This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Take your Bible and turn to 2nd Peter, 2nd Peter and chapter 1. Peter was um, he’s like a lot of people I know. He had a problem of speaking before he got his brain and gear. You ever make somebody like that? I saw a little tag one time it says a little I think says, don’t put mouth in motion until you put brain and gear. But he said what he thought. You never had to worry about what Peter was thinking.

And with all the disciples, you know, God never changed that. He just used it. And sometimes you have some people that are kind of wired. They’re never quite wired differently. And some people, they give you the biggest problems, Those are usually those that are a little bit on the independent side, you know, a little bit hard to control. We’re used to pick up kids on the buses and I would tell the teachers in the Sunday school class, because sometimes I had teachers and they’d have 70, 80, 90 kids in a class and that’d be one teacher and a couple helpers.

And it says, what in the world am I going to do with those? Just a couple of them. They seem like they get control of the class. I says, well, use it. I said, what do you mean? I said, let them become the leader. That’s what they want to do anyway. I said, in time to suppress them, use them. I said, when you’re on the bus and you got one kid, they always got to seem like he got to have the attention.

I said, put him up front, let him lead the singing. And they started doing that and then it worked fine. That’s what they want, use them. And you try to put them down, but did they pop up someplace else and it’s just nothing but chaos. And I’d have them come up there and do memory verses and lead this kid into singing. And all they wanted was attention. And you always have a bunch of people that I ain’t getting up in front of them, but I don’t care what happens.

And they don’t want it. Okay, that’s fine. Let them do what they do. You just, there’s followers and there’s leaders. And so Peter was a leader. And God used that. Even when he denied the Lord, the Lord says, I’m going to pray that your faith fell not. And when thou art converted, I want you to do something for me. I want you to strengthen your brethren.” So God already knew what was going to happen, and knew he would be all right, and God still use him.

I’m glad that he is a God of second chance, and third chance, and fourth chance, because how many chances has he given us? A whole bunch. But anyway, here in Second Peter, in chapter one, he just finished telling them that he said, I’m going to die. So you see there in verse 13, I think it meter fit necessary as long as I am in this tabernacle and talk about in this body To stir you up by putting you in remembrance Helping them to know To remember the things they already know a lot of times the pastor is not giving you something new He just kind of refreshing your memory helping you to remember the things that you’re supposed to do You know you pose a witness so he just tries to help you a little bit in that direction You know you’re supposed to read the

Bible, true? Well, okay, he just tried to help you a little bit in that direction. And so we’re just leading you in the direction you already know where to go. Just sometimes you need a little kick here and there, a little warning here and there, a little rebuke here and there. But he says, I want to put you in remembrance because I’m going to be putting off this body that I have. And in looking verse 14, he says, knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle.

Even as our Lord Jesus Christ had showed me. Now look there in John chapter 20 The gospel of John and chapter 20 He makes his statement that he is going to Have something happen toward the end and of course, you know, there’s always somebody that wants to know well What about so-and-so and you’ll notice there in the verse 18 He just went through asking Jesus three times, do you love me? Well, I believe it’s because three times he denied him.

He didn’t say that, but I got to hunch that relates to it. So in verse 18, he says, very, very, I say unto thee, when thou was young, thou girdest thyself. Walk us with a thou wouldest, and when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hand, and another shall gird thee, and I carry thee with a thou, thou shalt stretch forth thy hand. what it’s not. In other words, you’re going to live to be old and they’re going to stretch forth your hands and they’re going to take you where you don’t want to go.

Now many believe historically that he was crucified upside down because he said, I’m not worthy to be crucified like my Lord. So they hung him upside down. Now Jesus told him, you’re going to die and Peter remembered that. Well, I probably would have remembered that too. But he did say you’re going to get old. And he says in verse 19, this space he signified by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he said to him, follow me.

No, just in that one little statement, see, I can read things into that, makes me think, okay, I’m going to live to be an old man. I’m guaranteed. Because God’s already said that, how I’m going to die, but I’m going to be old. In verse 20, he said, then Peter turned in about, see if the disciple whom Jesus loved, who I believe is John, which also leaned on his breath at supper and said, Lord, what is he that betrayeth thee?

Which is he that betrayeth? He had said that in verse 21, Peter’s seeing him sayeth to Jesus, Lord, what shall this man do? And Jesus that unto him is none of your business. That’s paraphrased. What if I will that he carried till I come? What is that to thee? Followed by me. Do you get anything out of that? It’s not what God does with somebody else, it’s what God does with you. Don’t worry about how God uses somebody else, just be thankful how God uses you.

You’re an individual and you just be found faithful to do what God wants you to do. So they thought, okay, well John’s going to live until Christ’s going back, but he didn’t say that. See what he says? In verse 23, then went this saying abroad among the brethren that that disciple should not die. Jesus said, not unto him he shall not die, but if I will that he teary till I come, what is that to thee? So, you know, just like a bunch of people, he’d get things mixed up and then start a rumor.

Well, that wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. But now go back there to book of 2 Peter. So he says, it’s going to be very soon. I’m going to be getting rid of this tabernacle. I’m going to die. and had given his whole life to the Lord. You see, once you trust Christ’s Savior, now that gets you to heaven. That gives you eternal life. But after you trust Christ’s Savior, we should yield ourselves to the Lord and Christ should be the Lord, the Master of our life, but not to be saved.

But because we are saved and we want to serve Him. The Lord should tell us what to do and we should yield to Him. But now the times coming when he’s going to leave. And so he says here in verse 14, knowing that surely I must put off this, my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me, which is what we just read. Moreover I will endeavor that ye may be able after my disease to have these things always in remembrance.

So you and I could serve the Lord a lot more faithfully if we could just remember what we’re supposed to do. The problem that Israel had is, and there’s a whole psalm on it, Israel forgot, they forgot. And people just forget. They forget to be faithful. And they forget to do the things that they’re supposed to do. And whenever you don’t do the things you’re supposed to do, that affects something else. And then something else and something else. We should always be found faithful.

That’s why coming to church, we challenge each other. We encourage one another. We sometimes we rebuke one another, but we’re supposed to exhort one another to be found faithful to do good works. So he says, I want to put you in remembrance of that. And here’s the reason why. Verse 16 is a very important verse because you see, we’re not following some cunningly devised fable, some made up story. He says, what we’re doing is real. This is the real thing.

The Christian life is the real life. Serving the Lord, that is what’s real. of people that are out on drugs. That are wasting their life on a thousand other things. That’s not really living. You hear them say that it doesn’t get any better than this. Oh, hogwash it does too. When you serve the Lord and you have the joy and the peace of God, it can’t get much better than that in this life. But it is the best. The Christian life is the best.

Servant Lord is the best. It’s the best life. And then on top of that, you’re going to get rewarded when you get to heaven. And that’s a jewel. That’s wonderful. But look what he says in verse 16, for we have not followed cunningly devised fables. When we made known unto you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Lord, since the Lord has come and been crucified, raised from the dead, promises to come back again, what we’re talking about is real.

This is the real story, and this is the real life. He says, we were eyewitnesses of His Majesty. I want you to take your Bible and look there at a verse. It’s in the book of Matthew in chapter 16. Jesus had just talked to His disciples, and He was trying to get them to see the importance of serving Him, and that if any man will deny Himself, take up His cross and follow me. He says that you have no idea what I’m going to do for you.

Now, he’s not talking here to the disciples how to get to heaven. He’s talking about what they’re going to have if they serve him. Because see, nobody can make you trust the Lord. Nobody can make you serve the Lord. So he says there in verse 24, then said Jesus unto his disciples in verse chapter 16, Matthew. He said, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. This is for services, not salvation.

And for whosoever will save his life shall lose it. And whosoever will lose his life, for my sake shall find it. But what is a man profitable? If he gained the whole world, lose his own soul or lose his life here. For what shall a man give in exchange for soul, for his life? For the son of man shall come in the glory of his father with his angels, and you are underlying as part of the verse. And then, then, He shall reward every man according to his works.

So when you talk about his works, you’re talking about rewards. It’s talking about service. You talk about salvation. It’s always by grace and it’s free. So going to heaven is free. It’s a gift. Christ did the work, paid for it, gives it to us, and we get to go to heaven by grace alone. Now what we have when we get to heaven depends upon what we do for the Lord while we’re here. So all the decisions that we have, all the trials and tribulations are working for us.

They’re given us simply. They’re just opportunities for us to earn rewards. And when you see that and understand that, it doesn’t bother you. But look in verse 28, Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death. You won’t die physically. they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. So he’s holding it aside. He says, there’s some of you standing right here. You’re not going to physically die until you see me in the kingdom.

Okay, that sounds pretty good. Chapter 17. Verse 1, and after six days Jesus taken Peter, James and John. So there’s Peter and bringing them up into the high mountain. In verse two, and was transfigured before them. That means he was totally changed. They saw him like in a glorified body, transfigured, in power, great glory, brighter than the noonday sun. They saw him. Don’t you wish you’d have been there? And he says, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

And behold, there appeared in them, Moses and Elijah talking with him. So Moses and Elijah, see, they’re still alive. Now the body of Moses was buried, but nobody knows where it was at. Now Elijah, now he hadn’t died. He would’ve taken up in a cherry fire. But those individuals are still around. And he shows up with them, and Peter, James, and John was there and they saw him. And I believe that Moses looked like Moses, I believe Elijah, look like Elijah.

And it’s the same ones that was here upon the earth. So whenever I die and I get to heaven. It’s going to be me. And when you get to heaven, you’re going to know me and I’m going to know you. We’re going to know each other. Otherwise, what’s the value of trying to get you there? So he says, he said, I got a good idea. Let’s make three tabernacles. One for you, one for you, and one for you. And a voice came down out of heaven and says, shut up.

He says, this is my beloved son. Hear ye him. And so he says there in verse 5. get spakey holy, bright, cloud over, shadowed them, and be holy, voice out of the clouds which said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Here ye am.” When the disciples heard it, they fell on their face and were so afraid. Jesus came and touched them and says, arise and be not afraid. And they looked and nobody was there but the Lord.

But He says, some of you standing here are going to see me as I will be in my kingdom. Six days later it happened. So Peter says, look, he says, I am an eyewitness of his glory. He was also an eyewitness of his sufferings. So he saw the whole thing. And Peter says, look, because I was there and I saw it and I was at the cross and I saw it. We are not following some cunningly devised fable. Somebody put this together and made it all up.

He says, this is real. This is true. And this is why the disciples were willing to die. Look what he says in verse 17, for he received from God the Father, honor and glory. When there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, and now he’s referring back to that time we just read there in the book of Matthew chapter 17. And he said, that this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven, we heard when we were with Him in the holy mount.”

Now, he says, we were eyewitnesses up there in verse 16. So he said, we saw it. And we heard with our ears, the voice from the excellent glory. It said, this is my beloved Son. So he says, we saw and we heard. He says, but there’s something that’s better than seeing and hearing. Every one of us would love to be able to see and to hear what they saw and what they heard. Hold your place right there, but look there in first John in chapter one, first John chapter one, look in verse one.

He says, that which was from the beginning, which we have, see there, heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled. We touched him. We saw him. We heard him. And it’s not a figment of our imagination. We have seen God. We have seen and touched eternal life. And he says, our hands have handled of the word of life. And the word, the life, was manifested. And we’ve seen it and bear witness, show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested unto us.

So boy, they’ve seen it and they heard it. This is why the disciples in their day were able to preach the gospel all over the world. That’s why they were willing to die for the Lord. They knew this is not a game. They knew and believed with all their heart this is real. They saw Christ crucified. They saw Him after He came back again from the dead. And they believed this is real. It changed their whole life. You see, when I trusted Christ as my Savior, I can’t say that changed my life.

I knew I had eternal life and I’m going to heaven when I died. And I really just trusted the Lord for fire insurance. I just didn’t want to go to hell. You see, you shouldn’t do it for that. I thought it was a pretty good reason. It wasn’t until a little later that I began to read and study that I got to love the Lord. And the more I read, the more I studied, the more I loved them, and the more I wanted more and more, I couldn’t get enough.

There were nights when I would not go to sleep. I would spend all night long reading the Bible, all night. And Betty’s dad would stay up all night with me and teach me the things about the Bible. Because I had never heard, I didn’t go to Sunday school, I didn’t go to church. I didn’t have Christian parents. And when I trusted Christ as my Savior, all I had was my father-in-law. And buddy, I took advantage of him. But I had questions and I had to have answers.

And buddy, it really made a lot of difference. But look what he says here in verse 19. Now, you and I today, we have something that’s better than an eyewitness. Even something that’s better than somebody that heard or saw. We have a more sure word of prophecy. Did you know that what God revealed in the Old Testament, all those prophecies is better to have than being an eyewitness of what you saw and heard. Because, see, you know this is true.

Did you know that what you see, you can be deceived? What you hear, you can forget. And that’s why he said to remember, to remember, to remember, because, you know, isn’t it true that there’s many things that over the years that you can’t remember as clearly? I’ve had so many things happen in my life, and I start telling some of the stories, and they say, no, I didn’t got them all mixed up with two or three other stories. And then I say, did this happen at this time?

And I find out, nope, that was two years later. I thought, well, how come I can’t remember it clearly? Because see, I’m trusting memory. I never wrote it down. But whenever you and I come to the Word of God, and we have the Old Testament Scriptures that were given, we can always go back and check. This is what God said. This is what it did. And buddy, they line up. We have, in the says there in verse 19, we have a more sure word of prophecy.

We’re unto ye do well that you take heed. As unto a light that’s shineth in a dark place. That’s what prophecy does. It’s like windows that let light into a dark room. you can’t see. And all of a sudden you read the Word of God and the prophecies and it kind of lights the way. And when people don’t see the light in the Old Testament of Christ, then they can’t see into the future. And there’s a veil over their eyes as he talks about the nation of Israel.

But look what he says in verse 20, knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. In other words, you’re not supposed to pick this verse and this verse and this verse and this verse and then put them together and make it say anything that you want to. With the Scriptures, it has to perfectly dovetail. The Word of God cannot contradict itself. It can’t be salvation by grace in one place and in salvation by works in another place.

It won’t work that way. It’s all by grace and all the Bible perfectly fits together, even though written between 35 and 40 different writers over a period of 15 to 1600 years, and yet it all comes together perfectly. There is no book like this book, and so he says here, knowing this verse that no prophecy of the scriptures of a private interpretation, but it was not written written by the will of man. But the Holy Spirit told the men what to write, and they wrote the Scriptures as they were moved or guided along by the Holy Spirit.

That is what we call inspiration. The Word of God is inspired by God. God breathed. And so we have an awesome book. We don’t have a fable, not a bunch of man-made beliefs. We have the sure word of prophecy. And as you study the scriptures, you can see what God said, and you can see what God did. And what God said and what God did, it came together perfectly and Christ came and fulfilled the prophecies in the Old Testament, concerning His first coming.

Now He says He’s going to come back again. And I am looking forward to Jesus Christ coming back again, because He can’t come back again if He never came back out of the grave. So He was crucified and buried and rose again, ascended into heaven. And we’re looking for Him to return again, just like He said. Now look there in 2 Timothy in chapter 3. 2 Timothy chapter 3. And look there in verse 15. It says to young Timothy, and that from a child, thou hast known the Holy Scriptures.

If there’s anything you need to know, it’s the Word of God. That’s why it’s so important to teach children, the Holy Scriptures, while they’re young, planning the divine seed into their mind. and you never know when it will grow. But it says, which are able to make the wise unto salvation through faith. Which is in Christ Jesus. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ because you heard the scriptures, you learn them. You find out salvation is the gift of God.

It’s not a works list. Any man should boast. And you find out from the scriptures how to be saved. That’s the most important thing any child can ever know is to know the Lord. I wish I had known the Lord at a very early age, but my parents could not teach me what they did not know till their parents never taught them. So you can’t go back, you can only go from where you are. And I wanted to make sure that \(\ my children knew the Lord.

Now my children have made sure that their children have trusted Christ as their Savior. Now look what he said in verse 16, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine to teach what’s right for reprove to let you know what’s wrong for correction how to make it right for instruction how to teach it right in righteousness and get this in verse 17 that the man of God now see in verse 15 a child in verse 17 a man and what lies in between is the word of God you You trusted Christ as your Savior.

You became a child of God. The only thing that will make you a man of God is not going to be money in this world. It’s not going to be friends. It’s not going to be where you work. I mean, the cars you have, it’s the Word of God. Only the Word of God can make you a man of God. And the Bible says in verse 70, that the man of God may be mature, truly furnished unto all good works.

And when a Christian can’t do the good works that God wants him to do, it’s because he’s not a man yet. He’s not a man of God. And this is not determined by how long you live. It’s by the Word of God living within you that matures you and you learn and you grow because of that. You have trusted Christ as your Savior. You know you have eternal life. You know that you’re going to go to heaven when you die.

time has probably passed and you’ve been growing in the Lord. Are there things in my life that are not right? And if there isn’t, then you should talk to the Lord about that. Confess your sins to the Lord, and He is faithful and just to forgive you. If you’re here this morning and you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, well, you can do that right now at this moment. So what do I have to do? Just believe that when Christ died on that cross, He paid for your sins.

And will you trust Him? Dependent upon Him to take you to heaven when you die? God said, if you trusted Him, He would save you, give you eternal life, and you get to go to heaven on what Jesus Christ did on the cross for you. And you can do that right now in the quietness of your own mind, between you and the Lord. And simply say, Lord, I believe that you did it for me. and I’m trusting you right now as my Savior.

And you say, then I can do it? Yes, you can. If you believe. 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. 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 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, calvaryuptampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, 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.