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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. Our regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach us toll-free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the BibleLineMinistries.org homepage. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Her in your Bible to the book of Matthew and chapter 9. It’s amazing how many people worship the babe and the manger and forget about the one that died on the cross. Yet that’s why he came. If you really love Christmas and you really love the one that died on that cross, that He came back again from the dead. Then you and I should have the same compassion that He had for why He came. That the world may know that I love the Father even so I do.

That’s what Jesus said. Here in the book of Matthew in chapter 9 and verse 35, look what it says, and Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them because they feigned and were scattered abroad as sheep, having no shepherd. You know, I thought about that verse a lot of times.

He was moved with compassion. They were like sheep without a shepherd. And you know the Bible tells us that he saw this before he ever made the first man. I want you to hold your place right there because I got something else I want to share with you from that verse. But I want you to take your Bible looking first Peter, first Peter in chapter 1. Peter chapter 1, and look in verse 18, because of the compassion, and this is what he did.

It says in verse 18, for as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain behavior, conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Verse 19 is the region he had to have a virgin birth so that he would be without spot. Means he would have no sinful nature, so that he would live a perfect life.

And the Bible says in verse 18, you and I were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold. as though you could buy your way into heaven. You could pay for your sins by giving money. Or by your vain behavior, how you lived could purchase your salvation because if it could, then Christ did not have to die. But because of compassion and people like sheep without a shepherd, the Bible says this And yet it was happening before we ever had the first man on the earth.

Look at verse 20, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world. God had a plan before he ever created the first man. Because, see… God would have been totally shocked if he created Adam and Eve and then they blew it. And he didn’t know there was going to do that. For God to be caught off guard as though he didn’t have a backup plan, he only had one plan. There is no backup plan. This plan was that his son would come into the world because God through the telescope of time could see that people would be like sheep without a shepherd.

And so he was going to send a shepherd into the world, a spotless shepherd, a sinless shepherd. And he would come and die and purchase our salvation for us. So we were redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. He gave his life for us us so that we could be redeemed, forgiven of all of our sins. This is the crux of the matter. This is what Christmas is really about. It’s not really about just a child that was born 2,000 years ago.

It was talking about a perfect child, prophesied child that was promised way in advance. Two thousand years ago Christ died for the sins of the world so that we could have as a free gift everlasting life. Go back there to the book of Matthew in chapter 9. Matthew chapter 9. Where he says here in chapter 9, in verse 37, then sayeth he unto his disciples, the harvest truly is plantius, but the laborers are few. for the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth labors into His harvest.”

Now this verse is important because what God saw, the compassion that He had, the need for labors, and He says to a disciples, pray. Because it’s hard for you or for me to pray for the Lord of the harvest, the harvest, Lord, send somebody without me having a desire to want to go. Without me having a desire to want to give, without me wanting to carry the light. So you see, he sent them in the very next chapter, but it’s a plea.

God desires each and every one of us to be lights into the world. Take your Bible and look in Isaiah chapter 9, the book of Isaiah and chapter 9, see there in verse 2, the people that walked in darkness, the people that walked in darkness. The Bible says in the book of Ephesians in chapter 2 that we were children disobedience. We walked in darkness. We walked in the flesh. We lived for ourselves. We did whatever we wanted. However, we thought, and it’s my life, and we didn’t give God a thought.

The Bible says the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is at which controls the will of man. And all of our thoughts and deeds are toward that one thing. What I want out of life, the lust of the flesh, what it desires, the pride of life, whether you’re talking about the power and prestige, honor, we want it. And yet the Bible says that we walked in darkness, we could not really see the truth.

So the Bible says here in verse 2, the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death upon them hath the light shine.” This is a reference you’ll read about it in Matthew chapter 4, where Jesus Christ came into the world and the people that sat in darkness have seen a great light. Once I trusted Christ as my Savior, that night sitting in a little old living room I saw a great light.

I never knew for sure how to have eternal life. I was in darkness. I was trying to find my way, but I could not. No man can. Therefore the light has to be taken to them. God used a man that was really, really old. He was probably close to 50. And he explained the gospel to me. That night I trusted Christ, says my Savior. That was the best news I ever heard. After that, I started going down to the Bible bookstore and getting some missionary books off the shelves, and I said to him, I’d read them.

Couldn’t afford to buy them. And the guy would tell me how much time I had to get back to work. And sometimes I’d sit there and sitting on the floor and reading the book, and I’d sit there and I’d cry. And I used to think, Lord, I want to be used. I want to do something with my life. And I never forget there were so many quotes that I would read. Little statements that different ones would make. And they burned into my heart that I wanted to do something.

I’ve often thought, you know, what if, what if. What if I had never wanted to share the light? Just know I got my pinkies inside the pearly gate and I’m going to heaven, let the rest of the world go to hell. I’m going to heaven. What if I never told anybody, never shared it with anybody? What if Dr. Hank Lindstrom had just said, you know, I’m going to heaven, and I’m not going to share it with nobody else because, you know, it’s a scary thing to talk to people about the Lord.

And I’m not going to do it. What if he never came to Tampa, Florida? How many people would not be going to heaven that are not going to heaven because they heard the gospel through that man? And then not even knowing how many trusted Lord through the radio ministry or through the television ministry that He had for all those years. What if He’d have said, no, I’m too busy, it’s my life, I want to do what I want to do with my life?

Well, there’s a lot of people that do just that. I remember one time when I was at the Tennessee Temple, I was 22 years old, went to summer school, and I was on the verge of starvation if it had to be in for a rescue mission that I went to and I ate at the rescue mission. I stayed there. I slept with those drunks from off the street. So was the winos. I remember one time Dr. Seymour, he was down at the Miami rescue mission.

And these drunks was staggering down the street. He was going to speak that night at that rescue mission and a couple of us college kids went along. This one guy comes up, staggered, hanging onto a telephone pole and trying to make it to the next one. And it was all watching. And he came up, got right in front of Dr. Seymour. Dr. Seymour had been a very nice gracious man, invited him to come to the rescue mission, and the guy stood right in front of him and he cleared his throat and spit right dead in his face.

He says, there. I always wanted to spit on a preacher. I was wondering what Dr. Seymour was going to do. I’d have decked him. Dr. Seymour wiped the spit to sliver off of faith. He says, yes, you did. I want to know if you would like to come in tonight to the meeting and hear how much God loves you. Something along that line. The guy cursed him and walked on the industry. That took a lot of grace. That took a lot of grace.

But Dr. Seymour was there to reach the guy, not to win an argument, not to fight with him. And that guy could have probably done anything he wanted at that time to him. And he would have just took it. It’s amazing how in life we were not quite like that. But I did have a deep burning desire to want to serve a Lord. And I went to the Rescumission, and I was passing by this one sign that was in a churchyard.

And I can still see the sign. Remember, now, this is a few years ago, 1964, and it says, The will of God will not lead you, or the grace of God cannot keep you. You. The will of God will not lead you or the grace of God cannot keep you. You have no idea the impact those words had on my life. It made me think about if God leads me anywhere and if it’s His will then God can give me the grace that I need.

So for the last, you know, 46, 47, 48 years, I’ve lived believing that that is true. And I have wrote down many things that have helped me because, see, I not only wanted to worship the to be in the manger, but the one that died on the cross, the one that died for me, so that I have eternal life, but I wanted other people to hear it, to know it. People are just thrilled to death, to receive gifts, give gifts.

But many times we pass up the greatest gift of all. The free gift of eternal life. Of knowing that you’re going to have it when you die. And a person who does not know for sure they have eternal life are walking in darkness. A person that is 99% saved is still 100% lost. Even how close you are, if you haven’t trusted Christ, you’re lost. Doesn’t matter how much you know, how close you may be. I was going to preach a sermon one time about Judas’ carry it, the man that kissed the door of heaven and went to hell.

A man that kissed the door of heaven and went to hell. How close could he have gotten? But yet a hundred percent lost. either a hundred percent saved or a hundred percent lost. There is no in between. You’re not almost saved, you’re lost. If you’re saved, you’re a hundred percent saved and God gives you eternal life and it lasts forever. Some people have made decisions in their life to do something for the Lord. Let me share with you a couple of thoughts that has helped challenge me over the years.

Things that I’ve read and heard that made a difference in my life. Anyone in here ever heard of a guy named Hudson Taylor? Hudson Taylor? I heard a bunch of you. He was a missionary to China. He said, God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply. I love that statement. He started the China-England mission. He also said, if I had 1,000 lives, I’d give them all for China. For something that happened in his life, he became so burdened for the people of China that he was willing to sell halfway around the world and give up his life and sacrifice so that somebody would bring the gospel to him.

Not everybody will do that. But the Bible does tell us in the book of Matthew, chapter 28, that we are commanded to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. We’ll reach more people if we work together than individually. But the command to the church is still there. The purpose of our church, generally boiled down to three things. be able to Christ, challenge them to serve the Lord and send out missionaries. That’s why we have certain ministries that are foralbuming people to the Lord.

We have some for training God’s people to serve the Lord. And then we want to send out missionaries because I believe that’s the will of God. Another statement he said, God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on Him. Did you know that God is looking for people that are weak enough to lean on Him? Because God says, lean not onto your own understanding. And some people are too proud, too headstrong, too feel with that hardheadedness that they’ve got to do everything their own way instead of, Lord, what do you want me to do with my life?

And they’ll trust Him. They’ll lean upon Him. They say, Lord, here am I, use me. And they want to be used. William Carey, missionary of the India, he made the statement. To know the will of God, we need an open Bible and an open map. An open Bible and an open map. Lord, here am What is your will for my life? And Lord, where do you want me to go? He may want you to go through the radio or through the television.

He may want you to pack your bags and go to this country or that country. But God may want you to reach your neighborhood. He may want you to be involved through a local church. But wherever it is, where is your world? Go into all the world. Where is your world? Are you seeking to reach the world where you are? It’s so important. I want you to take your Bible and turn to the hundred and 19th Psalm, the hundred and 19th Psalm.

There’s several verses that I read here back in 1964 that really challenged me an awful lot. And I want you to look at that verse 9. Psalms chapter 119, verse 9 says, where with all shall a young man cleanses way? And I felt that that time. I was a young man. I didn’t know how young I was. By taking heed of thereto according to thy word. Look in verse 11, thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.

If there’s anything that I wanted to do, I wanted to live as righteous of a life possible. I’m not done by anybody else. talking about me. I wanted to live as righteous of a life possible. Not to get to heaven. I already knew I was going to heaven. But I wanted to do it because I was so thankful to the Lord for what He had done for me. There’s just something that I wanted to please God. I wanted to delight myself in the Lord.

And I knew I could not do that if I did not know His Word. This is one of the things that motivated me to go to Bible school to study the Word of God. Because I knew I could not know the will of God unless I knew the Word of God in order to know the will of God. And He says, He that will do the will of God shall know of my doctrine. In other words, if you are willing to do whatever God wants you to do, God will help you to find the way and reveal His will.

Also, while you’re right there, I want you to see another verse. Look in the verse 130. Verse 130. Verse 130 makes this statement. And it says, the entrance of thy word, giveth light, the entrance of thy word. Did you know without the word of God, even as a Christian, you walk in darkness. You may know Christ is your Savior, but if you’re not doing what God wants you to do because of the word of God, because of the light that’s in the word of God, because of the truth that’s in the word of God, you still walk in darkness.

So you’re going to heaven because you trust that Christ is Savior, but you’re not in heaven yet. God still left us down here to live a life and there’s so much that God wants us to do We’re looking verse 18 while we’re right here so close looking verse 18 open thou mine eyes That I may be whole wondrous things out of thy law or out of thy word Open thou mine eyes why so that you can see? See a lot of people who are lifted up with pride don’t think they need to go to church.

They don’t need to study the Bible. They don’t need to. They’re blind and naked and miserable and don’t know it. Revelation chapter 3 when he’s talking to the church at Leo Decilla. Another quote that I got that I loved. He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep. They gain that God which he cannot lose. And by ever heard who said that, Jameliot, he was a missionary to the Aqua Indians down in Ecuador. Years later, they had a daughter that came to Florida Bible College.

And they’d fly the guy around to give testimony that he killed Jameliot. So missionaries got killed. I heard one story about when a guy that came from a tribe and there’s going to kill these missionaries. And they didn’t do it. Years later, they led them to the Lord. So how come you didn’t attack us? We knew you were around us. You had us totally surrounded. They said, well, we couldn’t because there was so many people protecting y’all.

They said they saw a circle of guards around those missionaries at the jungle. God can enable them to see what you and I don’t naturally see. Did you know that God has a reason to purpose for the things that happens in our life? And you may find yourself chasing soap bubbles. You know you blow the bubbles all over the place. And some people, that’s all they do is chase dreams. And all they do is pop and leave you empty.

Next thing, you know you like the man who climbed the ladder for 20 years and found out it was leaning against the wrong wall. and you lived your whole life and wasted it. Now you know you’re getting close to the end and you’re going to be facing God one day and you’re going to look back over your life that I wonder what God could have done if I had availed myself, if I had have studied the Word of God.

Maybe God wanted me to go to Bible school. Maybe God wanted me to be a missionary. Maybe God wanted, well, another statement, David Livingston, missionary to Africa. He says, God had only one son and He made him a missionary. Think about that. God had a son and He called him to be a missionary. He sent him on a mission into another world. It was a terrible world. It was a dark world. A miserable wicked world. That’s where God sent His son to be of the light to the world.

God puts us in places where we don’t really like. You may be working with people on a job. You can’t stand. Maybe they’re profanity and all the things that they say and do. You just can’t stand. But maybe God puts you as a light right in the middle so that you could shine. Where would you want to be? You want to sit in church all day long? Where there’s no problems and everybody’s wonderful and every kind, about his kind.

Go to church enough and you’ll find out there’s hypocrites at a church. There’s people that lie at church. There’s people that steal at church. There’s all kinds of people at church. You’re here. If you find the perfect church, don’t join it because then you’ll ruin it. David Levinson also said this, if a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a heavenly king be considered a sacrifice? We have ambassadors that go to different countries and represent our country and they consider, what an honor.

The Bible says that we are ambassadors for Christ. What an honor. Yeah, we call it sacrifice, but sometimes the sacrifice is giving up something that you have for something better. Cause I’ve never given up anything that God didn’t give me something better in its place. I don’t care what it is you give up in this life and you sacrifice, you give up something. Do you like what God’s got for you and you get to heaven? I used to think I had plans and dreams.

Well, when I used to always listen to, you know, tires and of the jungle. Man, I wanted to go to Africa so bad and live in a treehouse and swing around on monkey vines. Don’t laugh, you did too. I used to put a towel around my neck and not be flying a Superman. Man, I could run so fast, I could almost feel my, I was hardly touching the ground, I was so fast. You did too? I even got some shoes for my son one time and I said, now these shoes are fast.

He took off running because I told him the shoes were fast. And he won’t see just how fast those shoes were. And he’d run as fast as he could run. You’d be surprised some of the things that we can think about when we’re young. And lo and behold, we grew up to be a dog, just like little puppies. Puppies are so nice. And they turn out to be dogs. The only thing God has to make a man of God out of is a child that grows up and God wants to work in our lives and wants to make something out of us.

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. Part 2 of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Watch 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 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.