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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 Bibleignmenistries.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.

Tonight, a little Bible study, There’s about strange messages by strange messengers. And I don’t want you reading ahead of time. I just want you to follow it as I go down through it. I see you cheating. I’m going to stop handing out notes. The mind will just stop handing out notes, huh? Because I got to hunt people cheat anyway. Everybody says cheat. You know why I think that you’re going to cheat? Because you’re still a center saved by grace.

You still got an old sinful nature. and you just can’t stand it. I bet you’ve already looked at it. What are you reading there, Hortense? How far are you down? Almost to the number four? She’s only on number four. Oh, God bless her. Ha ha ha ha. Turn in your Bible to the book of Genesis, the book of Genesis. And chapter eight, Genesis chapter eight. You know, I was thinking it is amazing how that when God wants to preach a sermon, you know, tell you something.

He doesn’t always use people. He can teach you a lesson through circumstances. If He wants to stop you from doing something, He can turn off the the spigot and dry up your funds. He can allow you to lose a job because He may want you somewhere else. You see, we’re just supposed to be the little light that shines and God will place the light where He wants to. We don’t tell God where we want to shine. We just pose a shine wherever He puts us and He allows us to get in different places with different people and sometimes it can be so dark and so cold and say, what am I doing here?

Well maybe there’s somebody that needs to be gospel where you are. We remember in the book of Philippians in chapter 2 when He talks about that we are in a crooked and perverse generation. a nation holding forth, shining as lights in the world, holding forth the Word of God, the Word of life. So when God is gonna teach a message, you have to admit that the dove that’s mentioned here in the book of Genesis, you remember years and years ago, they came out with a song on the wings of a dove?

Remember that song? But when that thing came out, it was all over. Everybody just seemed to love that song. He sent down his love on the wings of a dove. Remember that? And so it was taken from the book of Genesis right here. And also when Jesus had the Holy Spirit come down upon him in the former shape of a dove. So we think good things about a dove. And so I have here at number one, this dove preaches the love and the faithfulness of God.

Remember, it was going to rain and buddy did it rain and it rain for a long time. And the water came from above came from beneath and the boat did float. And so if you look there in verse one of chapter eight and you ought to on the line three of these words here, it would help God remembered Noah. You ever think sometimes that God forgets you? Well, there’ll be things that will happen in I would you like to have been on the boat and hadn’t heard a word for a while.

I mean, nothing. And shut the thing up. And next thing you know, you’ve been like that for months and months and months. And so you’ll notice it says they’re in verse four. And the art rested in the seventh month on the 17th day of the month upon the mountains of Ararach. The water decreased continually until the tenth month. So three more months passed by him. And the tenth month, and on the first day of the month were the tops of the mountain scene.

Now that doesn’t mean they could land and get off the boat, because they have to be a place where they can part the arc or float the boat. But he says here that it came to pass at the end of 40 more days. Do you know it’s a difficult thing waiting on God because we just can’t see why God don’t hurry things up. You know, do what we want when we wanted to do it. But God is always on time.

He’s just not on our time. We think sometimes God is someone that we can use to, you know, manipulate, help me to get what I want. Like Lord, this is what I want to do. Yeah, yeah, come on, let’s go. I remember Betty’s dad used to tell me, he said, Yankee, you know, God could lead you if he could get in front. He says, but you always want to outrun God. Now, I don’t know why I was like that, but I was, I guess I was like that.

Betty was, I like that. I was. Okay, we’ll move right along. So it says here, they sent out a raven in verse seven, but that didn’t work. In verse 8, also he sent forth a dove from him to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the grim. But the dove found no rest for the soul of his feet. She returned unto him in the art, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth.

Now the dove going out wasn’t so much of a message. It was the dove coming back, told something. It was a message in itself. Because they know that if the dove was able to bring back something It was maybe a place to land or maybe because of a green twig or something that was plucked off of something You know it was alive and something’s groaned so anyway in verse 10 and he stayed yet seven more days again He sent forth the dev out of the yard the dove came into him in the evening and low in her mouth was an olively plucked off So no one knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

He knew. Because of the dove, he knew something. God brought him a message by a dove. Now, always think, no, if God can use a dove, can God use you? God can use a dove. Did you know that there’s a possibility that when you say, well, I wish I could see a miracle and then God will show you a little baby and it’s a miracle. But there’s a lot of people can see little babies but don’t believe it’s a miracle.

But God has spoken. And you may have taken, you know, filled the warmth of the sun on your face and say, Man, I just wish I could see the power of God. Well, you just did. Just look up some morning and see the sun. Some people don’t know the sun comes up gradually. A lot of the time they wake up and get up. Like it’s when a guy told me, he says, I wake up every morning at the crack of noon.

Did you get that Peter? He got that. So in verse 11 on olive leaf, plucked off. So God had a message and he can use different things in your life. Did you know you can be going too fast and you could be a danger or maybe run your testimony and the Lord can tell this little cop over here go get And those little lights coming on out there, and he comes up here and gives you a ticket. Do you know that Lord could speak to you through that?

That could be a message in there somewhere. You could learn from it, couldn’t you? Well, could you learn when He gives you that $200 ticket that maybe you need to slow it out a little bit? You know, God may be saving you something from something worse down the road. And so God can send you lessons to learn. He can also teach you things from your wife or your husband. He can teach you things from your kids. Do you ever think that you’re pretty smart?

You know a little bit of everything. You know how wise you are. You know that. You know how brilliant you are. You know how you can solve every problem. And then to humble you a little bit, God will give you a teenager. Did you know that one teenager can teach you a lot about what you don’t know? Did you know that you could think you have all the patience in the world and all the love and compassion? And then your kid acts up.

Have you ever wanted people to be impressed with you because they were impressed with your children? And then your kids act like little brat sometimes in front of the company? Like the preacher was coming to see this mama. She says, Johnny, you run in there and get that book. We all love so much. So he goes and brings out the Sears catalog. You know, and then something’s wrong, you know, and this one woman. trying to impress the preacher who came to visit her.

She had this family Bible right there on the cafeteria, a nice big family. She says, this is the book we all love. We’re just so glad for the word of God. It’s the centerpiece of our home. And so the preacher picks it up and he opens up the book. You can’t hardly get it open. And all the pages are still gilded shut with gold. You know how they are, you know, and you can’t open them, they can’t separate them.

This is the book we all love so much. You know, as long as you don’t have to open it, don’t read it. But God can do these things with us. Now in the book of Lamentation, I just wrote it right here. Just look at this in your notes. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we’re not consumed because his compassion fell not. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. You see, God is loving and God is faithful.

You can learn from that. God sent a message to Noah to a little old dove. Told him something that he needed to know. Look at number two there. These ravens taught Jehovah Jahran. The Lord will provide. That’s what that word means. Now, we’re looking first Kings chapter 17. First Kings chapter 17. First Kings chapter 17. First Kings 17. Look in verse 1. Now we know that Elijah, he was a prophet of the Lord. Things weren’t going to be a good word.

weren’t going so good. There was going to be a famine. He had a deal with a king that was a wicked king by the name of Ahab, the A-rab, the Sheikah, the burning sand. No, it’s not the same one. But he says, it’s going to be a drought. It’s not going to rain, be no due for three years. So down in verse two, and the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, get the hints and turn the eastward, hide thyself by the brook cherub.

That is before Jordan, and it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook. And I have commanded the ravens to feed the there. I command the ravens to feed you. There’s a famine in the land. There’s no water. God had the perfect place to hide him so that God’s man had food to eat and had water to drink and God took care of him. Look what he says here. In verse 5, and he went and did according unto the word of the Lord for he went and dwelt by the brook chevrth.

That is before Jordan and the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening and a drink of the brook. Isn’t it a wonderful thing? Miraculous provision of the Lord. We often say, you know, it was Florida Bible College. It seemed like that was one of the most favorite statements. Everybody’s going around saying, Jehovah Jara, so what does that mean? Well, it just simply means the Lord will provide and people believe God will provide.

Didn’t know how he was going to do it, but you just couldn’t wait to see how God was going to get you out of that jam. And remember, God can’t get you out of something if God doesn’t let you get into something. That’s how he teaches you. But he wants you to be just as strong in those darkest moments of your life as it seems like when the sun is shining and everything’s good. Learn to put your trust in your confidence in the Lord and God will bless him.

Now, the brook dried up, and so now, he says in verse 7, it came to pass after a while, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. So did God have another place for him to go? Yeah, God can dry up something in your life in order to get you to do something else. God can allow you to lose a job, but God may have a higher purpose that you don’t know about, and you worry and fall apart part that God may have something better.

I always have believed. I don’t care how bad things are. I believe there’s something good coming out of this. It’s like you could be so positive, you know. It’s like, you know, this little boy went to go spend the weekend with granddad and he was just singing and skipping and he was always just so positive. So granddad thought he would humble him a little bit. So he took him down there to the barn and says, now I want you to take this and I want you to shovel all this manure out of here.

So after about an hour, he went back down there and checked on the boy. The boy had that fork and he was a whistling and a singing in us. Just a shouting and jumping all over the place and just manure flying all over the place. He says, what are you excited about? He said, well, all this manure, there’s got to be a pony in here somewhere. Now, some people, all they see is problems and some people are always that there’s got to be something that’s God’s got to get me out of this.

And this is going to be a wonderful story that I’m going to tell them. Remember, most of you here like eggs. Now, I love eggs. eggs. But I don’t like eggs that are just blah. So we put salt and pepper on our eggs and it makes it taste better. It gives you high blood pressure, but I mean, but it tastes good. You too much salt. It’s the same thing. Your life would be blah if God didn’t allow you to have experiences.

Those experiences are salt and pepper that puts on your eggs. So God is just simply trying to spice up your life a little bit. How many of you want more spice in your life? So he sends this problem, that problem, all kinds of things, but he’s teaching you things because of things for you to learn. Now you know in Philippians in chapter 4 when it makes a statement, my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

So God can meet your needs. But God taught him a lesson by using the ravens Because they were able to see high, go low, get the food, and bring it to Him. And God may have to put you in a tight spot and seems like He kind of dries up everything and you just got to trust the Lord. But God can teach you things. The next one I think is very, very good. So take your Bible and look at Numbers 22.

Numbers chapter 22. Numbers 22. Now, Baelak was not a very good man. He had heard all the things that were going on. They’re in, uh, with the children of Israel because they were coming up out of the land of Egypt and in stories were flying around and people had heard. Even the people, Jericho, they had already heard about the people. That’s right. Rahab was, we’ve heard and they were scared. And so they always wanted something to be done. But I want you to see this here, look here in chapter 22 and verse six.

Verse six. So this king, he didn’t want much. He just wanted the prophet of God to put a curse upon Israel. Well, he knew God doesn’t, and he’s gonna curse his people. He’s gonna bless his people. So the prophet was not permitted put a curse upon God’s people. But that’s what He wanted them to do. And so here we have this man. So Baelam wasn’t, well, he was trying to make a profit, how to get something because of his ability, I guess, to cast a spell, make a prophecy, put a curse, and this king was willing to pay him to do it.

Put a curse upon Israel so that they’ll leave me alone and get out of here, because he knew why they were coming, they were coming to take the land. And so he says in verse 6, come now therefore I pray the curse me this people, for they are too mighty for me. Per adventure I shall prevail that we may smite them and that I may drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom thou blessed is blessed, and he whom thou cursed is cursed.”

So this is what I want you to do. So he asked the Lord and the Lord says no. Oh, in verse 12, and God said unto Balaam, thou shalt not go with them, thou shall not curse the people for their blessed. Then Balaam, he rose up in the morning and said unto the princess of Belan. Get you into your land, for the Lord refuses to give me, leave to go with you. I can’t go. I can’t go. And that, and I can’t put a curse upon God’s people.

Can’t do it. So they let him alone, right? No, they didn’t let him alone. They come back again. I always remember this. When it comes to temptation, opportunities may knock at the door one time. temptations, knocks and keeps knocking. And so he was tempted. So he didn’t want to just let it go. So he said, I’ll ask God again. And God’s already been told him, no, but that wasn’t good enough. He says, but I’ll promote you and I’ll give you so much in verse 17.

Verse 18, and Balaam answered and said unto the servant of Balaam, if Balaam would give me his house full of silver and gold I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God to do less or more isn’t that wonderful he’s such a dedicated godly man well It’s not over yet. So he said, I can’t do more nor less. In other words, God’s word is final. That’s it. But he says here in verse 20 and, excuse me, verse 19, now therefore I pray you, tear ye here also this night, they shouldn’t have, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more.

In other words, let’s give God another chance. Maybe God will change his mind. Did you know what God did? God changed his mind. He says, okay, go with him. But remember, you cannot curse the people. So, he says down here in verse 22, and God’s anger was kindled because he went. In other words, it’s what he wanted to do, and God gave him permission to. And did you know that you can harp on something and want something so bad, and then God let you have it, let you have it and you wish you hadn’t done it.

You’d be surprised. It’s like God has a directive will and God has a permissive will. He’ll permit you to do whatever you want to do. He will allow you to live a wicked life, but that’s not what he wants. He wanted the people in Israel when they’re in the wilderness be satisfied with this manner from heaven. It gives you everything that you need. but no, they wanted some meat to eat. So he gave them all the meat they could eat until it made them sick and it made them mad.

So sometimes God will give you what you’re asking for and then you’ll wish you had never done it and never asked for it. Did you know sometimes you have to be careful the more money you make, the deeper in debt you can go. Do you know that? You didn’t know that. Some people just want to make more money more money. Finally I’ve got all my bills paid them out of debt. And then they say, oh, I got to have that.

And then they can go further into debt and then further into debt. And after a while, somewhere along the line, you could get trapped. You can parked a car, but you can’t park the payments. I always remember. Now look what else he says down through here. He made it to him that he was angry with him. So now he is on his donkey and he’s riding. And this jackass had to say a few words to him. And there was an angel that appeared in the way in verse 24 and verse 25.

And when the asshole, the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself into the wall, crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall and And he smote her again. So he hitting it. He’s hurt his foot. Now he wanted to go. Okay, he’s going. But everything isn’t cool. You see, God puts a hedge of thorns around about you. And when you are rebellious to the Lord and God knows your heart. See, he was saying all the right words. And God can put a hedge of thorns about you.

everything you say and do pricks you and hurts you. God doesn’t have to do everything. He can just allow it to happen because your own decisions will get you into a lot of trouble. When you trust your own way and go your own way there is a price to pay. So he says down here that the donkey had to say a few words, looking verse 28, and the Lord opened the mouth of the ass and she said under Balaam.

What have I done under thee that thou hast smitten me these three times? Now, when’s the last time you had a jackass talk to you? Now, I should have said that. Some of you are going to be thinking about somebody. You say it was this morning? So you’ve got to be careful. And so he says in verse 29, Balaam said unto the s because thou hast mock me. I would there were I sord in my hand. I would kill you.

If I had a sord in my hand, I’d be one dead mule or one dead jackass. And he says, well, what did I do? Now, when you want to teach a lesson on somebody that is stubborn, hard-headed rebellious, you could think of an animal. Now what kind of an animal would be, you know, hardened, rebellious, when you’d use a donkey, because that’s what they are. You see, when God wanted to show love and compassion, he used a dove. When he wants to show somebody that’s hard and rebellious and stubborn.

It uses a jackass. God seems to use the perfect animal for the perfect thing. And in your life, you’d be surprised. God can allow the perfect person to come across your path to rebuke you. Sometimes we need to be rebuked. We all said, we want the will of God for our life, and then we go our own way. Say, God bless me as I go and do what we want to do. So there is a price to pay. And so I want you to see this down here in verse 31.

Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way. Now the jackass saw it. But Balaam didn’t see it. See, there’s things in your life when you run from the Lord, you become blind because you’re turning away from light and you can’t see it. And you become like this, talks about it in Peter when he talks about it, and you become blind, you cannot see it far off. And so he says, and he saw the angel of the Lord, his sword was drawn.

Now he was fixing to take, if he had one, a sword to the jackass, but now he stands an angel He got a sword. In verse 32, the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine as these three times? Behold, I went out to withstand the be cause. And you ought to unline this in your Bible. Thy way is perverse before me. You’re going the wrong way. And sometimes as a child of God, we have to rebuke people and tell them, look, you’re making the wrong decision for your life.

I hate it when I see people making the wrong decisions for their life because I know it’s They’re going to maybe put scars upon themselves that down the road they may change your mind and get right with the Lord, but they so damaged their testimony or put scars on themselves that it will hinder them. They won’t be as great as they could have been. And you always are concerned about that. Look at number four. Number four, this rooster was a reminder to wake up and this is good.

Look at Matthew chapter 26. Matthew and chapter 26. You know what it’s about, don’t you? You know what it’s about? There was somebody who had denied the Lord how many times? Three times. Who was that man? That was Peter. So here in the book of Matthew in chapter 26, looking in verse 74, verse 74, he says, then began he to curse and to swear. This is Peter, you know, the great apostle. I know not the man. Remember when they were gonna deny the Lord and he says, I will never deny you.

And Jesus says before the cockroach, you’re gonna deny me three times. So he started and he did. I know not the man and immediately the cock crew. Now that rooster had a message. He caused Peter to remember. Do you think Peter remembered? Well, look at the next verse. Then Peter says in verse 75, and Peter remembered the words of Jesus. Isn’t it something God can use a rooster to help a man to remember something that he said? So these are things that the Bible talks about, we have gone to sleep, wake up.

Are you a new listener to Bibleline? Do you enjoy the teachings of Dr. Arnold? Well, if you’ve never contacted us before, we want to give you Dr. Arnold’s book, The Gospel Driven Man. Every day we receive many emails from folks who have questions about repentance and salvation, about faith in works, and about how to share the gospel with friends and loved ones. This book, The Gospel Driven Man, covers all those topics, and we want all new listeners of Bibleline to receive a free copy.

There’s no obligation, no donation necessary, simply call us at 1-800-576-3771, or write to us and request your free copy of the Gospel-Driven Man. The mailing address is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Again, don’t forget to include your mailing address, and God bless you and thank you for listening to Bibleline. 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. Hada, pamik, the Lord in the air. So live today and every day. Believing that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.