Welcome to Sure Foundation Baptist Church. Everyone, please find your seats.
First song we're gonna be singing of the night is song 327, Higher Ground.
Song 327. 327 in your hymn books. We're gonna start on the first.
I'm pressing on, upward way, new high time game, every day, praying, I'm onward, Lord, plant my feet on high.
Lord, lift me up and let me stand, by faith on heaven's table, higher plain.
Lord, plant my feet on high, to stay around, some made well sound, saints on high, plant one to etch a two high.
Brother Stephen, could you please open us with a word of prayer?
Amen. Alright, next song is gonna be 311, All for Jesus.
Song 311, 311, we're gonna start on the first, All for Jesus, on the first.
All for Jesus, all for Jesus, all my beings' ransom power, all my thoughts and words and
do days and all my poor Jesus all for G days and all my poor Jesus all for G and all my
is big it's all for G for G fourth is fixed on G it's all for G it's all for G last verse
it's been the for G for G great singing now we're gonna have some announcements by advantage
Justin's on come to the only warm day of the week and and the Wednesday night service of
Sure Foundation Baptist Church let's go through the bulletin and the announcement the verse
of the week is Romans 12 18 if it be possible as much as life in you live peaceably with
all men and that's you know really what we should try our best doing is to be peacemakers
if it's possible on the inside please give us a follow on YouTube Facebook rumble and
X also service time Sunday morning at 11th on the afternoon service at 4 and of course
Wednesday night Bible study at 7 p.m. tonight will be in Judges chapter 14 and last week
we talk about the birth story of Samson and tonight and for the next couple weeks we'll
be going into the actual life story of Samson and also we have a zoning time this Saturday
at 1030 and Sunday afternoon at 1 30 p.m. and supposedly gonna be in the negative or
whatever on Friday in the snowstorm Saturday and Sunday so just you know if you live far
away just you know stay safe and use your best judgment hopefully that's the last winter
storm of the year and pray for good weather during the anniversary weekend also the praise
report is for you to see and you know we've already arrived at 40 plus salvations of the
year so praise the lord for that upcoming events again the two-year two-year anniversary
is on February 7th and 8th so please RSVP if you have not done that just just like email us
and you know if you are traveling or know someone who's traveling just let me know i can give them
a hotel discount for that saturday night so on saturday we'll be going someone in the morning
having lunch there and then go bowling and then on sunday patrick thompson will be preaching both
services and patrick thompson is supposed to make a video so i'll give you more details on that but
the general schedule is you know me here probably 9 30 go someone in then you know having lunch and
bowling is from 2 to 5 pm so that's that's a general schedule on that saturday also the new
testament challenge is underway if you finish reading the new testament please email uh please
email the church sfbcindy@gmail.com and you'll get a small prize and the so many uh events you
can look at the dates on our website so with that being said let's sing one more song and then we'll
take up the offering then we'll have our prayer time next song is going to be 3 22 living for
jesus 3 2 2 3 22 living for jesus we're gonna start on the first time just a life that through
driving in glasses halfway to first good singing everyone usher please come up so we can take the
offering other christian could you please pray for the offering we continue in our study in the book
of judges will be in judges chapter 14 this evening need a bible raise your hand and usher
will provide one for you judges chapter 14 judges chapter 14 the bible reads and samson went down
to timnath and saw a woman in timnath of the daughters of the philistines and he came up and
told his father and his mother and said i've seen a woman in timnath of the daughters of the
philistines now therefore get her for me to wife then his father and his mother said unto him is
there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren or among all my people that thou goest
to take a wife of the uncircumcised philistines and samson said unto his father get her for me
for she pleaseth me well but his father and his mother knew not that it was of the lord that he
sought an occasion against the philistines for at that time the philistines had dominion over israel
then went samson down and his father and his mother to timnath and came to the vineyards of
timnath and behold a young lion roared against him and the spirit of the lord came mightily upon him
and he rent him as he would have rent a kid and he had nothing in his hand he told not his father
or his mother what he had done and he went down and talked with the woman and she pleased samson
well and after time he returned to take her and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion and
behold there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion and he took thereof in his
hands and went on eating and came to his father and mother and he gave them and they did eat but
he told them not that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion so his father went down
unto the woman and Samson made there a feast for so used the young men to do and it came to pass
when they saw him that they brought 30 companions to be with him and Samson said unto them I will
now put forth a riddle unto you if ye can certainly declare it with me within the seven days of the
feast and find it out then I will give you 30 sheets and 30 change of garments but if ye cannot
declare it me then shall ye give me 30 sheets and 30 change of garments and they said unto him put
forth thy riddle that we may hear it and he said unto them out of the eater came forth meat and
out of the nastron came forth sweetness and they could not in three days expound the riddle and it
came to pass on the seventh day that they said unto Samson's wife entice thy husband that he
may declare unto us the riddle lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire have he called
us to take ye cause to take that we have is it not so and Samson's wife wept before him and said
thou dost but hate me and lovest me not thou has put forth a riddle into the children of my people
has not told it me and he said unto me behold i have not told told it my father nor my mother
and shall i tell it thee and she wept before him the seven days while their feast lasted and it
came to pass on the seventh day that he told her because she lay sore upon him and she told the
riddle to the children of her people and the men in the city said unto him on the seventh day
before the sun went down what is sweeter than honey and what is stronger than a lion he said unto
them if he had not plowed with my heifer he had not found out my riddle and the spirit of the lord
came upon him and he went down unto echolon and slew 30 men of them and took their spoil and gave
change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle and his anger was kindled and he went up
to his father's house but Samson's wife was given to his companion whom he had used to be used to
be as his friend. Brother, could you pray us for the service? Amen. Now on Wednesday night we are
going through the book of Judges one chapter a week and we have we've been plowing through this
book and so far we've learned a lot of practical lessons and last week we saw the birth announcement
of Samson and how God began to use Samson in order to deliver Israel from the Philistines
and today we'll look at you know some of Samson's life in detail and to be more specific Samson's
story teaches us a lesson that strength without discipline brings self-destruction so the title
of the sermon this evening is power without purity power without purity I think you know
this sermon kind of echo brother Rashid's sermon on young women you know kind of fits a lot of
uh fits a lot of pointers here so uh point number one tonight is love at first sight only exists in
movies love at love at first sight only only exists in movies judges 14 look at verse number one
the bible says and samson went down to timnath and saw a woman in timnath of the daughters of
the philistines and he came up and told his father and his mother and said I have seen a woman in
timnath of the daughters of the philistines now therefore get her for me to wife okay
now this is a classic example of how not to find a wife and the bible seems to indicate that samson
just saw a woman and he just wanted to marry her okay like I said love at first sight only exists
in movies if you find someone to be attractive you should figure out if she's on the same page
with you right and actually date on purpose I mean I preach a whole sermon on dating on purpose
just just for this purpose okay and you don't see samson praying to god in this passage and you don't
see samson you know asking for godly counsel in this passage he saw this woman and he just wanted
to marry her okay now if someone is attractive there's nothing wrong with that but the next step
is not marriage next step is discernment right are they saved are they spiritually aligned are they
moving in the same general direction and what does samson expect his parents to do because the end of
verse number two samson just told his parents now therefore give her for me to wife it's like what
did he expect having them kidnap her just get her for me to wife okay samson just told his parents
get her to me for wife and the language to me is so abrupt and weird and demanding almost as if he
expects his parents to arrange the woman for him to marry for uh for her to marry him at any cost
just like get her for me okay i don't know what he is expecting here but look at verse number three
here's his parents reaction then his father and his mother said on to him is there never a woman
among the daughters of thy brethren or or among all my people that i'll go is to take a wife of
the uncircumcised philistines and samson said on to his father get her for me for she pleases me well
so samson's parents try to warn him they they try to offer him godly counsel they are saying hey why
don't you find a wife among the children of israel why are you seeking among the philistines now keep
it placed in the book of judges go forward to proverbs chapter one talk about the proverbs
chapter number one here's the thing regarding dating and who to marry if you are wise you
should listen to your parents advices regarding the person you want to date or marry okay and
i believe the father should have the veto power and samson was not samson was not wise in this
situation what's his response samson said onto his father after they told him this
advice get her for me for she pleases me well so he did not you know take heed to their advice
proverb chapter one look at verse eight proverb chapter one verse eight the bible says this my
son hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the law of thy mother for day shall be an
ornament of grace unto thy head and chains about thy neck so the bible is teaching us the principle
of obeying your parents listen to their instructions listening to their laws even right you know and
people would ask you know when should i stop obeying when you get married right you know when
you get married as long as you are still their child and not married and living under the roof
i still obey them hear their instructions and listen to them especially concerning who you
want to date or marry in this case samson should have listened to his parents advices by not marrying
this uncircumcised philistine woman come up to romans chapter two romans chapter number two
and the problem is not necessarily that she was a philistine now i talked about interracial marriage
last week in the old testament the bible forbids the israelites to marry certain nations and
philistines was actually not one of them because if you really want to take it you know take a
straight interpretation in the book of deuteronomy the bible only forbids them marrying the
Hittites, Girgisites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and the and the Jebusites
namely the seven nations okay and god forbids marriage with those seven nations because of
idolatry and and false gods not because of race however samson's choice was still wrong
even though the philistines was not one of the seven nations why was he still wrong notice you
know let me just read to you what his parents said again is there never a woman among the
daughters of thy brethren or among all my people that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised
philistine so his parents call this woman uncircumcised that's the real issue the real
issue was not that she was a philistine the real issue was she was not circumcised now the
question is pretty obvious because the woman cannot be physically circumcised right so the
term uncircumcised here cannot mean physical circumcision it's a covenant with the god of the
the bible is referring to a covenant with the god of the bible that spiritual circumcision
she is not circumcised in the heart translate she is not saved amen roman chapter 2 look at verse
28 roman chapter 2 verse 28 the bible says for he is not a jew which is one outwardly neither is
that circumcision which is our in the flesh but he is a jew which is one inwardly and circumcision
is that of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter whose praise is not a man but of god so if
you are saved you are a jew spiritually and if you are saved you have the circumcision of the heart
right because because the letters of the law does not really matter concerning your lineage
circumcision what matters in the sight of god is the circumcision of the heart it's salvation
okay so the real problem was not that she was you know a philistine the real problem was she was
uncircumcised in the heart so what's the principle here don't marry someone outside of your faith
don't marry someone that's uncircumcised in the heart that's why it's best to find your future
spouse in israel right that's what his parents said right just find a spouse in in israel among
your people so so how does that apply to us nowadays i think it's best to find your future
spouse at churches okay because a church is the local assembly of saved christians don't look for
someone in the world and let me just also add add to that by saying that it's better to find the
it's better to find a spouse in the church that exercises church discipline here's the reason
because because that way you will not accidentally date someone who's a drunk or a fornicator
makes sense you know that's why it's better to find your spouse in being a local assembly that's
filled with spiritual Israelites among your own people okay now go back to judges chapter chapter
14 judges chapter 14 let's look at verse number three again judges chapter 14 verse number three
thank his father and his mother said unto him is there never a woman among the daughters of
thy brethren or among all my people that i'll go as to take a wife of the uncircumcised philistines
here's samson's response and samson said unto his father get her for me for she pleases me well
so the final reason samson gives is you know is by saying she pleases me well okay no mentioning
of character no concern for faith no thought of god's glory and the entire decision revolves
around what he wants and will look good to him right this is entirely flesh driven not faith
driven you know she looks pretty you know he looks charming he has a deep voice you know she has big
eyes you know she looks at me differently don't marry someone you know solely based on the exterior
because in proverbs 31 the bible says favor is deceitful and beauty is vain but the woman that
fears the lord she shall be praised you should care more about the inside is she godly is she
submissive to her father is she faithful to the things of god okay so what's the lesson from this
first point how do you find your future spouse make sure he or she is safe find them at a bible
believing church if possible listen to your parents counsel and don't just focus on the exterior okay
let me give you the second point the end doesn't justify the means the end doesn't justify the
means okay now this phrase means that achieving a good outcome does not excuse unethical harmful
or immoral action taken to get there emphasizing that how you reach a goal matters as much as the
goal itself promoting integrity over over the results achieved through bad behavior such as
stealing to give to charity okay so that's the point of the end doesn't justify the means and
we need to understand this truth in order to understand the next verse look at verse number
four judges 14 verse four but his father and his mother knew not that it was of the lord that he
sought an occasion against the philistines for at that time the philistines had dominion over israel
now now here's my understanding of uh of this verse what was of the lord that he sought an occasion
against the philistines not marrying an uncircumcised heathen woman don't miss this
he because his parents did not know that it was of the lord that he sought an occasion against
the philistines that is god's will god wants him to uh avenge you know god wants him to start
delivering israel from the philistines god wants him to sought to seek an occasion against the
philistines but samson went about it the wrong way okay because the spirit of the lord was that he
sought an occasion not marrying and uncircumcised heathen wife okay but god still used this situation
to begin delivering israel from the philistines even though samson did it you know wrongly by
the way just because god used this for his purpose does not mean god was justifying what samson did
okay don't miss this and this pattern appears throughout the bible for example joseph's brother
meant for evil and god meant it for good god turns god turned the situation around and you
know did something good from it but that does not mean god was justifying what joseph's brothers
did make sense like pharaoh heart in his heart yet fulfill god's purpose right and the crucifixion
itself was carried out by wicked people you know obviously that was wrong that was wicked
but without a crucifixion there will be no resurrection make sense the end didn't justify
the means obviously the end you know was great god can still use that but god did not you know condone
the delivery you know just a process to achieve the end what's the point here don't have the attitude
that because god is using me then you know whatever i'm doing must be right that's a that's a dangerous
thought and can justify a lot of sins using this logic and god clearly used samson if you just read
next few chapters god god clearly used him right and god used the fact of samson wanting to marry
this uncertain sized philistine but what samson did was clearly wrong now let me show you how
dangerous how dangerous this thought can be god must be with me since i'm getting so many people
saved yet i'm committing adultery god must be pleased with me since i lied at work and i still
got a raise you see how dangerous that can be right god must approve of my relationship because
we are happy even though we are living in fornication god is using my preaching so my private things
cannot be that serious that's a dangerous attitude okay don't have that mentality just because god is
blessing you but that is not justify everything you've done samson could have said you know god
is using me to fight the philistines so this marriage must be fine but here's the truth god
used it but god did not approve it samson committed more and more sins later right and god used those
situations but don't confuse god's mercy with god's approval because sometimes god is so
merciful you know sometimes god is merciful enough to use us in light of our mistakes
and we should never abuse god's mercy we should always seek to do what is right regardless of the
situations and if you know the rest of the story samson died because of his sins even though god
still used him to deliver israel right again the end doesn't justify the means don't have this
attitude that just because god is using me just because i'm getting so many people saved that's
why everything i do is justified okay a bad logic so i said point number one love at first sight
only existing movies point number two the end doesn't justify the means point number three
a silent compromise a silent compromise look at verse number five judges 14 verse five the bible
says then when samson down and his father and and his mother to timnath and came to the vineyard
of timnath and behold a young lion roared against him now that's a prime example of sin will take
you farther than you want to go keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you
want to pay samson has already flirted with with sinning by by wanting to marry an unsaved woman
and now he went to the vineyard okay let me just read to you uh number six verse four that's a
requirement of a nazarite all the days of his separation shall shall he eat nothing that is
made of the vine tree from the kernels even even to the husk now the bible does not say that he ate
from the vine coming near to the vineyard was not the same because because a nazarite was only
forbidden to you know not eating things from the vine right but my question is why would you put
yourself in a situation like this if you can't even if you are not you know supposed to eat any
grape related product why are you going to a vineyard that's full of grapes right that's the
same logic as if you struggle at you know alcohol then why are you at the alcohol aisle well why do
you go to the bar right look at verse number six and the spirit of the lord came mightily upon him
and he rent him that's the line in verse five and he rent him as he would have rent a kid
not a child he's a goat right and and he had nothing in his hand but he told not his father
or his mother what he had done so sam samson is commonly known for his supernatural strength
and we'll see more later but this is really the first story showcasing his strength
and i believe samson looks like a normal man not a super you know buff you know six pack whatever
you know i believe he looks like a normal man that's why in chapter 16 the lord of the philistines had
had the lot had the delight to ask him wearing that uh wearing thy great strength lieth okay
because you know i believe i believe the reason samson was strong was because god made him strong
not because he's physically strong okay again that's my belief and samson here had no tools
in his hand but he just tore the line apart you know i don't know maybe from the mouth just tore
it or from the you know just stick to his chest just tore it apart pretty brutal right peter
would not be happy about it okay but that's the spirit of the lord but here's an interesting
observation here samson did not tell his parents what he did when i first read this i was a little
bit confused because because his parents and you know samson they all went down to timnath based
on verse number five but the bible seems to indicate that his parents were not aware of the
event of the lion at the vineyard okay so what likely happened was that they all went down to
timnath but somehow you know samson took a detour to the vineyard okay because they all went down
and somehow we have the episode of the vineyard and the lion and his parents were not aware of
it okay so why did not he why didn't he tell his parents and that was the first secret samson
withheld and we'll see more secrets later maybe samson didn't want his parents to know that he
was flirting with compromise by being the vineyard maybe maybe in his heart he knew that he shouldn't
be going there maybe but his compromise and secrecy did not stop here look at verse number
seven and he went down and talked with the woman that's the philistine unsaved woman
and she pleased samson well again still the physical attraction thing and after a time he
returned to take her and he turned aside to see the carcass that's the dead body of the line and
behold there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the line so now he actually committed
a sin being a nazarite by by being near a dead body because you know earlier being near the grave
was not a sin right you know killing the lion was not a sin but now he actually committed a sin by
being near a a dead body which a nazarite should not be doing because in number chapter six verse
number six the bible says all the days that he separated himself unto the lord shall he shall
come at no dead body so here i believe samson sinned by you know coming by going near to the
dead body into the carcass of the life and he did not just sin by coming close to a dead body
but notice this phrase in uh verse number eight the bible says he turned aside to see the carcass
that to me proves that it was intentional he purposely turned aside to see the carcass
now i submit to you that you know secrecy also breeds pride my personal opinion is he thinks
he's tough he wants to see what he has accomplished and he adds sin unto sin right you know i think
he's on purpose the bible the bible used the language that he he turned aside just to see
this dead body look at verse number nine and he and he took thereof in his hand and went on eating
and came to his father and mother and he gave them and they did it but he told not them that he had
taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion so now he did not just sin by coming close to a dead
body he went further by touching a dead body and that's a violation of a of the mosaic law
in addition to the nazarite vow because in leviticus chapter 5 verse 2 the bible says
or if a soul touched any unclean thing whether it be a carcass of a of an unclean beast or a
carcass of unclean cattle or the carcass of unclean creeping thing or or if it be hidden from him he
shall be unclean and guilty and he took out the honey out of the carcass of the lion and gave it
to his parents but again he withheld the information that he that he took it out of the dead body
maybe perhaps perhaps in his heart he knew that he was not supposed to do that right that's why he
was not telling his parents where the honey came from so it starts from a compromise by being in
the vineyard right he has not sinned by being in the vineyard but then he actually sinned by coming
close to a dead body and he went further by touching the body and he was being silent about
what he did so what's the lesson here don't flirt with sin sin will always take you farther than
you want to go keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay and
samson is a primary example of that so i said point number one love at first sight only exists
in movies point number two the end doesn't justify the means point number three a silent
compromise point number four i'm gonna tie your sermons all together from young men and the young
woman okay point number four the danger of gambling the danger of gambling look at verse number 10
so his father went down onto the woman and samson made there a feast for so use the young men to do
and it came to pass when they saw him that they brought 30 companions to be with him now here i
believe they are assumed to be the philistines they were basically like the groomsmen right there are
30 companions there are 30 uh 30 groomsmen uh from the uh from the philistine look at verse number 12
and and samson says and samson said unto them i will not put forth a riddle unto you if you can
certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast and find it out then i will give you 30
sheets and 30 change of garments now before i get into this riddle let's just debunk pre-tribulation
rapture again okay you may wonder how does that connect to that oftentimes you will hear the
preacher say that the reason that a tribulation lasts seven years is because the jewish wedding
feast lasts seven days that's not biblical because the only seven day wedding feast in the bible is
a philistine wedding not not a jewish wedding okay so i just throw that out of the window but
a multi-day wedding feast is not uncommon in you know different countries i've personally attended
a weddings in china that has a lunch feast and dinner feast and some wedding can last a couple
days okay so that's not an uncommon practice look at verse number 13 judges 14 verse number 13
but if ye cannot declare me then shall you give me 30 sheets and 30 change of garments and I said
unto him put forth thy riddle that we may hear it so let's get into this riddle if you guess it right
now Van Sampson will give them 30 sheets and 30 30 sheets and 30 changes of garments and if not
you give me these you know garments look at verse number 14 and he said unto them out of the eater
came forth meat and out of the strong came forth sweetness and they could not in three days expound
the riddle now we all know what he meant by that but they had no idea look at verse number 15
and it came to pass on the seventh day that's the last day of the wedding feast that they said
unto samson's wife entice thy husband that he may declare unto us the riddle lest we burn thee and
thy father's house with fire have he called us to take that we have is it not so first of all what's
up with the threats to burn down houses in the bible because you know because in judges chapter
number 12 the Ephraimites were threatening you know to burn down Jeff's house right because you
know they claim he did not call them out to help them in battle or like whatever and then you know
if you know the story of Absalom, Absalom tried to get Joab's attention by setting his field on
fire okay so it's also like i don't know what's up with arson in the bible but don't do that okay
but here's why you should not gamble because the fear of losing will force you to commit more sins
because you know his 30 groomsmen, his 30 companions they threatened Samson's wife to
you know tell uh to you know figure out the riddle and if not they threatened to burn the
house you know down because they fear uh because they had because they had a fear of losing right
it will force you to commit more sins and if you lose you will likely commit sins just to pay back
your debt right i mean that's true because some people steal to cover their losses people for
save their families just to satisfy their gambling addictions and some people literally kill others
because they lost a bunch of money we've heard the stories right and the 30 companions feared
losing so they threatened Samson's wife and here's another reason why you shouldn't be into gambling
because no people cheat these 30 companions they were cheating by asking Samson's wife
to entice Samson okay so don't get into gambling so i said point number one love at first sight only
existing movies point number two the end doesn't justify the means point number three a silent
compromise point number four don't the danger of gambling and uh lastly point number five don't be
a nagging wife don't be a nagging wife look at verse number 15 again judges 14 verse number 15
i mean i mean i find it pretty interesting that this sermon is kind of a recap of brother rishi's
sermon on both young men and the young women don't be a nagging wife look at verse number 15
and it came to pass on the seventh day that i said unto samson's wife entice thy husband that he may
declare unto us the riddle lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire have you called us
to take that we have is it not so so they want samson's wife to entice him the word entice means
to incite or instigate by by an by exciting hope or desire usually in a bad sense as to entice one
to evil hence to seduce to lead astray to induce to sin by promises or persuasions so the 30
companions you know his own groomsmen wanted Samson's wife to entice her husband and if she
was a godly wife if she was a good wife she would not do that right but what did she do
she nagged him and she manipulated him pay attention to the next verse because you know
this to me is a classic example of a nagging wife and you don't want to be like that if you
are a woman okay look at verse number 16 here's how she enticed him and sentence wife wept before him
and said thou dost but hate me and loveth me not thou has put forth a riddle unto the children of
my people and has not told me and he said unto her behold i have not told it my father nor my mother
and shall i tell it thee so first she cried sometimes women tend to be hyper emotional
i'm not saying that you know emotion is always wrong but bad women love to play with people's
emotions sometimes evil women would simply exaggerate their their emotions and cry
just to convince people right and the bible does not teach that emotion itself is wrong because
god created emotions we have godly sorrow fear tears they can all be legit but this passage
shows something different emotion weaponized then she said this famous phrase after she cried
you don't love me a very classic phrase do you even love me i know you work hard and just provide
for the family but you don't allow me to buy this 300 dollar purse you must hate me i'm being abused
i want a divorce you don't even love me okay that's a timeless tactic used by many bad women
right i mean you've heard in some tv shows they happen all the time right love is redefined as
giving in disagreement is reframed as hatred and that's not communication that is emotional
extortion here this is manipulation through accusation by the way pressure plus guilt
does not does not equal submission it is controlling okay and the wife should not do
things like that to control her husband the bible says wife submit yourselves onto your own husband
as unto the lord okay verse number 17 the bible says and she wept before him the seven days while
their feast lasted and it came to pass on the seventh day that he told her because she lay sore
upon him and she told a riddle to the children of her people that's not a calm appeal you know she
she did that for seven days she applied this emotional pressure designed to wear him down
for seven days she's a feminist you know can you just imagine being her husband and suffer
through this the bible says in proverbs 21 verse number 19 it is better to dwell in the wilderness
than with a contentious and an angry woman proverbs uh 27 15 says a continual dropping
in a very rainy day and a contentious wife are alike the bible compares a contentious or nagging
wife to chinese waterboarding okay it's miserable it's painful now i do want to point out some of
the details here look at verse number 15 again go back to verse number 15 the bible says and it
came to pass on the seventh day that is said unto samson's wife entice thy husband so notice the
30 companions threatened samson's wife on the seventh day okay but in verse number 17 the
bible says that and she went before him the seven days so she was nagging him for seven days now on
the surface this may seem contradictory but let's break this down these last seven days okay
and verse 15 does not say that she began enticing samson on the seventh day the bible says on the
seventh day the philistines escalated this and and just formally threatened her okay so i think the
story implied that they may have already given her pressure from the very beginning but on the
seventh day we have the explicit threat to burn the house down okay when their time was almost up
so from day one so from day one to day six she went and nagged samson and then and then on day
seven the philistines just issued a threat to burn the house down and his wife added pressure
and the samson finally caved in on day seven look at verse number 18 judges 14 verse number 18
and the man of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down what is
sweeter than honey and what is stronger than a lion and he said unto them if he had not plowed
with my heifer he had not found out my riddle so a heifer is a young female cow so samson compared
his wife with a cow obviously he was probably angry at her betrayal and he fell humiliated right
by the way that's that's another reason why you should not be marrying someone solely based on the
solely based on the exterior because earlier samson chose her because she pleases me well
but now when she betrayed him he just reduced her to a farm animal used for labor right you know
that's why don't marry someone solely based on the exterior okay okay verse number 19 and the spirit
of the lord came upon him and he went down to ashclon ashclon was a philistine city and slew 30 men
of them and took their spoil and gave change of garments onto them which expounded the riddle and
his anger was kindled and he went up to his father's house so god still used this terrible
situation and god exercised vengeance on the philistines even though samson was not right
you know he has sinned along the way and samson was so mad that he left his wife and went back
to his father's house you know nowadays it seems to be the opposite right i mean the wife just go
to her parents house but here samson you know just went to his father's house and here's a lesson for
husbands husbands should love their wives anyway even if she nags and waterboards you you stay
with her and bring her along with you okay don't just depart from her and just go back to your
parents house right you know you get it under control right just you know do do something
even if she waterboards you nags you for seven days just get it under control okay okay verse
number 30 the samson's wife was given to his companion whom he had used as his friend
this is bizarre now now we'll talk more about the rest of the story next week but her father gave
samson's wife to one of the 30 companions his his groomsmen again we will you know talk about the
rest of the story uh next week in chapter 15 but uh notice the wording here again in verse number 20
the bible does not say that this this companion was samson's friend the bible says that samson
used him as his friend so that tells me that samson accepted this man uh in the role of a friend
and he treated him as a friend just for the occasion which was the wedding because samson
benefited from him socially at the wedding right because he was the because he was a groomsman
but samson was not a true friend he was a friend of convenience the bible says that a man that had
friends must show himself friendly right and to me this also shows samson's weakness because samson
likes to use people without caring for them think about this samson used his parents to get a wife
samson used his wife to satisfy his fleshly desire because she pleases me well and then
samson used his companion just to fulfill a role right samson like to you you know samson likes to
use people and you know let's not be this type of friends to people you know actually careful
people and love them okay so i said point number one love at first sight only only exists in movies
point number two the end doesn't just by the means point number three a silent compromise
point number four the danger of gambling and point number five don't be a nagging wife
so just in conclusion you know samson was a strong man because the spirit of the lord was upon him
and god used him to to begin to deliver israel from from the philistines in spite of his sins
and multiple compromises so i think the most important takeaway uh from the sermon is this
that just because god used you or or is using you does not mean everything you do is justified
just look at the whole story of samson it ended tragically you know because in the next chapter
samson lost his wife and then later he lost his life okay you know don't abuse god's mercy you
know do what is right let's close in with a prayer thank you lord for this chapter thank you for
giving us the story of samson but i pray that you'll keep using us but also help us do everything
correctly and to be in your will so you can mightfully use us so that you will not cut our
life short but i pray that we'll live a life of faith and just you know stay in your word and i
pray this in jesus name amen amen great sermon uh for the last song we're going to be singing song
four zero one set my souls afire four zero one four zero one we're going to start on the first
set my soul afire set my soul up for the whole thing set my soul verse singing brother mackey
please close this out in a word of prayer amen