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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 to- 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. Just 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.

She, God’s work is done only by love. And if it’s not done by love, It is of no purpose. It avails nothing. It’s just a lot of sounding brass and tinkling thumbull compasses zero. So you and I have a responsibility to study the Word of God and do what God wants us to do. See, there in verse 1 of chapter 19 came to pass that when Jesus had finished these saints, He departed from Galilee, came into the coast of Judea beyond Jordan, and great multitudes followed Him.

and he healed them there, but they followed him. But did they always follow him? No. So there were times when Jesus had a big crowd. There might be times I could say, hey, there’s been times in my life when I’ve had a big church. I could say, there’d been times when I had a lot of youth ministries. There’d been times when I have… See, you didn’t determine those people to follow you. that was their decision. It’s not that you’re doing something wrong, it’s just because nobody comes to hear you speak.

Peter can’t make those kids come to ranch. James can’t make people come to reformers unanimous. All we can do is provide an opportunity to help meet the needs of those that believe that we can help them. And not everybody believes that you can. Or some people don’t even know you exist. So we’re always working, the letting people know, hey, I’m here to help you. Not everybody believes that I can help them. Many believe in any churches, just they’re all the same.

All the priests, well, they’re all the same. And so in their mind, you’re not different. You’re not unique. Do you realize how clear on the gospel you are here at Calvary Community Church? But if you get mad at me about anything, when you realize how fast you can go to another church, it’s not clear and it’s okay. And it won’t matter because was the gospel the most important thing in your life? Or you just didn’t like the way the preacher parted his hair?

I can’t even part it. Take your Bible and look in the book of John chapter six. The book of John chapter six, John chapter six and verse 66. Look what he says in verse 66, And from that time, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. Now, if this happens to the one that we’re following, and for a time when he performed the miracles, they flocked out to hear him, walked on the water, fed the five thousand, all these wonderful things, but he taught something that offended them.

because they got offended. They forsook him. Now if this happens to him, can it happen to you and I? Look at what she says. And they walked no more with him. They didn’t change your mind later and come back. No, they walked no more. No more. He never got them back. And you know why? Because he says there in verse 60, many therefore of his disciples, when they heard this, they said, This is a hard saying who can hear it.

When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples murmured at it, He said unto them, Does this offend you? Are you trying to tell me that Jesus said something that offended them and they didn’t want no more to do with him? Did you know there’s always that possibility? The preacher’s not perfect, but there’s times when I might offend you. I will promise you this, I will never try to purposely, humanly speak it, try to offend you. I don’t do that.

That doesn’t mean that I won’t. Because I’m not always in control of myself. Sometimes I get riled up. Sometimes I get angry and mad. Sometimes I like to call it just plain old right to see dignity. And you can accept that, right? No, but we’re dealing with people. We’re dealing with people. Mark chapter six, go to Mark chapter six. The book of Mark chapter six. And look in verse 5 and 6, Mark chapter 6, verse 5 and 6. He says, and He could there do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk and heal them.

And He marveled because of their, and you ought to underline that word, He marveled because of their what? Their unbelief. They could not believe what he said, or the reason why he did what he did. And they could not believe that he did it by the power of God. They said, well, it’s by the power of the elves above. And yet look who he was. Even God himself can’t please some people. Do you understand what I’m saying? God can’t please everybody.

Jesus Christ, when He came into this world, Mr. Perfection that knows no sin can do no wrong with no wrong motive. Couldn’t please everybody He taught to. So you and I are not going to please everybody. You’re not going to please me in everything that you do and I’m not going to please you and You know what I want you to do? I want you to forgive me and I’ll forgive you. Now we can keep on working together, can’t we?

Because we know we both make mistakes. We do things wrong. We both sin. Who’s going to stand and say, I don’t sin anymore? But nobody stands up and says, hey, I did. If we say we have no sinful nature, we lie and deceive ourselves. And the truth of God is not in us, as the Scripture says. Mark chapter 1. You’re right here in Mark, just look there in Mark chapter one.

I want you to get a few things here very quickly because Jesus Christ began his ministry and you’ll have to admit, if there’s anybody worth following, it would be somebody that’s perfect. Nays the Lord. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. So if you want grace, follow Christ. You want mercy, follow Christ. You want truth, follow Christ. But look what he says here. In that verse 14, he says, now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.

Now he did it and came alone. But the ministry is bigger. So you either get 10 men to do the work So you’ve got to do the work of ten men. We have a leader who follows his father. And by the mere fact of who he was and what he did, he automatically becomes a leader. And people followed him. Let me just mention a couple of things to you that’ll help as we go through some of this very quickly.

He knew something. Christ, He had something. Christ, He did something. Christ, He knew somebody. Christ was going somewhere. Because see, if you don’t have any of those, How in the world can you be a leader? If you don’t know something, if you don’t have something, you’re not doing something. And you’re not going anywhere. Tell me why should anybody follow you? You can’t think of a good reason, can you? So then you need to follow someone who has all those qualities.

You see, Jesus Christ knew something that they wanted and knew. Jesus Christ had something that they wanted to have. Jesus Christ did something they wanted to do. somebody they wanted to know. God the Father. Jesus was going somewhere, they wanted to go. And therefore, He was worthy to be followed. You and I, we studied the Word of God. And sometimes, we just want to be a great leader. We’re meant, where are you going? What do you know that I don’t know?

What can you do that I can’t do? What do you have? I don’t have. So as a follower, you’re going to gain the answers to these things from the person that you follow, from the person that you follow and the person that you follow. And if you follow Christ, you’ll get all the qualities of a good leader. Now, let me give this to you. You see there in verse 17 of chapter 1, Jesus said unto them, come ye after me, and I will make you to become faciers of men, come ye after me.

It means to make disciples, to do the work, or to get 10 men to do the work. So number one is if you’re going to follow the Lord, you need to live in such a way as you follow the Lord. Say your life is worth somebody else to follow. Now, would you want to tell someone, hey, follow me, follow me. Yeah, but you’re going the wrong way, yank. You’ve ever been out in the woods? And you just knew this is the right way.

And I said, follow me. Yank, that’s the wrong way. Oh, I’m going to go that way. So you don’t want people following you, unless you’re going the right way. Oh, look down here at number two in verse 21, verses and they went into Capernaum. I just put down because this is where Christ was from. Start at home. Start following Christ at home. Because home is where people know you the most, the best. Christianity, your Christianity should shine at home.

The light that shines the brightest and the farthest shines the brightest right there. So Christ started at home. But even though he began at home, even home didn’t believe him did he. And the miracles and the sat down, the Capernaum, they weren’t behind him. But that’s where you start. The next thing I want to do to see is in verse 22, and that is where he says, and they were astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them as one that had authority.

So I would want to know whatever that doctrine was that he had that gave him such authority. I want to know what he knew, and I want to be as confident and as bold as he was, because what he knew was worth knowing, and therefore you teach as one that has God’s authority. When I teach the Bible, I do my dead level best to not teach the Bible in a apologetic way. It means like I’m apologizing for what God said.

I like to be able to say, God said this and believe that God really said that and to say it with authority so that you’ll know that I really believe this. So that whenever you say, hey, the Bible says, and I believe it, somebody else that heard you say it will say, you know what, I believe it because he believes it. He really believes it. You and I are to be so thankful that we are so unique, as I said this morning.

We’re Christians. I’m a Christian. I think that’s the most powerful thing in the world to be a Christian. I ought to preach a sermon on that one of these days. The fourth thing I wanted you to look at is down in verse 24. Say, and let us alone, what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Or thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the holy one of God. Who said this? The devil knows who Jesus was.

The demons knew who Jesus was. Don’t you believe that if you’re going to serve a Lord and follow the Lord? Don’t you think that enemy ought to know who side you’re on? Well, I don’t want nobody to know. I’m a secret service Christian. but I, nobody knows and I’m a believer. Doing pretty good, ain’t it? So far. Don’t you believe that the enemy ought to know who’s side you’re on? You know, I only played this game one time, paintball.

They dress up in their grubwear and get out there in the woods. And behind our house, we had the perfect place, you know, for a war zone. And they got me to play one time. My problem was that I didn’t know who was on my side. And I found out later nobody was on my side. They were all to get me. And it didn’t matter. Hey over there. They enjoyed it. They had a blast. Murdered me. You know a paintball can hurt if it hits you right.

Don’t you tell you, I don’t hurt. they don’t hurt you, you do. And you don’t do it in a t-shirt, but I had to learn who’s side of my own. I’ll let that go for now. But the enemy ought to know who you are, and you ought to know who the enemy is. Number five, I want you to notice the last part down there where he says, even the unclean spirits and underlying this, and they do obey him. You and I ought to expect people to obey what we say.

I expect you, the people in this church, to obey my authority. I expect it. And when people don’t, I am greatly disappointed, greatly disappointed, because I expect obedience. What have I asked you to do that was sinful, fattening or illegal? Leave out the third Sunday dinner. I can only, with scriptural authority, ask you to do only that which God wants you to do. And whatever it is you’re supposed to do, I’m supposed to do it too. True? So I try to lead by example.

I just keep following the Lord and I expect, I expect people to follow me. And whenever the workers and do whatever they do, I expect those that are under their authority to follow them. We got to head Deacon. I expect all the Deacons to do what he tells them to do. I expect him to do what I tell him to do. Was a good sermon for Deacons and I didn’t. But this is what the Bible is teaching us. All these things are wonderful.

At number six, I want you to look at verse 20 very quickly, and immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the regions, round about Galilee. I just wrote down this, don’t worry about fame. It takes care of itself. Don’t worry about trying to exalt yourself. Don’t do anything just to be some big shot. There’s no big shots and little shots. We’re all just a bunch of shots and we put our feet on the floor the same way. The next thing I want you to look at is, it says in verse 30, Simon’s wife’s mother, a lasech of a fever, and it once they tell him of her.

And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. Understand a couple things here. Number one is don’t forget that the people who help you in the ministry have personal problems too. Don’t always be looking out on the horizon and fail to realize somebody right here has a problem. It was so easy for me as the pastor to think about all those people out there and all those teenagers out there.

Now, sometimes I forgot about, hey, I got a couple too. I got a couple. Oh, and all those women out there to serve a Lord. Yeah, but I got one too. I got one too. And did you realize that when he says Peter’s wife, mother, and they say he was the first pope? Pope. Why would you want a mother-in-law without being married? Simon Peter was a married man. I assured you he was not the first pope. And in the last part of verse 31 where it says, and she ministered to him, the people you helped today will most cases be the ones who help you tomorrow.

See, she had a problem and they ministered to her and then she ministered to them. Serving the Lord is, I want to help you to be strong because I know that down the road, I’m going to need you and you will help me and I’m going to help you and you’re going to help me. And one of these days we’re going to be at the end of our journey and we’ll realize that, you know, we helped each other down the road.

Everybody was struggling, stumbling along. Everybody needed the hand. So when you see a brother fall on the ground and face down in the mud, you don’t walk up and put your foot on the back of their head and push him down in the mud. I knew he was going to fall. I knew he was no good anyway. I didn’t think he was going to last. That’s not a kind loving brother, help one another up and they will be helping you down the road.

The other thing I wanted to mention to you is this. You see, Christ says, believe because of what I say. Later, believe because of what I do. There’s things that Christ said and He He wanted people to believe it. And then there’s something that he did. And he told Thomas, he says, because thou seeeth, thou hath believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet will believe it. So I believe that it’s all important. And when he makes a statement down here in verse 35, in the morning, rising up a great while before day.

He went out and departed into a solitary place and there he prayed. I would say a good leader has to bathe himself in prayer. Always be praying. Believe that whatever it is, you take it to the Lord. Talk to the Lord about everything and everybody. Don’t think that your problems are too big to bother God with like he can’t do anything about is to be, or that your problem is too small to bother God with. Like, I don’t need to bother God with this.

God says all things, pray about all things. So bring that to the Lord. Verse 38, where we will end, where it makes a statement in verse 38, let us go into the next town that I may preach there also for therefore came I forth, he started fires. The good leaders start fires. A burning dissensation in the life of other people that says, I want something more. I want to do something with my life. So if you want to be a great leader, be a great follower.

If you’re not a great follower, you are not a great leader. And you never will be. Not according to what God’s Word has to say. I wrote this down years ago. Let me give it to you. I’m not trying to be a great leader, but a great follower. If you want to know what I know, follow me. If you want to have what I have, follow me. If you want to do what I do, follow me. If you want to know who I know, follow me.

If you want to go where I’m going, follow me, because I’m going to follow the Lord. And that’s best that I can promise you, I’ve made up my mind, I am determined, I’ll serve the Lord. There’s a song like that somewhere. I am determined that made up my mind. I’ll serve the Lord. And if you serve the Lord, did you know that you become an example, brother? That’s why he says, be thou an example in love and word, and deed and spirit and all that.

Talk in the young Timothy. Be thou an example. Because when you’re an example, you’re a leader. So don’t you think all of God’s children should be the right example? If you’re an example, that means somebody’s looking at your example. What are you an example of? There’s only two leaders. One’s Christ, one’s the devil. Which one do you follow? Do you follow truth or do you follow a lie? Because there’s other people watching you. And they may make their decision based upon the decisions that you make.

Be a great leader by being a great follower. Look up here. This hand represents you and me. The wallet represents sin. We all have sin on us. God loves us, but He hates what we do wrong. And the Lord says that for us to pay for sin, the eternal separation from God. But God loves us. He wants us to go to heaven and to go to heaven we have to be perfect as righteous as God and none of us are perfect, none of us are righteous.

We’ve all come short of God’s perfection. God says that we cannot save ourselves. We need a Savior. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord, God in the flesh. He came into the world because He loves us, hates our sin because it separates us from Him. So Jesus Christ who had no sin did not have to die. We took all the sin of all the world, paid for it on the cross, and came back from the dead. And God said that if we would believe that He did it for us, He would put this pay-mat-ar account, and we get to go to heaven on what Jesus Christ did for us.

If you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, this is the most important thing you can never do. Let’s pray, shall we? Heads bowed on eyes closed, and we’re looking around. If you’re watching by internet tonight, I pray that the message was a blessing to you. But if you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, I urge you to do just that. Would you believe that when Christ died, He died for you? And if you believe He did it for you, trust Him as your Savior.

He said He would give you the free gift of eternal life. You don’t earn it, you don’t work for it. It’s a gift. And if you accept Him right now as your Savior, God will save you right now and you become his child and you can know that you’re going to heaven when you die. Our Father, we thank You so much for each person here and for those that have trusted Your Savior and desire us to walk with You.

We pray, Lord, just help each one of us to follow Christ. And Lord, we know that if we do that, we automatically become examples. We become leaders and help us not to seek fame and honor and glory, just to please You. So bless each one here. Got good people. Thank you so much for their obedience to your word. You wanna be used, and to be used in a great way. Thank you so much. You Christ, name your Christ. 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 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 to 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 Mail.

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. God 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.