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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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Well, take your Bible and turn to the book of Romans. Are we in Romans? Yeah, we’re in Romans. Y’all don’t even remember where we are. The book of Romans and chapter 15, Romans chapter 15, many good things in this chapter and we will not be able to get all the ingredients out of it, but we’ll hit a little bit here and hit a little bit there. Sometimes you’ll hear people say that are you know ultra dispensationalists that the church was started you know by Paul and so Paul started the church and therefore he wasn’t given the command to you know the baptized people so therefore you don’t have to baptize and that the church was started by Paul so but you got a problem see the day when Paul got saved he was already persecuting the church it was already started before Paul or we got here.

So that is not, I don’t think, accurate theology. But he also teaches a lot from the Old Testament scriptures. Now, many people believe that the church should only study those New Testament books that deals just with the church and the other things, the gospels and so forth. Well, it doesn’t really apply to the church. But I believe that all the knowledge in the Word of God is for us. Not might not be exactly to us, but it’s for us.

And that’s why he says here in verse 4 of chapter 15, for what’s your things were written a four time were written for our learning. That tells me that all scripture is for us and that we can learn from it. So I don’t see anything wrong in teaching everything that’s in the Bible. And so therefore we try to teach a little bit of everything that’s in the scriptures. And he makes his statement written for our learning that we through patience and the comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Now comfort and patience, now you see in verse five where it says, now that God of patience, so when you study the Old Testament you will learn how patient God was with his children. And when you talk about comfort there’s many scriptures that are given about bring forth comfort, read the Psalms and you’ll see that. And then he also makes a statement and down in verse 13, now the God of hope. And so it’s to build our confidence in Lord where we will trust them for that which is yet in the future.

So we’ll learn to serve the Lord now, believe in that His best, His wife, because we’ve learned so much from the Old Testament. And then he makes a statement they’re in verse 33. Now the God of peace be with you all. So when he says the God of comfort, the God of peace, the God of mercy, the God of it means that that’s what God wants you to demonstrate. You see these characteristics of God are supposed to be the characteristics in his children.

And so that’s why you’ll find as you read this, he’s talking about things that Christ did for us, we’re supposed to do for somebody else. And so we read the scriptures, study them and you’ll come to that conclusion. And we’ll look at that in just a moment. But what I want you to see here, looking verse seven, wherefore receive ye one another and then notice the last part of the scripture as Christ also did what? received us to the glory of God.

Now does it make God receive glory when you receive other children of God like God received you? Do you show grace to God’s children? Do you sow mercy to God’s or you the gods of engine angel or do you show you know and demonstrate love and respect? You should want the best for everybody. You should want the best for yourself. You should want the best for your mate, the best for your children, the best. You should always want the best for everybody.

It’s selfish to only want to know the things for yourself, so you can act with it until actual pride, you know, because they don’t know what I know. Teach people what you know. You see, the reasons for you serving the Lord might be good enough reasons for somebody else to serve a Lord. So you ought to figure it out. Why do you want to serve a Lord? Well, whatever the reasons they are, they might be good enough for somebody else.

They just haven’t thought about it. But because you took the time to sit down and think it through. A lot of times I’ll sit down with a piece of paper to cut the coffee, sometimes the gallon of coffee. And I’ll start writing a little thing. I just think, I just think. Stop everything. Get away from everything. And just write. Well, thoughts, as they come into your head. I do that all the time. And some things make sense, some things don’t make sense.

That goes across. This is good. Oh, this is good. You won’t believe this the other day. I had set for hours, figured up all these great sayings, and I pulled in the wisest men that I have in the ministry. And they came out out of about 50 of these jewels that I had. They liked two of them. Back to the drawing board. But not everybody likes the same ones for the same purpose because some, well, they’re for this sermon.

Well, that’s for this here one. But for missionaries, there’s a couple good ones. So sometimes you’ve got to go through a lot of stuff just like if you want to get a couple people to serve a Lord, you’re going to have to win a thousand to get just a hundred to go to camp and maybe ten of them will dedicate their lives to the Lord and one of them might make it. You have no clue. We just do what you can with what you have, where you are.

But now looking for saying, now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision or the Jews for the truth of God and the reason to confirm the promises made unto the fathers. See, there were many promises made in the Old Testament for the nation of Israel. So when Christ came, he confirmed all those Old Testament prophecies, he fulfilled them. So this is what he did. But he also in the very next verse says, he showed mercy to the Gentiles.

See there? And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy as it is written. For this cause I will confess to the among the Gentiles and sing unto thy name. Now even though that was written about 700 years before Christ ever came. And even though it’s found in the book of Isaiah, but it’s also mentioned again when He’d get down there to verse 12 where he says, again Isaiah said, so he goes to Isaiah twice. Now, you might think, well, there’s no real reason for, you know, just pull a verse here and I’ll pull a verse there.

What’s the purpose of it? Well, it’s very simple when you get right now to it. You see, the Lord puts his stamp of approval upon the Old Testament. So when you look there in verse 11, and again, praise the Lord, all you gent out and laud him all your people. You know that’s found in the book of Psalms. But when you read in verse 10 and again he said, rejoice ye Gentiles with his people. That’s found under the Pentateuch.

And then when you read down there in verse 12, Isaiah said, they shall be a root of Jesse and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles and him shall the Gentiles trust. Oh this is the prophet. So you got the the prophet, the law, the psalm, you got the recommendation for all study the scriptures. That’s what he’s referring to up there in verse four. So it’s not like you study these at the expense of these. Now study all the word of God.

You’ll learn something from everywhere in the scriptures. And then he says in verse 13, Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing. So the reason you study and learn all of these things because you have a chance to see how God has dealt with His people over all those years and you’ll learn a little bit about the character of God. What God does, what God promises, how He can chase and He can discipline, He can bring all these things and God can work and people who listen.

The testimonies of the Lord are sure making wise the simple, believing what God says. And as you read those testimonies in the Old Testament where different saints have said different things and what God said and those who obeyed and those who disobeyed, you can learn a lot of wisdom from them. If you don’t, you’re going to have to learn those lessons on your own. But if you’ll learn from them, and then you can apply it to your life, and you’ll save a lot of time, you’ll grow faster and accomplish more, and you won’t make as many mistakes as what they’ve made.

Because you know that it’s not very wise to go against God. God resisted the plowsal, you to the Lord and do what God wants to do and that you may bound in hope to the power of the Holy Spirit. Now in chapter seven of the book of Romans you don’t have all of this. Chapter seven is just conflict, conflict between the old nature and the new nature. You just got a lot of conflict. So how do you solve this problem?

Well, this is what he’s telling you. You see, when you study the scriptures and you get this confidence of what God’s going to do, did you know there’s power and confidence? There’s power and love. There’s power and truth. And the Holy Spirit teaches you the truth of the Word of God. And because you learn truth, you have power to do what you’re supposed to do. That’s what gives you the hope for down the road. You’re going to serve the Lord and not be leaving this going to work out the way God says to.

And you can trust Him. You can wait. You can be patient. The God of patience. And that’s why you studied the God of patience. You studied the God of hope. And you studied the God of peace because you want the peace of God in your heart. Nobody can give that to you. That comes from the Lord. Now look up here in verse 14, and I myself also am persuaded of you my brethren that you also are full of goodness filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.

Now here’s Paul, see he’s writing to these believers there at Rome. He says, I believe that you’re competent to counsel, you’re able to admonish one another, to challenge one another, to correct one another, to keep an eye on each other, to help each of the pray for one another. All those things are good. And I don’t know if there’s a verse here that kind of seems like, you know, things that are acceptable to God and getting the Gentiles acceptable.

Just jump down here just quickly looking verse 16 that I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles ministering the gospel of God that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Now we know in the book of Ephesians in chapter 1 and in verse 6 it makes the statement that you are accepted in the beloved. Now we know that whenever we trust Christ of Savior we are accepted in the beloved.

It also makes the statement in 2nd Corinthians in chapter 5 when he’s talking about that we are accepted in Him. Now that is true because of what Christ has done for us but whether or not there’s a little bit more here. I’m not sure. Take your Bible and just look very quickly here. See, there’s a verse here that makes this statement. And in Numbers 8, look at this. Numbers, chapter 8. Could read from verse 1, but it’s a little bit too much.

So we’ll kind of cut it down. Numbers, chapter 8. But in verse 5, down through verse 11, it’s talking about how that the high priest and they were going to do the office of the tabernacle, how they were supposed to be. They had to really get clean. So he says in the verse 5, and the Lord is speaking of Moses and take the Levites from among the children of Israel and cleanse them. And he goes through about all the water and the purifying and getting them.

They had to get clean. They had to shave themselves. I don’t want to get into much detail. they had to do Swordsman and they had to do all of these things. And on in verse 11, an Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord for an offering of the children of Israel that they may execute the service of the Lord. Now this was acceptable by God. This is what God said. This is what I want them to do. Now when we get to the place in the New Testament where the The Bible says we’re like priests of God.

And so God wants us as vessels to be clean so that we can be instruments that God can use to bring up and offer to the Lord the sacrifice of praise. The sacrifice that belongs to the Lord and bringing him honor and glory and so forth. And he says to bring glory to the Lord is loving one another. You might not think that’s a big deal. Well, Adam and Eve didn’t think taking that fruit was a big deal either.

But honoring the Lord is a big deal. And so you obey what the Lord says. And so Paul talks about whether or not with the Gentiles and their obedience. You see there in verse 18, for I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not wrought by me, and get this statement, to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed. He didn’t want to step outside the boundaries of that which was scriptural in order to challenge and to motivate people to do what they should.

This is why he also states in the book of 1 Corinthians in chapter 2 that the words that I speak, even though I was among you in fear and trembling, my words were not in picing and so on, that the power of God may be of God and not of me, because he wanted God to get the credit and God to get the glory. So it wasn’t in his great speaking ability. But it was because of what God did.

And when we want people to serve the Lord, it should not be given them false reasons, make up things, but telling them the truth. If you can’t get a person to serve the Lord by truth, you’re not going to get a person to serve the Lord. You’re going to serve the Lord because you know the truth and you believe it. But trying to manipulate people and some preacher scare people to death by, well, if you’re really saved, you’re going to want to volunteer for this dirty job.

And if you don’t volunteer, that’s probably a sign you’re not saved. So they can scare people. And the Bible talks about it in Corinthians in chapter four. He says, we do not miss handle the word of God, but to me to use it, to misapply it. Now you can apply a lot of scripture, but not to misapply it is not a very wise thing to do. Look in verse 19, even though Paul was able to be used greatly of the Lord, and yes, he had the the power to do a lot of miracles and so forth.

But he wanted their faith to stand in what God said not in Paul. Not what he said and did, but what the Lord says. Through mighty signs and wonders by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and roundabout Ilericum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. Now there’s a few statements that are made down through here, and I want you to look at this because it is so important. The Apostle Paul isn’t like us today.

He wanted to go somewhere where the gospel hasn’t gone. He wanted to preach to people that have never heard the gospel. He said, I don’t want to build on another man’s foundation. In other words, there’s some churches, all they do is just rob each other’s fish from their go fish bowl. And if a big mega church, it’s not because they reached a whole lot of lost people. They just sucked out some of those people that go to other churches and closed their doors and now they’re a big mega church, but they didn’t reach them.

They were already being reached by the other. They just got more bigger entertainment and things like that. And so if you go, you can get lost in it. And if you don’t show up, that’s okay. You don’t give, that’s okay. But it destroys. It doesn’t mean it’s of God. It’s just that’s what happens. And some people you take most Calvinists. Most Calvinists cannot build a church on the people they win in the reason because you may got a clue.

They don’t win them. They got to steal them. They got to bring upon them let me teach you the deeper things of God. Oh yes. I mean Yankee, he’s you know he’s clear on the gospel but You don’t know anything else. So they’re going to finish raising all these kids that these evangelists have. And if it wasn’t for somebody winning people to Christ, they wouldn’t have anybody to talk to at all. But anyway, I’m not getting sidetracked tonight. Okay, right here.

But look what he says here. I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. In verse 20, yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel not where Christ was named, unless I should build up on another man’s foundation. These apostles, they went out, they go to different places. You know, whenever we left Florida Bible college years ago, of course, we used to sit there in class and we couldn’t wait. Like a final bell and like the race is on.

Whoa, we scattered. And the alumni, well, we went everywhere. And here’s Lee. He goes to San Antonio. Wally, he goes down there to far Texas and Yankee goes up there to Colorado and you know you got males that came over here, Hank came here, and different ones went to Atlanta, and they went to Pennsylvania, and different ones scattered because we wanted to build a work, not on somebody else’s, we wanna do our own thing. So we hit mainly big town, big cities.

Why? Because in the big old fishing hole, there’s more fish. (); we wanted to catch as many fish, you want more people. And so that’s what we did. But we didn’t know we were following anything, we just did it. And I think the Lord had something to do with all of that. I’m really doing. But not to go and build upon another man’s foundation, but to be able to say, I now get some people and lead them to the Lord and then watch them grow.

And today it’s wonderful if you have some people who can work with you and help you and to get things started. There’s nothing wrong with that. We’re not the apostle Paul. The apostle Paul also had the ability to perform miracles. Now if I had that, that might be an extra incentive. You know, I could maybe do a little bit more.

But when you have the gospel in a Northern vessel that the power may be of God and not of us. That’s what pleases the Lord. Now look at verse 21. But as it is written, so you can’t say the apostle Paul taught the church. But he only taught them new things that dealt with the dispensation of grace. No, he was teaching them things out of the Old Testament. You read how many times Paul refers to Old Testament scripture.

And so he says here in verse 21, to whom he was not spoken of, they shall see, and they that have not heard shall understand. Paul said, I want to see people that have never heard before. I want to talk to lost people. Don’t you just get a kick out of talking to people that’s never heard before? And I said to one person, I said, isn’t it true you’ve heard all your life that Jesus tries down the cross and paid for all the sin of the world?

He said, what? No, everybody hasn’t heard. A lot of people have. A lot of people have. If somebody had asked me that question when I was 18 years old, I couldn’t have said that. I didn’t know that. I didn’t understand. Living right here in good old Christian America. Well, you know everybody in America is a Christian. I mean, we’re not Chinese, are we? We must be Christian.

Well, he makes a statement here in verse 22, for which cause also I have been in your underlying these two words, much hindered. Now you and I think, well, if if we’re who we’re supposed to be and we want to serve the Lord, we shouldn’t be hindered. Like nothing should stand in our way. God’s going to open up the doors wide. And in the open the door wide and they’re standing gorilla and you’re going to have adversaries. You see there’s people in this world that are not going to let you alone.

Satan has his little demons and they’re working. You’re going to have problems and you’re going to be hindered at times. So he says, for which cause also I have much been much hindered from coming to you. Now he wants to go to Rome. Does he ever get to Rome? to Rome? Oh, he gets to Rome. But I’m not sure he ever got to Spain. Now he may have but I’m not sure unless he came back to Rome he got a hiccup off then.

But he says here in verse 24, well in verse 23, but now having no more place in these parts. In other words he didn’t cover it. He didn’t cover it everywhere he was. He didn’t cover it. You read the 20th chapter of Acts and he went everywhere and he preached the gospel and even the book of Colossians, the very first chapter, Anyway, you know, the no world, wherever he was, they heard. They saturated the place. You also started the Bible college and had about three years of it.

But anyway, look at this. In verse 24, he says, Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you, for I trust to see you in my journey and to be brought on our way or my way. Did the word by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company. Now when he comes to Rome, what was he saying in this verse? What was he actually saying? When I come to you in Rome, I’m expecting you to send me there.

What do you think he means? All right, we’ll go a little bit further. Maybe you’ll get it. And verse 25, but now I go unto Jerusalem, to minister unto the saints. For he had pleased them, it had pleased them of Macedonia and to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. It had pleased them, fairly, and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things, means things for the body, needs for the body.

When And therefore I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit. I will come by you in Spain.” Do you have any idea what he might be talking about yet? Supporting who said that? It would be Al. He got it. Now I would get this. All of you probably got it but didn’t want to say something because you’re afraid you might be wrong. He didn’t want to be considered wrong on internet. But now notice what he says.

Back there in verse 24, when he says, I trust to see you in my journey and be brought on my way did the word by you. He’s expecting those that are there to help send him on his way. He expects them to do that. You see, giving permission’s work is a wonderful thing. It’s a great thing. It’s what God… He wants us to do. And then when he makes a statement there in verse 27, it has pleased them, barely, and their debtors they are for if the Gentiles have been made part, take their spiritual things, you came to know the Lord because of these spiritual truths.

Somebody came to you, preached the gospel to you. Their duty also to minister unto them in carnal things, followers to meet their financial obligations, to help them meet their needs and so on. And That’s why in verse 28, get it? When therefore I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit, this fruit refers to this offering, this gift, these donations, this money. He said, I will come by you in Spain. And then he says in verse 29, for I am sure that when I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.

Now I beseech you brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit that, and you ought to underline this, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me. Did Paul want people to pray for him? You see, his whole life was a dangerous life. I mean, it was filled with adventure, no doubt. More exciting than Indiana Jones. I mean, this was for real. He says, pray for me that I’ll open my mouth boldly as I ought to.

And he was willing to go here and willing to go there. He said, I didn’t cover this place. I want to go someplace else. I want to go and reach people that have never heard before. That’s a drive of motivation. Now see, not everybody has within them that drive that motivation. But it wasn’t for those churches like in Macedonia and a K.I. church there at Rome? Then there’s a lot of things that would have never got done because they’re the one who helped support Paul and helped get this done.

Take your Bible and look into 13th chapter of the book of Acts. Acts chapter 13 real quick. Notice they’re in book of Acts in chapter 13. This is the Paul and Barnabas getting ready to go out into the missionary work but notice it wasn’t Paul that established the church, it was the church that established Paul and sent him. In verse 1, now there were in the church that was at Antioch, certain prophets and teachers and Barnabas and Samian, or Simeon, that was called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene and Manam and which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarchard and Saul and they ministered to the Lord.

fasted. The Holy Ghost said, separate me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work, where unto I have called them. And verse 3, and when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they been sent forth by the Holy Spirit. Now this is because the church there, call them, sent them, call them, sent them, and obedience to the Holy Spirit. This is your invitation to join us for our third Sunday dinner held in the Florida Bible College of Tampa building on the Calvary Community Church Campus.

The dinner is a family-style, covered dish dinner, and a great way to showcase your favorite dish and pick up new recipes. Each month you have the opportunity to invite your family and friends to join us for our Sunday morning service at 1030 and then stay for our third Sunday dinner immediately following noon. Third Sundays at Calvary Community Church where you’ll be fed spiritually and physically. 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.