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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.

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

He just used it. And sometimes you have some people that are kind of wired. They’re, everybody’s wired differently. And some people, they give you the biggest problems, usually those that are a little bit on the independent side, you know, a little bit hard to control. We used to pick up kids on the buses and I would tell the teachers in the Sunday school class, because sometimes I had teachers and they’d have 70, 80, 90 kids in a class and that’d be one teacher and a couple helpers.

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

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

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

I’m glad that he is the God of second chance and third chance and fourth chance, because how many chances has he given us? A whole bunch. But anyway, here in 2 Peter, in chapter 1, he just finished telling him that he said, I’m going to die. So you see there in verse 13, Yay, I think it meter fit necessary as long as I am in this tabernacle and talk about in this body to stir you up by putting you in remembrance, helping them to know to remember the things they already know.

A lot of times the pastor is not giving you something new, he just kind of refreshing your memory, helping you to remember the things that you’re supposed to do. You know you pose a witness, so he just tries to help you a little bit in that direction. You know you pose to read the Bible, true? Well, okay, he just tries to help you a little bit in that direction. And so we’re just leading you in the direction you already know where to go.

Just sometimes you need a little kick here and there, a little warning here and there, a little rebuke here and there. But he says, I want to put you in remembrance because I’m going to be putting off this body that I have. in looking verse 14, he says, knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ had showed me. Now look there in John chapter 20, the gospel of John in chapter 20.

He makes his statement that he is going to have something happen toward the end. And of course, there’s always somebody that wants to know, well, what about so-and-so? And you’ll notice there in verse 18. He just went through asking Jesus three times, do you love me? Well I believe it’s because three times he denied him. He didn’t say that, but I got a hunch that relates to it. So in verse 18 he says, I say unto thee, when thou was young, thou girdest thyself.

Walk us with a thou wouldest. And when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hand. And another shall gird thee, and I carry thee with a thou wouldest. In other words, you’re going to live to be old. And they got a stretch forth your hands, and they’re going to take you where you don’t want to go. Now many believe, historically, that he was crucified upside down, because he says, I’m not worthy to be crucified like my Lord.

So they hung him upside down. Now, Jesus told him, you’re going to die. And Peter remembered that. Well, I probably would have remembered that too. But he did say you’re going to get old. And he says in verse 19, this space he signified by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he said to him, follow me. No, just in that one little statement, see, I can read things into that. Makes me think, OK, I’m going to live to be an old man.

I’m guaranteed. Because God’s already said that, how I’m going to die. But I’m going to be old. In verse 20, he said, then Peter turned into a bout, see if the disciple whom Jesus loved, who I believe is John, which also leaned on his breath at supper and said, Lord, what is he that betrayeth thee? which is he that betrayed the, he had said that. In verse 21, Peter’s seeing him say, after Jesus Lord, what shall this man do?

And Jesus that unto him is none of your business. That’s paraphrased. What if I will that he carried till I come? What is that to thee? Follow about me. Do you get anything out of that? It’s not what God does with somebody else, it’s what God does with you. Don’t worry about how God uses somebody else. Just be thankful how God uses you. You’re an individual. And you just be found faithful to do what God wants you to do.

So they thought, okay, well, John’s gonna live until Christ comes back, but he didn’t say that. See what he says? In verse 23, Then went this saying abroad among the brethren that that disciple should not die. Yet Jesus said, not unto him, he shall not die. But if I will, that he’d tear it till I come. What is that to thee? So, you know, just like a bunch of people, they’d get things mixed up and then start a rumor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Okay, that sounds pretty good. Chapter 17. Verse 1, and after six days Jesus taken Peter, James and John. So there’s Peter and bringing them up into the high mountain. And verse 2, and was transfigured before for them. That means he was totally changed. They saw him like in a glorified body, transfigured, in power, great glory, brighter than the noonday sun. They saw him. Don’t you wish you’d have been there? And he says, and his face did shine as the sun and his raiment was white as the light.

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

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

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

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

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

Now He says, we were eyewitnesses up there in verse 16. So He said, we saw it. And we heard with our ears the voice from the excellent glory that said, this is my beloved son. So He says, we saw and we heard. He says, but there’s something that’s better than seeing and hearing. Every one of us would love to be able to see and to hear what they saw and what they heard. Hold your place right there, but look there in 1 John 1, 1 John 1, look in verse 1.

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

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

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

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

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

Because you see, you know this is true. Did you know the what you see you can be deceived? What you hear you can forget And that’s why he said to remember to remember to remember Because you know isn’t it true that there’s many things that over the years that you can’t remember as clearly I’ve had so many things happen in my life and I start telling some of the stories and Next thing you know, I didn’t got them all mixed up with two or three other stories And then I say, did this happen at this time?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In verse 17, a man. And what lies in between is the Word of God. You trusted Christ as your Savior. You became a child of God. The only thing that will make you a man of God is not going to be money in this world. It’s not going to be friends. It’s not going to be where you work. I mean, the cars you have is the Word of God. Only the Word of God can make you a man of God.

And the Bible says in verse 70 that the man of God may be mature, truly furnished unto all good works. And when a Christian can’t do the good works that God wants him to do, it’s because he’s not a man yet. He’s not a man of God. And this is not determined by how long you live. Just by the Word of God living within you that matures you and you learn and you grow because of that. You have trusted Christ as your Savior.

You know you have eternal life. You know that you’re going to go to heaven when you die. And time has probably passed and you’ve been growing in the Lord. Are there things in my life that are not right? if there isn’t, then you should talk to the Lord about that. Confess your sins to the Lord, and He is faithful and just to forgive you. If you’re here this morning and you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, well, you can do that right now at this moment.

See, what do I have to do? Just believe that when Christ died on that cross, He paid for your sins, and will you trust Him? Dependent upon Him to take you to heaven when you die? If you trusted Him, He would save you, give you eternal life, and you get to go to heaven on what Jesus Christ did on the cross for you. And you can do that right now in the quietness of your own mind, between you and the Lord.

And simply say, Lord, I believe you did it for me, and I’m trusting you right now as my Savior. And you say, then I can do it? Yes, you can. If you believe. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you 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.

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.