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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.

Take your Bible in turn with me to the book of Luke chapter 14, Luke chapter 14. I got just enough time for my hour and a half sermon. They did leave me some time and I appreciate that. But what they had to say was important. These are the leaders in the church and they need help. And so we have a month. We have a month. And then we’re going to make some of these changes. until then you’re going to pray about it, you’re going to write your name down and we’re going to talk and you’re going to be all gung-ho and we’re going to get it done.

Wouldn’t it be nice that when you look up here in the choir Peter said he’d like to have about 15 more people in the choir? 15 more people. Look how good they sound now. What if you added another 15 voices to that thing and to have some quartet singing? Oh I love quartet singing and I love the trios that you know some of the ladies can get together and we got talent we just need to use it. It’s like that person said one time you know the preacher he made the statement we need two hundred thousand dollars to build our new gymnasium.

I got some good news and bad news the good news is we’ve got the money the bad news it’s still in your pocket. The good news is we’ve got the talent, we’ve got the teachers, we’ve got all the workers that we need. They just haven’t volunteered yet. But you’re going to, aren’t you? Aren’t you? Can I trust you? Can I depend upon you? When you come to church on Sunday morning, do you expect me to be here? I very seldom miss anything.

I want to see you. I want to see you. Look over here just a second. Salvation is free. Christ paid for that. Look what He had to go through what He did to pay for all the sins of the world. But that was what God the Father wanted Him to do because He loved His Father. He says, therefore, because He says that the world may know that I love my Father even So I do. I do what I do because I love my Father and I want the world to know.

Do you love your Father? Is it demonstrated in any visible way that other people could know that person loves the Lord? Did you know discipleship is totally different from being saved? You can be saved and never be a disciple. Christ called His disciples. It means they were being disciplined. They were learners, followers of Christ. So you can be a disciple and not be saved. And you can be saved and not be a disciple. God wants all of His children to be a disciple, a learner, a follower of the teachings that’s found here in this book.

So now that you know Christ is your Savior, you’re going to heaven. Are you His disciple? Do you follow Him? Do you listen to Him? Do you learn him? Are you willing to do whatever he wants you to do with your life? That’s been a disciple, but discipleship is costly. Salvation costs you nothing. He paid for that. The discipleship can cost you everything. When I made up my mind, I’m going to serve a Lord. I had to give up my plans and my goals and whatever I wanted to do with my…

I had to give it all up and say, Lord, whatever you want. If you want me to go to Bible school, I would go to Bible school. You want me to go to Indian camp, I’d go to there. You want me to go to Colorado and do that. I don’t care where I go, what I do is Lord, whatever you want me to do, whatever you want me to be. And you are content with whatever God has. Some people ain’t there yet.

We only want those who say, Lord, use me. I want to be used. And of course the pastor, if he uses you, then you can say, he just uses me. You don’t win. But you hope that there’s enough people that say, you know, I want to see what God can do with my life. And if I can be used to be a blessing, why not? Why not? I know some of you, you’re older, and you sit there and you dream as you watch the Olympics and say, well, I used to do that.

I could do that. my prime I used to do I could run like that I had to run that fast just to catch Betty but listen we are having the Olympics and it’s real you’re running a race God already wants you to do something for him he wants it whenever you finish running your race to be able to stand at the Judgement City Christ and he wants to reward you and the thing that’s so neat about the Lord is he You’re not running to win a corruptible crown, but an incorruptible crown.

God wants to give you all the praise, honor, and glory you deserve when you get to heaven. See salvation, you didn’t do anything for that. You don’t deserve any honor, glory, or credit. Christ gets all of it. But when it comes to rewards, it’s because you worked. You labored. And so as the scripture tells us that we are to labor for the Lord. And in verse 26, he talks about how that you should love the Lord supremely. He should have the preeminence in your life.

And more than mom or dad or brother and sister is that you want God’s will for your life. And he says up in verse 27, and whosoever doth not bear his cross, come after me, cannot be my disciple. Didn’t say you can’t be saved. You can be saved and not be a disciple. But if you want to be a disciple, then you’ll have to forsake everything in this world to be the kind that he wants you to be. You’re going to have to give up something.

You’re going to have to dedicate some time. The discipleship is a commitment to the Lord. And that’s why I want people who are ready to commit to something. Because that means I’ve got to be there. I’ve got to do this. I’ve got to practice. I’ve got to study. I’ve got to be faithful. I’ve got to watch my life. You see, when you don’t get involved, you’re not committed. You can do whatever you want to do. And who cares? Most people don’t care.

But when you say, I want to serve the Lord, now that’s a whole different ball game. Now it requires discipline. There’s things you can’t do. Places you can’t go. Language you can’t speak. You have to watch your testimony. I don’t want a bunch of ragtag muffins placing fun of some little kids or for some teenagers. I want somebody that knows the Lord and loves the Lord and wants to walk with God and be a right example for the kids.

What do you want to have? I want hope the same thing. So yes, we have some standards. We have something that we want the people to do. But here in the book of Luke chapter 14, look in verse 28, and which of you intended to build a tower sit if not down. First, count of the cost. There is a cost because there is a commitment. I want people to be found faithful. I want to be able to depend on you.

See, if I is the pastor, if I can’t depend on you to do what you promise that you’ll do, then God can’t either. You’re not faithful to God if you’re not faithful to your church. If they can’t depend on you. See, that’s something you have to decide. Don’t get me wrong. I’m thankful for every person that darkens the doors of the church. If you never give a nickel, you’re still welcome here. And we love you, we’ll help you do anything we can.

I’ll marry you, and I’ll bury you. I won’t charge you a dime. But we need people that wants to go further than that. Not just somebody who wants to settle the pew, and he’s so, I’d like to have every child of God involved doing something for the work of the Lord. You think about it. Isn’t that what you want? Then see what God can do with you and for you and through you. To be a blessing. You know the Bible talks about that you love one another is that you serve one another Provoking one another under good work.

You can’t do that unless you’re doing something It is required in a man that he be found faithful not rich Not popular, not cute, not a… You know, all you gotta do is faithful, faithful, be dependable. And I believe it’s so very important. And then in verse 30 he says, this man began to build, was not able to finish. I want you to commit yourself to something. Hey, you can count on me for a year. You can count on me for six months.

Whatever it is, commit yourself, do it. But the Bible also says, don’t make a vow if you’re not going to keep your vow. Don’t promise that I’m going to do something if you’re not going to do it. If you’re going to commit yourself to the choir and say, you can count on me, I expect you to be counted on. If you’re not going to do it, don’t start. Make up your mind, count the cost. We’re looking for faithful people.

Maybe this is quite so hard for this preacher to get a lot of good workers. Now we’ve got a lot, but we need more. But I like to be honest with people up front. The Lord’s work is not a gain to me. It’s serious business. Those little kids that come in here, and the ones that you just saw, those are precious kids. I don’t have camp because I need to go to camp. I don’t need to go to camp.

But you ever see these kids Once they’ve been at camp and they trust Christ as their Savior and they dedicate the lives of the Lord. And you ever see those kids crying? How many times I’ve told the Jim Tingen story and I look out there and all these kids are in tears? And 90% of the adults are too. That is such a heartwarming thing because you’re trying to get people to see the importance of serve in the Lord. That’s a great thing, it’s an honorable thing.

I want you to look down in verse 33, where he makes a statement. He says, so likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsakeeth not all that he had cannot be my disciple. Christ, then he really laid it on the line. But see, this is not talking about how to get to heaven. Is he going to heaven? Well, that’s free. He’s talking about, will you serve me? He says, And any man that will serve me, he says, him with my Father honor.

God is going to honor those that serve him. Serving God is taking the time, sacrificing some of your valuable time for somebody else. It may be for the choir, it may be for the O’wanna, it may be for Sunday School, it may be for Ranch, it may be whatever. But give up something. in the Old Testament says, I do not want somebody to give me something that costs me nothing. I want to pay. That was for a burial ground, but anyway.

It is so important for God’s people to realize the cost that’s involved, the time that has to be sacrificed. There’s so much it could be accomplished with God’s people. You see in verse 37, when God says ye are the light of the world, You are the salt of the earth. You see, salt is no good if it doesn’t come into contact with the food that it’s supposed to preserve. You can be the salt of the earth, but if you don’t come in the contact with anybody’s life, it doesn’t preserve anything.

See, we want to preserve these kids and these teenagers for the Lord. We want God to use us to help them from becoming rotten. You are a preservative, but you have to have content. you have to get involved in people’s lives. I have run camps, I’ve drove buses, I fixed tires, drive shafts, carrier bearings, transmissions, you name it, everything to keep something running just so I can get kids to a camp. Go without sleep sacrificing and you wonder whether or not is it all worth it?

And then 20, 30 years later you see these kids that then got married and got kids as old as they were when you were working with them. It’s all worth it. It’s all worth it. There’s a day coming when there’s going to be a rewarding stand like you see at the Olympics. Don’t you just love it when America has won the gold and they’re standing up there and the flags going up and they’re singing and so forth and they got tears in their eyes because they did this for their country or you know it’s a personal achievement they work for so long.

What have you been working on? It takes time. It’s an investment. But one day when we get to heaven, you’re going to stand at the judgment city of Christ. Then that little poem I used to tell you all about, when I stand at the judgment city of Christ. And he shows his plan for me, the plan of my life, how he had his way and I see how I would not yield my will. And he says that because of all the things that God has done for me, how much I could have had, what I could have done.

Well, there’d be grief in my Savior’s eyes, grief, though he loves me still. You’re one of the years that have left me, I’d give them into my hand that take me and to break me, to mow me and to make me into the pattern that thou hast planned. One day we’re going to be in heaven. One day God is going to be still upon you, the praise, the honor, and the glory that you’ve worked for and that you deserve.

And it’s going to be, I think, in front of everybody. But won’t it be a shame for some of God’s children? As he says in the book of 1 John in chapter 2, and Jay read it this morning, my little children abide in him that when he shall appear, you will not be ashamed before Him and His coming. Or you get to go to heaven. You’ll be in heaven. But you’re going to be ashamed that you never got involved, that you didn’t let God use you the way you could have been used to the fullest, to do all that you can.

Maybe there’s things that you don’t know. I don’t know what to do. Learn! How do you think Hank Lindston was able to come over here and a church because he went to Bible school and he learned, and he learned from all the things that he went through. How do you think I did what I learned? I had to learn. There’s things that we don’t always know and I’m still learning. My biggest thing I’m learning is how to deal with people.

You see, I never read that book on how to win friends that you’ve influenced. You know something like that, I know. One of them had made a state… in the book of Matthew in chapter 9. Matthew chapter 9, I want you to see this. If we have to close down a wana, don’t look at me. You just look in the mirror. If we have to shut down a Sunday school, don’t look at me. You just look in the mirror.

What did I do? What did I do to help? If we have to stop Sunday night service because nobody wants to come, don’t look at the preacher. I’m there. You just look in the mirror. So where were you at? Watching TV, I’ll be here tonight. Wednesday night, prayer meeting, I’ll be here. If we have to shut it down, don’t you look at me? You just look in the mirror. Did you do what you could have done? Did you encourage the way you should have encouraged?

Did you pray the way you should have prayed? Look what he says here in the book of Matthew You see there in verse 35, Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitude, he was moved with compassion. The key to discipleship is being moved with compassion. You have a vision. Do you know why they showed the picture up there with the lady talking so that it would try to move you to have compassion on kids?

Why do you think when you’re watching TV they showed you the picture of those poor little dogs and cats? They want to move you to tears, move you to compassion so you’ll give money so they can take care of some dogs and cats. I didn’t lie until you. I mean, that’s why they do it. Or show you some little kid that’s over there in some foreign country that’s dirty and starts the death and living in the sore and eating garbage out of some garbage dump.

Why? Hoping that they can touch your heartstrings. Well, I don’t have to paint a picture like I just want you to understand that. When people die, they go to a literal fire burning hell for all eternity. If there’s anything that ought to touch your heart strings, it ought to be that picture. And I don’t want people to go to hell. I want them to go to heaven when they die. That’s why I don’t believe God has called me to go into all the world and then install sanitary sewers.

He told me to preach the gospel. Because that’s more important than anything else in the world. And the devil doesn’t care how much you do for people as long as you don’t get involved in their lives and when people to Christ, or challenge people to serve the Lord, try to get them to memorize verses. It’ll be a blessing to people. Do you know right now? Last month, we had almost 100,000 hits on our church website. That’s somebody out there watching our broadcast.

That means when you’re singing, you could become a blessing to how many people. If you’re in a choir singing group or the quartet or a trio or a soloist, Do you realize you’re not singing just to those people that are sitting here? You’ve been a blessing to how many people, how many places? I don’t know. But I know that one day when we get to heaven, it will be worth it all. What he says here. In verse 36, when he saw the multitude, he was moved with compassion on them because they fainted and were scattered abroad as she’s having no shepherd.

cheap. You ever see little kids? No shepherd, teenagers? No shepherd. Adults with no shepherd. You see, there’s not enough good strong leaders to have a compassion that really care. What would we do right now if we didn’t have somebody like Peter doing the choir? James doing what What are these doing? Jan running the Oana, Jesse doing the Sunday school. Take out those four people. All those ministries will collapse. If there’s nobody to take their place. Do you think for a moment that they ever get tired and weary and discouraged, wouldn’t you?

You see, first five people carrying a log and two people get discouraged and they quit. Now there’s only three people, did the burden get lighter? Or did it get heavier? Do you care? I’m saying what I’m saying because I believe it’s worth me saying. I want you to love your church. I want you to love when I talk about love your church. I’m not talking about these beans. I’m not talking about this carpet. I’m talking about the people. Do you love people?

The Lord’s easiest, just people I can’t stand. Look at these last two verses before I close. In verse 37, then said he unto his disciples, the harvest truly is plenty of, in other words, there’s a lot of jobs, a lot of job openings. But the labors are you. Verse 38, pray you therefore, the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth labors into his harvest. Send forth labors, people that wanna work. I guess we hit so strong on salvation by grace, nobody thinks they have to do any work at all.

Well, not to get to heaven, but we’re going there. I want you to think for a moment between you and God. What do you think God wants you to do? Forget what the preacher wants. I’m not important. What do you think God wants you to do with your life? What can you do? I don’t know all the talent and abilities in this church. But I love to use all of it that we have. I hope that what I’m saying is important to you.

It is so important. Look up here just a moment. There’s a verse in the Bible that says this, the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, looking for a man that God can show himself strong on his behalf. Did you know that God made this morning be looking over the the banister of heaven and he’s trying to find somebody he can use. He wants to show himself strong on your behalf. He’s, well, I don’t know what to do.

I can’t do it. God wants to show himself strong through you. It doesn’t bolt on to just all that you want. It’s what God can do. God can do things. Give him a chance. Trust him. You never trust that Christ is your Savior. I believe it’s the most important thing you’ll ever do. This hand represents you and me.

The wallet represents sin. We all have sin upon us. God loves us. He hates what we do wrong, but He loves us. And for us to pay for sin is eternal separation from God in a place called hell. God loves us once us to go to heaven. To go to heaven we have to be perfect. Nobody’s perfect. Nobody. We’ve all done things wrong, so we’ve all come short of God’s perfection. We’ve all sinned. And God says, you cannot save yourself.

This in represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God in the flesh. He came into the world because he loves us, but he hates what we do wrong. And the Bible says that our sin separates us from him. So Jesus Christ? Who had no sin, didn’t have to die. But he loved us and took the sin and paid for it on the cross. He came back again from the dead and said that if you and I, if we will believe he died for us, that he died for me, he would save me.

And if you believe he died for you, he would save you. He paid for my sins. It means I don’t have to pay for my sins. I don’t have to go to hell and pay for one of my sins. Today, tomorrow, anytime, I don’t have to pay for any of my sins. He paid for all of them. And all I had to do to go to heaven was to believe He did it for me. And there’s still people that don’t believe that.

Can’t grip that. And it’s the greatest truth in all the world. I hope that what I’ve said made some sense to you. Let’s pray, shall we? With every head bowed and every eye closed and no one looking around. If you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, would you trust him right now? You don’t have to do anything to go to heaven. You don’t have to commit your life or stop some sins or promise how you’re going to live.

Just be honest and say, Lord, I’m a sinner. And I believe Christ died, paid for my sins. And I’m going to trust him right now as my Savior. And, friend, God said, if you would trust him, he would save you, give you eternal life. Is there anyone at all before we close? So yes, preacher, that makes sense to me. And I’ll trust Christ as my Savior and I like you to pray for me. Would you just slip your hand very quickly?

In what all? In what all? You that have already trusted Christ as your Savior, your God’s child, in view of what I’ve said this morning, would you do me a favor? Will you pray and ask God what He wants you to do? If you’ll do just that much, he says, pray to the Lord of the harvest. Will you pray and ask God if he wants you to do any of those things that we’ve mentioned about the need? Would you do that?

I’m not going to ask you to make a decision right now. I’m going to ask you where you pray and seek God’s will. If you’ll do just that much, would you just slip your hand up and put her I’ll write that down and say, yes, pray for me. Yes, God bless you and you and you. Yes, this will hinge all over. Thank you so much. All you’re saying is I will pray. And if God can use me, that’s between you and God.

I have a thing in the back. And if you can sign it to help us so we can plan, I’d appreciate it. I appreciate it if you don’t wait to the last minute. Father, we thank you so much for all these that I’ve indicated by the number of lifted hands. They have a burning desire. they want to be used. And Father, we just pray Your will to be done in their life. We thank You so much for those that do work here and labor so hard and so much.

Give so much for so long. They’ve seen the results. They’ve seen changes in people’s lives. We thankful for them and that You’ve used them. So bless the Church and help us to love one another’s we ought to invoke under good hearts. In Christ and 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 are blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach by the line 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. 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. Friends, 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.