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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 a 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. In the book of Philippians, turn over there to the book of Philippians and look there in chapter four, Philippians chapter four, but look in verse one. He says, therefore my brethren, dearly been loved and long for, my joy and my crown. You often wonder, well, when I get to heaven, God’s going to give me a crown.

I wonder why these crowns are going to allow us. You know the crown may be some of those people that you led to Christ. I don’t know how it’s going to work. I really don’t know. No. Lava talks about five different crowns. I came to, I don’t got one head. I’m gonna go word five crowns, I don’t know. There might be a way that God talked about. He says in every man shall receive praise, honor, and glory. Well, that could be three crowns.

To crown you with praise, to crown you with honor, to crown you with glory, because see down here, you may give up a lot of that for the cause of Christ. Everybody wants something. Everybody want to be something. Do something. Achieve some great thing. Everybody to know who you are and what you’ve done. But you may have to become a dedicated nobody for the cross and be behind the scenes. Let me just mention this to you. I’m in the limelight all the time.

But did you know if it wasn’t for my wife I couldn’t do what I did? She works behind the scenes. When they had to go to the emergency room, my wife goes to nursing. She goes to. When they had to stay up late at night, I don’t care who it is, she’ll be up late at night. She has to be up early in the morning. She would watch the little kids. She said help so that the adults could go to the meetings.

I hardly ever hear her complain. She just does the job. She works behind the scenes. But there’s other people that always got to have, hey, it’s me. Hey, look at me. It’s me. Here I’m him. Oh, you don’t quite get it. God says, if you do things for the praise of men, you have already received your reward. Now, if you want it from God, then you have to do it for Him. But if you’re doing it for yourself, do you think there’s a God in heaven that knows the difference?

He knows, He knows your heart. That’s why if you do it for Him, it’ll be real. You do it for yourself. It’ll be hypocrisy. It’ll be a show. So keep that in mind. And then I want you to see this verse. Look over in verse 13. In verse 13, He makes the statement, I can do all things through Christ which strengthen it mean because whether it’s a lot or a little rich or poor, bountiful or empty, it doesn’t matter.

Paul says in whatsoever state I am, I have learned to be content because Christ strengthened me. So when you’re really down and you don’t have any money, that Christ gave you the strength you need to keep going. And when you’ve got money, you better learn to trust the Lord instead of your money. Do you know the Lord give it and the Lord take it the way and you’d be surprised how fast he can take it away. And so he makes a statement here and I want you to see that.

Looking verse 18. He says, but I have all and abound. I am full. Having received of a paparotius the things which were sent from you. So there were something in. At the church there in Philippi, they had sent an offering. They had sent some monetary goods to meet Paul’s needs. You see, when he makes a statement in Philippians 1 and verse 6, look at that very quickly. Being confident of this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform until the day of Jesus Christ.

You see, the people here, they were giving to meet the necessity of the apostle Paul to carry on his work. And he says, I am confident God will keep performing through you. And so as you read the chapter, he saw that I want fruit that will abound to your account. And to these people, he had made this statement. Yet you’re the onesActionCode that he says there in verse 19. But my God shall supply all of your need. Why? Because you are supplying my need.

Did you know you can become so stingy and you’re afraid of investing in the Lord’s work? You’re afraid to give, well I got paid this and I got to pay this and I got to pay that and did you know that you’ll have more if you learn the art of giving? If you’ll learn to be a channel of blessing, remember the little illustration I gave you one time I pray to God and God gave and I shared and God gave and I and God gave and I and God gave and I and God God I am.

You got this? Let me see. God didn’t give things to us to hoard but to love and to care and to share. And if you will be a channel of blessings, you’ll continue to receive. But you’d be surprised how much has been taken away from God’s people because they stop trusting God. They become afraid. There’s a verse in the Bible in the book of Job where Job says, that which I have feared has come upon me. And you’re afraid of a place of on the loose.

So I become stinging. Now it’s when you begin to sow. If you sow sparingly, you will reap. Sparely, if you sow bountifully, you’ll reap bountifully. See, it all depends on how much confidence and trust you have and how mature are you. So that’s why you talk about let’s be mature. Now take your Bible and turn there to the book of Colossians. Hey, we’ve been here before, haven’t we? Colossians in chapter 4 And look in verse 12, Colossians chapter 4 and look in verse 12.

I want you to see what he says about this. In verse 12, this is Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ saluted you. Look at this. Always laboring fervently for you in prayers. Did you know praying is a work prayer is served in the Lord? Labor? Prayer isn’t the easiest thing in the world. It takes time and effort to read the Word of God. It takes time and effort struggling through a prayer for somebody because that’s the most difficult time to focus and stay focused because your mind wonders.

You see because every time you start praying for somebody the devil comes up and sprinkles some of this little space dust over you. Make you spicy. You can’t think, you can’t hold your thoughts. It’s a It’s a war. Did you know you can accomplish more for God through prayer than any other form of work? Well, I never tried that. Try it. Learn to pray. Did you know that God may be working in your life to teach you to pray because it forces you to go to Him when He has got you at the point of despair.

Face is born. And get the last part of that verse. that ye may stand mature, complete, and all the will of God. That’s what he prayed for, and he worked at it. Fervertly prayer. Prayer should not be an excuse. First serving the Lord and doing other things that God wants you to do that you should not do. Well looking verse 13. For I bear him record that as he had a great zeal for you and them that are in Laodicea and them in Hyruleopolis.

You see when you see where Laodicea it’s usually a word that goes toward the book of Ephesians, the people there, the church and Ephesus. But you’ll notice that you may stand, that you may stand. If there’s anything that a preacher wants is his people to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. When you hear different philosophies and so forth, you say, I know what I believe because the Word of God says blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Turn your page there if you’ve got a notes code for reference. By looking for 16, where he says, and when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the laodicean in Ephesus and that you likewise read the Epistle from the book of the Ephesians. In other words, I’m sending one to you and one to you. You make sure you get their letter and you make sure you get their letter. And they were to pray for one another and to encourage one another.

Wouldn’t it be neat if everybody did everything they’re supposed to do? But what do you say in verse 17? say to Eric Chippets, he says, take heed to the ministry which thou hath received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it. Now, stop and think for a moment. What is the ministry that God’s given to you? What do you believe God wants you to do with your life? See, that’s one of the reasons why you studied the Bible so you can do what God wants, because it’s left up to you.

You’ll just do whatever comes in your mind. And then after you didn’t live your life, what did you accomplish? But when you do that, what’s God wants you to do? He says fulfill it. Do it. The little Nike commercial. Just do it. Just do it. Do what God wants to do. Somebody had a shirt on the camp and it just had to do it. I don’t remember who had it. But I saw that looking for 18. The sagutation by the hand of me, Paul, remember these words right here.

Remember my bonds. You see, Paul had more freedom in jail than most people do out of jail. You see, in the book of John in chapter 8, in verse 32 and 34, when he talks about, if you know the truth, the truth will make you free. But if you don’t know the truth, then you believe a lie. If you believe a lie, you’re captured by it. If you’re captured by it, you become a servant. You become the servant of sin.

When you become a servant of sin, you become a slave to sin. The majority of God’s people are slaves. You’re not free. You’re only free when you’re obedient to God. Otherwise, you become a slave to habits that you shouldn’t be a slave to. You’re slave because you serve it instead of serving God. You need to put God first in everything that you do. As a child of God, you ought not have anything that would deter you from being all that God would run it out of time.

You ain’t got much time left. Well some of y’all are young. You may have a couple more years older longer than I do but so in a later you’re gonna run out of time. God’s gonna come back. Are you gonna die? So important. So anyway, are you free or you’re a slave? It’s okay to be a slave, a love slave of the Lord. But when you serve sin, you become a servant of sin, a slave of sin, and you’re not free.

It captures you. Take your Bible real quick and look in verse thessalonians. First thessalonians, just turn to your right. I think of this way, there’s no way I should lose you. You just know it’s the next book. You know it’s the last chapter of the next book. It’s See how simple that is? So in 1 Thessalonians in chapter 5, look in verse 23, and the very God, the very God, of peace sanctify you holy, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord.

Jesus is coming again, yours to keep yourself clean and pure between you and God. You see, you might think, nobody knows what you’re doing there, right? They don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. They don’t know that you might be shacking up with somebody. They don’t know whether or not you’re a homosexual or not. You can hide yourself. So nobody knows. Oh yes. God knows. If you’re a child of God, you’re to do right, you’re to live right, you’re to let this word be your guide.

If there’s things you’re doing in your life not right, you better stop it, but acquit it. Examine your life, live a holy life, live a godly life. Don’t justify sin, you can’t do it. You’re deceiving yourself. Don’t deceive yourself. You let the Word of God tell you what’s right and what’s wrong. Don’t trust your own way. Don’t lean until I know an understanding. And all my ways acknowledge God, the Word of God. How do you mock God? You mock God when you mock sin.

And you mock sin by thinking I can do it and get away with it. And you are the fool because you cannot live as you please and get away with it. prices to pay. Going to heaven, yes, that’s a gift that’s free. And once you have it, you have as a free gift ever lasting life. Look what he says in verse 27, I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the Holy Brother and everybody.

So there’s certain letters that God wrote and said, I want everybody to hear this. Everybody to know this. And of course, when you read in chapter four and about the body and all these things, and over and over and over again, it talks about the second coming to Christ, the second coming to Christ. coming to Christ is coming back and you don’t know when. So that’s why a man is a fool to plan on dedicating his life down the road instead of doing it now.

Down the road may never come. All you have to give to the Lord is now. Serve the Lord with all your heart with what you have, where you are. Second Thessalonians look here real quick. Second Thessalonians in chapter 3. I want you to look in verse 1. Finally brethren pray for us that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified even as it is with you and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men.

For all men have not faith. As you serve the Lord not everybody is going to love you to death. The gnaw is going to pat you on the back and praise you for all those wonderful things you’ve done and all the sacrifice you’ve made. may work with people that use profanity and do this and do that and a thousand other thing. And God says that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men, but He was talking more about His life.

There’s people who wanted to take His life away from Him. So He says in verse 3, but the Lord is faithful. Underline that phrase, the Lord is faithful. And if you want to be like the Lord, you’ll have to be faithful. But why? Because the Lord is faithful. He always keeps His word. He always does right. God does not do wrong. You can never blame God for anything that goes wrong in your life. He will do what he says he will do.

Now also, look in verse 16, chapter 3 verse 16. Now the God of peace himself give you peace always by all means, always by all means. This is what God wants you to do. And there is a statement here in the Word of God that talks about maintaining good works. You started maintaining. You see, you’ll see that there in verse, let me see if I can find the verse right quick, like maintaining good example. I don’t see it right now, but I know it’s in here somewhere.

It’s in the Bible. Turn to the next book. First Timothy, chapter 6. First Timothy, chapter 6. Look at verse 17, the conclusion, final words, charge them that are rich in this world that they may be not high-minded. That’s why rich people always charge everything. Now, charge them that are rich in this world that they don’t trust in their riches, that they be not high-minded nor trust in uncertain riches but in the living God who give us that’s richly all things to enjoy.

See a person with money has a problem. They have a tendency to trust in their money. They can get them out of anything because I can pay for it. I can get it. You say, well, I don’t want to have that problem. I will mind trying it just a little bit to see if I can be faithful. Verse 18, that they do good, that they be rich in good words, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, willing to distribute. In other words, be willing to share what God has given to you.

Be a blessing to other people. Look there at 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy real quick. Chapter 4. Chapter 4, look in verse 14. He talks about a guy named Alexander, the copper Smith. Did me much evil. The Lord reward him according to his words. He did be wrong. Look down in verse 17. 17 says, notwithstanding the Lord, your underline it, the Lord stood with me. See verse 16, nobody stood with me. Nobody stood with me. But verse 17, the Lord did.

You see, a lot of people may turn against you. But the Lord doesn’t. You still have him. Walk with the Lord. Don’t base your spirituality upon what other people accept you or reject you because they did that to Christ. But you still have your heavenly Father. He will stand with you. Do right. And he says, the Lord stood with me and Yoda on the line, the next to it, and strengthened me. And he strengthened me. You see there in verse 18?

and the Lord shall deliver me. Put your confidence, your trust in the Lord, and the Lord delivered me from every evil word.” See, there’s a lot of evil things out there to do. The devil wants to trap you, but you’ve got to make up your mind and I’m going to serve him, serve the Lord. And he says in the last part of verse 18, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom to whom be glory forever never. You see, the Lord is the one who preserves you.

You’re not preserving yourself. He saves me by grace. I didn’t deserve it. He gives me eternal life and he will keep me saved. He’ll never cast me out and he’ll never lose me. He is with me and if I would walk with him, then he will keep me from a lot of evil that’s in this world. There’s a lot of things that a lot of people do in this life, but those things have not been a part of my life.

I have no idea what it’s like to have a hangover. I ain’t got a clue. I don’t never have those headaches that people have. I haven’t vomited out my guts. Maybe it was a, oh what a badge we had. Boy, that’s such a wonderful time. Something’s wrong up there. I’ve never had to experience that. I’ve never been locked up for some crime or something like that. Now if I get locked up for the gospel, praise the Lord. And I know you’re coming, this is me.

Titus, real quick. We only have 14 books to go. Titus, chapter three. Titus chapter three, look in verse eight. Titus chapter three, verse eight. This is a faithful saying, and these things, I will now affirm constantly. Thou affirm constantly. Those two were very important. We try to get kids to dedicate their lives to the Lord. And then maybe the next year, they need to rededicate their life to the Lord. To me, I would have to affirm this constantly all the time.

I gave the Lord yesterday. Today, I reaffirmed it. Tomorrow, I need to do it again. Every day, because I dedicated my life to the Lord. But my life out there, I don’t got yet. I don’t got yet. I don’t have yet. But I do know that if I give the Lord today, and then when the mark comes, I give the Lord that day, lo and behold, I will have given him my life. It’s easy to give what you don’t have and hard to give what you do have.

So affirm constantly and he says that they may have the lead in God, might be careful and you’re not on the line. He’s what to maintain good works. Also in verse 14 says the same thing. Look there in Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews and chapter 13. Now look in verse 20. Hebrews chapter to 13 in verse 20. This is on page 1305 and in verse 20 he says, Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant.

See when Christ died on the cross and shed his blood, he made a covenant, but it was then everlasting covenant. It was that he promised that when he saved you, it would last forever. His blood was incorruptible blood. It means that Jesus Christ is the living proof of payment. You go to the restaurant, you get something to eat and they give you a receipt. Jesus and the scars in his hands and in his feet without his blood. is my living proof of payment.

He’s my receipt paid in all. And I have Him forever. Devil says anything to me, here’s my receipt. Why am I going to heaven? Because I got to receipt. My sins were paid in all. They’re all paid in all. Now I see what he says in verse 21, make you perfectly mature. In every good word, not in some errors of your life, every area of your life. To do what? To do His will. You’re not here to live for you.

It’s not what you want. It’s what God wants. If people can only understand, you will have more fun, more enjoyment out of life. If you do what God wants you to do with your life, and it is so very important, you just went to 13 books in the Bible, maybe 14, look up here. The sin represent you and me. The wallet represents sin. We all have sin on us. God, he loves us. Now he hates our sin, but he loves us.

And for us, the pay for the sin is eternal separation from God, but the great shepherd of the sheep, Jesus Christ. He did something for us. He came into this world and he shed his blood to pay for our sins so that we could go to heaven. Because if you go to heaven, you’ve got to be perfect, right? This is God, none of us are perfect. We’re not good enough to go. One lady, she said, you mind to tell me I’m not good enough to go to heaven?

I said, yes, ma’am, that’s exactly what I’m saying. A little smart aleck. But God loves her. God loves all of us. And he says, you cannot save yourself. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God enough life came into the world because he loved us hate our sin because it separates us from him So Jesus Christ took the sin all of Paid for them the cross came back from the dead and said if we would believe he did it for us He would put this payment our account we get to go to heaven.

Oh what Christ did you don’t earn it? You don’t work for it. It’s a gift being born into God’s family is free. It’s easy Christ did all the work. So if you hear and you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, well the most important thing you can ever do is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. I mean believe that when He died, He died for you. That means He paid for your sins. It means if He paid for your sins, you don’t have to.

You mean all those bad things? I don’t have to go to heaven. You don’t have to pay for none of them. Well that don’t sound right. I know. That’s called grace. You don’t deserve it. Let’s pray, shall we? Every head bowed and every eye closed and no one looking around. Do me a favor. If you’re here and you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, would you trust Him right now? Would you do that? If you will trust the Lord, I’d like to know it.

So I’m gonna ask in just a moment for you to raise your hand. Raising your hand does not save you. It just lets me know that what I said made sense and you say, preacher, that made sense to me and this morning I will trust Christ as my Savior. If you have already trusted the Lord, you don’t have to do it again. You only have to do it one time because God cannot lie. And he said, if you trust him, he would save you and give you eternal life.

So with his bow nice clothes, is there anyone at all say yes, preacher, that made sense to me and I will trust Christ as my Savior? Would you just slip you in a very quickly and put a right back down? Anyone at all? Just slip it up real quick, put a right back down. Yes, God bless you, sir. Anyone else? Just slip it up very quickly, put a right back down. Anyone else? My Father, we thank You so much for this time together.

Bless each one for being here, especially the individuals that indicated by an uplift at hand that they would trust Christ as their Savior. By doing so, You give them as a free gift of everlasting life, and they can know that they’re going to heaven when they die. You’ve been good to us, and we thank You for it. Thank You, Lord, for giving us a good camp, and all the good workers that we had, for all the decisions that were made.

And I pray, Lord, that the people here would continue to pray fervently, that God’s will will be done in the lives of these people. Even though they’re here, they may never met them face to face. But prayer is a work, a very good work, a necessary one. Unless it’s in Christ 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 were 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 Bibleline 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 Bible line, 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. Believe in that the Lord is coming soon and just keep looking up.