SIN HAS A FORMULA. It is DDNH – destructive, deceptive, narcotic and humiliating.
Pastor Clive Dottin made this part of his sermon last Friday night, as he addressed scores of people gathered under two huge tents to take part in the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s five-week crusade at Haynesville, St James.
The Trinidadian minister went on to deliver a message that though serious, at times evoked peals of laughter from his listeners.
Dottin spoke on the subject Cut My Hair But . . . as he detailed the rise and fall of Samson in the book of Judges.
He said Samson was to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines but he failed to stick with God’s plan for his life. Instead, he played into the hands of harlots, declaring his arrogance and independence from God.
Time ran out
“There is a way that seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death,” Dottin said, quoting from Proverbs 14:12.
The minister said Samson became a prostitution specialist and held the thought in his head that he could work out God’s plan through his own wisdom.
“He thought he had plenty of time, but his time ran out,” Dottin added as he chronicled Samson’s sins and his eventual death.
He added that Samson used God’s power to do the devil’s work and that the more he stood on the devil’s ground, the easier it was to fall into his hands.
“When he took Delilah, he never knew he was running out of time, but he had subconsciously made a decision to be conquered.”
The preacher spoke of how Delilah played with Samson’s weaknesses and how she pleaded with him to disclose to her where his strength came from. He reasoned that long before Samson went to Delilah’s home, the devil knew his strength.
Sin is blinding
Dottin told his listeners, however, that even if they were sinning, God still builds a hedge of protection around them.
He told believers not to play with sin and the devil as Samson did, but stand on the sure Word of God when temptation presented itself.
“Sin is blinding. It tortures you and depresses you. It is sin you have to get rid of. Don’t play with the devil. Get your Bible out and ask God to cover you under His blood when temptation comes.”
He said there were those who believed that after they have sinned, they could continue like before and Samson fell into this same trap.
Dottin added, however, that despite Samson’s sins, God never left him.
“God does not leave us. When we are at our worst, Jesus is at His best. Don’t engage in premature rejoicing. After Samson lost his eyes he called on the Lord. When you call on the Lord, He will answer. Samson prayed for God to have mercy on him and be avenged of the Philistine for his two eyes [which were plucked out].”
Of course the story ended with the death of the Philistines when God granted strength again to Samson who also died along with the Philistines.
Dottin had words of advice for the young people present. He pleaded with them not to sacrifice their virginity on the altar of a vampire. He said they should stay away from pornography, trust the Word of God, take a stand against social media, and not sacrifice long-term goals for short-term pleasures.
The five-week crusade is being held under the leadership of Pastor Dayle Haynes.
