Sermon #S024 - An
Inside Job - Part 1)
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Pastor Snell:  Today, we were
going to go ahead and just jump
into the word today.
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I'm going to invite you to stand
to your feet as we go to the
Book of Judges chapter 16.
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A very familiar text for our
consideration today, Judges
chapter 16. We're going to begin
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together at verse number 4,
Judges chapter 16 and we're
going to begin together at verse
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number 4. When you get there,
let me hear you say, "Pastor,
I'm there." Judges chapter 16
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and verse number 4. So today, we
are under some scheduling
constraints, and so today, just
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just pray for me. I want to talk
to you after about 30-ish. [
Congregation: Applauding] Now,
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that don't start till after my
scripture and prayer. Amen. [
Congregation: Laughing]
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Pastor Snell: Don't start the
clock now, but we want to make
sure that you can do all the
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things that are appointed for
you to do. Judges, 16 and verse
4, when you get there, let me
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hear you say,
"Amen." [ Congregation: Amen]
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Pastor Snell: Very familiar text
not just for our youth, but
really for anybody that needs to
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know Jesus. There's something
that God wants you to hear
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today. The Bible says,
"Afterward, it happened that he
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- talking about Samson - loved
the woman in the valley of Sorek
whose name was Delilah,
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and the lord of the Philistines
came up to her and said,
"Entice, him and find out where
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his great strength lies, and by
what means we may overpower him
that we may bind him to afflict
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him, and every one of us
will give you 1,100 pieces of
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silver." So Delilah said to
Samson, "Please tell me where
your great strength lies, and
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with what you may be bound to
afflict you?" Samson said unto
her, "If they bind me with seven
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fresh bowstrings, not yet dry,
then I shall become weak and be
like any other man. So, the lord
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of the Philistines brought up to
her seven fresh bowstrings, not
yet dry, and she bound him with
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them. Now, men were lying in
wait, staying with her in the
room, and she said unto him,
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"The Philistines are upon you,
Samson," but he broke the bow
strings as a strand of yarn
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breaks when it touches the
fire." So, the secret of his
strength was what? [
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Congregation: Not known] Not
known. Then Delilah said to
Samson, "Look, you have mocked
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me and told me lies. Now, please
tell me, what you may be bound
with?" So, he said to her, "If
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you bind me securely with new
ropes that have never been used,
then I shall become weak and be
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like any other man." Therefore,
Delilah took new ropes and bound
him with them and said to him,
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"The Philistines are upon you,
Samson, and the men were lying
in wait staying in the room,"
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but he broke them off his arms
like a thread." Can I just say
this? They're just certain
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things you can't joke about. He
says bow strings and they just
happened to show up. Ropes, and
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they just happen to appear like
the check engine light ought to
be going off in Samson's head
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right now. [ Congregation:
Applauding] Then the Bible says
in verse 13, "Delilah said to
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Samson, "Until now you've mocked
me and told me lies. Tell me,
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he-he-he.... [
Congregation: Laughing]
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. what you may be bound with? He
said unto her, now he's getting
closer. He doesn't give it all
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the way, but he's talking about
the hair now. If you weed how
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many locks? [
Congregation: Seven]
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Pastor Snell: Seven lots of my
hair into the web of the loom."
So she wove it tightly with the
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batten of the loom and she said
unto him, "The Philistines are
upon you, Samson," but he awoke
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from his sleep and pulled out
the batten, and the web from the
loom. Then she said unto him,
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"How can you say, 'I love you"
when your heart is not with me?
You have mocked me three times,
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boo, and have not told me where
your great strength lies." And
it came to pass when she
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pestered him daily with her
words impressed him so that his
soul was vexed to death, that he
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told her all his heart and said
to her, "No razor has ever come
upon my head, for I've been a
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Nazirite to God from my mother's
womb. If I am shaven, then my
strength will leave me, and I
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shall become weak and be like
any other man." When Delilah saw
that he had told her all his
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heart, she sent and called for
the lords of the Philistines,
say, "Come up, once more for he
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has told me all this heart." So,
the lords of the Philistines
came up to her and brought the
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money in their hand, then she
loathed him to sleep on her
knees and called for a man and
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had him shave off the seven
locks of his head, then she
began to torment him and his
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strength left him. And she said,
"The Philistines are upon you,
Samson." So, he awoke from his
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sleep and said, "I will go out
as before at other times and
shake myself free." But he did
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not know that the Lord had
departed from him. Then the
Philistines took him, put out
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his eyes and brought him to
Gaza. They bound him with bronze
fetters and he became a grinder
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in the prison. Today, saints, I
just want to talk to you from
literally a few moments under
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the subject, "An Inside Job". [
Congregation: Applauding] Pastor
Snell: An Inside Job. Let's
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pray. Father, in this little
while, would you please say
much? You made a promise and a
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Covenant that your word would
never return to evil, but it
will accomplish what you please
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and prosper in the thing that
you sent it to do. So father, I
pray that you would give me
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permission to join my human
weakness to your Divine
strength. Lord, will you issue a
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word of instruction? Lord, would
you present a word of warning?
Lord, would you just create a
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spiritual compass for your young
people to be able to follow? So
Lord, would you hide me in the
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shadows of the cross that Jesus
alone might be seen, that Christ
alone would be heard, and in the
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end of our time together made
Jesus alone be praised? We ask
this in the name of Him who is
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altogether lovely. It is in the
name of Jesus that we pray. Let
God's people say together, amen,
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[ Congregation: Amen] Pastor
Snell: You may be seated. Again,
we're talking today under the
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subject, 'An Inside Job'.
Friends, in the literary series
entitled, The Odyssey, the story
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is told of the Trojan War. For
10 years, the Greeks sought to
take down the city of Troy to no
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avail. You see, the city was so
well-protected and fortified
that the Greeks were not able to
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advance their cause forward.
Finding their efforts futile,
they shifted their focus from
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penetration to infiltration.
They could never take the city
from the outside. They had to
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figure out a way to get their
forces on the inside. The legend
has it that they constructed a
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wooden horse and they placed
their soldiers on the inside.
They presented the wooden horse
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as a truce offering to those in
Troy in honor of the goddess of
Athena. Sensing no threat, they
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receive the Trojan monument, not
realizing that the enemy was on
the inside. The Greek soldiers
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that night, once nightfall, came
they exited the horse, opening
up the city gates, and allowing
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their enemies to come on the
inside, and the city of Troy was
ultimately destroyed because it
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was an inside job. Understand
that the story of the Trojan
horse has great spiritual
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implications because understand
that as a child of God, you're
like the city of Troy. You are
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fortified by an impenetrable
wall of grace that keeps you and
your mistakes, and God even
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keeps you in your misdeeds. The
only way the enemy knows he can
get at you is not by overtaking
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your wall. He's got to get on
the inside and disarm your
defense system. Understand that
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what the enemy does is he sends
some Trojan horses in your
direction. You see, a trojan
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horse is anything that poses as
a gift, but it gives the enemy
access to your soul. So,
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sometimes we download some
Trojan horses from iTunes. There
are times where we'd befriend
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some Trojan horses. Sometimes,
in the fall, we start cuffing
with some Trojan horses.
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Sometimes we begin to play ball
with some Trojan horses, and
sometimes we give the enemy the
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combination because God cannot
be hacked. The only way he can
get you is if you give Him
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access to your soul. See, the
word to somebody today is you've
got to limit the enemy's access
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to your inner man or your inner
woman, and see the same saying
for the church today, is that
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some of us have our phones
better protected than our
spirits and our souls. [
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Congregation: Applauding] In
other words, we keep our phones
always covered. We make sure our
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devices are password protected.
In other words, we always have a
cover on the phone to protect it
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from water intrusion, drops or
spills, but we allow our souls
to walk around naked, and we
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allow anything to have access to
it. It's crazy because we have a
password on our devices to make
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sure it can never be hacked, but
we've allowed everybody to have
access to our soul and our
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spirit. The reason friends, we
protect our phones is by nature,
we protect what we value. You
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all are not hearing this today.
Is there anybody that knows
there ought to be a covering
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over your soul? There ought to
be a password over your spirit
because you've got value in
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Jesus Christ. Is there any young
person that knows that you've
been created in the image of
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God? Is there anybody that knows
you've been carefully, and
wonderfully made? If you know
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you've got value, there ought to
be a covering from those that
have access. In other words,
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sister, when you know you've got
value, what happened is, you
don't have a password over your
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phone. You have a password over
your spirit. Are you all hearing
me today? In other words, you
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don't just give a stranger the
password to your phone, but you
let a stranger have access under
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your blouse. Are you all hearing
what I'm saying today? [
Congregation: Applauding] Pastor
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Snell: In other words, you have
your phone coverage so that if
somebody's drinking, it can't
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get poured on your phone, but
you let folk poor Hennessy all
inside of the Temple of the Holy
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Ghost. What I'm saying to
somebody today is you've got to
get a covering over your spirit.
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You've got to have a password to
your soul. All right, let me say
it, this way anybody ever sees
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it when you get ready to log in,
or create a bank account or a
flight account, what they will
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do if your password is too weak?
[ Congregation: Applauding]
Pastor Snell: They would give a
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suggested password because
they're saying your stuff can be
easily hacked. They want you to
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add more characters, and add
more in the numbers to make sure
you can't be easily passed,
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penetrated. I guess what I'm
saying to somebody today is I
want to suggest you get a
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stronger password. You need to
add some characters. Somebody
needs to have a six-letter
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password, that will be J-E-S-U-S
plus sign. Are you all hearing
the world today? [ Congregation:
00:14:06.44\00:14:12.41
Applauding] Pastor Snell: When
you got Jesus as your password,
then you can't be easily hacked.
00:14:12.45\00:14:21.02
Are you all hearing the word
today? So, go with me if you
don't mind, back to Judges
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chapter 14 and verse number one.
We won't take long today. Judges
14 and verse number 1, the Bible
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says, "Now, Samson went down to
Timnath, and he saw a woman in
Timnath of the daughters of the,
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what? Philistines. So, they went
up and told his father and
mother saying, "I have seen a
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woman in Timnath of the
daughters of the Philistines.
Now, therefore, get her for me
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as a wife." Then his father and
mother said to him, "Is there no
woman amongst the daughters of
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your brethren or amongst all my
people that you must get a wife
from the uncircumcised
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Philistines?" Samson said to his
father, "Get her for me for she
pleases me well." Now friends as
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we look briefly at the story of
Samson, there are just three
brief principles that I want to
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espouse. You see, the first
thing the story of Samson
teaches us is that, different
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doesn't mean better. [
Congregation: Applauding] Pastor
Snell: In other words friends,
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sometimes when we look at the
story of Samson, we tend to
focus a lot on that final
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decision, but the truth is that
Sampson has developed some
patterns that make this final
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decision inevitable. Are you
with me today? In other words, I
need you to get that Samson is
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just like any church kid who
operates under the assumption
that different is automatically
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better. In other words, there is
a contempt that we developed for
surroundings that are familiar,
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for customs that are familiar,
and people that are familiar.
Whenever we are exposed to
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something different, there is a
novelty and a freshness that
creates a temptation and a pull
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in that direction. Like some of
you, Samson is grown up in a
home where his parents made a
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covenant to raise him where
there is no unclean food, to
raise him in a culture where
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there was no alcohol. They
raised Sampson in the sacred
space of Jehovah, and perhaps
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Samson is that kid that has
grown up around the same group
of friends. He's grown up around
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the same group of girls, and
they are not bad girls, but they
are just so familiar that they
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are more like sisters. They
don't see them as potential
mates, and see, Sampson is at
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this place that because he has
been sheltered and preserved by
his parents, he feels like there
00:17:11.69\00:17:20.37
is a part of life that he is
missing out on. There is a sense
that something has been
00:17:20.40\00:17:31.51
deprived. He feels as if his
parents have been keeping
something from him. But the
00:17:31.55\00:17:35.15
problem with Samson is that it
is not until he almost loses his
life that he realizes that he's
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not been kept from pleasure. The
only thing they've kept him from
his pain. [ Congregation:
00:17:36.58\00:17:39.32
Applauding] Pastor Snell: So,
let me just pause to say to our
young folks today, that there
00:17:39.35\00:17:44.49
are some of us that have grown
up in a Christian or Adventist
subculture. For some of us, at
00:17:44.53\00:17:49.90
home was Christ. When you went
to church, it was Christ. When
you went to school, it was
00:17:49.93\00:17:56.91
Christ. There is this feeling
that somehow you've missed out
on something, that something has
00:17:56.94\00:18:04.98
been deprived from you. There
are some that have developed
this contempt for spiritual
00:18:05.01\00:18:10.09
things, and you can't wait to
get out from underneath parental
covering. You kind of made it up
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in your mind that you can't wait
to get out and turn up because
you feel like you have been
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missing out on something. I need
somebody to know today that like
Samson, the only thing you've
00:18:19.73\00:18:27.97
missed is the hells and the
messiness and the sorrows of
this life. Are you are hearing
00:18:28.00\00:18:31.94
me today? [
Congregation: Applauding]
00:18:31.97\00:18:33.71
I need you to hear me because
you won't say, amen, on this
until about 20 years from now.
00:18:33.74\00:18:38.48
I need you to know that you will
never be more free than you are
00:18:38.51\00:18:45.55
right now. [
Congregation: Applauding]
00:18:45.59\00:18:47.42
See, I need you to know that if
you embrace Samson's fascination
with the other side,
00:18:47.46\00:18:53.93
what looks like freedom today is
going to be bondage 10 years
from now. But again,
00:18:53.96\00:19:02.57
Samson's issue is that he is
just fascinated by life outside
of religious culture.
00:19:02.60\00:19:11.18
Understand, that at this point,
the Philistines are a fully
developed and grown nation with
00:19:11.21\00:19:17.65
a king. Whereas the Israelites,
they are somewhat in the
minority as they have come
00:19:17.69\00:19:23.79
through their wilderness
sojourn, and they are trying to
get settled in the land of
00:19:23.83\00:19:27.13
promise. See, there's something
about Samson that has grown up
in this little rural isolated
00:19:27.20\00:19:35.40
setting that just kind of feels
like life is always better on
00:19:35.44\00:19:41.31
the other campus. [
Congregation: Applauding]
00:19:41.34\00:19:43.14
So that, when he goes to the
Philistine campus, it just seems
like when they step,
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they're a little bit more
together than the way they step
at Oakwood, I mean in Israel.
00:19:49.18\00:19:54.69
[ Congregation: Applauding]
00:19:54.72\00:19:57.19
When he goes to the Philistine
campus, it seems like their
registration process is smoother
00:19:57.23\00:20:07.57
than the registration process in
Israel. When they go to the
Philistine camp, it seems that
00:20:07.60\00:20:15.01
the food is better in their cafe
than it is our cafe. When they
go to the Philistine campus it
00:20:15.04\00:20:21.68
seems like the girls have a
different wiggle and drop in
their hips than the girls' back
00:20:21.72\00:20:25.59
in his campus. So, it just feels
like the Philistines have more
coming to our games than we have
00:20:25.62\00:20:33.70
coming to our games. Though
Samson is a champion, and the
steward of his own gift, there
00:20:33.73\00:20:42.50
was a problem with Samson
because he feels that his works
have to be validated by an
00:20:42.54\00:20:48.91
outside entity. He feels like
he's got to get approval from
those that are not like him.
00:20:48.94\00:20:53.78
He feels like it's not legit
unless it's blessed from
somebody on the outside.
00:20:53.82\00:20:59.52
In other words, Samson is so
dumb that he would rather be
accepted by the Kappas
00:20:59.55\00:21:05.06
and the Lambdas than to be loved
by the Alpha and the Omega.
00:21:05.09\00:21:09.90
[ Congregation: Applauding]
00:21:09.93\00:21:12.83
Are you all hearing your boy,
today? Friends of mine, did you
notice the strange irony in the
00:21:12.87\00:21:26.45
story today, that your boy,
Sampson, is completely enamored
with trying to imitate
00:21:26.48\00:21:33.32
and assimilate into Philistine
life while the Philistines have
spent his whole life trying to
00:21:33.36\00:21:45.50
figure out the secret of his
strength. He's so busy trying to
be like them, but they have made
00:21:45.53\00:21:56.78
him the case study because they
want to find out what produced
him. What made him so special?
00:21:56.81\00:22:06.55
How do we get what he has?
They're so busy trying to figure
him out, but he spent his whole
00:22:06.59\00:22:13.53
young life trying to be like
everybody else. It's crazy
because they have literally
00:22:13.56\00:22:22.44
dissected him seven different
ways from Sunday to try to
figure out who and what it is
00:22:22.47\00:22:27.84
that gave him his strength. Are
you all hearing what I'm saying
today, friends? See, the reason
00:22:27.88\00:22:33.38
this is important is because
there are times friends of mind,
where we are so busy trying to
00:22:33.42\00:22:36.15
get validation from the outside.
There are times where we feel
like it's not legit until
00:22:36.18\00:22:43.36
somebody blesses it from A&M or
UAH, or the Ivy League. We feel
like it's not legit until
00:22:43.39\00:22:49.13
somebody from outside the
culture says that we are okay.
We spend our whole lives looking
00:22:49.16\00:22:54.77
at their model and trying to
imitate their rubric. Ain't that
crazy that we spend more time
00:22:54.80\00:23:04.51
admiring what the devil has done
for them than praising God for
what He has done for us? [
00:23:04.55\00:23:06.58
Congregation: Applauding] Are
you hearing what I'm saying?
See, friends of mine,
00:23:06.61\00:23:09.25
I need you to know that there
are times where people are
looking at this little
00:23:09.28\00:23:14.56
historically, black college.
This little Christian
institution, and they're still
00:23:14.59\00:23:23.03
trying to figure out, how can we
find out the secret of Oakwood
strength?. Are you all hearing
00:23:23.06\00:23:25.97
me today? All right, so, you all
are acting brand-new. Do you
realize that there are folk that
00:23:26.00\00:23:30.14
right now are in music
departments, trying to figure
out the secret of the aeolian
00:23:30.17\00:23:34.34
strength. [
Congregation: Applauding]
00:23:34.38\00:23:35.98
Oh God, we're all that? In other
words, they're trying to figure
00:23:36.01\00:23:40.15
out in Ivy League, and state
schools how this little black
school with about 1,500 folks
00:23:40.18\00:23:49.29
can produce the best choir not
just in Alabama, not just in
North America, but how do we
00:23:49.32\00:23:56.97
produce the best choir in the
whole wide world? Are you all
hearing me today? [
00:23:57.00\00:23:59.17
Congregation: Applauding] Pastor
Snell: In other words, you
realize that HBCUs are looking
00:23:59.20\00:24:06.54
at us because there are 107
HBCUs in the nation, but we are
in the top 10 in graduation rate
00:24:06.57\00:24:13.31
and retention. Are you all
hearing the word today? That,
there are 61 universities in
00:24:13.35\00:24:17.55
Alabama, but we have a top 15
medical program that we produces
00:24:17.59\00:24:22.62
doctors and surgeons at a rate
that eclipses those that have
three times our enrollment.
00:24:22.66\00:24:28.16
That our young brothers that
don't play ball on the Sabbath
were able to win the national
00:24:28.20\00:24:35.17
championship, and
bring the trophy back home.
00:24:35.20\00:24:37.67
[ Congregation: Applauding]
00:24:37.71\00:24:39.97
Pastor Snell: In fact, Joey, I
was at a concert with Donnie
McClurkin 2 weeks, about a month
00:24:40.01\00:24:45.05
ago and in the background, he
literally said to me, Roman , he
said, "I don't know why you all
00:24:45.08\00:24:50.59
keep inviting me?" He says, "The
best musicians and songwriters
come right out of the
00:24:50.62\00:24:58.23
Seventh-day Adventist Church."
In other words, he says, "When
are you all going to come out of
00:24:58.26\00:25:07.04
the background, and when are you
all going to go on the front
stage?" [ Congregation:
00:25:07.07\00:25:09.70
Applauding] See, I just want to
give a quick plug to the whole
HBCU culture. I want to say to
00:25:09.74\00:25:15.21
our young people, if you decide
to go to a PWI or a
Predominantly White school,
00:25:15.24\00:25:22.58
there is no shade, no harm
intended, but because God sends
us other places, but if you
00:25:22.62\00:25:31.79
decide to go, I don't want you
to go because of the narrative
that white automatically means
00:25:31.83\00:25:39.93
better. That white automatically
means smarter, more
intellectual, more challenging,
00:25:39.97\00:25:49.51
more rigorous, that somehow it
can draw out of you what we
cannot draw out of you here. If
00:25:49.54\00:25:55.22
God sends you there, that's
fine, but how many of us know
the white man's ice ain't
00:25:55.25\00:25:57.39
colder? [ Congregation:
Applauding] Pastor Snell: We're
all that, today? In other words,
00:25:57.42\00:26:03.96
if you go, that's fine. God
needs His children everywhere.
There is no shame, but I want
00:26:03.99\00:26:11.40
you to get away from this
self-loathing idea that says,
"If we produced, that is wrong,
00:26:11.43\00:26:21.48
inferior, and lacking, it's
because we got to know, somebody
that knows somebody. That devil
00:26:21.51\00:26:27.95
is a lie. Go to a state school.
Go to an Ivy League school, and
there's just as much favoritism
00:26:27.98\00:26:31.95
and nepotism, and it folk that
get degrees because of who they
parents are, The only ones that
00:26:31.99\00:26:37.33
give held to the high standard
of the poor white kids or the
minorities that they didn't want
00:26:37.36\00:26:41.50
them to be there in the first
place, they had to let you in to
feel a quota of diversity that
00:26:41.53\00:26:48.47
says, "If you don't keep getting
money, you've got to get a
little certain amount of them,
00:26:48.50\00:26:51.97
get inside the school. But I'm
just at a place where I don't go
where I'm tolerated. I go, where
00:26:52.01\00:26:58.41
I'm celebrated. [
Congregation: Applauding]
00:26:58.45\00:27:00.48
Pastor Snell: Oh God. No, no,
no. If you go get 10,000 a month
dollars, you ain't going to
00:27:00.52\00:27:07.89
tolerate it. You're going to
celebrate what made me? You
going to celebrate where I came
00:27:07.92\00:27:14.96
from. You got to celebrate my
heritage, and you've got to
celebrate my dignity. Don't go
00:27:15.00\00:27:24.34
where you're tolerated. You got
to go where you can be
celebrated. Are you all hearing
00:27:24.37\00:27:27.08
me today? Thank you so much for
joining us for the Breath of
Life Television Ministry
00:27:27.11\00:27:32.31
Broadcast. We hope and pray
that you've been blessed through
00:27:32.35\00:27:35.92
today's message. Join us next
week for part two of "An Inside
Job." You don't want to miss it.
00:27:35.95\00:28:14.26
(Breath of Life Theme Music)
00:28:14.29\00:28:38.38
[END]
00:28:38.41\00:28:53.43