The enemy is not light but has the ability to transform, disguise, and masquerade into an angel of light. When we earnestly heed to living sober and walking vigilantly, we will begin to discern by the Spirit of GOD how he strategically operates to deceive people, overtake cities, and infiltrate territory both spiritually and physically, individually and collectively. How did Samson, a mighty man used by GOD, fall into a trap?
Learn and Discern:
1) The Gate of the Bait:
The enemy is going to set the bait according to the bite!
Do not love the world neither flirt with her. She will ensnare your soul and drive a dagger through your heart. You play with fire, you will get burn. Proverbs 6:27-28 - Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
2) The Gate of Deception:
Sin will make you comfortable enough to make you lay down like a dog and sleep. Judges 16:19 - She made him sleep on her knees. Sin will caress and massage you into a stupor! There is a way that seems right to a man but the end thereof is death (Proverbs 14:12).
3) The Gate of Compromise:
The sin of compromise will cut you, bleed you, blind you, drain you, and leave you weak. And she called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his hair. Then she began to afflict him, and his strength left him (Judges 16:19). Samson thought he could shake himself as before, but by now, he was weak as any other man and a prisoner in his enemies' hand.
4) The Gate of the Trap:
By the time you realize and can see straight, you have already been led through the chambers of three gates and about to enter the fourth. Now, you are about to lose your eyes, be bound in chains, become a slave in the prison of your new master's house, and be subjected to the mockery and harsh ridicule of the public arena. She said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And he awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him (Judges 16:20).
5) The Gate of the Consequence:
The sin of disobedience will leave you open, naked, and ashamed. Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison. 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 (Judges 16:21,25).
Life Application:
The LORD has given to us His Word that chronicles the vivid transparent events of the lives of our forefathers and the consequences suffered each time they refused to obey and walk in their own way. It shares both the successes and failures as a nation, a people, as families, and as individuals. It has been recorded to serve as a reminder of what happen to a people or a nation when they forget and reject GOD. 11Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. 13No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:11-13). Jesus is our way of escape! He is the Door!
1 Peter 5:8 admonishes us to walk circumspectly while maintaining our spiritual state of awareness in Christ Jesus, which is far more important to the saving of the soul. But this all begins with walking and spending time in the Word with GOD who would not have us to be ignorant concerning the devices, schemes, and plots the enemy. His desire is to keep His children ahead of the game at all times.
If we walk in the Spirit, we will be able to discern and avoid when a trap is laid out for us. GOD has given us a spiritual armor --> Jesus Himself! For it is through Christ Jesus that we are equipped and prepared to fight the good fight of faith in this life. Remember, no man is ever tricked, trapped, or tarnished unless he is first drawn away by the lust in his own heart and enticed. Put on Christ! ~2015 Narda Goodson, Daily Doses of Gospel PiLLs
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