This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, 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.

So God has given to us yes the indwelling Holy Spirit to strengthen the inter-man. So the inner man is strengthened by the Holy Spirit that lives within us. So the Holy Spirit that lives within us is to teach us the word of God so that we’ll know how our Heavenly Father thinks. So God has not left us alone. He’s given to us the most precious thing we could ever have, himself. And he wants to lead us, he wants to guide us.

But he says, some of God’s children, they go to sleep. They go back to sleep. And live as though they’re not in the family of God. They live like a lost man, act like lost people. And so they have no hope. Now, Liberty says they’re in the book of Ephesians in chapter two. And Liberty says they’re in verse 12, that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope.

It’s a shame that after you have trusted Christ as your Savior, to live your life as though you still have no hope. And that’s where the Holy Spirit is grieved when there’s so much He wants to do in you, to you, for you, through you, that we don’t accomplish what God has for our life. Because you see, God has made an investment. But here Ephesians in chapter one. I want you to see this. Look there in verse 17. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened.

Being able to see what God is saying, understanding spiritual truths. See, a lot of people can have 2020 vision, and you see the things of this world and maybe you can see very good, very clearly. Now as I look back in the back back there, I can see Steve sitting back there, I see him. But that’s because I know who he is. It’s not because I can really define his face. He’s just a blur in my eyes. Now, as I get closer here, I can see y’all pretty good.

When I get to my Bible, I can read it clear as a bell. I don’t even have to have glasses on. I can step back here and I can still read every word. But that’s the physical eyes. When it comes to spiritualize, how well do you see? Can you see spiritual things? Can you see a God that you can’t see? But can you see Him providing for you and meeting your needs? and meeting your needs, can you see God keeping his promises?

Or do you question and doubt the provisions of the Lord? Do you think that the problems of life are too big that you can’t handle and it weighs you down and you’ve got so many things on your shoulders? Listen, sometimes I think, you know, well, all the things that we are seeking to do, it’s enough to weigh a person down because there’s just a lot of things to do. A lot of decisions you gotta make. Well, I’ve told the Lord this long time ago, I said, Lord, if you fail me, you ruin your reputation.

So I told everybody, I’m trusting you. And if you wanna let me down, that’s up to you. But I’m gonna tell the people that I trusted you, and then you don’t come through, you have to explain that. So anyway, it takes a little pressure off of me. All I’m supposed to do is just faithfully follow the Lord and do what I can with what I got where I am. I think so hard. Anybody can do that. God requires faithfulness from every one of us.

But you see, it’s hard to be faithful when you can’t see. I even wrote a statement down. Let me tell you what I wrote down. How you walk reveals how well you see. Don’t you like that? That’s simple, but it’s the truth. How well you walk reveals how well you see. Because if you don’t see very good, you’re going to stumble and fall. Well, what does it mean to stumble and fall? It means that you fall to the desires of the flesh.

It means you’re making provision to fail. When you make provision for the flesh, you make provision to fail. That becomes your purpose, your plan, your goal. When you make provision. When you try to see how close you can get to the edge without going over, you’re planning on going over. you’re going to mess up. You always got to step back from the edge. You always got to be careful in what you’re doing. That’s why he says there and I want you to see this verse.

Look there in the book of Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5, and notice verse 15. See then that you walk circumspectly. But if you’re going to walk, you ought to have a direction. You ought to know where you’re going. What is the purpose of your walk. See that you walk circumspectly, as I told you before, as a long pale cat on a fence with barking dogs on both sides, the cat’s really got to watch its death. Because you know what dogs like to do, and they’re watching the cat, and the cat better be very careful.

Because regardless of what side he follows on, there’s a dog waiting on him. And as you walk with the Lord to keep your eyes focused on the Lord. You get your eyes off the Lord. Buddy, he’s hitting you with all kinds of things. And this is why it’s so important. But what I want you to see here in Ephesians in chapter 5 verse 15, see then, see then. Those two words, see. But what is those two words there for?

Because there’s Christians that are in verse 14. Because you see they’re not approving things that are acceptable on the Lord because He’s talking here in chapter 5 about the Christian and the Christians walk. Let me just show you this here. When He makes a statement here in verse 1, He says, Be therefore followers of God as dear children. Walk in love. So if you’re not walking in love, you’re not being a good example, imitating your heavenly Father. You must have fell asleep.

You must be out of this world. You don’t know what’s going on. If Christian saved, yes. But then look what he says. He says, there’s things that ought not even be named among us, even one time, to always watch and guard your testimony, because as he says here in verse 3, but fornication and all uncleanness or covetous, let it not be once named among you as become a saint.” In other words, it’s not fitting for a Christian to do certain things.

There’s things that a Christian, that’s dedicated to the Lord, should not do well, because we’re trophies of God’s grace. I’m supposed to live as, look what God has done for me. You say, yeah, if that’s what he’s done for you, I don’t want no part of it. Some Christians are bad testimony, and their life, their decisions, their choices are not holy. They’re not godly. And so he says, don’t let it be once named among you. And then he kind of shows us that God will chasten those who walk on godly because they’re children of disobedience.

So he says here in verse six, let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things come at the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience, be not you therefore partakers with them. Don’t do it. In other words, you can. It mean a Christian can live like the lost man, make the wrong decisions and yield to the flesh. This is why, turn back to your left again. I want you to see this. Look what he says there in verse 17.

This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord that ye henceforth from now on, walk not as other Gentiles walk. So that means there’s a separation. That means that there is and should be a difference. We should not be conformed to the world, means not to walk like the lost man walks. Where God’s children we should be different. Our attitudes ought to be different. We all not have the same ugly mean attitude that the world has because we understand more.

Because we know, regardless of what people do to us, it’s so wrong and so on, God sees that. God knows. So what’s the problem? Are you going to try to make everybody treat you right? Okay, what if they don’t? Now what you going to do? You going to let somebody else control you? Well, they made me mad, so they control you. They robbed you of your joy and your peace, so you let them control you. You let them rob you.

Shame on you. This is what God’s talking about. You don’t have to be like that. So within He says here in verse 17 that she hands forth walk not as the other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind. In other words, live in for nothing. Waste in your life. Live in for the flesh. See, God’s, yes, He has saved us and give us the Holy Spirit to indwell us. and we should be to the praise of His glory.

Now do you think God is getting glory out of your life by the things that you say, the attitude that you have? Do you really wanna honor Him? Then He’s watching and He’s listening. So we’re supposed to have the eyes of our understanding enlightened so that we can see what we’re doing, how we’re behaving. Don’t we despise always somebody correcting us? Or do you really love it? Especially when somebody’s correcting you and you know, hey, what about you bud?

You ever heard that statement years ago when I used to hear this? Clean up your own backyard before you tell me to clean up my front yard. I think I heard that from my mom a lot of times. My mom didn’t know the Lord, but it was such a general statement that Judge is not that you be not judged. Didn’t say you couldn’t judge. It’s just clean up your backyard first. It means get that too before out of your eye before you find the speck in somebody else’s eye.

Well, don’t you? So here in the book of Ephesians, he makes this statement here because he’s dealing with us as believers. In verse 22, therefore he says, put off concerning the former behavior, conversation, the old man, that is corrupt according to the deceitful lust and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. So the Holy Spirit dwells within us and I guess you could say quickens our spirit so that we can understand spiritual things because the things of God are spiritually discerned.

And so he has given to us the Holy Spirit To teach us the things that God wants us to know, and if we see it, what we see should determine how we walk. And that’s why I wrote that statement. How you walk reveals how well you see. And how you walk, you are being judged by everybody else. People watch. To see how do you handle trials and tribulations? Are you faithful? How do you handle a hardship? that really causes you a lot of grief.

When things really go bad, people watch to see, how do you handle it? This is why Moses prayed to the Lord, and he says, Lord, I don’t know what I’m gonna do with all these people. But if you’re not gonna take and help me, I would rather you just go ahead and kill me, lest they see how bad and how wicked I really am. I don’t want them to see how wretched I am Because there’s some things that happens in life that you just can’t solve.

You don’t have all the answers to them. And are you afraid of falling apart? Don’t you even have within you that little desire? I want to be a good image of my Heavenly Father, and I don’t want to fail Him. And yet, Joe made this statement, that which I feared has come upon me. I don’t know if he was afraid of losing his kids, losing his wife, losing his wealth, losing his health. What was he afraid of? Even though he did all the right things.

Maybe the Lord was teaching him not how far he had come, but how far he needed to go. Sometimes we think we have arrived and we’re So strong and the Lord can send things along to reveal you haven’t arrived yet and Give us some problems even later on an I hear that we think Man, I thought I’m not a lot I’d be interested in then they change all the questions and It sometimes can leave you from every frustrated in despair Because we don’t have all that we need but the eyes of our understanding is supposed to carry us through things that we can’t see.

They can’t understand. What do I do when I don’t know what to do? What do you do when you don’t know what to do? You just stay faithful and keep doing what you’re supposed to be doing. And I told a guy one time, well, I told the kids in college, take all the right you know to do and just make a list and just start doing everything right that you know you put it in. It’ll become a path of righteousness.

Just keep trying to do what’s right. And when you make some wrong decisions in the process of trying to do what’s right God, or they’ll even that to you, as he says in Philippians in chapter three. But it’s good, but nobody said. He says here in verse 24, and that you put on the right. the new man, which after God has created in righteousness and true holiness, we’re for putting away lion and how you speak, all these things. These are things you and I are able to control.

We’re the one that determined these things. And so he says, do things that build up people, edifies people that ministers grace to the heirs, as it says in verse 29. And then in verse 30, as I mentioned while ago, grieve not the Holy Spirit. Now, if the Holy Spirit was just a smoke that influences me, then I can’t grieve smoke. Holy Spirit is a person. You have a person of the Godhead living within you. And he is there to enlighten your understanding so that you’ll be wiser than the the lost man.

Don’t you just believe that a Christian dedicated to God ought to be wiser than the most intellectual lost man? I would think so, because he doesn’t live for this world but the most intellectual lost man has to live for this. It’s all he got. But we’re laying up treasure in heaven because of what we believe and we believe it because we see what he’s saying. This life is temporal and therefore God’s got some great things for us. So go back to chapter 5 and verse 15.

See then that you walk circumspectly. And the reason is because if you don’t, you will not redeem the time. You’ll spend time chasing soap bubbles and that’ll leave you very, very empty. That’s why he calls it the vanity of the mind. And then in verse 17, wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is, the spiritual understanding, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened so that you’ll know what is the will of God for me and then you seek to do it.

Turn in your Bible to the book of 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians and chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. What I want you to see is there’s two verses they’re very important because it only gives you where he’s going in the whole chapter. And when he talks about faint none because of the ministry that we perceive. See the verse one, therefore seeing we have this ministry as we have received mercy. We faint none as we have received mercy. Now when you read in Romans in chapter 12, when it said, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God.

of God. I mean, the view of what God has done for you, be not conformed to this world. You’re bought as a living sacrifice. And he says here, as we have received, we faint none. Faint none. To faint not means we don’t quit. Yet everything that can seem to go wrong, that could cause the normal man to quit, we don’t quit. We just stay faithful and keep serving the the Lord. But now notice what he says in verse two.

He says, but we have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation. Now there’s a few things here that refers to the word see, but it doesn’t use the word see. When he’s talked about hidden things, okay, that means you can’t see. When He talks about there, but by manifestation, that’s a revealing. That’s something you do see. And then the last part of it, I want you to see this.

But by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man’s conscience. And then here’s these words in the sight of God. Not only God wants us to see, but He wants us to know what He sees. God sees us. God sees where we are, He sees where we’re going. And He wants to guide us in a proper path. He knows all the pitfalls. He knows all the things that are out there waiting. So there’s many things that God has for you, He wants you to learn.

But now look what He says in verse three. If our gospel be hid, it means somebody can’t see it. It is hid to them that are lost. In whom the God of this world has blinded, it means they can’t see. So those who do see are supposed to help those who can’t see. Otherwise, if the blind leave the blind, they both fall in the ditch. But God has given to you an eye sight so that we can help the blind because they can’t see.

They can’t find God. Therefore, we’re supposed to find them for God. They can’t find God. Therefore, God wants to use us to search them out, to find them. Look what else he said. In whom the God of this world had blinded the minds of them, which believe not. Less the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine to them unbelievers which believe not are blind So what would the natural I guess contrast of that be?

That if you do believe You do see So unbelief you can’t see belief you can see it It means the gospel is light so that people can see God. Look what he says. Less the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine under them so that they can see. They can see God. So this is why God wants people to see Jesus Christ and what he did, the whole story. Because the clearer you make the story, The better they can see God.

God wants people to see that He is a good God, a loving God, a compassionate God, a forgiving God, and that He will save them and give them eternal life. And when you mar the story of the gospel, then you have marred the image of the face of God Himself. It’s like somebody taking a child’s paint brush and trying to touch up a Rembrandt or something. is are you going to add to it? That’s why the clear the gospel, the better the image of God.

So that’s why the gospel of Jesus Christ and how we present it is supposed to be as untouched by man as possible. So that it does not have our little additions or eliminations. We don’t add to it and we don’t take it away. We tell the gospel story as good and as clear as we possibly can. By doing that, you’re helping people to see the face of God. Look what he says. For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness have shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

So when you don’t tell the true story, you’re marring the picture of God himself and people don’t see God. and they don’t thank God really loves them that much. He didn’t really pay for all of my sins. And all those things, it makes a difference. And if you see that, it helps you how you live. So how you walk reveals how well you see. Take your Bible and just a couple thoughts that I wanna pass along to you tonight.

And that’s in the book of 2 Corinthians, in chapter 4. Second Corinthians, chapter 4. And look with me in verse 6, because this morning during the Sunday school hour, I was sharing with you what I had mentioned about before on the subject of yield ye your bodies. And last Wednesday night we even sung a little song, I’ll be careful of lies, what you see, I’ll be careful of ears, what you hear, I’ll be careful of tongue, what you say and so forth.

Because if you’re gonna yield your body to the Lord, it means yielding your eyes to the Lord. It means yielding your feet to the Lord. It means using your hands for the Lord, yielding your ears to the Lord, yielding your tongue to the Lord. You see those are the members of the body that he’s talking about in the book of Romans in chapter six of yielding those things to the Lord. So it means that if God controls the eye and God controls the ear and God controls the tongue and God controls the hands and God controls the feet, God pretty much got control of you, but don’t forget he wants your heart too.

He wants you and if he gets you, he’ll have everything else you have. And so you don’t want to take a hold back from the Lord. growing in the Lord is that most Christians after they trust the Lord. They never just totally yield their whole light body to the Lord at one time. They grow in doing that and they may do it by just yielding little bits of their mind to the Lord. See the mind is like a piece of ground, it’s territory.

And God wants to establish some territory up there. And so you yield a little bit of this to him and then a little bit more of his thoughts and more of his thoughts. And so you learn to think the way God wants you to think. And then you begin to watch what you look at, not overnight. And then you begin to watch what you say. And these sometimes you don’t all do it all at the same time. It’s a growing process.

And the Lord wants us to grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We’re looking at verse 6, For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, have shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness. Now, we were dark, the light came to us. Now, the light is commanded to shine from us.

It came to us, and now it’s commanded to shine from us. In verse 70 talks about, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels. It means in this body that we have, we have a treasure. You are richer than you know. You have the greatest treasure in all the world, the knowledge of how to go to heaven, living inside of you. You have that knowledge. And that’s why it makes a statement that the power may be of God and out of us.

God didn’t give us supernatural bodies. If we had supernatural bodies, we could take credit for everything it’s done. But we still have these same old bodies and what I’ve done at Christian schools and I go there to speak. And I used to use this illustration. You got to spend the morning, you looked in the mirror and you were ugly. You came to a church service, you trust Christ to save it. Now when you go back home, look in the mirror, you still are.

You’re still ugly. God didn’t change the body. He gave you a new birth, but it’s a spiritual birth and you can’t see it. But you are living inside of a body that’s gonna fade away one day. But God wants to use this body that we have for his on and glory. And we only have so much time because everybody knows the body is getting older. Now me inside, I’m still the same old-looking fellow I’ve always been. But the body is slowly changing and I almost didn’t recognize him.

He didn’t got so old that I almost didn’t recognize what he looked like. But then I didn’t realize that my eyes are getting so bad I couldn’t see too good either. But now notice, I want you to see what the apostle Paul was willing to go through, the prize Paul paid to get the light to these people. Now even though he’s talking about the world in general and that they are blinded and that we need to get the gospel to them, it’s also telling them look, this is what we went through for you, the price we paid.

You see when you dedicate your life to the Lord, expect God to interrupt your schedule. It means that God is going to allow a lot of things to happen in your life. Even the devil is going to do everything he possibly can to stop you. And so you have problem after problem after problem. I’ve had people tell me, I’ve never had any problem until I’ve dedicated my life to the Lord. I was doing fine until I said, I’m going to serve the Lord.

Well, why shouldn’t the devil bother those that aren’t? He’s going after those who say they will. 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 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 home page 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 40-8-11 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 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. Believe in that the Lord is coming soon and just keep looking up.