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Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, here God’s truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the You can reach us toll-free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the BibleLineMinistries.org homepage. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Well, you know, there’s been some times over the years that as I went through life, If I gathered little nice quotes that I liked, it’s almost like gathering things like Solomon did for the book of Proverbs. Why sayings and Proverbs, pro-inverbin, more than meets the eye. You read it and there’s something else in there too. But it’s a wonderful book to read just for gaining some wisdom. I lined along the way that God tells us what to do. But it was about 1968 when I left Florida Baba College, I had over 3,000 of them.

Nice little jokes and quotes and things like that, you know, that I collected from everybody that I listened to. So I wound up, Tennessee Temple, before I went to Florida Baba College, and I was driving down the road one day. Everything was going wrong in my life. At least I thought it was. And I thought, man, I don’t know what I’m going to do. My wife’s not in Georgia and I’m up here standing in a rescue mission. If I knew where to run to, I’d run.

But I didn’t know where to run to. So I passed this church and I’m just driving my car along. I looked up in this churchyard and had a sign out there. And the sign says, the will of God will not lead you or the grace of God cannot keep you. And I saw that, I pulled over the side road, got tears in my eyes and I said, Lord I believed you led me here so I guess you’re going to have to keep me.

And I was looking for a good excuse to blame God for not taking care of me. But he always did it. That was the problem. He always came through. Because sometimes you’re looking for a way to get out of something and if you can blame God for not keeping his word, what’s the you got an out. But God never gave me a loophole. You know, you’re always looking for a loophole. Get out of something. Anyway, I want you to look in Proverbs 25.

The book of Proverbs 25, and look in verse 11. Verse 11. This is a good little verse here. And it says in verse 11, a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold and pictures of silver. That’s not a beautiful little statement. You say, what does it mean? I don’t know, but isn’t it, pretty? A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold pictures of silver. Now I have never seen anything gold or silver, so I wouldn’t really know.

But I know that the right word at the right time said the right way can do such wonderful healing things for people. Or you can with the tongue say just the wrong thing and do a lot of damage. Now look there in Hebrews chapter 12, on our journey, on our journey, as we run our race. I’ll have to admit, when I started running the race, I did not strip down to my tennis shoes and my shorts and just start running.

When I started the Christian race, I still had everything that I had when I trust the Lord. It was in the process of the running that wore me out and I thought I I can’t do everything and so I had to start forgetting some things, leaving awesome things. And no, whenever you’re running and you got on the coats and you got on gloves and you got on shoes and you got on all this weight, well, just start running. You’ll figure out what to take off.

And after a while you realize, you know, I don’t think I need this coat. He can lay that aside. Run some more. Man, it’s still hot. I can take off this sweat. I don’t need that. And he’s big, old, heavy dungarees. Man, I can lay those aside too. Now, nobody will have to tell you if you want to run the race. You’ll find out, well, I’m carrying things that I don’t need to carry. Now, if you try to get a person to get down to where he’s ready to run the race and he has to, he can’t run it until he gets wet, he’ll never run the race.

You’ve got to start running the way you are. I find that over the years I do better when I try to get people and especially like teenagers. Start doing what you’re supposed to do and then as you go you’ll find out, you know, this here’s a problem. That’s a problem. I don’t have time for this. But if you try to get them just to clean up your life before you start running this race, you’ll never get the race started.

It’s in the process of running that you learn what to do and what not to do, what to put on, what to take off. So the key is get going. Start moving. And so here in the book of Hebrews in chapter 12, he says, wherefore it’s seen we also accomplish the bond with so great a cloud of witnesses. Let us lay aside every weight in the sin which does so easily beset us. Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

So there’s a race, but as we begin to run this race, we don’t know everything. There’s so much we don’t understand. There’s so many weights that we have that we don’t know that they’re weights. And sometimes people try to spend their life trying to get everybody to straighten up their life and get rid of all these problems. Start running, start doing what God wants you to do and you’ll find out there’s a lot of things that, well, you know, I don’t have time for that anymore.

I don’t have time for that anymore. And you begin to clean up your own life. But without doing so, it becomes legalistic. You’re trying to get a person to clean up before they start running. Now you just start running. Start doing all the right things. you’ll find that you don’t have time for this or that and the other and it will greatly help you. But over the years I’ve got so many of them that I just went through one day and I put down the ones that I liked the best.

But the ones that I liked the best are the oldest. I’ve had them for about 45 years. They just mean a lot to me because at times in my life they’ve helped me. So anyway I just want share them with you tonight and you can take and get you another piece of paper and start adding to your own because you’ll hear things that will help you. Number one, courage is fear that says it’s prayers and goes ahead. Now we often hear about in the book of Joshua, you know, a Beav Strong and very courageous.

Well, if there’s no fear, there can be no courage. It means you go ahead and you do it in spite of the fear, but you’ve got to talk to the Lord. So courage is fear that says it’s prayers and you’re trusting the Lord and you go ahead and do what you’re supposed to do. Remember the Apostle Paul says he served the Lord in fear and trembling. So it wasn’t because he served the Lord with the absence of fear is that we have the fear.

When you study the book of Matthew in chapter 10 three times in that chapter he tells him fear not fear not fear not fear not fear not fear not what they say fear not what they do in fear not that you’re of no value or you’re not needed because you see that produces fear But if you have some courage, say your prayers, talk to the Lord and do it anyway. Number two, and this should really hit you upside to head, a Christian can’t waste time without effect in eternity.

That affects eternity because the time that you spend right now, if you serve the Lord, God’s going to reward you right in eternity. So if you don’t serve the Lord, He’s not going to reward you in eternity. Now you’ll be there because you trust Christ the Savior. But isn’t it true that the things you do in this life is affecting eternity? So how do you want to affect eternity? Do you want to have forever and ever and ever all that you could have had because you did all that you could have done?

So live now the way you’ll wish you had lived when you get to eternity. So just pretend we’re an eternity. Now how are you going to wish you had lived? What do you think you wish you had done? Go ahead and do it now. Don’t that make sense? That makes so much sense. The next statement, number three, what really counts is that which you send ahead and not what you leave behind. Because when you leave this whole world, how much you gonna leave behind?

Everything. So it’s what you send on ahead. So that’s why he says, serve the Lord now and lay up treasures in heaven. And then he talks about and their reward follows them. works shall follow them. Because see, we have to wait until eternity to see the effects. Of our whole life. Because if I died right now, that’s not the end of my effects in this life. There’s seeds that I have sown. There’s people that I have influenced that can influence somebody else and somebody else.

And if I don’t serve the Lord, there’s people that I’m going to influence that will influence somebody else. So therefore, God said, when you get to heaven, he’s going to reward you for what you have done, but your work, there’s still things that are not done yet. There’s people’s lives. Revisited. doesn’t going to be effective because of what you did. And that’s why this part of your life is very, very important. Look at number four, how much of your life is activity and how much is productivity?

Can you be active and not very productive? You can work yourself to death and never accomplish anything. So it’s just like this. You can get a working knowledge of the Bible or you can know the Bible, but it doesn’t work for you. So you want to learn verses that can help you do the work of the ministry. So there’s salvation verses that you’ll learn because you can use those. And then there’s the Christian life. There’s things to keep you strong.

And there’s Christians that are stumbling and need some help and spiritual guidance. So you learn verses so that you can help them. But just to say, well, I’ve been to the Bible a hundred times, I know, but does it work for you? Do you have a working knowledge? Knowledge that works because that’s what it’s all about anyway. Look at the next statement. Number five, a light shines the brightest in the darkest places. Do you ever have in your Christian life, times when it seems like it’s so dark, like God doesn’t turn off all the lights and you can’t see out any windows, doors are locked and the four walls are closing in on you.

And the ceiling is like brass. But you don’t know if he can hear me or not, and you can get so alone, so lonely, and you wonder whether or not it’s worth living. A light shines the brightest when it’s the darkest. So what do you do? Let your little light shine. You ever let your little light shine? Well, you know, holding a candle in the middle of the day at 12 o’clock is not gonna be too bright. When everything’s going good.

That light will shine brighter when it gets darker, And you can see it better. So sometimes God is going to put you in spots and places and with people that it seemed like it’s just so dark and that’s the time for you to shine. Now we were talking about last night in our class. Some people believe that God has called them to be the, well you know there’s some people who like to be the avenging angel, you know, God’s avenging angel.

They’re going to get even with everybody who has ever done anybody else wrong. God has called them to do that. But some people believe that God wants them to take those who do wrong and expose them. And the way you expose them is you blow out their light. You have to destroy their character and turn out their light because when you blow out everybody else’s light, you’re a science brighter. Or does it? If I have a candle and you’ve got a candle and I blow your candle out does mine shine brighter?———————————————— No, it’s just the same as it was.

But when you sow a wind, you’re going to probably reap a whirlwind. So you’re going to do a lot of damage. So be very, very careful. Look at number seven, a light that shines, the farther it shines, the brightest at home. Where should your biggest impact be at home? In other words, that’s where you are supposed to be, the most real. Did you know home is supposed to be a little bit about like what heaven is supposed to be like?

You know, the peace, the tranquility, You know, the confidence and safety, security, home is supposed to be a little bit like heaven. Would you say that’s about the way it is? Well, you know what you’ve got to work on, huh? But the light that shines the brightest shines the brightest at home. So don’t forget, shine where you are. Number eight, it is easy to get the notes of the teacher and to the notes of the students and not get into the minds of either one.

Is that possible? Okay, I got all my notes. I give them to the student, now the teacher’s student’s got all my notes and neither one’s know anything. You wanna get them into your mind where whatever you’re learning, you can use it. And not just, I can walk into my office, see all those books. What’s all there? What’s in them? I don’t know. All those books in the other room? Watch them box the books. Well, there’s a lot of things that I’ve read.

and forgot, but you’re trying to get information into here so that it serves you well. Now you can read and study for the rest of your life. Some people are forever sharpening an axe and never cut down a tree. They spend all their life in colleges and seminaries or cemeterias, wherever, and they’re sharpening next forever, but never cut down a trick. Never do anything with it. There’s people who go on the Bible college and all of that, for 10, 15, 20 years, and still never do anything.

But they’re highly educated and get all the degrees after their name. You’re better off if you don’t have any degrees at all, but at least you’re doing the work of the ministry. I like number nine. Number nine, there are two ways to get to the top of a tree. You can set on an acorn or you can climb the oak tree. Now one’s going to take effort. Now which one do you think will help you get to the top of the tree faster?

You can set on an acorn and I’m just waiting on the Lord and you never do anything. You don’t study, you don’t prepare, but you expect to be greatly used and you’re just waiting for that day. No, by reason of use you become mature. You grow by reason of use. Start doing what you’re supposed to do and you’ll be surprised how fast you will grow. And you want to be like an oak tree, not like a pine tree, but an oak tree.

Number 10, the worst thing that can happen to you is to miss God’s will for your life. Now I think about that all the time. The worst thing that can happen to me is to miss the will of God for my life. I mean, me getting sick, that’s not the worst thing. I mean, losing money, that’s not the worst thing. The worst thing is if I miss the will of God for my life, because there’s a lot of things going to happen.

But I can always do the will of God regardless of what happens. It doesn’t matter what happens to you in life. In the midst of anything, trial, tribulations, temptation, you can still do the will of God. Yes or no? You can always do the will of God. Not doing the will of God will be your choice, but you can always do the will of God under every circumstances. You just got to find out what it is. Sometimes it’s to be patient.

Sometimes you don’t do anything. And so what do you do when you don’t know what to do? Just trust the Lord. Just trust the Lord. Wait, be patient, but trust Him. Look at the next statement. In number 11, this is so important, God’s leading is never contrary to his word. You see I’m just going to let the Lord lead and guide me. I know but it never leads you contrary to the book. So that’s why if you want to know the will of God then you know the Word of God.

So it’s the will of God to know the Word of God so you know the will of God. Don’t that make sense? It is the will of God to know the Word of God so you can know the will of God. So that’s why you got to study the Word of God. How will all shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed according to thy word. What book in the Bible is that found? The Psalms. A number?

There’s a whole bunch of them in there. 119. What about the entrance of thy word? Give us light. Thy word is the lamp unto my feet and the light unto my path. Where is that? Deuteronomy? Psalms? Okay. Now look at number 12. This is the one that had really helped me an awful lot because when I was going to Bible school, man, I was fit to be tied. If I knew how to get out of there, I would have, it’s just like if Abraham had known how to return from where he came, he would have, it says.

He was. I mean, there was time, I guess, in the man’s life, if I knew how to get home, but he didn’t know what he came, you know, he didn’t know, because Lord had led him. And I think it’s good sometimes that you burn some bridges behind you so you can’t go back. But But the will of God will not lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you. If God leads you to do something, do you think God’s going to lead you hanging, stranded in no way if God leads you into something, God will take care of it.

Just keep trusting Him. Look at the next statement. Number 13, let God steer the car. Keep your foot on the gas pedal. Now you’ve heard me say this before, a lot of people are doctrinally correct. on the right road, headed in the right direction, but no gas in the car. They’re not motivated. And people can do that in every stage of your Christian life. You know the right thing. You’re in the right place, but you’re just not doing anything.

So you want to always stay busy, always stay doing what God wants you to do and keep those things in your mind. Number 14, God wants men who will get the job done, not the ones who explain why they didn’t do it. One of these days. We’re going to have to count to the Lord for what we’ve done with this beautiful time that God gave us in this wonderful world. There’s things that God wants us to do. So we can either get the job done or tell them why we didn’t do it.

Do you really want to stand before the Lord and when he says, you know, that God is going to hold us accountable and we know that he has put us in trust with the gospel even so we speak not as pleasing men but God which trot our heart. We know one day we’re going to have to give a count of himself, as the Bible says in Romans in chapter 14. And then he’s going to ask you, did you get the job done?

He said, well, what job? You know, I left you down there for 30 years. You’re supposed to pick some fruit. So, do you have any fruit? Well, I didn’t have time. You realize I had to sleep a lot. You know, that’s a third of my life. Then I had to work. There’s another third of my life. And then I had to have some time for myself. So, I mean, you’ve got to understand that, Lord. And, Lord says, yes, I understand.

Isn’t that going to be wonderful? We may be ashamed before Him and His coming. Look at number 15, if I were God. Now, this is a great statement. If I was God, what I hired me. me. If you was God, would you hire you to do his work? Think of what he once done. Are you worth paying for? Remember, isn’t there a verse somewhere in the Bible that says that if we reap the harvest that we receive with wages?

Where’s that in the Bible? John chapter four. Anybody want to read that verse out loud? John chapter four, what does it say? Read it out loud. All of you Bible college students in here, nobody can find the verse. It’s not in the Bible. Evidently it’s been cut out. Verse 36, and he didn’t receive his wages and gather through them of life eternal, of both he and so forth. So the thing that we’re reaping are those people that will live forever, they will have eternal life, eternal fruit, and he’s going to pay you wages.

Now the time that you had spent here in this life, are you worth what he was going to pay you? Or when you see the Lord, do you have to go up to him like this? Or can you look him in the eye and say, Lord, thank you so much? And you reaped, you want people to cry. You did whatever God wanted you to do, you did it. Now, sometimes I’ve had people ask me to say, what keeps you on track after all these years, this stuff?

Thinking like this, you gotta think like this. You can’t think another way and stay strong and stay faithful, you’ve got to learn how to think because thinking is the key. Satan was gonna defeat you right up there. All success and all your failures begin in the mind. So that’s why it’s so important to understand that. Look at the next statement. The Lord’s approval is worth the sarcasm of your friends. Do you believe that? Out of everything in life, the Lord’s approval is better than anything else in the whole world.

Regardless of people, whether they’re for you or against you, they approve or disapprove. You better do what you believe God wants you to do because you want to be approved by the Lord. That’s what Paul was talking about in chapter nine when he says about being set aside rejected, disapproved, not for salvation, but because he didn’t run the race according to the rule because he wanted to, he said, if you’re shivin’ for the master, you’re self-dissipline in every area, but you’ve got to play by the rules.

There’s things that God says to doom. Look at the next statement. Number 17, give eternal issues proper priorities. Now in Matthew in chapter 6, it talks about seeking first these things and all these other things will be added unto you, the kingdom of God and the righteousness of God. You seek those things that God wants you to do and all these other things will be added to you, but you have to get your priorities right. Put God first in everything that you do.

Look at the next statement, number 18, only in the dictionary does success come before work. You see success starts with an and work starts with the W. Success is first in the dictionary, but in real life you got to do the work. Do you reap before you sow? Are you sure? You want to make a phone call?

You have to sow. Then you reap. You do the work and then you get paid. Next statement number 19, we are sent to be spent. Sent to be spent. Now, you are in the hands of God like money, and God is spending some of your money. Now, let’s say God said, okay, you have been given 70 years of life to live, and you are God’s money. So when God spends some money, what’s He getting in return? You see, you’re the one for the Lord that is spending God’s money.

spending this time that God gave to you and it’s very valuable. And the thing is, is you don’t know how much money you have. You don’t know if you’re going to get seven of years, do you? Some people will get 80 years. Some of y’all are greedy. Some are going to get close to 90. But you really never know how much money you’re going to have to spend. How many days do you have to spend? So God is going to, I want some return for the money.

I gave you life, you’re to spend, and I want something in return. Or did you spend all this time in God’s money on the things of the world and you have nothing to show for what you have done? Now won’t that be terrible? That will be terrible. But 2nd Corinthians chapter 12, verse 15, where Paul is talking about the more I love you, the less I be loved. So it is important to keep that in mind. Look at number 20, don’t reject in the dark what God gives you in the light.

God teaches you some things. And you say, I believe that. And you learn some other truth. Oh, I believe that. You learn a verse in the Bible. I believe that I can do all things through Christ with strength in me. And then when he gets dark, don’t question in the dark what God gave you in the light. That’s the time to really say, do you really believe it? Can you really trust the Lord? See, the devil wants to go around and turn off all your lights.

Because he knows you’ll worry, because you won’t see how God’s going to do it. None of us know how much time we’ve got left in our life. We don’t know what the next day holds for us. And some people are gonna find out they’ve got maybe this disease, or they got this and that and the other. All their wealth can be gone just like that. I mean, this is a scary time, and it’s a world in which to live.

There’s people that’s got money in the stock markets and then Saint Markham and they lose a lot. And so it’s very dark for some people, but you still kind of show it as your trust in the Lord, put your trust in Him. Look at number 21, don’t get too busy polishing your armor and never sharpen your sword. Now what is the sword for the Christian? Where does it say that in Hebrews? Chapter 4, verse 12. Anybody quote it? For the word of God is…

You have a sword, a quick and powerful sword, but then any doing, or if there’s anything you’ve been dividing up under, so I’ll let him tear it. Well, we… Well, we might have got it out there. I think we got three words from over here, five words from over here, ten words from back here. But it is a beautiful portion of Scripture. The word of God is sharper than in two-edged sword. And so that’s what we have. And so as we have down here, don’t get too busy polishing your armor.

You know, trying to look good. It’s like a person who wants to have beautiful foliage on the tree. Oh, what a beautiful tree. Look at that trunk. Look at those limbs. Look at those leaves. Yeah, but there’s any fruit there. No, there’s no fruit on it, but look at the foliage. Look at that Christian. Boy, he’s beautiful. I mean, he just got everything right. What a beautiful testimony. But does he serve God? No, no, he doesn’t do that. Does he witness?

No, he doesn’t do that. So you see, when Christ came along and he saw a fig tree and he says, where’s the fruit from his tree? And you know, there’s no fruit. He said, then it withered. And some people complained about that. Did you see what he did? And some people get mad at what Jesus did. I wouldn’t get mad at the man who just made a tree wither. You’re like, if he did that tree what he could do to you?

I mean, some of those guys were nuts. 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, believe in that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.