This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, here God’s truth on Bibleline. 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 Bibleline. 63771. 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.

Be faithful with what you have, where you are. And don’t live in a dream world, but realize that all I have is this moment. Just keep planting seeds. And you may never shake the world, but you would love to plant the seeds that produce the person that might shake the world, right? Because we don’t know the extent of our labor. We’re not good judges of our own labor. That’s why Paul says, judge nothing before the time. He says, I don’t know anything against myself.

He says, but one that judges me is the Lord. And that’s going to take place when we get to heaven. So these things are important. Now look what he says here. Back there in verse 11, love worketh no ill to his neighbor. In other words, if you allow the Lord to take the word of God and plant it deep in your heart, where you become really solid. Now I’ll be honest with you, at one time, as I said in college class, I saw absolutely no purpose in some of these teachings.

I’ll never use it. And I found out later I have used everything I have ever learned. Probably forgot a lot too. But I found out that I am so glad that I was grounded in the Bible. I don’t look outside of the Bible for extra biblical sources of authority. I know that the Bible is complete and it is the Word of God and I can put my confidence in not trusting it. So it has sustained me for 56 years.

And guess what I’m gonna do for the next 50 years? I’m gonna keep on trusting it. And what I know about God has kept me from wandering and going astray seeking false gods cause I know the true and living God. And so when it comes to Christ and what He did on the cross for me, for the love of Christ constraineth me, motivates me, I want my motivation to be the love that God had for me and sin in his son.

Therefore, I know what God has done for me. So I don’t serve the Lord because of what I’m going to get from God. I want to serve the Lord because of what I’ve already received. And that should be enough to motivate every person to stay faithful to the Lord for the rest of his life. When you talk about the Holy Spirit, I am so thankful that I know that the Holy Spirit doesn’t exalt or brag about himself. Jesus is magnified me.

The Holy Spirit magnifies the Son, teaches you the Word of God about the Son. People who always talk about the Spirit probably don’t have it. But the Holy Spirit is to teach you what the Word of God says. And when he talks about us walking in the spirit, he’s walking in obedience to the Word of God. So I know that wherever I go, for 55, I know that I’m never alone. The Holy Spirit of God lives inside of me.

He dwells in me. And he is the great comforter. And when you don’t do right, he’s the great discomforter. And you’ll find that out in your Christian life. And when you talk about ecclesiology, talking about the ecclesia coming out, the called out ones, the church age in which we live, I know when it began, I know when it ends. There’s a lot of teaching today that puts us into the tribulation, but I don’t believe that. I believe it takes place at the rapture before the tribulation starts because of my teaching that I received 50 something years ago.

It has sustained me, so I don’t follow every little idea that I hear out there someplace. I used to believe certain things because, well, the teacher told me. I didn’t have time to, you know, to find out whether or not they were right or wrong, because I was so busy just trying to keep my head above water so my feet wouldn’t drown. And then after a while, when I had time, I could go back and read and study and so I could, I found out what they taught me was the truth.

I am so thankful that I got what I did, when I did, where I did. And so I know what’s going to come in the future based upon what God’s word says. These basic teaching will secure your peace of mind. It’s what causes you to be stabilized, steadfast in the faith, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Now look what he says here in verse 10, love, work of no ill to his neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

It’s not that we’re under the law, but just hold your place right there and look in chapter 8, look in chapter 8 of the local Romans. And you’ll notice what he says in verse, let’s just look there first of all in verse 3 where it says, for what the law could not do, what couldn’t the law do, the law couldn’t save you. The law couldn’t make you love God. The law only condemned you because no man can keep the law.

They condemned everybody, but it points you to Christ. And so he says, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh. Not that he had sinful flesh, he was in the likeness. Cheaminas were all took upon flesh. But after, as is excuse me here, enlighten us and for the sin condemned sin in the flesh. He paid for our sin. I get this in verse 4, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, but not by us, in us.

But that’s why the Holy Spirit is all throughout the eighth chapter, living within us in order to produce the righteousness of the law. So whenever you say I want to live a righteous life, a holy life, then by the nature of itself it means that if love is the motivation and the thing that helps you to see and understand all this, if I love my neighbor, then I won’t try to lie to them. I won’t try to deceive them.

I won’t try to wrong somebody. Always seek to do right. love that you have for the Lord because of what you know he loves you that it helps you to do what’s right and so therefore you don’t try to take some man’s wife or somebody that doesn’t belong to you you always seek to do what’s right you don’t want to steal from somebody you don’t want to commit murder and those are things that comes from the flesh but it’s not the will of God for you so you fulfill the law because you love the Lord the law of 11 the Lord will produce a righteousness in your life that law could not do.

When you kept the law, you became prideful. Look at me how great I am. But when you do it because of the Lord, you thank the Lord for giving you salvation and giving you the indwelling Holy Spirit and then teaching you what love really is about. These things are so important. Now look at verse 11 of chapter 13. And verse 11 says, and that knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, to awake out of sleep.

Now, when they talked about up there, they were concerning neighbor. Remember, it already talked about us loving one another in chapter 12 all the way through. Now when he talks about loving our neighbor, would it be the sage or would it be lost? Love my neighbor. Now, is the word neighbor referring to those lost people out there? Or is it talking about the believer? If it’s the believer, that means we don’t have to love the lost. But if it’s to the lost, that means we don’t have to love the believer.

Or is it possible that whenever you read in the book of Exodus, when it talks about loving your neighbor, you think the word there might refer to everybody? He could be afraid of anybody. Love anybody. And so we’re not supposed to be in debt to anybody, so God wants us to love everyone and that’s how you pay your debt. Sometimes when I see a person, and sometimes, believe it or not, I don’t really always want to witness. I know that you’re going to stay the shop.

But sometimes I’ll go ahead and witness because I know I owe that man. I owe that woman the gospel. I owe them. I’m in debt to them. And I want to pay my debt. It’s a different way of thinking. But you can’t win everybody, but when you get a chance and you can, maybe you need to do it. But notice what he says here. It’s high time to awake out of sleep. In other words, as time moves on, I’ll look up here.

I was saved 56 years ago, 18 year old. Now, it’s 50 years past 56. Now, I’m still waiting for the day when the Lord’s going to come. I’m still waiting for the day when I’m going to get my brand new body. Now, I could get it a lot quicker than I think. But I don’t mind waiting for the rapture. That’s all right with the Lord. But when that happens and I’ll be delivered from this whole world, salvation doesn’t always mean save from hell.

I’ve already been saved from hell. But I’m still waiting to be delivered from this world, delivered from this whole body. As he says in chapter 7, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? This whole body is going to die. So there’s a day coming. He says here, this day, as he says here in verse 11, now is our salvationAustralian near than when we believe. Now see, I believed way back there, 56 years ago. All this time has passed.

Now tell me, if I’m almost 75 years old, wouldn’t you say that I’m closer to my deliverance than I was before? I’m closer to that moment? you agreed that I’m close to running out of time? Good possibility? No, I don’t know how much time I’ve got out here yet. I hope it for about another 50 years, but it might be tomorrow, but it’s closer. Now hold your place right here and look there in the book of Romans in chapter 8 again.

The Bible says that in this life, in this life, until we get to heaven, we’re going to suffer. In other words, things are not going to go our way all the time. So what? Big deal. And the Bible says that sometime we’ll be defrauded. In other words, somebody will wrong us. That’s okay. Notice what he says in verse 18, for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

So we know that we’re living in the present time, but we know that there is a future time where we’re going to be in glory, where it’s perfect. We’re going to have a brand new body and a brand new world. But we’re not there yet. So in this life, in this body, we’re going to suffer. And so as long as we’re in this body, we still have an old sinful nature. And if we still have an old sinful nature, that means you’re still going to do things wrong, right?

You mean to tell me that regardless of how deep you are in all these various doctrines, you still have that old sinful nature? Didn’t all that education do away with it? You know, wouldn’t it be neat if we could just go to the emergency room and doctor said, what can I do for you? Well, doctor, I got this old sinful nature. I don’t know where it is, but if you could just scan me and find that thing and cut it out, I’d appreciate it.

Wouldn’t that be awesome? I mean, it’s got to be somewhere in there. How come you can’t find it and just take it out? Well, one of these days, you don’t have to worry about taking it out. It’s going to take you out. But notice what he says. And this is very important. Now, these scriptures are in here for a reason because there’s things that God says later that referred back to this. La everybody says in verse 19, for the earnest expectation of the creation creature waited for the manifestation of the sons of God.

In other words, this whole world, the whole creation is waiting for the day when God is going to change all of us. Cause when he changes us, the day’s coming, when he gonna change the whole world. He says the whole creation, growneth and travaileth and pain together until now. And this is why he says in verse 21, because the creation itself also shall be delivered. Now this word delivered doesn’t mean. Tell him about salvation, going to heaven. It’s also a reference all the way over there to the word in verse 24 of chapter 7 where he says, Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body.

So the day is coming when we’re going to be delivered from the body, but I haven’t been delivered from the body yet. It’s going to happen one day and I’m going to be caught out of this world. But until then, we’re going to suffer as long as you’re in the body. And we say and do things that we shouldn’t always say and do. We’re going to have wrong feelings and different perspectives. That’s what comes with life. Now notice what he says.

And verse 21, because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. So when God changes us into his glorious body like we’re going to have made like under his glorious body, God’s going to change the world. It’s gonna be a new heaven that are newer and everything will be wonderful But we’re not there yet We’re not there yet. We’re in a lot of hurt agony pain despair and all that Now notice what he says in verse 22 for we know That the whole creation Growneth and travaileth and pain together until now and That was written 2000 years ago So it has been had another 2000 years on that And then he says in verse 23, and not only they, but our cells also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves waiting for the adoption to

it the redemption of our body. The body has not yet been delivered. It has not yet been changed in a moment, the twinkling of an eye. We haven’t got that new body yet. But it’s going to happen one of these days. these days it’s going to happen. Now because of that, look there in Romans again chapter 13. As he says here, knowing the time but now it is high time to awake out of sleep for now with our salvation near than when we believed.

So we’re closer to that day, closer to that moment and one of these days is going to happen. But you would think as the time gets closer in closer, there’s a verse in the Bible that says somewhere, for sake not the assembling of yourselves together, even as you see the day approaching. Is there anywhere in the Bible that I just make that up? Where’s it found? Hebrews chapter 10, verse, Bob says 25, verse 25, verse 26 if we shall send willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth and blah, blah, blah.

Now, I want you to hold your place here and take and look there in the book of Ephesians in chapter, I’ll be there in the two shakes of a dead cat’s tail. The book of Ephesians in chapter five and you’ll notice when he says, awake thou that sleepeth, it means he wants them to do something. Christians are not to go to sleep. We have been given an awesome job, awesome responsibility. Now, if I’m the devil and I’m not the devil, the devil is going to do everything he can.

He works on your mind. Interjects, thoughts into your mind. He is a expert at discouragement, despair and all that. Get your side track, tick your eyes off the Lord. That’s what this devil does. But notice what he says here in verse 14. Wherefore he says, awake, vow that, sleep it and arise from the dead. In other words, it’s just like you’re a Christian, but you’re dead if you’re not accomplishing what God wants. And Christ shall give the light. See then that you walk circumspectly.

So if you’re not walking as circumspectly and say, what does that mean? Well, that’s like a long-tail cattle and a fence with bark and dog on both sides. It means you’re watching your step, watching your attitude, seeking to do what’s right. But as wise redeem in the time because the days are evil. Therefore be not unwide, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. So this is what God means when He’s talking about awake, thou that sleepeth. Go back here very quick to the Romans in chapter 13.

Romans chapter 13. And notice what he says in verse 12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness. darkness. That’s the flesh. And let us put on the armor of light, the new birth. And let us walk honestly, as in the day, not in rioting or drunkenness, not in camarind and wantonness, not in strife and envying. Now notice verse 14, verse 14, you need to underline it in your Bible.

It’s a very, very, very, very important verse. This is a choice. They’re choices. As you read all of this down through here, it’s you and me making decision-making choices. God will not force you to love anybody. God will not force you to love him and he won’t force you to love anybody, say he or the lost. But it’s a choice. There’s consequences if we don’t. And so he told us what to do, what to put off and what to put on.

You see, you don’t put off something and you don’t put on something when you’re sleeping. I usually don’t put on my my clothes in the morning until after I wake up. So Christians need to wake up and put on the right clothes. In regards of how much knowledge you have, how deep you may go, how mature you think you are. Do you love one another? Do you love one another? I was going to preach this sermon a little Sunday morning.

And the whole title of this sermon is going be is do you love the preacher? Do you love the preacher? Yeah, but I can’t, do you love me? I don’t want to know all that. Do you love me? Do you love me? Now think about it. Here’s John John. Do we love John John? Do you want us to love you John John? See there he wants us to love him. Everybody wants to be loved and so you’d be surprised that the power that love can have.

You know one of the things that I like when I witness to somebody and because of my understanding of what God does and I wrote the little article on how do I know God loves me? So finally after I wrote the whole article what on the bottom I wrote this how do I know that God loves me because I know he loves you? You see if God only loves some people but not all people, then I wouldn’t know if I was included.

And if he only died for the sins of some people, then I wouldn’t know if he paid for sin of all people. And if he didn’t pay for everybody’s sins, how would I know he paid for mine? And if he doesn’t love everybody, then how do I know he loves me? But since I know that God loves everybody, then I know God has to love me. Don’t that make sense? So I love it when I’m talking to somebody and and I look them right dead in the eye.

And I’ll say these words to them. I says, you know, God loves you. You are loved. You are loved. And the reason he paid for your sins is because he didn’t want you to have to do it. He loves you that much. He’d rather die than live without you. And just saying that, I’ve watched people just tear up. But here’s the thing. If you really don’t believe it, You can say it, but they’ll know whether you believe it or not.

And see, whenever they know and understand, you don’t believe what you’re telling me. You have to have inside of you where it’s real and it’s genuine. People can spot phoniness and if it’s, you know, insincerity. But when you talk to a lost man, is the goal just, give him the gospel. I gave him the gospel. There, I did my job. Or did you say it because you love that person and you want that person to go to heaven? Could they sense you really care about them or you just did your job?

I went through it and gave me a hand there. I’ll see you later. Or do they know he loves me? He cares about me. To me, I think it’s a very powerful motivating thing. Come remember this now, you’re doing this for him. And you want them to know how much God loves them. Now you may not be doing it because you love them, but it’ll really help because it’ll come across and people can read you. They know whether you’re sincere or not.

So that’s why it’s so important. And the last part of verse 14, when he talks about put you on the Lord Jesus Christ, make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lustre. You go all the way back to the sixth chapter. When it talks about you’re to reckon that old man dead, you don’t wanna raise him from the dead and fulfill the loss of the flesh. Make no provision for the flesh. Don’t make opportunities to get in trouble.

Stay away from trouble. Don’t seek trouble. As one guy says, I don’t trouble trouble until trouble troubles me. I leave trouble alone. Stay away from as much as possible. Live peaceably with all men, if possible. And God will richly bless your life. In case somebody’s watching tonight, I want them to know that God loves you. Let me tell you how you can know. This hand represents you and me. The wallet represents all the sins of the world. God loves us, he hates our sin.

Aren’t you glad I can say God loves all of us? Well, God only loves some of you, which half. But God loves all of us. And he says, our sin separates us from the Lord, and we have to pay for which is death and hell. But God loves us and wants us to go to heaven, to go to heaven, we have to be perfect, as righteous as God, none of us are perfect. None of us are righteous. We cannot save ourselves.

So God says we need a Savior. All of our good works for our whole life. And I’m 74 years old. All the good deeds that I’ve done in 74 years would never pay for one of my sins. All of them would never pay for one of my sins. So I need a Savior. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God in the flesh. Came into the world. He didn’t have any sin, But He loved us. Isn’t it powerful what love can do?

God’s love sent His Son. And Jesus says that the world may know that I love the Father. I’m going to do this. So He loves us. He took all of the sins of all the world. Now, isn’t it better to know that He took all the sins, but He only took half of them for half the people. Which half were you in? Isn’t it better to know that He took all the sin of all the world? paid them on the cross, came back from the dead, and said, we would believe He did it for us.

He would put this payment to our account. We go to heaven on what Christ did. Now, who gets the credit for it? Christ does. He’s the one that paid for our sins. When I say you accept the payment, He was the payment. So when you accept Him as your Savior, and those scars in His hands and His feet, that’s the living proof of payment. I have a receipt. My sins are paid in full. And that’s how I know that I’m going to heaven because I know that I cannot go to hell.

Let’s pray, shall we? With his bow nice clothes, no one looking around. If you’re here tonight or if you’re watching by the internet, if you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, I want you to know more than anything else in the world. There is a true and living God who loves you. And he proved his love by sending his son to die for you. And all he wanted you to do, I believe he did it for you. Would you trust him?

Would you believe that? If you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you have a Savior. A Savior that can save you from hell and take you to heaven. If you’ve never done so, I pray that you would. Just simply trust them in the kindness of this moment. You that are watching by internet, right where you are. You don’t have to come forward. I’d like to see that. You don’t have to write a car. You don’t have to do anything.

You don’t have to pay any money. Salvation is free. God loves you that much. And so do we. Father, we thank you so much for all you’ve done for us. Thank you for this time together. Bless each one here. Help us Lord, look to you in the trust you in. We pray for wisdom in all the decisions that has to be made. There’s a multitude of others. We pray for wisdom to do right. Christ’s name we pray. Men, reserve the last Saturday of the month.

For the Iron Sharpen’s Iron, Men’s Bible Study in Breakfast at Calvary Community Church. Join us at 730 for a home cooked breakfast. Then, at 8 a.m. the featured speaker of the month, we’ll present a one hour classroom style, Men’s Bible Study, in a relaxed atmosphere where questions and dialogue are welcomed. The scripture tells us that Iron Sharpens Iron, and this men’s Bible study is open to those of all levels, whether new believers or mature Christians. The Iron Sharpens Iron men’s Bible study and breakfast.

Don’t miss this monthly opportunity for fellowship and the study of God’s Word. 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.