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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 message will be a blessing to you and your family.

In the book of Philippians in chapter one, let me give you a real life, genuine insight into what serving the Lord is a little bit about. You won’t realize the real battle until you’ve made up your mind that you’re going to serve the Lord. So you trust Christ as your Savior that gives you eternal life, you’re His child, you’re going to heaven when you die. In fact, that’s subtle. Now you’re God’s child living in a sinful world, You’ve got a sinful nature.

The devil is after you. There’s trials, tribulations, temptations. How in the world can you enjoy life? When it seems like everything is designed to keep you from being happy. And yet how many people are all their greatest goal is, let me be happy. But here in the book of Philippians in chapter 1, I want you to see there in verse 29, verse 29, For unto you, it is given in the behalf of Christ. In other words, on his behalf, God says, I’ve got something special that I want you to do.

You are going to fight your will against God. Did you know that when you surrender your will to God’s will, that’s a form of suffering? Because it really hurts sometimes. There’s a part of you that says, I want to do my own thing, go my own way, and I don’t want God telling me what I can and cannot do. So many people, they go ahead and they just do whatever they want. But the person who wants to serve the Lord has to battle that.

He has a battle that the person who gives in and becomes rebellious to God, he don’t have to battle that. If you want to serve God, you have to always be battling. Because there’s things that you don’t want to give up. There’s things that you want to be. There’s places you want to go. There might be a lot of things and you have to sacrifice. things because you gave up your will. You will have to suffer the loss of that.

And maybe what you could have had, maybe some of you said, and here could have been a millionaire, and you gave all that up to serve the Lord. But you are going to suffer. Now look what he says here in verse 29, for unto you it is given into behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, not only that, but also when you need to underline these words in your Bible, suffer for his sake, suffer for his sake.

Why did God leave you here for his sake? God wants you here in this world, in an old body that’s got all the problems with it, so that if anything gets done, he has to get credit for it. Because you’re going to battle and you’ve got all the pressures against you. And in your strength, you cannot do it. It is a struggle all your life. But if you don’t do things because, I’m afraid this might happen. I’m afraid this might happen.

Afraid. And you can let fear rob you of doing things that God would have had you do. Courage is nothing more than fear that says it’s prayers and goes ahead. Or you can let fear always cause you not to do something. There’s a step out by faith. And trust God, because some people are so afraid of failure they never do anything for God. I would rather attempt and fail than not to attempt at all. The older I get, the more help I need.

I have to admit that. Here in the book of Philippians in chapter one, it also makes the statement in verse 30, having the same, and here’s another word I want you to underline your Bible, the word called conflict, conflict which ye saw in me, now here to be in me. You are going to have conflict, things that are gonna try to stop you from doing what God wants you to do. You can always try to find the easy way out, you can always run from problem, We don’t have to do anything.

Don’t worry about nothing. Just get in our own little world, box us in and just play safe. But think of what you miss out on. The opportunity to serve God and make an impression of some kind of an influence in this lifetime. And you don’t have no other chance. This is one trip through life. I’m so thankful that God has allowed me at this point so far. Don’t look in the mirror and scares me to death. But there’s still a little fire in the gut that says, I want to do something with my life.

I don’t want to sit down and grow old. I don’t want to just become part of a recliner. I want to have a vision. I want to do something with my life, all the days of my life. In 1 Thessalonians in chapter 2, look there in verse 14. Verse 14, for ye brethren became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus, for ye also have suffered. You ought to underline those words. Ye also have suffered.

There’s people who preach a health and wealth philosophy. If you serve God, nothing wrong will ever happen to you. And you’re supposed to always have wealth. That is not true. That is not the Bible. And you can suffer an awful lot of things for the Lord’s sake. He says, for my sake, I want you to be willing to give up everything you have. When I trusted Christ as my Savior, I didn’t give up anything. I simply trusted Him as my Savior.

He saved me. Give me eternal life. Now, are you willing as a child of God? You might be willing to have to give up your health. You may have to give up money. You may have to give up a job. You may have to sacrifice a lot of ways why, because I want God to use me however he wants. I’m at his disposal. Now, he may not ask you to go to Africa, but you ought to be willing to go.

He may not lead you to Siberia, but you ought to be willing to go. You should be willing to serve the Lord anywhere. And maybe it’s just where you are and on a particular job, but you’re going to serve the Lord wherever you are and doing whatever you’re doing. But He makes the statement here in 1 Thessalonians down here in verse 15, who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets. Now think about this. Jesus Christ was killed and their own prophets, they killed them.

Then He says, and have persecuted us. they please not God in a contrary to all men. And then it says the verse 16 for bidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved. I’ve had people tell me that you can’t talk and you can’t do this and you can’t, yes I will and suffer the consequences for it. But I have to be in my mind convinced I am willing to suffer the consequences of obeying God. If you’re not willing to suffer the consequences of obeying God forget it because you won’t.

Because the first person that says something hurts your feelings, you’re gone. First time you think, well, if God really loved me, he wouldn’t have let this happen to me, you might as well forget it. You don’t understand serving God. What do you think serving God is? It is rough. It is a warfare. It is a battle. And so many people are running from the responsibility. We have a job to get done. And he says that the labors are what?

The few. Why are they few? Because God isn’t worth serving? Though they fell in love with themselves, they fell in love with the world and if you get all about what God wants them to do. That’s what God’s Word’s talking about. Look what He says there in verse 18, wherefore we would have come unto you even I, Paul, once and again but somebody hindered us. What does it say? Who hindered them? Satan. The devil is going to fight and is going to fight against you.

Turn to 1 Peter chapter 1, 1 Peter and chapter 1. Look in verse 6. I want you to look first of all, in verse 4. When you trusted Christ as your Savior, you were saved from something, from hell to heaven. So God gave me a place in heaven. And He says, it’s reserved in heaven for me. And He says this, verse 4, to an inheritance is incorruptible and undefiled that they, if not a way, reserved in heaven for me.

So I know I’ve got a place reserved for me in heaven. I’m going there. That can never be taken away. I got a reservation. Or we got my tickets. Or we’ve been paid for all I’m waiting for now is the the transportation and he’s supposed to come anytime now. So I’m just waiting on that. But until then, he says in verse six, we’re in ye greatly rejoiced. I’ll say I rejoice in that I know I’m saved. I’m kept by the part of God.

I can never lose my salvation. I’m going to heaven I rejoice in that. I know that. But he says, we’re in ye greatly rejoiced, though now for a season, it need be ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations. You are going to have manifold testings and trials that are way you down. The devil is going to try to hinder you from serving God. The devil will use Christian people to discourage you and to to say things that are cutting and just deadening and try to strip you of your desire to want to serve God.

And one of the worst things in the world is Christians who won’t serve God, they influence other Christians not to serve God because they’re afraid, they’re supposed to be afraid. If they won’t step out, don’t you step out. And you can’t let somebody else’s fears intimidate you so that you won’t do what God wants you to do. So he makes a statement here in verse 7, that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than a goal that perishes you.

Though it be tried with fire, might be found in the praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. You are going to be under great trials. God says, and your trial of your faith is more precious than gold. Don’t be tried with fire because gold is going to be destroyed. Gold won’t be worth anything. Silver won’t be worth anything. The money won’t be worth anything. What’s better than money? What’s better than being in the stock market right now anyway?

What’s the best? Serving God because God says, when I get a trial and I pass the test, I have laid up treasure in heaven that I cannot lose. You have to believe that if you want to serve God. You don’t believe that. You won’t serve him. But he says here, the last part of it might be found in the praise and honor and glory at the opportunity Christ is coming. It will be worth it all. Look there in chapter two and verse 19.

Chapter two and verse 19. We’re talking about the greatest thing in all the world. After you trust Christ to say that there is nothing as great as serving God with all your heart, with all your life. For this is thanks worthy if a man for conscience toward God, and you are on the line this, endure grief, suffering wrongfully, it ain’t fair. Who cares if life isn’t fair? Does God know what’s happening to you? Every trial, every tribulation God knows.

And God says that He’s the one that keeps the books and He said He’s going to reward every man according to His own work. God knows what you have to face. He knows every hurt, every pain that you go through. And people won’t know and they won’t understand. They don’t know the load you’ve got to bear. They don’t know the pressures you’ve got to go through. They don’t know the limitations you have in your knowledge and your character. They don’t know what all that is.

God does. And He won’t wrong you. The Bible says God is not unrighteous to forget your labor of love. You see, for God to forget what you did for Him would be a sin. And that’s in Hebrews in chapter 6 and God wouldn’t do that. Look in verse 20, for what glory is it? If when you be buffeted for your faults, you take it patient. In other words, you did wrong and you took it patiently. Big deal. You did it.

But if when you do well and you suffer for it, you take it patiently. This is acceptable with God. In other words, learn patience. You’re going to suffer wrongfully. People are gonna say things that they should not say. And most of your problems from people is not gonna come from the lost people. Most of the pressures upon Christians is from Christians. Christians are the ones that will destroy you faster than anybody else in this world. It’s not the devil.

It’s not even your old sinful nature. It’s Christians who won’t serve God totally. Because if they don’t and you do, you are rebuked to them and they’re gonna pull you down. One way or the other, they’ve got to justify their lack of service, their lack of love. And it’s a damaging thing. That’s why God says, I wish she was either hot or cold, but then lute warm, he said, makes me sick. Those are his word, by the way, not mine.

But look there now in verse 21. For even here unto word ye called. You were called, this is like, no we’re being, I was called into the ministry. You were called into the ministry of suffering. Suffering because you’re gonna take a stand for the Lord. You’re gonna try to serve God and do what’s right. All right, now, that means because of that, you gotta fight your own will. You gotta fight that own lust and the desire to do whatever you wanna do with your life, like everybody else, they just go ahead and do it.

But there’s always gonna be a handful of people, a handful that’ll make up their mind to serve God. I remember one time when I was on a camp and it was about 14, 1500 kids in the auditorium. Ray Stanford had everybody stand up and everybody stood up. He said, no, I want everybody to sit down, except the first two rows. And everybody stood down and said, first two rows. He says, no, you two rows that are standing. And about 10 years, y’all will be the only ones left.

Probably that’ll be serving the Lord. Representative, not that these wouldn’t. They wouldn’t just, about this many, all those people out of 1500, which they had maybe 50 people, 100 people, in those couple rows. And you’re talking about how many people will fall about the wayside, one way or the other, because Satan’s gonna get this one and that one in different ways, most people fall. But I’m talking about can you serve God faithfully all your life? What does he mean to you?

Are you still just playing a simple little game? Y’all you can come to church, you can even put money in the plate, but I’m not where’s your heart? Do you really give until it hurts? Do you sacrifice? What have you really given up for God? What sufferings have you gone through for his sake, for his name? For his honor, for his glory, what do you really do for him? Or is it because you get seen by somebody or somebody thinks well of you?

Is it all a show? Just an image you’ve got to keep up. People expect me to do this. Makes a statement here in verse 21 for even here in 2 where you call them because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example. In other words, we have an example to follow. Did anybody say anything bad about Christ? Mm-hmm. Did anybody turn on them? Even his own family. Brothers and sisters didn’t even believe him. Later they did. He was really killed, mocked.

You name it, it happened to him. That’s why when you read the book of the Hebrews in chapter 11, it says, when you get so tired and so weak and you’re fainting, you can’t go on. He says, consider him. Have you considered what he did and what he went through? He says, now, I’m calling upon you to suffer for me Because I suffered for you now. Will you serve him now? Nobody can make you It’s an individual thing and the last part of it says that you should follow his steps now He didn’t ask me to walk on water.

He didn’t ask me to raise the bed He didn’t ask me to feed to five thousand But it is asked me to live like him and to suffer like he did and that means that you’re gonna be so misunderstood at time and people are going to turn against you and so forth. I suffer a lot of persecution for the simple reason of what I preach and the way that I preach. Not because of my love for the Lord. And that’s why some people are common, some people are go.

Because they don’t like the way the Yankee said something, the way he’s doing. But if you only knew my motive, if you really knew me and knew where I was coming from and why I do what I do, I wouldn’t be such a bad guy. I’d do my dead level best to be as much like Jesus Christ as I know to be. I couldn’t think of another preacher loving God more than what I do. I couldn’t dare to think that somebody else would be more dedicated to God and want to accomplish more for God than what I do.

But whatever accomplished is because God did it through my yieldedness. Because I can only do so much. I am just a man. That’s all you are. But you want to be used by God. Let God use you. be surprised what he would be able to accomplish. Look in chapter 3 and verse 13. Chapter 3 and verse 13. There’s several verses here in verse 13, 14, 16, but verse 13. Who is he that will harm you if you be followers of that which is good?

And you say well well nobody. Oh yes, there are a lot of people that will harm you if you want to do that which is good. Verse 14 but and if you suffer for right consciousness sake. Happy are ye. And be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled. Don’t worry. Put your confidence in the Lord. And God says that He’ll protect and He’ll provide. You see what happens if you have a breakdown on the way down here? We have a breakdown on the way down here.

But what are you going to do? Whatever we can. Where do you get out of the can’t? And this goes wrong. It goes wrong. What are you going to We’ll try to do the best we can, trust the Lord. You see, some people are so afraid to cross the bridge. They’re afraid to cross over. See, living by faith is walking on water. You can’t always see the visible way in which God is going to work. You can’t always touch and feel.

Living by faith is all I got is God’s Word. And I’m doing this for His honor, for His sake and for His glory. I’m going to trust God to protect and provide. I’m going to give God that chance. You know what I told God one time long time ago? I says, don’t you ever expect me to stand in a pulpit and tell people that you’ll supply their needs? You can’t do it for me. I says, the Bible says that if a man doesn’t provide for his own, he’s worse than an infidel.

And I’m your child. You wrote the verse, it applies to you too. You’re my father. Now either my father is my father and he is my God. And he did create the heavens in the earth, and he can’t protect, he can provide, or he can’t. And if he can, then why can’t I trust him? Why can’t I live by faith and see what God can do? Step out and see what I did. It is exciting to serve God. It is not a boring life.

I always told the teenagers, don’t be bored, serve the Lord. But if you’re bored, you’re not serving God. God is exciting. It’s dynamic. It’s everything that you’ve ever wanted it to be. One day it’ll even be glorious. It made a little praise and honor and great rewards. This life is only one trip through. No reruns. And then when you get to heaven… God says he’s gonna bless you when you get there and reward you. It’d be a great thing.

Look there in 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 13. The verse that I had just read to you in verse 14. But if you suffer for righteousness sake, happy your ye and be not afraid of their turret, neither be troubled. Look now in verse 16. Having a good conscience that whereas they speak evil of you, as of evil lures, They may be ashamed that falsely accused your good behavior in Christ, for it is better if the will of God be sown, and you are underliners in your Bible, that you suffer for well doing than for evil doing.

I would rather do well and do right and suffer for it than do wrong and suffer for it. I would rather serve God, and yes, there’s a price to pay, and you may lose friendship, and you can lose a lot of people because you decide to take a stand. In the other verse here that makes a statement in verse 17, for it’s better if the will of God be sure you suffer for well-being doing then for evil doing. Not chapter 4, chapter 4.

Verse 12, be loved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you. What is serving God? Walking through a fiery trial. That’s what it is. See some people think, well if I serve God then that means he’s just gonna bless me and it removes all my problems and everything will be wonderful. My marriage will be happy, my kids will be wonderful, my job will be great, I have money to bank, I have cards, I have this, I have that, I have security, everything will be great.

No! Not what it is. You’re to serve God if He takes away your job, takes away your health, takes away your family, takes away everything you have. He said, if a man doesn’t love me, more than love’s mother, and father, and sister, and brother, and all the things, he said, he can’t be my disciple. God says, you can’t serve me if you love something better than me. You put something between you and God and God will move it away from you.

What happens when your wife is gone or your husband is gone and your kids are gone and the grandchildren are gone and you have nothing left? Then their world falls apart. God said, I’ll never leave you and I’ll never forsake you. You don’t have to fall apart just because the world falls apart. He says this in verse 13, but rejoice in as much as you are partakers of Christ’s suffering that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad.

When, when he shall be revealed, ye may be glad with exceeding joy. Right now you have to have grief and you’ll have suffering and you’re going to fight battles and it’s going to be rough. It’s difficult. It’s a warfare that you’re involved in. Some people find it so difficult to be faithful. And God says that you will win in the long run. And when he returns, when he comes back, you’ll be exceeding glad and feel with great exceeding joy.

Awesome. Look there in 2 Timothy chapter 3. 2 Timothy and chapter 3. Look in verse 10. When you think about a great man like the Apostle Paul, why was God able to use him in such a wonderful way? The Bible says God put a thorn in his flesh. I mean something to Buffett him, cause him problems all his life. And Paul says, that’s not fair. No, he didn’t say that. God says, my grace is sufficient. You’ll just have to bear it.

Live with it. He says, I asked the Lord three times to remove it and God wouldn’t do it. He says, my grace is sufficient. God left it there for a reason. Did you know that some of the problems and troubles that you have are for a reason and God won’t remove one? And I don’t know what a problem may be, but God may allow you to have a problem that seems like it never goes away. It’s always there and it’s not going to go away.

You’re going to have to live the rest of your life with that problem. So, what he says, in chapter 3 and verse 12, Yay, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But he made the statement, he says, Y’all have known my manner of life. You know my purpose, my doctrine. You know all these things about me. See that verse 10, he said, but thou hast fully known. My doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, patience, my persecutions, my afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, Iconium, and Listera.

What persecutions, you ought to underline this words. What persecutions I, what? I endured, I endured. Do you know one of the things that disappoints me a lot of time When I walk out of that office and I come up here and I look at the people that are not in service, why don’t most of God’s people, why can’t they be faithful? Oh, I’m not talking about the ones that are in the hospital, I’m not talking about the ones that are sick.

I’m not talking about just people on the bouquet, I’m talking about other people in general, that they can’t be faithful. It never depends on them. Does that bother me? Yes, it bothers me. I’m a human individual. I’m flesh and blood. I care. My heart bleeds. I cry. I hurt for people because I know what is costing them. They’re going to be so filled with regret when they get to heaven and find out what they could have done and what they forfeited.

And I want them to stand there in heaven and get everything God wanted them to have. And I’m going to find that they’re going to be stripped of everything but it’s grace. Saved, but they lost their life. Yeah, that hurts me because I care more about them and they do themselves. I call that love. Sometimes when I’m hard, I’m hard because I care about what they’re doing with their life. It’s not a game to me. There’s a lot of preachers.

You can find them. They play games. All they want is your money or your membership and there’s a lot of them around and their churches will be full because everything’s so generalized. Nobody knows what the world’s been said or what’s been done. Nothing’s expected of them. Nobody’s raked over the colds. Nobody’s burned. Do whatever you want to do. Just keep coming and giving you money. I guess I want more than that. I want more for you. Look there in verse 13.

But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse deceiving and bend to say verse 14. But continue thou. Those three words are just underlined. But continue thou. start. Continue. Stay at it. It’s always a battle. Always at it. Before we close, look in James chapter 1. My brethren, in chapter 1 verse 2 says, My brethren counted all joy when you fall into divers temptations, knowing this that the trying of your faith work at patience. God wants to build you strong.

The trials and the hardships of life is God’s way of blessing you so that it draws you closer to the Lord so that you’ll ask for wisdom and you’ll gain wisdom and you’ll be able to have the patience that you need to endure the hardness. So God has a wonderful plan. Does he? Yes, he does. God has a wonderful plan for your life. Man, that struck me when I heard God has a plan for my life. When what it is?

I wonder what he wants me to do. I wonder what he wants me to be. I wonder where he wants me to go. God has a plan for me. It’s me. I want to find what it is. I want to know what is God’s plan for my life. So as a child of God, you begin to yield yourself to the Word of God and God begins to reveal. And by getting involved in what you can or what you have, where you are, God begins to open up doors.

And you don’t know where it’s going to lead to, but I’ll tell you this. It’s a wonderful world out there. It’s a wonderful walk with God. And even though the lions and the snakes and the bears and everything is trying to destroy you, you know that your heavenly Father has got you all protected and you can just walk right through anything. Some through the waters, some through the floods, some through the fire, but all through the blood. And you’ve got to go through it and you can endure it.

You can do it. 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 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. Live 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. 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.