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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 by clicking on the donations link on the BibleLineMinistries.org homepage. 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.

I want to talk to you about something that’s wrong. I think it’s important. You know, after we trust Christ as our Savior, we should serve the Lord. And sometimes we do, and sometimes we don’t. And sometimes we’re up here, and then sometimes we’re down here. Sometimes we’re over there, and we want to be over there. One guy put it this way, the hardest decisions I’ve ever made in my life was trying to decide which bridges to cross and which bridges to burn.

Some things you got to forget about, I move ahead. And sometimes you come to a crossroad and it looks like both roads are right. Like it wouldn’t matter which way you went. And sometimes those are the ones that you struggle with more than something that’s really clear. That’s good, that bad, that’s definite. No problem there. But sometimes in life it just seems like there’s a multitude of choices that we could make. But we do need to understand that there’s consequences to our decisions.

The Lord wants us to live for Him. So there’s a verse that’s mentioned quite a few times in the Old Testament. It’s called, oh, why will you die? Why will you die? But sometime back, and I think I read this two years before, but it kind of goes through what I want to speak on tonight, I was sitting in a restaurant and it had me some napkin paper and try it. I wrote me a little poem. I wrote another one just last week too.

Anyway, this one was sin and the sinner. You say that ain’t me. Sin and the sinner, sin should be magnified, but not glorified. Because you see, you gotta be able to see the sin. And sometimes we don’t see it because we don’t think it’s that bad. So by the preaching of the Word of God, it always seems to magnify the little bitty things that we think are not that important. And God lets us see according to Him, it’s really bad.

And you know, if you made a little black spot on a great piece of paper, it wasn’t show up so good. But if it was perfectly white, the smallest little speck would show up. And that’s what we have to do. And so, sin should be simplified but not deified. Where it’s really simple and clear-cut, according to what God’s word says. Sin should be clarified, but not justified. You never wanna justify sin. Well, so and so made me do this.

So and so made me. If it was sin, nobody made you. You did it all among your own choice. Sin has a song to sing, to lull the sleep before the sting, to destroy your soul is Satan’s reason, to offer pleasure for a season. Blinded minds and wounded hearts are caused by Satan’s fiery darts. Sin from the heart corrupt the mind defiles the man steals his time. For the heart of man is a deceitful thing. It destroys a man while declaring him king.

For the wages of sin or death in hell, the right to his soul he cannot sell. the flames of hell, he did not flee. Will he blame God himself or me? Because of sin, we are very easily deceived. And nobody is as deceived as I believe a Christian. Because you see, if I was the devil and I’ve already got the lost man, I’d kind of leave him alone. He’s already blinded. I’d go after those Christians who claimed the be able to see.

Those that want to walk with the Lord, Those that really love the Lord, those are the ones I’m going to do everything in my power to stop. And I wouldn’t care what I had to do, what I had to offer, as long as I can get a Christian too. Well, curse God to be mad or bitter at God. You know what? That’s so easy when things go wrong in our life to cause us to be bitter at God. And so I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Ezekiel chapter 33.

Ezekiel 33. And look at this verse with me. Ezekiel 33. And look here in verse 11. In verse 11. Ezekiel was a prophet of the Lord, and he had places where he would have a telescope looking into the future and to time, and also about the new temple. He has a lot to say about the descriptions of the temple, which we believe is the millennial temple. But anyway, he makes a statement here in verse 11, say unto them, as I live saith the Lord God.

I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways. For why will ye die, O house of Israel? Now you have to admit the Bible does talk about turn from sin, turn from sin. But understand that he is also talking here about the physical death and the people that wicked and they do things that causes God to have to shorten their life. Now we all know that we are going to die in this world but some people kind of rush head long and kind of like bring it earlier than perhaps God would have.

So is there a point in the man wants to die? Yes every man has an appointment but that appointment, though it is definite, can be extended or shortened. Based upon our response to the commands of God to serve Him. So even though you say, well I’m not going to serve the Lord, you may be shortened in your life. It’s kind of like a person that’s, no say, smokes a lot. It’s what you can’t prove that it’s going to shorten my life.

I know a man who lived to be 90 years old and because he lived to 90 years old, therefore it doesn’t really cause you to die early. Okay? But the man might have lived to be 200 if he hadn’t have. See, you don’t know that. Or another 10 years, whatever. But you can do whatever you do and it could shorten your lifespan. So it says, why, why will you die? Turn in your Bible to the book of Ezekiel in chapter 18.

Just go back to your left ear that Ezekiel 18. Ezekiel in chapter 18 and look there in verse 31. Verse 31. Yeah, let’s just start there in verse 30 because he said, therefore I will judge you, oh house of Israel, everyone according to his ways. Sayeth the Lord God, repent and turn yourselves from all your transgressions. So, iniquity shall not be your ruin. So, iniquity will not be your ruin. It’s going to do you in. I think sometimes there could even be politicians who think that, you know, it really doesn’t matter what they do because nobody will ever know.

Or between consenting adults, you know, after all we’re mature and consenting adults consenting adults, does that make it right? Because two adults consent. Isn’t this wonderful? So there’s no sin. There’s no sexual harassment because they agreed. It’s still wrong and it’s still sin and it’s still wicked. And you know, there’s a verse in the Bible that says, be sure your sin. Well, it means it’s going to tell down you somewhere, somehow something is going reveal. No, this is why I believe a lot of people won’t run for president of the United States because they know that there’s people out there with a fine-to- comb and they’re going to scrutinize everything you’ve ever done or breathed or fought.

Somebody’s got it recorded someplace and especially today with cell phones. You can’t trust anybody anymore. You might be just having a good time and make sure you know you’re on Facebook and the whole world sees you. It’s getting to be a… you’re going to worry about what the government’s doing is what your neighbor’s doing. And so the time has come in when it could be very interesting. So look in verse 31, cast away from you all your transgressions whereby you have transgressed and make you a new heart and a new spirit.

And you ought to underline this in your Bible. For why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that died. Say, after Lord God. Wherefore, turn yourselves and live ye. You see, God in the book of Deuteronomy placed before Israel, he told Moses and said, tell the people to choose. If you will do this, you shall live. And if you do this, you shall die. And believe it or not the people are so dumb.

There’s a God in heaven behind the scenes that sees everything, that knows what’s going on. And people think they can do whatever they do, and nobody knows. Like God can’t see in the dark. God can see. He don’t need light. He is light. He sees everything and knows everything. Take your Bible, look there in the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter 27, Jeremiah 27, and look there in verse 13. In verse 13, he says, in verse 13, why will ye die?

Thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilent, as the Lord had spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon. He says, He’s going to kill you if you don’t obey Him. See, even though God let His people go into captivity, He says, now, if you will obey, you will live. And there’s people that won’t believe what God has to say. He’d already warned them that, hey, He’s coming. And they didn’t believe Jeremiah.

They put him in a prison and he liked to died. Nothing but O’Mary Clay. And he complained to the Lord. You talking about a whiner? He was a whiner. But he had a crying message. He cried all the time. He was crying. And nobody would believe his message. But God says, you tell him anyway, he had to go to a rebellious group of people. Even Ezekiel was told what to do. And he says, even though their face, he says, don’t let their faces scare you.

He hasn’t been in some of the places I’ve been. And of course, not here now, but there’s a scripture that warns us about why will you die? Now you and I know that sometimes because of our obedience, we may live longer. Or because of our disobedience, we may live less. People say, well, when it’s your time to go, you’re going to go. Like, you know, God has on December the 25th, Peter back there is going to die. today I got appointed for him.

But you would think, okay, can he extend his life by his obedience? I believe so. Or can he shorten his life by his disobedience? I believe so. Like is one person going to fly on this airplane? He said, I’m not getting on that plane. He said, come on, get on the plane. He said, I’m not getting on that plane. He says, get on the plane. He says, when it’s your time to go, you’re going to go. He said, yeah, but what do we get up here in that It’s your time.

What do I do? So, as we’re moving right along, take your Bible and turn to the book of 1st Chronicles, the book of 1st Chronicles, 1st Chronicles and chapter 10, 1st Chronicles and chapter 10. It is possible for a child of God to be disobedient to the Lord and pay a price. There was a young man one time, he would head and shoulders above everybody in the whole nation. He didn’t ask to be made king, but because the people cried out for a king like all the other nations.

So he gave him a man. And Saul was chosen to be the first king of Israel. Isn’t amazing he got to serve for about 40 years as king. Then David, and he served about 40 years as king. And then Solomon, and he served about 40 years as king. One of my, it wasn’t be 35 or 43, but it’s only 40, 40, 40. You think there’s somebody behind the scenes, you know, watching things and controlling things, you know. And it’s hard for us to understand that, just like God had certain people during the history and how he…

Did what he did? There’s a God in heaven. And he allowed you and me to be born at this time and to live now. Did you know that if God so loved the world and he don’t have favors and so on? You know, there’s not another person ever been born that he loves any more than he does you. You are just as important to God as Moses or Daniel or David or Peter back there. I mean, you are just as important to the love of God.

Lord, you are important. God designed you and He knows you and He has allowed you to be born and He knows everything that’s going to happen. But now I want you to look there in 1 Chronicles in chapter 10. This is where King Saul was overthrown and how he died and why he died. Look there in verse 13. So Saul died because it was his appointed time from the beginning of the world. No, I didn’t say that. It’s as Saul died for his transgression, which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not God had told him to kill all the Amalekites.

Remember in 2 Samuel and chapter 15? He didn’t do it. And he saved Agag, the king alive and a lot of the sheep. And he said, well the people made me do it. He lied. And he says, we’re going to sacrifice him to the Lord. Well now I know God’s impressed. He says, offering and sacrifices, that’s not what he asked for. He asked for obedience. Do what he says. Well, I’ll serve God in my own way. If you don’t serve God’s way, you don’t serve God.

You have to do what God wants you to do and God will bless and take care of everything. But don’t try to manipulate God. You see, you can fool people, but you can’t fool God. And he doesn’t put up with anything. Now look what he says here. He says, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not and also, he says, there’s another reason. For asking counsel of one that had a famerious spirit to inquire of it, because he went to a soussayer, because he went to this woman.

You know what a jolly fortune teller is? That’s what it was. And so this is what they call a happy medium. Oh well. Oh that was terrible. So he says here in verse 14, “…and inquired not of the Lord.” In other words, God let him die because he didn’t inquire of the Lord. He didn’t seek God’s will. He went and sought it from the devil instead of the Lord. Now, does that make God mad? Now the reason we have these lessons in the Old Testament, because in the book of Romans, in chapter 15, says these things were written a four time for our learning.

So we’re supposed to learn from what they did and what went wrong and what God did so that you and I will be wiser. So I don’t think it’s wise for God’s children to every day check their horoscope, try to find out what sign was you born and all that kind of stuff. You better leave that junk alone. You’re gonna stop, don’t play game with God. Cause you’ll wind up trying to make decisions, whether or not, well, is this a good day to do business?

Let me check my horoscope. You better stop, I’ll let junk. That’s foolishness. That is anathema, that’s an abomination to the Lord. And whenever you know you got to do something, make decisions on thing, God says, pray always. And when he says, pray always, that means pray to him. talking to Him, inquiring of the Lord, because not to inquire of the Lord makes God mad. God allows you and I to have all kinds of problems in our life so that we will seek the Lord.

And He says, counted all joy when you fall into divers temptations, all the kind of different and so forth, and he says, and if any man lack wisdom, and he does, let him ask of God, and God will give him the wisdom that he needs. So God gives the problem so that you’ll go to him and get the wisdom that you need. Now, when you have your problems and you whine and complain about them, and you have a bad nasty dirty stinking rotten attitude about it, that’s sinful.

So God could. He did it with others. He could take you home. Now, don’t, don’t walk out of here tonight. Well, the false understanding of what I’m saying, I’m not saying that every time something goes wrong in your life, God did it to me. And I’m not saying just because you got sick, it would become a sin in my life. It may not have been. undrafted. You’re the one that has to decide that, not me. I’ve had all kinds of things happen.

I have been very sick. I’ve been nigh unto death. I thought I was going to die last year and I got the shingles. I don’t even have a roof. And I had shingles. I thought, man, this thing is lasting forever. And I had never had them before. I never experienced such pain in my life. But I survived. I didn’t die. I just thought I was. But look what he says in verse 14, and inquired not of the Lord. Therefore, he slew him and turned the kingdom on the David, the son of Jesse.

So see, God works behind the scenes. God can raise up and God can put down. And he got too big for his britches. He got filled with pride that he could do whatever he wanted to do. And he’s going to do it his way and not God’s way. And God says that God had to rejected you from being king. Now he never lost salvation, but he sure did lose the joy of his salvation. He lost life too. And he died.

So it didn’t have to happen this way. This is because of decisions that he made. There’s a lot of things that will happen in your life. you’re going to make decision that can affect your quality of life. Now, it doesn’t mean that if you serve a Lord, you won’t have any downtime. You can serve a Lord without your heart and you’d be surprised what can happen. But see, I don’t believe that my heavenly Father just takes his child and beats them half to death without telling them why.

When And you do wrong and you know it’s wrong. You’ll know. Take your Bible and turn to the book of 1 Kings. The book of 1 Kings. 1 Kings in chapter 11, just go back to your left there a little bit. 1 Kings in chapter 11. And notice there in verse 1. This is an interesting portion of Scripture because it deals with a man named Solomon. I want you to look what God said about Solomon. In verse 1, everybody knows that he was the wisest man that ever lived.

Everybody’s heard how that he was, you know, he prayed to the Lord because God gave him some choices and he says, I just want the wisdom that I may rule your people. And because he didn’t ask for a long life and he didn’t ask for wealth, he didn’t ask for those things, God gave it to him anyway. But this is what he says in verse 1. But King Solomon loved many strange women. You said, I didn’t know that. You know that.

Together with the daughters of Pharaoh, all these women of Moabites and Ammonites and Edomites and Zadonians and the Hittites of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, ye shall not go into them, neither shall they come to you for surely, surely,” You ought to underline that word, “…surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon claves under these in love. Solomon was a wise man. He used his wisdom to accomplish all kinds of things and write all kinds of things, encourage people to do the right thing, made awesome decisions.

But toward the end of his life, boy, you really messed up. You know, that usually happens that people get lifted up with pride. And he says in verse 3, and he had 700 wives, princes and 300 porcupines. Boy did he get stuck. And his wives, get this, you ought to underline this, his wives turned away his heart. See, God already knew this. Anytime God tells you not to do something to me, because God knows that’s going to hurt you.

All the do’s and don’ts in the Scriptures is because God wants you to be happy. And he’s telling me that if you do this, happy or ye, if you do them. And if you don’t do what God says do, you’re not going to be happy. God designed life. And though you may not see how it’s going to work, it will work. The law of the harvest is true. But some people never mature. They never grow up. You know, you take a little 10-year-old brat when they’re 30 and 40, they’re still brats.

Most people never learn, never mature. Now get what he says. So he says here in verse 4, and it came to pass when Solomon was, oh, well, he was what? Oh, he was old. His wives turned away his heart after other gods. This is what God had told them that they should not do in the Bible. and marrying outside of their race. They weren’t supposed to do that. But they did it anyway. Look in verse eight. And likewise did he, for all his strange wives, he built all kinds of things to honor them and they’re gods.

So now you see, when you marry a woman, you gotta please that woman. Oh, it’s hard enough for a man to please one woman. What if you had 700 wives? And I thought he was smart. He said, no wonder, look how many counselors he had. Can you imagine all those women telling him what to do? He must have been one confused man toward the end of his life. He probably couldn’t handle it anymore. So look in verse 9, and the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice and had commanded him concerning this thing that he should not go after other gods, but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.

Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, for as much as this is done of thee and thou have not kept my covenant and my statutes which I have commanded thee, Yoda, on the landess, I will surely rent the kingdom from thee and will give it to thy servant, notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father’s sake, but I will rend it out of the hands of thy son.” So there is a price to pay. And you’ll notice there in verse 14, and the Lord stirred up an adversary on the Solomon.

And in verse 23, the Lord stirred up an adversary. Verse 25, and he was an adversary to Israel. And on down through here, you see, it’s God that can cause people to turn against you. You say, let me know that. You hide bitterness and hatred in your heart, and you’re rebellious in your heart. And you may never know, because you don’t study the Scriptures, that sometimes those bad things that are always happening to you is because something that you’re not pure within your life.

And God knows it. And instead of you enjoying life, you’re tortured. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tappa, Florida with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you were blessed by today’s message. Part 2 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 tool free 1-800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bible line programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link. If you are 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 10-30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.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, and we will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, believe in that the Lord is coming soon, and just keep looking up.