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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 BibleLineMinistries.org homepage. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

So, we’re going to talk about in pursuit of perfection. Well in that frustration in pursuit of perfection, I believe in pursuit of perfection is in pursuit of maturity and I’ll tell you what I mean by that. It is wisdom that leads us to maturity. So once you take your Bible and turn to Romans chapter 12 Romans chapter 12 There’s a familiar verse that you know see many times. So we’re just going to look at one verse and then another verse.

I want to talk about that wisdom that comes down from above. Here in Romans in chapter 12 you’ll notice they’re in verse 2 and be not conformed to this world but be it transformed. When we talk about the gospel it says for by grace or you saved through faith that not of yourself. It is the gift of God not of words. It says what it is and what it is not. We talk about serving the Lord. We should know what it is and what it is not.

Serving the Lord is not been conformed to the world. Serving the Lord is being transformed by the renewing of your mind. So growing in the Lord, maturing in the Lord, is renewing of your mind, learning how to think. So he makes a statement here that you may prove what is that good and acceptable, and there’s that one little word, perfect will of God. The perfect will of God comes from the perfect word of God. So we have something that came from God, who is perfect, brought us something into this world that is perfect.

Did you know that the gospel message must be perfect? If it’s going to make us good enough to go to heaven, and how good do we have to be to go to heaven? Perfect. So then the gospel must make us perfect. So the gospel has to be perfect. It has to be able to do that which God requires it to do. So when you and I, when we give the gospel, we’re supposed to give it in the purity of perfection as pure as you possibly can as we received it from God.

You understand what I’m saying? We should give it in the purity of which we received it. So when you start adding any man’s work to the gospel, it contaminates the gospel. It diminishes its power. The gospel is the power of God and the salvation to everyone that believe us. So therefore a man must know what he has to do, what he has to believe. When it comes to the Christian life, we should live as it becomes the gospel of Christ, or as I should say, we should live according to the power we received.

Now the power that we received was from God Himself. He gave to each and every one of us the Holy Spirit. Now is the Holy Spirit perfect? Then the Holy Spirit has given to us perfect power. If He’s given to us perfect power, then we have within us the power to live the way we should. Growing in maturity is learning how to live closer to the power that we have received and as purity as possible. If this is true, our work is never done.

Is it? Now we could really do a great job if we didn’t have this old body to drag around with this old sinful nature that causes everything that we say and do to be impure. So we have from God a perfect message, a perfect gospel from a perfect God. And He says, be not conformed to this world, but be a transform. And that is by the renewing of your mind so that you and I could understand what is the perfect will of God.

So it’s mentioned in the Word and we should understand that. Now take your Bible and turn there to the book of 1 Timothy in chapter 4. Timothy chapter 4. There is a little verse that easily overlooked. Many, may not think it’s that important, but I believe it is. The Bible says that when Christ came back from the dead, that before He ascended, what is it that He first descended into the hearts of the earth and led captivity captive and gave gifts on the men.

Then refers to those gifts as apostles, prophets, teachers. So he gave something to the church. These men had gifts given to them and these gifts that men received from God was a perfect gift. There’s nothing wrong with the gift that God gave. It’s that we’re trying to live out this perfect gift through an inadequate body with an inadequate mind. We don’t think clearly. We have to go through this lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, the pride of life.

We have to fight all these battles trying to deliver a perfect message. So there is a gift we get from God. There’s nothing wrong with the gift. And if you look there in 1 Timothy chapter 4, nobody says in verse 14, neglect. Now Paul is talking to young Timothy, neglect not the gift that is in thee which was given thee by prophecy with the land on of the hands of the Presbyterian or the elder. I don’t believe he’s just talking about you know you received the gift of eternal life.

I think he’s talking about the ministry that you have received. This ministry that you and I have received is a gift from God, the opportunity for you and I to live this side of the grave and have an opportunity to serve the Lord. What a gift. Receiving the gift is one thing. Living the gift is another. So God’s Word says that He has given to each and every one of us this. Now look there in your Bible to the book of Ephesians in chapter 4.

The book of Ephesians chapter 4. It’s one my older Bibles that I had to stop using because of pages is so fragile. But in Ephesians in chapter 4, I want you to look at verse 7. Verse 7 says, But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the what? gift of Christ. Every one of us have received the gift of the Holy Spirit. We’ve all received the gift of eternal life. I believe this is the grace that we need to live and fulfill the ministry that God has given to us.

So every one of us have received a gift from the Lord. There’s nothing wrong with that gift. That gift is a perfect gift. All good and perfect gifts come down from the Father above. And He’s given it to us. So we have something. in verse 11 says, and he gave some apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers. These are positions of service. You’ll notice that there is no position of service given here to an evangelist as though it was a gift.

Like you received the gift of evangelism. Evangelism is a position also, but all of those who held these positions were to do the work of an evangelist. It means that all of us, regardless of what our ministry may be, whatever that gift is that God gave to us to fulfill, is also to do the work of the ministry in the sense of winning soul to Christ and training them, teaching them. So it’s a very important thing. Now look there in verse 8, wherefore he says, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men.

So these are things that He has given. I believe it’s a ministry that God has given to us. Now look in 1 Peter chapter 4, 1 Peter and chapter 4. 1 Peter chapter 4 and look in verse 10. And notice what he says here, as every man hath received the gift. I believe the ministry, the ability to do, the ministry God has given to us. Grace to do the work God has given us to do. This is why Paul says that his grace was not bestowed upon me in vain.

God gave him a work to do and the power to do it. So two perfect things. There was nothing wrong with the ministry that was given. There was nothing wrong with the power that was given. You and I growing in the Lord is learning how to get and receive this wisdom from God so that we will not conform to the world but be transformed. A Christian whose life is not being transformed is not growing in the Lord. If you’re growing in the Lord, your life is slowly little by little being transformed.

Not the way the world wants it, but the way God wants it. So here in 1 Peter in chapter 4 and verse 10, and so as every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. So God by grace has given to you and I this opportunity to live on this planet after we trust the Christ as our Savior and do some wonderful things for Him. So God has given to us a ministry and there’s nothing wrong with the minute, whatever it is he wants us to do.

It was a gift given to us from above and he gave to us the Holy Spirit which is the power to do and to fulfill that which He wants us to do. So if this is true and I believe that it is, then there’s things that God wants us to accomplish. So go back now to the book of James, go back to the book of James. In James chapter 1 you’ll notice there’s several things that are mentioned here and I want to try to give you this pursuit of perfection.

In other words because of these things God has given to us that are nothing wrong with it. You and I are to pursue to complete the ministry that God has given. As Paul says, this ministry that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry that I have received of the Lord. He’s no different than we are. Don’t worry about what somebody else gets to do. Just think about the one God gave to you. Are you doing what God wants you to do.

So you’ll notice there in James 1, I want you to look there in verse 16. Do not air my beloved brethren. So we know we’re talking to the believers. All we’re talking to believers. These believers already have received a gift to be turned to land. So he says in verse 17, every good gift, every good gift, and that is where God has given to you and me a gift. Now the purpose of the gift from God is to be used for God and giving this gift.

So you have received that you might give. So we are supposed to live out what we have received. And this is why you’ll find their scripture talking about whole fast to eternal life. In other words, live now like you have eternal life and you’re already in heaven. Live as though you didn’t have an old sinful nature that craves the things of this world so that you can focus upon what God wants you to do. And then he says, every perfect gift is from above.

Then he takes this whole book of James and tells us why you and I ought to be joyful, thankful, thrilled to death, counted all joy when you fall into diverse temptations. All the problems of life, the trials and tribulation, because that is what reveals to you and I we need wisdom. So when he talks about this perfect gift from above, I believe he’s talking about this perfect wisdom from above. Now where do we get this perfect wisdom from above?

Right here in the Bible. The Bible is the perfect law of liberty. This perfect gift that God has given to us. Within this book is the wisdom of God. So this book Contains the information that you and I need to live our lives. So he says, every good and perfect gift is from above. Now, the reason I refer to this as being wisdom is for this reason. If you’ll notice there in the book of James in chapter three, looking James chapter three and looking verse 17, where he says, but the wisdom that is from above, the other verse of the Bible.

says the gift that is from above. You see, when we’re talking about how do we face life? How do we keep from being conformed to this world is only by the wisdom of God? So you and I are supposed to get the wisdom that we need from God. How do we know we need any wisdom? In verse 2 of chapter 1, my brother and Canada all joy when you fall in the divers temptation, knowing this that the trying of your faith work at patience, let patience have her perfect work that you may be perfect and entire complete.

In other words, the Word of God wants to perform a perfect work in us. But when you’re talking about performing this work through us, it has to work through these old earthen vessels. So nothing that we do comes out as pure as when it came in. That would be great if it did. But you and I in giving the gospel, the pure that it comes to us and from us it has power in people’s lives and people can understand it and trust Christ of Savior.

You add one work to it and you have mutilated all of it and they can’t understand it and they can’t understand the Christian life. But when you take how to live the Christian life and keep from getting conformed to the world but been transformed by the Word of God, well then you need the wisdom that is from above. And this wisdom God says he will not charge you for it. He says he’s not going to mock you and make fun of you, chide you.

But he says he will give it to you liberally like I’ll give you more than you need. There’s a heavenly Father that that each one of us has that wants to bless us more than we want to be blessed. Somebody who wants to use you more than your desire to be used. I used to thank God, don’t you care about lost people like I do? If I was you, I’d use me better. And I thought God needs a lot of training in my life.

He’s working on me. And there may be things in your life that are not as right as you think they are. And so God is gonna have to, at times, humble us in order to get us to change or correct something that keeps the message from being pure. Is your Christian life that you live? Is it pure? And you know, there’s a verse even in the Bible that says, keep thyself pure. Keep thyself pure. We are called to live a holy life because He is holy, therefore be ye holy in all manner of conversation or manner of life.

So God requires it. God wants it. So we always have something that we can strive for in our walk toward maturity. Maturing in the Lord is not that you don’t fall, it’s that you get up quicker. You respond faster. You don’t lay there and soak. You get up and keep walking with God. So every person needs to mature in the Lord. So this is what he’s talking about here. Now, I want you to take your Bible looking 2 Timothy chapter 1.

Hold your place in James, But 2 Timothy in chapter 1, 2 Timothy chapter 1, look down there in verse six, in verse six. He makes a statement, “‘Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, “‘that thou stir up the gift of God, “‘which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.'” Here he’s referring to that again. There’s times when you may give it all you got and you get so encouraged in the Lord, And you can see fruit and see growth and you’re excited and people are loving and appreciated and you’re worshiped almost.

And then it seems like sometime it’s you’re going through a dry spell. Nothing works. Nothing but problems like you’re not being blessed like you’re in the wilderness on the backside of a desert. You and Moses all alone. And there’ll be time when it seems like it’s just total despair. And you’ll wonder whether or not can God ever use me. Paul says, young Timothy, stir up the gift that is in you. In other words, stay kindled, stay on fire, don’t never stop, always stay at it.

You know what was interesting this morning? And it was a blessing because I didn’t know the person. This older gentleman that came this morning. I met him in the hall in the owl here and meeting Greek, you know, and he says, I am Jeanette’s father. Did anybody else meet him? He was a tall fella. He has to be in his 90s, wouldn’t he? Might be her stepdad, but her brother is right here too. But then his dad, her dad.

And I had never met him before, but he was over there and he was getting something to eat in the fellowship hall and he walked up to me and he says, I really enjoyed it today. And I said a few things to him. He says, I said, we had a bunch of people trust the Lord. He says, just like Hank. Just like Hank. You know, that’s just like firing up a little bit more, like saying, second-to-a-ball dog. And you want to do even more.

One of the things that we have with kids at camp, we talked to those kids and we want to hire them up to serve the Lord, get them to dedicate their lives to the Lord. And yes, every year those kids come to camp. Menyamu dedicate their lives to the Lord again. They go home two weeks, they then fizzled out, come back to camp, rededicate their lives. And after about four or five times, sometimes it takes. Some of them, their dedicator has died.

And so they need a new dedicator. But isn’t it true that sometimes in your own Christian life as years have passed by, you begin to look in the think, I’ve never done what I promised God I would. I’ve never been faithful like I told God I would. I need to rededicate my life to the Lord. There’s nothing wrong in doing that. Distur it up all over again to get excited about it all over again. I used to dream when I would read the sword of the Lord and I’d read books about missionaries and those that have had great revivals over the years, you know, and I think Lord I’d love to see that.

I don’t want to just see it. I want to be involved in it. I want to help there be a revival in this country. I would love the people that would just get on fire for the clarity of the gospel. It’s not that we need more preachers. We just need some with a clear message. If we took all the preachers that now know the Lord and that they would just clean up their gospel and deliver it in its purity, we could shake the world.

I’ll last so many don’t and it breaks your heart. So take your Bible and turn there to the book of James in chapter 1. James chapter 1, You’ll notice in just this one little chapter it talks about being mature and you need this wisdom from above to do this and when you understand the purpose of problems and what it does to you it causes you to search not to throw up your hands and quit and be in despair and say it’s not worth it it is worth it it’s always worth it to serve the Lord but then to remind us look this good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of God.

I have a high calling, a holy calling, a ministry that God gave to me. And every child of God, I’ll look at it, God has given to me a holy calling, a high calling. And I strive for that mark, for the prize of this holy calling that God’s given to me. And I want to finish my race. I want to finish my course. I want to accomplish what God wants me to. I I want to complete whatever it is God wants me to complete.

And right now I know that if I don’t know a certain thing, I know God wants me to grow in my faith. He wants me to become stronger and stronger. And so therefore I keep getting all these things that happens because there’s things I need to learn. And then down here in verse 25, look what he says about this. He says verse 25, but who’s so look at into the perfect law of liberty? This is the Word of God.

This is this perfect gift that came down from God above that is the cure for our ignorance. The cure for our carnality. The cure for our whirliness. The cure for being conformed to the world. This is what we need. So He says, don’t be like those who hear the word only, but they’re not doers. So this is talking about how can I mature in the Lord? It means grow in the Lord. Can I do the ministry God’s given me to do whatever it might be?

So he says here in verse 25, but who’s so look at into the perfect law of liberty? And continue with therein. He been not a forgetful here, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed indeed. So there is the perfect law of liberty. Learning what the Word of God has to say. There is the perfect God of patience. Patience. Because see it teaches us to wait upon the Lord. Some things you can’t make happen, but you trust the Lord in.

You learn how to wait upon the Lord. And things will happen in life and you can’t stop it. You can’t change it. You’ve just got to accept some things. And God will do that to us. us. So chapter 2, I just wanted you to see this, look in verse 22, because even sometime we talk about James, it’s always, you know, James chapter 2, James chapter 2, we know there’s a lot more in James than James chapter 2 in verse 24.

There’s a lot of information that helps the Christian to grow in the Lord. So he says here in verse 22, see us thou how faith roth with his works and by works what faith made perfect complete mature in the Lord. So your faith God wants your faith to be perfect where you perfectly trust the Lord because not to trust the Lord to be as unstable man is to be a double-minded man. Now where does it say in the Bible that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways?

I know it somewhere in the Bible. James chapter 1 and verse, look there in James chapter 1 and verse 8, a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. So what would be the purpose of James, making you stable or unstable? So the wisdom from God can complete this. The wisdom of God can make you stabilized because it makes you patient. You learn how to wait upon the Lord. People that so easily fly off the handle, get mean quick like this and I’ve had a real problem with that.

I mean those were my trademarks and if anybody has to work on that it’s the preacher and I’ve learned how and God has had to teach me this and it’s been difficult 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.

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.