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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 to be able to help you. 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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family. I want you to take your Bible, turn to the book of Joshua, the book of Joshua. Joshua and chapter 14. Joshua chapter 14. In the book of Numbers talks about the time when God sent some spies into the land. Two of them came back and gave a glowing report.

It’s just like the Lord said. Everything is wonderful. Everything is big. Even the giants in the land were big. The hornets evidently were big. But the grapes were big. Everything was just like God told them. The enemy was strong. The enemy was powerful and God said that I will give you the land. They heard what God said, but there were some out of the 12 that didn’t like what they saw. They say the giants, well, they were too big for us.

They were like grasshoppers in their sight. So they said that we can’t take it and they discouraged the people. As time went on, there was a man there by the name of Caleb, Joshua. They were both young, about 40 years of age. And Caleb remembered that 40 years before God made a promise. Moses gave his word that he could have a certain piece of property. And he wanted it, and he was determined that he was going to get it.

Even though all those years had passed, he had not forgot the vision that he had of what he wanted. So look there in verse 6, chapter 14 and verse 6, then the children of Judah came on the Joshua and Gilgal and Caleb the son of Jeff Funeth, the kinnasite, said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses, the man of God concerning me and thee in Katie’s Barnium. So he’s talking to Joshua. He says, the The Lord said to me, you were there, Moses was there, and he says, I want that certain piece of property.

So he says there in verse 7, 40 years old was I, when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Katy’s Barnia to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. Nevertheless, my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt, and I holy followed the Lord my God. And he remembered that God made a promise to those that holy followed the Lord. That didn’t question and doubt God.

He was going to do something special for him. So in verse 9 and Moses swear on that day. Since surely the land where on thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance and thy children’s forever because thou hath holy followed the Lord my God. And now behold, the Lord hath kept me alive as he said these forty and five years. So how old was he? At least 85 years old. An old man. Hey, that’s not too old. That’s only 15 years away from where I am.

He was just a strapping teenager. And he says in verse 11, And as yet I am as strong this day, as I was in the day that Moses sent me. Can you believe that? Forty-five years later, he says, I am as strong today as I was when I was 40 years old. Now, you might think, well, he’s stretching this just a might. Moses, remember, was 120. must be something about the desert life that had to have the good life.

And the women’s clothes didn’t wear out. Remember that? The women wore the same dress for 40 years. Their shoes for 40 years. But it says here in verse 11, As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me as my strength was then even so is my strength. Now for war both to go out and to come in, I can still fight battle just like I did when I was 40 years old.

Now there’s a man in good shape. Wouldn’t you say? And then he says this in verse 12, now therefore give me this mountain where of the Lord’s spake in that day. 45 years before. For thou heard us in that day how the Anacons were there and that the cities were great and fenced. If so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said. He still believes it 45 years later.

We can take this land and I want that mountain. There’s a little song in the book and I looked it up and it goes like this. Me and my name are Bill Harvey who wrote this song. I heard him sing this song at the South Sheridan Baptist Church in Denver, Colorado a couple years ago. And he sung the song. He says, I want that mountain. I want that mountain. the milk and honey flow, where the grapes of escal grow, I want that mountain, I want that mountain, the mountain that my Lord has given me.”

You see, the Lord gave it to him 45 years ago and he believed it and expected God to keep his word. And he says, the Lord had kept me alive. You know whether we live or die. Did you know that God told all the other ones that they were going to die in the wilderness. And so for 40 years, people kept dying and the ones that God says wouldn’t die, didn’t die. You know, that’s interesting because it shows you that your very breath is in the hands of God, whether you live or whether you die is in God’s hands.

And we’re to believe that. And it should make a difference in our life. There’s another song that went along the same line. And it’s called dwelling in Bula Land. You ever heard that song? Dwelling in Bula Land? Far away the noise of strife upon my eerish fallen. Then I know the sins of earth be said on every hand. Nowts and fears and things of earth and pain to me are calling. The night of thee shall move me from Bewla land.

I’m living on the mountain underneath the cloudless sky. I’m drinking at the fountain that never shall under I, oh yes I’m feasting on the manon from a bountiful supply for I am dwelling in Beelah land.” I love that song too. But it’s something that you you have to have on the inside of you. I want that mountain, and I’m dwelling in butylaland. Means I’m claiming the promises of God, and it doesn’t matter how old I am, because God still keeps his word.

And to believe and to have a dream and a vision, and you’d be surprised how many people would love the. . . . . . . Be on the mountain. Would you rather think that it’s more important to have those mountain-top experiences or of the down-in-the-valley experiences? I have three things that I wrote down, and that is, when are you dwelling on the mountain? When you’re dwelling on the mountain is, is when we’re actually out there on that mountain peak, how would you describe dwelling on the mountain?

in your Christian experience as you go through life. As you think about this day, this moment, are you on the mountain or are you down in the valley? Are you rejoicing, all excited, got clear of vision, good sound purpose in your life? You’re happy about the things of the Lord? Are you down and discouraged? Boy, it can happen quick, can’t it? You can be here one minute and boom, just that fast. It can all be pulled off Monday. Well, there’s three things on how you can dwell on a mountain, but you have to be able to discern it for yourself.

When I’m right, doing right by myself. When I find out what is the right thing for me to do, I’m on a mountain because I feel victorious. I feel confident. I feel at ease. I have to feel peace because I believe that I’m doing what God wants me to do. And that’s satisfying. It’s as happy as when you were up on the top of a mountain peak at Timberline and you got a wonderful vision. And you can see so much.

And you can see where you came from and you can see where you go in. Sometimes when you’re down in the valley and there’s trees all around, you don’t know where you came from, which way you’re going. You kind of get lost. You get too close to some things. That’s why sometimes you have to get by yourself. You know the Bible says about Jesus, he went up into the mountain alone, to be by himself. And he would pray to the Lord.

And there has to be times like that, but say, you can be on a mountain. Even whenever you seemed like everybody else is down in the valley. I wrote a couple things down that I think will be a blessing to you. I’ll give them to you a little bit later. So I believe that I’m on a mountain when I’m doing right by myself. I also judge it this way. I believe I’m on the mountain and feel satisfied when I’m doing right by other people.

Because see it’s so easy for people to do you wrong that you want to sometimes do them wrong. But if you can keep from having any bitterness in your heart, or envy, or jealous, or you covet what somebody else has because you don’t have it, you can be so stingy and so selfish. Or you can look at it and say, I know I’m right in my own conscience with myself. I am doing what God wants me to do with my life.

Therefore, that’s like Duolen on the mountain. And whenever I am doing right by other people, regardless of whether they see it that way or not, it’s not important. Because sometimes you might do right by people and they don’t appreciate what you do for them. It just doesn’t have to happen. But in your own mind, I’m dwelling in Bueller land. I want that mount means I want the victory that I’m able to by the grace of God curb my own fleshly appetites.

Every one of us are tempted to sin. Every one of us has desires. Every one of us have temptations and trials and tribulations. but don’t you want to have the victory over those things that are against you and you win. You can be on top of a mountain because you know that I did what God wanted to do and then when it comes to people to know that a lot of times people made wrong you want to harm you but you don’t let that discourage you or or strip away your joy or your peace or your happiness.

You can have victory when it’s dealing with other people. And then the third thing that’s to me the most of all is when you know in your mind, you’re right with yourself, you’re right with other people, you’re right with God. So therefore you have to know what the will of God is. And when you know the will of God and you fulfill the will of God for your life and you walk in obedience to the Lord, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a mountain peak or it’s a valley you’re living as though you’re on a mountain peak.

One of the statements that I wrote down, I’m living on the mountain when I’m doing right by God. Live in the valley like you’re living on the mountain. At your darkest days, your darkest moments live like you’re on the mountain. And don’t let the despair of the valley ruin your life. Another statement I wrote down, I may have a better vision on my darkest day than most Christians have on their best day. Let me repeat that. I may have a better vision on my darkest day than some Christians have on their best day.

And I don’t say that with pride. I’m just saying the truth. A lot of Christians always lived in the valley, always down, discouraged, whan, pine, moan, groan, and it seemed like they’re never victorious. Well, this is why I believe it is so important. Maybe give you this. Every one of us in our own mind have a different perspective of what we consider a mountain top experience because yours may be different from mine and what you expect and what you go through and what actually happens and how you perceive it to be.

Some things that bother you may not bother somebody else because everybody’s different. A man by the name of Jonathan Edwards, they say that his audience got chills as he delivered his famous sermon that he preached sinners in the hands of an angry God. And he went up and down the land preaching that one sermon, sinners in the hands of an angry God. Now I read this sermon all the way through, I didn’t think it was that clear. But back then, that was one of the best sermons, I guess it was going around and caused a lot of people, God saved because of it.

So a lot of people listened to it. But not everybody is this guy that can go out there in the fields and just preach. Some people just preach only from the church. Some of them didn’t have churches, they were outlawed, and so they just preached from this city to that city out there in the field or some mill that they came upon or logging camp. George Whitfield said it might be tough watching him because he was cross-eyed, but they said that when he spoke, you could hear him up to five miles away.

to have a voice without amplification because they didn’t have these things in those days, could get out on mountainside and preach in such a way with such force that people could hear in five miles away. Man, I could do that and you’d be lucky you can hear me cross the street. But they preach, but not everybody’s the same way. Charles Spurgeon was called the Prince of Preachers. In London’s Metropolitan Tabernacle, it was the first megachurch. They have megachurches, that megachurch.

In the world with 5,000 seats and standing room for another thousand. They said when he was 19 years old, up to 15, 20,000 people would come out to hear this 19-year-old kid preach. He didn’t have all the stuff that we have today. He didn’t use all the, you know, He didn’t run a bus ministry. He didn’t have the printing print. He didn’t have all the things that we had. He was a 19-year-old kid and just preached. And beside all of that, He smoked a griggle, black cigar.

Today, that would be, you know, you don’t do that. But he did. And he was called the Prince of Preachers. And there’s people today all over the world that still read and preach his sermons. He has a whole collection of the treasury of David where he went through the Psalms. They still put his sermons in all kind of periodicals, all over the world. And yet that was a long time ago. But he was a different kind of a man, not everybody’s the same.

And yet every man has times when they consider that they’re on the mountain peak, but yet every man has valleys that he has to go through. There are times in your life when you just don’t understand and you’re ready to throw up your hands and quit. So you need to, in your darkest moment, live like you’re on the mountain peak. And the only thing you’ll have the pull you through is your knowledge of God, He promised. Caleb remembered 45 years ago God promised and he was expecting God to keep his word.

God did. God delights when we have come to the place in our Christian life where faith is born in despair. When you don’t see how you’re going to make it happen, but you believe that he will, and you trust the Lord for him. A man by the name of Robert Moffatt made this statement. Well, I should say this. He spoke one day at a place called the University of Glasgow and spoke one day to a nearly empty room, and there was only one student that showed up and and set him to the front row.

Charles Spurgeon, thousands, and this man, one person, showed up and set him on the front row. After he preached his sermon that day, he felt like the biggest failure of all time. I am only good for one person, but I am not very much at all. But out of those thousands that went to Spurgeon’s Church, most people don’t know any of them that came from that ministry. They know Spurgeon. This one young boy that was sitting on the front row, or Robert Moffitt preached, became a missionary and went to Africa.

And his name was David Livingston. You ever heard of him? Almost all Christians in every Bible college knows of David Livingston. And he was at one kid that sat there on the front row while this man poured out his heart for one person. How important do you see yourself? Are you too important for one little kid in Sunday school or one little kid in O’wanna and all I had was one kid? Did you know that a block building is put together by one block and in one block and in one block and in one block?

One person here, one person there, one person here? You know what? Yesterday or maybe it was Monday. I got a phone call. I got several of them. In one day, within a couple hours of each other. And John John, they went to camp. Remember John John? He called me up. He says, Yankee. He said, I had to preach on Sunday at Northside. The church I came up. He says, Freddy Cole had to speak in some other places, because of camps, and asked if I would speak.

So I got to speak. He says, when I came home, I sit down, down and I had to call you. He says, I got to thinking about the first time I ever saw you. When I came into the church at Northside and I saw you do that little wallet illustration, he said that changed my life. My life has not been the same since then. He says, I just want to let you know I appreciate so much what you did.

If you’re coming there was only for me. It was worth it. That one person. There’s been several, but at least one person. But you see, how long ago was that almost 20 years ago? And… I thanked him and, till about hours later, I got another phone call. This one was from a guy named Angel. You ever heard of Angel? Angel calls me up. And he was just all excited. He said you because they got this new dormitory they have, they’ve got to get some shuttle buses because they got to, it’s five miles away and they got to take the students back and forth.

He says, and so they gave me a job driving a shuttle bus. And then they gave me a dorm, so I’d have a place to live over there to place. And so, you think how the Lord has met my needs? He says, God has been so good to me. He said, I never knew that they would give me a job. And then I didn’t know for sure that they would give me a place to live. And his wife teaches there in the school.

He says, I got to thinking, and I had to call you. He says, whenever I came to Northside and saw you do the Wall of Illustration, he says, it changed my whole life. He said, it changed my life when I saw and listened to you. And I thought, that’s wonderful. And he was all excited. He said, now let me tell you this. He says, me and another guy had to go and pick up one of these and so when we went, He said, I always carry tracks with me.

So I’m just passing out tracks everywhere. And I talked to a couple people and they trusted the Lord. And the guy that was with me, who was a student, was very impressed. Because, you know, He was a soul-winner. He says, you know, if it hadn’t been for Calvary, He says, I wouldn’t be like I am rightources. He says, I am SYSTEM thankful. Anyway, we talked for a little bit, and then he hung up. And I thought, you know, if one person gets challenged and motivated to serve a Lord, isn’t that wonderful and that interesting?

How that you never know at some day whenever you’re down and discouraged, you might be, somebody might be watching you. And it might be what they see you go through might be that which causes them to get on the mountain peak and reflect back. You see, this is the Lord’s work. And we are to be wherever God wants us to be. And to minister to whoever God gives us to minister to. And never worry about being great and big shot.

Everybody puts their feet on the floor the same way. No big eyes and little views. I’m not a big shot and you’re a little shot, we’re all the same. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have a ministry. God is a wonderful individual. But you ever heard of a guy named Jesus? You ever heard of Him? You know, He was a carpenter that became a preacher. And of course, He was the epitome. I mean, you couldn’t think of a better preacher who knew how to use outlined better than anybody, who knew how to exegete the scriptures.

I mean, he was it. And of course, Jesus, well, he must have had it easier than anybody. 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 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 Bible and 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. 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.