Lion of Judah Worship Center
Pastor Eliz Dowdy

The Message this morning is taken from the scripture, Judges 16:4–6. And it reads thus: “And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. (5) And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, ‘Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.’ (6) And Delilah said to Samson, ‘Tell me I pray thee, where thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightiest be bound to afflict thee.’”

Samson was born to be God’s champion for his people, a Nazarite from the womb, set apart by God the Almighty, he was to be different, exhibiting great strength against his foes, not afraid of man nor animal. Samson had a great weakness, Philistine women. From the first wife, to the harlot, to Delialah, he was smitten by their charms.

Why was Samson special? In the thirteenth chapter of Judges we see his beginning; his mother had been barren, and had a visitation from the Angel of the LORD, who informed her of her impending conception.

He has this fact in common with John the Baptist who would come later. Both of their mothers were barren, and received divine visitors who informed them of the coming conception. Both were consecrated in the womb; but Samson’s parents were instructed not to give him wine, or any strong drink, nor was he to eat any unclean food.

Samson could be described as a special child, because of the restrictions placed upon his life; but he also knew how to get his own way—see Judges 14:2–3. He told his parents he wanted a wife and they were to get her for him. The desire for a wife is a good thing. Proverbs 18:22 says, “He that findeth a wife findeth a good thing and obtaineth favor of the Lord.” Samson’s choice for a mate would lead to his ultimate downfall.

God had raised up a champion for His people when they had lived under Philistine rule. The anointing of strength extraordinaire, would be the defining role in Samson’s life, but he never accomplished all God had planned for him, even though he judged Israel for twenty years.

In July 2015 what is the greatest threat to each one of us? Samson’s greatest threat turned out to be his insatiable desire for Philistine women. If I played the role of the roving reporter asking people on the street that question the answers would range from the threat of ISIL, global warming, global drought, GMO crops, and the list goes on…

However as the redeemed of the Most High God, the greatest threat we face is heart conditions! What condition is your heart in today? No not the physical organ that pumps blood throughout your body, but your inner man, the core of our being. Pride, arrogance, murder, deception, drunkenness, evil thoughts, adulteries, false witness… See Matt. 15:18–20, the things that proceed from the heart and defile us. Now you may be saying, well that doesn’t include me, I am not doing any of those things! In Ezekiel 14:1–4 God informs the prophet that the elders of the land who had come to seek a word from the Lord, came with their hearts filled with idols they had set up in their hearts. Idols are things, people that have supplanted God. We are to love Him with our whole heart; we are to have no other god before Him. God is speaking to the body of Christ, His church to get our hearts prepared.

In I Samuel 16:7 God tells the prophet Samuel that He looks on the heart of man, not his outer appearance. Therefore, He is acutely aware of those things we try to hide, those evil thoughts we entertain and the idols we set up by the attention we give to them.

Let us purify our hearts with the fire of God’s Word, wash them with the water of the Word, that our hearts may be pure before Him.

The conditions of our hearts are the greatest threat we face today. Let God cleanse us from all unrighteousness as He desires to do; that we may be made whole and able to perform the task He has planned for us to accomplish.

 

Copyright © 2015 E. C. Dowdy. Written and audio material may not be reproduced without written permission.