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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 concluding message of this teaching will be a blessing to you and your family.

I was talking to Betty with a sitting there on the ship and we were drinking a cup of And then we just sit in there looking out at the water and just talking. I said, you realize as I look back over our life, I can see how God has worked. I can see how God did this and God did that. At the time I never even paid any attention to it. But down the road I can see how God has worked in my life.

And I said, honey, it ain’t over. He’s still doing it. I can see things that happen that I can’t make happen. I can write a whole book on just the way that God has worked providentially in my life, but doesn’t doesn’t mind. He doesn’t everybody’s. But some people don’t see it and they don’t really understand how God works. But look what he says here. In verse 10, for my life is spent with grief and my years with sighing, my strength fail and the older we get them where we realize that.

And our bones are being consumed. We’re getting older. We don’t have the speed we used to have. Maybe don’t think as clear as we used to. We just, you know, it just, it takes us tall. But he also makes a statement here in verse 15, my times are in thy hands. The time that God has given me to live is in God’s hands. And I have placed my spirit in his hands. Paul also makes the statement, I know in whom I have believed and I have committed into his trust to keeping of my soul.

So I belong to the Lord’s block, stock, and barrel. I belong all that I am, all that I have, and whatever he wants to do with me belongs to God. Did you know that keeps you from worrying about a lot of things that you can’t control anyway? I Had a person tell me. He says don’t tell me worry and doesn’t help. 90% of what I worry about never happens.

Okay Now look what he says here, look in verse 19. Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hath laid up for them that fearly? So is there an advantage? Is there something that God has for those that love him? Now you don’t have to love him, but if you do love him, you win more. You’ll get more. Because God is looking to bless those that love him. Now the verse right before this, look at the verse right before that.

See there in verse 18, let the lying lips be put to silence which speak grievous things and here’s the word you need to underland it or circle it proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. If you live a righteous life and you’re seeking to serve God and you’re doing all the right you know doing, Don’t worry about all the people that say something about you. I was told one day, well I heard it first of all from Ray Stanford, and he made the statement, the local motive doesn’t stop for every barking dog.

Ever seen dogs barking a car? Should the car get concerned about the dog? Should the train stop running because the dog barks at it? Why would you? we are sometimes so prideful. We want everybody to love us and I deserve to be loved. I deserve to be respected. Do you know who I am? I’ve got a bunch of good jokes on that, but I’m going to let it just fade away right now. But all of it is so important.

But see down here in verse 23, oh, love the Lord. All ye his saints. So is it the will of God for all All of his children. To love the Lord. And if you will love the Lord, there’s things that God has for you. But now look up there in verse 19 again because the other half of this verse is also important. So he said in verse 19, oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hath laid up for them that fear thee, which thou hath wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men.

Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of the Lord. madness. See those words, pride of men. God is going to give those who humble themselves before the Lord because you trust in the Lord and you love the Lord and you’ll be patient and let God deal with it instead of thinking that you can handle it your way and commit it to the Lord. You know you don’t have to be mean and ugly. You really don’t.

You can. With the power of the Holy Spirit living in You can be a sweet individual. You can be a kind person. Now, there may be times when you have to have a sharp word. As he says in the book of Titus, rebuke them sharply that they may be sounding the faith. There’s a time for that. But on the average, you don’t have to go around, you know, with a sword to destroy. But we’re supposed to edify. That means beautify what’s there and add to it, helping people to be stronger than what they are.

Now get what he says here. In verse 20, thou shall hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of men, thou shall keep them secretly in a provision from the strife of tongue. There’s people who, because of pride, will say things, they shouldn’t say, and so God is going to withhold things from them. But the people who put God first and love Him, there’s things God’s going to give them. So in life, don’t think that you can be a a powerful individual and win.

Submission to the Lord, humbling yourself before God is trusting the Lord. Living by faith, you don’t have to understand how God does everything, but you’re going to be patient and wait on Him. But if you’re not patient and you don’t wait on the Lord, you take matters into your own hands. And that’s what always usually gets you in trouble because you don’t put a curve on the tongue. The Bible says in Proverbs I want to know what it says.

A soft answer. Anybody know? Does what? Well, lo and behold. And he says in the book of James, be swift too. Slow too. That’s why God gave you two ears and one mouth. You get that, don’t you? No one ear said to the other ear. I hear we live on the same block. Well, I’ve got somebody appreciating a little wisdom here and there. Oh man, what am I gonna do with y’all? Proverbs 8, 13. I don’t know if we looked at that one yet, but I want to.

Proverbs 8, 13. Yes, I think I did show you that verse. And the reason is because the verse that follows it just simply talks about, counsel is mine. Listen to what God has to say and realize that he does counsel us. Look in the book of 1 Timothy, chapter three. First Timothy in chapter three. There’s an interesting verse here that you need to be aware of. It’s in the Bible. It deals with the office of a pastor, a bishop, an overseer, an elder.

And as he goes down through here, he kind of gives you some of the things about, well, what do you ought to be like? And he says here in verse one, this is a truth saying, And if a man desire the office of the bishop, he desire for good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of a beautiful wife. Well, I thought I’d slip that in there. You didn’t know that was in the Bible? It’s in the Greek.

But then you go down here and it says here in verse 6. Not a novice. Now what? No, world’s a novice. What’s a novice? A what? Hell, I’m going to be there to know anything. You can know something. But it’s generally it’s a new believer, one that’s not really grounded, solid, proven because he’s going to have a lot of pressure upon him. I’m the pastor of the church. It doesn’t mean that I know it all. I know it a little bit.

But I’ve been preaching for almost 50 years. That’s a long time. where you cut it. So just that time has given me quite a bit of experience. There’s possibility that I have faced a lot of things that a lot of preachers have never faced if they’re only been in the ministry a year or two years or three years. But what God says is, be careful of putting a person into a position too soon for one reason. Satan can get an advantage of him.

Why? Because of P-R-I-D-E. Man, look at me. I’m somebody. I know how to do it. I’m the man. And you’d be surprised how quickly you can be exalted and lifted up. But to be honest with you, I didn’t even want this job. There’s always one. But if I take a responsibility, I realize that I’ve got to submit myself to the leadership in the church. I have to submit myself to a doctrinal statement, I had to submit myself to what God says to do concerning the church and teaching and training.

Now, pride would make me want to do it. I want to do everything. If you’re a stay running alone of your eyes, I don’t want to do anything. And the more I don’t want to do, the more I want to do it. If you ever find out the more you delegate, the more you want to be doing, they will say inspect what you expect. So the more I delegate, more on God people I got to inspect. Are you doing the job?

Are you doing the job? Are you doing the job? Everybody has accountability. But some people want position so that they can be served and looked upon as some great individual. But when you have the right attitude, you’re trying to find a way, how can I serve other people? How can I get them involved in the ministry? How can I help them to become strong? It’s all about trying to get them closer to the Lord. I get close enough to them that I can rebuke them if I need to and say things to them to help them.

Or if I see something in the light that doesn’t need to be there, can I be strong enough to say, look, that’s wrong. That needs to stop. You’re going to ruin your testimony. You’re going to lose your husband. You’re going to lose your wife. You’re going to lose your kids if you don’t pay attention to what I’m telling you. So can you love them enough that you can tell them even if you lose them. If you don’t love them enough, then you won’t be able to do it.

You have to love people enough that you may have to hurt them. That doesn’t make any sense of all I know. But if you had children, you understand what I’m saying. And almost everybody in here has had children. If you think you know it all, wait until those little darlin’ get to be teenage yourself, tell you and show you you don’t know anything. But is talking about don’t lift them up too soon to high position because he says right here, lift it up with pride.

He fall into the condemnation of the devil. The devil can get a person who is lifted up with pride. You know, one of the things that you have to always watch sometime. If you brag on somebody too much, they might get the big head. You ever heard somebody might get a big head? Well, that’s why God gives you a good wife. She’ll pull you down. like this one man, I saw a sign on this shirt in this one store.

I don’t need Google. My wife remembers everything. I thought, no, I like that. I like that. I like that. I was going to get it for better. No, I didn’t. But you have to be careful because that’s what pride won’t do to you. Look in your Bible to the book of 1 John and chapter 3, 1 John and chapter 3. John in chapter 3. No, I think it’s chapter 2. That’s the first mistake I’ve ever made. First John chapter 2, verse 16.

This is when he’s talking about the child of God, not loving the things of the world because there is things that will lift you up with pride. See, they’re in verse 16 for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. This is what Satan can use to get you, because instead of just whatever God wants me to be, I’ll be that. Then you have to worry about lifting up with pride.

But if you want a position to be lifted up so that people will think you’re somebody, does God know you’re real motive? Then God says you’re in for a big fall. And you may not even be aware of when it’s going to happen or how it’s going to happen, sooner or later it happens. This is why I believe that in all the things it goes on in life. Temptation, when you get too big for your bridges, you know that Lord can allow you to be tempted and reveal to you your center pride because you’ll fall.

You’ll yield to the temptation. And that’s why also you’ll find out that when somebody can irritate you that you can lose your testimony that quick and inside of it makes you feel ugly. Sometimes it’s like somebody playing ping pong back and forth inside. And it makes you feel sick, nauseated at yourself because why I said that or why did that. God will allow you to be humbled. He’ll allow you to make a lot of mistakes because he pride, exalt, but God will let a prideful man go through so many things to show him It’s pride, pride, pride.

I hate saying these words. I’m sorry. I was wrong. I hate it so bad. I try not to do anything that I’ll have to apologize for. Don’t that make sense? Or I was wrong. I would rather not be wrong, so I need to be right. So you need to be careful. Dr. Hudson put it this way one time. He says, unless a man toots his own horn, it will remain forever in the state of untootedness. Do you ever feel like you need to toot your own horn?

You do have to be careful about tooting your own horn. Look in James and chapter. Let’s see. James chapter four. James chapter four has got quite a bit. I just want to show you right quick, so that you can understand how you’re supposed to resolve the conflict. He starts off the fourth chapter about a lot of wars and fights and so forth because of a pride, that’s what it does. And it kind of antagonizes that old amylic that lives inside.

You know that old simple nature you have? It don’t take much to stir him up. So he makes his statement as you go down through the fourth chapter. He says here in verse six, but he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisted the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. That’s what God does. In other words, he gives more power, more opportunities, things you maybe didn’t deserve, but God gives you grace and the desire and the power to do the will of God.

But when you lift yourself up in pride, you see grace is the desire and the power of the world goes. But whenever you lift yourself up with pride, that grace is like, I don’t have that power and that desire to do what God wants. I want to do what I want. And when you do what you want, then you bring upon yourself the chasing hand of God. And this is why so many people are chasing. Look in verse 7, submit, submit.

I know we don’t like that word. We wish we could just cut it out of the Bible. Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. How do you submit to God? Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Because you see, in verse 6 of chapter 5, you have condemned and killed the just and he doth not resist you. You can do the wrong and there’s times when the devil is going to try to lure you and you resist him. There’s times when you’re going to want to do that which is against God and God is going to resist you.

So I was talking to somebody and they asked me, how long have you and your wife been married? I says in June there will be 55 years. I said, she married me, but you know, it wasn’t all her fault. It’s because when I poured on my irresistible charm, now I say that in humor. I don’t really believe that I have irresistible charm. But you better understand that when you say something even in jest that you don’t get lifted up by your own words and actually believe what you’re saying.

So my wife has heard me say that so many times. And then I started saying, well, it was because of her irresistible charm. You know, that sounds better. Does it sound better that it was her irresistible charm, but it’s not half as much fun as when I say it the other way. So you better just make sure you know and you understand because God knows the heart. God knows when you’re you’re fun. But he knows when you’re not. He knows how you really think how you really feel.

And so this is why he says here in verse eight. Draw nine to God and he will draw nine to you. of being humble, submitting yourselves to God. Humility is not a sign of the position of the body, because I lay on my tummy. That shows I’m humble. Or if I put my Bible up here and I’m wrong and really, humility, true humility is dependence upon God. It’s a position of the mind. Do you trust Him or do you rebel against Him?

And this is why all this is so important in the Word of God. Now I want to close with this, but look there in the book of Romans, the book of Romans in chapter 12. Romans chapter 12, though the word pride is not used here, you can see the meaning of the word and he’s talking about God, his children. He said, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable on the God, which is your reasonable service.

So he’s talking about us submitting ourselves, been a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice, you don’t put yourself on the altar and then when he tells you, I want to do that, none you jump off. Okay, now I put myself back. I don’t want to do that and I’ll jump back off. Living sacrifice is both, this is my life. I give my life to the Lord. And Lord, you’re free to do with me, whatever you want to do. So he said that this is your reasonable service.

Then he said, and be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove or discover. What is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God for your life? And then in verse three, for I say, to the grace given in the man, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly according as God had dealt to every man, the measure of faith.

See, God has a ministry for every one of us. And as you and I read and studied the word of God commit ourselves as a living sacrifice not to be confirmed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of our mind so that we can develop faith in the Word of God. Faith coming by hearing and so as we read instead of the Bible we’ll have faith to do with our life what God wants us to do. And he says that’s what he wants for every one of us not to think of yourself more highly than what you ought to think.

You are a child of God, but you have an old sinful nature dwelling within you that loves the position of pride. Look who I am, look what I can have, what I can do, and I want my own way. And you have to battle that all the days of your life. Now look in verse 16, verse 16, be of the same mind one toward another. Mine not high things, but condescend to men of lowest day, And then notice this, be not wise in your own conceit, thinking before you do something.

If you heard of somebody that’s conceited, that person’s conceited. What do I mean? You’d be conceited. Be not wise in their own conceit. Thinking of yourself that you’re better than others. Could it be? But if we take God’s word as He lays it down, you can’t see any good thing from being a prideful person. That means a person who wants to live their own life apart from God. That’s prideful. A person who always wants to argue, challenging God. This is what makes it so hard to submit.

Well, the man submitting to God is just as hard and difficult as it is for a wife to submit to her husband. There’s no difference. And it’s just as hard and difficult for the children to submit to the parents. Everyone of them has to do what God says and nobody wants to do it all. Wouldn’t it be neat if we were all submissive to the will of God? Boy, the harmony and peace and joy would all have. But we have that little thing inside of us that says, never.

You can’t make me. I’ll remember O’Gilly Gensile one time. I’d turn that stupid thing on and he was saying, you can’t make me, you can’t make me, you can’t make me. And they did, for some reason. I don’t know what it was, but he did. He watches Gilly Gensile. Look up here, let me show you this. In case you’ve never seen it before, this is you and me, and this is sin. We all have sin on us. The Bible says that God loves us.

Going to heaven has nothing to do with us loving God. It’s God loving us. And he loves us so much, but he hates our sin, but he loves us. But because we’ve all sinned and the wages of sin is death, we all have to spend an eternity separated from God. And we can’t change that. We can’t save ourselves and God wants us to go to heaven. And to go to heaven, we have to be perfect as righteous as God, and none of us are.

And so God says, you can’t save yourself. That’s why we needed to save you. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s God in the flesh. Came into the world because he loves us, hates our sin because it separates us from him. So Christ took the sin, paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead and said that if we would believe he did it for us, he would put this payment to our account and we get to go to heaven.

I want Jesus Christ did for us. That’s the best news in all the world. And just so that you know, the reason I can’t read some of my notes in my scriptures, my eyes are so bloodshot, you ought to see the other side of them. It will look like roadmaps. I am as tired as tired can get. But don’t worry, I think it’s Tuesday night I’ll get a good night’s sleep. I don’t know about tonight. Anyway, Lord always bless us.

God’s good to us. It’s better to have a body that can get tired than not to have one at all. It’s better to have some eyes that can get bloodshot than to have no eyes at all. I figured you’d like that, Tom. Let’s pray, shall we? With every headbound, every eye closed. No one looking around. If you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, I pray that you would. There are no tricks to it, no gimmicks to it. But you know pride even keeps people from trusting Christ’s Savior.

Because they think in their mind, I can do this. I can live good enough. And I’m not going to give up all of my good deeds and my good works. I’m going to hang on to them and never understand it. No amount of good works. I never save a person. But if you’re in the auditorium or if you’re watching by Internet tonight, Understand that God does love you, made a payment for your sins. Would you believe He did it for you?

God said, if you would trust Him, He’d save you and give you eternal life as a free gift. I pray that you will. And if you’re making that decision, I’d like to know and I’d like to have prayer for you. Would you just slip you in it very quickly, but right back down and say, yes, I will trust Christ as my Savior tonight. I want to know that I’m going to heaven when I die. Is anyone at all? If you’re watching by internet, there’s a little statement right there on the screen.

Yes, I will trust Christ as my Savior. I pray that you’ll do that. Father, we thank You again for Your blessings. Thank You for all You’ve done for us. Thank You for all You’ve done. Thank You for our church. Christ, thank You for all you’ve done. We hope you’ve enjoyed this lesson today from Dr. Arnold in Pray that Bibleline is a blessing in your life. We are so grateful to our listeners and supporters who help us accomplish so many great things for the Lord.

During this month, to every person making a financial donation in any amount, We’re going to send to you the DVD teaching series on how to witness to Roman Catholics. Many Catholics love the Lord so much, but sadly they are lost. Although the Roman Catholic Church uses words like grace and mercy, they rely upon works as the cause of salvation. So many wonderful people are being deceived by the world’s largest religion, and this DVD series could help you win them to the truth.

And we’re so grateful to those of you who support this ministry. Our mailing address is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634, and don’t forget to include your mailing address as well. God bless you and thank you for supporting Bibleline. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline. 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. 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, just keep looking up.