DELIVERANCE FROM THE THORNS OF LIFE

SERIES:  MY GOD IS MY DELIVERER 

TEXT:  GENESIS 3:17-19

Our message this day is “deliverance from the thorns of life” in (Genesis 3;17-19) “and unto Adam he said,  because thou hast harkened unto the voice of thy wife and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee saying, thou shalt not eat of it. Cursed is the ground for thy sake. In sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorus also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee and thou shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground. For out of it wast thou taken, for dust thou art, and unto dust shall thou return.”

Let us learn:

I.  WHAT IS A THORN?

It is possible some of you watching or listening to me you have never seen thorns in your life time. But for those raised in the farm, thorns are common place and dangerous. As a shepherd boy thorns were all over, some thorn love to fierce the feet, other love to rapture the skin, other like the one called “wait abit” can tear your clothes. Thorns are sharp needles on a plant, on its leaves, stem or branches. A thorn is a prickle or a sharp polluted growth on the branch or stem of a plant.

The passage we have read is what the bible calls the “curse of thorns”. Thorns and thistles were not there until man fell into sin in the garden of Eden.

Simply put thorns and thistles mean hard labour or hard life.

A life of thorns and thistles if not rescheduled, can cause many problems. There are also different places thorn can pierce for example there are thorns in the flesh, thorns in the heart, thorns in the soul, thorns in the mind etc.

In Matthew 27; 29-30) the Bible says “and when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head and a reed in his right hand, and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him saying, hail king of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed and smote him on the head.”

These events happened before Jesus Christ was crucified. The crown of thorns with sharp needle like objects was placed on his head, causing his blood to come out.

They put on him the crown of thorns to mock him. It was also to give him headache and to poison his blood.

II.  WHY WAS HIS CROWN MADE OF THORNS?

• His crown was made of thorns because, he came to cancel and break the curse of the thorns of life.
• Jesus Christ wore the crown of thorns for you and me and carried away the curse and spiritual poisons that made life a hell.
• When there are thorns in a life, the purpose is to cause worry, trouble, temptations, pain humiliation and persistent attacks.
• Jesus Christ shed his blood to remove these thorns.
• Life now offers only two things, thorns or flowers, depending on what you personally choose.
• The Bible says in Deuteronomy 30:15 “see, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction”
• Blessings and curses, life and death. God advises you to choose life so you may live.

III. WHAT DETERMINES WHETHER A PERSON PICKS UP THORNS OR FLOWERS?

• What determines what you pick is the kind of vessel you want to be.
• A vessel is any material that may be used for any purpose.
• A vessel may be a tool, an implement, a weapon or something you use to perform a particular function (romans 9:21-23)
• In 2 Timothy 2:20-21 “but in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of word and of earth, and some of honor, and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the masters use, and prepared unto very good work.”
• Since there are many kinds of vessels in the house of God, examine what kind of vessel you are.
• There are four kinds of vessels and kinds of people in the house of God.

1. Useless vessels – valueless
2. Used vessels – spend out
3. User vessels – people who use others
4. Useful vessel – faithful are ready to be used of God, spend and be spend on the gospel.

• God will not accept any excuse from anyone for not being a useful vessel.
• The vessel of Adam for disobeying God was rejected.
• The excuse of eve for disobeying was rejected
• The excuse of Lot wanting to remain in Sodom and Gomorrah was rejected.
• The excuse of Moses for not wanting to talk to Pharaoh was rejected
• The excuse of Aaron for making the golden calf was rejected.
• The excuse of the ten spies for refusing to enter the promised land was rejected.
• The excuse of Saul assuming the office of a priest was rejected.
• The excuse of Elijah running away from Jezebel was rejected.
• The excuse of the unfaithful servant for hiding and burying his talent in the ground was rejected.
• The excuse of Jeremiah, that he was only a boy and could not serve God was rejected.
• Your excuse for not receiving Christ and getting saved will be rejected.
• Those who have excuses for not being what God wants them to be, their excuses will be rejected.
• What kind of a vessel are you? Your answer will determine if you pick the thorns or flowers.
• There are vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor.
• Do not be a signpost, that points people to heaven yet the signpost itself is not going there.
• Today, tells the Lord “I do not want to be a vessel unto dishonor, make me a vessel of honor in the name of Jesus Christ.
• Any situation in life, no matter how bad can be rectified by the touch of Jesus Christ.
• A man’s life, a woman’s life will remain empty until there is an encounter with the master, the Lord   Jesus Christ.
• Your prosperity, money, honor, fame, position or education, beauty means nothing so long as Jesus Christ is absent in your life – it means zero without the savior of your soul.
• Perhaps you have been trying on your own strength, you have been struggling, it is time you submit your vessel to God.
• He will make you a vessel unto honor.

IV.  CATEGORIES OF THORNS OF LIFE.

1. Sin: all sins are thorns of life.

• The Bible says in Matthew 1:21 that the son of god was born to save all people from their sins.

2. Sickness:- Jesus Christ was wounded for our transgression and bore our infirmities on the cross. (Isaiah 53:3-5)
3. Demonic oppression
4. Unfriendly friends:- they are all over the place and one can pick them up.
5. Bad habits:- bad habits and addiction are cause by self-dominating sins. Bad habits leads to hell fire.
6. Lack of spiritual fire – without spiritual power we become victims of thorns of life.
7. Spirit of failure – automatic failure syndrome is programmed by Satan in a person’s life.

A story is told of a man that tell into a very deep pit and could not get out. At the mouth of the pit he received about 12visitors.

• The first to arrive was brother sympathizer, he said “you are in the pit, I feel sorry for you” and walked away.
• Then came brother logic. He said “oh, you are inside there? It is logical that someone should fall inside there, because of the location, they should have put it elsewhere or some fence around it he went away.
• Then shorty, sister holiness came she said “what are you doing inside this pits? Only bad people and sinners fall into such pits” she then went away.
• After a while brother mathematics came. He began to calculate how the man fell into the pit. He calculate the circumference and the diameter and the depth, yet the man remained in the pit.
• Eventually sister historian turned up, she explained, the pit was dug in 1960, by the British colonialists. She told the man how many other people have fallen and died in the same pit. She left and the man was still there.
• Then came the journalist, he interviewed the man on how he got into the pit. After getting an exclusive story on the incidence, he left.
• Then brother self-pity came and urged the man to take courage, he said his own pit was actually deeper than his “you haven’t seen anything yet” he said and left.
• Then come the Pentecostal preacher, he said “brother, why are you inside that pit. Now begin to

confess that you are out of that pit” and he departed.

• Then finally came the Lord Jesus Christ to the very spot, he did not waste time. He took the man’s hand and dragged him out of the pit. Jesus Christ is not theoretical but practical.
• Only Jesus Christ can withdraw the thorns of life and replace them with flowers of life.
• Let us come to him today, in Matthew 11:28-30
• Let us tell Jesus Christ in prayer, before we start that project or contract, before you take that journey, before you commit your money.

CONCLUSION

• Please, lay your right hand on your head and pray.

1. Lord Jesus, make me a vessel unto honor.
2. Lord Jesus, if the vessel of my life is too weak to hold your blessings to me, help me in the name of Jesus.
3. I break every curse affecting my life, in Jesus name.
4. All you enemies of my break though, be disgraced and defeated in the name of Jesus.

I refuse to pick up thorns of life and I now remove all thorns of life from by body, soul and spirit, in Jesus name.

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Rev, DR. Willy Mutiso

Rev, Dr. Willy Mutiso is the Senior Pastor at First Baptist Athiriver. He is widely known for his practical and dynamic teaching style which helps people apply the timeless truths of Scripture to their everyday lives.

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