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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. 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.

We have a missionary sitting right down here, Bruce Campbell. They’re gonna be going back to Thailand. You know that place that made all those ties? They come from Thailand. So the other day in our board meeting, we know they got extra expenses in getting back, so we gave them an additional $2,000. Because we wanna have a part worth their doing. Because he has to depend upon what we do to help them in other places. We was talking about Berbo-Budrum, and he’s trying to get something done down there because of the Bible Institute that he has and doing a tremendous job.

And he’s one of our missionaries, because people have given so much more poor admissions. We also sent a check to them for next to $2,000. Isn’t that wonderful? Isn’t that great? Oh, because there’s people who like reaching mission work and reaching the lost. And so we want to have missionaries that we can have confidence in and try to support them. But we got great people in this ministry that give sacrificially over and above. And we thank the Lord for that.

But now notice what he says in verse 15. But I have used none of these things, neither have I written these things that it should be so done unto me. For it were better for me to die than that any man should make my glory and void. In other words, because of what I’m having to brag about that I didn’t do it, he said, I don’t want this to be misused. Any time you mention the word money, most people say, see there you go again.

Every time you go to church, that’s all they harp about. You can come to this church for two years and you may hear me talk about money two or three times. If you came today, you just hit it lucky. I want you to hold your place here, but look there in the book of 2 Corinthians, chapter 11. 2 Corinthians and chapter 11, because he’s expressing this in such a wonderful way. I want you to look there in verse 7.

Verse 7, he says this, Have I committed an offense in obeying myself? In other words, humbling myself, humiliating myself, doing without suffering that you might be exalted because I have get this freely preached, preached to you the gospel of God free. In other words, without you having to do anything. Now the gospel of going to heaven, it is free because Christ paid the cost. But he says, for me to get to you, that cost. For me to go to another place, that cost.

These people, when they go to Thailand, it’s gonna cost, they don’t have wings. They can’t fly. And there’s a lot of water between there and there, and they can’t walk. So they’re expensive. A water may be free, but it might cost to pipe it in. And so when it comes to how does God want his children to get the gospel spread. So when there’s individuals or missionaries or preachers, then God expects those who have trusted Christ the Savior. And if those people are ministering to you, and if you’re learning something from it, then support the person who is a blessing and getting that job accomplished.

This is why we wanna have a missions program. And I thank the Lord for that. Looking verse eight, he says, I robbed other churches taking wages of them to do you service. And why did he do that? Because they were so carnal, so fleshly minded. He would rather just do it with somebody else who knows the Lord and loves the Lord and will glee of and support the Lord and he will do their work for them for free and not charge him anything.

He said, God did I do you wrong? That I do you wrong. And then in looking in verse 9, and when I was present with you and wanted, I was chargeable tobash, but that whichCLASSIFIED lacking to methe brethren which came from Macedonia supplied. They supplied it because the church of Corinth didn’t do it. She’s not all churches are the same way. And so he says this, he said, I didn’t want to be burdensome to you. And so he says in verse 11, it’s because I’m not a church.

I don’t love you. He says, God knows. So Paul labored with support, without support, he would go. And when that didn’t work and people wouldn’t help him, then he’d do work on the side. I was telling him in college class the other day. I said, I’ve already graduated from Florida Bible College. I’ve been out in Colorado and I was gonna build a church. And Ray Stanford asked me, says, why don’t you come down here and speak at the missions conference and see if you can get some support.

I says, Ray, I can’t do that. He says, why not? I says, because you’ve got a pie down there. It’s only so big. And if I take a slice, that means it’s less for somebody else. I said, I don’t mind working. So I got myself a job throwing newspapers at 3.30 in the morning, seven days a week. And I repaired pallets at King’s Super’s warehouse so that I could do and build a work. But I didn’t want to take money out of somebody’s pocket.

Now, I’m not sending it to Bragg. Like Paul was talking about is because what I had and what I was getting to do serving the Lord so much fun, I couldn’t stop. It’s just, it’s what’s in me. It’s what I want. And if I did support, find it, if you don’t find, I’m still going to do the job, but you’ll be hindered. You won’t be able to accomplish as much as you’d like to accomplish. Go back there to the book of Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 9.

There is a scripture that’s talking about it, and it’s in the bowl we won’t take the time to look at it right now. But it’s Philippians chapter 2 verse 17 and 18 and also verse 25 to 30. These verses simply talking about a man named Epaphroodius who was sick, nigh unto death. And Paul says that he labored while sick, nigh unto death, because of your lack of labor, because of your lack of service. He says he was he was filling in for you.

He was doing what he was doing. Half dead. He says because you didn’t do what you’re supposed to do. You see not all of God, people keep this in mind. Aren’t you glad salvation is free? You don’t have to love God, you don’t have to serve God and you’ll go to heaven because he loved you that much. but now that you know Christ is your Savior, what is your service like for the Lord? What is your sacrifice? What is your involvement?

What do you do for Him? For Christ’s sake, for the gospel’s sake, for the lost man’s sake. How involved are you? How much does it mean to you? If you know you have eternal life and you’re glad you’re going to heaven, don’t you know somebody else will be just as happy and glad if they knew it. We’re living in America. There’s people that suffer in other countries when they try to explain the gospel to somebody. And this is why all this is so important.

So I want you to look here and look what he says here in verse 16, for though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of. For necessity is laid upon me. Yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. In other words, I’m responsible. If I do it willingly, I’ll get a reward. If against my will, I’m still responsible. I still have an accountability. But this is why God used the apostle Paul because Paul took this thing seriously.

And that’s why when he says all of us are going to have to appear at the judgments in Christ. And God says, your works are going to be judged. Not you, your works. What you’ve already done here. And what you have done for the Lord, God says He’s going to reward you. Eternal rewards. So the opportunities that we have here are valuable. Sometimes you have opportunities that will avail themselves and come right up to you like that one. There’s other times when you may have to make an open door, but do it we should.

Now look what He says in verse 18, for what is my reward then? See, we’re not talking about salvation. Salvation, going to heaven, is a gift. That’s free. I’m going to heaven because of what Christ did for me. Rewards are earned. That’s what you do for the Lord. Nobody can make you trust the Lord. Nobody can make you serve Him after you’ve trusted Christ the Savior. It’s a choice that you can make. I just decided I would rather have God’s blessings than is chastening.

That makes sense to me, as Spock would say that’s logical. And that is very logical. Makes so much sense. Now, notice, he said, I don’t want to abuse my power in the gospel. That’s part of verse 18. Now, notice something that goes a little bit deeper, very quickly. Verse 19, for though I be free from all men, these men that are here in Corinth, and he did not charge them, he was free from them, he owed them nothing, he had already done paid the debt, he paid it himself, he said, but I made myself a servant.

To all, it doesn’t matter who they are, whether or without. He’s free to serve. Real freedom is the liberty that God’s given to serve the Lord. And some people will abuse that freedom. And they let that liberty become a license or a cloak of militias, a cloak or a license to give them permission to sin. Well, I’m going to heaven and it doesn’t matter. Everything matters. You see, you can live as you please and still go to heaven, but there’s consequences to your decisions, to your choices, great price to pay.

But look why he did what he did. Verse 19, don’t be free from all men, yet I made myself a servant of all. I made myself. You are the one that determines whether you become a servant of God and God wants all of us to serve him, but you may not be a servant because you may not choose to prepare yourself to be fit for the the ministry. When you could have done something, you didn’t do it. I gmaxwellt told that we’ve had about 50 people that have taken the online Bible class of Bible and Institute.

And from Peter, give me that. And I was told that Louie says that we’ve had so far in the last four years since the college started, we’ve had over 4,000 Trust Christ of Savior on Friday night so winning. That awesome or what? That’s just from the Friday night from the kids going out. Well, what if they didn’t do it So they have to give up their Friday night. Think of how many Friday nights they give up. They sacrifice. They could have done something else.

Well, most people do. They did that. And every Thursday night they’ll be here for Thursday night ranch. They don’t have to, but they’ll do it. And then on Wednesday night, many people come on Wednesday night. Some come on Sunday night, some come on Sunday morning. But how precious is all of this to you? Now, you’ll notice when he says this, all of this is so that I might gain the more. Look down in verse 22, to the week became I as weak, that I might gain the weak.

I am made all things to all men that I might buy. And y’all see that by all means save some. Why did Paul do what he did? What was the secret behind it because Paul wanted people to be saved. Now if you don’t want people to be saved, then you don’t have to be dedicated. You don’t have to sacrifice anything. You don’t have to use your talents for the Lord at all. Why? Because if you don’t want people to be saved, you’re not under anything to do anything about it.

But if you want people to be saved, and I told the college gives this, I said the reason that I wanted to serve the Lord for the last 55 years is because I just don’t want people to go to hell. I don’t want people to go to hell. Now, doesn’t it? Now, if I don’t want people to go to hell, then I got to do something about it. Then I’ve got to discipline my life. I have to go to Bible college.

And I study God’s Word. And I’ve got to keep my nose so the grinds don’t. I have to watch my testimony at all times. So for 55 years, nobody can ever accuse me of doing something wrong with another woman in bezeling money, nothing like that. But I’ve had to watch and sacrifice all my life because I don’t want people to go to hell. And I know the devil want people to go to hell. So men, him, been at war for a long time.

I don’t want him to win. I don’t want the devil to be able to look at God and say, I got him. I got him. Got another one. Got another one. And you’d be surprised how that God says that some of God’s people be so wrapped up in this life. so that they cannot please him, who’ve called him to be a soldier. It’s so important. I’m finally getting to the back sheet. We’re running out of time. And you notice that, don’t you?

You want me to watch your clock and see where I’m at and you say, he ain’t got enough time. But if you look there in your notes, 1 Corinthians 9 verse 23, and this I do, and this I do, why do you do what you do Paul? For the gospel’s sake. for the gospel sake, Christ’s sake, the lost sake, that’s why I do what I do. Now, understand this, I put a few little things in here that applies to what we do.

Onto the children that I might gain the children, so we have an a wanna. Onto the teenagers that we might win the teenagers to have a new thrancin’ camp. On to the college age that we might win the college age for the Bible College. On to the adults that might win the adults. Ready or the Internet, newsletters, the church service itself. Everything we do. There’s a reason why we do it. But you see, if we don’t want to reach the lost, we don’t need to want to.

Because see, the purpose of living a good, clean, spiritual life, it’s been a strong Christian, it’s so that you can win lost. If you don’t want that, then you lost the purpose of your dedication, purpose of clean living, because you see, That’s what you’ve got to do to keep doing the other job. You don’t guard your testimony. You won’t be around long doing anything for the Lord. Leave the next one. The prize Paul paid. Do I expect too much?

It’s Calvary greatly burdened for the cause of Christ. Yes, you look at our church. Our church. Are we like the Corinthian church? Or are we like a New Testament Bible church that God intended us to be? Do we care? Do we have a burden for souls at this ministry? Do I expect too much? Have we overextended ourselves? Because I want to reach teenagers. lot of years. We have ranch. We got two buses. We pay insurance. We pay cash. Yeah.

We have ranch. We got two buses. We pay insurance. We pay cash. Gas. For the thing. We hire a guy like Jesse Martinez to do the ministry. Is it all? Is that worth it? money we spent, but is it worth it? We started up the O’wanna program. Is it worth it? Why are we doing it? So we can tell everybody, look what we’re doing. Now, are we supposed to be doing it for the Lord? We have here the Calvary Community Church missions.

We collected over $45,000 last year for missions and and we just started. Did you know for the ready-o ministry we have on Bibleline, during that cost us over $10,000 a month? When I first came here, it cost about $20,000 to $30,000. It was pretty high. And we had to cut that down. I mean, Hank Linson was on everywhere. But when he passed away, you can’t replace a guy like Hank. He was just natural on ready-o, taking questions and things like that and do it for an hour.

The guy was incredible, but he’s no longer here. So we have the radio ministry and look what it cost. And yet I get letters from people that are trusted Christ is Savior because they heard the gospel in the radio. We’ll have sometimes two or three families who come to church on Sunday morning because they heard us on the radio. Now, you, have you been here before? This is your first time? And you heard their own radio. God bless you, I didn’t know that and I have never met you before, but I’m glad to have you here.

So it makes a difference, but there’s a price to pay. It costs to do all of that. So whenever you hear the preacher always say, we need this and we need that. Listen, we’re always talking about, well, what about the college? Do you realize that we’ve got some great teachers, great teachers in our college that has come here and sold their homes and moved here and bought home just so they could have a part in helping to train some college kids so that they would be able to and they come with great credentials.

These are people that have been you know in the ministry 30 and 40 and 50 years and how God has blessed us with this just so we can train a handful of college kids look at the sacrifice, the money that’s spent, the electricity, the insurance, all the things that go on but there’s a price to pay. Have we overextended ourselves? Is my vision too big? Shall we cut back? And let’s just have just a church service on Sunday morning.

Forget about the YouTube ministry. Forget about the radio ministry. Just us four no more. Or should we stay at it and just keep going? And every once in a while you’ll hear the preacher says, we need some more scholarship money for kids to go to camp. You know what I just told some of the kids? I said, we’re going to try to raise up all the money we can so the kids can’t go to, can’t for free if necessary.

I just have a hard time telling you can’t come to camp because you don’t have any money we can’t let you come. That just don’t sit right with this point. You go ahead and you come. We’ll be knocking on some of y’all’s doors trying to get a loan from you. But we got to do it. We can’t, you can’t stop. So there’s so many things that going on. down to the bottom of the page. Do you truly believe in living and giving by faith?

I cannot promise you anything here because I don’t believe in the health and the wealth philosophy. You give to the Lord’s work and you go to the mailbox tomorrow and there will be a check in there. I don’t teach that. You may give to the Lord today and lose your job tomorrow. I don’t know what’s going to happen in your life. No more. I know what’s going to happen and mine. But I believe that God can use whatever I give to the Lord.

And I believe that when I get to heaven, God’s going to reward me for whatever I did for the Lord. Because that’s where my faith comes in. *=- I believe that when I get to heaven, God is not unrighteous to forget all of your work and labor of love, and He’s going to reward you accordingly. Don’t you believe that? Do you really believe that? If you believe that, then it makes a difference in what you do for the Lord.

It makes a difference in your faithfulness. It makes a difference in how you give, how you live. It makes a difference in everything. I told them, I says, Peter, won’t be long. A couple of these college kids going to be out of the choir because they’re going to be graduating gone. We need some more people in the choir. Some of you all out there go, oh, you got beautiful voices. Any of you all that sit not there, anytime we have a congregational song and you hear somebody that sings pretty good, tell Peter.

said, I know somebody that sings really good. They ought to be up there and acquire. And God forbid He gave you a great voice and you won’t use it for the Lord. Wouldn’t that be a shame? Or if you have been blessed financially and you won’t help send kids to camp or you don’t help on the radio or you don’t do this for kids for college and but you just keep buying more and free safe and you got a great big safe.

That’s wonderful. When you die, how much you’re going to take with you, do what you can for the Lord now. And look at these last few things I wrote down at the bottom. I want to read it to you. Do you believe that the Lord knows of your sacrifice and will reward you? Of course. Do you believe that? Because if you don’t really believe it, you’ll resent anything that this preacher says. But if you believe it, you’ll take it to heart examine yourself, is there more that I could do?

Could I be more involved? Could I give more? Could I pray more? Can I encourage people more? Do what you can now because the day’s gonna come. When no man can work, your days are numbered, you’re running out of time. And while ago we found out that a whole bunch of us in here over 70, I’m 65, I’ll be getting up here soon. I told somebody the other day I says, you won’t believe this, that says in the last five years, I’ve had two birthdays.

Now, down at the bottom, communion, remember the sacrifice, right? Christ came. Remember to search your life. An unexamined life is not worth it. He’s an examine yourself. Search and see, is there something in your life that’s not right that needs to be corrected? And then you stand the skies looking because one day he’s coming back. Do youopot that he could be any day? Or maybe he’s oh hell it. I’ve got a lot of time because I’m young and I got 40 years to live.

Oh really? So as far as you know nobody has ever died as young as you are. Or crisis coming but you know it’s been 2000, you’re probably another thousand and you become lackadaisical, don’t care, don’t take it seriously. Serve the Lord now, it’s the only time you have. Do what you can. You be thankful for these ministries, but like I said, since I’ve been here, I just hope that I have an overburden the church, and I don’t want to go to the well too often.

But I just know that in the long run, when you get to heaven, you’ll be glad for everything that you did, Because I’m not asking anything for myself. I’m asking for the ministry and what needs to be accomplished. Did you just hear those college boys up here singing? Wasn’t that awesome? That’s awesome. That was great. Wouldn’t it be great if we had 100 kids serve in the ministry? 100 young men like this and a few women, we always got to have the women.

We’ve got to do what we got to do. days the Lord’s go take me out of here, but look up here now. This is what He did for us. Before you think you, well I don’t want to do too much for the Lord. You probably haven’t. This hand represents you and me. This wall represents sin. All of us, all of us have sinned. All of us do things wrong. We’ve all done things bad. He said, well what is sin?

I don’t care what it is, you did it. But whatever it is, we are all guilty. And the wages of sin is death, eternal separation from God in hell. We’re condemned. To go to heaven, you have to be perfect, because righteousness is God. Nobody’s perfect. So nobody can go to heaven because they deserve to go. And yet you’ll hear people always telling you, they go to heaven, you gotta be good, you gotta be good. No, you don’t, you gotta be perfect.

There’s no good heaven, there’s a perfect heaven. You gotta be perfect to go there. And nobody’s perfect, it’s okay, how do you get thereOSP? I’m glad you asked. God says you can’t earn your way to heaven. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God in the flesh. Came into the world because He loves us, hates our sin, because our sin separates us from Him. So Jesus Christ who never sinned, didn’t have to die. But because He loved us, He took our sins.

Now He has to die. So He died for us, paid our sin dead, came back from the dead, and said the only thing we have to do to go to Heaven is believe He did it for us. You can handle that. That’s not that hard, is it? All you have to do to go to heaven is believe he did it. I mean I don’t have to stop anything, no. I don’t have to promise God anything, no. See it’s free, it’s a gift.

He just wanted you to believe it. For God so loved the world, should me, that he gave his only begotten son, Jesus Christ. That who’s so ever, anybody who’s whoever, believe it. If you’ll believe it, he paid for your sin. He said you shall not perish. You will not perish means you can’t go to hell. But have everlasting life means you get to go to heaven. So when does he guarantee all this to you? When you believe it, if you’ll believe it, you can have it.

That’s the best news in all the world. Let’s pray, shall we? With his bow and eyes closed and no one looking around. Would you right now just talk to the Lord and say something simple like this, Lord, I don’t understand at all. I know that I’m a sinner. And I believe that when Christ died, He died and paid for my sins and this morning, I want to trust Him as my Savior. I want to know that I have eternal life.

I want to be certain I’m going to heaven when I die. Friend, would you trust Him? I’m not gonna have you forward, not gonna embarrass you like I said. I just want you to trust Him. But I’m gonna ask you just a moment to raise your hand. Raising your hand doesn’t save you. It just lets me know that what I said made sense and you understood and your trusting Christ is your savior this morning. So if you’ve never done it before, would you do it right now?

And if you will, would you just slip your hand very quick and say, I will trust Christ right now as my savior and I want you to pray for me. And we’ll do it all before we close. just God bless you, sir. You can put it down. Anyone else? I’m not gonna do anything to you, not gonna scare you, not gonna have you come forward, but right where you’re sitting. He said, preach of that made sense. I wanna be certain I’m going to heaven.

Anyone else, just God bless you. You can put it down. Appreciate that. There may be others, sometimes people just don’t wanna let me know. But if you have trusted Christ as your savior, God says he gave you eternal life. And because you’re his child, he wants you to serve him. Not to get to heaven, but because you’re going there. He wants to honor you. The day will come when you get to heaven. He wants to reward you for what you did for him.

So we don’t serve God to get to heaven, but we should serve the Lord because we’re going to heaven. If you’re watching by internet right now, on the screen it says, yes, I will trust Christ as my savior, if you will. Just click it on it. Let’s us know that someone out there listening trusts the Christ as savior. Our Father, we thank you again for your blessings. Thank you for these that indicated that they would accept Christ as their savior.

by doing so you guarantee them in the free gift of everlasting life that you never cast them out and never lose them. And we thankful for that. And following you ask now your blessings upon the communion service. This is because of what you did for us. Help us to look back to what you did and forward to your coming again in Christ name we pray. Amen. 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.