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Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, here God’s truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the BibleLineMinistries.org homepage. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Alrighty. I’m always trying to figure out what I need to talk to you about. And I think this is just as good as anything. You ever heard about the Apostle Paul that had a thorn in the flesh? A thorn in the flesh? Wouldn’t you love to have one of those? I mean if Paul had one, you want one, right? I mean everybody should want a good old thorn in the flesh. Well, you may have one and didn’t know it.

And some things get in there and this does start festering. Have you ever had something or somebody do something to you and just start the festering and you just dwell on it and dwell on it and just get bigger and bigger and bigger? Can you be surprised what goes on? But anyway what I want you to do is turn your Bible to the book of Isaiah chapter 5. Isaiah and chapter 5. Now in Isaiah chapter 5 it’s not a big old verse but it’s just a statement that’s made here that, you see, he was having trouble with some of his people.

They weren’t listening. The Lord warned them, told them over and over again. But you know, sometimes people just don’t get it. They don’t listen. They don’t learn. And so here in the book of Isaiah in chapter 5, I want you to look there in verse 21, verse 21, woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight. Now you’ll notice verse 18 it says, woe unto them. Verse 20 says woe unto them. Verse 21 woe unto them.

Verse 22 woe unto them. So this isn’t a lot of good stuff. It’s just woe woe woe woe. And over in verse 11 woe unto them. You see, God tells people what to do and if they do it, God will bless them and if they don’t, there’s going to be some chations and like Paul says, woe unto me if I preach not the gospel. If I don’t do it, woe unto me because God’s holding us responsible. And we don’t know what all the word woe means, but it don’t sound good does it?

It just doesn’t sound good. It seems like it’s going to cause a lot of woe in your life when you don’t do what God wants you to do. But anyway, take your Bible and turn to the book of Judges. back here in the book of Judges. In the book of Judges, now you know you’ve had Joshua and he led the children of Israel into the promised land and everything’s going fine. Well, not exactly. So in the book of Judges and look in chapter 17, chapter 17 and look in verse 6, there’s something that was going on in the lives of the people.

You see the first generation that came across with Joshua, well, they were dying off. Now there’s a new group of people, another generation of people, but they never had to fight the battles. They weren’t in the wilderness and so on. So now as time moves on, you know, they don’t have to worry about a lot of things. in the land and the Bible says every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Everybody just do what is right in your own eyes.

Did you know that in America we’re slowly getting to where we don’t worry about what the law is? Just everybody do what is right in your own eyes. If you want to do it, do it. Just do whatever you want to do. Whatever’s right in your own eyes. And the majority of the people make the laws by which everybody else has to live by. And so it’s whatever they want to do. You see, before the majority couldn’t override the will of the minority.

You couldn’t do it because you had certain rights and the majority couldn’t violate the rights of one person. One person. Take all the people in America and you could not collectively violate this man’s one right, this one man’s right, because you had to honor that right. And that’s why in the Constitution he had the Bill of Rights, this is what you cannot do. So every man had protection. But as time goes on they just do whatever they want to do.

Won’t say a little bit about that in a minute. But take your Bible look in the book of Judges chapter 21, and look there in verse 25, Judges 21 verse 25. And this is the last verse in the book. So it even goes from chapter 2, doing whatever they want in their onized to the end of the chapter. So God was using judges that he had set up and God was speaking and worked through the judges. But in verse 25, in those days there was no king in Israel.

Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. And you’d be surprised how that same philosophy is permeating the society up to day. Now take your Bible and look with me all the way over there to 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians and chapter 12. 2 Corinthians chapter 12 is a little story that we’ve talked about many times. But it’s talking about the Apostle Paul and how that he saw things that no man has seen and it was unlawful for him to talk about.

I’d love to see what it was. But the Bible says, lest he be lifted up or exalted above measure. There was given done to him a thorn in the flesh. Now, you know what a thorn is. You know what the flesh is. And nobody in the right mind desires a thorn in the flesh. I used to run around barefoot at all the time. And when I ran around barefooted every once in a while, I’d get a thorn in my foot.

And but But if I didn’t get it out, it would just fester around that thorn. I’ve even had it done with briars. I used to go blackberry picking. And so Ben, I would step all over the briars and they’d get all over my hand, all over my arm. And, but I would come out and I’d be bloody all over. But look at those blackberries I had. Oh, I had those blackberries. I could take a quart of blackberries and sell them for 25 cents.

And man, you could do a lot with 25 cents. And so I did. And I was getting about two or three jars and I go sell them. I had me 75 cents. I could go watch three or four movies in one day. Back then John Wayne, Hoppelung Cassidy, the Cisco kid, some of those old ones you know. Oh I love those things. But you would get a thorn in the flesh. Look what he says here in verse seven. Unless I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelation that was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.”

Now this is to a good man. Just try to maybe keep him from getting too big for his britches so he doesn’t think it is exalted because of the abundance of the revelation that God has given to him. And so this is why God did what he did. God had a reason. Paul prayed to the Lord three times and God would not remove it. He says, my grace is sufficient. In other words, my grace is sufficient. You can live with that.

You can live with it. You’re not going to get everything that you want. And so he was humbled and at something that happened to him, they keep him always dependent upon the Lord so that he didn’t get too high minded and been out of shape. did that. Now look in Numbers in chapter 33, go all the way back to the Old Testament to the book of Numbers. Numbers in chapter 33, you know the children of Israel are going through the wilderness and a lot of things were happening.

They went from one trial to another trial, a time that didn’t have water and then they cried about the bread and all these things. So in the book of Numbers in chapter 33, I want you to look there in verse 55, looking verse 55, where he makes a statement. He says in verse 55, but if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you. Now this is before they ever got into the land. You’re supposed to go into the land and drive them all out.

In other words, the inhabitants in the land was a type of the flesh, like the first birth is in our bodies. We have a flesh birth. And then later on you get the new birth. Well, the new birth is the Holy Spirit and He wants to have total control of our lives. He doesn’t want us to give any territory to the flesh birth. We’re to consider the first man that was in this piece of property, this land that he’s been crucified, he’s been dead and he’s not to be brought to life and he’s not to have any part of this body.

Therefore the Holy Spirit that lives within us and our new birth should possess this land without the old man having anything to do with it. His affections and his lust have been crucified. Dead, buried, and you’re not supposed to live like that. Well, it’s kind of easy to say and difficult. So you look for an illustration in the Old Testament, you find, here’s the land of Israel, and in the land of Israel was all these heathen. And God says, I’m giving it to you.

So they’re going in to possess this land just like the new birth is supposed to come in and take over this territory. And it’s to start with your mind and don’t let the devil have any part of your mind that He may bring every thought into the captivity of Christ. So we fight a different battle than you do with guns and bullets and hand grenades and so forth. Ours is the spiritual war. But in the land of Israel, Moses brought him across the Red Sea and it was Joshua bringing them across Jordan.

They came into the land and they were to conquer the land and they were supposed to live there Well, all the peace and abundance and the safety and the joy and the happiness and all that kind of stuff. And well, they didn’t do exactly everything they should have done. So here in this verse 55, but if you will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come to pass that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes and thorns in your sides and shall vex you in the land where in you dwell.”

So here we are where God’s people when we trust the Christ is our Savior and we have an old sinful nature and your old sinful nature is like a thorn in the flesh. Have you found that to be true yet? You have a thorn in the flesh. But you see it’s It’s because we allow the thorn to bother us and because of extra aches and pains that we don’t want to deal with. But mainly it’s because we did not get victory in every area of our Christian life.

There’s pockets where the flesh has control of. And so the more area you can control, the more peace you can have in the land. the less controlled area you have, the less peace you’ll enjoy in the land, in the body. So I’m trying to relate the land of Israel, the people of Israel, and the enemy in the land of Israel as the body with our first birth and our second birth in the land. I believe that there is something here and I believe it follows through.

Now take your Bible and look there in the book of Joshua chapter 23, the book of Joshua in chapter 23. Now Joshua 23, interesting stuff, especially I even like chapter 24, but chapter 23 and I want you to look there in verse 13, because they didn’t do everything like they were supposed to. It says there in chapter 23 of the book of Joshua, looking verse 13, know for a certainty that the Lord your God will know more, drive out any of these nations from before you.

but they shall be in your underlining it. They shall be snares and traps for you and scourges in your sides, thorns in your eyes, till you perish from all this good land which the Lord your God hath given to you.” In other words, a lot of God’s children suffer a lot of consequences because they don’t totally yield themselves to the Lord and because they don’t have victory in the Christian life, they always blame it on somebody else. If somebody else is false, why I am the way that I am.

We have a sinful nature. And the sinful nature doesn’t want to give up any territory. You see, little spots in your brain appears like little beachheads. And the devil wants to get a beachhead, a place he can work from. You think you just get a toehold, a a foothold. But anyway, I want you to take your Bible and turn to the Book of Judges in chapter 2. The Book of Judges chapter 2. Judges chapter 2. And notice they’re in chapter 2.

Look there in verse 2. It makes a statement. And you shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land. You shall I’ll throw down their altars, but ye have not obeyed my voice. Why have you done this? You have not obeyed my voice. Why have you done this? You see, God’s people ought to do what God tells them to do, but because we don’t. We have to prove that we are politically correct, religiously correct, and we are not offense of the antibody.

So therefore we have to get along with everybody and be, you know, non-confrontational. We have to prove that we’re tolerant. I’m more tolerant than you are. I’m more tolerant than you. You’re not as tolerant as I am. That makes me better than you. You’ve got We’ve got to be tolerant. And so we’ve got to show that we’re tolerant to the Muslims. We’re tolerant to this and tolerant to the homosexual, tolerant to the abortion, tolerant to everybody. Therefore let’s just show how much we love people.

And let’s just all get along. Did you know it don’t work that way? And it won’t work. Look what this scripture says here in verse 3. therefore, I also said, I will not drive them out from before you, but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. Their gods will be a snare unto you.” Do you think that it would be good if our politicians knew the Word of God, that they could see down the road the results of decisions that they make.

You see, they can’t see it. They got blinders on. They can’t reason. And that’s why it’s so important. Well, we’re here in chapter 2 and verse 3. Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you, but they shall be as thorns in your side and their gods shall be a snare unto you.” So he sent those people that are in the land. They are going to be thorns in your side. Now is that the only kind of thorns that you can have that can just bug you to know in?

But remember it’s because they tolerated the enemy. We’re not here to bridge, you know, from Christianity over to the religion of Islam or any other religion. And we’ve got to show them how taller we are. Now let me just mention this to you. You can take ice cream and you can take camel dung and mix it together. It really doesn’t hurt the camel dung, but I wouldn’t eat the ice cream. Do you understand what I’m saying? You can have Christianity and you can try to mix it in with the religion of Islam.

It won’t hurt the religion of Islam, but you ought to see what it does to Christianity. Christianity is pure truth. It is based upon truly what the word of God says and you don’t mix it with anything. It is so important for God’s people to know what is right and we’re supposed to protect it. America has become not just like a Christian nation, we have become a melting pot for every religion in the world. All the religions in the world are here in America and it’s just like trying to build a the tower of Babel, everybody’s trying to become one.

But we have all the religions and it just keeps on to you, melt them all down and next thing you know you’ll have one main religion when you get through with it. And it probably comes out to something like the religion of humanism, man-made without a God. So little by little little. It’s coming and it’s coming. Now look there in verse 10. In verse 10, and also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers, and there arose another generation after them, and Yoda on the line this in your Bible, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

They know the Lord, the next generation down the road. Do you think it’s important to reach the kids for the Lord? They’re the one that’s going to be growing up and becoming the adults and making decisions on down the road. So yes, I do believe that it’s important. But this is a generation that didn’t have to do the fighting. They didn’t see all the things that happened. They didn’t see the battles. They just heard. You see, there’s some people who have to fight for what they get.

And it’s amazing I’ve watched this over the years. You know, when you have parents that didn’t have anything and their children had to struggle and fight to get whatever they got, they had to work, work, work, work, work. Nothing given to them, they had to work and make it. Then when they get that good cushion job and that good security, I don’t want my kids to have to go through what I went through. But you know, that might be why you are what you are because you worked.

But we don’t want our kids to have to go through what, why not? Why not make the kids work and struggle? in order to make it. I think we have robbed a generation because we want to cushion it for them. We don’t want them to hurt like we have to suffer like we had to suffer. But all those things, sometimes I believe, were a blessing that we learned that nothing was given to us from a silver platter if you wanted it, you worked for it.

And it taught you some work ethics that you didn’t get something for nothing, you’ll work for it. But you know, there’s a lot of people today that’s never had to work for anything, and they don’t know the meaning of the Word, and it can destroy them on down the road. It is so important to learn these things. Look what he says in verse 11, and the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. They didn’t know the Lord, and they did evil.

Then he says there in verse 12, they forsook the Lord. They didn’t know him, they did evil, and forsake him. So whenever you do that, there is a price to pay. Now look what he says there in verse 21, I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died. That through them, I may prove Israel, test Israel. In other words, you didn’t do the total job, but I’m going to use those left over people and they’re going to become a thorn in your side.

And I’m going to use them to test you. And so in the book of Judges, over and over and over again, Israel refuses to learn. They would not learn. Things would go bad. They’d cry out to God, had sinned them of deliver, a judging. The people would try out, then everything’s okay. Isn’t it last in 20, 30, 40 years? And they’re right back at it again, just another cycle. And some people never learn. They just keep repeating the same things over and over and over again.

I want you to take your Bible and look there in the book of Luke chapter 8. In the New Testament, the book of Luke. Matthew, Mark, Luke, in the book of Luke, and chapter 8. Luke chapter 8, look there in verse 7. There’s a little story given here, but let’s just start up here in verse 4. A parable about the sower, and when much people were gathered together and were come to him out of every city and spake by a parable.

A sower went out to sow, his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside. And it was trodden down, and the fowls of the year divided. Some fell upon a rock. And as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. Some fell among thorns. Here’s that word again. Here’s some among thorns, and the thorns spring up with it and choked it. Now here you are and God wants you to bring forth fruit, and thorns came up and choked.

Choked. Now when you apply this in the right way, you’ll find out that the choking that was done by the thorns are those thorns in your side that can keep you from doing what God wants you to do. She thorns can be a good thing if it’s designed to kind of hedge you in and hold you in where you ought to be. So hold your place right here and just look quickly in the book of Hosea. the book of Hosea, and look there in chapter 2 and verse 6.

Hosea chapter 2 and look in verse 6. Because you see I have at times when I pray for people and I know they’re rebelling against the Lord. I pray that God will put a hedge of thorns about them. And not because you want them to be hurt, but do you want them to be pricked by the decisions that they make that are wrong so that they may quickly return to the Lord because if they don’t return quickly to the Lord the Lord may have to use some more extreme measures in dealing with them.

So he says in verse 6, therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns and make a wall that she shall not find her paths. Because see some people, they go their own way. They do what is right in their own eyes. When you do what is right in your own eyes, there’s always going to be a path of thorns. There’s going to be some afflictions that are going to hit you and hit you hard. There’s going to be areas of your life you don’t deal with because, well, you’re just doing what’s right in your own eyes and I don’t see anything wrong with this.

I don’t see anything wrong with that. So if you don’t see anything wrong with it, you let it go. You don’t deal with it. When you don’t deal with it, what you let go, it’s going to come back and get you. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you were blessed by today’s message. Part 2 of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, You can reach Bibleline and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll-free, 1-800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bibleline programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the radio broadcast link. If you are in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10-30. And at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening, live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound, and we will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon, and just keep looking up.