This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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.

I want to talk to you about something tonight, something that might help you just a tad. And that is some things from the book of Judges. So take your Bible and turn to the book of Ephesians. That’s the way to the book of Judges. If you didn’t know that, you’re learning already a lot of stuff. The book of Ephesians, when you read the book of Ephesians, it has a lot to do with victory in the Christian life. Of who you are in the body of Christ with the family of God, how that you’re saved by grace and then gets into the whole family of God and walking worthy of the vocation where we’ve got has called you and about not having you know been swept aside by every wind of doctrine that come to long and been steadfast and speaking the truth and love and and then when you get to

chapter 6 talking about the taken upon yourself the whole armor of God and and being strong in the Lord and praying always. So these things are mentioned in there because it has to do with how to take a stand. So I want you to just look real quick at this year in chapter 6 of the book of Ephesians, look in verse 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand and down through the rest of these verses, talking about having to be able to stand, to stand, and having done all to stand.

So many of God’s people don’t take a stand. They’re swept aside by every little thing that comes along. They’re not steadfast. One of the key things in the Christian life is learning how to be faithful, learning to be faithful. Now you know that God used Joshua in a great way and that was to bring the people of Israel into the Promised Land. Moses got them there but he didn’t take them across Jordan. So God used the next man in line, God used Joshua and accomplished a lot of things.

And Joshua had victories in the land. And so God used him to conquer and defeat an enemy. But one thing that Joshua didn’t do, he didn’t get all the enemy out of the land. Conquered most of it, but there were still a little pockets of the enemy left in the land. And you’ll see what the consequences are because sometimes you know some people are really strong in the Lord, but they only have a few little weak points here and there.

Those little weak points can bring you down too. Then you have other Christians that are really unstabilized, currently minded, and occasionally do a few little good things. So are those that are strong, take a stand, and do a few little bad things. And then those that are really the disobedient walking into flesh and occasion to do a few little good things. So which one are you? But you need to know that there is a price to be paid to have victory.

And there is a price to be paid if you don’t have victory. One way or the other, there’s a price to be paid to serve the Lord and be obedient is going to cost you. The Bible says in the book a Luke chapter 14, it can cost you everything. So getting to heaven is free, but the discipleship will cost you. So it’s going to cost you if you serve the Lord. But consider that if you don’t serve the Lord, it’s going to cost you.

Are you following me so far? You stand right there with me. It’s going to cost you whether you do or whether you don’t. It all depends on what’s the price you want to pay. If you serve the Lord, you’ll have rewards for all eternity, but those rewards are going to cost you something. But if you rebelled against the Lord, you’re not going to have the rewards for all eternity, but God’s going to cost you something right here and now that he could, Jason, discipline you maybe take your home and, and you’re going to be able to do that.

lost out for all eternity what you could have had. So it’s going to cost one way or the other. I would rather pay a price and get something that lasts than to pay a price and come up totally empty and to waste my life. There was a missionary that came back from the foreign fields, came to this Bible college and he was teaching in the college classes, you know, and so the student came up to to him and asked him this question.

What do you do when you can’t take the superstition and the violence and the immorality anymore? What do you do? He says, well, I go back to the mission field. In America, there’s probably more superstition and hideous religions and immorality right here in America as there is in any country in the world and it’s bad and it’s wicked. But the book of Judges teaches us something, teaches us the consequences of compromise. If you’re going to compromise, understand, they’re going to cost you something.

So there’s a cost, there’s consequences of not wholly following the Lord. So I want you to take your Bible and go back there to the book of Judges, to the book of The book of Judges, in chapter 1, Judges in chapter 1, portion of the book of Judges, in chapter 1. Partial defense is no defense at all. It’s like locking four of the gates out of six with a 100 head of cattle inside. You’re still going to lose the whole herd.

It would one unguarded area of your life. So if you want to be disciplined, you have the discipline every area of your life, or you could lose everything. And that’s why it’s so important. God El Moody said this, it’s okay for the ship to be in the water, but it’s not okay for the water to be in the ship. It’s okay for the Christian to be in the world, but the world gets into the Christian then you sink and you’re gonna sink fast.

It’s not the best thing to be involved in. Now remember, there is a great difference between the book of Joshua and the book of Judges. You see Joshua was one man that answered to God and God led him and God used him and a lot of great things happened. And there was victory. But when you get into the book of Judges, well there’s a lot of difference between the two boats. The book of Judges was written around 300 to 350 years total for all 21 chapters.

But you’ll also find out that there are many failures mentioned in the book of Judges, a lot of disobedience. But there’s also some heroes, especially four of them that are mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11 that came from the book of Judges that were used by God. And so while you have a lot of people messing up, you have a lot of people that’s doing what’s right. And so you can divide the book of Judges into two sections, and you know the first 11 chapters, and then chapter 12 to verse chapter 21.

But there’s something that’s unique in both of them, and I’ll show you that in just a minute, but look in verse 1 of chapter 1, where it says, Now, after the death of Joshua, now Joshua was 110 years old when he died, 110 years old. That’s a pretty good long time to live, I wouldn’t mind that. But there’s some great things that God did with Joshua. He brought him into the land. Took out a lot of the enemy. But now Joshua has passed away.

Now in the book of Joshua, it is a book of conquest because it’s a book where he conquered. Yes, there was big victories, but there were a few little defeats like it. The city of AI had it. They had a problem. And one of these aes will go through all of that. But in the book of Joshua, it’s also a book of faith. But when you get into the book of Judges, that’s not the same way. Because here is a long, sad story of defeat.

Discouragement, depression, I mean, they would get so down. And you would think that they would learn their lesson, but they refused to listen. Now, to understand that every person, if you back up from the scriptures and you see the book of Joshua, and how that you and I are supposed to live a victorious Christian life, like you said in the book of Ephesians, and then you look at the book of Judges. And what’s the difference between the two is in the book of Judges, it says that every man did that which was right but in his own eyes.

So you have Christians that will do what God says and have victory in their lives, but then there’s others who are going to compromise. In other words, I’ll do what God says as long as I agree with God. You know, if we can agree, I’ll give in on those areas that I agree with God. But the areas that I disagree because God doesn’t doesn’t know everything you know. God’s not always right. Is he? Then why don’t everybody serve them with all their heart?

Because somehow in their mind they justify their rebellion. So they’re not going to agree with the Lord and how can two walk together unless they be agreed. So every man did that which is right in his own eyes. So you have a picture of yourself. you on victory, then you’ll have to do what Joshua said. God told him, be strong and very courageous the dominance observed to do all that I have commanded to do and that if you’ll do what he says to do and meditate there in day and night and move not to the right or to the left, he said, now shall have good success and now shall be prosperous and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

And God will do that. Now you can believe that Or you set that aside, all the promises of God, and you said, I’m gonna do what is right in my own eyes. You may not say those words, it’s just that you believe that you’re just a little bit wiser than God. And you just want your own way. You know, after we get saved, we’re still sheep. And so we wind up messing up our lives. So in the book of Joshua, it’s a book of faith.

But in the book of Judges, it’s not a book of faith. It’s a book of rebellion and disobedience. In one of these days, I’m going to preach up a storm. Yes, I hear that and I bet you do too. But there are people under Joshua who were united. But when you do that, which is right in your own eyes, you have lost that nuclear glue that holds together in unity. Because if you do that which is right in your own eyes, how can you agree with everybody?

Then if you can’t agree there, but you can’t have unity. So that’s why you have the bitterness and the argument and the fighting and all that stuff that goes on. Because they can’t be victory. Compromise will cost you. compromise will cost you. And so the people were united, but there it was division. Division and anarchy, rebellion to God. And so that’s why these two books paint two different pictures. One of victory and conquest and faith, unity and where Joshua had made the statement as for me and my house, what did he say?

We will serve the Lord. But see, there has to be a strong leader and Joshua was a strong leader. Now in the book of Joshua there is God’s word as the authority. They knew God spoke, he obeyed, and God blessed. But whenever you get away from God, then it’s going to be what’s right in your own eyes. It’s man deciding what he thinks is the best thing to do. So man becomes the authority. Now remember this in the book of Judges, there is history repeating itself over and over and over over and over again.

Here you have seven times, seven apostases, which means that they left Jehovah and sought other gods and they made two big mistakes. One is they began to have unity with the nations that were with them, which God had told not to do until they begin to worship their gods. Which God told him not to do. There was apostasy. Seven times there was this apostasy. Seven times they were conquered by seven different nations. Seven times they went into servitude. And seven times God brought them deliverance.

You would think they would finally learn. That’s why after the judges you get into where Samuel was used by God. to anoint them a king. So these things are mentioned here. But now I want you to take your Bible looking to book Joshua 24. Joshua 24 and looking verse 14. This is what he says in Joshua 24 verse 14. He says, Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in truth and put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the flood and in the Egypt and serve ye the Lord.

So they were told what to do. And then in verse 15 says, and if it seems evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve. Either serve God or serve some false God, but make up your mind, don’t be a finstrider. Either get in or get out, get on or get off, get with it or forget it, but don’t play the game. Be sincere and do right, but if you don’t, you’re a compromise and you compromise truth.

And there’s people’s destinies that are at stake while Christians, you know, I heard that Nero was, what was he doing while Rome burned? He was Finland. Some people say that Obama is doing the same thing. Now we’re supposed to have a commander in thief, I mean commander in chief that is stealing the people blind of everything that they have and wasting our substance on things that, well, that’s another story I have to fight sometime in my impulse. Well look what he says here in verse 15.

He says, choose you this day whom you were served, whether the gods which your fathers served on, that were on the other side of the flood or on the gods of the Amorites and who’s landing to us. But as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. And because a strong man took a strong stand, he influenced other people. And that’s why you always have to have good strong leadership. In your home, the man ought to be strong.

Take a strong leadership. He also says here in verse 16, and the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods. Isn’t that wonderful? They heard what he said and they did it. And so everything is wonderful. And so I want you to see this also. there in verse 20 where he says, if if you forsake the Lord and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt forsake the Lord.

Number one, serve strange gods. Number two, he says, he will turn and do you hurt and consume you. After that he had done you good. And the people said unto Josh, would they but we will serve the Lord. Now let me ask you this, is it gonna make a difference on how you live your life. There’s a God in heaven that have these words written in his word so that we would learn from that, Romans chapter 15, that we’re supposed to learn from that which has been written because it was written not necessarily to us but for us.

And we’re supposed to be wiser because of these stories in the Bible. The testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple. So we’re supposed to know this and we’re supposed to believe it and it’s supposed to make a difference. Now look in verse 24, and the people said unto Joshua, the Lord our God will we serve and His voice will we obey. And so Joshua made a covenant with the people that day. And then up there it says that in verse 29 it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of the nun.

The servant of the Lord died then 110 years old. So yes he lived to be a ripe old age and God blessed but see you’re supposed to listen and learn from what Joshua did. He obeyed God blessed. You get to the book of Judges, you see where they did so and God had to chase him. In your Christian life, that’s why you see some Christians, they’re up and they’re down. They’re up and they’re down. They’re like a yo-yo. And their whole Christian life is like that.

And you’re not going to have the peace that you want, the stability that you want, the joy that you want. And there’s a price to pay. Now take your Bible and look in the book of Judges chapter 3. Judges chapter 3 and look in verse 7. Chapter 3 and verse 7. And you’ll notice that there’s these things. scriptures right here verses five, six, and seven, and two, and this is talking about the first apostasy. This is when they left and they left Jehovah and served other gods.

It says that in the last part of verse six. Verse seven, and the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and forgot the Lord their God and served by them and the groves. Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. God was mad. Now remember the people in Joshua’s day says we will not forsake the Lord. We will not forget but now you find out they forgot. They forgot and they did not do what God wanted them to do and see their net verse seven and forgot the Lord their God they forgot you be surprised how you’ll read the scripture and I’ll tell you over and over again remember remember remember remember the Lord in the days of thy youth that serve the Lord in the days of thy new you’re supposed to remember and so when you don’t remember it’s just like you never knew it at all memory is very important

in your growth with the Lord so I want you to take your Bible and look at another scripture with him. And this is, if you’ll notice there in these verses, he’s talking about the things that God was going to do. Go back to chapter 2. Chapter 2. And you’ll notice there in chapter 2 in verse 1. Chapter 2 in verse 1. And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bocum and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt and it brought you into the land which I swear into your fathers.

And I said, and now he’s going to tell them two things that he said. I said this, but I also said this. Some people only hear one part or something only hear what they want to hear and they don’t hear the other part. So he says here, I said and an underlying this, I will never break my covenant with you. So this is the Abrahamic covenant and God says, I will not break my covenant. See, his covenant was that he would have a descendant.

He’s going to have a seed come down the road that’s going to be the son of God that’s going to make a payment and the nations of the earth are going to be blessed. The families of the nations are going to be blessed and that this seed would possess a land and God was going to give them a particular piece of land that they would have it would be there forever and that’s why we believe even to this day regardless of how the world lines up and what Russia wants to do and about the Middle East God promised a piece of land over there to Israel and Israel is going to end up with it all of it it goes all the way over to the Tigris and Euphrates it’s going to get it all and down to the now river he come they’re going to get it

all one of these days because the property that God gave to them is a lot bigger than what you have them over now with a little slice of a piece of pie. And so it was also to bless the world through Christ. So there was a Abrahamic covenant. God made a promise to Abraham that he was going to do this. So look what else he says here. So as you study, find out that this is about the covenant keeping God and the covenant breaking people.

Israel broke the covenant over and over and over again. But God says, I said, and then He says they’re in verse 2, and ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land, no covenants. And he also says, Ann, but ye have not obeyed my voice, because he said, no league with the inhabitants of this thing, you shall throw down their altars. You’re not to worship their gods. And they broke both of them. But see, God is bound by His word.

He must keep His word. Though He can chase an Israel, He cannot annihilate Israel. Moses even prayed, kill them all and start all over again. I can’t. I gave my word. You see, what you learn from all of this is that here you are, you trusted Christ as your Savior. God has promised me eternal life. God has promised that I’m going to get a new body someday. God has already promised me that I got a reservation in heaven and God’s promised me that he’ll never cast him out, never loosed me.

So regardless of what I do, God can’t break his word, God can’t break his covenant. But he says, I also said, that if you disobey me, now I’m going to keep my words what I promised, but I’m going to beat the thought out of you. And you can learn that from studying these books. All this is just picture Israel as though it was just a person. Israel is a person. And here’s this person that was down in Egypt, and here’s this person that went across the Red Sea, and here’s this person goes into the wilderness, and here’s this person that goes into the land, and here’s this person that obeyed the Lord and reap God blessed and here’s this person that rebelled against the Lord and God chasing them.

And so God has had him in the land, God’s had him out of the land, but they’ve always been a paper. That is eternal security. So when you read that, you know it, when God gives us where God has to keep his word, he is a covenant keeping God. But now notice what else he says here in verse three, wherefore I and you are on the land is two words, this law, but they’re being powerful. I also said this.

I said, I will not drive them out from before you, but they shall be as thorns in your sides as their God shall be a snare unto you. And so you didn’t know, baby, you got some thorns in your side. And every time when you want to enjoy, something’s going to prick you and rob you. See, when you understand this, if you choose to rebel against the Lord. You’re still God’s child, but you’re heavenly Father once you know. I also told you that I can chase in you and discipline you and I’m going to put a hedge of thorns about you and every decision you make is going to wind up hurting you.

You’re going to smart torturing yourself by your rebellion, your disobedience. So yeah, you can go ahead and do it, but God says, I also told you this. So I want to take your Bible and look in the book of Exodus in in chapter 23. The book of Exodus, going back there to Exodus chapter 23, and look at verse 32. And notice what he says here, these two verses 32, 33, he says, now this is when before they ever got to the land, thou shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.

They broke that, didn’t they? Then he says in verse 33, Thou shall not dwell in thy land, they shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me, for if thou serve their God, it will surely be a snare unto thee. So when God says that later on over in the book of Judges, all God’s doing is keeping his word. If they had just read, studied the word, they’d know if we do this, God’s going to do this.

If we do that, God’s going to do that. Can’t you see that? Why, if you know that this is true, why would you rebel against God when you know that God is going to keep His Word? And God can chase in you. And you may live, chase all your little dreams, and waste your life, and there’s a price to pay. But some people never learn. Hello, this is Peter Amato from Bibleline. We hope you’ve enjoyed the message from Dr.

Arnold and pray that Bibleline is helping you to grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And thanks for your donations and support of Bibleline, we’d like to send Dr. Arnold’s complete teaching on the book of Revelation. Compiled on one disc are 27 lessons in MP3 format of all 22 chapters of the revelation of Jesus Christ that was given to the Apostle John. Dr. Arnold provides clear insight and understanding to this often misunderstood book and for donation in any amount we’d like to send this gift to you today.

You may contact us by calling 1-800-576-3771 or buy mail to 4811 George Road Tampa, Florida, 33634. And don’t forget to include your mailing address as well. Once again, thank you for supporting Bibleline and may God richly bless you. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline. 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. 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. They’re leaving that the Lord is coming soon. Just keep looking up.