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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.

And so He says in verse 11, as it is written, as I live saith the Lord every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God. Whether they’re saved or lost, every man’s going to have to bow to the Lord. Where is that verse found that talks about that? Just hold your place right there and just look over there in the book of Philippians. Real quick, I want you to see this, Philippians and chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2, when we talk about having this mind that was in Christ, learning how to, regardless of how much you know, how much can you yield?

How much can you bow to the will of God? And he says this, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ, who had been in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a serpent, and was made in the likeness of men. So he did all this voluntarily. The Father didn’t make him do it. He just says, I love the Father, and this is the Father’s will.

And so that’s why I do what I do. So he says, he became fashion as a man, humbled himself, became obedient, even unto death. Now God wants us to have the same kind of a mind that we love our Father so much we’re willing to do whatever He wants us to do. And we know it’s one thing to lead somebody to the Lord. It’s another thing to challenge God’s children to serve the Lord. Some of the people that are the hardest to love is not the lost person, it’s the saved person.

Most of us deal with the saved people more than we do with the lost people. True? Now, do we care about them as much as we care about reaching the lost man? But once you’re saved, we don’t care about you anymore. We just got to keep reaching the lost. After you got saved, do you believe that God loves you just as much now as he did when he you were lost. He still loved you and he still loves you now.

So he says here in Philippians, in verse 9, where for God has highly exalted him, given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, things in heaven, things in the earth, things under the earth, that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God the Father. And then we usually stop right there. But look at the very in next verse. It doesn’t stop where we just stop.

It starts again in verse 1. Wherefore, because this is true and because of the way we’re supposed to be, the mind that we’re supposed to have, wherefore it might be loved, as you have always obeyed. So we’re not talking about getting saved. We’re talking about in the Christian life where the Lord is the master of our life. And this one that died on the cross and was highly exalted, the one that to whom every knee shall bow. Don’t you believe that God’s children should bow to the Lordship of Christ now?

I think so. I don’t think thing wrong with it. Now I’m not talking about Lordship salvation. That’s a different subject altogether. We’re talking about as Christ is the Lord of our life and we should yield to His will. We still, as a Christian here in this world, have a sinful nature and we have our own will, and so we’re the yield of our will to His will. And that’s why it says, be not conformed to this world, but be a transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove or discover, where is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Now why does He want you to know about the will of God because He wants you to do the will of God. And this is why He says in verse 12. He says, where for my beloved as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, not working for salvation, working out what God has put in with fear and trembling, fear and trembling of what?

That you or I could miss the will of God for our life. Because if he’s the Lord, then he’s the master. He should be able to tell us what he wants us to do. It ought to bring fear in your heart that I will miss the will of God for my life. If there’s anything that I wanted after I got saved was to please the Lord. And what places the Lord is not me going my own way into my own thing.

It’s finding out what pleases God and seek to please Him in everything that you do. That’s why he says in verse 13, for it is God which worketh in you to make you have the attitude humility just like Christ had when He submitted himself and became a man. And even obedience, even under death. So now he says, for it is God which works in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Whatever God wants to bring into your life, whatever pleases God, are you satisfied for God to use you, how God wants to use you.

Or is God someone you think you’re supposed to manipulate and use? I’m going to use God to do what I want. No, you surrender to the Lord’s will and God is supposed to use you to do what He wants. Different way of thinking. And then when you understand that, then do all things, look in verse 14, without murmuring and disputing, without griping and complaining. Why? Because He’s the Lord and you’re serving Him. So what you got to complain about.

If people treated Him wrong, don’t you think they might treat you wrong? If it’s possible for people in this world to defraud you, wrong you, oh, so what? Now what? They’re going to suffer in this life. Everything’s not going to work out. That’s why there’s a judgment to the Christ where God will make it right for you. God won’t let you do wrong. I mean suffer the wrong without making it right. Now look what He says because of all of this, because of the mindset that Christ had, look what He said, that you may be blameless and harmless to sons of God without rebuke.

In other words, where they can’t find fault in you, that’s legitimate because of your testimony and the lives of other people. He said in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, get this Among whom ye shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain Do the labored in vain see after you’ve trusted Christ’s Savior you can labor for the Lord Your labor in the Lord is never in vain, but your labor with people can be in vain It doesn’t mean every person you witness to is going to trust the Lord There’s a lot of things you may do and it won’t work out and And you can labor and it seems like you’re getting nowhere.

And with some people you may not. But if you’re faithful to do what God wants you to do, you are in success. You see, faithfulness is successfulness. And if you’ll be faithful to the Lord, you are being successful. And so when you get to be with the Lord in heaven, he says, God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love. So you go ahead and keep certain the Lord and do what God wants you to do.

But this has to deal with your way of thinking. the attitude that you have and whether or not you will be patient enough with those that are maybe not where you are now. Remember that little statement? Be patient with people who are now where you once were. You had to learn. Don’t go back here to verse 13 of Romans chapter 14. Let us not therefore judge one another anymore, but judge this rather that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.

In other words, God, the things that you say and do that you may have a right to do, but a weaker Christian may not understand that. So you have to make adjustments and try not to do those things. There’s things here in America we may feel like we have the right to do and it’s not offensive, doesn’t bother anybody, but if you want to be a missionary in a foreign field, you may find out some of those things we can do here that doesn’t offend anybody in another country might be very offensive to them.

Is that right? So I don’t know what it is. I haven’t been to those foreign countries and done all that, but I’m sure there’s things that would be offensive to them. But if you go there, you may have to learn a little bit about their culture. So you say, I can’t do this and I can’t do that. I can’t do that. So the servant of the Lord told legalistic? No, I can’t do this because I don’t want to do this because it might offend.

This might offend. Well, how much am I willing to go on this? Well, we make Christ love them so much he was willing to die for them. Remember? That’s why I keep saying that over the kid? For whom Christ died? For whom Christ died? Look how far he went. How far are you willing to go? You have your limits. In other words, you can love people up to a point. I don’t know if Grace has a limit on it, but now look back here again.

In verse 14, I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself, but to him that esteem is anything to be unclean, to him it is. In other words, people who used to worship idols, and then they had this meat that was off of the idols, well, you come along and you know that that doesn’t mean anything. You can sit on there and gorge all you want. Yeah, but to somebody else that maybe they just trust the Lord and they don’t think that that’s right for you to eat that meat is offered idle because that offends them because they think, you’re worshiping some idle.

Well, you know it’s not true. Yeah, but their weak conscience might be offended. So the Lord says it might be better you don’t do that because you could offend and to easily offend and this is why you have to watch it. Let me see if I can see that one verse that I want to mention to you. Look there in 1 Corinthians in chapter 10. 1 Corinthians in chapter 10.

We know there’s things that God has told us to do, things he told us not to do and the thing he talks about is being able to persuade a person, talking about the way they think. So he makes a statement down here in verse 29. See that first word? Conscience. Conscience I say, not by known, but of the other. For why is my liberty judged of another man’s conscience or your standards? You can have standards that might be fine for you, but when you try to legislate those upon somebody else that doesn’t understand it, don’t say it the same way, then it can be in their mind legalistic that if you want to be spiritual, then you can’t do this, this, this, and this.

Now, if you are spiritual, you may not do a lot of those things, but you cannot do a lot of things, and that doesn’t make your spiritual difficult. Just because you come to church and read your Bible and you pray into all of that doesn’t make your spiritually minded. You can do the things, but not be spiritual. In other words, not be godly. Well, you can give God Mount service, but not heart service. Well, you really don’t believe that what you’re doing, God’s concerned about the way you really are.

Do you really love them? And do you do the things that you do because you care so much of this is so important to understand. But look what he says again here. He says, and why is my liberty judged? In verse 30, for if I by grace be a partaker, Why am I evil spoken of for that which I give thanks? In other words, it’s not wrong and I can do it and I have the right. And as he says, all things are lawful unto me, but not all things are expedient.

You may have the right to do a lot of things because it doesn’t offend you, doesn’t offend God, but it might offend a weaker brother. So for their sake, sometimes you have to think, well, now is this worth doing? Am I going to become a stumbling block? And these are some personal choices that you have to make. And God says, because you love Him, because you care. Hey, and I died for that person. And He doesn’t want us to go around just offending people, but trying to help them to see and understand.

So we’ll get what He says in verse 31, whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. And some things we may have the right to do, but it doesn’t bring glory to God because the defense the person that we’re supposed to be trying to reach. This is why Paul says, I have become a servant unto all that I might by all means save some. So there’s some things that he would not do because that would be offensive.

So he says this, looking verse 32, three things that are mentioned here that we need to be careful of. There were Jews there were Gentiles and there was the church of God. So I would take the Gentiles as lost Gentiles, Jews as lost Jews, and church of God is saved Jews and saved Gentiles. But you so you don’t want to say and do those things that would offend that Jew that’s not a believer or that Gentile that’s not a believer or the church of God that are believers.

So there’s three groups God doesn’t want us to offend. Right, so that more people get saved. So is our mindset that we care more about reaching those lost people than just getting our own way, because well, I have the right. And so many people today are fighting for their rights, but nobody fights for their responsibilities. Now, look what he says there in verse 33, even as I please all men and all things, not seeking mine own profit. But get this.

But the profit of many that they may be what? But they may be safe. Do you know the more Christians we challenge and motivate to serve the Lord? The more people there are in the harvest to reach more lost souls. But wouldn’t it be great if all of God’s children would keep serving the Lord faithfully all their life? Just think of how many more people we could reach. But because we are are sometimes there were little prides sometimes, I’ve had to really watch this.

We could have done so much more for the Lord that we may never get done because we get irritated with each other. And so we don’t pray for each other like we should. We get down with everybody. Not everybody treats everybody right. And sometimes people don’t even know they’ve done it and you just say and do things. And sometimes not anywhere. trying your dead level best to not put chips on your shoulders and then dare somebody to knock it off so that you can get mad at them.

You see, getting mad and angry and blowing a fuse, those are choices that you make. Did you realize that no one can make you mad without your permission? And they can’t really offend you without you giving them permission to offend you. but some people that are weak in the Lord will be offended, sometimes by righteous things that other people can do. So he makes the statement and go back to Romans in chapter 14. As you notice here in verse 15, but if thy brother be grieved with thy mate, now walkest thou not charitably.

In other words, because you went ahead and did it and you offended that person, he becomes grieved and you And I’m surprised how easily it is to offend weak Christians. Well, I’ll never come back to that church. I’ve had some people not come back to our church. You know what they told me? Nobody spoke to me. I got an email. And about two weeks ago, I came to your church and nobody spoke to me. Now, see, it doesn’t matter whether, did you speak to anybody?

It doesn’t matter. They were offended because nobody spoke to them. came to this church. This is what they said. No, it’s true or not, or they’re just looking for a reason not to go to church. I don’t know. This is why every person that comes, we want to eliminate that reason, right? So what should we do? How can we solve this problem? Make sure it never happens again. Make sure we talk to every person, every new person, and it’s okay to even talk to people that we know.

But especially somebody who comes and their brand spanking new and how we ought to trade them. Because some people are very easily offended. So we need to understand that. Now look what else he says. In verse 16, let not then your good be evil spoken of. Now this is why he says, don’t put a stumbling block in the way of somebody that could stumble because like he says, appearing in verse 13, He says, no man to put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.

Now take your Bible look in Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 12. Ephesians chapter 5, just to your right there just a couple verses, Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 12. Now let’s look in verse 1 and 2. Ephesians chapter 5, be it therefore followers or imitators of God as their children and walk in love as Christ also have loved us. Now when you go back here and you see that it’s talking about you did not walk charitably. In means you did not walk in love see there in verse 15 now walk us down not charitably.

In other words you’re not walking in love. But Ephesians 5, 1 and 2, talks about us walking in love. Destroyed not him, would thy mate for whom Christ died? Let not your good be evil spoken of. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, that righteousness and peace enjoy in the Holy Ghost. We were born into God’s family. He says, you cannot see the kingdom of God, enter into the kingdom of God, unless you have been born again.

So now that you’ve been born again, you’re in the kingdom of God. But in the kingdom of God, God says we’re supposed to bring forth righteousness and seek peace and the joy that we’re supposed to have. Walking in the flesh, we wake up O.M. elect, and all we’ll do is fight and be mad bitterness and all those things that you don’t want. That’s very destructive. So he makes the statement in verse 18, for he that in these things, service Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

So yielding sometimes you’re right. When you may be right and you can do whatever you want, But God says, if you’ll surrender that and yield that for my sake or for that week, Christian’s sake, He says that is acceptable. God says, I’ll accept that as a means of service. So you see, you didn’t lose because God’s going to reward you for what you did. So then He says, as a child of God, verse 19, let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace and things where one may edify one another.

That word is edify, not edify. Edify. Edify means to beautify what’s there and add to it. You want to build them stronger in the Lord. So whatever we do, we’re supposed to be helping others to be stronger in the Lord. And that’s why he says, whether you eat these things or you don’t hate these things, he says, there’s nothing wrong between eating that flesh and so forth. He said, but the appearance of it may not be good. So you have to use some judgment on him.

But you don’t want to make your brother stumble. In verse 22, hashed our faith. Can you believe what he’s saying? Can you follow what he’s thinking here? And the reason he says for us to love one another, walk in love and yield some of your rights if necessary, so that you don’t become offensive just because you have the right to do certain things. But you might yield that. And he says, happy, happy. You want to be happy? Remember in the 13th chapter, the Gospel of John Christ says, happy are ye if you do these things, happy are ye.

Everybody wants to be happy. But you realize God will bring things into your life. And so sometimes we say happy comes from happiness. If everything’s happening, if everything happens right, you’re happy. But if things go wrong, you’re not happy. Because your happiness depends on happenings. Well, what if it depended upon something that was more, you know, like, obedience to God? I’m happy because I’m serving God. I’m happy because it pleases God. I’m happy because it helps a person to become stronger.

I’m happy. And you can be happy most of your life. But if you don’t learn how to be happy because of the way you think, you’re going to be one miserable dude because a lot of things in this world does not go right. So he said, happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he allowed. So you don’t want to have a guilty conscience because you permitted yourself to do something. You know God didn’t want you to do it because of testimony and because it was offensive to somebody else.

Not your conscience, but somebody else’s. So you can offend somebody so easily. And if you can’t avoid it, the best thing to do is seek to avoid it. But he says, and he that doubteth is damned if he eat because he eateth not a faith. That means he condemning himself. It doesn’t mean he’s going to hell now. No. But you condemn yourself. This is also mentioned in 1 John in chapter 3, talking about when you have the confidence that you’re supposed to have and not condemning your own heart because you know whether or not the things you say are doing, how you treat somebody, you know whether it’s right or wrong.

You can know. And so he says, well, whatsoever is not a faith. It’s saying you ought to believe that whatever you’re doing, whatever you’re thinking, whatever you say and whatever you do was pleasing to the Lord. And that way you don’t feel guilty. Why? Because you shouldn’t because you’re doing what’s right. It doesn’t mean that you didn’t get to do all the things you wanted to do, but you can limit yourself for the lost man’s sake, for Jesus’ sake.

And maybe around certain people, it’s not as critical. But this is where you have to learn and walk and how to respond at given times in life. So it’s interesting, but chapter 15, huh? It’s good. You don’t want to miss chapter 15. But look up here. This hand represents you and me and the wall it represents in sin. all have sin upon us. Now God, He loves us. Did you know this? Sometimes I will give the gospel explain it.

But sometime I haven’t done the wallet illustration and I’ve had some people get offended because I didn’t use the wallet. It doesn’t matter if I got the message done. If I got the message out, the gospel out, it doesn’t say in the Bible, you have to use the wallet. But I’ve done it so often that whenever I don’t do it, he forgot. And sometimes, and you won’t believe this, I had Dr. Seymour come to Colorado and do a soul-winning seminar.

And I had all these people to come to the soulwind seminar. And Dr. Seymour got a parent and he talked about the gospel and getting the gospel, loving the gospel and closing down the meeting. And I was so disappointed. And I told Dr. Seymour, I said, you realize you forgot something and all of a sudden you’re oh no. He forgot to give the gospel. He forgot to give it. So it can happen. And once in a while, I may even forget.

So if you want to remind me, I don’t care because it keeps me on my toes, but it is so important that we be faithful to give it. Some people get offended because I do. Some people get offended because of them. So you’ve got to learn how to balance that and seek to please the Lord and all things. But God loves us, hates our sin. For us to pay for sins, eternal separation from God. But God loves us once to go to heaven.

But because of sin, we have to go to hell. We committed to sin, we’re guilty, we have to pay. But 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 the Bible says you cannot save yourself by your good deeds. This hand represents Jesus Christ, God in the flesh. Came into the world because he loves us, he hates our sin because our sin separates us from him.

So Jesus Christ who had no sin didn’t have to die so he took all the sins of the world paid for them the cross came back from the dead said if we would believe he did it for us he put the payment that he made to our account and now I got a zero as far as sins to pay for he paid for all of them be for 99% of them at 1% will do me in but he paid for all of my sins and all I had to do was believe that he did it for me trust him that’s why I’m not trying to earn my way to heaven Because I’m already going to heaven.

And a good point to remember, so important. Heaven is not a reward. It’s not something we work for. Heaven is a gift. Rewards, those are things that we earn by our obedience to the Lord. But you don’t have to be obedient to the Lord to go to heaven by good works. Salvation is true to the gift of God. Let’s pray, shall we? But heads bow nice clothes and no one looking around if you hear and you’ve never trusted Christ is your Savior Why not right down the quietness of this moment?

Just talk to the Lord say Lord. I know my son. I believe Christ died believe you pay for my sins and tonight I will trust him as my only hope of going to heaven And if you will do that God said he would save you if you turn life and never catch you I never lose you Would you trust him? I’m gonna ask you just a moment to raise your hand It’s just to let me know that what I said made sense to you and I like to have prayer for you Is there anyone at all before we close?

Yes, I will trust Christ as my Savior tonight. If you’re watching by internet, right during the screens, yes, I will trust Christ as my Savior. And Father, we thank You so much for all that You’ve done for us, for giving these things in Your Word and help us to understand Him. And we pray that those are strong in the Lord would take these things to heart and be patient with those that are still struggling. In a lot of areas in their life and help us to bring them along, they care for them and to be a blessing.

Thank you for those that are watching by internet. We pray Lord that they would understand and put their complete confidence and trust in the payment that you made on the cross for them. So bless them. Give us a good week in Christ’s name we pray. Amen. It’s time to make plans for the summer. Join us for summer camp July 9 through the 13th and fits Gerald, Georgia. At summer camp, teens ages 13 to 18 will enjoy fun competitions while learning about the word of God.

Over the years, hundreds of kids have been reached with the gospel at Summer Camp. This is your opportunity to make summer meaningful and memorable for a teen in your life. The cost of Summer Camp is $150. If you’d like to donate a Summer Camp scholarship, you can do so by calling 813-884-4328 for more information. 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 and just keep looking up.