This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Bibleline Bibleline, here got to word on Bibleline, here got 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.

You and I can plant and water, but can you save a soul? You can’t save anybody. I’ve had some kids get up and they get up and rain. So they’re like, oh, what a thing. You’re saving me. I know, I didn’t save you. We gave you the gospel. It’s the Lord that you trust the Lord is your savior. So you understand that. But whenever you’re in a work together, we are laborers, T-Dine verse nine, we are laborers together with who?

You’re working with the Lord. And you’re carrying his joke. And if he has his head in that one, and yours another, you just let him do the pull and you just enjoy the ride. Just faithfully do what God asked you to do. And then he says here in verse seven, now he that planted and he that water for one. And every man shall receive his own reward according to the dawn labor. So you are to labor for the Lord, but you’re supposed to enjoy doing what God wants you to do.

Now, we don’t always walk around with a smiley face on our face. I know there’s some when it’s hard, difficult, and there’s a lot of stress. And so those times will come. Look at number five, number five. To carry worry to bed is to sleep with a pack on your back. I’ve used this illustration before. Here’s a person up, you know, they walk in here and they got a backpack. You ought to see some of these colors because they walk around like, you know, their muslims with explosives in the back.

But if you came to church and you got all these birds, all these problems and you come down here and say, I’m gonna give the Lord all my problems. And so you dump that backpack down there and oh, that feels so much better. I just cast all my cares upon the Lord. Feel so much better. Then you get up and put the backpack on and walk back out with it. You ever heard that little song take your burdens to the Lord, do what?

And leave it there. And some people don’t leave it there. I had a person tell me one time says, I just don’t know if God will forgive me. I said, all you got to do is just mention it to him. He said, I done done it a thousand times. I said, that’s 999 times too many. Once. And so some people just don’t learn to leave it with the Lord. And so they worry, worry, worry. And like I said the last time, if God never slumbers and sleeps, there’s no sense both of us in awake all night long.

And never think that your problems are too big, God can’t solve, or too little, that you don’t embarrass him by giving him something so little to do. I mean, God’s busy, God’s so busy, you don’t have time. You cast all your cares upon the Lord. But look at number six. Number six, this is maturity. to be able to stick with a job until it is finished, to be able to hear an injustice without wanting to get even, and to do one’s duty without being supervised.

Now in 2 Timothy in chapter three, when he talks about that from a child, that has known the Holy Scriptures, that are able to make thee wise in the salvation, and they’re all scriptures given by inspiration of God, that the man of God can be thoroughly furnished under every good work. So God wants a child to become a man. That means you can handle spiritual responsibilities. So look at the statement again. To be able to stick with the job till it’s finished.

Finish what you start. You do something, commit yourself, get it done. To be able to bear an injustice without wanting to get even. Not everything is going to be fair in life. Unless you get all the Democrats to make everything equality and level that play and feel. Everything has to be fair. Life is not fair and God doesn’t mean for it to be fair. God wants to give every man rewards according to his labor and God wants to bless the man here and he reaches what he sows.

So it’s not fair compared to what somebody else has or don’t have. You just do what you can do with what you’re supposed to and let God take you the rest of it. But we’re always trying to make people, you know, bend to my will and take care of me. No, it’s not what God’s worth talking about. Look at number seven. How men treat us will make little difference when we know we have God’s approval. John chapter 8 and verse 29 where Jesus says, I do always those things that please my Father.

I do always those things that please Him. So that’s what He was about. So men treat us with little difference when we know we have God’s approval or how men treat us. Is it more important in your life that you become a people pleaser or a God pleaser. Isn’t there a verse somewhere in the Bible that talks about do we now seek to please God or men? Look at the verse because it’s so important. Look in Galatians in chapter 1, the book of Galatians in chapter 1.

He’s already said there in verse 6, I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you unto the grace of Christ which is not the the gospel, but they want to change the gospel and they trouble you and they worry you and they pervert the gospel in verse 7. Then he says down here in verse 9, as we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel than you than that you have received, let him be a curse.

In other words, there’s only one gospel on how to get a man to heaven. All people have been saved by grace and grace alone. Nobody gets to heaven by their goodness. Nobody earns their way to heaven. It is the free gift. And so he says, as he talked to them, because now some legalists at Judaism come down from Jerusalem and taken these people that Paul led to the Lord and infiltrated and started trying to get them back under the law and he says, where’s this joy that you used to have?

And so he says in verse 10, do I now persuade men or God or do I seek to please men? For if I yet please men, I should not be the servant of Christ. That’s a very important point. You have to make up your mind as a child of God, not to get to heaven. Either you are going to seek to please God or please man. If you seek to please man, then you will have your reward from man.

And they will give you the praise and the honor and the glory and it’s all temporary until you mess them up. But if you seek to please God, you’ll have to wait until you get there and God is going to reward you richly, greatly. So he says it’s important, I should not be the servant of Christ if I seek to be a pleaser of men. And Jesus says I do always those things that please my Father. So it’s a good thing to keep in mind and try to do put the Lord first.

Look at number eight, great victories come not through ease but by fighting valiantly and meeting hardships bravely. So turn to Second Timothy. This is a good scripture to look at. Remember the other night I made a statement about is two ways to get to the top of an oak tree. One, you can set on an acorn and two, you can climb the tree. Now one will take a little work, but the other one doesn’t take any work at all.

All you got is a set on an acorn. Now, Which way do you think you’ll get to the top of Oak Tree faster? And where in the Bible, or I should say, doesn’t in the Bible work, come before success, or success come before work? See, a lot of people, they want success, but they don’t do the work they get it. They want a six foot splash in a six-inch muck puddle. They want to wear the metals, but they don’t want the battles.

So you want the victories, then you’re going to have to have a war. You’re going to have to fight. But you notice in 2 Timothy and chapter 2, these two verses I want you to look at. When he says in verse 3, thou therefore endure hardness. As what? As a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Now God could take away the hardness and just let it be easy, but that’s not what He said. Endure hardness as a good soldier. And verse 4, no man that warred and tangled himself with the affairs of this life.

The reason some people can’t serve God because they don’t have any time. They’ve committed all their time to doing whatever they want to do. And when I get to heaven and stand before the Lord and God says, it’s time to give a count. Now why didn’t you serve me like well Lord I didn’t have any time. Do you realize how much I had to do? And it won’t matter what you say. God’s the one that knows how much time He gave you.

You made choices. And you’re the one that you can load your life down with things that won’t amount to a hillabeanes a hundred years from now. Or you can put God first, so He says, no man that worth and tangle himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who have chosen him to be a soldier. him to be a soldier. So God’s chosen us to be a soldier. And we are the one that decides whether or not we’re going to endure a hardness or we’re going to seek to please the Lord or we’re going to be coming tangled with this world that we can’t do God’s work.

This is what you have to do. Look at number nine, a smooth sea never made a skillful sailor. See, you want to be skillful or didn’t you have to have some storms of life? And so the scripture here is well, tribulation work with what? Patience. Patience is a great quality that God wants us to have in our life. So God is able to use the tribulations of life to produce something in our life. So God is going to allow you, insist upon you, to have tribulations.

And that’s why he says, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations. Somebody told me one day says, a diver’s temptation. I said, well, I could give you what I believe it is. And they said, you don’t know what it is? I said, yeah, I know what it is. It says it’s mermaids. I said, what? Diver’s temptations is mermaids. Now, I had never thought about that. All of a sudden that, now, whenever I read that scripture, every time I say those words, I think of that.

And you will, from now on for the rest of your natural life, you’re gonna know that’s what it’s talking about but that’s not what it’s talking about. Different trials, different testing, different hardships is what God uses to build us strong and God wants you to be strong. Look at number 10, making excuses doesn’t change truth. Don’t lessen the lesson. Now that’s really the title of this, don’t lessen the lesson. There’s times when I’m sure that God has sent me a trial and I did not learn the lesson that I should learn.

There’s things that you go through, there’s people that comes into your life. And we can all learn lessons, but sometimes we probably go through things and don’t learn lessons. We’ve often said this. Some people live and learn, and some people live and never learn. They never learn the lessons that God has from them. So don’t cheapen your experiences. Don’t cheapen your lessons. First thing that happens sometime in a person’s life, when something seems to go wrong, is Lord, get me out of this.

Deliver me. Solve this problem because we don’t want to go through them. We automatically, first thing we do is pray to God, get me out of this thing. Don’t let it be bad. And so we cheapen the lesson that God has for us, because we don’t want to pay a price to learn the lesson. And so we were read a run or hide or rebel, curse God, but there’s lessons to learn. So don’t lessen the lesson, the quality of the lesson.

So God knows that you need this and you need this, learn it, learn lessons and do it cheerfully, be grudgingly and you’ll find that it’ll be a great blessing to you. Look at the next statement. Number 11, God sometimes washes the eyes of His children with tears that we may read or write His providence and His commandments. Proverbs 56 verse 8 says this, Thou tell us my wonderings, put thou my tears into thy bottle. Are they not in thy book?

Do you believe, like most people say, when something seems to go wrong, well God keeps the books. God keeps the books. You ever hear anybody say that? God keeps the books. He does keep the books. And if he puts my tears in a bottle, it’s like he’s writing it in a book. And God remembers the hurts that I’ve gone through, the pains that you’ve gone through. You see, there’s things that you’ve suffered for the Lord. God said he’s going to reward you when you get to heaven.

But you’ve got to trust him. And don’t be grudged God the time that he needs to teach you. Don’t be grudged God the time that he needs to train you. Because he’s the only one that knows what he’s trying to make out of your life. I told college kids one time, I’ve never done it myself. I’ve never baked anything. I’m amazed at those people who learn how to cook. I think it’s awesome that people can take all this junk, throw it together and they taste so good.

So, now I can boil water. I have made a bowl of oatmeal one time, but not very often, and sometimes it comes out right, but not very often. I just soon take some milk and put in some cherry-yos and then that’s a lot easier. But that’s about the extent of my cooking ability. But if I was to offer you a mouthful of bacon soda, you probably went like that, would you? What if I gave you a big old mouthful of flour?

Mouthful of lard, mouthful of salt. I mean, would that taste good? No. But yet a woman can take the right amount of all these ingredients and put them together and make a cake. But she got to know just how much to take. Now my mama said, I’ll just pinch of this and the pinch of that. And I thought, I ain’t seen all your measures. I’m sure the food. I mean there’s no reposseeds, but it’s good. It’s good. Now God is the only one that knows what he’s trying to make in your life.

So he says that tomorrow I’m going to give you a big ol’ mouthful of lard. And the next day I’m going to give you a mouthful of bacon soda. And then the next day I might just give you some salt. Now all of those ingredients by themselves are not good but that’s why we’re supposed to believe that all things work together for good because God has a purpose. So you don’t just think about that one bad experience and that one bad experience and if you live long enough you’ll look back and you’ll see how God took all those things and made you stronger, made you wiser, taught you great lessons in order to produce this little jewel that he wants down the road.

So don’t you begrudge God by telling God what ingredients to put into your life or what to leave out? Can you trust Him? Can you trust the Lord to do the right thing? All All you need to do is whatever, Lord, whatever you want. I’m yours. Do whatever you please. Teach me whatever lesson I need to learn. And you just faithfully and cheerfully learn it. But you’d be surprised how much more we could learn and stronger we could be and more we could accomplish if we didn’t resist God’s soul.

Is it possible for a child of God to resist the will of God? I think you know the answer to that. So look at number 12. Anytime a man takes a stand there will come a time when he’ll be tested to see how firm his feet are planted. You can say, I’m gonna take a stand. Okay God’s gonna see how firm will your feet are planted. Do you know the word enough that your roots, your faith goes deep down into the verses of the Word of God?

And these are like rocks and your faith wraps around this verse and your faith wraps around this verse. Picture your toes going down into the ground and wrapping around these big stones and rocks and so forth like that and you can hold you firm. Now some people they’re they’re faithful only skin deep and when common and they’re just uprooted there’s no stability there and so you need something that will hold you on course and that’s why you need to study the Word of God all the time, all the time.

Look at number 13. Troubles are often the tools by which God fashions us for better things. Think about that now. Troubles are often the tools by which God fashions us for better things. Always believe that God is going to do something better with me tomorrow. That hope, that drive, because you anticipate that you’re not wasting your life and your life is not in vain and God has a purpose for you and if you have a pulse you have a purpose for living and so you learn how to depend upon the Lord and so you know that God is not interested in wasting your life so God is not going to waste your life then he doesn’t want to waste your time and that’s why you don’t want to labor in vain believe in vain you find out what is the will of God and do it

and believe that God has something special for you. Now there’s three little things here. They rhyme. I like them. Good timber does not grow in ease. The stronger So when? The stronger the trees. The farther the sky, the greater length. The more the storms, the more the strength. By the sun and cold, by rain and snow. In tree or man, good timber grows. You ever heard somebody say, you know, he’s, he’s got some good timber there. He has a backbone.

He’s strong. He can do this in all the compliments and so forth. Yeah. isn’t there a verse somewhere in the Bible that talks about, he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. Where is that verse found? Psalms chapter 1, take your Bible and look in Psalms 1. You will be like a tree, a tree, good solid growing tree because it’s planted by the rivers of water. Look what he says in verse 1. The first Psalm, blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor siteth in the seat of the scornful.

Blessed, in another good word you can use for blessed is happy. Happy is the man that doesn’t do these things because he’s committed to the Lord. So he says here in verse two. So blessed are happy as this man, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law does he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither him and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

In other words, you want to grow to be a good strong tree. You want to have good foliage but you want fruit on the tree. And so this is why that is so important. Now look at number 14. It is easier to be critical than correct. Anybody can criticize. What you have to sometimes watch is don’t always see everything with a critical eye. Don’t pick people apart. Cut them a little slack, let them air a little bit and don’t try to nail somebody just because you know they did something wrong.

Let people breathe a little bit. All of us are people with flaws. True? We all have flaws. So you already know that. Everybody that’s wrong. You don’t have to face everybody. You don’t have to make them back down. You don’t have to prove them wrong and prove you right. What be the motive? Sometimes, like I said, we want to blow out somebody’s little light because that’ll make my light shine brighter. And some people always just want to try to find dirt.

I see dirt. I say you do that. Don’t do stuff like that. Let people breathe a little bit. Cut them a little slack. It’s also called being a little kind, be generous in love and forgiveness and try to encourage people. They have enough to the other anyway. Look at number 15, the same furnace that liquefies gold-hardens clay. First Peter chapter 1, verse 6 and 7 talks about the trial of your faith. Been much more precious in gold and silver though it would be tried with fire.

He found on the praise, honor, and glory at the appearance of Jesus Christ. Your faith is on trial. Believe it. And God is going to put you in the furnace because He wants to burn out all the things and that gold, silver, and precious stone. You know, you’re just a little precious jewel in God’s hands. He wants to purify you, make you cleaner, a better vessel. And the Bible says that if we would purify ourselves, then we would be a vessel unto honor.

And I know that that’s what you want. But don’t lessen the lesson. Don’t try to shortchange God. Let God have the time that He needs to bring you into something and through something. Don’t try to run from problems. things that you’ve got. Be responsible, be faithful, be diligent, and those things will serve you well all the days of your life. Now look up here. This hand represents you and me. This wallet represents sin. We all have sin upon us.

God says that He loves us, but He hates our sin, but He loves us. And He says, to pay for this sin is eternal separation from the Lord in in hell. But God loves us and wants us to go to heaven and to go to heaven you have to be perfect as righteous as God. And none of us are perfect, none of us are righteous. So we’ve all sinned. So we’re all condemned. And we can’t save ourselves because if we could…

Christ would have never had to die. If I could save myself, I wouldn’t need a Savior. But since God says nobody can save himself with man, it’s impossible. So there are no good people. We’ve all sinned and come short of God’s perfection. So there’s not a good heaven we can go to. There’s a perfect one and we can’t even get into a good one if it was a good one. We’re sinners and we can’t save ourselves. And this hand represents Jesus Christ.

He’s the Lord God in the flesh. He came into this world because He loves us and I hate our sin because our sin separates us from Him. So Jesus Christ who had no sin to have to die. So He took all the sin of all the world and paid for it on the cross came back from the dead. And He says the only thing we have to do, it’s the only thing we can do, is what we believe that He did it for us.

If I believe If he did it for me, he puts this payment to my account. Now I’ve got a payment for all of my sins. I can’t go to hell because I don’t have any sins to pay for it. Why? He paid for all my sins. If you believe it, this payment’s put to your account. Now, you don’t have to go to hell. Why? Because you’ve got a payment for your sins. That’s how you can know that you’re going to heaven because you know you can’t go to hell.

So this is why eternal life is the gift of God. It’s not a works list to any man should boast. Let’s pray, shall we? with his bow and eyes closed, no one looking around. If you’re watching by internet tonight, or if you’re in the auditorium, if you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, there’s only one thing you need to do. Admit to God you’re a sinner. He knows it anyway, but you need to know it, and you need to admit it.

And you can’t save yourself. You’re a good work, can’t get you to heaven. This church can’t save you, no church can. This preacher can’t save you, but then no preacher can. That’s why you need to save him. There’s only one and that’s Jesus Christ. So if you will accept him as your savior, trust him right now. He will give you as a freak gift, everlasting life. So if you have never trusted the Lord, would you do it right now?

We’ll hit by a nice close, no one looking around. Is there anyone else that made sense to me? And I will trust Christ tonight as my savior. And if you’ll trust him, he will save you. I’m not gonna have you forward, not getting embarrassed, but right where you’re sitting. You say, yes, that made sense. And I’ll trust Christ as my Savior, and I’d like you to pray for me. Would you just slip your hand very quickly, put a rabbit down and say, well, it all.

And what it all. If you’re watching by internet, right on the screen, yes, I’ll trust Christ as my Savior, just click it on. Let’s us know that somebody heard and understood and trusted the Lord. Father, we thank you again for your blessings. Thank you for all you do for us. We thank you Lord for these prayer requests that we’ve mentioned. We ask now your blessings upon ranch tomorrow night and the Friday nights so winning. You’ll be good to us and we thank you for it.

Thank you for meeting our need. And thank you for tonight in Christ’s name, Amen. Are you a new listener to Bible Eye? 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, 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 4081 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634.

And now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. One day it will happen. The trumpet will sound and we will be changed. Tada can meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day. Believe in that the Lord is coming soon. Just keep looking up.