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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 You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the Bibleignmenistries.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 to talk to you about an interesting subject tonight. It’s something that will help you all your Christian life. And it may not be too long before it’s all over with. But until then, there are some things that you need to know and understand. I did not know the value of some of these things I’m going to say tonight because I didn’t think that they had any value at all. You know, troubles, trials, tribulations, those things. Those are absolutely no good for the Christian life.

In my younger Christian life, that’s what I thought. I didn’t need any of those things. They always say, tribulation work is patient. Well, I didn’t need any more patience. But I did, I guess I’d say, I’d wanna be a little wiser than what I have been. Make better decisions. I was told the best way to make better decisions is by making poor decisions and learning from it. Then you don’t wanna make that one anymore. So you get wiser. Some people live and learn and some people live in, never learn.

So I want you to turn in your Bible to the book 1 Peter and chapter 1. Here in 1 Peter and chapter 1, I want you to see how valuable something is. And if it’s valuable, you want it. You want it if it’s valuable and it’s valuable. See there in verse 7, that the trial of your faith been much more precious than of gold that perishes. Though it be tried with fire, might be found on the praise, honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

Praise, honor, and glory from God is worth more than all the gold in the world. Now you’ve got to understand that. You have to believe that because it is true. It’s written right there in the book. Now what you go through, the trial of your faith, your faith is on trial. And so how are you doing? Now I want to give you four main things tonight on, well, it deals with four facts about temptation because we all know that the devil is real, the lust of the flesh, it’s real, the pride of life, it’s real, and the love of the world and all these things, it’s real.

See, God did not take away our old sinful nature. It would have solved a lot of problems, a lot of problems, but then I wouldn’t add a job. So there’s a reason why God does what he does. And remember, God does not make mistakes. If he left you with an old sinful nature, believe it or not in the long run, it’ll be for your good. Because he’s going to allow you to be tested. We have the college kids, they have to learn a little bit and take a test, learn a little bit, take a test.

God is going to give us some test. We’re going to have trials. So you need to understand some of this and it will help you. I want you to take your Bible look here in the book of James, the book of James in chapter 1. In the book of James, it’s going to tell us a little bit about people, see the things you enjoy, they see the good you do, they see the testings you pass, they see the trials you endure.

Is anybody watching you and you’re watching them? We often judge the merit of a man’s character by how he holds up under extreme pressure, trials and tribulations. We all want to be a strong man of God or strong woman for God, but we don’t want the test. Have you ever seen God’s hand moving toward the light switch, and you know he’s going to turn off the lights? And you get scared because you don’t trust you. You don’t know what you would do in a weak moment, in a dark moment.

You know, nobody else knows. Well, they say that character is kind of, I guess, revealed in the darkness, but reputation is what people know because of what they see in the light. But there’s a God in heaven that knows what is valuable. And he says these trials and tribulations that we’re going to go through works for us, a far more exceeding weight of glory when we get to heaven. And he says, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is the triune, as though some strange thing has happened to you.

because whatever it is, well I got news for you that happens to all of us. But can you honestly say you can recognize a temptation? Can you recognize one? We’re all going to have them. We’re all going to be tempted. But can you recognize one? Do you know when something is a test or a temptation? I wrote a little statement down. I said, you will be rewarded for passing the test of temptation. You’re going to be tempted, but God doesn’t tempt any man.

God is going to reward you for passing the test of temptation. So God is able to use the devil and all of his wickedness. God is able to use all the problems of life, the testing, the trials, and all these things that we go through, the ups and the downs, the fears, everything that we have. God is able to do all that. Remember the other day we were talking about Jesus Christ. He was here and he created the heavens and the earth.

But when he was here I didn’t hear him brag on him too much. He was God as a man, but I didn’t hear him bragging too much. And you know something else about him, even though he could raise the dad, make the blind to say the death they hear and the dumb to speak, walk on water. I don’t hear about you know a lot of gloating nothing but if I had walked on water, you ought to hear what I would be saying about it.

If you could raise somebody from the, did you see what I did? Did you see that? I’m somebody. You know who I am. I did that at the kind of one time at the airport. People in front of me and I wanted to get going. I had to get, do I say, man, do you know who I am? Do you know who I am? So she gets on the phone and she calls up the security guard. She says, get down here quick.

There’s a man, don’t know who he is. So I’m lying, I’m dying. But anyway, you have got to understand a little bit about these testing things. So I want you to take your Bible. Look there in James in chapter one. And we’re going to read a few verses here. James chapter 1 verse 1, James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad greetings. My brethren count it all joy when you fall in the diverse temptations, all kinds of temptations, all kinds of testings.

He says count it all joy. And wait a minute, you’ve got to be kidding. If I had a superman body, it might help. But we got this treasure in earthen vessels. And these bodies are weak and frail. We can’t do everything we want to do. We can’t remember everything we’re supposed to remember. We can accomplish everything. We’re so limited. And yet God wants so much from us. But don’t forget, He empowered every one of us with the Holy Spirit.

The same power that raised up Jesus Christ from the dead now lives inside of each one of us. But he says, my brother, so we know that we’re starting off talking about those that are believers. They know Christ is Savior, they’re going to heaven when they die. And so he says, kind of all joy when you fall in the divers temptations, knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience. God wants us to learn how to wait on Him.

That’s why God doesn’t give you everything you want when you want it, because you wouldn’t learn patience that away. You see, the absence of patience is what causes us sometimes to take matters into our own hands. We jump the gun. We want to make it happen. And God says, hey, I’ll do that. I’ll take care of that. That’s my job. There’s things that God’s responsible to do, and there’s things that we’re responsible to do. Let God do what He does, and you do what you do.

And between the both of you, you’d be surprised how much you’ll get accomplished. So he says here knowing this. In verse four, let patient have her perfect work that you may be perfect or complete. God wants to grow us to make us mature in the Lord and nothing will help mature you like problems and everybody’s got some. But you have to watch about getting a little bit too, you know, I don’t need to study the Bible. Well, you want to take and make sure that what you say and what you do is in agreement.

When you say one thing, do you believe that we ought to practice what we preach? I believe we’re supposed to be these kind of examples. So, number one, testings, these temptations is common to all men. Do you believe that testing is common? God is just picking on me. I mean, He just ought to get me today. This is a bad day. I should not have got out of bed. Or you got it on the wrong side of the bed.

You’ve heard people say stuff like that. Man, I should have never left the house today. Or God got up this morning. He was in a bad mood. He looked over the banister of heaven and said, I’m gonna get you today. This is your day. I’m gonna get you. That’s not God. God is a good God. Aren’t you glad when you’re something about it? God is good. What if God had been a bad God? God is a compassionate God. I’m forgiving God.

loving God, forgiving God. That’s what God is like. These are descriptive of our Heavenly Father. This is what we have in the Lord. So it’s a wonderful thing. Timtasia is just coming to all men so I want to kind of pause right here a second but I want you to take a look over there in your Bible to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 1 Corinthians in chapter 10. Now we brought this out before that in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

He starts off in this chapter talking about all the saints had to go through the same thing. It was common to everybody. When God sent Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, they all crossed the same scene. They all was under the same cloud. They all went into the wilderness. They all ate the same food. They all drank the same water and they’re closed it And we’re out for 40 years. But whatever one got, the other one got, and he did the same thing.

You see there in verse one, more overbreathing, I would not have you to be ignorant. How that all, you ought to circle these all down through them. All our fathers were under the cloud, all passed to the sea, all were baptized into Moses. Verse three, did all eat the same spiritual, did all drink the same spiritual drink all the way. And in verse five, but with many of them, God was not well pleased for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

Some fell for one thing. Something got somebody else. And something got somebody else. They didn’t all fall the same way. But many of them fell. But they all had the same privileges, the same advantage. No difference. God is not a respecter person. God gave me the Holy Spirit. He gave you the Holy Spirit. He gave me opportunities. He gave you opportunities. He gave me problems. He gave you problems. It’s not how many problems you have is whether how close are you walking with the Lord.

You see problems can become like a wedge and pry between you and God and push you further away. Or they can be pressures that pushes you closer to the Lord. You’re the one that decides which way it’s going to go. And you can allow the problems of life push you closer to the Lord or further away from God. But God doesn’t move. And then you go down through here and he talks about some fell for this, some for that.

So in this context it’s letting us know this. So he says there in verse 12, wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. So what would cause you to fall? Well, look at the very next verse. There hath no temptation. You’re tempted to fall. You’re tempted to go astray. You’re tempted to yield. You’re tempted to give up. tempted to quit. You’re tempted to let the lust of the flesh get the best of you. You’re tempted to let the devil get the best of you.

Resist the devil and he will flee from you. But sometimes we don’t want to resist him. We get tired of fighting. And so understand, some of God’s people are going to fight and battle it all the days of their life. And when they get to heaven, God’s going to richly reward them for what they’ve gone through. There’ll be some that will fall because of this. Some of calls with that. And don’t gloat because, well, that didn’t get me. That didn’t get me.

That didn’t get me. This got me. And lo and behold, you fell. And nobody cares why you fell. You fell. It didn’t have to be that way. So you have to watch yourself and guard yourself and get strong for yourself. Understand, you can’t always depend on somebody else to hold you up. It’s nice if we could always lean against somebody as, you know, be a joy-moucher. You know, if I hang around you long enough, I’ll moot some of your joy from you and I’ll be joyful.

Aww. Yeah, but what about if you get around somebody else? It’s not that way. Now what are you going to do? Like David says, he encouraged himself in the Lord. Learn to encourage yourself. That’s why you learned the word of God so that you could talk to yourself. Let God’s word come into your mind. That will keep him in perfect peace. His mind is stayed upon thee. When sinners entice thee consent thou not. In Proverbs chapter 1. But anyway, look what he says here in verse 13.

So important to know this verse. Because temptations come to us. everyone. There have no temptation taken you but such as is common to me, common. Nobody knows what I’m going through. Oh really? Seven billion people on this planet and you’re the only one that’s going through what you’re going through. God’s Word says that’s not true. God says most of it will face the same kind of problem. We just don’t do it at the same time. Isn’t that good? The Bible even talks somebody that cleans the acid, if better to have a friend, because if one falls, the other one can help them up.

The wolf, they both fall at the same time. Mm, not so good. But look in verse 13 again, he says, but God is faithful, but will with the temptation, get what he says yet, who will not suffer you, permit you to be tempted above that year able, will with the temptation also make a way to, and here’s a nice word, escape that you may be able to bear. In every situation, in every problem, there is a way of escape that you don’t have to fall.

Fallen will be a choice because you’re making decisions. You can be careful in what you look at and what you hear, what you say, where you go, who your friends are, and if you’ll guard yourself, you’ll be a lot better than the person that doesn’t them some. But remember, maturing in the Lord isn’t that you don’t stumble. It’s just that you stumble less. And if you do fall, you’ll get up quicker. Some people fall in the mud and they lay there.

Poor, poor man, they have a pity party, but nobody comes to the party. Learn how to clean yourself fall. First John 1, 9, and confess things to the Lord and get up and keep walking with them. Don’t let anything stop you. Don’t do it. And if you’ll do what God’s Word says, God will bless your life so much. Go back here to James. Remember pride and money, fame, all these things, lust, anger, all these are things of the flesh.

And one way you can tell when you’re walking into flesh is there’s a whole list of them. See how you’re doing. And if you’re walking in the flesh, if you don’t correct the problem, great consequences are coming. And you’re making decisions, be wise. Number two, if you write anything down, God tempts no man. God’s not tempting you to sin. He can use the temptation that the world may use and God can allow you to be tested by those temptations.

So go back there to James in chapter one and he makes this statement, some people are so double minded that they’re unstable in all their ways. So he says here, if any man in verse five lack wisdom and it means you do, let him ask of God that give it to all men liberally and up braid if not, God does not mock you. He does not make fun of you. He does not ridicule you. When you say, I don’t know, God help me, Teach me, lead me, guide me.

God may do that through His Word. He can do that through people in your life. Have you ever had somebody rebuke you? Doesn’t that feel wonderful? No, most of us don’t like to be rebuked. You know, especially if somebody that we know, because we wanna justify why they don’t have a right to judge me, so we gotta find something wrong with them. That’s why they tell you, hey, before you judge me buddy, How about cleaning up your own backyard?

Get that mode out of your own eye. That’s two by four. But sometimes a sharp rebuke is necessary. As it’s entitled, it says, rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith. So sometimes we have people who love us, and if they love us, sometimes they will point out some of our faults because they want to help us. All criticism can be constructive or destructive. depends on your attitude toward it. See, I’ll let anybody who wants to criticize me criticize me.

Now, I can use that to get better or get worse. Now, what do you think God’s will is? These might see something that I don’t see. I don’t see everything. And sometimes people can come along and they can say just the right word. Sometimes it’s nice. And then sometimes, so you have to find out is this something that can help me? They may be telling the truth. Maybe I got a blind spot. And so you want to learn these things and it’ll help stabilize you.

See the less mistakes you make because of bad decisions, the more stabilized you become. Look what he says here in verse six. Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that waver fits like a waver that he driven with a win in tossed. That means you’re unsettled. And he says, don’t think that man’s going to receive anything because he’s not really believing. He’s not really, Lord, I want to learn. Teach me. They’re this way and then you’re that way, this way and then you’re that way.

Up and down, like a yo-yo. Learn to be stabilized. in your faith, because you should be, as you grow older in the Lord, more mature to what you can think about the things that you’re doing. And you’re supposed to be able to be a little wiser down the road, learning from people, learning from your problems and all the mistakes that you’ve made, because you want to keep growing in the Lord. And you never arrive. The what I do in the ministry, and I watch people and college kids and all that I never look for people who have arrived.

I look for people who go in the right direction. If you’re moving and going in the right direction, but you can steer that person. You can help that person. It’s the others who are rebellious. So in verse 8, he said, a double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways. Then he talks about this trial and testing that we’re going to go through. Now look down in verse 12, blessed is the man that endures temptation for when He is tried.

It’s not if he’s tried. When he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised of them that love him. And one of the things that will help you in all of your trials and tribulations is if you love the Lord more than whatever you’re being tempted with. If I love the Lord more than get in the house, a car, a money, and fame, and popularity, I love God more. Why got that? That love can pull me through all those temptations.

Otherwise if you don’t love God, that way you should. These things become the love of your life and then things of the world are hard to keep. Great sorrow when you lose them. So keep that in mind. So in verse 13, God tempts no man. See there in verse 13, let no man say when he is tempted. God did this to me. God tempted me. God did not tempt you. I am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil.

neither tempteth he any man so that you know that, now you understand that. So number three, the individual matters. No one makes you yield and nobody makes you sin. We often blame people. We’re in the blaming game and it started a long time ago as you know. But sometimes we don’t take responsibility for our own actions for what we say and what we do. When I get to heaven and God wants to reward me and I just know he does, hell he’s already told me all about what he wants to do, he wants to reward all of us and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own and Lord I was gonna do that but that Bob Brooks he stopped me he wouldn’t let me do it.

I was gonna love you and I was gonna give a thousand dollars in church and Bob says I wouldn’t do that. Bob you stay out of this. But sometimes we want to blame something on it. If you want to do right, you say, well, yeah, but if I’d have done what they said, dude, then it killed me. It’s still a choice. Because all it talks about being faithful even unto death. Ooh, it sounds so final. But now, understand this.

There is a sequence of consequences and a sequence in temptations. It doesn’t just happen like that. You don’t just all of a sudden, I just fell in the sand. No, you didn’t. No more than just fell in love. Generally there’s a time where you get to look at each other and think about each talk to each other and love grows. They say love is blind. Well, marriage is an eye-opener. But notice, in Romans chapter 13, I want you to hold your place here, but look in Romans in chapter 13 real quick.

Romans, In chapter 13, Romans 13 it tells us, yes, that all the law is fulfilled in one word, which is love, and that we should love. And how that a love works no ill. See there in verse 10, love work no ill to his neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. If you love, you don’t have to worry about the law. Because if I love, see I don’t have to worry about committing adultery to somebody because I love.

And if I love, then I don’t have to do anything that’s going to hurt somebody. I’m not going to steal from them. I don’t want what they have. I don’t have to covet because I love the Lord and not better than anything else I could ever have. Love solves a lot of problems. But when love waxes, cold, sin abounds. And the further you get away from the Lord, the more sin is going to be in your life. Now look what he says.

And he says this in verse 11, talking to those who know the Lord, that know in the time that it is now high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation near than when we believed. Now the salvation, this deliverance that we’re going to have is closer. Do you realize that I am 54 and a half years closer to the rapture than I was when I got saved? It can happen at any time. But he says this in verse 12, the night is far spent, the day is at hand, let us, believers, therefore cast off the works of darkness, let us put on the armor of light.

So there’s a thing that God wants us to take off in our life, and this is why you use the word of God, the sharp two-edged sword, to cut out things out of your life that doesn’t need to be there. And to put into your life the thing that God wants. Now when you read the book of Causians in chapter 3, it’ll add to this. Also the book of Ephesians will add to this about the walk with the Lord and about the flesh, put it on the new man that was created in righteousness.

These are things that God wants us to do. Now look in verse 13, let us walk honestly as in the day not rioted drunkenness nor clambering and wantingness not in strife and invean. All these are things that leads to temptation draws you away when your own lust of the flesh lures you. We desire something. So within us is something that the devil can lure us with. So he knows that he can lure us with certain things because something already on the inside of us desires it.

Every man desires praise, honor, and glory. We already want that. Every man does. Now you have to decide from whom do I want it? Do I want it from man here or can I be patient and get it from God there? That the trial of your patient has been much more precious than golden silver. There will be tried with fire, maybe found in the praise, honor, and glory at the appearance of Jesus Christ. See, God says, I’ll give you all the praise and all the honor and all the glory for fighting all of these battles.

So if you understand that, then you’ll realize that all of the problems of life are just simply an Opportunity to do something wonderful and great for the Lord That gives you an opportunity to prove how much you love the Lord and to be steadfast And that you want His will for you more than anything else in the world and because of your maturity You can be patient and you don’t fly off the handle and you don’t have to fall apart because something goes wrong in your life because you already know all things work together for good to those who love the Lord, to those who are called according to it.

You already know that. You have been listening to another great message from Dr. Arnold, and we hope that Bibleline is a blessing to you. In appreciation for your support of this ministry, we’d like to send to you a gift. During this month, for a gift in any amount, we’re going to send the Bible promise book. It is a book that organizes verses of the Bible by topic. For example, if you wanted to know of verses that address humility, or forgiveness, or obedience, you would simply find that topic in the table of contents, go to the chapter listed, and there you would find the verses that address that topic.

It’s a wonderful study guide and resource for your own devotions, as well as for lesson preparation, and we’ll send it to you for a gift in any amount for this month. 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 again 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.