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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 concluding message of this teaching will be a blessing to you and your family.

I want you to take this verse and look there in the book of 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians in chapter 3. Then look down there in verse 18. In verse 18, 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 18. Always look at these verses, don’t just take them for granted. And I’ll just listen good. Yeah, it’s good to look at the verse because you remember things a little bit better because you saw it. But we all, with open face, beholding as in the glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

And then in verse 17 where he talks about where the Lord is that Spirit, there is liberty. And so you want real liberty, it means to be free from the fear of death, free from the fear of the sinful nature, fear from a lot of things, because it gives you the liberty where you can serve the Lord. You see, when God saved does, He set us free. Now we’re free to serve. We don’t have to, but He wants to do because He loves us.

He wants us to love Him. So we serve the Lord. But I wrote down in my Bible a long time ago where it has from the same image from glory, and I put that back to the law, to glory, the glory of the Spirit. See, if there was glory in the law, when Moses came down from the mountain in his face glowed that he had to veil himself, then think of what God’s talking about when he’s talking about his children, that we are to be transfigured in this life, where people see the Lord through us.

Now we may not glow unless you live at Rocky Flats where we did out there in Colorado next to the nuclear power plant. And when you walk around at night time you could, you glow. No, not really. They always wondered about that and I used to wonder, you know, go to bed at night and light up the room. Now go back there to the book of Romans in chapter 12. In Romans chapter 12, when He makes a statement here, this is the word must be perfect.

If within the word you can find the perfect will. We often used a little bit of a statement in the Old Testament in the book of Ezekiel when it talks about God looked for a man to stand in the gap. So we would take the word gap, G-A-P. And we would go here to the book of Romans in chapter 12, verse 2, where God said He was looking for us to renew our mind that we may discover what is that good, G, and acceptable, and perfect, P, will of God.

So that whenever you do this and you study it and you transform your mind, you may have the tools that you need to stand in the gap because God is looking for those that will stand in the gap. See, here’s God and here’s people. God’s looking for somebody to represent Him. And while you and I are in this world, that’s what He wants us to do. We represent Him in this world. Now when it came to salvation and somebody paying for our sins, He says there is only one mediator between God and man, and that was the man Christ Jesus.

So He was the mediator who came down here and made peace with God and with man by taking that which separated us, which was our sins, and He took that and paid for it. Now we can have peace with God. So now after we’ve trusted Christ as our Savior, God wants us to shine forth as light in this present world. And this is what He wants us to do. When you get into this verse two, it says, be it transformed or transfigured by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Now, the perfect will of God, I believe that when all things that work, all the trials of testings with the conflict with people and the trials and test, everything that you go through can form an usher to the image of Christ. So the perfect will of God in this life for you and me is that God uses a lot of things, ministries, people, to mold us to be like Christ. And that’s why the older we get, the sweeter we’re supposed to get.

But there were times when Jesus was a very strong individual. And so trying to get this balance in your Christian life is very interesting. Have you ever had somebody, you just think you’re better than me. You’re just trying to be a holy Joe. And so you’ve got to go through the persecution and whatever they did to Christ they will do to you. Now look what he has here in verse three. Now he begins to talk to us about one main thing.

Now from verse three all the way down to verse eight, it’s kind of showing us the individual the individual growth in the Lord. And then from verse nine to the end of the chapter, now you’re talking about corporately as the body, with each other. But you see, you can’t do anything corporately until you can learn how to walk with the Lord yourself. You must learn how to stand between you and God. And as you study the scripture, it says, and Noah walk with God.

They walk with God. They walk with God. So you got to learn God’s Word to work on you so that you will know what God wants you as an individual to be. Now hold your place right here and just look here in chapter 10 of Romans. Chapter 10 of Romans and look what he says in verse 17. In verse 17. So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. one time I was talking to this Calvinist, he says, don’t you know that faith is the gift?

I said, okay. I says, is that a faith that God gives to the lost man in order to be saved? Yes. And he says, even in the book, the Bible talks about the gift of faith. He says, it’s in the Bible. I said, you mean in Corinthians when he talks about the gift? Yes, that’s where it’s at, gift of faith. I said, do you ever look at that and see, aren’t those gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to those who already believe?

How can you take that verse and apply it to the lost? I said, that’s gifts of the Holy Spirit to the body. People are already saved. Ooh, every once in a while I like to slap them gently. And then sometimes with a two before, right over the head. But I want you to see this. Faith come at my hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So God says that we’re to study His Word. And as we study the Word of God and as we believe the Word of God, our faith will grow.

So according to the measure of our faith, what you have attained to, what you can trust God for, what you can believe about what God’s Word says. Didn’t do it. do according to the Word. And you’ll find that many times in the gospel where Jesus says, be it unto you according to your faith, your faith. What you believe, what you want, what you trust God for. And so faith comes by here and hear him by the Word of God.

So this is why we want to teach the Word of God so people can hear the Word of God their faith can be increased because your service for the Lord is going to be in direct re-aishow to what you believe, your faith. So go back there to the book of Romans in chapter 12 verse 3, for I say through the grace given unto me to every man, see this is more of an individual thing on how you think and not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to, but realizing that in order for God to transform your life he has to transform the way you think.

So all success and all failures start and begin within the mind. Actions are born within the thoughts of your mind. So he says in verse 3, to every man that is among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. But to think soberly, being sound in his thoughts, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. But hasn’t the book of Romans told us where faith comes from? Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

So that’s how you renew your mind and it is God’s will that we do what we know where to do. Hold your place right here and look at this verse there in the book of Philippians, look in Philippians and chapter three. Philippians and chapter three, when the Lord tells us, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ. He says in verse 15, let us therefore as many as be perfect or mature, be thus minded.

See, growing in the Lord, making these decisions, choosing these things, as according to how you’re thinking. You’ve got to change the thinking of people. See, what’s wrong in America is that they’re voting in a sense for like a socialistic type of government where most people are, because that’s how they have been taught and trained in most of our colleges and universities. That’s just the result of their teaching. You want to change the way they think, then you’ve got to go back and re-educate them.

And so how long will that take? We’re in the heap of trouble, boy. Now, look what he says in Philippians in chapter 3. He says, and if in anything you be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. In other words, I believe that if you want to grow and to mature in the Lord, the Lord will let you learn the things that will help you to grow. But whenever your heart becomes hardened, you will no longer be able to see.

You will not mature and you’re going to be put on a shelf. But notice what he says in verse 16. Nevertheless, where to we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule. Let us mind the same thing. live according to the light you now have. It is the will of God for God’s children to obey the truth they already know. And when you start obeying that truth, God will give you more and more and more. And you’ll keep learning and growing in the knowledge and so forth.

And it will be a great blessing to you. Now go back to the book of Romans in chapter 12. So we’re talking about you as an individual because you’re not responsible for what everybody else doesn’t do, you have to grow strong yourself. Find out what does it take for you to grow in the Lord? What does it take for you? And be careful that you don’t lead somebody else in the wrong direction. Like some people say, you know, I don’t have to study the Bible.

you say that somebody else, oh, okay, well, I don’t need her. I don’t believe in going to church. I’m strong. I don’t have to go to church. Okay, somebody else says, well, you know, if you don’t have to go, I don’t need her. Somebody always picks up all these little cliches and we throw them out like nothing. The next thing you know, somebody’s life could be totally ruined because of it, because there’s people that are weaker in the Lord.

Now, he says here in verse 3. For I say through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly according, and this word you need to kind of mark it because it’s down here about three times here, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body and all members have not the same office.

So we being many are one body in Christ and every one members one of another. Lot of 1 1 1 1 1. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy let us prophesy according to the portion of faith. Hold your place right here. Now once you see this look over there in the book of Ephesians in chapter 4. The book of Ephesians and chapter 4. You’ll notice that the Lord is the one who started the church.

He’s the one that organized it, laid the foundation, called the apostles, the prophets, sent them out, and all the things that’s been done, he kind of lets us know what all this is about. And you’ll notice what he says in verse 4. There is one. Just like we’re reading over there in the book of Romans. There’s one body, one spirit, even as you’re calling one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all.

But unto every one of us individually is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. In other words, whatever the ministry is that you can accomplish at the level wherever you are. It will be according to the faith that you have already attained to. Faith come at by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The more you hear, the more you believe, the more boldness you’ll have, the more confidence you have, and the more you will be willing to do for the Lord.

So it’s going to be according to your faith. And God wants this. God does not expect us to do something He has not given us that grace to do. I don’t believe God requires me to do anything I can’t do. He will do what I can’t do, but I do believe I’m responsible to do what I can do. These are choices that we make and it’s my choice. So you notice that He made these things and He says down here in verse 11, and He gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists, some pastors and teachers get this for the perfecting of the saints, the building up of the saints, the edifying of the saints, the maturing of the saints.

For they what? There’s a reason. Why do we want people to mature in the Lord? For work, You mean there’s work to do for the work of the ministry? We’re here because God has given to us a ministry. We’re the minister, but we’re not the minister just to the lost men in reaching them for the gospel. One of the most difficult ministries we have is keeping God’s children moving toward maturity, growing in the Lord. And so that’s what God wants to do and this is what we should do.

So we’ve got our work cut out for us. So as he says here for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. And then he’s talking about till we all. And this is what God wants all of us to do. So whenever we are supposed to benefit others, we have to be working on strengthening ourselves. What are you doing to help yourself grow spiritually stronger? Are you stronger this year than you were last year?

Are you closer to the Lord in your dedication and your walk with the Lord than you were a year ago? Are you continuing to grow in the nurturing admonition of the Lord? This is something between you and the Lord, but it’s something that should be done because we have a ministry. Now go back through to Romans in chapter 11. When you go back and you’ll see that there’s a lot of different things that God wants His different people to do.

But notice, He says here, according to the measure of faith, verse 4, for as we have many members and all this we’ve got out through here, and then verse 6, having therefore different according to the grace that is given, because God has given to us the opportunity to serve the Lord. An opportunity, a choice, whether or not to have a ministry. God given this one, and He’s given us the knowledge that we need in His word, but you’ve got to read and dig and study and pull it out.

And you’ve got to find a place where you feel comfortable in serving the Lord. And it may be a lot of work, it could be whatever, but according to your faith, be it unto you. Now look down in verse 9. Let love be without dissimulation or hypocrisy, abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good. See all of these things he tells us to do? They’re choices, choices, choices. And God says that our choices make a difference.

He just spent chapter 9, 10, 11 tell us about the choices that God gave to Israel and how that God chose, how He’s going to do things, and then He gave to man. The freedom to choose according to what God wanted them to do, to obey or disobey, to hear not to hear, and the consequences they had to live with. And the consequences of them rejecting Christ has been almost 2,000 years out of the land. Pretty good penalty, isn’t it?

Now, we’re smart. We wouldn’t make that same dumb decision, would we? Because now it’s us. It’s our life. It’s me. It’s you. It’s here. It’s now. Decisions to make. Decision time. I love a sermon that I preached a long time ago, but I heard somebody else preach it before I did. Multitudes, multitude in the valley of what? Valley of decisions. From the Old Testament, Valley of decisions. And so there’s people who making the wrong decisions. You see, if God saves a person, gives him eternal life.

And if every child of God would dedicate themselves to the Lord, make the right decision and would not conform to the world, but be transformed And by the renewing of their mind, you realize we’d have a revival in this world. We could shake the world. Just God’s children. We could shake the world. But lo and behold, it’s not been done that way. Now when He says down here in verse 12, Rejoicing in Hope, I have In Rejoicing Now for Tomorrow.

rejoice now for tomorrow as I sit in Bible class in colleges and I had to sit there and realize I am learning now for tomorrow. This knowledge that I have right now I couldn’t see how I would ever use it. I’ll never need to know this. I’ll never need to know that and now that I’ve gotten out of Bible college 50 something years now or 48-49. I have used and I think needed everything that I have ever been taught.

But at the time I didn’t think I needed it. But the one thing that will be a blessing to you is if you’re learning I’m learning things now. Even by the things you go through all of your trials and tribulations, your heartache, your heart breaks, the despair, everything. I’m learning something now because God wants me to use this tomorrow. I’m gonna need this tomorrow because see I believe God doesn’t waste my time. I believe God is teaching me and after 74 years I think I’m still learning a few things that I can still use tomorrow.

Now notice when he says the word hope you’re talking about you believe that that your service will pay off. When he says, you reap what you sow. You see those last three words in verse 11, serving the Lord. Serving the Lord now because you believe that doing right will pay off. Do you believe that? Do you believe that if you do right, you’re gonna win eventually? When you get to heaven, God’s gonna reward you for that. that God keeps the books and God knows it all.

Therefore, that’s what keeps you from losing it, from going nuts, because you’re patient. You can wait on God. You and I have an advantage. The world does not have, but God does not want us to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. So, evidently, God does have a perfect will for His children. He has something for us. Overall, I do believe that when we talk about growing and maturing the Lord so that we mature and will be more like the Lord would want us to be.

Look up here. This hand represents you and me. The wallet represents all of bad things that we’ve ever done. You see, God made some decisions years ago. I don’t know how long ago. But God loved me. That I cannot explain except that He does. I believe He needed somebody to love, but why me? Why you? But He does. And you know what’s interesting is that God doesn’t have anybody he loves more than you. Now he doesn’t love you more than them, but he doesn’t have anybody he loves more than you.

He loves us, and the payment for our sin is eternal separation from God. In hell. He loves us wants us to go to heaven and to go to heaven we have to be perfect as righteous as God. And none of us are righteous we have all sin come short of God’s perfection. That’s why we needed a Savior. This hand represents Jesus Christ God in the flesh. He came into the world because he loves us. It’s our sin because our sin separates us from the Lord.

So Jesus Christ came into the world. And see the way we are, we’ll never be like the Lord. Impossible. Because see the Lord, he’s perfect. He’s righteous. He’s just, he never does anything wrong. How are we going to ever be like the Lord? We can’t. And don’t matter how hard we try, we’ll never be like Him. So Christ took the sin, paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead. Instead of will except his death as our death, he’d give us a new birth.

And our new birth would be born of God without a sinful nature. A lot of sinful nature, born of God, would be just like Christ. But I’m still here with this old sinful nature. And so we know what our goal is. And so we have been given by the Lord, the power of the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit’s power is to work through His Word. He’s to teach us His Word. And He’ll lead in guidance according to His Word.

So you put the Word of side and you don’t have, no wait, the Holy Spirit works according to His Word. The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. That’s what the Holy Spirit uses. So this is why studying the Bible is so very important. Let’s pray, show him. With every head bowed and every eye closed and no one looking around. If you’re here tonight and you’ve never trusted the Lord, or if you’re watching by internet, without having to do anything, promise anything, why don’t you trust Christ as your Savior?

Because it’s free, it’s the gift of God. You don’t earn it, you don’t work for it. But right where you are, If you say, yes, I will trust Christ as my Savior. God said He would save you. You believe that He died on that cross, paid for your sins. Realizing you cannot save yourself, you’re not trying to earn your way to heaven, you’re just trusting what He did on the cross for you. Frame, would you trust Him? And if you will, I’d like to have prayer for you.

So I’m going to ask in just a moment to raise your hand. Raising your hand doesn’t save you, just lets me know that what I said made sense to you. And you said, preacher, that made sense to me. Is there anyone to all before we close? So yes, I will trust Christ as my Savior and whatnot. If you’re watching by the internet, right on the screen, you say, yes, I will trust Christ as my Savior. If you’ve never done it, I wish you would.

I pray that you will. Father, we thank you again for your blessings. Thank you for your goodness to us. And we ask Lord your blessings upon our church, upon every family, put a hedge above them and protect them, keep them safe. And Lord, there’s some people that are hurting right now. We just ask your blessings upon them. And we thank you for the opportunity you have given to us to work together and to be a body, a believer, and to have a ministry in so many different ways so that people can have an outlet, a way they can show their love and gratitude to you for what you’ve done for them.

Blessings the study of your word, we know it will not return void, but accomplish what you send in for it. We just thank you again in Christ’s name. Are you ready to learn how to live your life life as a strong Christian, lead others to Christ, or excel as a church worker or ministry leader, then look no further than Florida Bible College of Tampa. With traditional and online classes taught by instructors, with years of experience, Florida Bible College of Tampa can help you grow in your Christian life.

Whether taking individual classes or working toward a one-year degree, Florida Bible College of Tampa is here for you. To learn more, visit online at floridabiblecollege.us. Call the Register of Bob Gilbert at 850227 5325. That’s 850227 5325. 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