This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 air. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-800-800-800-800. hundred five seven six three seven seven one online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calbury of Tampa dot org 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.

Turn to the book of Romans in chapter eight. Romans chapter eight. This is generally the scripture that many people like as perhaps their life burst, believing that all things work together for good. Because as they look at life, sometimes it doesn’t look like very much is good. You ever feel like it’s raining on you every day? Well, sometimes it seems like it rains on me an awful lot. I’m always in the midst of a storm. That’s why I said I was going to write a book called, Living on the side of the mountain.

It seemed like I never get to the top. I’m always, you know, one foot forward and slipping back two feet. But here in the book of Romans, as we talk about this thing about being called of God, as God called you, a sermon I preached down there in Florida, I asked a man that was sitting there, had just finished leading this thing, and I said, you got a cell phone on you? He said, yes I do. I said, let me have your cell phone.

So he brought me cell phone up here, and I pretended like, oh, excuse me, just a minute. I just heard God just call me on the phone. And so I took a phone call from God and then God told me something. I did that about three or four times. I said, see, God called me. God called me. And see, none of y’all could hear that, but I heard it. God called me on the phone. Well, a lot of times people, they say, you know, God never speaks to me.

God never speaks to me. And how does a preacher know when God called him to preach? Or a missionary? You know, here’s me. God called me to Ecuador. God called me to Peru. It seemed like wherever you want to go, say, God calls you. And there you go. Where do you really want to go? Well, God uses the desires of an individual. God says, the light thyself and the Lord, and he shall give the desires of thine heart. What do you desire?

What do you want? And so sometimes though, desires come from God. So it’s a good thing, it’s a great thing. But believe it or not, there is a high calling of God. The high calling of God is when you got a call from God. God called you. Well, does he God call just the men? Can God call a woman? And if he calls a woman, what did he call her to do? Well, I think that you’ll see this in just a moment.

But look there in verse 28, verse 28, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. Now notice every person who trusts Christ’s Savior is really somebody who’s been called of God. You see, whenever somebody preached the gospel, He says, he that heareth my word and believe it on him, that sent me half everlasting life, he that heareth my word. So whenever someone preaches the Bible, gives the gospel, somebody heard it, and if they hear it, they gotta answer the call.

They gotta tell God, God, I heard you. They must believe that the message they heard didn’t come from the man. They must believe, and you must believe, and I must believe God is the one that’s speaking. God’s the one that says, I’m a sinner, not the preacher. God does. God must be the one that says, I paid for your sins through my son Jesus Christ. I did that for you. You must hear that and understand, believe that. And you must believe that when Christ came back from the dead, all you have to do is accept Christ as your savior.

And if you trust him, you’ll have eternal life. You must hear God say that. You must hear the word somehow. Faith cometh by what? Hearing. So when you heard it, you have to answer. So a lost man is simply you’re leading them to crisis, getting him to hear what God said so that he’ll answer the call. And what does God want him to do concerning what he heard? Well, if you hear that you’re lost and you hear that all you have to do is trust Christ’s savior to answer the call is to trust Christ’s savior.

Get it? See how simple that is? So every Christian has been called of God. You were called. I can say I’ve been called a God to be a pastor. God called you in other areas, not just on salvation that I want you to say. To get what he says, he says to them who love God to them who are the called according to his purpose. So God has called you. You are just as called of God as the preacher or missionary or evangelist.

Every man, woman, boy and girl who trusts Christ the Savior has been called by God. And if you answer it concerning salvation, then God will save you and give eternal life. So if you have eternal life, because you heard the call and you answered it. Now, look what he says there in verse 29. For whom he did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the first born among many brethren So when God called you if to let you know that he wants you to be conformed to the image of his son So when God called you on the telephone, let’s just pretend for the sake of the services born in simplicity You’re gonna picture it God is calling you on the telephone and you heard the phone ring and you answered the phone Or just pretend

God calling you, but of course he calls you through the what? Do the word. Do the word. So whenever you sit down and read the word, as God is calling at your number and He wants to talk to you and you’re answering His call. Do you understand and do you really believe that God has called you to be conformed to the image of Christ? That means that in your life you’re supposed to take up on the image of Jesus Christ.

How How are you doing? How are you doing? You’re so, well, I don’t know. That’s what Yankee wants me to do. No, no, no, no. How are you? Nothing to do with Yankee. How are you doing to preacher? This is because you heard God call you and this is what God wants you to do. And that’s why he makes the statement here in verse 30. Look at verse 30. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, then he also what? Called whom he called, then he also justified and whom he justified them, he also glorified them.

So have you been called of God? Yes, you’ve been called of God, just like the preacher says he’s been called to preach, you’re called to do this, a missionary, whatever you have been called. Now you just need to find out what did God call you to do? Because your calling is as important to you as mine is to me so that I have a ministry and you have a ministry. Now the Bible makes a statement in the book of Peter, it makes a statement about making your calling and election sure your calling.

Make sure that you heard right and you answered right. Kind of like giving you a test. Did you hear? Now take your Bible and turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and look in verse 13. two verses I want you to look at here. Because you need to be convinced, sure that God calls you, you hurt correctly and you answered the call the way God intended. In verse 13 he says, but we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.

In other words, God has predetermined before the foundation the world to save every person who answers the call. God called you. If you answer it, God is predetermined. He’ll save you. That’s what predestination is about. God has chosen before the foundation of our own who soever hears, who soever answers, I will save them. Call upon me and ye shall be saved. There is no other salvation anywhere. Now get what he says in verse 14. Where unto he called you by our what?

What’s that word? Gospel. So God calls through the gospel. So whenever I witness, whenever you witness, that’s the way God calls another person. You hear it. You heard the message. You answered the call. You trusted Christ’s Savior. So being a soul winner is simply you telling people what God said so that they can hear it. And it’s between them and the Lord then. But God uses people to explain that to people. And you don’t have to cross 3,000 miles of a body of water to become a missionary.

You don’t have to go to a foreign country to be a missionary. You’re either a missionary or you’re a mess. You should need to be reaching somebody or somebody needs to be reaching you. And if you’re not reaching somebody, you still need to be reached, not for salvation, but you need to be reached in order to be challenged so that you will reach. This is what it’s all about. So he says you’re in verse 14, where unto he called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In other words, through the gospel is how you obtain the glory or the perfection of Jesus Christ. God is perfect. Jesus Christ is the righteousness of God. When you heard the gospel, you answered it and say, I believe that and by believing that, that’s how you obtain the righteousness, the perfection of God. So God gave it to you. That’s how you got saved. Now, has God called you? Did you hear the gospel? And when you heard the gospel, what did you do about it?

You said, well, I believe it. Okay? With you believed it, then you are what the Bible calls. You’re called of God. You were called of God. God called you. So God spoke to you and you heard and you answered. So can God speak to you? Yes. Now, is there other things in the Word of God? Can God call you on the phone about other things? Well, yes, he can. Look there in Romans chapter 1. Romans and chapter 1. Romans chapter 1, and notice where it says in verse 1, he says, Paul a servant of Jesus Christ called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.

God has not called you to be an apostle, but he could call you to be something else. But see, as I studied the Bible, I always wanted to find out, well, what does God want me to do? So I find out where his voice refers to me. See, there’s things that God told Moses to do that he didn’t tell me to do. I’m not Moses. There’s things he told Adam and Eve to do that he didn’t tell me. I’m not Adam and I’m not Eve.

Therefore I don’t have to worry about that. There’s a thing he told Israel to do, but I’m not Israel, so I don’t have to worry about that. But is there anything in the Bible that he’d tell me to do? Well, that’s what I gotta find out. Now look down in verse six. He says in verse six, “‘Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ? “‘You’re even looked upon as the Bible refers “‘to a group of people, those are the called of Jesus Christ.'”

That means you called and you heard salvation and then look what he says in verse 7, to all that be in Rome, the levered of God called saints. Call to be saint, call saint, to be is in the italics. So God says that when you trusted Christ as your Savior, God’s Word says that He called you to be a saint. You are a saint. Now you may not look like one. I have a sermon that I’m working on. It’s about the pig.

You know that you take out the muddle and you take them in your house and you put them in your bath of you wash the pig all up and you curl this tail and you spray them with some lily of the alley and the art piggy, piggy whatever you call it, and clean them all up spray and make them look good put a ring on them or whatever you want to do but if you turn that pig loose where’s that pig gonna head right back to the muddle.

Why? Tell a pig. But what we’re going to do is we’re going to change the pig and the pigs still going to look like a pig but we don’t want the pig to act like a pig and here you are. So you’re going to take on the image. We’re a little piggy’s. And we’re going to pig out but anyway I better stay back with this. Look give. In verse seven, to all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called saints, grace be to you in peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

So you are called a saint. What is a saint? It comes from a Greek word, Hagi Azo, meaning to be made pure and holy. So God, when he called you and phoned, said, I just want to let you know that whenever I called you and you answered, I made you pure and holy. You’re perfect because of what I did for you. And also I want you to understand that all things work together for your good. To those who are the called according to his purpose.

Do you believe that God has a purpose for you living here? Yes. You see if God didn’t need you, he would have let you die a long time ago. He’d have let the devil then it didn’t take care of you. As long as you can do this. Draw a breath and you got a purpose for living. Now, take your Bible and turn to the book of 2 Peter, chapter 1, 2 Peter, and chapter 1. on Peter 1. Some interesting scriptures here.

But in the book of Peter, there is the danger of a Christian having life without growth. There’s a danger of little children being born without growth. If they don’t grow, you know there’s something wrong. Or what about Christians that won’t grow? They’re saved, heavy turn of life. But as far as their spiritual walk with the Lord, they never get strong enough to handle spiritual responsibility. Children of God. And so these verses here from about verse three down to verse eight is talking about life without growth and then there’s another danger from verse nine down to verse 14 about Knowledge but having a knowledge without practice knowledge But it doesn’t do you any good is it possible that you could go to church every week never miss and never grow spiritually?

or never do anything with the knowledge. What’s interesting to me for years whenever I would preach, Eddie would always say that out there in the congregation. And he got to where he was pretty good at taking notes down of what I preached. And he would show me after the service he had wrote down every verse. Oh my point, he had better notes than what I had. But he would sit down here right down the notes and he’d write down the scriptures.

He got to where You know, after a while, he could tell where I’m going next. He says, no, he’s gonna go to this first. No, he’s gonna go to this first. No, this is what he’s gonna say. No, that’s reputation that you hear so often so on. You know where a person’s going to go. He says, I could just about do that. He said, I know what you’re gonna do next. And he goes here and he’s out listening to you on the radio this morning.

He says, no, I know he’s gonna do this and he’s gonna go to this first. And lo and behold, that’s why they called they’ve heard me camps. They come to ranch, they come to church. Well, after a while, you start learning. And the reason I say it over and over and over again is because that’s exactly what I want him to do. Now, Eddie likes to speak, and he preached for a little man a couple of weeks ago. And he loves this preach now.

But now he can remember, he got a better memory. He can remember the sermons. And he had all my notes. And he could recall doing a super job doing that. But what about you? When you sat down and you read the Bible, do you realize that there’s things you’re supposed to be learning? because you want to do. But remember, the things that he learned, that was 15, 20 years ago. And now, all these years later, he’s beginning to implement them.

See, this is why I say the work we do with the teenagers or the kids in Sunday school, you don’t have any idea down the road what God’s going to do with those individuals. But you keep telling them, keep teaching them. And because someday, those things come back to your remembrance. Every person in here, you can, well I should say, well you can remember when you were a child. I can remember back when I was four years old. I can remember all the way back before I was born.

No, I’m just joking. But look what he says in verse 10. Wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling and election sure for if you do these things He shall never fall. So it’s not the will of God for a child of God to fall, but we can stumble. But falling, God said, I’ll uphold you with my right hand, unless you just don’t want to walk with God. So we do a lot of stumbling in our life, and sometimes we fall, but God says that, all you gotta do is just get up and keep on walking with the Lord.

But some Christians, they don’t grow. They don’t put into practice the things that they’ve learned in their Christian life. take your Bible and turn to the book of Ephesians chapter 4, the book of Ephesians and chapter 4. This is what was written to the church at Ephesus, the church at Ephesus. So as this letter is written, remember he’s not just writing to preachers and missionaries, evangelists, believe or not have a high calling from Jesus Christ. Of all the phone calls you can get in this world.

Of all the people you could talk to and the people you can listen to. God called and the only thing that’s gonna make you different in this world than anybody else is if you’ll hear him and obey him then you’ll be different. Otherwise you’ll be just like everybody else who’s ever lived. You can Live your whole life and make no difference in the lives of other people. Nobody’s eternal destination has been altered. Nobody has been challenged to serve the Lord.

If you don’t let God change you, God must speak to you, and as you sit down and you’re home and you read the word of God, you must believe God is speaking to me. God is telling me this. This is why, like in 1960, when Dr. Virgil Edwards would speak, I did not listen as though I’m listening to Dr. Virgil Edwards. Whenever he would refer to the Bible, I always believe God is speaking me. This is what God wants to do.

me to has not do it, verse of Edwards. And because I listen to it from that point of view, it changed my life. You see, I don’t want you listening to the Bible as Yankee says, the preacher says, no, God said, and you have to believe. See the reason I go to church on Sunday morning, what? Because God says to do so. Yankee didn’t tell you to do that. I have no authority to tell you what to do. God does.

So whenever God says, upon the first day of the week, okay, on the first day of the the week. I wonder what day that is. That’s a Sunday. First day of the week and then you said, do not have no forsaken of yourselves together. In other words, and even more so as you see the day of fruit, in other words, the closer we get to the Lord coming, should I forsake the assembling of ourselves together? Some people say, well, I can worship God, I don’t have to go to church.

You can, but you’re not going to please God. Who’s the one said to go to church? The preacher of God. The preacher’s only telling you what God said. Outside of the Bible, the man has no authority, can’t do anything. But you must hear that. God is the one that told me to go to church on Sunday mornings. So that’s why I do it. And if God’s the one that tells me that I should give, well then why do I give?

Because God says so. And if the preacher says, no, no, I had not done it to the preacher. The preacher’s not the power. The power is the word. You hear God. I do what I do because God says so. I I don’t go to church because Leon wants me to. I don’t go to church because Tim wants me to. I go to church because God wants me to. Therefore, I don’t feel right when I disobey God because I believe that’s what God wants me to do.

But if you don’t believe it’s what God wants and God said it, well then if it’s just a man, well you can defy him anytime you want to. Who is he? I don’t have to give because Yankees want to say that I should do this or this and that. I don’t have to obey him. Who’s the think he is? You’re right. But did you hear God? If God called you upon the telephone and told you, this is what I want you to do, will you or will you not obey God?

That’s where it hangs. That’s why you do what you do. Who’s the one that wants you to be conformed to the image of Christ? I want you to, but I don’t have to command to make you do it. God does. But you must hear God wants me to be conformed to the image of Christ. God wants me to have a good testimony. God wants me to do right. God wants me to do this and do that. So you must hear God call you.

Now here in the book of Ephesians in chapter four, look in verse one. I therefore, Paul saying, the prisoner of the Lord, that word is do-loss in the Greek, and it means a bond slave. It means he is a bond slave, a love slave of the Lord. So I am a free man. God save me, set me free, and I have chosen voluntarily, I chose to be a bond slave of Jesus Christ. Lord, I’ll be your slave. Now, am I doing that to get to heaven?

No. I’m doing it because God says, I am in this world for a reason. He has called me to do something. And so as I heard the thing about the gospel and go ye into all the world and preach the gospel and so forth, I became addicted to the gospel. I am a gospel addict. That’s why the copy of my book back there, the thing of the gospel driven man, it’s all about the gospel. Why? Because I’m addicted to it.

I heard God say something about that, and it has so changed and motivated my whole life. Now get what he says. I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation, wherewith ye are what? You are what? So you have a vocation. You ask something, what’s your thing? Well, I’m a doctor, I’m a lawyer, I’m this, I’m that, or whatever the, but God gave you one too. You are a servant of the Lord.

You are to be a bond slave of Jesus Christ. Therefore he says, walk worthy, walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. So have you been called of God? Yes. You have a calling just as much as a preacher, missionary or any evangelist, God called you. You’re called of God. You’ve been called by God to meet together with God’s people. You’ve been called by God to support missions. You’ve been called by God to the beef at that church.

You’ve been called by God to study His work. You’ve been called by God to pray. You’ve been called by God and you go through the book and there’s many precious promises God’s given us in His Word that are just as real for you as they are for me. And some of you’ve got has called to be a faithful husband and God called you to be a faithful wife and God called you to be faithful teenagers. Everybody has been called by God to be a good steward.

More of a steward is required to be found faithful. Have you been called of God? Yes. Have you answered the call? Are you a faithful steward of God? Well, God called you. You see, it’s the preacher’s just to lead you to guide you. But outside it has no power. Can’t make anybody do anything. I wish they could sometime. I give me a bull, but it won’t work. If I can’t get you to do what you do with truth, then you didn’t do it for the right reason.

Because you and I are both answerable to God. We do what God wants us to do with our life. But He makes a statement that you are worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. Didn’t get what He says here. In verse four, there is one body. One spirit, even as you get this, ye are called and one hope of your calling. You have a calling. This is to the church. This isn’t to the pastor, this is to the church.

But he makes a statement there in verse 12. Look at verse 12. That God has called some pastors, prophets, apostles, evangelists, teachers, as I said in verse 11, and get verse 12. for the perfect thing of the saint. That means the equipping of the saint. See, all I’m supposed to try to equip you to fulfill your calling. God has called you. That word perfect me to equip you with the tools necessary to answer the call. So if I am trying to teach you, but let’s just pretend you won’t come half the time.

That really cuts back on my teaching you, isn’t it? And if you only come half the time really cuts down on your being equipped to do the work of the ministry. True. But if you came all the time, as much as you can, the more you learn, the more you can do, the more you can answer the call of God. Is it important for the pastor to be faithful? Do you believe that when a man says that I have been called of God to be a pastor or called of God to be a missionary, called of God to be an the angels.

Don’t you believe that that should be a requirement? What about the pastor believing that about you? As God called you. And you’re supposed to be able to look into the word of God that God called me to be part of the body of Christ. This is the body. Look in verse four again. There’s one body, one spirit, even as you’re called and one hope of your column. is one true church, you are part of that. You have been called by God.

And in the local assembly, you’re called by God. Are you supposed to be found faithful? You are to be found faithful. It is the will of God. Now, of course, you can disobey it like we can and everything else. Nobody going to make you. It’s just that you’ll lose out on what you could have done or what the church could have done or the people that we could have reached or the missionaries we could have supported or the lost goes on and on and on.

What could be done if God people were faithful, but the result is they don’t think down the road is just whatever I want to do, whatever please me if it’s convenient. Now it’s the Lord’s work has to be a priority in your life. You’re a high calling must be a priority. 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 two 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to To BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage. If you’re 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 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.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, 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, just keep looking up.