How To Deal With Delilahs Today. The story of Samson and Delilah will never cease to amaze me. Samson was called by God, anointed, and appointed. He was one of the privileged few whose birth was announced by an angel! His birth and assignment were that significant.
However, he had a terrible weakness, and that is women! Samson was a womanizer. He would see a woman and completely lose his bearing. His erection would become his direction.
Jdg 16:1 KJV Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.
He was uncontrollable when it came to girls! Despite that he was anointed and appointed, he eventually became a disappointment because he would not deal with his weakness.
He was so undisciplined that all he needed to lose his bearing was just to ‘see’ a woman. At one time, he saw a lady and he could not speak his language correctly! He said, “…get her for me to wife!”
Jdg 14:2 KJV 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.
This is the kind of person Samson was. The result? His eyes were gouged out and he was caught off in the midst of his days.
How To Deal With Delilahs Today. Delilah wanted to find out the secret of Samson’s power with the intent of killing him. Samson knew Delilah wanted to set him up and yet he refused to disconnect from her. Three times, Samson deceived Delilah about the secret of his power, and those three times, the Philistines came upon him to kill him, so Samson knew really well what was Delilah’s intention. Yet he clung to Delilah and would not let go.
How many of us are in this kind of scenario today? We find ourselves in an ungodly relationship, that we know is heavily compromised and yet we would not let go! You find yourself to be in love with a person that constantly abuses you and yet you did not run for your life. You find yourself in love with the one that is not in love with you. You find yourself to be in love with a person that does not value you. You find yourself in love with a person that beats you up at any little provocation and yet you cling to that relationship.
You can see that the person you are amorously in love with is leading you straight to hell, yet you cling to the person. You can see that the person you love is about to introduce you into the world of illicit drug use, and yet you stay there professing your love! You can see that the person you met in the church is not really a child of God by virtue of what he or she has done to you and with you and yet you refuse to heed warnings.
My advice to you this morning is simple. Don’t become another Samson. You are gifted, don’t let it end with asking God to let you die! Don’t let it culminate in you being delivered right into your enemies’ hands. Don’t let it get to the point where your spiritual eyes are dismembered, and you can longer behold the perfect law of liberty! Don’t let it be that the brother or sister that has been greatly used by God is now a pitiable sight to behold.
Run for your life! If Samson had run, maybe he would have been saved. But his undisciplined life led him to his death. Flee! That is what the scripture says. When the scripture says run, do not say ‘let’s reason together!’ This is How To Deal With Delilahs Today
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am kept by God’s power
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, protect me from evil
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Psa 119:22 (KJV) Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.
Identifying The Wrong Voices In Marriage. God is a good God. God speaks to us. The devil is a bad devil. He also attempts to speak to us. That is why the scripture declares:
Joh 10:4-5 (MKJV) And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him. For they know his voice. [5] And they will not follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.
As children of God, God speaks to us as a father will speak to his children. When we listen to His voice, we will not get into problems. When we disregard His voice, we start listening to another voice. The moment we don’t flee or run away from that voice, we get into a serious mess.
When we make up our minds to listen to God and fill our hearts with His word daily and consistently, we will not listen or take heed to the voice of the evil one. That is why the way Jesus refuted and refused to listen to the voice of the devil during the temptation was to speak out God’s word. Three times he was tempted, three times he said, ‘It is written…’ What if he doesn’t know what is written?
This morning, by the Spirit of God, I want to identify ten areas where we might have been listening to the wrong voice. It comes in subtle ways mostly.
The devil often uses people and situations to speak to us. We must be careful. Here are the people and voices the devil often uses.
Identifying The Wrong Voices In marriage.
1. The user’s voice I can marry her, but I don’t have to be committed to her
2. The deceiver’s voice I don’t have to let my spouse know everything, or else the marriage can be jeopardized.
3. The religious voice Everybody has a lover somewhere, God must accommodate that or we will all go to hell.
4. The foolish voice As long as I have a prophet somewhere that I consult and prays for me, I can continue with my lifestyle.
5. The sensual voice I am not sure of my spouse’s commitment. I can as well explore and also live my life.
6. The greedy voice I can collect money from him to help my spouse. After all, it’s for the family. It’s for us and that can be a secret. If I don’t do it, we will be hungry.
7. The unbeliever’s voice My family does not need Jesus. I have enough money. It is poor and hungry people that go around praying. Are you Identifying The Wrong Voices In Marriage already?
8. The self-righteous voice I don’t want my family to be fanatical. We don’t have to go to church. The church is full of hypocrites.
9. The carnal voice I serve God passionately and I give. But God knows that addictions cannot really go like that. I will keep on working on it and one day God might even give me a sign to stop.
10. The confused voice The only way to keep this man married to me is to allow him have his way with other ladies out there. As long as he doesn’t bring them home, he can do whatever he wants. Life is give and take, I can’t be policing him around, since he doesn’t disturb me from doing what I am doing.
Well, all the above statements are defective These types of statements are defective statements indicative and symptomatic of deeper spiritual problems. They are belief systems that are sure to crack and leave you cracked. That will not be your portion in Jesus’ name.
If you are married, and one or more of the above seems to be the scenario, you will need to pray a lot for God’s help and intervention and then seek counseling as well.
In life, God has laid out His principles and when we deviate from them, things will not work out however we try because the scripture cannot be broken! In any way where you seem lacking, God will forgive, forget, redeem and restore as necessary when you genuinely repent.
Why not call upon Him this morning?
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will not be confused
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, give me a sensitive heart
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Eph 4:27 (KJV) Neither give place to the devil.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Refuse to listen to or entertain the wrong voice
Tender Loving Care For Married Couples. In the below verse, there are three instructions that I believe every married couple should take cognizance of.
Eph 4:32 (KJV) And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
1. Be kind to one another
2. Be tenderhearted.
3. Forgive one another
These three instructions will go a long way to help couples in relating with one another and also help in managing a lot of issues.
A kind husband living with a kind wife will minimize unnecessary quarrels. This is what Tender Loving Care For Married Couples is all about
Then it says to be tender-hearted.
That is, let your hearts be tender towards each other.
Do you know how a mother is tender towards a day-old baby?
How does she handle her, feed her, carry her and nurture her?
What if you are tender this way to your loved one?
You won’t shout at each other.
The husband will never lift his hands against his wife.
The wife will never use abusive words on her husband.
Then it talks about forgiving one another.
And this is powerful.
Don’t be bitter towards each other. Forgive easily and quickly.
Take a look at the Message translation:
Eph 4:32 (MSG) Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.
Be gentle.
Be sensitive.
Let forgiveness be quick and thorough.
Do not forgive halfway.
Finally, let’s take a look at the amplified Version:
Eph 4:32 (AMP) And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [ readily and freely ], as God in Christ forgave you.
Take a look at the words used.
Compassionate. Understanding. Loving.
This attitude will eliminate screaming at each other, shouting at each other, being at each other’s neck, being vindictive, being in strife, being violent at each other, and speaking wrong words at each other. This is Tender Loving Care For Married Couples
I pray that God will grant us more understanding.
I pray for your marriages, that God will abate every storm and crush every opposition in Jesus name!
The plans of the devil over your marriage are destroyed in Jesus’ name!
Be blessed!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will love my spouse with tender loving care
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, give us a tender heart
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Luke 1:78 (CEV) God’s love and kindness will shine upon us like the sun that rises in the sky.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Give your spouse some TLC!
A Conversation On Feelings, Sex, And Guilt. Buddy, with a lot in his mind, a lanky handsome guy of twenty-five years of age goes to his mentor’s office for some talk. George is about forty years old, a leader in the church, a man of one wife and no more, and a man who truly loves God.
Buddy: Good evening sir
George: Eh…Buddy, how are you doing? (Lowering his eyeglasses)
Buddy: I am cool
George: So, how has it been?
Buddy: I’ve got stuff on my mind and I need to see you, sir
George: Right, (Pushing his book away) I am all ears
Buddy: You know my fiancee?
George: Remi? How is she doing? Has she gotten a job?
Buddy: Yes, she is working in a Bank now
George: So, what is the problem?
Buddy: You know we compromised once?
George: Yes, I remember
Buddy: And you prayed for us and restored us and all that
George: Yes, and I am sure God forgave you
Buddy: But my problem is that anytime we are together, irrespective of what we are discussing, my body misbehaves. I feel like grabbing her, sincerely.
George: But did you grab her?
Buddy: No
George: So you are doing great
Buddy: But this feeling, I mean, my eyes are almost red all the time, not because I smoke cigars, but because my body is smoking. And she doesn’t seem to have an idea. Sometimes, she touches me, and then she looks at me intently, innocently though, but my God, you know she is beautiful!
George: Yeah, I understand.
Buddy: So these feelings, I really don’t want to mess up again. How can I eliminate the feelings? This thing of sin, I sometimes and ridiculously feel like cutting it off.
George: It is not a thing of sin. It is a gift of God.
Buddy: Waoh!
George: You see, that is not where the problem is. The problem is not your manhood. When it gets engorged with blood and changes in size when you see the one you love, it means you are perfectly normal. The problem is not down there; it’s up here. (touching his forehead)
Buddy: How do you mean?
George: The problem is with your mind.
Buddy: How do you mean?
George: If there is anything you feel like cutting off, it should be your mind.
Buddy: So how do I do that?
George: God never says you should cut off your mind. He says you should renew your mind. He tells you that you can have the mind of Christ.
Buddy: How do I do that?
George: The more of God’s word you listen to, the more your mind is renewed. The more your mind is renewed, the more you come to appreciate God’s word and the more you get revelation knowledge. The more revelation knowledge you get, the more you are strengthened in your inner man. The more might you have in your inner man, the more you are able to put your body under.
Buddy: Umnnnn
George: The feelings you have are okay. I have those feelings sometimes. I sometimes even have those feelings towards somebody I perceive as beautiful aside from my wife.
Buddy: Are you serious?
George: Yes, but after marriage, you are permitted only to admire, and not desire! So you don’t act out those feelings. Those feelings are brought about in my mind through my thoughts. So I consciously dispel those thoughts, casting down imaginations and every thought that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.
Buddy: How do you cast down those thoughts?
George: By thinking about what God says concerning that situation and saying them out. That is why it is good to read your Bible regularly. The point of being tempted is not when you start looking for your concordance.
Buddy: I see. Are you telling me even after marriage, I will still feel like going out with others apart from my wife?
George: The devil continues to tempt you, especially in the areas of your weaknesses, but when you resist him, he will leave you alone for a while. You resist him the same way Jesus resisted him…It is written.
Buddy: But Jesus was never tempted by women
George: Read your Bible very well. He was tempted at all points, so says the scripture.
Buddy: Ok, give me an example of where you think he must have been tempted by women.
George: Ok. I will do just that. Do you remember when the lady with the alabaster box began to pour oil on his feet and then began to rub his feet with her hair?
Buddy: Oh!
George: So you agree now, he was tempted at all points…but the scripture says the prince of this world hath nothing in him. He refused to fall into any traps.
Buddy: Lord, help me.
George: He has helped you already. He sent you a helper. So when you take advantage of that help, you will be kept safe.
Buddy: How?
George: Did you read in your scripture where it says, Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh? The Holy Spirit is your helper.
Buddy: Yes, I remember
George: That is it.
Buddy: One more thing. That time my fiancee and I compromised…it wasn’t her fault. It was mine. I was the one that put pressure on her
George: Why are you still talking about what God has forgotten?
Buddy: How can God forget? I understand the part about forgiving, but forgetting?
George: You see, He said your iniquities would I remember no more
Buddy: How is that possible?
George: It is made possible by the blood of Jesus.
Buddy: You mean he has completely forgotten about it
George: Yes, when you go back and ask for forgiveness the second time, He is wondering. It’s no longer in your records. But you complicate matters when you go back into that sin and it becomes habitual.
Buddy: So what about this guilt I still feel
George: That’s the devil, trying to make you feel worthless so that your prayers can be hindered.
Buddy: God help me
George: You know the Bible says “let us now come BOLDLY unto the throne of grace that we might obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need?”
Buddy: Yes
George: He tries to rob you of that boldness by reminding you of sins that God has forgotten and forgiven
Buddy: So how do I deal with that?
George: By quoting and meditating on what the scripture says.
Buddy: I hear!
George: You can wait and you can hold on.
Buddy: Yes I know, God help me.
George: Every time you compromise, you lose something. Something dies.
Buddy: I know
George: Sin is a destiny destroyer. But the power of sin is broken. What the devil is contending with is your glorious future. So you don’t mess up a permanent blessing with a temporary pleasure of a few minutes like Esau did.
Buddy: I will wait
George: Sin shall no longer have dominion, so says the scripture.
Buddy: One other thing…she sometimes wears provocative and tantalizing clothes…
George: Tell her, not accusingly, but let her know that she doesn’t have to show her cleavage or laps to you. She needs to know how she can help you.
Buddy: And you know she is light in complexion…
George: I know…but let her know that men are moved by sight…including you. Don’t suffer in silence or pretend or act spiritually when you are burning inside.
Buddy: I will tell her…she would just think I am a miserable sinner
George: No, she would respect you more…because she suddenly sees that you are willing to preserve virtue rather than fulfill the lust of the flesh. That would bring trust. It will cement your relationship more. Good things come to those who wait.
Buddy: Thank you, Uncle
George: You are welcome! We just had a Conversation On Feelings, Sex, And Guilt
Buddy: Thanks for your time. What about Auntie…
George: She is resting…we just came back from an outing, today is her birthday.
Buddy: Oh….kindly wish her Happy Birthday on my behalf…
George: Will do just that
Buddy: Ok then.
George: Yeah, see you later.
This is the end of A Conversation On Feelings, Sex, And Guilt
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will wait. I will not compromise
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Father, let your Holy Spirit be my helper indeed, that I may walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Make amends where necessary
Know These And Know Peace In Marriage. I want to talk about two crucial things in marriage. They are pivotal to a smooth relationship as couples. Let’s dive into it.
Know These And Know Peace In Marriage
1. Renewal and Recharge Junctions
In marriage, you must learn to take breaks from work and relax. You have to have time that you spend together as husband and wife.
You need to go back to what used to excite you before the wedding and do those things again and again.
Apart from reading your Bible and praying in the Holy Ghost which refreshes and recharges your spirit, you should also learn to be relaxed once in a while.
2. Mentoring
Every marriage must have a mentor to whom you defer and seek wisdom.
There is something that a couple that has been married for thirty years knows that a three-year-old couple is oblivious of.
It is plain wisdom to seek counsel.
Most issues that lead to serious strife and possible separation and divorce could easily have been resolved by seeking knowledge.
That is why I am a little scared of couples who talk to nobody! Something is not quite right with that. Part of having a marriage mentor is being humble.
3. Sincerity and Openness
Finally, this is so crucial to the survival of any marriage! Be open
Marriage is not a secret cult! Talk about everything and anything.
Hiding things and allowing your spouse to discover will only lead to mistrust and suspicion. The rule of the game is to talk about everything. That will go a long way to establishing trust. Know These And Know Peace In Marriage
If you keep talking exactly how it is, it would be difficult to go into adultery, because adultery is perpetuated in the platform of insincerity and deception. May God help us all.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I have God’s wisdom in my marriage
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, give us a humble heart
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Psa 51:10 (KJV) Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Discuss on mentorship and agree
