Preparation #41 Sampson
Brian Kocourek
HEBREWS
This evening I would like to continue with brother
Branham's sermon Preparation. This is number 41 in our series, and I will call
it, "Samson a type of the church." Now let’s pick up at paragraph
48…048 Notice how ridiculous God's ways is sometimes
to man, how He does things. Now, we're going to take for instance, there was a
fellow by the name of Samson. God was dealing with him. Now, a lot of
people tries to think... I seen the psychologist paint the picture of Samson,
with shoulders look like barn doors. Why, it wouldn't be no mystery to me to
see that man kill a lion, with shoulders as wide as from here over to that
organ there. Why, certainly he'd kill a lion. How he could pick up the city
gates and walk away, why sure, that's easy.
049 But there's a mystery about Samson. If you
want to know my estimation of him, he was a little bitty, curly headed shrimp,
seven little locks hanging down around his face, little mommy's boy coming down
the street, a little sissy. When they seen a man like that kill a lion, that's
what scared them. But when they seen this fellow coming down there, and the...
Why, he was just as helpless as he could be until the Spirit of the Lord come
on him. And when the Spirit of the Lord come on him, my, them little shoulders
straightened out, and he grabbed the lion and slew it, when the Spirit of the
Lord come on him. 050 One day he was
God's provided way to deliver
Now, let's go to the Word of God and review the life
of this servant of God.
JUDGES 13:1 ¶ And
the children of
1) Nazarite meaning "one
separated" was one who was
bound by a vow to be set apart from
others for the service of God. The obligation was either for life or a definite time. The Nazarite during his term of consecration, was bound to
abstain from wine, grapes, with every
production of the vine, and from every kind
of intoxicating drink. He was forbidden to cut the hair of his head, or to approach any dead body, even that
of his nearest relation. Of the Nazarites for life, three are mentioned in the Scriptures -- Samson,
Samuel, and John the Baptist. The only one of these actually called a Nazarite is
Samson. The consecration of the Nazarite bore a
striking resemblance to that of the high priest. Lev. 21:10-12. The meaning of the Nazarite vow has been regarded in different lights. It may
be regarded as self-sacrifice. That it
was essentially a sacrifice of the person to the Lord is obvious in accordance with the terms of the
law. Nu. 6:2. A the Nazarite was a
witness for the straightness of the law, as
distinguished from the freedom of the gospel, his sacrifice of himself
was in submission to the letter of the rule. Its outward manifestations were restraints and
eccentricities. The man was separated from his brethren that he might be
peculiarly devoted to the Lord. This was consistent with the purpose of divine wisdom for the time for
which it was ordained.
Judges 13: 5 and he shall begin to deliver
9 And God
hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of
God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah
her husband [was] not with her. 10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath
appeared unto me, that came unto me the [other] day. 11 And Manoah arose,
and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, [Art] thou the
man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I
[am]. 12 And Manoah said,
Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and [how] shall
we do unto him? 13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her
beware. 14 She may not eat of any [thing] that cometh
of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean
[thing]: all that I commanded her let her observe. 15
¶ And Manoah
said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we
shall have made ready a kid for thee.
16 And the angel of the LORD
said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not
eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it
unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he [was] an
angel of the LORD. 17 And Manoah said
unto the angel of the LORD, What [is] thy name, that when thy sayings come to
pass we may do thee honour? 18
And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest
thou thus after my name, seeing it [is] secret?
19 So Manoah
took a kid with a meat offering, and offered [it] upon a rock unto the LORD:
and [the angel] did wondrously; and Manoah and his
wife looked on. 20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up
toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the
flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on
[it], and fell on their faces to the ground.
21 But the angel of the LORD
did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he [was] an angel of the LORD. 22
And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely
die, because we have seen God. 23 But his wife said unto him, If the LORD
were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat
offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed
us all these [things], nor would as at this time have told us [such things] as
these. 24 ¶ And
the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the
LORD blessed him. 25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move
him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Samson: Sampson of
Hebrew origin -- 1) Samson meaning "like the sun" was the son of Manoah, a man of Zorah, in the tribe of Dan, on the border of
14:1 ¶ And Samson went down to Timnath,
and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the
Philistines. 2 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. 3 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. 4
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
11 And it came to pass, when they saw him,
that they brought thirty companions to be with him. 12
And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you:
if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find
[it] out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of
garments: 13 But if ye cannot declare [it] me, then
shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said
unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it. 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. 15 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 ye
called us to take that we have? [is it] not [so]? 16 And Samson's wife wept before him, and
said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou
hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told [it]
me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told [it] my father nor my
mother, and shall I tell [it] thee?
17 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. 18 And the men 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 ye had not plowed
with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.
19 And the Spirit of the
LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and
slew thirty 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. 20 But Samson's wife was [given] to his
companion, whom he had used as his friend.
15:1
¶ But it came to pass within a while
after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid;
and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not
suffer him to go in. 2. And her father said,
I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her;
therefore I gave her to thy companion: [is] not her younger sister fairer than
she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her. 3
And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the
Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.
4 And Samson went and caught
three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a
firebrand in the midst between two tails.
5 And when he had set the
brands on fire, he let [them] go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and
burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards [and]
olives. 6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done
this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite,
because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the
Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire. 7
And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be
avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
8 And he smote them hip and
thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the
rock Etam.
9 ¶ Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in
16: 1 ¶
Then went Samson to
And she said unto him, The Philistines [be] upon thee,
Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is
broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was
not known. 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.
11 And he said unto her, If
they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be
weak, and be as another man. 12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound
him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And
[there were] liers in wait abiding in the chamber.
And he brake them from off his arms like a thread. 13
And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto 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
of my head with the web. 14 And she fastened [it] with the pin, and
said unto him, The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his
sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. 15
And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart
[is] not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me
wherein thy great strength [lieth]. 16
And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and
urged him, [so] that his soul was vexed unto death; 17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto
her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I [have been] a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven,
then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any
[other] man. 18 ¶
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
shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the
Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. 19 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. 20
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 wist not that the LORD was departed
from him. 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.
22 ¶ Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow
again after he was shaven. 23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered
them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to
rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our
hand. 24 And 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. 25
And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call
for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the
prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the
pillars. 26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him
by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. 27
Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the
Philistines [were] there; and [there were] upon the roof about three thousand
men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. 28
And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I
pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be
at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. 29
And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house
stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the
other with his left. 30 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. 31 Then his brethren and all the house of his
father came down, and took him, and brought [him] up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his
father. And he judged
PERSEVERANCE 62-0218 072 Samson, Samson, he was very perseverant as
long as he could feel those seven locks around him. He knowed
that was a promise that God give him. And every man and woman could be as
persistent as Samson was, as long as you can feel that power of promise around
you of God. Here is the Word; the Word said so. And you can be perseverant as
long as you know that you've got that promise in your heart, that faith that
told you, while you're setting here now, that faith says, "I am healed.
I'm healed." See? You feel that, just keep walking on. Brother, God will
take care of the Philistines; don't you worry.
PERSEVERANCE
62-0520 083
I'm now believing in what? As Samson did, reach around there and feel
those locks. When I was standing here fixing to say, "Let the people just
pass by, and get these ministers down here to lay hands on them,"
something struck me. I saw a vision move over the audience. Then I know them
locks are still there. His promise is still here. Now, you pray and see if He
isn't the same God. Then if He's here in our midst this afternoon, can't you be
persistent with your faith to believe in God? Amen.
PERSEVERANT 62-0719E 050 Little
Samson, little curly-headed fellow, little--seven little locks hanging down his
back; a lion come roaring out. Samson was a little bitty man standing there.
But you notice, the Spirit of the Lord came on him. That made the difference.
Look at him standing out on the field that day, where a thousand Philistines
surrounded him. He looked around. He couldn't have nothing to fight with. And
he looked down and picked up the jawbone of a mule. Well, anybody knows an old
bleached-out jawbone of a mule... And them Philistines helmets was better than
a inch thick with brass, and the vesture of what they call "mail," which
was a lapped-over metal, down like that, and with spears, and great shields, a
thousand of them. But the Spirit of the Lord come on that little shrimp. He
reached back there and felt them seven locks. He knowed
he was still a Nazarite. Hallelujah. He took what was
in his hand, and he beat them skulls right in with that old jawbone. Anybody
knows you hit one of them skulls with that old jawbone, it'd fly in a million
pieces. But God was there to hold it together. And he beat down and killed a
thousand Philistines. He was persistent. Why? He wasn't afraid. He could feel
that Nazarite vow with him. Hallelujah. A man or a
woman can feel the Presence of Jesus Christ, and know that you're borned again of the Holy Ghost, let nothing stand in your
way. Persistent, when God speaks down and says, "It's you. I give you
faith tonight. Your healing is sure. It's My Word," then you can be
persistent. Sure.
IS YOUR LIFE WORTHY
63-0630E 090
Now, I want to close in a minute by saying this: The people of this days
are a bunch of neurotics. The people of this day are a bunch of neurotics. They
are afraid to take the promises of God. Churchmen, church organizations, church
organizations are afraid to take the challenge of God's Scripture for the--this
day. They realize--they realize that their modern conditions and their social
gospel that they preach will not meet the challenge of this hour, no more than
Samson could meet it in his condition. It took God, and here's the program that
promised it. (I'll get to that just in a minute. I want to hold that Word a
minute.) Though they call themselves Christians, they adopt creeds, manmade
creeds, to take the place of God's Word. So they can take the creed, because
the man made it, but they're afraid to lay their faith out there in the God
that they claim that they love. That's right. And then you say that life's
worthy of the Gospel? Can't be.
WHY CRY SPEAK 63-0714M 102 He
speaks--He spoke and the blind saw; the lame walked; the deaf heard; devils
screamed and come out; the dead was raised up; everything. Why? He didn't pray
through; He was anointed the Messiah. He was that Messiah. He knew He was. He
knew His position; He knowed what He was sent to do.
He knowed that the Father had identified Him to be
the Messiah to the believer; and when he met that believer with faith, He just
spoke the Word. Devils scattered. Yes, sir. Speak; don't cry, speak. Amen. And
He knew His God-given rights, but we don't. He knew what He was; we don't.
Moses had forgot. Samson understood. Others understood. Joshua understood.
Moses forgot. God had to call his attention to it. He said, "Why are you
crying to Me? I sent you to do the job; speak, and go on to your objective. I
told you you'd come to this mountain; take them children and lead them on. Just
speak; I don't care what's in your way; move it out of the way. I give you
authority to do it. I spoke; you spoke flies and fleas, and creation and things
like that. Now, what are you hollering to Me about? Why are you coming to Me,
hollering these things? Just speak and watch it move; that's all." Oh, my.
Oh, how I love it.
WHY CRY SPEAK
63-0714M 103
Here Jesus, everything that He said, He just spoke the Word, and it was
so. God properly had a-vindicated Him to be His Son. "This is My beloved
Son, in whom I'm well pleased. Hear ye Him." Watch Him. (I like this) How
bravely, how majestically He stood before His critics. He said, "Destroy
this temple, and I'll pray to the Father, and see what He does about it."
" Destroy this temple, and I'll raise it up again." Not: "I hope
to; I'm going to try to--I will do it." Why? The Scripture said so. The
same Scripture that said He'd raise up His body, give us the authority, the
power. Amen. "In My Name they shall cast out devils; they'll speak with
new tongues; if they take up serpents or drink deadly things; it won't harm
them. If they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover." "Why
cry unto Me? Speak and go forward." Oh, bravely, "I... Destroy this
temple, I'll raise it up again."
PERSEVERANCE 63-1116E 050 David had it wrapped in--in his fingers, and
he had five stones in his hand. What is that? F-a-i-t-h
in J-e-s-u-s. And here he comes, and he brought back the sheep. Now, that's the
way we're doing tonight, having faith in Jesus, and persistently we're going to
stand on His untouched Word. And we believe that God will keep His Word. If He
doesn't, then we're all lost. Every Word of God is punctuated with an
"amen," to the believer. That's right. Yes, he was persistent. 051 And also Samson, when he met those
Philistines, did you ever think of that? Why, Samson, they've got him pictured
as a man having shoulders like barn doors. Well, it wouldn't be no--no secret
to find a man like that, could pick up a lion and tear him in two. But Samson
was a... Forgive me for this expression. I'll just make it like; he was a
little curly-headed shrimp, just a little mama's boy, seven little sissy-like
curls hanging down. See? What, and you remember, he was a weakling until the
Spirit of the Lord came upon him, then he took the lion and tore him to pieces.
That's right. First, the Spirit of the Lord upon him, then he knew where he was
standing.
052 And if the
church can only get anointed, anointed with real faith... When that lion
roared, I guess Samson shook. But the Spirit of the Lord come upon him. He was
persistent, said, "I'm ready to meet you," grabbed that lion, pulled
him apart and throwed him over to one side, and
walked on. They fenced him in one night. And he picked up the gates of Gaza,
put them upon his shoulders, and walked up to the top of the hill with them.
My, oh, my, what a man, a little shrimp like that. But the thing of it was, the
Spirit of the Lord was upon him. He was. That's what made the difference. 053
Then one day, he was surrounded by a thousand Philistines. And there he
was; there wasn't nothing he had, so he picked up the jawbone of a mule,
probably been dead for forty years or more; it was a real old dry bone. And
those Philistines had on helmets, and coats of what they call mail, which is
great big laps of steel or brass, and a helmet about an inch thick. And he
picked up that jawbone of that mule and killed a thousand Philistines. Did you
ever think? Take that old dry jawbone off the desert there, and strike one of
those helmets, why, that jawbone would go into a thousand pieces. But he stood
there, and through them steel helmets, them with spears, just beat them right
and left, till he beat down a thousand. The rest of them run up in the rocks.
What was it? As long as he could reach back there and feel them seven locks,
that was God's covenant. There wasn't nothing going to bother him as long as he
had that covenant promise. 054 And nothing can bother the Church of the
living God as long as we can feel that Holy Ghost, the Covenant of God's Word
in our hearts, the Pentecostal blessing. "For the works that I do, shall
you do also. The Life that's in Me, will be in you. As the Father hath sent Me,
so send I you." The Father that sent Him, come in Him. The Jesus that
sends the man, goes in the man. It isn't the man; it's Jesus. It wasn't Jesus;
it was God. "As the Father sent Me, so send I you. Lo, I am with you
always, even to the consummation. I'll be with you to the end of the world. And
the works that I do, shall you also. A little while and the world won't see Me
no more; yet ye shall see Me (the believer), for I'll be with you, even in you,
to the end of the world," Jesus Christ. As long as I can feel that Spirit
of God around, something's going to happen. I can see people that'll believe
It, that will reflect the praises and glory of God. 055
Every time you look at the moon, it isn't the moon shining; it's the sun
shining on the moon. If I could to say, "Moon, what makes you shine?"
he'd say, "It's not me shining. It's something shining on me. I'm supposed
to keep the light going in the absence of the sun." And the Church is a
type of the moon. We're supposed to reflect the Light while the absence of the
Son of God, 'cause we are sons and daughters of God, the lesser Light, and as
long as we can see that moon reflects the same kind of Light the sun does...
Oh, it isn't--it isn't the people, it's God in the people. 057 Samson
didn't fear. He was persistent. All he had was a--a jawbone of a mule, but
he was persistent because he knowed his locks still
hung there. The doctor might've told you there is not a chance for you to get
well. You're dying. You got cancer. But as long as you can sit here and feel
the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ, what difference does what the doctor
says now makes any difference? See, you be persistent. He'd appreciate you if
he's a good doctor, he'd tell you that he wants you to get well. That's
what--that's what he wants you to do. And you must do it; to have faith, you
must be persistent.
JUST ONCE MORE LORD 63-1201E 042 Samson
know one thing, and I wonder if the church realizes today. He knew that his
backslidden condition couldn't meet the challenge of the hour. And I know today
that the backslidden condition of the church can't meet the challenge of this
hour. And it's going to be worse. The Bible said, "As Jannes
and Jambres withstood Moses, so will they: men of
reprobate mind, concerning the faith." They can almost impersonate it
exactly. Moses went down with the--his command from God, with a stick in his
hand. And God said, "Do this sign before them. And if they won't listen to
that, then do this sign before them. And if they won't listen to that, then
I'll be with you; I'll take care of the rest of it." Well, Moses went down
with his first sign. And as soon as he performed his first sign, there's
impersonators everywhere, doing the same thing. But Moses never fussed about
it. He just stood still, for he knew that it was God that sent him. We're going
to have that repeat again in the last days, remember. See?
044 But now he
stands helpless, all stripped of power. It's the same thing now. The church
stands the same way. Where, once the church used to cast out devils... The
church used to raise up the dead. The church used to do the things that Jesus
did. Sin could not dwell among them, the Holy Spirit came in and condemned it.
If a man done something secretly, and belonged to this Christian group, as soon
as he come in, the Holy Spirit revealed his sin. He either repented or perished.
But, you see, we don't have it no more.
And they won't receive it no more. And when it does
come, they try to call it an evil spirit, that they might receive that much
more condemnation. Something has to condemn them. 045 Notice. Stripped of power, what must've went
through that man's mind? Once that kind of a warrior, and now a little boy has
to lead him around... Why? He's blind. He can't see. He has nothing to see
with. God, have mercy upon us. The church is so denominated and so far away,
till the Devil has poked out the eyesight, the spiritual sight that This is the
Word of God: not a creed; It's the Word. And God's duty bound to--to produce
everything that He promised in this Bible. They say, "We--we
believe..." You haven't got no belief coming, if it's contrary to This.
The mind of Christ in you, you believe the things that Christ wrote, 'cause
This is Christ, the Word. But look at the condition, look at the parallel, when
we see that. What must have went through his mind? Let's see what went through
his mind. Because he had failed God.
Samson standing there, no doubt... Let's--let's--let's search his mind for
about three or four minutes. He must have thought of all the victories he had.
There he stands, what he'd done, how the Lord had blessed him, and how that he
once was a great man as long as he was in the Kingdom of God, keeping the
promise of God. See, he'd failed, and got rid of the promise. That's the same
thing the church has done: got rid of the promises. "Oh, well, that's...
We'll write our own little catechism; this is..." See? This is It, the
Word 047 Now, notice. He'd thought of all of his
victories. And then this must've went through his mind, and how that he had
failed God's people. It ought to be a shame to a minister that'll set and read
this Bible then walk out before his people. The world is full of Lot's. The
Bible said that the sins of Sodom vexed his righteous soul, but he didn't have
the courage to stand up and rebuke that sin. And there's many men today... And
I say this with reverence, only with--with love, but just to say Truth. We may
never meet again. 048 There's a many
man that reads this same Bible that we read; sits in his office, preparing his
message, and run upon these Truths of God, and have to bypass them. He would be
afraid to preach against the women cutting their hair. His organization would
turn him out. About them wearing immoral clothes and committing spiritual
adultery; and about the men that--that takes a sociable drink on Christmas,
and--and gets out and has a little clean American fun, tells dirty jokes, and
still maintains the office as deacon. They know them things are wrong, but
they're as it was in the days of Lot. We're back to that sinful place again,
See? 049 Oh, how Samson must've been
reminded by the Holy Spirit, that how he'd failed God's people, and had failed
God himself. Now, he is a prisoner of the very thing that God raised him up and
give him power to destroy. 050 Now they
had him doing tricks to entertain them. And that's just about the way it's got,
instead of a Holy Spirit. That when someone raises up and gets arrogant, the
Holy Spirit is obligated to God to shut that thing up. I've seen them pack them
from the meeting, paralyzed, blinded, dumb, and even die right in the meetings
and drop dead while they're trying to rebuke It. God in heaven knows that's
right. Many of you here has been in other meetings and witnessed the same
thing. There ought to be a holy power surrounding, and in the church, that'll
make demons flee. Instead of that, it's become a laughingstock. What is it? The
mechanics instead of the dynamics. 051
Now, he's doing tricks. What caused it? What was the cause of Samson's
fall? He let a woman lure him away from the promise of God. That's exactly
what... We all know that. He had seven locks. And he was born; his birth path
was to be a Nazarite, a odd fellow to the Lord. But,
you see, he let this woman lure him until she shaved his oddness off.
DECEIVED CHURCH BY THE WORLD 59-0628M 050 But as Israel was bound by--by their kings,
that they could not follow the real King, and the real King, when He came, they
didn't recognize Him, so is it today, O Lord, the King of glory has appeared in
the form of the Holy Ghost, and, Lord, they don't know it. They don't recognize
it. They're so organized so tight, that they do not understand it, because it's
not in their organization. Lord, this is a work of the Devil that's done this
to the people. May the Samson of God, may the true in heart, those who are
longing and crying, and pleading and holding on, may they stay with it, Lord,
until this new crop grows out, until there comes forth again a joy in Zion, and
there comes forth a group that can recognize and understand, that can see the
Messiah and the hidden power that's hid from the world, that they will not
understand now. Grant, Lord, that they'll see this. For we ask it in Jesus'
Name. Amen.
FAITH COMETH BY HEARING 54-0320 060 For God looks down and sees that promise
applied by the Blood of Jesus Christ, something's going to happen. Samson was
down there grinding. He was blind, and he reached up. He couldn't feel
it yet. He said, "Someday it'll be there." Yes, sir. One day he
reached up, said, "There it is." Amen. "There it is. God will
see my seven locks again." Yes, sir. "When God sees my seven locks,
He will see His promise to me."
061 And when God sees you accept
His Word, unadulterated, and say, "It's Your Word, Lord." Then God
will see His promise. When He said, "Whatsoever things you desire, when
you pray, believe you receive it and you shall have it. It'll be granted to
you." Brother, God will keep His Word.
JUST.ONE.MORE.TIME.LORD63-0120E 015 They had him out there making sport out
of him, entertaining that drunken bunch. What a reproach that was. What a
disgrace that was. What an example that is. To... It's puts me in the mind of a
defeated nation that's morally decayed, as Samson stood by the side of this
column, making sport for the enemy. Humiliated and broken, what a condition he
was in: a very gracious symbol of a fallen nation, a morally corrupted nation,
a fallen church that's sold its birthrights, fallen into moral decay, and
surrendered itself to the enemy. A public example, though you was raised up to
serve God, but a fall away into moral decay gets you in that condition. What an
example that was.
When Samson become blind, he also became humiliated.
He was backslid from God. He lost His Sight. He had become blind and naked and
who did this to him? A Woman, that's right. And a Woman represents the church ,
always. Once blinded, he no longer could see the promises of God for his day.
He could only see in his memory what had already happened. He had to look back
to stand the test for today. The people looked back on the victories of
the past and knew they were over. Samson looked back , on what God was and
longed to walk again in those days.
JUST ONE MORE TIME LORD 63-0120E 026 Samson, while standing
there, the power of God come upon him, and the lion made a jump for him; he
just caught him by the mouth and ripped him open with his hand. And could that
man that would do a thing like that... Here stands the same man, defeated,
helpless, and blind. And I can almost point you to a church like that:
helpless, defeated, and blind, rejecting the promises, rejecting the Word, a
church that Christ promised that would have power over sickness. "In My
Name they shall cast out devils," taking up a devil and casting him away,
and the blessings that He promised His church. And because the church has
turned from prayer meetings, and from sincerity, and made the religion of
Christ a tradition, and has took all the strength out of it... Glamor come into our churches, and she stands just about
defeated. Oh, my. 027 There he
stood, all stripped of power by a woman, just because his eyes went wanting,
because some immoral Jezebel set up a system to conquer the servant of God.
ONCE MORE
63-0804A 037
Samson begin to think of his errors. Oh, and he begin to think of what
he was one time. Pentecost, think what you was nineteen hundred years ago.
Church, Catholic, Protestant, think what you were nineteen hundred years ago
and look what you are today. Study a little while. (Just got about eight more
minutes to keep my word.) Notice, but while he was standing there, he cried; he
begin to think of his errors. And when he begin to think of what had happened
to him... He was blind; therefore, he couldn't see no more. He--he has accepted
something else. For the love of this woman, that's what got him there, and then
she turned him down.
JUST ONCE MORE LORD
63-1201E 020 What did they see? A little boy leading a
blind man out to the middle of the floor in the celebration of the fish god
Dagon. The lad led this stumbling, blind bulk of flesh, blind, and to the post,
and stood him by the side of the post to make sport. So this is Samson, a man
that was a--an outstanding servant of God, now he stands there, humiliated,
blind, weakened, a disgrace. It's a picture of a--of a demoralized, sunken
generation. It's a picture of--of a--of a nation that it's lost its hold with
God. It's a picture of a church that's lost its hold on God's Word, 'cause
that's what Samson represented here. Humiliated, broken, he was in a terrible
condition as he set there, or stood there, rather. So could you imagine him
standing, this great man that, one time, what he could do; and here he is
standing here in that condition, humiliated, as I said, broken, a symbol that I
want to declare tonight. This symbol represents the very hour that we're now
living, the condition of the church now: broken, out of the Word of the Lord,
humiliated, out of its place. And the question is coming today, the
handwriting's on the wall and who can read it? They know nothing about it.
JUST ONCE MORE LORD
63-1201E 035 They stood and watched Jesus perform miracles,
and so forth, and declare Himself to be the Messiah, and they couldn't see it.
He said, "They got eyes, but they can't see." They were blind. And
Samson was blind. But here's what Samson recognized, that the church has never
come to yet; he knew there was a possibility of coming back again. If the
church could only know that, a possibility, but the people of today don't seem
to catch the vision yet. They don't seem to catch it, that there is a
possibility. It doesn't come through. You can shout a little more, pat your
hands a little more, or dance a little more, that isn't it. No. It's back to
the Word; there's a possibility of coming back and getting the Word on the
inside again.
JUST ONE MORE TIME LORD 63-0120E 023 But this is an example what happens when
God, His long-suffering finally wears out with you. Now, He's long suffering,
but remember, His patience has an end. Now, Samson was doing wrong the very
night they had him down there, but finally God got enough of it. He couldn't
correct him. My prayer is that, God, never let this Pentecostal church get to a
place to where God's patience is wore out with you. He'll send messengers, as
we've taught this week, rising up prophets down through the ages, foretelling
His Word and bringing His Word back, and then you continually walk away from
it. You'll find yourself blinded too, powerless, helpless, defeated, and I'm
afraid that's where we're getting to. See, Samson fell for glamor.
The very thing that the church today is falling for, glamor.
What a pity it is to see these things happening.
VOICE OF THE SIGN
64-0321E Grant, Lord, tonight once more, Lord...
As Samson cried, "Once more, Lord, once more," let it be known that
Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And identify Yourself in our midst, that they might see the sign. Maybe they
will believe the voice. In this I ask in Jesus Christ's Name. Amen.
JUST ONE MORE TIME LORD 63-0120E 033 Now, he
thought of his great days, when there was great days. The church tonight is
thinking back about fifteen years ago to a revival of Divine healing, of the
victories. Now, and he's also of God, and His people who had failed. That ought
to be serious enough, that Samson would stop and think that he had failed God.
He... It wasn't God's fault he was defeated; it was his own fault. And of--the
people, God's people, he was raised up to preach the Gospel to in his strength,
and by flirting with this flappered woman, immoral
woman, he had lost all the strength that God had give him. So has it been with
the church. God raised the church up to be a lighthouse to let out His powers,
to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out devils, live holy, preach the full
Gospel, manifest it, but we begin to creep in and let down the bars.
051 There's more
than a jawbone of a mule laying next to you tonight. That's right. Let's get up
and do something about it. Let's forsake these old cots, and stretchers, and
wheelchairs, and crutches, and say, "It belongs to the devil. I have no
more to do with it." That's right. I claim Jesus Christ's Word's
right. Live or die, I'm with it." That's right. Toe the line with Him.
Claim your God given privileges, and the devil hasn't got any privilege. He
hasn't got one legal power over any believer. He was stripped and robbed at