The birth of Samson

1July 4, 2010

Judges 13 1 And the children of Israel did evil againagain in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord the Lord delivered themdelivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty yearsforty years.

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Monotonous!Monotonous!Continual backsliding isis monotonous;

Imagine it from God's perspectiveGod's perspective.

"In the sightsight of the LordLord""

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How things are in His sightHis sight is all that matters.

Human Human LogicLogic

CircumstancCircumstanceses

I may think you are backslidden when you are really close to God.You may think I am straight and right,

when in reality I am lukewarm.

The LordThe Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines.

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Too often we have to hit bottomhit bottom before

we will look uplook up.

The more they backslide the The more they backslide the worse it gets, and the longer worse it gets, and the longer

it takes them to repent.it takes them to repent.

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2 Timothy 2 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at at his willhis will.

Many savedsaved people can be taken captivecaptive in Satan's snare at his willat his will.

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If we are not focusednot focused on our Lord's Will,We will be easily distractedeasily distracted.

Spiritual

God had told Israel to drive outdrive out the distractions:Slave laborSlave labor

Gold and silverGold and silverExotic womenExotic women

False godsFalse gods

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But they would notwould not, and now they forsakenforsaken The True and Living GodThe True and Living God,,

And are in bigbig trouble.

2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.

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But they have not yet repented!

Although the nation as a wholeas a whole is doing evil in the sight of the Lord,

A fewA few still love and fear God Almighty.

God told Abraham that He would not not destroydestroy Sodom and Gomorrah for the

sake of 10 righteous men10 righteous men.

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The United States has turned from God, proud to be a secular society.

Thank God for a remnant of righteous who love God.

3 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. 4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: 5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a NazariteNazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall beginbegin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

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Samuel and David finished the job.

A NazariteNazarite is one separated from sin, and consecrated untounto the Lord.

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That is also a good description of a ChristianChristian.

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2 Corinthians 6 14-16a Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowshipwhat fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God;

2 Corinthians 6 16b-18 as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

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God's WillGod's Will is that His children separateseparate ourselves fromfrom the world,

And consecrateconsecrate ourselves unto Himunto Him.

To separate ourselvesseparate ourselves from the world and its sin is a good first step in our walkour walk with God.

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One who is willfullywillfully and stubbornlystubbornly walking in any sin can notcan not walk in fellowship with God.

2 Chronicles 7 14 If My people, which are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My Face, and turn fromturn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

First Step

AfterAfter we have turned from sin, thenthen we must turn unto God with our whole heartunto God with our whole heart.

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Psalms 119 2 Blessed are they that keepkeep His Testimonies, and that seek Himseek Him with the whole heart.

Seek HimSeek HimHis Will, His Way, His Character, His Qualities

Whole

Too many people are seeking God's BlessingsGod's Blessings,

But are not seeking the GodGod Who Blesses.

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Others seek God, but only half-heartedly,

With minds that are half-decided.

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We must love the Lord our God with our wholeour whole heart, mind, soul, and strength,And our neighbor as ourselves.

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