The strongest man in the Bible had to learn the reality of his own weakness and the true source of strength.

Today we learn spiritual truths from the life of Samson.

Let's join Scott Pauli now as we journey through the Word of God.

A person can destroy their life in a moment of time, but usually there's a downward spiral that

leads to that moment. Before any sin becomes public, first there was some private failure.

We all know people whose lives seem to have just fallen apart in a day,

but that's just the evidence. That's the fruit long before somewhere there was a root.

Sin always starts small, like a seed, and then it grows. When it's allowed to fester and to grow,

eventually it brings forth much evil fruit.

No person in Scripture, I think, is more an illustration of this spiritual truth than the man we're studying at this time.

We're in the book of judges and we're studying the life of Samson.

Now, immediately, everybody wants to talk about Samson and Delilah.

But I want to talk to you today about the days before Delilah. You see, Delilah doesn't show up in the story of Samson until Judges Chapter 16.

She's near the end of the story. She's near the train wreck, if you will, but the track had been laid

long before in Samson's life. In the previous chapters in the book of judges, we find this downward

slide, this downward spiral leading to an awful moment. In Judges chapter 14, verse one, the Bible says

in Samson went down to Timnath and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines, and he came up and told his father and his mother and said, I've seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines, now therefore get her for me to wife. Then his father and his mother said unto him,

was 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.

Don't miss that statement. Now we know, of course the rest of judges chapter 14, Samson has designs against the Philistines and God turns it to good. Aren't you

glad for the mercy of God that rules the good and overrules the evil where sin abounds, grace does

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