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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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

So I want you to take your Bible and turn with me to the book of numbers, the book of numbers. We’re going to talk a little bit about Jesus and the beginning of his ministry and kind of get an idea of why certain things are written in the Scriptures about how it all began. So in the book of Numbers in chapter 4, Numbers chapter 4, the Lord laid down to the tribe of Levi, the priesthood of Erem, things that they were supposed to do when they set up the tabernacle, and who was to do certain jobs, and how old they had to be, the start, and how old they had to be, the finish.

So here in Numbers in chapter 4, you’ll notice there’s several verses, but it goes to certain families and tell them this is your job and so forth. And it tells them the same thing and it keeps repeating it over and over and over again. Kind of get the idea, that’s what he’s talking about. Look in verse 1, and the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, take the sum of the sons of Koreth from among the sons of Levi after their families by the house of their fathers.

And then notice verse 3, from 30 years old and upward, even unto 50 years old, all that work or enter into the host to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. So you didn’t start till you were 30 and then when you’re 50 you could stop. Now that’s the kind of a job I like. Somewhere along the line it hasn’t worked out that way. I started early and that was 20 some years ago I was supposed to have retired but this is how God laid it down in His Word of what they were supposed to do and they would do it in order and this is why when Zachariah and Elizabeth it was his order.

It was a time that he had to come and he had to serve. But at this time though he was an old man. I hope he wasn’t referring, he was old at 50. Wouldn’t that be disoriented? Man alive. But here he says that in verse 3. Also look there in verse 23. Look in verse 23. Verse 23 says, from 30 years old and upwards until 50 years old, shout down number them, all that enter into perform the service to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.

Now remember Jesus is called the prophet, priest, king, and so he was a prophet, and right now he’s doing a priestly work, and someday he will be doing his kingly work when he sets up the kingdom upon the earth. But when he began his ministry, the Bible tells us about how old he was. But notice also there you see there even in verse 29 talking about another family and theirs and then he says in verse 30 from 30 years old and upward even into 50 years old, shout down number of them, everyone that entered into the service to do the work of the congregation.

So this is mentioned over and over again. So they They knew how old they were supposed to be. And there were ceremonial things that they did, initiating them into the ministry. Whenever I graduated from Florida Bible College, I was an old man of 26. And I got ordained, and so there was a ceremony that they went through. And me and a bunch of other fellows were all ordained at the same time. And because we were going to go into the ministry, so I had just finished four years to Bible College, and I’m going into Indian camps to be a camp speaker, and go out there with all the Indians and the cowboys, You know, the tents and, you know, bows and arrows and well, it didn’t turn out quite like that.

Desert, I saw a lot of desert. I saw a lot of Indians, but some of them were not living like I was hoping. My two little kids at that time, David and Trina were a little disappointed. They said, where’s the Indian? I said, Trina, these are the Indians. Where’s the bows and arrows? They don’t have bows and arrows. Why? And they lived in houses like we do. Except on some reservations, they were still in mud huts and so forth, especially down in Shonto, Arizona.

But anyway, you have to go through this and study and you’ve got to have a beginning of a ministry. Now take it by looking Matthew chapter three, Matthew in chapter three. Matthew chapter three, and we could just about read this whole chapter, but we’re going to kind of skip around a little bit because those are the things we want to get to. But in Matthew chapter three, John the Baptist came on the same and he came preaching the gospel of the kingdom, the kingdom of heaven.

And that’s mentioned in verse two. The kingdom of heaven is the kingdom that the king from heaven will set up upon the earth. Now the kingdom of God is more of a spiritual thing. That’s why he said like to Nicodemus, unless you’re born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God or enter into the the kingdom of God unless you’re born again. So that’s the spiritual realm. This was the physical realm. This is a physical kingdom that he was going to set up.

And this is what Israel was looking for is for the king to come back to the earth and set up a kingdom upon the earth. And well, they rejected him as king and they crucified him. The very one they’ve been looking for for all those years and they rejected because the Bible said they not who it was. They knew not the time of God’s visitation. God was coming to visit the earth in the form of a man, but he told them all in advance, hey, this is how you can recognize me.

But they blew it. So then in verse 7 he says, but when he saw many of the Pharisees and the Sadducees come to his baptism, he said to them, oh, generation of vipers who hath warned you to flee from the raft to come. And there is wrath to come and people should flee from the wrath to come. And so that’s why we go to Christ because He’s the one that is going to save us from the wrath that is to come.

But these Pharisees that lawkeepers, the Sadducees didn’t believe in the power of God, the resurrection, the angels, and didn’t believe in miracles. And so you had the fundamentals and the liberals right here at the very beginning. So Jesus is coming on the same. John the Baptist talked to the people at the Jordan River and told them that they were to believe on Him whom God has sent to believe on Jesus Christ. Now that’s mentioned in the book of the Acts in 19.

We’ll take a look at that real quick. So if they believed what John the Baptist preached, they were baptized in water. See they’re in verse 6, and were baptized of Him in Jordan, confessing their sins. So the only reason you do that is because you were a sinner and you needed to be saved. So if you believed on the Messiah that he was talking about, then you were baptized in water, which was a picture of what Christ was going to do for you.

It means you believe that the one that was coming after him was the Messiah, that he was going to make a payment for sin. Beberry came back from the dead, under the water picture of death, coming out of the water picture of resurrection. Simple. So he goes through here and explains all of this and then you’ll notice in verse 13, Jesus comes along to the baptism. In verse 13, then comeeth Jesus from Galilee to Jordan on the John to be baptized of him.

But John forbade him saying, I have need to be baptized of thee and comeest thou to me. Jesus answered and said unto him, suffer it now to be so, for thus it become a thus to fulfill all righteousness, then he suffered him or permitted him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straight away out of the water, lo the heavens were open unto him, he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him. And lo he voiced from heaven saying, This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

So whatever Christ did, the Bible says, God the Father was well pleased with what his son was doing. And his son says, I do all things to please my Father. But the question comes down is why did Jesus get baptized? Now, we know several things, and sometimes I learn a lot by figuring out what it doesn’t say. Now, did Jesus get baptized because He needed to be saved? No. So He didn’t have to get baptized to be saved. So He didn’t have to get baptized to wash away His sins.

So if he didn’t have to get baptized to be saved and didn’t have to be baptized in order to wash away his sins, then evidently baptism doesn’t do that. So it must be a picture of something else, right? It wasn’t to save him, and it wasn’t to wash away his sins. So baptism is not to save anybody, and baptism is not to wash away your sins. Why? Because Jesus got baptized and they didn’t do that to him. So maybe it’s a picture of something, but also remember this is the beginning of his ministry.

The beginning of his ministry and right after this in chapter four, he goes from being baptized, the Holy Spirit coming and the Holy Spirit lead them into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. So it’s the beginning of his ministry. Now is it a picture of his salvation? can’t be. He didn’t have? He didn’t need to be saved. But I believe it’s a picture of what he was going to do. When you talk about Jesus Christ coming into the world, all right, He came into the world and we all say, He came to die.

He was born to die. So I believe that’s the main reason. So Jesus Christ came into the world and He was baptized. But what is baptism and picture of? So there’s a little door opening there to try to figure out what was it all about. And I believe that there could be a lot of other things, but I always like to say as simple as I possibly can. And that is John the Baptist says in Mark chapter 1 verse 8, I baptize you with water, that comeeth after me shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

True? So water baptism was a picture of the Holy Spirit baptism. The Holy Spirit baptism is when you trust Christ as your Savior, your saved and you have eternal life, because you believe that when Christ died the cross and he was buried and came back from the dead. So this is to me a picture of what Christ was going to do. He came to go to the cross to die and to come back from the dead. This is what John the Baptist was telling the people.

So in the book of Acts in chapter 19 he says Paul making the statement he says John truly baptized with water the baptism of repentance did it. If you believed what he preached this is what you were to do. So they believe that. And he says that you should believe on him whom he hath sent, that is on Jesus Christ. And it says that, then says Jesus Christ, and this is what John the Baptist was preaching. So I believe that this is what happened, and he was to be baptized.

So Christ could not have been baptized to be saved. It could not have been baptized to wash away sin. So therefore I believe It is a picture, but it’s a picture of the ministry that he was going to do. What is the first thing that happens to us after we trust Christ the Savior? He says, we are baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. When did that happen? The moment you trust the Lord, that is our beginning.

We can’t serve God as though I am a child of God. I can’t serve God the way God wants me until after I’m saved. It’s the beginning of everything everything that we have. My beginning of my Christian life didn’t start last week. It didn’t start a year ago. It didn’t start fifty years ago. It started fifty-four and a half years ago when I trusted Christ as my Savior. And I was baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ once and for all.

Now, take your Bible and look there in the book of Mark chapter 1. you Mark, Luke, and John. But Mark in chapter one, and look what he says, they’re in verse eight. In verse eight says, I indeed have baptized you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit. So he taught this at the very beginning when they came to be baptized of him. And then he says in verse nine, and it came to pass. And those days when Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee was baptized of John and Jordan.

Straightway coming up out of the water. That’s why we believe he must have went down into the water. Some people say, well, it’s just a sprinkle. Well, why get the whole body wet if all I need to do is sprinkle a little bit of water on my head? Now, that’s the way some people do it. That’s up to them. But the Bible teaches immersion. When somebody dies, do you just sprinkle a little dirt on his forehead? Well, he’s buried.

Already he put the whole body under the ground. He was buried. He was closed and took a closed up seal. So anyway, and he says in verse 10, and he saw the heavens open and the Spirit, like a dove descend upon him. And there came a voice from heaven saying, Thou art my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And immediately the Spirit dried it him into the wilderness. So he was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness for a reason.

This is the beginning of his ministry. So he was baptized as the picture of what he was going to accomplish. The Holy Spirit came upon him and the Father spoke from heaven. So you have the Trinity right here in this one place where it says, and God the Father says, this is my beloved Son and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove came upon him. You got the Father the Son, the Holy Spirit, all in one place.

And that’s why we believe that that is true and that’s the way it ought to be. Now, turn your Bible to the book of Luke, the book of Luke, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Chapter 3. Luke Chapter 3, and you’ll notice in Chapter 3, verse 21, this is on page 10, 75, and a church Bible. But in verse 21, now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass. Jesus also being baptized and praying the heavens were opened. And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him.

And our voice came from heaven which said, Thou art my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. So you read the same thing. Notice when this happened. Now look in verse 23. See not every one of the books have exactly the same thing, but it can can refer to the same incident. In verse 30, and Jesus himself began to be about 50 years of age, 30 years of age. Now you think that’s in here for a reason? Why tell us that?

Because that is an agreement with Scripture, Old Testament Scripture. He’s beginning his ministry and he says, begin as was supposed the son of Joseph. See it even puts him, he was not the son of Joseph, but he was supposed people thought he was. And so, as was supposed, he was about 30 years of age. Now take your Bible and turn to the gospel of John, the gospel of John. John in chapter 8, little discussion had come up and they were harassing Jesus and he had made a few statements and they would come in back and he would answer them.

So you can see the wisdom that Christ had. Even though he was young, he was standing up against all these intellectual giants of his day. Remember when he was 12 years old, he did the same thing, didn’t he? The Bible says when he was 12 years old, he was in the temple and debating with the lawyers that was in there. Anyway, 12 years of age. Here he makes a statement and look there in Let me see get down here to where he says in verse 44 Notice how he is tipped hoeing around The tithers You know the religious people of his day.

He did last thing Jesus wanted to do was hurt anybody’s feelings And he didn’t want to you know set the apple cart No, he didn’t want to rock the boat as people do today. So he was, well, he was for peace. I get a little harassment once in a while on people emailing me trying to straighten me out on things. I think it mad at me. They say nasty things about me. And I’m the sweetest guy I know. But you’ll notice, he makes the statement of verse 44, he says, ye are of your Father the devil.”

He didn’t say the pope, he says the devil. And the lust of your Father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and a boat not in the truth because there’s no truth in him and you’re just like him. That’s what he’s saying. And you’re just like the devil. And he says in verse 45, and because I tell you the truth. You believe me not. Truth is offensive to some people. They will dare you talk about anything else, but don’t hit me between the eyes.

You can talk about sin. Just don’t name any. Because that’s a thing. I may be doing that. So he says here in verse 48, this is what they said. Then answered the Jews and said to him, say we not well that thou art a Samaritan and hath a devil? Well. Jesus said, so there’s a argument going on here. So he says, I got some things to say to you. He said, if a man was to keep my sayings, he’d never die.

See, there’s in verse 51. Then in verse 52, then said the Jews unto him, now we know that thou have to devom. You would think, here’s God that made the heavens and the earth. Never did a thing wrong. All he can speak is the truth. He can’t speak alike. He can only speak truth. Did he hold back? Did he beat around the bush? Right between the eyes. So he says, Abraham, he says, thou have to have, Abraham is dead and the prophets, and thou sayeth, if a man keep my sins, he shall never taste of death.

our greater than our Father Abraham, which is dead, and the prophets are dead. Who do you make yourself? Who are you? Who do you think you are? Well, we know who he is, but you see, they had a problem with him. And so he says in verse 54, Jesus doesn’t let him get away within the He. I mean, this is, I love it. If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my Father that honors me, of whom ye say that He is your God.

Yet ye have not known Him, but I know Him, and if I should say I know Him not, I shall be a liar like unto you. But I know Him and keep His sayings. Your Father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. Oh boy, did he open up a can of worms there. Now, he knows this. This is going to prick him a little bit. So they said in verse 57, then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet 50 years old and hast thou seen Abraham?

Well, he says before Abraham was. I am. Oh boy. He knew they didn’t understand. I think he was having fun. And you’ll find out that Jesus was a man’s man. But he knew the word he was so into. He was the smartest man that’s ever lived. He was the Lord. He knew their thoughts before they ever said them. And he knew what they were going to say and how they were going to react before he ever said a word.

He was God. He knew all of this. But you’ll notice in the book of Luke, it talks about, and he was about 30 years old, beginning of his ministry. Here they’re saying, you’re not yet 50 years old because the ministry that do the work that he’s supposed to do is between 30 and 50. Listen, you’re not even 50 years old yet and has now seen Abraham. So he says there in verse 58, truly I say unto you, very, very rarely.

Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up, reefs to put up on his neck in a crown and worshiped him. No, that’s not exactly what they did. They took up stones to cast at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple going through the missed of them and so passed by. Now as you read these scriptures, you’ll find that the Bible says Jesus did all the miracles that he did. Everything that he did, he did by the power of the Holy Spirit.

So take your Bible and look here in the book of Matthew chapter 12. Matthew and chapter 12. And look in verse 22, the Bible had prophesied from the book of Isaiah that the Messiah would come and he says, when he comes, it is he whom the Gentiles will trust. Now there’s never been another prophet out of Israel. And all these years, thousands of years except one. And it happens to be Jesus. The Gentiles are not the Jews. The Jews are not the Gentiles.

But it says the Gentiles is going to believe on this Jewish Messiah. See they’re in verse 21. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust. Or if it’s not Jesus, who second? You know anybody else? There’s never has been anybody else. It’s only been Jesus. So is that a fulfillment of the scripture? I mean, we’re living 2,000 years since then, but now notice what he says in verse 22. Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb.

He healed him in so much that the blind and dumb both spake and saw him. And all the people were amazed and says, is not this the son of David? And when the Pharisees heard it, they said this fellow, doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. Jesus is doing this by the power of the devil. They did not credit that what he did was by the power of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus knew their thoughts.

Said unto them, every kingdom is divided and so on. Verse 26, And if Satan cast out Satan, he’s divided against himself. How shall this than his kingdom stand. And if I buy beels above cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out. Therefore they shall be your judges. In other words, there is others who claim to be able to have that same power and they cast out devils. In verse 28, but if I cast out devil by the spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come unto you.

Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house and small is good except he first bind the strong men and then he shall spoil his house. In other words, Satan doesn’t have the power that the Lord has. And the Lord is able to come into Satan’s kingdom and take those demons and cast them out of those people that the devil sent his demons into. So who’s the strongest? But if I am able to do this, then evidently I must be doing it by the power of the Holy Spirit and they did not believe that.

So they call it the unpardonable sin and that is not to believe that Jesus is who he claimed to be. So the Holy Spirit is the one according to John convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. We’ve all sinned, we need to be righteous, we’re going to be judged. That’s who reveals those things to us so that we trust Christ as our Savior. So as we preach the Word and we carry it out, the gospel reveals those things.

We’re all sinners, we need to be righteous, and we’re going to be judged so we trust Christ as our Savior. Hello, this is Peter Amato with Bibleline, and we hope that you’ve enjoyed today’s program. We’re so thankful you’re supportive Bibleline, and we would like to offer you a free gift. During this month, for a gift in any amount, We’re going to send you Dr. Arnold’s teaching series on the book of Colossians. Paul writes to a concerned pastor about false teachings that are entering his church.

Some were teaching that one could find additional and greater knowledge outside of Jesus Christ, which is not true. Paul teaches that Christ is the head and we are complete in him. This teaching series is certain to help you in your spiritual growth. So email, call or write to us today to receive your CD series on the Book of Colossians. 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.