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Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, everywhere, every time. 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 air. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.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.

Now take your Bible and turn there to the book of Matthew And chapter 5, as you know we’ve been talking a little bit about the warfare that we’re in, the battle, the inner soldier, and put on the whole armor of God, being strong in the power of His might, and talking a little bit about the power of God and what we’re supposed to do. Well, this morning I want to talk to you about flea, follow, fight, and faith. words for the Christian life.

There’s things to flee, there’s things to follow, there’s things to fight, and all of it is because of your faith. In the book of Matthew chapter 5, if you will, they’re in verse 14. Verse 14 says, ye are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, on a candlestick and it give a flight unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. So letting your light shine. How many of you have ever heard of the song, this little light of mine? What am I going to do? I’m going to let it shine and we always talk about this little light of mine. Well, what’s What’s wrong with having a big light? But we usually sing this little light of mine, but there’s nothing wrong with having a big light.

But what is this light? This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Well, look there in verse 16. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your what? Good works. Good works is the light that they’re supposed to see. There’s something about your life. Something to good about your life. your works that you’re supposed to perform that’s supposed to make a difference. Through those works you’re to glorify your Father which is in heaven and through those works they’re able to see something.

Maybe they’re supposed to see your Father through your good works. Now, I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of James chapter 2 and verse 24. But before we discuss that verse there in the book of James. I want to explain a few things to you first of all. We’re told in the word of God that salvation is by grace through faith. That means that it’s by faith and faith alone. You know the verse, Ephesians 2, 8, 9, 4, by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves.

It is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast. Being saved means that you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior. He gives to you eternal life. That is a finished transaction that’s over and done with the very moment that you trusted Christ as your Savior. You have been saved from the penalty of sin. You have eternal life. You’re going to heaven when you die. You were saved by faith without works. Without your works. It was by the work of Christ.

He said it is finished. That means He did on the cross all that was needed for your salvation from hell. So you trusted Him as your Savior and so by faith in what Christ did you put your confidence in His payment. You’re not putting your confidence in your good works but in His good works and God saves you in that alone. Satan always wants to mess up the message. So he tells people, though, you’ll have to earn your salvation.

You’ve got to work for it. So he has works to it. Well, we know that that’s a false message. Salvation is by grace and grace alone. Now that you have trust in Christ as your Savior, what about service? Service is you serving the Lord. That’s your service after you have been saved. Well, now is it by faith? Is it by works? Or what is it now? We often hear people make these statements. The Christian life is simply a life of letting go and just letting God.

That sounds very good. Sounds very spiritual. Another way is just handed all over to God. Turn everything in your life over to God. That sounds good. That’s nothing wrong with that. Sounds spiritual. Another one is don’t ever say that you did it. Ah, I did it. And God did everything in the Christian’s life. Another one is just turn everything over to the Lord and let God handle it all. That all sounds good. But then where’s the war? Where’s the battle?

Where’s the struggle? Where’s this wrestling? What do I do? If I’m supposed to just turn everything over to God, well, what am I supposed to do? If I’m just let him do everything, do I do anything? Where’s my responsibility? Now, if God does everything, then just what do I do? The Christian life is a fight, the Christian life is a war, the Christian life is a struggle, and equal opportunities between God and you. In other words, there’s things that God has promised that He will do, and there’s things that we promise that we’re supposed to do as a child of God.

Whenever a man and a woman get married, many times they think that that I do was a total finished transaction for the rest of their life, and it was one lot payment. But you forget that whenever you said I do to that woman or to that man, you promised that you was going to make installments for the rest of your life. You promise that every day of your life you are going to love that man. You were gonna honor that man.

You were gonna respect that man. That’s what you promised and you have your installments due every month. Now what some people come along and they say later on, I don’t love him anymore. You mean you don’t love him anymore? You mean you’re not gonna pay his dues anymore? You You promised, you owed. You made an agreement, well how long was that agreement? Till one of them was dead. Oh, that’s a long time. Have you ever took it out alone for a car?

And after you’ve made that loan, $20,000, and then you wish you hadn’t done it, you can park your car, but you can’t park the payments. And you made an agreement that every month at a certain time you’re gonna make those installments, those payments. Some people can just pay it all off at one time. That’s one. If you pay it all off at one time, you don’t have to make any payments. But if you don’t, you’ve got to make payments until it’s paid.

When you got married, you promised your wife that you would love your wife and you would take care of your wife and provide for your wife and all the in sickness, you’re still going to pay. When you’re out of work, you’re still going to pay. When you don’t have anything, you’re still going to pay. You promised a certain amount to that wife all the days of her life. Some people come up bankrupt. So I can’t pay no more because I don’t love no more.

I don’t want to know more. I don’t want him anymore. I don’t let him know more. Aren’t you glad that your Heavenly Father in heaven is not like us? When He saved us, our salvation from hell was not made on the installment plan. When Christ came and He made a death payment, He paid for all of our sins once and for all. Not that I trusted Him as my Savior, and I’m saved up to this point, but when I sin some more, He got to make another installment payment.

And then by sin some more, He got to make another payment, and then every day He got to make some more payments to pay for the sins that I commit. He paid for all of my sins once and for all as a finished transaction. And He promised He’d never cast me out to finish the deal. Christian life is where you have decided in your mind I’m gonna serve the Lord. I owe God. I owe God. And God said I promise that this is what I’m gonna do for you.

So both of us have agreed to something. As a child of God, I believe every one of us is his children should commit ourselves to the Lord that we’re going to serve the Lord. That means every day I owe God. For what he’s done for me, I owe God. My service, which is a reasonable thing to give back to him. Or if I don’t do it, it can never take that away because that was a finished transaction. But the blessings of life are dependent upon our obedience to the Lord.

Rewards in heaven are dependent upon your obedience. to the Lord. You don’t work, you don’t get the reward. You’ve got to do what God says to do. So in the Bible in the book of James in chapter 2, look there in verse 24, ye see then how that by works a man is justified and not by faith only. Now here we’re not talking about salvation, how to get to heaven because going to heaven you’re justified by faith without works.

But we’re We’re not talking about getting to heaven here. We’re talking about living for the Lord, serving the Lord. We’re talking about being rewarded when we get to heaven and getting God’s blessings now. We’re talking about not being chastened while we’re in this world. Look there in verse 14, what does it profit my brethren? Though a man say he hath faith and have not works, can faith save him? Not from the chasing hand of God know. Oh, as far the salvation.

That’s a finished transaction. We’re not discussing that anymore because now after your saved, your life revolves around your service to the Lord. Salvation was free. Service is going to cost you. That’s discipleship. No man is to be a disciple of Christ to be saved. He simply trusts Christ to save your, he has eternal life. That’s what gets him into the family of God. Now as a child of God you can choose to be a disciple of Christ. If you’re going to follow Him, you’re going to serve Him, then God says, it’s going to cost you, bud.

It’s not going to be a free ride. He says, I’ll bless you, but it’s going to be because of what you do. I’ll reward you when you get to heaven. There’s going to be a result of what you do. And if you don’t serve me, he’s not going to chase you. But that’s going to be a result of what you do. So there’s a lot that has to depend upon me. And I’m not supposed to just turn everything over to God.

I’m not supposed to let God do everything because God’s told me certain things to do. For example, when I was in Colorado, we had some buses. When it had been something for me to say, I’m not going to drive the bus today. I’m just going to turn it all over to God and let God drive the bus today. Just let God do it all. I don’t want any credit. I’m not going to teach today and I’m not going to preach today.

I’m not going to do anything today. I want God to get all the glory. Isn’t that spiritual? Isn’t that sound wonderful? Doesn’t it sound sweet? But it stinks in the nozzles of God. Why? Because you don’t turn over to God and you don’t commit to God. Anything God told you to do. God will do what God will do and you’re to do what you’re supposed to do. And the thing that you turn over to God is the things that you can’t do.

Things that you’re not supposed to do. What will cause you stress and strain is trying to bear that which God never told you to bear. Now, here in the book of James, he says in verse 15, if a brother or sister be naked destitute of daily food, one of you say to them, be part in peace for your warmth and field, isn’t that spiritual? But you didn’t give him thing to eat. Didn’t give him anything to wear. What you said was spiritual that was wonderful, but you really didn’t do anything.

Can faith save you without works? No, not for the Christian life. You see, you don’t get rewards in heaven, but you don’t get blessings down here unless you do what God tells you to do. And so you cannot just say what’s your Christian life. I’m just gonna turn everything over to God. No, because God has turned a lot of things over to you and says, but you do this and you do this and you do this. That’s what causes the struggle.

That’s what causes the wrestling. That’s what causes the warfare. That’s where the fight is. And there’s a lot of Christians don’t want to fight. They don’t want to struggle. They don’t want to they don’t want to do what God tells them to do. They want to be disobedient. But God bless me. God bless me. It won’t work that way. Look at it in James in chapter four and verse seven. Chapter four and verse 7. The word says submit yourself that’s something that you do.

You see in Christian service is faith plus your works. Faith and what? Faith that what God tells you to flee you flee. Faith in what God tells you to fight you fight and what God tells you to follow you follow. Faith is doing what God tells you to do with your life. That’s living by faith. And therefore, if your faith is believing that God says to flee this, I flee. My works is what gives action to my faith. And if I don’t do the work, God says your faith is dead.

Your faith is in vain. And we’re not talking about getting to heaven because our faith is in Christ’s work for salvation. He did his job. We’re trusting that. God says your rewards in heaven and your blessings now is based upon your faith plus your works. So you’re to believe that what God said is true and because you believe it, you do it. And if you don’t do it, you don’t believe it. And he says your faith is in vain.

Now notice there also in verse 7, he says, resist the devil. You don’t tell God to resist the devil, you resist the devil. things you’re supposed to do. You’re not, well, just let God do it all. No, God don’t want to do it all. God will do for you what you can’t do, but you’re going to do what you have to do and supposed to do. In other words, God, you might say, Lord, I want you to meet my needs, but you’ll let you rascal, you stay home and you won’t go to work.

But I’m living by faith. You ain’t living by faith. You’re a fool. You want God to meet your needs? God said, I’ll meet your needs. Get off your can and go to work and you’ll be surprised how much your needs will be met. It works God’s way. And God said, if a man don’t work, he ought not what? He ought not eat. Now I’m talking about those who can. We have a lot of people who can and don’t. Look at another verse.

Look there in verse eight. He says, draw a nine. That’s something you do. Cleanse your hands. He centers cleanse your hands. That’s something you do. You cleanse your hands. Purify your heart. That’s something that you do. And look down what he says in verse 11 Speak not evil one of another. That’s something that you do. Yes, you’re going to have those battles in your life Where somebody does you wrong and you want to speak evil back against them? Well, I’m just gonna turn it over the Lord.

What do you do? You gonna blast them out? You didn’t turn it over the Lord God’s worth speak no evil Because of my faith that God says don’t do that then I’m gonna put it into practice and not do that That’s what that means. That’s how you live by faith Living by faith is walking in obedience to the word of God not sitting around trying to talk spiritual slang And Lord go and thinking I’m spiritually because I said the right I just cast it all on the Lord You cast on the Lord what God says you to cast on the Lord and that’s the thing that God said he’ll do his promises and don’t try to do God’s job and you do what you’re supposed to do that’s your job and you’ll be surprised how it’ll work and it will work.

Take your Bible and turn into the book of Romans in chapter 8. The book of Romans and chapter 8. Romans chapter 8 and look there in verse 13. As a child of God you have a choice. You can obey the Lord or you can disobey the Lord but you still his child. Once you’ve trusted him as your Savior, your God’s child forever. And once you’re his child, God says, you’ve got this choice of either obedience or disobedience. He says there at verse 13, for if ye live after the flesh, that means that’s your choice.

You can choose to live after the flesh or your old sinful nature. You can do that. But God said, he’s going to have to chase you. Maybe take you home before your time, bring a little chasing into your life and cause all kind of things that can happen to you. God is a God of variety. He might use a lot of different things. He says, but if you through the spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, that means that this body that you have by which you move and think and act and go through this body of yours, which is an instrument, can be an instrument of righteousness or an instrument of unrighteousness.

It’s your choice. The body in itself is not sinful. It’s how it’s used. And he says, do modify the deeds of the body. That’s your choice. It’s something that you do. Don’t say, God do it for me. No, God, don’t do it for you. God will allow temptation to come before you. Well, I’m just going to cast it all upon the Lord. Cast what on the Lord? And then then you go ahead and do the temptation. Well, I just, that’s me.

That’s just the way that I am. And now I just have to trust God. Now you’re not trusting God. You’re a rebellion to God. He says, free the temptation. You disobeyed God. You’re not living by faith. You’re not walking the way God says to walk. And God’s gonna have to chase in you. And many of God’s children are chasing. They don’t have the peace and joy and the happens that they ought to have because they’re living in rebellion. But they talk a spiritual fight.

But don’t do the battle. You can’t have it. There’s things that you are supposed to do as a child of God. Take your Bible and turn it to the book of Philippians in chapter 2. The book of Philippians and chapter 2. This is the verse that we read this morning. In the beginning of the service, in verse 12, this is on page 12, 20, 59, and an old scope of reference Bible. But those are in verse 12. Wherefore it might be love it, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now also much more in my absence.

Look what he says. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Work out your own salvation. working out something that God put in but you’re not working for it. You say salvation is something that God does for you when you trusted him as your Savior and he saves you from hell. Now he says what he has put in you work out. God may give you ten acres of ground and expects you to work the ground and produce something.

He has saved you and given you life to live like giving you ten acres of ground is like giving you time to live. Now he said I want some fruit on the ground. You may have briars and thorns on your ten acres and somebody else has planted it in fruit and God’s going to reward them and punish you because of your wickedness and your rebellion. You’re the one that decides whether or not am I going to put anything on that ten acres of ground or am I going to let it go to waste?

Do nothing with it. That’s what you’re doing with your life when you don’t sow the seeds of truth into your life. He makes a statement. Work out your own salvation is not talking about working for salvation. It’s talking about you are as you go through this life, God wants to save you from the things that happens to you in life. Not save you from them, but save you through them because you’re going to go through tribulation and trials and testing, temptations, all these things.

And God wants deliver you from all these things and you should depend upon the Lord to give you the strength and the grace obeying his word that he told you certain things to flee. He told you certain things to follow. He told you some things to fight. He says so when you do all of those things he says I will give you the strength and the grace all you got to do is flee the things I tell you to flee.

Fight the things I tell you to fight and follow the things I tell you to follow because of faith because I told you so. He said, and you’ll have victory, you’ll have escape, and you’ll win, and you’ll get rewarded, and you’ll get blessings, and you won’t have to be chastened. Now, all of life is a choice. You’re going to have one or the other. So he says, in fear and trembling, you should have a little fear and a little trembling that is you live every day you might miss the will of God.

God. Now you’re going to have tribulations. Some may come tomorrow. But when it comes, you should want that tribulation which is a testing upon your character and your faithfulness to the Lord. You want to pass through that testing with flying colors. You want to go through that thing and learn what God wants you to learn. And you want to stand the way God wants you to stand. And you ought to have fear in your life that you will not stand.

That Satan will be stronger than you and you’ll need to walk close to the Lord. That’s what he’s talking about. He says they’re in verse 13 for it is God which worketh where in you to willing to perform on his own good pleasure. God has a purpose in your life while he allows to happen to you what happens to you. And he says there’s things that you are supposed to do and if you’ll do what he says do God said I’ll do what I promise that I’ll do and you can win and if you don’t you won’t.

Now I want you to turn into Bible to 1 Timothy chapter 6, 1 Timothy and chapter 6, 1 Timothy chapter 6 and look there in verse 11. Remember there’s things that you have to do they’re not done for you. The Bible tells us we’re supposed to study the Word of God. Well I’m just gonna let God do it. No wait a minute. God doesn’t have to study the word does he? No but then you’re gonna have to see you sometimes people are giving God back their responsibilities.

No don’t give God back his your response but God told you to do certain things you do those. You see it’s faith plus works and if you don’t have the work you don’t have the faith your faith is dead in the Lord. Now we’re not talking about like I said, you’re not talking about how to get to heaven because that’s when you trusted Christ as your Savior. We’re talking about your service after you have been saved. So 1st Timothy chapter 6, look there in verse 11, but thou, oh man of God, what does it say?

Flee these things. So there’s things you are supposed to flee. Get away from. Not boldly go where no man is on before. There are things that God says don’t do this. Get away from it. Not see how close you can get to the edge of sin without getting contaminated. He says this, flee these things. Now what things are you talking about up above when he talks about money or the love of money is the root of all evil. And many people, that is their goal in life.

They love money. Haven’t you ever thought about how happy you would be if you had more money? That’s the biggest joke there is. Money doesn’t make you happy. When guy says, you know there’s one thing money can’t do. What’s that? Buy poverty. I don’t know about that. A lot of people are going to have money and still be poverty stricken. You don’t have to have money to make you happy. You can be happy when you don’t have anything if your joy is in the Lord.

Look what else she says. Flea these things. Look at the next word and follow after what? Righteousness. That’s something that you do. So there’s things in your life that God says to flee. You say, what are all of them? You study the Bible and you find them. There’s a lot of things God says to flee. So there’s things that you’re not supposed to do. Follow that’s something that you’re supposed to do. God says follow after righteousness. That means that you study the Bible and find everything that God says for you to do that’s right do that’s right and you do it.

You know how much? How much do you all follow Him? How many blessings do you want? How many rewards do you want? Hey, it’s open. You don’t have to govern yourself according to what somebody else is doing. You’re not in a rat race with some other Christian. This church is not competing with another church. What do we want? That’s what it depends upon. Then He says here, follow after righteousness, get this godliness, Faith, love, patience, meeting, those are things that you make decisions concerning.

You don’t cast everything on the Lord. The things you cast upon the Lord is the thing that God said that He will give me the strength and the grace to go through these tribulations, but I can’t cast that tribulation on God. God, I want that tribulation. But what am I going to cast on Him? I am leaning up on Him by doing what He says to do. He says to be patient, to love, to forgive. All these things do that.

leaning on the Lord. That’sropriening upon God. That’s casting my cares upon the Lord when you obey God and do what He says to do with your life. Do you really believe that one day you’ll stand at the judgment seat of Christ and God’s gonna reward you for what you’ve done? I really believe that. If you really believe that and you got faith that that is true, why shouldn’t your belief in that affect the way you live then? That should make you be faithful to serve a Lord.

That truth Faith in that, believing that should mean that I should watch what I do with my life because I know one day I’ll stand at that judgment to the Christ. Do you believe that Christ is coming back soon? That He could come back at any moment? Do you really believe that your faith in that truth should motivate you to be faithful now? You see, you don’t have to have somebody always trying to motivate you to serve a Lord, because your knowledge of truth motivates you and you’re motivated by that and not by some man or some preacher.

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. Our 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 Bible line 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 BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page.

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. Live 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, and just keep looking up.