This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the Internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach us toll-free at 1-800-576-3771. 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 concluding message of this teaching will be a blessing to you and your family.

You know what God wants? He’s looking for some people that won’t keep looking back. like he knew if I shouldn’t have done this. God wants you to think things through, count the cost. So that whenever I make up my mind, this is what I want to do. I don’t look back like the children of Israel did. When they cried about everything and moaned about everything and then finally when God brings them out by mighty hand and to the Red Sea, and they think all of a sudden those onions and garlic and leeks begin to look good back down there in each of them.

He doesn’t want you looking back. He wants you looking ahead at what God has for you. And some people can’t forget the past and it becomes a drag upon them like chains. And they can’t go forward because they’re still in love with something, got too much baggage. You can’t let go of things. You want to serve a Lord? Let go of the things of this world. And then you become a free man. And then you can go and you can do what God wants you to do.

As long as the things of this world mean so much more to you, you can’t go. I like my home up in Georgia, but I don’t love it. And when I believe God wanted me to come down here, I could come down here without a home and live in my motor home if necessary or rent a home and then drive all those miles. They don’t care. See, that’s nothing. When I believe God has something for me, then that means more to me than anything else in the world.

And if I lose that, lose that, lose that, who cares? temporary in this world anyway. If I die right now, I’m going to lose it all anyhow. My son just called because my little grandson, Jordan, he’s ten years old. So he called up and says, well, we’re gone to the lake in your motorhome. Betty talked to them, said they were having a good time. And I mean it, wonderful that my son and my grandson, my granddaughter’s having a good time in my motorhome.

It really is. But when you commit yourself, I’ve had people ask me, says, Yank, do you ever regret leaving Colorado? No, I’ve tried left. I never look back. Or what happened when you left Georgia? No. No regrets. I don’t look back. I’m just thankful for whatever God said. I’m looking forward. Because whenever you keep looking back, it kind of gets to hold of you can even become little pugs on your heart and holding your back and next thing you know you can’t go forward like you want to.

See I’m still young enough to dream. I still got things I want to accomplish with my life yet. If God should let me live long enough or give me good enough help or whatever. I don’t know where it’s all going to end. I don’t care. I have enjoyed my walk with the Lord. But there’s a price to pay, but it doesn’t cost so much and And it doesn’t hurt so much if you can love the Lord more than anything else.

But if you can’t, it’s going to be hard for you to rip away from things. And when it rips away from you, that’s when it tears you apart. And so you’ve got to learn to just love the Lord and don’t love the world. And love Him more than you do. Your husband, your wife, your kids or anything else. It doesn’t mean you don’t love Him, but there’s got to be a stronger love. I believe that me, loving God more, helps me to love my wife better and my kids better and my grandkids better.

I think they have a better, she has a better husband. I think my kids have a better daddy. I believe my grandkids, they have a better granddad because they’ve got one that loves the Lord. And I believe it’ll work that way. I believe that’s God’s way. And it’s so important, but he says here, no man having put his hand to the plowing, looking back is fit to be a servant, is fit for the kingdom of God. So you got to decide for yourself.

Will you follow him? Do you really want to be a disciple? Discipleship will cost you salvation is free. Take your Bible looking to book of Colossians in chapter two. The book of Colossians. and chapter two. And look there in verse six, Colossians chapter two and verse six. And notice what he says here, in verse six, as you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. So how did you receive Christ by faith? Well how you suppose to walk?

Well by faith. You see, when you heard the verses on salvation, you believed them and you received eternal life and you became God’s child. Why do you think a person should go to Bible school or Bible college? Was there an advantage of Dr. Hank Lindstrom going to Bible college? Was there an advantage for me to go to Bible college? Freddy Coyle to go to Bible college? What was the advantage? Well because it increases your faith. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

So, when you spend three to four, five hours a day studying the Word, five days a week for about four years, look how much knowledge you’ve gained and your faith is greatly increased in every area. Otherwise, you could be strong on the gospel and you can do the little wallet illustration, but you’re not strong in all the other areas and the devil will trap you somewhere along the line because you don’t know. You are not aware. And so a lack of knowledge of the Word of God will cause you not to have the faith that you need in every area of your life.

So that’s why it’s so important to study the Word of God and all the stories in the Bible and going through the Old Testament and the New Testament and putting it all together, You have a better picture. And that picture helps you to see life better and understand. You’ve got all these stories and illustrations of people who are, or who have face things just like you have to face. And you know what God did for them. I know what God did for them.

I know what God did for them. Well, when I get down in my heavy heart, I, I’ll walk and read the Psalms and all of a sudden I can begin to understand that God knows exactly how I feel because somebody else has already wrote how I think and how I feel what I’m going through. And when I want some wisdom, I can study the book of Proverbs. And when I want to do something, I can read the book of Acts.

When I want to know the future, I can study the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation and you can picture it. And it does something for you. Your faith is increased. See it’s not that you don’t have enough money to finish the race. It’s that you don’t have enough faith to finish the race. So in all of my getting get wisdom and all of my getting get faith. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the Word of God.

And so as you study the Word of God, your faith is greatly increased. And so the more you know, the more you can do. And when you’re limited in knowledge, you’re limited in ministry. So that’s why it’s so important to study the Word of God so that you can do what God wants you to do. Because he says, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. Look at the next verse. Verse 7, rooted and built up in Him, rooted.

It means that your faith needs to go deep around the, see these verses in the Bible, these are like solid rocks. And your faith is like going around these rocks and you’re getting a good grip, like a tree does it, planted by the river. And it says in its leaves shall be green and be able to bear fruit in all seasons. And it doesn’t matter when the winds blow. You see, you’re anchored because your faith is around these rocks of scripture that doesn’t move.

And you’re hanging on to the Word of God, and you can stand strong when the temptations come. And when the trials come, the troubles come, because you’ve got a good grip upon the Word of God. And the Word of God has got a grip on you. So he says, rooted and built up in him. established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving, and the verse eight, be where lest any man spoil you. Through philosophy and vain deceit.

In other words, there’s people in this world with humanistic philosophy and they will spoil you. It’s like when an enemy conquers another enemy, then they take the spoils. They take all of their goods for themselves. In the words, if I conquer you and you’ve got a million dollars and a beautiful car outside and you’ve got this and that and the other and all of this beautiful friend. Well, if I can take care of you and I get everything that you have, I just spoiled you.

I got all of your spoils. Well, God says, you watch that people don’t spoil you. No words take all of your wealth away from you, rob you, steal you blind by vain philosophy, by the rudiments of this world and not after Christ. That’s why you have to watch everybody and all the teachings, all the different philosophies because of things of this world are designed by by the devil to rip all these good things from you, or to keep you from learning, to accomplish the things that God wants you to do.

So you see, when you don’t have the love, you won’t have the labor. And there’s things that’s gonna try to work it, you try to get you to love this. Well, if I love someone like this, then I’ll love him less. And if I love that, then I’ll love him less. So God says, don’t love the things of the world. give him all of your love. And that love will keep you laboring. And then one day when you get to heaven, it’ll be worth it.

But this is going to cost you. It’s not gonna be free. Take your Bible and look there in the book of Matthew chapter four, Matthew and chapter four. And looking verse 18, “‘And Jesus walking by the sea of Galilee, “‘saupt to brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew, “‘his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. So they already had a job. They already had a little business. They were probably making a little profit and not to live on anyway.

And verse 19, and he said unto them, follow me, follow me. You see, there’s the call and there’s the cost. You see, when he called them, they had to leave something that they already had. They already had a job that had a little business of their own, probably had their own boat. So there’s a call and there’s a cost, but there was a cause. And the cause had to be worth the cost. If the cause is not worth the cost, you will not heed the call.

Does that make sense? You understand what I’m saying? And that’s why whenever you see those scriptures and you see, this is what God wants me to do. Well, I got to figure what’s it going to cost me to do that and if I’m willing to pay that price because The cause is so great. I’m willing to pay that price to do it. I felt that whatever it is God wants to do with me Him saving me and keeping me out of hell I’ll do anything he wants I’ll go anywhere.

He wants me to go. He is free to do with me anything he pleases So letter written. And I know that because of that, there’s going to be times when I’m going to suffer the consequences of that decision, because not everybody always understands why the preacher does what the preacher does. You can love the preacher today, but you can hate my guts tomorrow and I know that. I’ve seen it happen so many times because you can’t preach as many sermons as I do without offending somebody, somewhere, because somebody’s not going to agree with what I say, but it will happen.

Or over some little bitty thing that I may say or do or fail to do. But look what he says, follow me and I will make you what? Fishers of men, there’s the cause. Is that cause worth the cost? Catching men, pulling them out of the fire, Having compassion, making a difference. Do you want to just live your life? Or do you want to make a difference? I’ve wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. Look there in the book of Matthew chapter five, just right to the right of there.

And look in verse 10. Now these are some wonderful things you can read on the Beatitudes. But look what he says in verse 10, Blessed are they, which are persecuted for righteousness sake. In other words, you’re doing right, but you’re persecuted for it. Can you do that? Can that happen? They that live godly shall suffer persecution. That’s what the Bible says. And then he says, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you.

See all men are of evil against you falsely. For my say, you did it, but you suffered the consequences for doing so. So there’s a price that you’ll have to pay here. And you should pay it. There’s nothing wrong in this. that. I’m so glad I don’t have to pay for my salvation. I’m so glad that I don’t have to serve the Lord. But if I make up my mind to serve the Lord, I need to have the love to do the labor.

Because knowing that I’m pleasing my Heavenly Father brings such great satisfaction and joy and peace that the world cannot give and the world cannot take it away. And they cannot experience it unless you do it. And it’ll be something you always hear about and you see others enjoying it but you won’t have it because you’re not willing to pay that price. There’s always somebody who wants to play it safe, afraid of getting out on the limb because afraid somebody’s going to cut it off.

You have it out on the limbs where the fruit is and there’s always somebody with a saw in her hand. And there’s people that will always criticize you because they don’t like the way you say or do something. Can you handle it? You see, the reason so many people get offended is because they don’t love the Lord enough. They’re not willing to pay that price. Because if you’re going to serve the Lord, you’ll have to be offended. But you have to live as though you’ve never been hurt.

Because if you get hurt all the time, then you’re going to get bitter. And when you get bitter, the root of bitterness will spring up. And instead of serving God, you’ll find yourself been used as a tool of the devil and doing the devil’s work. But look what he says in verse 12, rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward, where? In heaven. Get that, rejoice and be exceeding glad in the midst of all of the people saying and doing what they do.

It’s spite of all the struggle and what it costs you, the heartache, the sorrow that you go through, The misunderstanding, all that stuff. Whatever you may have to sacrifice and get up. When I went to Bible school, I had zero and a no job waiting on me. Boy, I can reminisce on all the lot now. But at the time, it wasn’t such great rejoicing. As I look back and I see how God has weaved His will in my life and brought me from one point to another point to another point.

When I didn’t have a job didn’t have any money didn’t have any hospitalization kids in the hospital and I just had a type of appendicitis and thought I was going to die. I lost my job at the same time and I was brokered in the 10 commandments couldn’t even pay attention. You talking about being poor. And I didn’t have no rich uncle willing to bail me out and give me anything that didn’t have a church standing behind me to help me out.

I was on my own. Well, I knew the Lord was there, but I couldn’t see him half the time. I was wondering where the Lord are. Where are you? Lord wanted me to keep searching for him all the time. Oh, I’m positive. He’s always there. But you get in that problem and you’ll wonder where he is. And so you just got to go through that. And the Lord is discipling you. He’s teaching you. And those lessons, just like going to boot camp, boot camp is not fun.

I asked any Marine who been to Paris Island, but that’s to train them, to find a who can take it. And that’s why in life there’s going to be things that’s going to happen. So can you take it? In life, God is going to allow a lot of trials and tribulations to come your way because He’s eliminating those that are not fit, they’re not fit to serve. And God will take those who can weather it, and don’t complain about it, and he’ll use them.

The rest of them, he’ll just set them on the shelf. But remember, you’ve been settling the shelf as because of your own doings. It won’t be because God didn’t want to use you. It’s not because God can’t use, it’s that God cannot use you in the fullest extent of what he would like. The eyes of the Lord run to and fro, searching for a man who’s hard as right between him and God so that God can make him strong on his behalf because God wants to show his honor and his power and his glory and he wants to use an individual and all you have to be is a dedicated nobody but God can’t stand pride in anybody and if you will humble yourself God will exalt you but if you exalt yourself God will have to humble you.

So he says, for so persecuted they’d the prophets which were before you. He said, you’re the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its savor, in other words, what are you salt and salt with? If salt has lost its influence, what good is it? No good. So he says, ye are the light of the world and a light God said he won’t hide it under a bushel. If you keep shining for the Lord, and God will lift you up and put you up on a hill, or the light can be seen.

But God wants to see, are you faithful? Are you faithful to shine when it’s the darkest? The light that shines the brightest at home will shine the farthest out from home. And so you want to shine way over there to the foreign fields, but if you can’t shine here, You can’t shine there. Crossing 3,000 miles of water will not make you a missionary. If you’re not a missionary here, if you can’t win people with the Christ here, you won’t win them there.

Are you a soul winner? Do you care? Do you even witness? Let me give you this to you also. Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12, look there in verse 15. This is for service. is for service. This is for the sacrifice that you’re willing to make for the Lord. Remember salvation is free. It’s the gift because Christ paid for our salvation. But we’re not talking about how to get to heaven. This is because you’re going to heaven.

This is because you want to get other people to go to heaven. So he says in verse 15, he said, “…and be aware of covetousness, for a man’s life consists of not in the abundance of the things which he possesses. Why would he say that? Because evidently most people think that life consists of the abundance of the things that I can possess and there’s no end to how much you can want and desire and many people consider themselves prosperous, successful, because of the abundance of the things that they possess.

And so he gives them an illustration of a man that had done just that. So he says here in verse 16, and he speak a parable unto them, saying, the ground of a certain man brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself saying, what shall I do? Because I have no room where to bestow my fruits. He said, this will I do. I’ll pull down my barn, build greater. And there will I bestow my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul, thou hath much goods laid up for many years.

Take down ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto them thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of them, then who shall those things be which thou hast provided? So is he that leth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God?” Do you see the difference? I’m not interested in being rich in this world. I want to be rich toward God. I want to have treasure in heaven, whatever they may be. I don’t know and I don’t really care.

If God says it’s worth it, it must be worth it. It will be worth it. Matthew chapter 20, Matthew chapter 20, and we’ll close with these Scriptures here. Matthew chapter 20. And look in verse 20, I hinted toward this just a minute ago, but I want you to see the verses on it. And Matthew chapter 20 and verse 20, and verse 20 says, then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshiping him and desiring a certain thing of him.

Well, she came to the right person and he said unto her, What will thou? She said unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit the one on the right hand and the other on the left in thy kingdom.” Well, isn’t that a wonderful mama? Look, and not for her boys. the sons of thunder. But he says in verse 22, but Jesus answered and said, You know not what you ask. Are you able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

They said unto him, We are able. And when they saw Jesus being taken that night in the garden of Gethsemane, and then he was to be crucified They all first took them and they all led. We’re able. Yeah, boy. Talk’s cheap ain’t it? Talk is cheap. So here’s all these disciples who went to Jesus’ Bible school for three and a half years and they failed their final exam. Would you use those guys? They said, we’re going back fishing. Forget it, I’m going back fishing.

And that’s what they did. They all went back. They were looking back. They all went back to fishing. Somebody came to him and they saw him. Jesus says, why don’t you cast that net on the other side? And they did. And they got all those fishing. They all came ashore and he fixed them fish sandwiches for everybody. And everybody had a wonderful time. And the first question he asked old Peter was, Do you love me? Remember that? Do you love me?

And when he said, do you love me? He says, you know I love you. Feed my lambs. Do you love me? Do you love me? Peter was so upset. Lord, you know I love you. Feed my sheep. So you never asked him if you loved the sheep. I don’t have to ask you, do you love souls? do you love him? Will you reach people because he loves them? Reach them and let his love motivate you to reach others. That way your love is not hypocritical.

But he says, do you realize what they did to Christ? Are you willing to have people do that to you? And remember, we are fortunate that we live the time we live in America. We don’t really suffer too bad here. There are some countries where they suffer. They’re killed for their faith. We don’t have to worry about that, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t have to down the road. I don’t like the way that I see things coming, but there is that possibility.

Look there in this one verse in closing, in verse 28, he says, as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, to give his life a ransom for many. Serving the Lord is giving your life. Even he was willing to give his life. Now, we’re not paying for anybody’s sins, but we are supposed to give our life so that other people can come to know the Lord. So that’s why I enjoy camps. That’s why I like the ranch meeting.

I And that’s why I like the kids doing the soul winning. All these things. Because you’re investing time into people’s lives, and it’ll make a difference. Because they will somehow sense that compassion that you have and they’ll have it. And somebody else sees theirs and they want to do it. And it begins to grow. It’s like a slow revival that takes place and you don’t have to plan. You can’t make it happen. You just got to let it happen.

Because the Word of God changes people when they see it and really understand it. It’s a powerful motivating thing. Let’s pray, shall we? Our Father, we thank You so much for the great truths that You have in Your Word. So simple. So simply stated, so easy for us to understand that Father, there’s a great price in serving You. But the rewards will be great. Father help us to know that when we get to heaven, it will be worth it all.

Bless each one here and help us to look to you and be willing to be, to go, to do whatever it is that you want for your children. And we believe that when you said follow me, we should follow you. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you are 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. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bibleline programs, just go to our home page 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. Live broadcasts 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. Friend, 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, believing that the Lord is coming soon, and just keep looking up.