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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. He just 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.

Now look at this one, number two. heard the word, they received the word and let her be the cares of this world. The deceitfulness of riches. Some people’s gold in life is just to be rich. So if that’s your gold, you’re going to do whatever it takes to get rich. And so it consumes you and you may get rich, but at what price? It’s better to be a good soul in her as you go through life and it’ll keep laying up treasure in heaven because you don’t know down here if you’ll ever be really rich or really poor and that’s not the key is do you bear fruit?

Will you bear fruit? So he says there’s the deceitfulness of riches. Look at letter D and the lust of other things and here’s three little words choke the word. It chokes it. These believers do not grow nor do they produce fruit. So there’s people who don’t bear fruit because they’ve been choked by the cares of this world. Other things has got their attention and so they get sidetracked. So it let are either and these are they which are sown among thorns such as hear the word and cares of this world and to the seafulness of riches and the lust of other things entering and choked the word and it becomes, here’s a word, unfruitful.

So there’s reasons why they don’t bear fruit, but God wants them to bear fruit. The purpose of sowing the seed in people believing on Christ is so that you can grow and be fruitful. God wants Christians to bear Christians, I have more Christians, sow the seed. Don’t look at the next statement. Number three, the stony ground is a believer who hears the word but endure a short time but you know they start off sometimes like a rocket and they digest as fast.

You ever seen sparklers when they shoot them off for the July goes, shhh, up there, boom, that’s the way some Christians are. It’s better to have a nice move steady rise with the Lord and get steady and stronger with the Lord and maintain that for the rest of your life. So number three the stoning ground is a believer who hears the word but endures a short time with afflictions, no problems, persecution, because you decided to serve the Lord, but things go bad.

Not everybody loves you. You got ridiculed or something went wrong. Somebody mocked and if somebody hurt somebody’s feeling they’re easy offended. The roots didn’t go deep because the ground, well it was stoning ground. But just enough that believed, they heard the word, but they become unfruitful. And so they do not grow and they do not bear fruit. Because see, if you don’t sink your roots deep into the Word of God, and what you have to look at is we’re like tender plants.

And the Word of God is like rocks. And your roots have to go around these rocks in the Word of God. And you fasten under those things and that’s what makes you solid. You know what you believe and when the wind blows you stand firm and strong and you may bend but you snap back to your original position. Because you know what you believe you. But if you’re not deep in the Word of God, and all you are is just a surface Christian.

You don’t really study deep into the Scriptures, and you’re just a shallow, shallow Christian. That your roots do not go deep in the Word of God. And so you know a little bit, but you know it’s in the Bible, but you never know where, and your knowledge doesn’t work for you. And so therefore you’re only as strong as the Lord. last wind that came along and whichever way it’s going to push you. And so many of God’s children are not very strong.

Now, what kind of ground are you? Now, we know that we’re told to feed the flock. So look at the next statement. Calvary Community Church is a family-oriented church. Isn’t it true that we want to have something in a ministry for the little kids? true? Do we want to have something for the little older kids? Yes we do. Do we want to have something for the teenagers? Do we want to have things for the adults? We got camps. We’re trying to figure out every way we can, but we want to have and be a family-oriented church.

And we want to be a church with a heart. Well we have a heart for everybody. Now, if you look here on these notes, we want to do everything to encourage family worship and service. When it is possible, we like to see husband and wife teams serve in a different ministries or in the different ministries of the church. The Bible studies that we have offered by the church and your own personal study of the scriptures will greatly help you grow in the Lord.

Everything that you learn at church is not to be a substitute for your own personal study, your own personal time that you have between you and God. Nobody can make you strong. We can only teach the word, it’s your being good ground that receives it and thinks about it, meditates upon it, and let it change your life. Remember, you do not know the Bible until the Bible controls your life. If the Bible does not control your life, you don’t know the Bible.

You can study and quote every verse in the Bible, but until the Bible controls you, you don’t know it. Because it reveals itself to you and everything that it promises and the joy that it has and the warning that when you heed what it has to say, if you don’t heed what it says, you’re hears of the word, but not doers of the word. And he says, this man shall be blessed in his work. And if you don’t heat it, then you’re not going to be blessed the way the Bible says.

So it’s study the scriptures so that you can prove to be an acceptable laborer for the Lord. Fit for the master’s use. And if you will, you’d be surprised what God will do for your life. Look at the next statement. We do believe it is acceptable for ladies to teach ladies in the church under the supervision of the elders. We do not believe that women should usurp authority over the man by becoming pastors, elders, or deacons in the church.

They’re not permitted to do that. That is wrong, and there’s a lot of churches that don’t see anything wrong with that. But I’m not pastor of those churches. They can do whatever they want to do. But here we believe that there’s a limitation. Now look at this verse, but now don’t stop reading it halfway. Read the whole verse all the way. says, please know, 1 Timothy 2 verse 11 and 12, let the women learn in silence with all subjection, but I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man, but be in silence.

And we will not have or tolerate in the ministry women having or usurping authority over the man. There’s women who can do things but they’re not to usurp authority. That means to take from the man and usurp authority. It’s not good in the home either. I don’t like it in the government either, but I do believe that there is a place. Now look at the next statement. A scriptural prohibition against women teaching men are usurping authority over the man cannot be taken to prohibit women from teaching women.

Why? Well look at the Bible, look what the book says. Titus chapter 2 verse 3, the aged women, I doesn’t say exactly how old that is, I have an idea. The age women likewise that they be in behavior has become a holiness. Not false accusers, not given the much wine, teachers of good things. So can women teach? Well the Bible says there to be teachers of good things. Now get the next verse. that they, women, may teach the younger women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chase keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blaspheme.

So there’s a lot of things that the older women can teach to the other women. And I’ve never really done too well of just teaching women. I don’t mind it, but I believe it’s, you know, women understand women. Men understand men. But in a congregation, it doesn’t matter. I can talk to anybody. But I do believe that when it comes to women, there’s some things women can talk about better than a man telling them. And sometimes I’ve listened to some men.

And there was a one man that I knew, and he was the professional when it comes to marriage. And he would always tell people about marriage life, and he wasn’t married. I think you’ll have a better understanding if you were, and then you also have people who are the experts on how to raise children. You ever met anybody like that? And then they don’t have any children? Well, if I was married and had children, my kids would never do that.

And you just laugh, because you know, you got so much to learn. So I guess you could say, well, I understand, and I got a philosophy, yeah, but not until your kids become teenagers until you really start maturing in the Lord and finding out what you know and don’t know. really bless your little peeping heart. And then I believe that we are to warn the flock because there’s a lot of things that you need to be warned about. You see if you only feed the flock well then you fatten them for the kill.

But if you only warn the flock you starve them to death. So you have to have a balance feeding and warning. So that’s why we try to warn you against people that we believe are not clear on the gospel and that there are wolves in sheep’s clothing. I believe some of these. I believe there are wolves in sheep’s clothing. I don’t even think they put on the sheep’s clothing. You can just spot them so easy. And there’s a lot of people that are teaching things that are not true.

There’s a lot of women already, believe it or not, teaching things that are not true. And so I don’t like that. I don’t think it’s good. But women can teach women and I have no problem with that because God doesn’t have a problem with it. I don’t like women usurping authority, taking something away from the man in stealing. I don’t think that’s honoring. And I don’t believe that God meant for them to be the elders and the deacons and so forth.

Now the Bible did say that they were deaconesses. Deaconesses. We’ll get into that some other time. But look down at the bottom to warn the flock. Another task of the pastor and the elders is that of warning the flock. And so he says here, for I know this that after mighty parting, just grievous wolves enter among you, not sparing the flock. In other words, they just rip people to shreds. Believe it or not, since I have been here and people that, you know, they come and they stay for a while and then people go.

But there’s been people who have called me on the phone, wrote me letters, trying to straight me out how me and Dr. Hank Lindstrom never really understand the truth of the Scriptures and that because we use a Scofield reference Bible, we are really in left field and we are poisoning the people’s minds and that because we teach the rapture is going to take place before the tribulation period. There’s people who are taking a very strong stand and saying that we just don’t understand prophecy.

And I have people who are right me and give me scripture as though I’ve never seen that before. I don’t know many verses in the Bible that I have not read or studied. And sometimes people say, it’s like you you try to witness to somebody, evidently you never heard of James chapter 2 a thousand times. And they say, well you know what over there it says and I’ll tell them where it’s found. I said you mean James 2.14? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

No, I never heard of it. And so you have people who are always trying to straighten you out. And so you try to warn the flock. And we want you to be strong. We’re not trying to just attack somebody. And they say, if you tell a person the flock, that’s a wolf. If you tell them too soon, they don’t see that it’s a wolf. And they, well, I don’t see anything wrong with that person. I know. But you’re not the shepherd.

I watch and see what I believe they’re headed toward. What is it going to cause? And so sometimes there’s wolves, but the flock may not know and recognize that’s a wolf. And so they condemn you for saying something that they don’t see. I don’t see that. But if you wait too long and then they rip the flock apart, and they think, well, why didn’t you say something? So you see, you get in trouble if you say it before you said after.

Sometimes you just can’t win. Now this is the reason why, since I’ve been here, I’m doing as much as I possibly know how. I wanted to have Sunday school classes because it teaches the teachers out to teach. It helps them to have a class to gain some responsibility and they got their own little, you know, little flock to work with and to help and to teach and to pray for and to look after. And I think that it’s a good thing because not only do the people learn something from somebody else, they’re also growing in the Lord because now every week they have to prepare a Sunday school lesson and it puts a little pressure on them.

And then when they’re not here, whoever’s in charge after them has got that blessed opportunity to speak in their place. So they have to learn and they study. And buddy, there’s nothing as much pressure that when Saturday night comes and you’re not ready, and you’ve got to get ready and you’re not ready. And you waited till the last minute and Sunday morning’s coming, Sunday morning’s coming and you’ve got to get ready. So I believe that by having those classes helps those people to learn the Word of God.

Because now they’ve got a study instead of just sitting there and let the preacher tell them everything. No, we’ve got a lot of classes and more people teaching. I believe it’s good and healthy. And I want people to learn. And we have the men’s Bible study. you. And then so all these men have to take time, turn once a month speaking to the men. And so if they take the turns, each one of them, and you’d be surprised, they do a great job.

I have been very impressed by just sitting there listening to some of these guys. Now I think men have that was good. Well, that was good. I mean, I’ve listened to Jay, Jan, Jesse, and Peter, Alan, Louie, and I get a chance. I like to listen to these other guys, Steve back there, and everybody has a different way of teaching, and they all have something different to teach, but it’s all good. But now, is that better for them to do it, or should the preacher just do it all.

I don’t think so. Because you’re supposed to listen and learn and grow. Well, how do you know if you are? Well, you’ve got to have something. So that’s why we do it. See now we have one ranch and I think he says that we’re running between 30, 35, 38 kids, something like that in ranch. Is that right, Louis? Something like that? And they’re having a couple of trusts of the Lord, just about every week. Now, listen, what have we had 10 ranches going.

10. Hey, I’m looking down the road. And then we had 10 ranches going, and every one of them have a couple, all of a sudden you see how that multiplies. Then when we have camp, you see how big a camp we can have? And then you see what we could have as far as kids dedicating their lives to come to Bible College. See, we’ll have like a soul winning machine. There’s people who are learning the clearness of the gospel so that they can present the gospel and win other people to Christ and then lo and behold, they can get them to the little kids and then they’ll only up into a wana and then they next thing you know they’re coming to ranch and then they’re coming to camp and then they’re dedicating their lives to the Lord to come to Bible college.

Then when they come to Bible college, we want them to listen and learn. A couple of those George boys came down here When I cried a night, so went in. They had a break, went home, got a hold of John, John, and a couple others, and they went so went up there. Now they’re doing it on Saturday night, I think. It’s a Saturday night. Well, where did they learn? Because they watch somebody. And so they become convinced. We can do this.

And so people learn and they grow. And next thing you know, who knows where it’s going to stop? Somebody told me the other day, they felt like it’s not going to be long for the lid is going to blow off. That there’s so much potential of what we can do with the the radio broadcast, the internet ministry, and with everything else that we got going on, wouldn’t it be wonderful this fall if we could have 25 kids in college, or 50 kids in college?

What if we had 100 kids in college? Hey, you gotta start somewhere. I said we’re not planning on the, oh, we’re just planning a little acorns. And then we’re gonna watch it grow. Little by little, little by little. learn how to handle all the problems. And we’ve had a few, but we learned how to grow together. And now we think we’re able, we can handle a few more kids now. And then a few more kids, because we learn how to work out some of the kinks, all the little things that goes on, you know, because there’s so much.

We don’t want to just be choked down by the cares of this world that we cease to do what God wants us to do. So every person in the ministry, I wanted to have a little niche, something that they can do to see what God can do for them and through them in the ministry. Because we don’t want to just come and we sit and soak in sour. If you have both hands on the oars, it’s hard to rock the boat.

People that are busy doing what God wants them to do, well, they’re too busy to get in trouble. If they wanted to get in trouble, they’d have to schedule it. And so this is why I want people to be found busy serving God. When he says, occupy till I come, it means stay busy till he gets here. Stay busy. Work for the Lord. Look down at the bottom of the page. And this is so important. Looking Colossians chapter 1 verse 28, where he said, whom we preach, talk of my cry, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect or mature in Christ.

So we want everybody in our church to be mature in the Lord. Don’t you want that? Don’t you want every teenager to become mature in the Lord? Every adult to become mature in the Lord. Well all of us working together help feed that and so that’s why our testimony is so important. What we say, what we do, how we treat other people, all of is so important because we never know how God’s going to use somebody in the Lord.

You know what was interesting? We sent out this email that I just sent out about the lady’s tea. I’ve gotten some comments back, California, Texas, Colorado, and a few other places. And a lot of them are great comments. They really are. this one girl she wrote me and she says I am so proud of what you’re doing and she also said I am so glad that you came across my path and sent me, encouraged me to go to Florida Bible College.

She says I met my husband there but her and her husband came from our youth ranch and they had that long drive all the way down to Miami, Florida from Colorado. And they got married and she says that was 42 years ago. Isn’t it wonderful to send some fruit from 42 years ago? And then I got a couple letters from a couple of other people. A preacher wrote me. And I led him to the Lord. And he married that girl that I told y’all that when she came to college, she walked out of the door of the college and she was standing outside on the sidewalk.

And I walked out and I looked over at her and she was a blonde, a blonde. I said, well, you’re staying out of trouble. She says, I’ve never been so out of trouble in all my life. But she got married. Now she has kids that are older than what she was when I talked to them. You want the people to grow strong in the Lord. You want them to have a good family to make wise choices about their husband or their wives and then to know how to raise the kids in the nursing admonition of the Lord.

But to do anything, you got to know the book and you want people to have good minds, good grounds so you can plant the seeds in their mind. You want them to be receptive of the Word. Do you believe that people can come to church with a hard head? Do you think there’s anybody like that? I mean, you don’t know anybody personally, but I mean, you know that there’s people who come to church, and it doesn’t matter what the preacher says right over their head.

You always say, sometimes, you know, boy, that would have been good for so and so. I always so and so had been here. That was a perfect sermon for her. Do you know sometimes it might be just what you need as you listen week after week after week and God has things he wants you to learn. Don’t be a stoning ground. You know just very thin, small layer, no depth, no roots that are deep. Be good ground. allow the briars and the thorns of this life choke out the fruit bearing that you ought to have in your life.

You’d be surprised how much God would do for us. Look up here. Now this hand represents you and me and if you notice we always try to teach people how to do this little illustration. And if you noticed that when Freddy Cole did it the other night you noticed he did it wrong. He said, let this hand represent you and me. And God won’t save nobody that way. You have to use this hand. Just joking. Just, this is you and me.

This is sin. We all have sin on us. Now God says that He loves us. He hates our sin, but He loves us. And for us to pay for sin is eternal separation from God, but God loves us. Wants us to go to heaven. And to go to heaven, we have to be perfect as righteous as God. And none of us are perfect. None of us are righteous. righteous. And we cannot save ourselves, not by works of righteousness which we have done.

But according to His mercy, He saved us. And by that I mean, this hand represents Jesus Christ. God in the flesh came into the world, had no sin, didn’t have to die. But He loved us. So He took all the sins of all the world, paid for them to cross, came back from the dead. He said that if we would believe He did it for us, He would put this payment to our account, whosoever would believe it. They would not perish, wouldn’t go to hell.

But have everlasting life, we go to heaven on what Jesus Christ did for us. Let’s pray, shall we? With head bow nice clothes, no one looking around. If you’re here tonight and you never trusted the Lord, why not right now in the kindness of this moment, say, preach on? Don’t understand everything, but I know I’m a sinner. And I believe when Christ died, I’m believing He died for me. me, and I’m going to trust Him to take me to heaven.

And if you’ve never done so, would you do it right now? Just slip your hand very quickly and put it right back down. That just lets me know that what I said made sense to you. If you’re watching by internet, right where you are, right there on the screen says, yes, I will trust Christ as my Savior. We’d love to know, love to hear from you. And we’d just pray that you will trust Christ as your Savior. Father, we thank You so much for all that You’ve done for us.

Thank you for this time together and help us Lord to have good good ground where we receive the word joyfully and it’s nourished in our bodies so that we can accomplish something for you that we can bear much fruit. Let’s each one here in Christ’s name we pray. Amen. Are you a new listener to Bibleline? Do you enjoy the teachings of Dr. Arnold? Well if you’ve never contacted us before we want to give you Dr. Arnold’s book, The Gospel Driven Man.

Every day we receive many emails from folks who have questions about repentance and salvation, about faith in works, and about how to share the gospel with friends and loved ones. This book, The Gospel Driven Man, covers all those topics, and we want all new listeners of Bibleline to receive a free copy. There’s no obligation, no donation necessary, simply call us at 1-800-576-3771 or write to us and request your free copy of the Gospel-Driven Man. The mailing address is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634.

Again, don’t forget to include your mailing address, and God bless you 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.