A Lure Disguised As Love - Bro Samuel Howell 9-25-2026

How many is thankful for an opportunity to be in

the house of the Lord? I count it a joy

to be here and a privilege to be here. Many

preachers have said it, many people that came through here

have said it, that not everybody in the world gets

this opportunity and gets this chance. There are so many

countries that are at war and having church in hiding,

but thank God for America where we can do it

in public for now at least. Some more kind of

tickled to have our good friends here. Brother Phillip already

mentioned them, Brother McGill and Brother JR. It's good to

see them. As Phillip said, they are some hardworking men.

That's what the world needs. It's hard to find good

help nowadays. It's very hard to find it, but thank

God for some men that still has a work ethic.

You can be turning to the book of Genesis chapter 39.

Genesis 39 · chapter mention

I do want to say I'm thankful for this opportunity.

that our pastor and youth pastor has extended toward us.

We count it a privilege and an honor to be

here and to minister here in this pulpit. We don't

take it lightly. We ask for a prayer in church tonight.

I do have a burden here tonight that I want

to deliver with the help of the Lord. We'll be

able to get through it if our God is our helper,

and I believe he'll help. He's never let us down

to date, and I don't think he ever will. The

book of Genesis, chapter 39, verse 10 and 12. If

Genesis 39:10

you have it, say amen. And it came to pass

as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he

hearkened not unto her to lie by her or to

be with her. And it came to pass at this

time that Joseph went into the house to do his business.

And there were none of the men of the house

there within. And she called him by his garment, saying,

Lie with me. And he left his garment in her

hand and fled and got him out. Flipping over to

the book of Genesis, chapter number 16. Genesis, or not Genesis,

I'm sorry, Judges, the book of Judges, chapter 16, verse

Judges 16:4–6

4 through 6. And it came to pass afterwards that

he loved a woman in the valley whose name was Delilah.

And the Lord of the Philistines came unto her and

said unto her, Entice him, see wherein his great strength lieth,

that by what means we may prevail against him, that

we may bind him to afflict him. And we will

give thee every one eleven hundred pieces of silver. And

Delilah said unto Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein

thy great strength lieth. and wherewith thou mightest be bound

and afflicted. Now dropping down to verse number 15 through 16,

it says, And she said unto him, How can thou

say that I love thee with thine heart, when thine

heart is not with me? Thou hast mocked me these

three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great

strength lieth. And it came to pass when she pressed

him daily with her words and urged him so that

his soul was vexed unto death. Lift your hands and

ask the Lord to help us here tonight and ask

for a prayer in church. God, we ask you right

now in the name of the Father, the Son, and

the Holy Ghost, Lord, that you would help us, God,

to do your will, Lord, to perform the will of God. Lord,

that you would anoint us skillfully, Lord God. Amen. God,

to do your will, your perfect will, Lord, to say

only what you would have us to say. Lord, to

do what only you would have us to do. Lord,

and that a soul would be touched tonight, Lord, and

a life changed in a drastic measure. Lord, we'll be

sure to give you all the praise, the honor, and

the glory, Lord. Lord, and we love you, and we

praise your name. In Jesus' name we ask and we pray.

Amen and amen. Tonight, for a little while, I'd like

to preach on The lure disguised as love. The lure

disguised as love. Now, I want to give a quick

disclaimer here to any young folks here tonight that has

recently begun communicating and praying about seeing if it be

the Lord's will that you pursue a holy and pure relationship.

I don't feel that I'm preaching to you tonight, but

I don't want anybody after tonight's service to say, hey,

I feel led to To break it off. I don't

want this to be a discouragement to you. You keep

doing what you're supposed to be doing. You keep praying

and seeking the Lord. Here, I just wanted to offer

that real quick. But we know that Joseph was greatly

loved by his father Jacob. For Jacob gave him a

coat of many colors. And we know that our heavenly

father loves us, our children. John 3.16 states, For God

so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have

everlasting life. And Potiphar's wife here that was coming after

Joseph there in our first text that we read, she

can represent the world or the spirit of the world.

And the world tries to allure us through the lust

and the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye,

and the pride alive. And again, that world can represent

Pharaoh's wife here. And we know that she didn't truly

love Joseph. There was lust there in her heart that

was coming after him. It wasn't true love that she

wanted there. She was a lustful person. And we know

that the spirit of the world tries to allure us

through the lust of the flesh. By ads we see

on billboards, YouTube, and things of that nature. And they appear,

these companies that post these ads, they appear to love

their customers. They appear to love their clients. But it

is simply a design of love, fake love, that is

allured for you to love their items that they are

trying to promote and to present to the world. So

Jacob truly loved Joseph. And when he thought he had died,

you know, his brothers sold him into captivity. And they

didn't want anything to do with him. And he ended

up being a prisoner in Egypt. And when Jacob heard

that his son died, he mourned for years. So that

is true love. That is someone that loves their child.

That is someone that loves something. I just want to

tonight bear my burden and share it with you as

the Lord leads in this message tonight. And again, I'm

preaching tonight on a message the Lord gave me, a

lure disguised as love. A lure disguised as love. Now,

we just read this story, these two stories in the

Holy Book of the Bible, in Genesis and Judges. And

these two books of the Bible, they also, these two stories,

they are very similar in And being that they both

involved a couple. And secondly they involve pure motives. And

that is what we want to try to get to tonight.

And open your awareness to see the difference between true love.

And the difference between love disguised as a lure. Now

Joseph wasn't interested in Potiphar's wife. Joseph, that's not what

he had his mind on because whenever things started getting

out of hand, he ran. When things started going awry,

he said, I got to get out of this place.

This isn't a place for me. This isn't where I

should be. I'm uncomfortable in this situation. Now, on the

other hand, Samson was interested in Delilah. He went down

to the valley. And when things began to get strange,

he did nothing but stay. When things started looking wrong,

he did nothing but stay. And I want to preach

and warn somebody tonight about strange love. When things start

to turn strange, when things start to get uncomfortable, don't

be like Samson and stay in that same situation. Be

like Joseph and say, I've got to get thee out

while there's still time. You know, we got to run

while we can. We can't stay in the same situation

for time after time. And we know what end up

happening to Samson. He end up getting got. He end

up telling his heart. He end up giving more than

what he should have gave because he should have got

out while there was still time. Delilah's love was nothing

more of a design meant for his demise. She had

him right where she wanted him, but Potter's wife, she

couldn't get the man she wanted. He remained strong. Joseph

remained strong, and in both accounts we read tonight, it

said that they pressed them daily and day by day,

meaning every opportunity given was taken in order to work

on them and to wear on them. And young people,

every opportunity that the devil gets, he will wear on

you and he will work on you. And he will

disguise that, hey, I love you. I'm out for your

best interest. I have a good thing in mind for you.

But it's nothing more than a distraction and an allure

of the devil to take you right where he wants

you to be so he can put you right where

he wants you to be and he don't have to

worry about you anymore. Now let me throw this in

here really quick before someone gets all... So I try

to think I'm talking about relationships only. You can be

romantically in love with hunting. You can have a great

love for trucks. I love trucks, but it's a healthy love.

You can have a great love for money. I appreciate money,

but I don't love it. It's not where I put

my trust. And there's young people that get fascinated by

the fact of being a cowboy. They wake every day saying,

I want to be that cowboy. And those are lures

that the devil uses. And not only will the devil

use those lures, those simple things, without you realizing he

will use a father, a mother, a sister, a brother.

Don't be deceived by family. And I'm not knocking family

here tonight, but family too can be a lure. They

don't have your best interests in your mind at all

ways unless they have been praying for Specifically for you. Hallelujah.

We must see the trap that is set. You see,

when a man likes to, I know a lot of

us guys, we like to go fishing. That's what we do.

We know we always look for an opportunity. And the

thrill of the strike and the bite is what keeps

us going back. That is the same thing the devil

gets a thrill out of. He gets a thrill out

of the strike and the bite. He gets a thrill

out of your reaction to his lure. And that lure

can be something minuscule that you think is nothing more

than just harmless. But it could be something great and

it could lead to your demise, Samson. That woman that

you think loves you is out only to get you.

Those cowboys, they love the thrill of riding the bulls

and riding in them rodeos. But more than that all,

they love the attention they get from the crowd looking on.

Samson was loving the attention that Delilah was giving him.

He could have got it from anybody else, but he said,

I want Delilah. This is the one I want, and

that's what kept him in that state is the attention.

And that attention left him with his eyes bored out.

You've got to be careful loving that attention that that

old devil is throwing your way lest you find yourself

in the same state that Samson found himself in. Young man,

young lady. Love and attention can get you in trouble.

And I'm not saying we don't all appreciate attention. It's

good in its right moments as long as you don't

get puffed up and puffed out. You think it's love.

You think it's something real. But it's nothing more than

a lure of the devil. He's about to set that

hook in the jaw of and without an act of

God Almighty, there will be no set free. You know,

there's some of us men that when you go fishing,

you find yourself that you let the fish have the

bait a little too long, and it gets gut hooked.

The devil has no worry in letting the bait soak.

He'll let it soak as long as it takes. If

it takes 10 minutes or if it takes 10 years,

he'll let it soak and wait because he wants to

make sure that he has you indefinitely, that there's no

way you can let go. Them fish, they'll get gut hooked.

They're fighting for their life, but there's no way they'll

get let go. And then usually what happens is they

end up dying on the bank because it's been so

gut hooked that you rip something internally on them. Oh, God.

Joseph got away, but Samson kept playing. and found out

he found himself in a world of trouble. A father

who begins to show interest in someone that they didn't

have interest in for a long time, that's the lure

of the devil. That's nothing more a lure. They'll say,

I miss you, son. I miss you, daughter. And you say, well,

how come I haven't heard from you in ten years,

two years? What is that about? And I know there's

a lot of fathers that have good intention. But watch

out for the unpure motives. They'll say, I got something

for you. I pray to God that you find out

that it's in your best interest. You better watch out

that you don't find yourself in the same struggle that

you were in before you got delivered of it. You

better watch out and find yourself that you're not in

the same battle that you once was because they don't

have your best interest. And it's nothing more than a

lurid disguise as love that says, I want you back.

I'll give you whatsoever you ask of without thinking twice

about it. That is a trap and a lure of

the devil. Let me say this. This world has a saying,

and it's only half true. It says a father knows best.

So we're going to fix that tonight. A father with

pure motives and a good heart knows best. But a

father that's worked his scheme up in his mind because

he wants his son to be like him. That's not

a father that knows best. Trust the one that stayed

up all hours of the night worrying about you and

praying for your soul, saying, Lord, don't let Lucifer get

his soul. Lord, I'm worried where he is. Lord, I'm

worried about what he's doing tonight. But one that says,

come back, son. Come back, daughter. I'll do whatever you

ask me to do. I'll give you whatever you ask

me to give. I'll do whatsoever you ask me to do.

That's not a father that has pure motives. My God,

in heaven you'll find yourself in the same struggle that

you already once was when you found yourself down here. Hallelujah.

Help us, y'all. Moving on here. The Bible says in

1 Kings 11 and 1. But King Solomon loved many

strange women. How many strange loves did he have? How

many strange loves did he have? How many hooks did

he have after he built those temples for those strange women?

I don't know exactly how many. I forget how many

women he had. But that's a lot of strange loves.

That's a lot of strange things. That's a lot of

lures disguised as love. Do you have something strange in

your life that you love? That's a lure from Lucifer

disguised as love. How many people have a strange love

for rebellion? You know you'll see a little kid that'll

purposely do exactly opposite of what a parent says because

they get a thrill out of it. And you can

be a little kid and be six foot tall and

have a strange love for rebellion just because somebody told

you not to do it and said not in my house,

my God. You're not going to do that thing. That's

a strange love. That's a strange love for rebellion. That's

a strange love to go against the things of God.

Anything that does not align with the word of God

is a strange love. It's a strange infatuation. Help us,

Holy Ghost. They do stuff simply because they were told...

And asked not to. It's because they know it will

make the person that told them not to do it unsettled, unhappy,

and they get a thrill out of it. It'll be

the devil that sits back and laughs at your rebellion.

The devil knows what's right. The devil was one of

God's angels. But then he started rebelling. And the devil

will sit there and laugh and laugh at you whenever

he finally gets you right where he wants to be.

That's a strange love. A love for things that aren't normal,

that's a strange love. Oh, hallelujah. Let me add this

in here real quick. Love isn't something that should be

forced or demanded in a relationship. With my wife, I

love her to death. It ain't something I have to

beg her to love me. It ain't forced for me

to love her, Brother Jesse. It comes easy. Witness of God,

it'll come easy. Witness of the Lord, it'll come easy.

God doesn't force us to love him. And he doesn't

expect you to be forced to love someone else. You

don't have to love someone unless they're forcing you into it.

My God in heaven loves you enough to make up

for that half love that they are actually distributing and showing.

That's the strange love to demand love. That's the strange

love to force love. Hallelujah. I'm almost done here. Now,

Ruth loved her family as much as Orpah did. But

Ruth's love were for the things of God, and they

were far more important than Orpah's love. Ruth loved the

things of God. Orpah didn't. Orpah wasn't ready to settle.

Orpah said, no, I love my family. I love my gods.

I love my strange loves. I love the fact that

my love, that my lure is disguised. I love my

God that my mama raised me up with. But Orpah

had a fascination for the love of God. And she said, no,

I will go with you. I don't want the lures

of Moab anymore. I don't want the tricks of the

devil anymore. I don't want a strange love. I don't

want a forced love. I don't want to be told

I have to worship this God. I don't want to

be told I have to do it like this. I

want a love that the Lord loves. Delilah had laid

many traps for Samson, but Samson was blind by the

lure disguised as love. You're so blind, you can't even

see those things that lie in wait in the closet,

just like the Philistines. You're so deceived by that lure

of love, That you don't even realize there's voices whispering

in the clouds that is overhearing everything that Delilah is saying.

Tell me, honey. Tell me, what will it take to

make you fall? What's the final lure I have to

toss your way? What's the final promise I have to

promise you? What's the final thing I have to offer

you to get you to leave it all and to

come with me? What more do you want? And I'll

do whatsoever you ask. That was a trick that Delilah

laid for Samson. She said, you don't love me. You

better watch out when those start questioning your love. My God,

I don't question my wife's love. She don't question my

love for her. You better watch out when those that

are around you start questioning your love and say, do

you actually love me? I thought you loved me. My

God in heaven, love is not forced. Love is not demanded. Hallelujah.

And then finally, Samson spills the beans. Unlike Joseph, he ran.

All that Potiphar's wife got was Joseph's coat. Delilah left

with his locks, but also she left with his strength.

They're not going to stop at your locks. She wants

to know the heart. I want to know what causes

you to fall. I want to know what causes you

to get weak. I want to know what causes you

to not really care anymore about what's laying in the closet.

I want to know what it takes to bind you,

to restrict you, to put you right where you can't

do nothing about it. And the fearless things that came in,

She said, he's told me. He's told me. Come in now.

I got to shave his head off. She rocked him

to sleep. She put him to sleep. Right now you

could be being rocked to sleep by the very lure

of the devil. And you don't even realize it. You're

laying in the lap of the devil. You better run, friend.

You better leave them with a coat. Joseph ended up

in prison. But one thing he didn't lose with his

God was his favor. It took Samson a little while

to get it back. It was something that he had

to gain back. But as soon as Joseph got to

the prison, he gained favor. You may lose something of yourself.

But if you run, you won't lose it all. Samson

didn't run and he lost it all. You better run

while you got a chance. Or else you will lose

it all. I wouldn't hinder. I wouldn't stay. It's going

to take one more conversation is all it could take.

She said three times now you've lied to me. Three

times now I've asked you what it takes. And then

finally he spills it. And she says bring it here.

We got him. We got him right where he needs

to be. We got it under control. Don't you continue

to allow Delilah to rock you to sleep. Run Joseph run.

Whatever love lure that represents. Brother Jesse, if you could

come tonight. Whatever lure it is, like I said, I'm

not talking about relationships only. Brother Phillip, tonight we got

our greatest blessing. We were supposed to go fishing all night,

but then we said let's go to church. That was

a lure and a trap of the devil. You could

be one step away from complete victory, and the devil

will toss your favorite thing right where you thought he

couldn't reach you. He'll say, oh, I can tell the

prayers have been getting through, but I got something special

I've yet through. And that's what a fisherman does. They

will fish every bait just because they want to try

to see if they got a new lure by the

row cap. That'll catch them. The devil will throw every

bait to see is there something else in their heart

that I can also use to add on to my

secret bait. And when nothing else fails, when it's about

dust time, That fisherman says, I can't go home skunked.

Let me tie this on. And usually, Brother O'Cabell, in

three to four tries, if there's something good in a

good spot, you'll catch one. And that's what the devil's doing.

Your eyes are getting heavy. They're getting dimmed. It's getting

about sunset. And he knows, all I got to do

is pull out this one more lure. They think they're

in the shadow. They think they're laid up under that log.

But I got something you can't resist. The next thing

you know, right down in front of your face, pops

the prettiest thing. most disguised love you ever did see

oh it feels real it feels right but the moment

you commit the weight of the world and the realization

of I have messed up will hit you like the

weight of the world let's all stand I pray that

I've helped somebody tonight I know this This isn't necessarily

a normal message. Right before I met my wife, I

was tossed one final lure disguised as love. Some of

y'all met her. She came here. And I'll just give

this quick story to offer somebody some kind of desperate hope.

We left church a Wednesday night service. Our pastor preached

phenomenal like he always does. And I don't think I've

ever shared this story, not even probably with my wife.

And we had the tiniest of disagreements on the ride home. Tiny,

I mean, it was minuscule. It was something small. And

this girl could not let that go. And when we

got to the truck, man, I... I'm submitting by my wife.

Don't take this wrong. I really thought this girl was

the one. In the driveway, I parked, and she jumped

out and slammed the door and walked out. Mid me

talking to her, trying to get things settled out. And immediately,

I think it was the first time I'd ever been

shown something by the Lord. I seen a perfect image

of this girl with little kids walking. At the door

walking out with a suitcase. And it scared me to death.

Scared me to death. And I got out and I said, hey,

so and so. I said, we're done. I said, I'll

treat you right for the rest of the week. I'll

be a friend to you. But I said, ain't nobody

going to get out. If you walk out on that.

You'll walk out on something else. And I pray tonight

that somebody sees. If they get mad over something small,

they'll walk out on something great. And they'll say, I

don't care. You can deal with it yourself. And they'll

leave you broken and abandoned and bruised and hurt. And

your life will be wrecked and marred. That devil plays

for keeps. And he'll disguise himself. And himself, he can

transform himself into an angel of light. That lure that

you think is love is a disguise. And I pray

for a praying church tonight that the Holy Ghost would

rip it off. And you would see the ugly lion

that's laying behind there. And that your eyes would be revealed.

And I don't know who I'm preaching to. I didn't

know who was going to be here tonight. Every head

bowed and every eye closed. I pray and I beg

of you to listen and heed the voice of the Lord.

I'm not asking for no hands raised. but even my

eyes closed. Is there somebody that would like to come

and pray and say, Lord, I don't want to be

duped and deceived by that final bait that's tossed my

way that leaves me with ripped lips, leaves me with scars. God,

help us. Run, Joseph. Run. Run, Joseph. Run before it's

too late. That's all I keep hearing in my heart. Run, Joseph.

Let's all come and find a place to pray tonight.

Everyone that's willing to say, Lord, search my heart. Lord,

check me, oh God. Lord, don't let me find myself

in that snare, in that trap. Lord, search me. Lord,

search Samuel, oh God.