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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. regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bible on 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 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.

I’ve had people ask me, says, do you miss the work in Colorado, or do you miss the ministry up there in Georgia, or miss traveling around in Motorhome and all that? If I think about it and dwell on it, yes. But I try not to dwell on it. What? Because now is more important than then. Because I can’t do anything about what’s already been done. I can’t go back, change nothing. I can’t increase it. I can’t diminish it. What was done is done, and whatever I’ve laid up in heaven’s been done, and whatever I lost is lost.

Forgetting those things which are behind I press on. So from this day forward that’s all I’ve got to concern myself with. And everything else has already been done. Those opportunities are gone. Every day you wake up and you fill a pulse and you’ve got a purpose you’re going to have a day of opportunities. So it doesn’t matter how the opportunities come or what the opportunities may be. You see, every trial that you have, every problem that you have, every heartache you have, all those areWThing more than opportunities.

You demonstrate the grace of God in your life. Because it’s not what happens to you that’s so important as the, everybodyvantagebleacher, everybody has problems. and everybody has problems. Everybody has troubles. Everybody. But everybody don’t handle it the same way. So you’re looking for God to use you in the midst of this problem, that problem, that problem, that problem. And everything can either be a stepping stone or a stumbling stone. Depending upon your attitude, it can be an opportunity to rise or an opportunity to fail.

It all depends on your attitude. So this is why these attitudes that we have are so important. And you look at everything that happens today, everything that happens tomorrow. The rest of the week, you ought to pray that God will give you every opportunity that it takes to build the character you need and to fulfill the will of God he wants accomplished. Now isn’t that a pretty good little prayer? So you go to the Lord and you make your request known unto the Lord.

and you’re requesting that God brings just the right problem, testing or trial, your way, because God knows all of your weaknesses and those trials is to strengthen that weakness to show you where you’re weak at and so that you know the strength in those areas in your Christian life. So he says here truly if they had been mindful of that country but once they came they might have had opportunity to have returned. Now look at the next statement. This is in the book of James and we’d cover this so many times but just very briefly take your Bible and turn to the book of James.

The book of James in chapter 1, right after the book of Hebrews, James chapter 1 and look in verse 2. Look at the value of your testing that you’re going to have. And the little note that I wrote down here, prayer, believing an opportunity will come. See, when you want to serve the Lord, the reason you prepare is because you believe, you believe there’s going to be an opportunity tovelope it. I studied the word of God because I believe there’s an opportunity I’m going to get a chance to learn what I know.

A chance to do something for the Lord.gdala in verse two, he says, my brethren, talking to theCooldown, count it all misery when you fall invg the different testings, different temptations. Remember, God tends no man. But God allows you to be tested. He says, my brethren, count it all joy when you fall in the divers temptation because all these testing and problems, if you’ll see them as opportunities, then you don’t have a problem with it. Your problems or opportunities. Say that out loud with me.

Problems are opportunities. I can’t hear you. Problems are opportunities. Now, you’re not gonna curse your problems, are you? Some people want to go through life. No problem. Who happens to want no problem? Just take me to the door. No problems. Well, how are you gonna learn? How are you gonna learn to depend upon the Lord? How do you know God will walk you through it? He can’t walk you through it if you don’t bring it to it. We had a contest at church one time.

We were talking about these little things that we gave away. And it was a little round. It had TU-IT on it. It was around to it. Because all of the body always says, I’ll come to your church when I get around to it. Here’s one. There’s a round to it. And we had a whole bunch of them when we had bought. And we passed them. Everybody was passing them out. And you give it to one. It has nothing on it, but it was around and it had to it on it.

And you did give them to people wherever you met them. And you invited people, what’s that for? Well, wouldn’t you get a chance when you’d like to come and say, well, when I get around to it, well, there it is. You got around to it. He says here in verse three, knowing this that the trying of your faith work with patience, trying, testing, produces something, patience, learning to wait upon the Lord. There’s things you can’t make happen, but let patience have a perfect work that you may be perfectly complete in an entire wanting or lacking nothing.

If any612 lack wisdom, let him ask of God, they give it to all men liberally and up, right if not, and it shall be given to him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering for he, that waver like a wave of the seed, driven with a win and tossed. Let not that man think that he shall receive anything +— the Lord, double minded men, and stable in all of his ways. So here you are as a child of God, and you’ve got nothing but740 problems and heartache.

So what? Big deal. Just seeQuite them as opportunities for you to learn something, opportunities for you to grow, and you need all ofossibility things. because that’s what your whole life is Miller wisdom is when knowledge and circumstances go together and you’re learning how to make the wise decision you’re planning knowledge to an experience and lo and behold you begin to grow look at the next statement you have during your notes and four one two three don’t have because you don’t ask for opportunity don’t have because you ask a miss of the opportunity.

In other words, if the opportunity is just for you to make yourself big fat and rich and it’s just your life and nothing about the Lord, you see God is not interested in him being used to do whatever you want him to do like he’s a you know a little battery pack to care around where you case this who are in drains out I can just play it in and get some more. God not use like that Yamato wants to use you.

Look at the next statement. There are prayers that involve purpose of life opportunity. In other words, when you determine I want God’s will for my life, then I want this opportunity to do something for the Lord. And that’s my purpose in life is to be whatever God wants me to be. So there has to be this main goal. And then when you know where you’re going like if I was to take and leave here and I mentioned this before and I wanted to go to Georgia.

I’m not just anywhere in Georgia. I want to go to Athens, Georgia. Well, then I got to get on the right road to get there. On the way, I may stop at a rest area. On the way, I might stop at Cracker Barrel. On the way, we might just say, you know, that’s too far. Let’s just get us a motel for the night and then we’ll continue tomorrow. But I know where my destination is. And so then I determined my little stops in between.

When you know what your purpose is in life, and I want to honor the Lord, then I’ve got to study the Word of God and go to Bible college, and I’ve got to spend time studying and reading and preparation, and all the… those are little stops along the way that helped me reach my ultimate goal. You see, there’s one main responsibility. And then between here and fulfillment of my life’s goal, goal, I’ve got a lot of little opportunities to help me to learn and to grow.

And all the problems and things like that, that’s to help me fulfill his purpose. When you understand that, then life becomes a little easier and you won’t curse all the bad things that happened because they give you a bad attitude. You don’t perceive life the way it really is. You’re living in a dream world and you need to understand this. There are prayers that involve points in time. There is the ultimate goal and then there’s points in time inside of this little box that I got on your paper.

I had preached this sermon one time on the children of Israel as they came out of Egypt going toward the Promised Land. Going to the Promised Land was where they were headed. That was their ultimate goal, their destination. But on the way, they had to get through a Red Sea, and then they didn’t have anything to drink and wilderness, they didn’t have anything to eat, and then it was cold at night and it was a fire and it was hot in the daytime and there was a cloud and God miraculously took care of them, but they got to see something that other nations never got to see because, you see, was an opportunity for them.

God brought them to a place where there was a dead end. They couldn’t go no further. And so this dead end became an opportunity for them to see what God can do. And that’s why in this scripture there are things that happens to you in life unless you understand there could be a reason why God does what He does. You’re going to be upset, mad and angry because we have little patience with things like detours. Because, see, detours destroys my opportunity to succeed.

It keeps me from getting where I want, when I want. And we think that God is supposed to be on our timetable and sometimes God doesn’t obey you. Isn’t that a scary thought that God doesn’t just do everything we want? But He doesn’t want us to do away everything he wants. The next point, there are going to be dead ends. In other words, a dead end destroys my opportunity to succeed. Because you see, most people have in their mind what they want to do or be and where they want to go and all that, and they don’t like it when something hinders them from succeeding in life.

So if I can’t get what I want, it’s your fault. It’s somebody’s fault. The luck just doesn’t go my way. Everybody else is lucky but me. everything against me, poor me, I’m gonna have a pity party for me. And so some people they’re they’re rocks and they’re rock garden, they died. You have to have a pet rock that died on you. I had an obedient pet rock and I say stay it’s day. Don’t you move it wouldn’t move. There you’ll be.

Now I could tell my kids don’t move and it didn’t work. Now get this and the next thing, dry holes. That means that you’re expecting something, refreshing, cool, blah, blah, blah, and the waters were bitter. And so there was nothing that they could drink. So in your Christian life, you know already they’re they’re going to be dead-ends, detours, and dry holes. And it’s going to leave you disappointed because it’s going to interrupt your schedule. So see, you got the schedule, and sometimes God interrupts it.

And God may just set you aside for a little while to cool down. And it seems like you’re not being used. And so while you’re there, be patient, wait up on the Lord. And as time goes on, God will open the door and give you an opportunity. There are many doors of opportunity that God will open for you. And you’ve got to be patient until sometimes he opens up that door. And then you can walk through that door. Look down at number one.

Purpose of life to be used by God is the satisfaction received because you wanted an opportunity to do something for God. Don’t you want an opportunity to be used of God? That’s really what life is about. opportunity. At least if you think about it, if you’re alive, you’ve got an opportunity. Now what are you going to do with that opportunity? You have seen many people who waste that opportunity and they never accomplish anything. And yet God has given to us the exact same amount of time.

In one day we get the same amount of time to live. And it’s only 86,400 seconds said a day and some people will waste it. And if I could, and if I put into a bank account, $86,400 in a bank account and says, now you can use that money in one day, but whatever you don’t use, you lose. How much of it would you draw out? All of it. You’d draw out every benefit, wouldn’t you? Because it’s not going to be there tomorrow.

The next day I’m going to put an 86,400 dollars back into that account, but you can never save it for the next day. It’s only good to use that day. Now that would cause you to think, you know, it’s valuable, so I need to get it and use it. Because if I don’t, I’ve lost it. Well, believe it or not, God has given to each and every one of us 86,400 seconds every day. And what you had yesterday that you didn’t use, it’s gone.

You cannot bring forth any time from yesterday into this day. And today you’ve got another 86,400 seconds and… You can’t take anything into tomorrow. You’re going to leave whatever you leave and you didn’t use it, you lose it. This is to help you to see and to redeem the time because the days are evil. BUIs and understand what the will of the Lord is. So important. Now I wrote a couple of little things down here. Reading missionary stories in Athens, Georgia gave me the idea, the desire for an opportunity.

I would get into the corner of the Bible bookstore in Athens, Georgia when Bill Cummins, who was now the president of the principal of Athens Christian School, where my grandson’s going, and Sierra, that’s where she’s going now. But that school was started by Bill Cummins, and at that time he didn’t have a school. He just had that little old bookstore on the corner. And I would go in there and I had my little lunch and I’d sit there and eat my lunch and I’d read these books off the shelves.

I couldn’t buy them so I didn’t buy them. I just said, read them and he let me. And then he had to tell me, say, Yankee is a time’s up, you gotta get back to work. Because I’d tell him, you know, and that’s all the time I had to work. That little half an hour, little half an hour. That time was so valuable to me. And I used to wonder if I’ll ever have an opportunity to be a missionary and to do something like that.

I prayed. I prayed that I would have an opportunity to serve the Lord and to be used. See when you pray and you’re praying for that opportunity, a chance for God to use you. You want to do something for the Lord, because you know you’re limited. And I never knew how God was going to work in my life. And I just kept taking advantage of the opportunities that I had. I never had figured it out. I went up here to Tennessee Temple, and I didn’t have a place to stay.

I had no job. Dr. Lee Robertson said I could stay at the rescue mission. Were these drunks from off the streets, all these winos. And I was laying in the bed at night, and I had tears in my eye. I was in the bed. I know my wife and children. I’m up here at another state, and I’m going to Bible College. And I was eating at the rescue mission. Commission, living there. And I just look like anybody else am off the street.

But I knew I was looking for an opportunity. I wanted togethe something more. My prayer was God’s open up a door for me to get a job. I wanted that opportunity for the job. I prayed to the Lord that I could get me into the Bible college so I can go. And I didn’t know that Dr. Lee Robertson, the President of the Tennessee Temple schools, he was going to hire me to be the first full-time soul winner for Tennessee Temple, 1964.

And then I found out about Florida Baba College and Ray Stanford and the clearance of the gospel. So I walked away from all that and a great big opportunity. But I saw it as an opportunity that may not keep me clear on the gospel. And I thought that would be more important. The clarity of the gospel was more important than the size of the college. So I go to Florida Bible College. And while I was at Florida Bible College, my first night after two years, I got a chance to go to ranch one night.

And I walked down the train tracks almost a mile, and I got to the ranch that night. I walked in, and the hallway, ranch was going on, and I had never been to ranch. And this guy come walking down the hallway and taking some pictures and he says, like, Yay, let me show you some pictures that I took. I hadn’t said a word. It was a long-herecome race Stanford down the hallway, and he got up right into our face, and he chewed us out and told us to get out of there because of our lack of concern, and he’s in there running a meeting, and we’re out there causing trouble and noise, and they could hear us out there and interrupted his meeting, oh, he was burning, he was burning, and he told me to leave.

My first night at ranch. and I hadn’t even opened my mouth. But I was standing there when the guy was talking. And I walked out of there and I was on my way back up to where I was working, and I cried the whole way. Now I’m a grown man, I don’t cry easy. But that hurt me because I was looking forward to this opportunity just to go to Rand, just to see what was going on. And that opportunity, that door was closed, slam, shut.

And I went back in the next day I had school, and I was fine with it. I quit. I quit. I said, if I’m going to be treated like this, and I knew I was in this, I hadn’t done anything. So that day I got a call. Dr. Stanford wants to see you in the office. So I go through the office. He said, I heard what happened. He said, I Adamant Apologize. Ray don’t hardly ever apologize. He apologized to me.

He said, I was wrong how I treated you and I’m so sorry. He says, I know that what you’ve been doing in teaching the youth on Sunday nights, but I didn’t get a chance to go around. A little bit after that. He asked me if I would be the Co-Director of Youth Ranch. Co-Director. I didn’t know anything about ranch. But he knew I loved the Lord. And he says mainly he says because of your attitude. You had such a good attitude.

when you was two-doll and I thought, if you only knew my attitude, I was quitting. I was quitting. I had enough. And I would have forfeited multitudes of opportunities down the road. But even though I wanted to say something, I didn’t. I constrained myself and didn’t say a word. And I have thanked the Lord for so many years that there’s certain times in my life I kept my big mouth shut and even though it cost me at times and it humbled me at times humiliated me at times I still look for that opportunity and so when I pray I pray for these opportunities look at the little notes I have down here ministries are opportunities you prayed for Indian camps I got you to Indian camp.

That was an opportunitypretend to Egypt and Israel. Those were opportunities that God gave to me. Alaska and Mexico and India and Trinidad and all over America. Those were opportunities. I had prayed and prayed and prayed for opportunities for God to use me. Now if you want God to use you prepare for that day when those opportunities come your way. Because when you pray, what are you praying for? You’re praying for opportunities for God to use you in a certain way.

You may pray that your body will be healed because you’ve got some sickness or you may have cancer, you may have this and you, but you pray why? Because you want to live longer. Why do you want to live longer? Because I want to honor the Lord. I just want to live longer so I can do whatever I want to do. That’s not a good reason for living longer. It should always be about the Lord, to the Lord, for the Lord.

God bless. The next point here, requesting immediate answers or opportunities for God to do something you cannot do. And there’s times when there’s things I’m not able to make happen. And I had a whole list of them that I was going to list down, but I changed my mind, I didn’t put it down. Because I don’t want to limit you by limiting what God does. See, there’s some things that you can’t do. And even though you may have, like you think it’s an opportunity, you rise, it’s over my head.

It’s more than I can handle. And I need the Lord. And Lord, I need you to do this for me. And I need you to do this. And I need you to, Lord, I’m willing to do what I can do. But I realize that you’re also looking for opportunities. That little statement there, God seeks opportunities to show himself. God wants to show himself strong on your behalf. He wants to use you to show how big he is by giving you an impossibility to perform an opportunity.

It’s an opportunity, maybe not for you, but it’s an opportunity for God. And God wants to use you. If you’ll just understand, there is a thing called the throne of grace, a throne of opportunities where you can ask God, Lord, did me an opportunity. Do you know why these people are up here in the Firehouse Five? Because they took advantage of it. Some people don’t take advantage of it, right? Some people did. And some of them prepared themselves to do this.

We lost one of the greatest organists that I have ever heard in my life. And I had no clue what we were going to do. And lo and behold, I had two ladies, and one was Jan and Nancy Polson. And I didn’t know what was going to do, and if they would even do it. So I asked them in fear and trembling. They both took the responsibility. And they try to work together, and they practice, and they practice, and they practice.

And lo and behold, now we have a great choir, the music. And I didn’t even know that Peter could lead singing. That ain’t nothing. He didn’t either. And you say, well, he knows what he’s doing. He probably doesn’t. He just stays one step ahead of you. That’s all. That’s all you got to do to stay one step ahead of you. And God has used him in a great way because he, I had an opening and he took the opportunity to do it.

And by faithfulness, he keeps that opportunity. Isn’t it wonderful? But that’s how it works. You need to know that the reason you want people involved in ministries is because ministries is an opportunity to serve. That’s why Jesse does the ranch, right? He came, he was faithful, and he got the opportunity to hit. Now, after all this time, he’s gone through the process, now he’s the youth pastor. He took advantage of the opportunity. Some people will and some people will not.

They’re always thinking, you know, I could have done that. I could have done that. Yeah, but you didn’t. You didn’t. There’s a multitude of opportunities that many people will never take advantage of. And that’s why it’s so important. up here. This sin represents you and me and the wall represents sin. We all have sin on us. God loves us. He loves us. He hates our sin, but He does love us. And for us to pay for sin is eternal separation from God in hell.

But He wants us to go to heaven and to go to heaven we have to be perfect, no sin, in order to go to heaven. Because heaven is a perfect place and we’re not. So God says we’re all condemned. We cannot save ourselves and our good works will not pay for sin. There’s only one way for us to get to heaven and that’s to get rid of this. And how do you get rid of that? You have to die.

Well, then it’s too late. See, there’s no hope. Man cannot deliver himself. He has no opportunity to save himself. It is totally impossible. This hen represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God in the flesh. He came into the work because he loves us. Hates our sin because it separates us from him. So Jesus took the sin, paid for it on the cross came back from the dead. And when he came back from the dead, he gave every one of us an opportunity to go to heaven.

But he doesn’t make you except the only way to get to heaven. You see, Christ died, paid for your sins, came back from the dead and said the only thing you have to do is believe it. So when you believe it, you took advantage of this opportunity. The reason we’re going to heaven is because of what Christ did on the cross for us. But But are there a lot of people who have never taken advantage of this opportunity? Yes.

That’s why we try to persuade. Let’s pray, shall we? His bow nice clothes, no one looking around if you’re here tonight. And if you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, would you trust Him right now? Or if you’re watching by internet, we want to give you also that same opportunity. We want you to go to heaven. paid for your sins and all that you have to do is to believe He did it for you. And with you believe He did it for you, He gives you as a free gift everlasting life and He said He’d never cast you out, never lose you.

Would you trust Him? Would you trust Him right now? I pray that you will. Father, we thank You so much for giving us the free gift of everlasting life and for giving us that opportunity to hear the gospel and whereby we believed it. And we thank You for this time together. Bless each one in Christ’s name and pray. Are you a new listener to Bibleline? Do you enjoy the teachings of Dr. Arnold? Well, if you’ve never contacted us before, we want to give you Dr.

Arnold’s book, The Gospel Driven Man. Every day we receive many emails from folks who have questions about repentance and salvation, about faith in works, and about how to share the gospel with friends and loved ones. This book, The Gospel Driven Man, covers all those topics, and we want all new listeners of Bibleline receive a free copy. There’s no obligation, no donation necessary, simply call us at 1-800-576-3771 or write to us and request your free copy of the Gospel-Driven Man.

The mailing address is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Again, don’t forget to include your mailing address, and God bless you and thank you for listening to Bibleline. 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.