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Bibleline Bibleline, they are 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 calpryoftampa.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.

God has really been good to us. And I had a decision to make years and years ago after I trusted Christ as my Savior, would I or would I not serve the Lord? And I really had a struggle because I wanted to do something for the Lord but didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know how to find the will of God for my life. And the Bible talks about winning and losing and I want to win. I don’t want to be a loser.

I know that when I get to heaven, I don’t want my heavenly Father to be ashamed of me and And I don’t want to be ashamed before Him at His coming. I had a father-in-law that loved me enough to tell me some things to do and not to do. And he made the statement about don’t say something that you don’t want to be saying when the Lord comes. He said, and don’t be doing something you don’t want to be doing when the Lord comes.

Well, that’s just about covered everything. He said, and don’t be anywhere you don’t want to be when the Lord comes. Oh, that even made it narrower, but it did make an impact upon my life. So I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Mark and chapter eight, the book of Mark, chapter eight.

What can the believer lose? In other words, if I serve the Lord, what’s in it for me? Well, what can I lose if I don’t? There is always, and you need to understand there’s a price to pay, a price to pay. So in the decisions that we make and no one can make you serve the Lord. No one can make you love God. So there’s things that you need to understand because life here upon this earth is temporal, it is passing quickly.

God is the author of life and he granted us life, and there is an appointed time in which we’re going to die. There’s an appointment. And we don’t know when that’s going to be. God hasn’t told all of us the exact day when we’re going to die. But I believe life can be shortened by disobedience and prolonged by obedience. And sometimes by your obedience, God may, just like with Stephen’s in the Bible, you to go home early. Uh-oh. So we don’t know when.

All we’re supposed to do is be faithful. So here in the book of Mark chapter 8 verse 34, it’s just when he had called the people unto him with his disciples. Also he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. Now anytime you have it where you got to take up something, do something, follow something that’s service. Salvation is only receiving, you just receive. But there is a responsibility for God’s children to take up the cross, that responsibility, that burden, whatever it is, God wants you to crucify yourself on and serve the Lord.

And make sure that He’s number one in your life. And so God teaches this. And then look what He He says in verse 35, for whosoever shall save his life, or were saved his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospels the same shall save it. So God has given you life. Your life is on loan from God. So he’s the one who knew when you would be born and when you will die.

And since you trust the Christ is your Savior and your God’s child, you’re going to heaven And when you dot, you’re not there yet. God’s Word says, if you will lose your life for his sake and the gospel, the same shall find it. In other words, define the purpose of life. Why did God give you life? The ability to live. Now, it is possible that, you know, before I was born, I never thought about all those people who had been born and lived and died before I got here, before I was born.

I didn’t exist. I wasn’t around. I don’t know what went on. If I had never been, it wouldn’t have hurt me at all. But I am here. I’m here. I didn’t choose that. You didn’t choose that. But God has granted you the opportunity. That’s very unique to live. And then He tells us how He wants you to live upon this earth and it’s for His honor and for His glory. A man who seeks to live for himself, To find his own purpose and plan and goal in life, God says you will lose your life.

Now, you may live 50, 60, 70 years, but you lost your life. The purpose of the life is gone. It’s not why God put you here. You blew it. It doesn’t matter how much money you have in the bank or your house you live in, the cars you drive. It doesn’t matter about your family. It’s thinking as far as the reason for God allowing you to live, if it wasn’t for him, You messed up. You blew it. You may have good health.

Accomplished a lot. But did you do what God wanted you to do with your life? He says, the man that will lose his life for his sake and the gospel, the same shall find it. And most people never, I don’t believe ever get there, never find out what did God create me for. What is the will of God for me? And the will of God is not whatever you will it to be. It’s God’s. And look what he says in verse 36, For what shall it profit a man if he gained the whole world, lose his own soul or his life, the purpose of his life?

Where shall a man give an exchange for his soul? In other words, here you are God giving you the opportunity to live. What did you exchange it for? We’re always making trades. We’re always trying to find a good deal. We want to pay as little as we can for as much as we can get. That’s just good business. But whenever you traded your life, the one that God had for you, you gave that up for what? Now if you don’t serve the Lord, it means you traded that for something.

What did you get? What have you got so far? Because see, you might have made a bad deal. You see, God has something for you. And if you do what he says, you’re making an eternal investment by which God is going to bless you and reward you for each penalty. Now, did you give all that up? And if you did give it up, yeah, what did you get for it? What did you give it up for? Did you know you can give all that up for a pretty little woman?

You can give it up for a hunk. You can give all that up for this job or for fame and honor and glory. You name it. What did you trade it for? Did you make a good deal? Because whatever you traded something eternal for something temporal, I think you messed up. I think you blew it. So you wanna find out what is the will of God for my life? That’s more important. Now, I want you to take your notes there and look at number one.

Because you need to understand that if you do not serve the Lord, now you don’t have to, but you’re making a trade. You’re changing something for something. You’re exchanging, like you said, what did a man give in exchange? So he makes a statement about the rewards. Take your Bible looking to first Corinthians in chapter three. I want you to see this very quickly. First Corinthians and chapter three. You’re notes in chapter three of verse 14. So after you trust Christ’s savior, you’re on the foundation which is Christ.

And one day, when we get to heaven, God is gonna reward you for what was built on the foundation. Means after you had trusted Christ as Savior, you’re saved by grace. So going to heaven is free. It’s a gift. It’s not a result of any good works that you’ve done. But once you have trusted Christ, God left you here and granted you the right as a child of God to live for Him. God set you free so that you could voluntarily choose to serve Him.

And if you will serve Him, God says you’re going to have rewards when you get to heaven. So He says here in verse 14, if any man’s work abide which he had built there on on the foundation, he shall receive a reward. And if in verse 15, if any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss. But he himself shall be saved. Yes, so as by fire. Nothing but salvation because you didn’t do anything for him. You mean a man can trust Christ to save it and not do anything for the Lord?

Yes, that’s what he says. He didn’t do any works. So when you get to heaven, you can suffer the loss of rewards. And those rewards is what God wanted to give to you. You see, you have no idea how much you’re rich, heavenly Father wants to do. for you and give to you, but you won’t let him. You deny him the right to give to you something that he wants to do for you, because you traded that for something that was temporal.

Did you know that you can lose your testimony that quick over something that’s pittance? They say that you can make a mountain out of a mole hill. The difference between a mole hill and the mountain is dirt. Just more of it. Just dirt. Would you trade all that God has for you for something down here this temporal? It’s a bad move, bad choice. You’re supposed to be wiser than that. Is he just because you have ability to accomplish a lot in this world and you’re looked up to and you respect all of us?

Are you rich toward God? Are you laying up treasure in heaven. And so God’s Word says that this is what we ought to do, but you’re going to lose something. If you don’t serve a Lord, you’re going to lose. You’re going to lose these rewards. Now in Matthew, we don’t take the time to turn there, but it says, if you bring unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, He shall and no wise lose your reward.

Matthew 6 says lay up treasure in heaven where you can’t lose it. So rewards, once they’re earned, laid up in heaven, I don’t believe you can lose those. But you can lose what you could have had. You could have done so much, but you limited yourself. You robbed yourself. Now there’s a lot of thieves in this whole world, but in a shame when a man robs himself. steals from himself, inflicts himself, tortures himself. And the Bible talks about pure love, true love, casteth out fear because fear brings torment.

And a lot of people who don’t love God and His word, they torture themselves because they rob themselves of the peace and the joy and the love and the happiness that they could have in life. God designed all of this and His way will work. And when you go against it, it won’t work. First John chapter one, I want you to look over there quickly. First John chapter one. First John chapter one. And you’ll notice this book talks about fellowship, what it boils down to like two fellows in a ship.

You’ve got to get together and you’ve got to go in the same direction. If one goes that away and one goes that way, you can’t go anywhere. And the Bible talks about how can two walk together, unless they’re agreed. So you’re talking about two people going in the same direction. Well, one’s God and one’s me. God doesn’t change directions. If I want to walk with God, guess who has to change directions? I do. Now, there are some people who get a lot of things all mixed up.

They say that if you were walking this direction, and we were just talking about this the other day, about repentance, if you’re walking this direction, they say repent means you got to turn and go the other way and then God will save you. You gotta stop doing all these bad things and live differently and you gotta make this promise commitment to God in order for him to save it. That’s not true, but it’s not true. But for the Christian, it is the will of God that his children depart from iniquity.

It’s not the way God wants us to live. God wants us to live a holy life. And so he talks about us walking. See there in verse six, if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk, it has to deal with our walk. You see, I’ve been teaching in the book of Ephesians about the wealth of the believer and the walk of the believer. The wealth that we have in Christ because of our standing in Him that doesn’t change.

But the walk of the believer from day to day, well, it changes. And one day you might be walking close to the Lord, and the next day you might be questions and doubts and fears and all kind of stuff. God says, walk with Him. And if a Christian doesn’t walk with the Lord, you’re going to forfeit the fellowships that you could have with God. So remember, it’s going to cost you not to put God first in your life. Now, nobody can make you do this.

Nobody can make you love Him. The reason that I love church is because God loves church. And when I say church, I’m not talking about the building. I’m talking about God’s people. The Bible says Christ gave Himself for the church. He loves the church, the people. And so whenever we say we love the Lord, but we don’t love His people, we got a problem. God says you don’t really love me. Because if you don’t love those that you can see, how can you say you love me whom you can’t see?

And he says, if you love me, love one another. So we’re supposed to love each other, and that means we’re supposed to get together, as the Bible says, the church came together. So there’s always a few mavericks that like to just do whatever they want to do in Rome, wherever they want to roam, and that no commitment to anybody or anything or nobody, they just do whatever they want to do. That’s not the will of God. Now you can do whatever you want, but there’s a price to pay.

So God wants us to have fellowship with Him. we walk with him and talk to him, you’re going to forfeit that. Now, you think that’s worth it? I mean, we’re talking about God, our heavenly Father, and you would give that up for the things of the world, the ways of the world. It’s a costly thing. It’s not a very wise move. Look at number three, I want you to look first of all in Galatians, the book of Galatians. I want you to see, because you need to know that if you decide, I’m not going to serve the Lord, I’m not going to change my life and do what God wants, but what it’s going to cost you, it’s a very expensive move.

And if you’re willing to pay that price, so be it. But don’t whine and cry and pine about later. You asked for it. Now, you got to make up your mind. And one day you’re going to be at the Judgement City of Christ. And the Bible says, and God a wife away all tears from our eyes. because I believe there’s going to be quite a few tears. When you see what you could have done for the Lord, what you could have been for the Lord, what you could have accomplished for the Lord.

But I believe that God wants to use you and you may find out when you get to heaven, God said, you know, if you deserve me, you could have shook this country or this country or this country. And he said, well, I didn’t have any talent and the inability, God says, you ought to see what I was going to do when I was going to work on you. Usually all to see what I could have built out of your life.

But you didn’t trust me. You didn’t believe me. You did your own thing. Now this is what you could have had, and this is what you got. I believe it’s going to be a wake up call, but it’s too late to wake up. And they’re going to be regrets. I don’t believe we’ll be happy with that, but that’s the way it is. There’s going to be a price to pay. Look there in verse 22 of Galatians chapter 5, But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, maintenance, temperance, and so on.

These things right here, if you decide to walk in the flesh, you’re gonna exchange the fruit of the spirit for the works of the flesh. Now look at the works of the flesh. In verse 19, works of the flesh are manifest, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, less diviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, various simulations, draft, stripes, additions, heresy, and then these murders are ruffling and ruffling and such like, that is what you can trade, verse 22 and 23, 4.

You think it’s a good move, good exchange? Whenever I give my wife some money, which is rare, when I give her some money, she goes and she spends and she comes home, I like to know, what did she get? My wife always finds bargains. She finds the best deals. That’s how she got me. I was 50% off. Don’t laugh, some of y’all are the same way. Like this one guy said to this girl, he says, you know, I have a half a mind to get married.

She says, that’s all it takes. Never mind, I’m gonna stop right there. But you’re trading something for something. And you wanna try to make the best decisions you can in your life. And if you’ve already made some bad decisions, well, what should you do? Keep making more bad decisions. No, you correct the problem. Did you know the perfect will of God for your life is as close as the next decision you make? And the wicked life can begin with the next decision you make.

So it is important the decisions that you and I make. I want you to take your Bible and look in the book of Psalms 51, all the way over there to the Old Testament. Psalms 51, not most everybody has heard of King David, and everybody loved King David. Because King David, well, he would never do anything wrong. He was a man after God’s own heart. And he just said around all day long, singing to the sheep and playing his harp.

Well, the old boy he grew up one day, became the king of Israel, and when it was time to go to war, He says, I feel tired today and that old lady boy sure looks good. So he stayed home and he got up and he looked out the window and lo and behold, he saw something he shouldn’t have seen in the wood and seen if he hadn’t been there. Bible talks about not making provision for the flesh, not making opportunities to get in trouble.

And it’s one thing for a black bird to fly over your head. But when you let that bird land in your head and build a nest and lay eggs, you could have stopped that. You may not stop all the bad thoughts from coming through your mind. But when you let that little thought, stay there and harbor there and live there and dwell there and hatch there. Now you went too far because your way you think think is going to control the way you act sooner or later.

And your evil thinking can get you into trouble sooner or later down the road. Now nobody’s perfect and you know that, but just because nobody’s perfect isn’t a means for you to see how unperfect you can be. And then use that as an excuse. Well nobody’s perfect. Of course nobody’s perfect. But God still expects his children to be godly. And so he gives us a way of dealing with these problems. And one of the things is abstain from every appearance of evil.

But what did David do while he didn’t do anything really wrong? He just asked her if she wanted to see the inside of his palace. And lo and behold, it got worse after that. He probably thought it’ll never go any further than this. Hello. And she said, hello, big boy. And he went and ruined his testimony. He had a man killed, he committed adultery, and then he tried to get somebody else in trouble. And all of this, and Prophet Nathan came and says, Thou art the man, you’re the man.

I think that’s the first time he ever came across it. Hey, you’re the man, you’re the man. And he didn’t want to be the man, but he was the man. He was caught. God knew. God told on him, ooh. And it doesn’t matter if nobody sees what you do under the cover of darkness. God sees. And God says, be sure your sin will find you out. It’s like a detective. And it will be revealed sooner or later. God has a ways and means committee.

David felt bad, lost his son, and he had such remorse, and it makes this statement here in the book of Psalms 51. This is where he kind of comes clean with the Lord. Look in verse 2, he says, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin has ever before me. In other words, all these flashbacks couldn’t get rid of it, the guilt, it’s all there. For I acknowledge my translation, verse four, against thee and the only have I sinned and done this evil and thy side that thou might have speed justified when thou speaketh and be clear when thou judges.

Because when God has to judge a person, God has to be clear. He has to do right. He has to do according to the law. His word is his guide. God gave the word and he has to go by the word. So he says in verse five, he He says, I was born and sin. I had a sinful nature. I would shape this way. I got that from my mom. And my mother did conceive me. He says, you desired truth in the inward part.

Now, he says in verse seven, purged me with hiss up and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be wider than snow. Ever heard that song? Wash me and I shall be wider than snow. Good song. where this is where it comes from. Make me to hear joy and gladness that the bones which thou hath broken may rejoice because of the way he began to feel because of the sin. Now, the pleasure of sin he enjoyed. There is pleasure in sin if it wasn’t pleasurable.

People wouldn’t do it, but there’s a price to pay down the road. And he wasn’t thinking down the road, just like a lot of God’s people said, well, I’d never come in adultery, Well, I’ll never do this and I’ll never do that. Yeah, but you’re not walking with God. Just because you didn’t rob a bank doesn’t mean you, well, I’m okay. No, no, if you’re not doing what God says do, it’s just as bad. Are you doing what God says do?

Are you a soul winner? Do you study God’s word? Do you talk to him? Do you want God’s will for your life more than anything else in the world? So he says in verse 12, restore unto me my salvation. No, restore the joy, the joy. See, it cost. He doesn’t have the joy. He forfeited that. The peace. Now he has sleepless nights. And you ought to read another song. We don’t have time to go there, but it goes down in.

He says, the Lord wants to look down there in verse 17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a broken and a contrite heart. Oh God, thou will not despise. That’s what God’s after. God wants his children. Yes, to realize that when you mess up, you mess up. But don’t stay there. Correct the problem. You’re falling in the mud. Don’t stay in the mud. If we confess our sins as a cell of God, he is faithful and just to forgive.

And it cleanses from all unrighteousness. And whenever you confess those things to the the Lord. Now you can restore the walk. If you restore the walk, you restore your fellowship. You see, you don’t confess your sin and it restores your fellowship. No, that’s not true. That’s what some guy named RB Theme teaches and I despise the teaching. I don’t know if you ever heard of the guy or not, but that’s a teaching and it’s not good and it’s not true.

So the Bible tells us there’s things that it’s going to cost you and are you willing to pay that price? Look there in Philippians in chapter 2, the book of Philippians and chapter 2. Here we have the word of God telling us how to think, how to think. And in chapter 2, if you’ll notice there in verse 5, he says, let this mind be in you, which was in Christ. In the word, this is how Christ fought. And it also makes a statement in the book of Hebrews in chapter 12 of that like Christ looking beyond the cross and doered the shame because of the joy He was looking beyond, looking down the road.

You see, Christ, when He came into the world and down the cross to pay for all of our sins, His vision didn’t stop at the cross. He was looking beyond the cross. He knew what this payment would accomplish and what it would accomplish was worth his death. You and I, there’s things that happens in our life and you have to look beyond the sufferings that a godly man may have to go through because you know it’ll be worth it because you look beyond this life.

If your vision extends no further than this world, you will never serve God. You have to look into eternity, the way it’s going to be forever. This is temporary here. And that is what helps you to guide your decisions now. 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 hear more information about the program, please visit www.themusic.com.au or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org 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. Friends, 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.