult when you're in a false temple where they're worse being a false God and mocking you
I'd imagine that they're probably like playing the music really loud and everything
I mean, can you imagine being inside a temple of Shiva or whatever Hindu God and
You've had this happen to you and then they're mocking you inside of your temple as they're serving God
It's like man, just take my ears. Also, please, right?
Yeah, I just want to be out of here. It's like if
If you're gonna take my eyes, I don't even want to hear this. Just take my ears also, right?
7 verse 24
When the people saw him they praised their God for they said our God hath delivered into our hands our enemy and the destroyer
of our country which slew many of us and it came to pass when their hearts were married that they said
Call for Samson that we may make that he may make a sport and they called for Samson out of the prison house and he
made them sport and they sat him between the pillars and
Samson said under the lad that held him by the hand
Suffer me that I may feel the pillars were upon the house standeth that I may lean upon them
Now the house was full of men and women and all the Lords of the Philistines were there and they were upon the roof about
3,000 men and women that beheld while Samson made sport and Samson called on the Lord and said Oh Lord God remember
I remember me I pray thee and strengthen me. I pray thee only this once Oh God
That I may be at once avenged to the Philistines for my two eyes and Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which
the house stood and
on which it was born up of the one with his right hand of the other with his left and
Samson said let me die with the Philistines
And he bowed himself with all his might and the house fell upon the Lords and upon all the people that were therein
So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life
then his brethren and all the house of his father came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zor and
Eshel and the burying place of Manoah his father and he judged Israel
20 years
now
Samson takes these pillars and he basically just
Breaks down the building and everybody that's inside the building and on top just instantly dies
Now, you know in America we call so we call a Muslim that hops in a plane and just crashes into a building a suicide bomber
Where they intentionally kill themselves and other people and ask yourself this question when Samson died. Where did he go?
To heaven
Well, how do you know that because the New Testament tells us that he's in heaven in the Hall of Faith
In fact Samson is not the only one that committed suicide that went to heaven King Saul
committed suicide and went to heaven I
Think that Ahithophel was a saved man Ahithophel committed suicide
I believe that he was a saved man as well and even the armor-bearer with King Saul
I mean the armor-bearer also killed himself. Maybe he was saved. Maybe he wasn't I'm not really sure but here's the thing about this
You know when you go soul-winning, what do people often tell you? Wow suicides unforgivable
I mean when I was going soul-winning yesterday, I asked this group of people, you know
What kind of sins do you think would send a person to hell? They're all like suicide
Suicide and I always think to myself
Do you really think this suicide is the worst sin in the world because I mean when you murder someone
You're harming their entire family you kill them and you harm their entire family
Many people are affected now suicide is sin. Yeah, I believe it is. But honestly, I don't think it's the worst sin
It's definitely a sin, but I don't think it's number one. I mean I can think of things that are far worse. I
Mean being a homo is worse than committing suicide
It's like you want to give me a I mean I can make you a list if you want
There's a lot of things that are worse
You know, why is it that people believe this because they grow up Catholic or they have Catholic beliefs inside their head
In fact before I was saved the person who gave me the gospel I remember arguing with him
I said no, I said you don't know what you're talking about
Committing suicide is a straight ticket to hell. That's what the Bible teaches. Have you ever read the Bible?
Well, no, but it's in there
Right. I was like everybody else's right?
I was so convinced on this and yet there's several people in the Bible that committed suicide that we know went to heaven
and of course Jesus died for the sins of the whole world and
Suicide is just a normal and natural sin that happens out of depression. It's not some I mean, obviously it's a sin
I'm not trying to make light of it. It's it's obviously wrong, but it's like it's
spiritual Nabu high now along hung on not physical
Bible says that when when you're saved nothing can separate you from the love of God neither things present nor things to come
Right. So no matter what happens it says in life neither what happens at death
You know in Romans 8 so nothing can separate you from God's love
You have eternal life when you're saved and Samson's a man that did great things for God
And then he committed major sins and he's not right with God. He ends up even, you know, killing himself
but he's in heaven because
Salvation is a free gift. But what I'm trying to teach you here today is that despite the fact he went to heaven
Is this how you want to end your life though?
You want to end your life where you're not right with God you're being punished by God
You lose your eyes as a result of your sin. I
Mean because here's the thing you might be in this room today and you're serving God you're reading the Bible
but here's the thing if you decide right now to start living a sinful life and
Commit these major sins. It doesn't matter all the great things you've done in the past
You're gonna be punished by God
Be not deceived. God is not mocked for whatsoever man. So at that shall he also reap. Let's close in word of prayer
Dear Heavenly Father
Thank you for allowing us to be here today and ask you to help us learn from the life of Samson
help all of us to
Strive to obey you and serve you and to fear you God help us to you know
Whatever sins we may struggle with help us to get right and drop closer to you with each and every passing day
God we pray these things in Jesus name. Amen