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Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, here God’s truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach us toll-free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the Bibleignmenistries.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.

God has really been good to us. And I had a decision to make years and years ago after I trusted Christ as my Savior, would I or would I not serve the Lord? And I really had a struggle because I wanted to do something for the Lord but didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know how to find the will of God for my life. And the Bible talks about winning and losing, and I want to win. I don’t want to be a loser.

I know that when I get to heaven, I don’t want my heavenly Father to be ashamed of me. And I don’t want to be ashamed before Him at His coming. I had a father-in-law that loved me enough to tell me some things to do and not to do. And he made the statement about don’t say something that you don’t want to be saying when the Lord comes. He said, and don’t be doing something you don’t want to be doing when the Lord comes.

Well, that’s just about covered everything. He said, and don’t be anywhere you don’t want to be when the Lord comes. Oh, that even made it narrower. But it did make an impact upon my life. So I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Mark and chapter eight. The book of Mark, chapter eight.

What can the believer lose? In other words, if I serve the Lord, what’s in it for me? Well, what can I lose if I don’t? There is always and you need to understand there’s a price to pay, a price to pay. So in the decisions that we make, and no one can make you serve the Lord, no one can make you love God. So there’s things that you need to understand because life here upon this earth is temporal, it is passing quickly.

God is the author of life and he granted us life, and there is an appointed time in which we’re going to die as appointment. And we don’t know when that’s going to be. God hasn’t told all of us the exact day when we’re going to die. But I believe life can be shortened by disobedience and prolonged by obedience. And sometimes by your obedience, God may, just like with Stephen’s in the Bible, cause you to go home early. Uh-oh. So we don’t know when.

All we’re supposed to do is be faithful. So here in the book of Mark chapter 8 verse 34, it says, when he had called the people unto him with his disciples, also he said unto them, whosesoever will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. Now any time you have it where you got to take up something, do something, follow something, that’s service. Salvation is only receiving, you just receive. But there is a responsibility for God’s children to take up the cross, that responsibility, that burden, whatever it is, God wants you to crucify yourself on and serve the Lord and make sure that He’s number one in your life.

And so God’s word teaches this. And then look what He says in verse 35, for whosoever shall save his life or will save is like shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospels the same shall save it. So God has given you life. Your life is on loan from God. So he’s the one who knew when you would be born and when you will die. And since you’ve trusted Christ as your Savior and your God’s child you’re going to heaven when you die.

You’re not there yet. God’s Word says if if you will lose your life for his sake and the gospel, the same shall find it. In other words, define the purpose of life. Why did God give you life? The ability to live. Now, it is possible that, you know, before I was born, I never thought about all those people who had been born and lived and died before I got here, before I was born. I didn’t exist. I wasn’t around.

I don’t know what went on. If I had never been, it wouldn’t have hurt me at all. But I am here. I’m here. I didn’t choose that. You didn’t choose that. But God has granted you the opportunity that’s very unique to live. And then He tells us how He wants you to live upon this earth and it’s for His honor and for His glory. A man who seeks to live for himself to find his own purpose and plan and goal in life, God says you will lose your life.

Now you may live 50, 60, 70 years, but you lost your life. The purpose of the life is gone. It’s not why God put you here. You blew it. It doesn’t matter how much money you have in the bank or your house you live in, the cars you drive. It doesn’t matter about your family. I think as far as the reason for God allowing you to live, if it wasn’t for Him, you messed up. You blew it. You may have good health.

Accomplish a lot. But did you do what God wanted you to do with your life? He says, the man that will lose his life for his sake and the gospel of the same shall find it. And most people never, I don’t really ever get there. Never find out what did God create me for. What is the will of God for me? And the will of God is not whatever you will it to be. It’s God’s. And look what he says in verse 36, for what shall it profit a man if he gained the whole world, lose his own soul or his life, the purpose of his life?

Where shall a man give an exchange for his soul? Now, we’re here you are, God’s giving you the opportunity to live, what did you exchange it for? We’re always making trades. We’re always trying to find a good deal. We wanna pay as little as we can for as much as we can get. That’s just good business. But whenever you traded your life, the one that God had for you, you gave that up for what? Now if you don’t serve the Lord, it means you traded that for something.

What did you get? What have you got so far? Because see, you might have made a bad deal. You see, God has something for you. And if you do what he says, you’re making an eternal investment by which God is gonna bless you reward you for eternity. Now did you give all that up? And if you did give it up, yeah, what did you get for it? What did you give it up for? Did you know you can give all that up for a pretty little woman?

You can give it up for a hunk. You can give all that up for this job or for fame and honor and glory. You name it. What did you trade it for? Did you make a good deal? Because whatever you traded something eternal for something temporal, I think you messed up. I think you blew it. So you want to find out what is the will of God for my life? That’s more important. Now, I want you to take your notes there and look at number one, because you need to understand that if you do not serve the Lord, now you You don’t have to, but you’re making a trade.

You’re changing something for something. You’re exchanging, like you said, what did a man give in exchange? So he makes a statement about the rewards. Take your Bible looking to 1 Corinthians in chapter three. I want you to see this very quickly. 1 Corinthians and chapter three. You’re noticing chapter three of verse 14. So after you trust Christ as Savior, you’re on the foundation which is Christ. And one day when we get to heaven, God is going to reward you for what was built on the foundation means after you had trusted Christ as Savior.

You’re saved by grace. So going to heaven is free. It’s a gift. It’s not a result of any good works that you’ve done. But once you have trust in Christ, God left you here and granted you the right as a child of God to live for Him. God set you free so that you could voluntarily choose to serve Him. And if you will serve Him… God says you’re going to have rewards when you get to heaven. So he says here in verse 14, if any man’s work abide which he had built there on on the foundation, he shall receive a reward.

And if in verse 15, if any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss. But he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. Nothing but salvation because you didn’t do anything for him. You mean a man can trust Christ’s Savior and not do anything for the Lord? Yes, that’s what he says. If you didn’t do any works. So when you get to heaven, you can suffer the loss of rewards. And those rewards is what God wanted to give to you.

You see, you have no idea how much your rich, heavenly Father wants to do for you and give to you, but you won’t let him. You deny him the right to give to you something that he wants to do for you, because you traded that for something that was temporal. Did you know that you can lose your testimony that quick over something that’s pittance? They say that you could make a mountain out of a molehill. The difference between a molehill and a mountain is dirt, just more of it, just dirt.

Would you trade all that God has for you for something down here this temporal. It’s a bad move, bad choice. You’re supposed to be wiser than that. Is he just because you have ability to accomplish a lot in this world and you’re looked up to and you respect all of that? Are you rich toward God? Are you laying up treasure in heaven? And so God’s word says that this is what we ought to do, but you’re going to lose something.

If you don’t serve the Lord, you’re going to lose. You’re going to lose these rewards. Now, in Matthew, we don’t take the time to turn there, but it says, if you bring unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water, only in the name of a disciple, you shall and no wise lose your reward. Matthew 6 says, lay up treasure in heaven where you can’t lose it. So rewards But once they’re earned, laid up in heaven, I don’t believe you can lose those.

But you can lose what you could have had. You could have done so much, but you limited yourself. You robbed yourself. Now there’s a lot of thieves in this whole world, but in a shame when a man robs himself, steals from himself, inflicts himself, tortures himself. The Bible talks about pure love, true love, casteth out fear because fear brings torment. And a lot of people who don’t love God and His Word, they torture themselves because they rob themselves of the peace and the joy and the love and the happiness that they could have in life.

God designed all of this and His way will work. And when you go against it, it won’t work. John chapter 1. I want you to look over there quickly. First John chapter 1. First John chapter 1. And you’ll notice this book talks about fellowship, what it boils down to like two fellows in a ship. You’ve got to get together and you’ve got to go in the same direction. If one goes that away and we go that way, you can’t go anywhere.

And the Bible talks about how can two walk together unless they’re agreed. So you’re talking about two people going in the same direction. Well, one’s God and one’s me. God doesn’t change directions. If I want to walk with God, guess who has to change directions? I do. Now, there are some people who get a lot of things all mixed up. They say that if you were walking this direction, and we were just talking about this the other day, about repentance, if you’re walking this direction, they say repent means you got to turn and go the other way and then God will save you.

You got to stop doing all these bad things and live differently and you got to make this promise commitment to God in order for him to save it. That’s not true. That is not true. But for the Christian, it is the will of God that his children depart from iniquity. It’s not the way God wants us to live. God wants us to live a holy life. And so he talks about us walking. See there in verse six, if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk, it has to deal with our walk.

You see, I’ve been teaching in the book of Ephesians about the wealth of the believer and the walk of the believer. The wealth that we have in Christ because of our standing in Him that doesn’t change. But the walk of the believer from day to day, well, it changes. And one day you might be walking close to the Lord, and the next day you might be questions and doubts and fears and all kind of stuff. What God says, walk with Him.

And if a Christian doesn’t walk with the Lord, you’re going to forfeit the fellowships that you could have with God. So remember, it’s going to cost you not to put God first in your life. Now nobody can make you do this. Nobody can make you love Him. The reason that I love church is because God loves church. And when I say church, I’m not talking about the building. I’m talking about God’s people. The Bible says Christ gave Himself for the church.

He loves the church, the people. And so whenever we say we love the Lord, but we don’t love His people, we got a problem. God says you don’t really love me. Because if you don’t love those that you can see, How can you say you love me whom you can’t see? And he says, if you love me, love one another. So we’re supposed to love each other, and that means we’re supposed to get together. As the Bible says, the church came together.

So there’s always a few mavericks, you know, that like to just do whatever they want to do and wrong wherever they want to wrong with that. No commitment to anybody or anything or nobody, they just do whatever they want to do. That’s not the will of God. Now you can do whatever you want, but there’s a price to pay. So God wants us to have fellowship with him. We walk with him and talk to him. You’re going to forfeit that.

Now, you think that’s worth it? I mean, we’re talking about God, our heavenly Father. And you would give that up for the things of the world, the ways of the world. It’s a costly thing. It’s not a very wise move. Look at number three. I want you to look first of all in Galatians, the book of Galatians. I want you to see because you need to know that if you decide I’m not going to serve the Lord I’m not going to change my life and do what God wants better What it’s going to cost you it’s a very expensive move And if you’re willing to pay that price so be it but don’t whine and cry and pine about later You asked for it Now you got to make up your mind and one day you’re gonna be at the Judgement City of Christ and the

Bible says and God a wife away all tears from our eyes, because I believe there’s going to be quite a few tears. When you see what you could have done for the Lord, what you could have been for the Lord, what you could have accomplished for the Lord. But I believe that God wants to use you. And you may find out when you get to heaven, God said, you know, if you deserve me, you could have shook this country or this country or this country.

And you said, well, I didn’t have any talent and abilities. God says, you ought to see what I was going to do when I was going to work on you. You ought to see what I could have built out of your life. But you didn’t trust me. You didn’t believe me. You did your own thing. Now, this is what you could have had. And this is what you get. I believe it’s going to be a wake up call, but it’s too late to wake up.

And they’re going to be regrets. I don’t believe will be happy with that, but that’s the way it is. There’s gonna be a price to pay. Look there in verse 22 of Galatians chapter 5, but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, maintenance, temperance and so on. These things right here, if you decide to walk in the flesh, you’re gonna exchange the fruit of the spirit for the works of the flesh. Now look at the works of the flesh.

In verse 19, works of the flesh are manifest. adultery, fornication, uncleanness, less seriousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, various simulations, draft, strikes, additions, heresy, zenvies, murders, ruffling, and ruffling, such life. That is what you can trade, verse 22 and 23, 4. You think it’s a good move, good exchange? Whenever I give my wife some money, which is rare, when I give her some money, she goes and she spends and she she comes home, I’d like to know, what did she get?

My wife always finds bargains. She finds the best deals. That’s how she got me. I was 50% off. Don’t laugh, some of y’all are the same way. I guess one guy said to this girl, and says, you know, I have a half a mind to get married. She says, that’s all it takes. Never mind, I’m gonna stop right there. you’re trading something for something and you want to tell them make the best decisions you can in your life. And if you’ve already made some bad decisions well what should you do?

Keep making more bad decisions. No! You correct the problem. Did you know the perfect will of God for your life is as close as the next decision you make? And the wicked life can begin with the next decision you make. So it is important the decisions that you and I make. I want you to take your Bible and look in the book of Psalms 51, all the way over there to the Old Testament. Psalms 51, now most everybody has heard of King David, and everybody loved King David.

Because King David, well he would never do anything wrong. was a man after God’s own heart. And he just said around all day long, saying unto the sheep and playing his harp. Well, the old boy, he grew up one day, became the king of Israel. When it was time to go to war, he says, I feel tired today, and that old lady boy sure looks good. So he stayed home, and he got up and he looked out the window, and lo and behold, he saw something he shouldn’t have seen, but seemed to be heading to bend there.

Bible talks about not making provision for the flesh, not making opportunities to get in trouble. And it’s one thing for a black bird to fly over your head. But when you let that bird land in your head and build a nest and lay eggs, you could have stopped that. You may not stop all the bad thoughts from coming through your mind. But when you let that little thought stay there and harbor there and live there and dwell there and hatch there.

Now you went too far because your way you think is going to control the way you act sooner or later. And your evil thinking can get you into trouble sooner or later down the road. Now nobody’s perfect and you know that but just because nobody’s perfect isn’t a means for you to see how unperfect you can be. And then use that as an excuse. Well nobody’s perfect. Of course nobody’s perfect. But God still expects His children to be godly.

And so He gives us a way of dealing with these problems. And one of the things is abstain from every appearance of evil. But what did David do while he didn’t do anything really wrong? He just asked her if she wanted to see the inside of his palace. And lo and behold it got worse after that. He probably thought, it’ll never go any further than this. Hello. And she said, hello, big boy. And he went bla bla bla bla bla bla bla.

And ruined his testimony. He had a man killed. He committed adultery. And then he tried to get somebody else in trouble. And all of this and Prophet Nathan came and says, Thou art the man. the man. I think that’s the first time they’ve come across it. Hey, you the man. You the man. And he didn’t want to be the man, but he was the man. He was caught. God knew. God told on him.

And it doesn’t matter if nobody sees what you do under the cover of darkness. God sees. And God says, be sure your sin will find you out. It’s like a detective. and it will be revealed sooner or later. God has a ways and means committee. David felt bad, lost his son, and he had such remorse and it makes this statement here in the book of Psalms 51. This is where he kind of comes clean with the Lord. Looking verse 2, he says, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin has ever before me.” In other words, all these flashbacks couldn’t get rid of it, the guilt. It’s all there. For I acknowledge my transgressions, verse 4, against thee and the only have I sinned and done this evil in thy side that thou mightest be justified when thou speaketh and be clear when thou judges. Because when God has to judge a person, God has to be clear. He has to do right. He He has to do according to the law.

His word is his guide. God gave the word and he has to go by the word. So, he says in verse five, he says, I was born and sinned. I had a sinful nature. I would shape this way. I got that from my mom. And my mother did conceive me. He says, you desired truth in the inward part. Now he says in verse seven, purge me with hiss up and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be wider than snow ever heard that song.

Wash me and I shall be wider than snow. Good song. Well this is where it comes from. Make me to hear joy and gladest that the bones which thou hath broken may rejoice. Because of the way he began to feel because of the sin. Now the pleasure of sin he enjoyed. There is pleasure in sin if it wasn’t pleasurable. People wouldn’t do it, but there’s a price to pay down the road. And he wasn’t thinking down the road, just like a lot of God’s people.

Well, I’ve never committed adultery. Well, I’ll never do this and I’ll never do that. Yeah, but you’re not walking with God. Just because you didn’t rob a bank doesn’t mean you, well, I’m okay. No, no, if you’re not doing what God says do, it’s just as bad. Are you doing what God says do? Are you a soul winner? Do you study God? God’s word, do you talk to Him? Do you want God’s will for your life, or anything else in the world?

So he says in verse 12, restore unto me my salvation. No, restore the joy, the joy. See, it cost. He doesn’t have the joy. He forfeited that. The peace. Now he has sleepless nights. And you ought to read another song, we don’t have time to go there, but it goes down. He says, what the Lord wants, look down there in verse 17, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a broken and a contrite heart. Oh God, that will not despise.

That’s what God’s after. God wants his children, yes, to realize, yeah, when you mess up, you’d mess up. But don’t stay there, correct the problem. You’re falling the mud, don’t stay in the mud. If we confess our sins as the cell of God, He is faithful and just to forgive. And it cleanses from all unrighteousness. And whenever you confess those things to the Lord, now you can restore the walk. If you restore the walk, you restore your fellowship. You see, you don’t confess your sin and it restores your fellowship.

No, that’s not true. That’s what some guy named RB Theme teaches and I despise the teaching. I don’t know if you ever heard of the guy or not, that’s a teaching and it’s not good and it’s not true. So the Bible tells us there’s things that it’s going to cost you and are you willing to pay that price? Look there in Philippians in chapter 2, the book of Philippians and chapter 2. Here we have the Word of God telling us how to think, how to think and in chapter 2 if If you’ll notice there in verse five, he says, let this mind be in you, which was in Christ.

In the word, this is how Christ thought. And it also makes the statement in the book of Hebrews in chapter 12 of that, like Christ looking beyond the cross endured the shame because of the joy he was looking beyond, looking down the road. You see, Christ, when he came into the world and down the cross to pay for all of our sins, his vision didn’t stop at the cross. He was looking beyond the cross. He knew what this payment would accomplish and what it would accomplish was worth his death.

You and I, there’s things that happens in our life and you have to look beyond the sufferings that a godly man may have to go through because you know it’ll be worth it because you look beyond this life. If your vision extends no further than this world, you will never serve God. You have to look into eternity the way it’s going to be forever. This is temporary here. And that is what helps you to guide your decisions now. Are you ready to learn how to live your life as a strong Christian, lead others to Christ, or excel as a church worker or ministry leader, then look no further, then 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 or call the register Bob Gilbert at 850227 5325. That’s 850227 5325. Thanks for joining us on Bible Eye. 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. Hot 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.