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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.

God didn’t take you out of the world. He left us in the world so that we could influence the world. we are to influence the world. But there’s something that’s important for us to remember. Look there in chapter 4 and look in verse 4. Yeah, adulterers and adultresses, no ye not that the friendship of the world is emmity with God. Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Ooh, but ain’t that strong. Does the Bible say anywhere be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind?

Is that a verse in the Bible somewhere? Where? Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2. Those are two very good verses. But verse 2 be not conformed to this world. So if a Christian is conformed like the word, what do you mean by are you conformed to the world? Don’t be conformed to the world. If the world makes you into its mold, it’s outside pressure of the world making you what it wants you to be. Or to be transformed means that there’s a power on the inside of you that shapes and molds you the way you’re supposed to be.

So either the world shapes you because of its pressure or the Lord shapes you because of His pressure. The Word of God puts pressure upon you, teaches you how to restrain yourself from certain things and to refrain from certain things. So the change your life is the renewing of your mind. Sometimes people make the biggest mistake of trying to get people to change their life when they haven’t renewed their mind. Then that means that they only conform to certain rules and regulations, but it never got to the heart where their mind has been changed.

And as soon as they can get away from authority, have you ever seen teenagers that they may obey you as long as they’re under your authority? And then they can’t wait to get 18 or get on their own and then what happens. Look how old here I come. You’ve been waiting on me. And so it never got inward changed. It was just external laws that they obeyed. They may be disciplined in the sense that they obey. But being disciplined does not mean spiritual.

You can be disciplined to obey a lot of things. Everybody who goes into the military and they go to boot camp, they’re all disciplined. They do exactly what they’re told, how they’re told. Does that make them spiritual? No. I thought spiritual minded, but they’re disciplined. So you can have a Christian school and have disciplined but not spirituality. You can come to church and you sit where you’re supposed to and you sing like you’re supposed to and you give money like you’re supposed to and you do all the things like you’re supposed to but that doesn’t make you spiritual.

It means you’re disciplined. It means you’re obedient in certain areas. But it may not be that the reason that you do it is because I love the Lord. And I’m doing it because the Holy Spirit has taught me from the word of God to do it. Or you do it well the preacher said. If you do what you do only because the preacher says that’s not going to be very good. It’s not going to last very long because the preacher will then say something that you don’t like and then you’re going to get mad at Him.

But if you do what you do because the Lord guides you, well then you have something to help you for the rest of your life. And it doesn’t matter what people say and don’t say or how they live and don’t live. So take your Bible also and turn turn over there to the Book of 2 Corinthians in chapter 6.

2 Corinthians in chapter 6. And look in verse 17. Verse 17 says of chapter 6, this is on page 12, 34. 1, 2, 3, 4. Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate, sayeth the Lord, touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you. That means if you don’t, he’s not going to receive you and you don’t get to go to heaven when you die.

No, that’s not what he said. He’s already talking to believers. He’s talking to those who already know the Lord. Even though these Christians weren’t too spiritual. He said, I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal babes in Christ, saved but living like lost people. So a Christian can be saved and live like a lost man. But that’s not the will of God. And so God says, one thing that will help you in your walk with God is you don’t be a fence straddler, you know, on this side and on that side, trying to satisfy the flesh and trying to satisfy the spirit.

And he says, that is a double minded man and don’t think that man should receive anything of the Lord. James chapter one. So he makes a statement here, wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate? Say it to the Lord. So whatever it means, that’s don’t even worry about what it means. Does it say it? Is there a verse in the Bible that says a Christian should be separate from somebody else? Yes. Well, whatever it means. But then when you start studying it and applying it, look what he says up here in verse 14.

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” Now, we often take that. I mean, just, you know, if a man is saved, he shouldn’t marry a person that’s not saved. So that is true, and that’s good, but he can go further than that. Could it also even apply to business? Could it apply in a church, teaching of a Sunday school class, preachers that come into preach, what do they believe? We should not yoke up with those that are teaching in air together and they could be the problem that we’re trying to solve.

Just like there’s a lot of people in this world that maybe love freedom, but they want the freedom to teach their heresy. And I know that we have to have freedom for everybody in order for me to have some. So he says in verse 14, be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? What communion hath light with darkness? You see righteousness and unrighteousness just don’t get along. They say oil and water just doesn’t mix.

And what he’s talking about here, light and darkness are opposite. You don’t put them together. One another, grace and works, it doesn’t mix. So there’s an understanding of keeping things clean and pure. Even God, when He wanted His people Israel to take and go into the land, He didn’t want them to adopt the gods and the idols of the they heed them that were there, that he was whooping them and for his own people to adopt them. That’s why he’s taking the land away from me because he says in Genesis 15 that the sins of the Amorites was not yet full.

So God was patient, but that’s why he put a curse upon Canaan because the land of Canaan was then given to Israel. And so we have today. We will cross 8,000 miles of water to get over there to another country to fight the religion of Islam. You see what we’re fighting, the jihadists, the terrorists, the extremists. No, we’re fighting the religion of Islam. The religion of Islam promotes what they’re doing, the terrorists. The Koran is a war manual. And so do away with the things because it does not teach love.

It teaches hate and murder and the force and it’s an overthrow of another person. And in another country. And now they want to take over the world. Well, we are Christians. Christ is going to all the world and preach the gospel. So what’s the difference? Well, because Christianity is light and Islam is darkness. They’re not compatible. But now the religion trying to come together called Christ. You know, Christ, Christianity, and the religion of Islam, we all worship the same God.

No, we do not. There is Jehovah and there is nobody that’s Allah, because there is no God. Allah is not a God. There is no God. Only in the mind of people, there’s only one true and living God, and his name is not and God, Jehovah, has a son and they’ll tell you they’re all does not have a son and he has no mercy, he has no forgiveness, and he has no love. Study the Quran, it’s not there. Even though old merciful ones, they got a beg for mercy because there’s no love, there’s no forgiveness, there’s nothing, there’s no sacrifice.

It has nothing, it promises nothing except that if you were to kill somebody somebody might get 70 virgins, but understanding God wants a children to walk in the light, not in darkness. God wants his children to walk in the spirit, not into flesh. You see, separate yourself as much as possible from that which feeds the flesh. One of the things that I try to do as a, you know, a preacher and for myself personally, is try to figure out What helps me to grow spiritual and what will take and lead me to Desire the things of the flesh and that’s becomes a goal And that’s becomes a goal That helps me to stay strong Some people say it’s not a good thing.

Do whatever it takes to keep you right with God but whatever it is, you have to be careful. That same thing that bothers you, not necessarily bothers everybody else. So cut people a little slack and try to encourage people to want more of the Lord. But if you only say, all of this is wrong, that’s wrong, that’s wrong, that’s wrong, that’s wrong, that doesn’t make you spiritual, just because I don’t do. Spiritual is, well, it’s active, not passive. It means it makes me do something.

If he loved me, do, boom. And so because you learn to get people, love the Lord. That’s why when we have camps, we do everything we can to get them to memorize scripture, memorized scripture why, get it into their minds so that they have the scripture of why they do what they do. Why don’t you do that? Because God says, why don’t you do that? Because God, because God, because God, because God, because God, well my ranch director, because preacher, because none, the word, the power is in the word that changed people’s lives.

You can lay down laws all day long but it won’t make you spiritual. Does that mean that you don’t have rules and regulations? No, I preached that last week. Yes, there is a time for all of that and to have the discipline. So it makes life interesting. And God says, and I will be to them as a God and they shall be as me as children. And if you’ll do this, God says, I’ll do that. Now look in verse one of the next chapter, look in chapter seven, having therefore these promises dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the what the flesh and the spirit you attitude perfecting holiness in the fear of God so is it the will of God that his children live right live a holy life Godly life yes it is and the things in your life that you tolerate could be the loose gravel that causes you to lose

your footing and you didn’t think it was that bad and next thing you know you opened up a little door and all your character fell out through that one little door because you didn’t think it mattered. Everything matters. But learn how to discern for yourself otherwise somebody has to walk through life holding your hand all your life and telling them that’s not right. Then you despise people who do that because oh there’s so much more spiritual. Then you get to the place where you become, oh well, you know, I would never do that.

But, and then you become judgmental in looking down upon the people. What does he say in the book of Hebrews? And, excuse me, the book of Galatians in chapter 6 and verse 1, those that are spiritual seek to restore those that are weak, considering thyself lest thou also be tempted to fall the way that somebody else felt, and the subject is because of the flesh and the spirit in the previous chapter. When you see somebody walking in the flesh, feeding that flesh, then you know they need some help.

But be careful how you pointed out. Or Lord may let you see how weak you are with one little temptation and you could follow. So always be careful. Now, the next thing I want you to see, they’re looking in the book of Mark chapter 11. Mark chapter 11. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Mark, chapter 11. Mark, chapter 11 in looking verse 1. As you know, Jesus was getting ready to make His entrance into Jerusalem. So He says there in verse 1, and when they were coming to Jerusalem, onto Bethage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, He sent it forth to his disciples and said unto them, go your way into the village over against you and as soon as you be entered into it, you shall find a cold tide.

Now how did he know that? How did he know that? I think he was God. He said, you shall find a cold tide where a never man set, lose him and bring him. Now I don’t know but maybe, you know, have you ever got on a tautorata horse that’s never been ridden. Would that be a wise thing to do? I’ve had trouble getting on a horse that had been ridden and I’ve had him jump and not to had one horse it took off with me.

Look at his split. It didn’t matter. I couldn’t pull it back. I couldn’t nothing. That horse had a minifur on him and finally I had both right and I jerked him back and that thing he stopped on those front legs now. And when I went over his head I landed on the ground in front of the horse and I wrapped all of me around the front two legs because I thought this horse is going to stumble me to death and I’m sitting there and people were watching.

They thought it was so funny and I’m hanging on to the horses to front legs with my legs around and my arms around them because I didn’t want them to move and he did he just stood there. Sometimes you know they don’t always do what they’re supposed to do but he says I want you to bring this coat and he says, you shall find a coat tied up. Here’s the thing. A Christian can be tied down by many things.

You could be useful to the Lord, but because of sins in your life that you haven’t cut free of and they trap you, they tie you down. And you could be used in a great way for the Lord, but you have to be loosed. And you refuse to get rid of things in your life that’s holding you back. I’ve had people literally Christ and me and Yankee, you have no idea how I wish I could serve a Lord like you do.

I said, well, you can. No, I can’t. And what’s tying them down is those words. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. And they become like, you know, big old tie-downs that keeps you from moving. You can’t do anything. You could, but because of what you believe, you can’t. And you can’t, because you don’t believe you can. You see, when you believe the truth, truth snaps those cords, it gives you freedom. Believe the truth, and you will have freedom.

But if you don’t, you believe the lies, they tie you down.” So he told him, says, loose the cult. And he says in verse 3, and if any man say unto you, why do you do this? Say ye that the Lord have need of him and straight way he will send him hither. So as a little verse, I like reading the scripture and then I try to pull out of whatever I think, what can I apply from this? Why do you do this?

Why do you do what you do? What kind of a Christian are you? The Lord hath needed me. The Lord hath needed me. Now some people tell you, no, the Lord doesn’t need you. He was doing fine before you came upon planet earth. And when you’re dead and gone, he’ll still be in charge and he’ll still do fine. That’s nice. But God says in his word, he hath needed me. He left me here because he wants to use me.

And maybe I’m nothing more than a jackass, but I am something that he can use. And the Bible says here that they untied the cult and they brought him and Jesus rode that cult into Jerusalem. Now you never know that what you’re doing, wherever you go, you’re taking Christ to the world. You see, they don’t know where He is, but you know where He is. He lives inside of you. So wherever I go, I’m taking Christ to this person.

I’m taking Christ to this person. And I’m telling them what Jesus said to tell them. God can use you, but see, so many of God’s children are so tied down that they can’t do the things that God wants them to do. And then you have, of course, the timid Christians that they’re just too shy, whatever. And they don’t take a stand on anything. Some Christians are just too weak and then they won’t do anything to make them strong. But then you have a victorious Christian.

A victorious Christian is a positive thinking Christian. I can because me and God make a majority and you have confidence. You got boldness. You attempt. You may fail, but at least you tried. I remember there’s two little ladies that I used to up in Georgia that I used to go by and visit. Lyra and Vera. I don’t even remember the last one. Evans wasn’t it? saw him. And they never got married all their life. Now they’re in their 70s and 80s.

And I’d go by and visit and they didn’t come to church. Once in a while the one girl would come. But her sister was in a bed and she had to be looked after. So the one sister was looking after the other sister. So I’d go by there and I talked to them a little bit and they’d make me a little something to eat special, you know, when I have to eat a little piece of cake or something, you know.

And enjoy going by the city, sweet little ladies. And when I get ready to leave, I’d have a word of prayer with it. And I says, now you behave. And she’s laying there and thing. And she can’t hardly move. She’s all, you know, she’s crippled up. And I said, now you behave yourself. She says, I will. It was the the way she said, I will. And I looked at her and I said, you too. She said, I will. Both of them, I will.

And they don’t go nowhere. They don’t do anything. They’re just locked there in the house and find the one that passed away. But they were too sweet little ladies as though they could get in trouble if they tried. You know, some people that maybe that needs to be why God has to maybe tie them down so that they can stay out trouble. But understand, if God was asked you to do something for him, would you say, I won’t. No, I will.

I will. When he told the son, go work today in my vineyard, I will. And then he didn’t go. And the other one says, I won’t. Then he went. Delayed obedience is what? It’s disobedient. Well, you’re You’re going to dedicate your life. You’re going to serve the Lord, but you just haven’t done it yet. Delayed obedience is disobedient. All time is valuable. All of our time is very, very valuable. Let me give you one last verse. You don’t have to turn there, but it’s in the Philippians chapter 4 verse 13 where he says, I can, what?

I can do what? How? That what? So you already know the verse. You ought to be the most positive, active Christians in the world. Because see, if you believe that, then you’re not a defeated Christian. It means that you are being fed from the Word of God and your faith is strong. You’re not tied down because I can do. I can. Some of you, I can’t. I can. Oh, will you? I want you to always think about little Aaron Vera.

I will. You can. Look up here. Letting this hand represent you and me and the wallet represents sin. We all have sin on us. God says that he loves us. He hates our sin. And for us to pay for it is eternal separation from God. But God loves us. He wants us to go to heaven. But to go to heaven, we have to be perfect. His righteousness has got. And none of us are perfect. We’ve all sinned. We’ve all come short of God’s perfection.

So God says you cannot earn eternal acts. You can’t work your way to heaven. Bless any man should boast. So God says, I’m going to do something for you and I’ll make it free. That sounds pretty good. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He was the Lord. So he came into the world, lived 32 and a half years, didn’t sin. So he didn’t have to die. But because he loved us, he took our place. He took our sins. He paid for it, came back from the dead, said that if you and I, if we would believe he did it for us, he would give us as a free gift, everlasting life.

His death for my sins would become my payment. I don’t have to make. So now I have eternal life and I’m going to heaven whenever I die. But I’m not there yet. So the Lord in order to live here gave me a gift. the power of his mind, the Holy Spirit to indwell us. And if you will yield yourself to him, he’ll teach you how to live. The Lord can teach you how to live, how to handle every trial, every tribulation, every temptation.

He can teach you everything you need to know. But you got to let him. He will take you through his word and he will highlight things as you read and study. And a lot of it, you won’t even get it. It won’t make any sense. You won’t understand it. But all of a sudden there will be a verse that says, this is for you. This is for you. This is all you need right now. And then next time you read it, ah, I didn’t see this before and they’ll teach you something else.

living Word of God. Let’s pray show you. Every head bowed and every eye closed and no one looking around. If you’re here tonight and you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, you can do that right where you are. You don’t have to stand up. You don’t have to come forward. You don’t even have to raise your hand. All you need to know is I’m talking to the Lord and God sees and he understands. He knows those who will believe it.

Will you believe it? If you will believe that when Christ died, He died for you. He’ll give you as a free gift ever lastingtaining life. And you get to go to heaven on what Christ did for you. Would you trust Him? And if He will, God said He would save you. You can know you’re going to heaven. If you’re watching by internet, on the screen, there’s a little button up there and says, yes, I will trust Christ as my Savior.

Would you do that? Would you trust the Lord? Would like to know. It just sends a message that says, yes, I trust the Christ as my Savior. And that’s such a blessing. So it has about an eyes closed. And anyone all before we close, yes, I will trust Christ as my Savior tonight and pray to life for me. Anyone at all? If you have trusted Christ as your Savior, how are you doing in your spiritual life? Are you growing spiritually?

Are you getting stronger and stronger? Did you know that you have within you the Holy Spirit to teach you, to lead you, to guide you and helping you to do everything he wants you to do? He can walk with you to all of these trials that you have and we have them. We have a lot of lust on the flesh. He can give you the strength to desire the right things. Father, we thank you so much for all you’ve done for us.

Thank you for your word. We ask you to strengthen us as we need to be. Each one of us are different, but same always, but in Christ’s name we pray. Amen. Well, it’s almost Christmas, and we’d like to give every listener a Christmas gift. Just for listening, we’d like to send Dr. Arnold’s CD on understanding difficult passages of the Bible. No donation is required. We’ve compiled on CD Dr. Arnold’s teachings on difficult passages. For example, does James chapter 2 teach that true faith will produce works?

Does 2 Corinthians 5 17 mean that a true believer will no longer desire to sin? These and many other verses are explained in their biblical context so that you can have confidence in the agreement of all the Word of God. Call us today toll free at 1-800-576-3771 or you can write us at 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Again, no donation is necessary. Just your address so that we can send to you this important teaching. God bless you and Merry Christmas and thank you for listening to 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.