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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 BibleInemistries.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.

your Bible to the book of 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter, oh, what’s a good chapter. 4, I just covered chapter 4. Chapter 5, we are now in chapter 5. And it’s been wonderful just kind of skimming through the book, just hitting the highlights. Can’t go too deep. 1 Peter chapter 5, 1 Peter chapter 5, look there in verse 1. The elders which are among you I exhort who am also an elder and a witness of the sufferance of Christ and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed.

You see we have an exhortation of the elders and then we have an exhortation concerning those that are younger and we also have a challenge to be sober and to be vigilant. I want you to look down there in verse 8 where he says, be sober and be vigilant because you’re adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour. This is a good reason for the chapter because there’s a lion out there. There’s the devil out there and he’s seeking the sheep.

He wants to gobble up some sheep. Well now, do you think he’s talking about real sheep or is he talking about his children, talking about you and me? He’s talking about us. But there is something that he tells us in order to keep the flock from being devoured, he says, I want to challenge you, you elders. He said, I’m an elder also, but I want to exhort you, challenge your motives by you, because this is so important. So you notice there in verse 1, where it says, the elders, which are the leaders of the church, they’re like pastors of a church, they’re overseers.

You can also use the word bishop or Presbyterian. They’re all the leaders of a ministry. And so in some places, they were appointed by Paul. appointed, Simon, then he told him to go and appoint others in the book of Titus, because wherever you go you’ve got to have the flock needs a leader, the flock needs a pastor. And it’s so important because without a pastor the sheep will scatter. And when Dr. Hank Lindstrom passed away, if it had not been for a few shepherds here in the church like Dr.

Polson and Mr. Yant and a few others, Even James Taylor was greatly used in help. And these people help hold a flock together. So great things can be done. But there is always this risk that the devil is going to draw to do everything possible to destroy the shepherd. And Jesus mentioned this in the book of Matthew in chapter 9. Smite the shepherd, smite the shepherd, and the sheep will scatter. And the reason for the scattering the sheep is because they have less protection.

They’re just one one-all-one in the devil is a lion and the sheep can’t defend himself. So there’s scriptures that tells us how we’re supposed to deal with some of this in the situation. But what I want you to see, he says, I was an eyewitness. He says, we have not followed cunningly devised fables. He says, what we’re talking about is the truth. We know the truth. He says, I was there. I saw Jesus Christ. I saw Him crucified. I saw the sufferings of Christ.

And He also says, I was there at the amount of transfiguration when Jesus Christ. Was glorified, transfigured, right before his eyes. And he began to shine brighter than the noonday sun. Now, wouldn’t that have been something to have seen? Now, just hold your place right here, but just look there in Matthew and chapter 17. Matthew and chapter 17. It actually starts in chapter 16, but it kind of lets you know that Peter, who is now addressing us, talking to us, challenging us, motivating us, telling us about the devil.

Did you know that he had a little problem with the devil didn’t he? Didn’t Jesus say to him one time Satan get behind me? Satan half desired you Peter that he may sift you as weak. So he says here in this verse 23, but he turned and said unto Peter in chapter 16, get thee behind me Satan, thou art an offense unto me, for thou saver not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

Now all of that that he asked us to do is not to get to heaven. This is for discipleship. to be a follower, a learner of Christ. So if you want to follow Christ, then there’s places you can’t go because you’re going to follow Him. Well, He didn’t go that way. He went that way. I remember when I was down here with some Lee Patton’s kids, and I’m sitting near in the chair and they had gotten one of these little crowns off of from a burger king that said King Ralph, and they got one of those little hats and they told me to come sit down in this chair.

So I sit down in this chair. He says, you’re the king. I’ll play along, I’m the king. Then they got my crown and they put it on my head. And they pretended like I was King Ralph. Now I didn’t know anything about this commercial yet. So anyway, they pretend like I was the king and I had gotten the crown. And you find out the Lord had told Peter that he was going to sit on a throne and helping to judge the 12 tribes of Israel.

So he knew what was coming down the road, but he knew that he had failed the Lord and he knew the power of the devil and how he can lure you and get you sidetracked. And so he says here, this is not for salvation, how to get to heaven. This is to those who already know they’re going to heaven. God wants every oneÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ to serve him, to follow him. And then he says this in verse 25, for whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”

So if you live your life for yourself, do whatever you want to do. He says you wasted your life. You lost your purpose in life. God did not create you and I so that we can do our own thing and go our own way. That’s what a sheep does. All we like sheep have gone astray. But the Bible is talking about God says, if you want to save your life, then give it to me. Give your life to the Lord andconserv and then you will serve the purpose for what God intended.

So then he makes his statement in verse 26, for what is a man profited? If he shall gain the whole world, so we’re talking about profit in a Christian’s life. This is what the Lord had told Peter. Now Peter is, Lord, be holy, telling us that. He says, if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul or wastes his life, what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? This time that God’s given us to live our life.

See, the devil, he can’t get your soul because, see, that saved. But he can get your life and sometimes the word soul and life, spirit, all that breath, a lot of times used interchangeably, especially with the word spirit. But you’re talking about you have a life to live. If you live it for the Lord, then you’ll save your life. Rohinget will get the honor and the glory for it. If you don’t, you’ve wasted your life. So you can either have profit in your life, profit according to what God says, or you can waste your life.

So he says in verse 27, for the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his angels. Then he shall He’s not going to reward you now. So we’re talking about profit. Talking about you serving, carrying your cross, following, being rewarded, that’s not the gift of eternal life. Eternal life is a gift. It’s free. This is talking about you’re going to be rewarded. And then he says in verse 28, hear which shall not taste of death till they see the son of son of son of son in his kingdom.

Wouldn’t you like to be there? Wouldn’t you like to have been part of that? Well, Peter was. After all what he has just done. Chapter 17, verse one, and after six days, Jesus take a Peter James and John, his brother, and bring them up into a high mountain apart and was and was transfigured before them and his face did shine at the sun and his raiment was white as the light and behold there appeared into the Elijah talking with them and then Peter put his foot in his mouth again as the story goes but this is letting know he said I was an eyewitness and even when he was eyewitness of offerings remember that when Christ was crucified put on the cross gado.

And somebody says, hey, I seen you before. Aren’t you wondering his follower? No, no, no, no. He denied the Lord three times. And when Christ came back from the dead, he faced Peter and it says, do you love me Peter? Yes, I do. Three times he asked Peter to get love me. And each time he says, then feed machine, feed machine. So now we have here in 1 Peter where he’s You know, there’s a devil out there. That old devil is real.

And the devil is like a roaring lion, seeking him, whom heperial or. And so if you want to protect the flock, you have to do two things. He’s about the wolf, about the lion. But also you got accomp feed the flock. And if you only feed the flock, you’ll be fattened for the kill. Scient if you only warn the flock, then they’ll starve the death. So there has to be a balance of feeding and mourning. And this is what is going on.

Now, you’ll notice there in verse two, where it makes a statement, feed the flock of God, that word feed means to tend. And not just see it, they got some grass, but it means the protection of them, the watering of them, they leave me beside steel waters, and feeds them and so forth and protects them. You read the 23rd Psalm and you’ll see all of that. And all of that is included. Now, I want you to take your Bible-looking Matthew chapter 19 in verse 27, Matthew chapter 19.

And notice that there’s another incident where Jesus and Peter had a little conversation. Peter was like the spokesman for the group. He was always asking the questions. But he learned a lot. God used him. Notice what he says here in Matthew chapter 19 verse 27. He says, then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold we have forsaken all and followed thee. Just like he wanted us to do. We’ve done that. What shall we have there for? Isn’t that a good question to ask?

Well, what are you going to get out of this? If you serve the Lord, don’t you want to know what’s in it for me? Why should I do this? So some people don’t have to ask the question. They don’t care. They just want to do right because that’s what God wants to do. That’s good enough reason. There’s other people who know, what am I going to get? He said, I’m going to reward you. Oh…… Okay. Now what do you mean?

Look what he says. In verse 28, and Jesus said unto them, barely I say unto you that ye which have followed me in the regeneration, that means in the kingdom,levision instrum when the son of man shall sit in the throne of his gloryiddourney, that’s when he comes back in power and great glory. rient. not the rapture. When he comes back, he says, also shall sit upon 12th-thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel.itual. Isn’t that exciting? They’re going to be the 12 tribes.

You’re going to have 12th-thrones and you’re going to get the rule. Now, we don’t know to what extent. But God does say in the book of Revelation that we’re going to rule, we’re going to reign with Christ. So we’re going to be here. But what are we going to get to do? I don’t know. I don’t know what it is. But I just believe this, whatever it is, this has got to be worth it. And then He says in verse 20, and every one that have forsaken houses or brethren or sisters or fathers or mothers or wives or children or lands, for my name’s sake shall receive a hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life.

Now this is thing that He He says also not only in this life but in the age or the world which is to come which is referred to in other places. So there’s things that will happen. And in this world, talking about in this kingdom upon the earth, you’ll have it here. You will actually get to have this new body. You’re going to rule. You’re going to reign with Christ. But also there’s more to it down the road. Now when he says if you’ll leave everybody, that’s almost like in the book of Luke in chapter 14 when he says, if you will be my disciple, you must love the Lord more than mother and father and brother and sister.

He says, you got to hate them. But it doesn’t really mean you’ve got to hate them. It’s just that your love for the Lord has got to be stronger Then your love for anything else or your love for anything else will keep you from loving the Lord Supremely and so it’s the same thing with everything else that you have in life I had to make up my mind. I have to love the Lord more than I love my wife I have to love the Lord more than I love my mother more than I love my brother and my sisters I had to love the Lord.

Or I would not have done what I believe God wanted me to do. Because you’ll let the love of something, and if you could love the world, the love for the world can keep you from loving the Lord like you ought to, or sacrificing, or going through. So all those things are very, very important to do. When he says feed the flock of God, I think you ought to see a little bit about what the Lord meant by being a good shepherd.

So look there in Jeremiah chapter 3, the book of Jeremiah. That’s way back there in the Old Testament. Jeremiah chapter 3. Jeremiah chapter 3. And there’s a few verses here that talks a little bit about, well God talking to his shepherds, or his pastors, and what they were supposed to do, how God wanted them to be. But the Lord says, you know, my people, they’re ruined because the prophets, the priests, and the pastors, the princes, all failed to do the thing that God wanted them to do.

Very much so, in verse 15, and I will give you pastors according to mine heart which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. You ought to underline this in your Bible because it lets you have a little bit of an understanding of what is the pastor’s job. The pastor is the feed to help you to understand, giving you biblical knowledge. The pastor can’t make everyone do right. I wish they could, but it won’t work. The pastor is not to be a dictator.

He can’t use force. He has no weapons. All he has is the Word of God. And if that doesn’t do it, it can’t be done. Because you cannot manipulate people. You cannot be dishonest with people. You can’t be deceitful with people. You have to be honest and tell them the truth. And sometimes people don’t want to be the truth. So then you have to go to a church that would be just here nice things. But when you come here, I want to teach you the Bible, the good, bad and the indifferent, so that you know what God’s Word has to say.

So he goes through and he tells us all these things. He tells here special in Jeremiah that a lot of these people were backslidden, as you wouldn’t call backslidden. Some people have never gone far enough forward to backslide. So another scripture, I want you to you’re right there in Ezekiel 34. Look in Ezekiel chapter 34. He’s Ezekiel chapter 34 and look in verse 1 Ezekiel 34 and verse 1 he gives you a good idea of the shepherd and what he’s supposed to do, what he’s supposed to be like.

And notice in verse one, and the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophecy and say unto them, thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds. Woe to be the shepherds, woe be to the shepherd of Israel that do feed themselves, should not the shepherds feed the flock. That’s a good little statement should not the shepherds feed the flock. So when Peter says there in the book of 1 Peter in chapter 5, he said, I’m an elder.

I’m like a shepherd. He says, and let me exhort you, elders, feed the flock. Ten to the flock. That’s why we’re supposed to try to take care of all as best we possibly can. That’s when some of y’all go to the hospital, I’ll try to be at the hospital. when you’re gonna die on me. Do your funeral. And try to tend to you every way we know. And Sunday mornings, chances are, the pastor’s here. On Sunday night, the preacher’s here.

Wednesday night, preacher’s here. Now, is all the flock here though? No, so you can’t do some things with some of the flock because all the flock don’t show up when they need to be fed. Now I was one time on the road traveling speaking and this one guy he was gonna have me speak and so he had me speaking about 12 to 13 times in just a few days and I I says Can I just give you a word?

He said sure I? I said, my mama had six kids. I said, and so at breakfast time, she put one meal and put it on the table, and if you’re hungry, you’d be there to eat. I said, now what if my mama had got up and said, okay, civil, you eat at six o’clock in the morning? Little man, you can eat at seven o’clock. Okay, you eat at eight o’clock. Yank you, you eat at nine o’clock. Lizzie, 10 o’clock, and Lizzie, you eat 12 o’clock.

Now, my mama could keep herself busy all day long, couldn’t she? And feeding all these sheep, all those different times because that’s the way they want it. Or would you rather, my mama’s saying, we’re gonna fix the meal at seven o’clock, and if you’re hungry, you come and eat. Outside of that, you starve. and you’ll teach the people that let this one read. And it’s what we’re going to do. I’ve had people say, well, they want to have an extra little Bible study and then another little Bible study and they want to have it on Monday night and then Tuesday night and Thursday night and then Friday night and all the little Bible says, I said, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Whysembt you come when we already have a Bible study? You really want a Bible study? You really want a study of the Bible? Then we have one and you don’t come to that one. You don’t come to this one. You don’t come to that one. Wait a minute. You’re not going to run this shepherd crazy. The shepherd fixes the meal and he’s going to fix it here and I’m goingnatureconservancy feed you here andalys now if you want to eat this is where it comes from so that a man is not going to last forever.

And you have to learn how to pace yourself. You’re going to find out sometime sheep will scatter and they will turn on the. Have you ever seen sheep turn on a shepherd? You haven’t seen human sheep. You have to please them all the time, keep them all happy. And that’s an impossibility. But there’s some good statements that are mentioned here. And I want you to see them. Look in verse three. He says, you eat the fat and ye clothed you with wool.

You kill them that are fed, but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened. Neither have you healed that which was sick. Neither have you bound up that which was broken. Neither have you brought again that which was driven away. Neither have you sought that which was lost but with force and with cruelty have you ruled them.” So when you read that last part, he says in the book of 1 Peter and chapter 5, you’re not to do this begrudgingly but willingly.

You know, consider the sheep. You don’t try to kill them but you’re trying to help them, not being lords over them like a mean dictator because it won’t work. This is what God’s Word says you don’t do. So I try my best not to do this. Am I the perfect shepherd? Yes, no. There’s no perfect shepherd but that’s okay. There’s no perfect sheep. We all have a few little spots and blemises on our coats. And so He says they’re in verse five and they were scattered because there is no shepherd.

There’s no shepherd. And then he says, and they become meat to all the beast of the field when they were scattered. And this is why God doesn’t want this to be done. Notice he also makes a statement down here in verse 23. And I will set up one shepherd over them and he shall feed them even my servant David. The Lord talk about a time coming when God’s going to set up His servant David. And doing the kingdom, David’s going to be here.

And then He says in verse 24, and I, the Lord, will be their God in my servant David, he prints among them. And there’s going to be a covenant of peace. And down in verse 26, the last part of verse 26, there shall be showers of blessings. Have you ever heard that song? It goes like this. 1 2 3 the devil’s after me 4 5 6 he’s always throwing sticks 7 8 9 he misses every time hallelujah hallelujah amen you like that little course the little kids can learn that can’t you learn that little kids goes 1 2 3 the devil’s after me four five six he’s always going six seven eight nine he misses every time hallelujah hallelujah amen.

Did y’all do it? Did y’all do it? These little kids get it. Yeah, they get it. They can get it better than the adults can get it. But look what he says also in verse 31. He says, And ye my flock, the flock of my pastor are an underlined that word are men. And I am your God, sayeth the Lord God. So we know that we’re supposed to be good, good shepherds. And there’s a responsibility for the sheep. And so we try to teach them and lead them.

And the only way to kind of keep the old devil from getting the sheep is you’ve got to educate the sheep. You’ve got to teach the sheep. So when it says feed my sheep, tend to my sheep. And they’ve got to be fed. And that’s why he keeps saying you did not feed my sheep, you didn’t feed them. So God has given to us his word and he says, the shepherds are to feed you. Well, you can’t make the people come to be fed, but if you will come and you will be fed, I guarantee you, if you listen to what the word of God says and you come as often as you can, you will grow stronger and you’ll be able to fight the devil and the temptations of the world.

If you don’t, you won’t last. The devil will get you, he’ll get you, he’ll ruin your life. Now, go back to the book of 1 Peter chapter five and verse two. in verse two. I didn’t think we’re going to finish this chapter tonight. Well, maybe some other time. But look there in verse two. Feed the flock of God, not fleece the flock, feed the flock, which is among you. Now get this, take in the oversight. There is a duty, there is a desire, and there should be a delight.

Oversight were of not by constraint. Well, I have to do this, but it should be willingly, willingly. Not for filthy, local, but of a ready mind. In other words, serving the Lord shouldn’t be because well, I think yes, that’d be an easy way to make money. Boy, I mean, if you gotta have a job, you might as well just go ahead and become a preacher. All they do is preach on a Sunday morning one time and then they don’t do nothing the rest of the week.

Boy, that sounds like a easy gravy train. Try it. Go ahead. See how many people you please and then see how long it lasts. Now, God wants us to love Him and just like He asked Peter, do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? Then do this. You should do what you do because you love Him. 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, andpleted 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.

A 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.