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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.

And so, if you’re not ashamed of the gospel, there’s a price to pay to get it out. And so there’d be times when you’re just tired and weary and worn. You take what was so neat. This lady Mary, and I think it was the first time she’s ever been to a camp. And she was giving it all she got. But she was also being worn out. And to see some of the other people that, you know, they go and go and go.

And I’d ask them, I’d say, how you doing? They go, fine, fine. And you don’t get a lot of sleep. Some of the counselors in the rooms with these kids, and some of those kids, they’ve always got something wrong. They’ve got to go see the nurse at 11, 30, 12, 31 o’clock in the morning. And God bless that little nurse that we had that came because we didn’t pay her anything. You can’t pay everybody that does everything that goes to camp.

But I appreciate her coming and being there. And then the watch Keaton and his wife. And they were so busy in trying to do a good job all the kids and I walked around this human football thing they had there and down on the right hand side I didn’t know it was there they had all these girls doing things unlike an obstacle course and I looked down there and there’s some of these girls even Kyla and some of these other girls they were on their belly moving like a reptile underneath these ropes trying to go through these things And then when they got through, they had to come up against a great big old wall, and they had to help each other over a wall.

You thought they’d gone to military boot camps on them. I mean, just to see what they did, we got some great pictures of us. I think we’re going to try to show some of those on Sunday night. But there’s a price to pay in doing all those things. And you can get tired and weary and warm, but it’s such a blessing to see these kids have a ball and I watched him out there. That’s all I do now is watch.

There used to be a time not to get involved, you know, but now I just, I get a kick out of watching him have fun. But Lord has been good to us. But he says here in verse 12, he says, for the witch calls, I also suffer these things nevertheless, I am not ashamed. For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that, which I’ve committed unto him against that day to know that he is able to keep that.

Now to me, I committed to keeping of my soul to Jesus Christ. He’s to save me and give me to heaven. Now him getting me there, that’s his job, not mine, but I’m not ashamed of the gospel. I’m not ashamed of that day when I was 18 years old in that little living room and I trusted Christ as my Savior. I’ve been telling that story for, seemed like forever for 55 years. And it doesn’t get old to me. Even at camp I told a few jokes and somebody told me it says, that was a new one.

I told that I said, I don’t need new jokes, I just need new people. And you know, it’s hard to learn a joke, you know. You ever try to be funny? You know, and you want the kids to laugh, have a good time, and here’s this stuff shirt preacher up there, you know, it’s an old foe, you talk into these little kids, but you’ve got to have them laugh about something. So sometimes you tell a few stories on yourself.

And I’ve always enjoyed doing that. You realize how many times people have heard my stories? Well think how many times I’ve had to tell them. So there. So in verse 13, it says, whole whole fast, whole fast, the form of sound words, which now have heard of me in faith and love. Which is in Christ Jesus. So Paul taught and he says, now, and you’ve heard me now a whole fast of that. Don’t let it slip. Just look there in chapter two and verse one where he says, thou therefore my son.

Now Paul knows that his days are limited. He says, I’m my time of my departure is at hand. So he’s talking to a young man that maybe God will give him years to serve the Lord. And that’s one of the things about serving the Lord is, serving the Lord is always trying to teach and train somebody else to do what you do. You see in the world, there’s some people they get a little power and they don’t want nobody know how they do what they do because that makes my job more secure.

In the Lord’s work, it’s not the way it is. You want to teach everybody how to do what you’re doing because nobody hears, you know, we’re not forever, not to hear in this life, But for the cause of Christ, we want the work to go on, right? So we want somebody to be able to take our place. So I think we’ve got enough people around here now that can just, if I dropped dead tonight, I wouldn’t care. This thing will keep on a move and going right along.

And you won’t even miss a beat now. I’m not leaving right now, I’ll be, not until I get finished, I’m not finished yet. But anyway, now notice what he says there in verse two. and the things, just like he said during chapter one, and the things that thou have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. So what I taught you is sound words, and that’s what gives you a sound mind.

And you got to know how to think. So see, when you get to chapter three, it makes a statement, perilous times shall come. And when these perilous times shall come, and you read the third chapter, and you think you’re reading today’s newspaper of how bad it is, and it is bad. So how is a Christian supposed to think when it seemed like everything’s turning sour? And it’s getting worse and worse and worse. They even Paul didn’t say, hey, we’re out here to build a utopia.

No. He says it’s gonna get worse. those who live godly going to suffer persecution. It’s all in chapter 3. So what does he tell you to do? Well, by the time you get to chapter 4, he says, preach the Word. Things are getting a little worse and bad and start thinking about all the things that are going on. Just keep continue in what you’re doing. Keep doing what’s his life. He makes a statement up there in chapter two, look in verse 14.

Of these things, he says, put them in remembrance. Sometimes you have to tell people what you already done told them. Tell them again. Then tell them what you told them again. He says, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. Our purpose for preaching the word is to get those that listen to the word that they believe it because we have a reason for doing what we do.

So in chapter four, he talked to him about, I charge you, preach the word, put your confidence in what God says. This is why it’s so important to study and to believe what the word of God says. Now look back there in chapter one and look in verse 14. He says, that good thing which was committed unto the keep by the Holy Ghost, which developed in us. That thing that was committed to him. Now whether or not they had an ordination service and they got together and they laid hands on young Timothy and committed him to the ministry.

I don’t know. He also says, lay thy hands suddenly upon no man. In other words, be slow and careful and not unavas, but to know what you’re doing. Because now things are coming down to the place. Paul, I’m going to be off the scene. You better be listening to me. And he says this, He says in verse 15, this thou knowest that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me. Now how would you like to have that said?

Well Paul must have done something wrong. You know if he would read that book by Dale Carnegie, he wouldn’t have been so bad. He just didn’t know how to win friends and influence people. But chances are Paul was probably a hard person. He was probably a very dogmatic type of person. He was probably looked upon as a dictatorial, dominating, egotistical type of an individual. He probably didn’t have a real sweet kind side to all those Pharisees and so forth.

He probably was a straight shooter, just right between the eyes. And sometimes you’ve got to be like that. But he says that I’ve gone through a lot. I’ve had people leave me in the ministry. He also makes that same statement there in chapter four, looking chapter four and verse ten. He says, for demons have forsaken me. me having loved this present world, how would you like to have the great apostle Paul say that about you and put it in the Holy Scripture?

And for all eternity, your name made the book. Yes, but look what he said about you. You think, well, I would rather be known by something better than that I first took a great man of God. Do you know, if it wasn’t for those who come alongside to help, you would get a lot done. I mean, could you see me trying to run camp all by myself? How do you think that would work? So you can’t do it unless you have people that are willing to work and labor like that, you can’t have.

But we want to have a good vacation Bible school. So we’ll just snap our finger and it’ll be done. Or is it going to take some planning and work, organization, participation, sacrifice, give up on a week to do something like that? But you know what? It would be a lot easier if we don’t do it. Wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t it be easier if we just don’t do anything? We might feel better, but we could have felt better if we didn’t have done camp.

But if you just seen the kids on the last night, you think this is worth it. What if we didn’t do what we do? And yet you can’t do it by yourself. Now look where he says in verse 16 of chapter 1, The Lord give mercy onto the house of Onissa for us, for he off-refresh me and was not ashamed of my chains. Here’s a man who’s got chains. But somebody came and sought him out. Didn’t know where he was, but he came looking and found him.

And he says he refreshed me. You’d be surprised how those who work with the Lord in the ministry need to have other people refresh them. Have you ever done a refresh on a computer? It kind of resets things, don’t it? And if there’s anything to update it, update it or something. like that. I never did understand his computer, but I do it all the time. All I do when I got something wrong, I just go to Holly Gray and get in there.

And here comes Greg running in there. Because you got to have a computer mind, you know, knows what they’re doing. But I called up Dave one day, I says, Dave, Dave, buy one. He had done something. I says, I hit on that video and it will not work. I said, it must be this program you put on there that’s no good. He’s a Yankee. Hit the refresh button. I thought that ain’t gonna work. But nevertheless, at thy word, I hit the refresh button.

And guess what happened? It worked. The little video came on and it worked. All I had to do was hit that little refresh button. Well there’s times in the Lord’s work where you just get a little down and discouraged sometime, a little depressed. All you need is somebody to come alongside and hit your refresh button. They kind of encourage you. A little refreshing. Have you ever been down and somebody come along and says, this ain’t gonna work? I wouldn’t have done that.

That’s all I need for grade to come in and say, you did what? I would rather him say, Yankee, that was a good move. Here’s a better one. You know how you do something is very important. When you say how you explain some things to somebody, but there’s always somebody just love whenever you get down a little bit just to push on down a little further and hold you there a little bit. But you need somebody to refresh you.

And this is what he says about this guy. So he says, and he was not ashamed of my chains. Evidently, there were some people that were ashamed. They were ashamed. Did you hear about Paul? He’s in jail again. I tried to tell him that if he didn’t stop this, he didn’t have to be as hard as he is. He just starts trouble everywhere he goes. See, the revival or revolt and I tell him he causes it on problems and if he would be more like me, you know, passive, he wouldn’t get in all this trouble.

Did you know if Paul was not the way Paul was, he probably wouldn’t have gotten done, what he got done. I used to have people in Colorado that would say, things would have been on the same line. You know, Yankee just, it’s too mean. It’s too hard. And I’d tell them if I was any other way, I would have never came here. If I was any other way, I would have never started the ministry. If I was any other way, I’d never started a ranch, a church, a Bible college, or a Christian school.

If I was any other way, it’d still be lost and go into hell. And you want to say, put that in your pipe and smoke it. So I didn’t. But do you see what I’m saying? God uses different people. I really don’t care to be anybody else. I just like being me. I mean, that’s a big enough job as it is. Well, I should, I want to try to change myself to be somebody else. I think if I used to have people say, you know, when I would fill in for Dr.

Cameron, not at Florida, my mother college, I had sometimes fill in for the Bible study Sunday School. And for her painter, Sr., he would, he knew he could put me anywhere, any class, any moment, and I’d be ready to go. Some college gives, they ask me, says, what does it feel like to fill the shoes of Dr. Cameron, I said, I’m not filling the shoes of Dr. Cameron. I’m filling my shoes. I said, if God wanted Dr. Cameron, let God get Dr.

Cameron. If he wants me, he got me. I don’t try to be anybody else. I’m not a raised Stanford. I’m not a Hankel instrument. I’m not anybody else. I am Yankee Arnold. That’s who I am. That’s all I want to be. But I want to be the best Yankee I can be. There’s something wrong with that. I don’t have a real bad problem self-image. Maybe I should a little bit, but not really. I just try to see myself the way God sees me.

See yourself the way God sees you. Are you loved by God? That ought to make you feel good. God loves me. God loves me. God allowed me to be created, to be born into this world. God did that. And God made me, whether it’s a man or a woman, God did that. And I am so thankful to the Lord for all that He’s done for me. That was the Lord texting me saying, you did a good job there, bud.

Well done. That’s exactly what He said. Now look what He says there in verse 17. But when He was in Rome, He sought me out very diligently and He found me. So how did Paul feel about that? Oh, he was thrilled. He needed somebody. Everybody’s forsaking him, but here comes a guy that searches him out and tries to find out, and he’s in prison. And then in verse 18, the Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day.

And in how many things he ministered unto me. You ought to underline that. He ministered unto me. There’s times when different people around this ministry. They minister to me. They help me. There’s a lot of things. I don’t know everything. I can’t do everything. Do you realize what I would have done if I say, okay, we’re starting to Bobo College and I didn’t have anybody to teach? Did God bless my little peep-picking heart when he had some of these guys like Bob Brooks and Bob Gilbert and Phil Myers and so forth come and help?

And then he got Louie back there to come and help. He got Peter over here to come and help. You see, am I blessed or what? Now, what if they didn’t do that? I didn’t have anybody who helped me. To minister means to help. And it’s the same thing as like Christ says, he did not come to be ministered on to, but to minister. Means to give his life. That means if you’re given your life, we give them our time.

Time is precious. What life’s made out of. Some people don’t want to get involved. Why lie? I don’t want to get involved. I don’t want to get involved. Well, what if everybody thought like that? I don’t want to be involved. Serving the Lord is getting involved in people’s lives. It’s selfishness that holds you back because I don’t want to get involved. I don’t want to be hurt. I don’t want nobody to depend on me. I don’t want to… That’s not a pathetic way to live.

God had mercy on him. But he says, and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, Thou knoweth very well.” Now he goes into chapter 2, and he tells him, Timothy, be strong in the grace, and then the Lord. Be strong in the gospel of grace, because that’s really what it’s about, because that’s why Paul was where he was. Because of what he was doing. He was preaching the Gospel. And in chapter 2 and verse 2 he says, And the things that thou hath heard of me, one, among many witnesses, they heard it, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also.

Do you see something about teaching somebody that can teach somebody that can teach somebody? You see, even if there’s not a lot of them, do you think all the hours that we spend teaching just a few guys. Here you have like Jesse and Tyler, Justin. How much are they worth? Or they’re just three guys. I mean they’re just three kids. But have you seen growth in those kids? Have you seen the possibilities that they may serve the Lord full-time?

If we didn’t do it, they wouldn’t learn what they’re learning, it may never do what they could have done. So are they worth our time? Are they worth it? And then we got John John coming down with another kid with him and Mildred from Texas and whether some others, I don’t know. I was just told this but I didn’t know Peter just told me that we had 37 people take the personal evangelism class that we offer free on the Babylon Institute.

Is that right, Peter? 37. None. They may never take any other classes. We don’t know. But they did 37 people take the class from all over. And that awesome. Studying personal evangelism. But now, did I do all of that? No, I taught the class. But Ryan was up there with a video camera. And then somebody else did the editing. Somebody else did the computer to put it up on the website. And Peter was working with the Babylon Institute, putting the stuff up there so they can even do that.

But what if these people didn’t do what they’re doing? You see, you don’t have to be the pastor. But if you want the job, I don’t know if I care. But with everybody doing what they do, you see how we can reach people around the world. Can you believe that? As he says in Romans chapter 1, that the testimony of your church, your faith is heard throughout the world. There’s people all all over this world that have heard about Calvary Community Church.

Now that ought to make you feel pretty good, doesn’t it? And get this, the people that trust Christ as their Savior is fruit that abounds to your account. When you get to heaven, you’re going to be rewarded not just for the ones you want, but those that you helped encourage them because you get rewarded according to your faithfulness. part of something that’s geared toward soul winning and God is going to bless, it’s going to be great. But look what he says in verse 3, therefore, therefore, because everything that I’m telling you, this is true, endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

And when he says this, he says, be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage, like he says in Galatians, but here he makes his statement, he says in verse 4, no man that worth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who have chosen him to be a soldier. You see, a lot of people get so entangled with the affairs of this life that they can’t serve God. They’re tied down. They’re strapped. They’re trapped.

They can’t get free. And every time you ask Well, I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. You’re trapped. Everybody should be able to do what God wants them to do with their life. Whatever that God wants you to do, there’s time you’ve got to work. But the Bible even talks about that you work so that you may have to give the hymn that has not. Wait a minute, you mean I got to go to work so I can make some money so I can give it to somebody who don’t have?

Well, that’s one of the things that God says in this word. you said, I’ll never do that. So there’s a lot of things we have to learn, but God’s word is true. So he says down here in verse 7, consider what I’m saying, consider it. And the Lord give the understanding in all these things. So does God want us to succeed? There’s a day coming and so Paul makes the statement. Because I have kept the faith, I have finished my course, therefore there is later for me a crown of righteousness, but not to me only, but for everyone who loves his appearing.

So he’s talking about something that’s going to happen toward the end of life. When you get to heaven, he’s going to reward you. Do you believe it? Can you be faithful now because you know what’s coming down the road and it will be worth it all? I think it is. So let me show you something. This is not mainly for you that are here. This is for those that are watching my internet. And we do want people to know how to have eternal life.

So this hand represents you and me. I don’t recall ever doing this setting down. been ranch when I said I’m a stool. I used to do all the time then. This hand represent you and me, the wall of represents sin. We all have sin on us. God loves us, but He hates our sin. And for us to pay for sin is eternal separation from God. In hell, He loves us. He wants us to go to heaven. To go to heaven, you have to be perfect.

His righteousness is God. None of us are perfect. None of us are righteous. We’ve all come short of the glory of God, short of His perfection. See, God is perfect. And no man is perfect, regardless of how we compare ourselves with each other, we’ve all come short of God’s perfection, so we can’t go to heaven. Only perfect people can go to heaven. And no man can make himself perfect. That ought to stop everybody from trying to earn his way to heaven.

This sin represents Jesus Christ. He’s God in the flesh. Came into this world. Has no sin, doesn’t have to die. But because He loves us and hates our sin, because our sin separates us from Him, Christ took all the sin, paid for it on the cross, and came back from the dead, and said that if we would believe that He did it for us, He would put this payment to our account. And we go to heaven because our debt for sin has been paid in full.

There’s no sin left to be paid for. So that’s why I can’t lose my salvation. I can’t do anything bad enough for God to unsave me. It can’t happen because He paid for all of my sins and gave me His righteousness and I go to heaven, all what Jesus Christ did for me. Let’s pray, shall we? Our Father, we thank You so much for Jesus Christ who died on that cross to pay for our sins and says, Whosoever believe it in me hath everlasting life.

And Father, we also pray for those that are not able to be here tonight because of sickness. And Father, whatever the problem may be, I’m not even sure what’s wrong with myself. But we do pray for the healing of our bodies. These bodies are temporary, we know that. One day we’re gonna get a brand new one. But until then we’ll have to put up with some stuff. Go to a little hardness between now and then. But Father, thank you so much for all you do for us.

Lord, if we get sick enough, we really appreciate it when we get well. And Father, there’s others that’s got other situations that don’t need to mention it this time. We pray Your will to be done in their life. Thank you so much for tonight and for each person that’s here. Bless each one in Christ’s name. 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, Call us at 1-800-576-3771 or write to us and request your free copy of the Gospel-Driven Main. 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.