Samson was seduced by evil, and suffered much.

1. God loves you. August 1, 2010 If you are already His child , born of His Spirit, He loves you and wants to bless you . If you do not yet know Him as Savior and Lord, He loves you and wants to save your soul . He wants to save you from the domination of sin and its destruction ; He wants to save you from hell .

2. Judges 16 1 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.

3. The devil knows your weakness too; He knows mine . He knows what bait to use for each person. He's an evil and cunning adversary. Never underestimate him.

4. 2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed 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. Proverbs 19 (NIV) 21 Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's Purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19 (TLB) 21 Man proposes, but God disposes.

5. Matthew 10 27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear HIM which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. We must speak what the Lord gives us, without fear of what man may want to do to us. God is well able to protect those who love and fear Him, or to take us to be with Him in Heaven .

6. 3 And Samson lay 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.

7. Why would God empower Samson in this situation ? He is hanging out with the Philistines, the enemies of God. He has hired a prostitute for illicit sex. He loves the world and the women of the world. We might think that God would be willing to let him die in the midst of his sin.

8. But God had a Plan and a Purpose for Samson. He was chosen by God to harass Philistines, as the Philistines had harassed Israel. God knew Samson before he was born. God knew that he would have strengths, and knew that Samson would have weaknesses. But Samson was born for a purpose, and he will fulfill that purpose.

9. Samson was a tool in the Hand of God.

10. We touched on this last week, but I want to pursue it this morning. Samson was often used of God, but seldom blessed . He would have accomplished so much more, if he had lived his life as a righteous man of God. If he had led Israel to war against the Philistines, they would have been defeated .

11. Instead, Samson lived his life his own way . He accomplished some things, but was never blessed in all that he did. Hebrews 12 1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us , and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

12. 4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. Samson could always be trapped by the wiles of a beautiful woman. 2 Timothy 2:26 Delilah means "devotee" so she was probably a temple priestess , and they were prostitutes .

13. 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.

14. 6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth , and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. Delilah is a tool in the hand of the devil . She is a seducer . Proverbs 2 10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; 11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: … 16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

15. vs 7-14 Three Lies 1 Bind me with 7 green withs (leather bowstrings never dried) "I will be as any other man." 2 Bind me with new ropes, never used. "I will be as any other man." 3 Weave my hair into the fabric on your loom. "I will be as any other man."

16. Each time Delilah tried what Samson said, and each time he easily escaped. The devil , his servants , his pleasures , and all that he has to offer are all seducers . When we flirt with the world, we place ourselves in danger of being seduced , And caught in the devil's snare . Samson is playing with fire , and the last lie was getting close to the truth .

17. God has admonished us in Scripture to love and embrace Wisdom , Understanding , and Discretion . 1 Timothy 6 11-12 But thou, O man of God, flee these things (things of the world) ; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

18. People who are constantly backsliding into sin are those who miss the Truth in this Scripture. They flee from or give up or lay down their sins, But they fail to embrace righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. They don't fight the good fight of faith. To live for God, we have to live for God. They try to just remain in neutral, and they roll back into the sin that they laid down.