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Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, here God’s truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida, clearly declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the BibleLineMinistries.org homepage. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, and that today’s concluding message of this teaching will be a blessing to you and your family.

This little temporary time from the time you trust the Lord until the time you get to see Him face to face is to reveal what do you really love? Do you love the world? Do you love the Lord? You know most of our harlot and sorrow and grieving comes because of things we’re losing in this world. Has nothing to do with our love for the Lord. That can be just as strong and as real as it always has been.

And it’s so very important. Now, this is why it says we’re supposed to, in verse 28, counting the cost. You see, salvation Christ paid the cost. When he talks about discipleship, you serve in the Lord, which is your choice, it’s gonna cost you something. Service isn’t free. Rewards for your service is what God’s gonna pay you and rewards you for what you did for him. But he said, you don’t have to do it. That’s why it’s a reward. You earned it, but you didn’t have to earn it.

You didn’t have to do anything. You don’t have to go to church and you’ll still go to heaven. You don’t have to give any money for missions or offering and so go to heaven. because that’s because God loved you. Now, the question is, do you love Him? So our service is the way we show God that we love Him. And hopefully everyone in this room has trusted Christ the Savior, and you want to love the Lord, and you wanna show that you love the Lord by the things that you do for the Lord.

Now take your Bible and look in the book of Matthew chapter 10. Matthew and chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10, there’s a couple of verses that are mentioned here that I think will go right along with what we’re talking about because remember he talked about loving the Lord and hating Mother and Father and brother and sister. Haidam? I don’t hate my mom. I don’t hate my brother. Maybe my sisters. No, I’m in the seventh. But here in Matthew in chapter 10, notice what he says here in verse 37, verse 37.

Verse 36 tells you who he’s talking about at the household, your family. But he makes a statement, he said, I did not come to bring peace upon the earth. Well, wait a minute, remember when your little baby Jesus was born, peace, joy to the world and it’s been everything but that since then. So look two verses before this. Look in verse 34. He said in verse 34, think not that I am come to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace but a sword.

For I am come to set a man at variance against his father and the daughter against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother-in-law. Now we understand why we got so much trouble in the family’s eye. You see what it’s meaning of all of this, well, it explains it. See there in verse 30, and a man’s foes shall be in day of his own household and notice what he’s talking about in verse 37. It explains what he’s talking about over there in 1 John chapter 2 and verse 15 and 16, but it also helps us to see what he’s talking about in the book of Luke in chapter 14 when he talks about, hate your mother and father and brother and sister and all that.

And What are you talking about? Like in verse 37. He that love of father, our mother, what’s the next three words? More than me. He’s done against you loving your mother and your father and your brother and your sister and everything, but do you love them more than you love the Lord? If you let anything become between you and God, you will not serve the Lord as faithful as if you love Him supremely. I love my wife, but I love the Lord more than my wife.

I love my children and I love my grandchildren, which I’d had him first. But I love them, but I don’t love them more than I do the Lord. because God can move out of your life anything you put between you and the Lord. God’s a jealous God. He wants us to love him more than anything else and this is what he said. Now look at the rest of this. He’s that love of Father or Mother more than me is not worthy of me and he’s that love of Son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

We say what do you mean worthy of it? Women, it cost to serve the Lord, there’s a price to be paid and most of God’s children are not willing to pay the price. They’re not worthy of the rewards that you could have when you get to have, because those rewards in heaven that He wants to give to you, you’re not worthy of them unless you serve Him. You see, you’re not going to get them just because God has them.

He said, every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. And if you don’t labor, you don’t get the reward. Now getting to heaven is free, but you realize this little time that we have upon the earth is given to you and I an opportunity to gain eternal rewards, something that will last for all eternity. I don’t even know what they are, don’t care what they are, but whatever it is, it will be worth it all.

So many of God’s children cannot or will not pay that price. Because you see these scriptures here is talking about your service, talking about your discipleship, talking about paying a price. Can you pay the price? Can you sacrifice? What have you given up for the Lord? What have you given up? What have you sacrificed for the Lord? What price have you paid? And yet most people they work for everything that’s in this world, in this life, for this time, knowing you’re going to lose it all.

When you leave, what treasures have you laid up in heaven? It’s not important right now, see? It will be. The day will come when every man shall give account of himself to God. Romans 14 and verse 12. man that knows Christ as Savior, knows what else he says. In verse 38, and he that take if not his cross, same thing we read over there when we’re talking about discipleship in the book of Luke in chapter 14. He that does not take up his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple because you do not love the Lord enough to pick up the cross.

What is that responsibility, that price? You’re willing to pay. You see, Christ went to the cross because he went to pay a price for you and I. Why didn’t he go to the cross? Because he loved us. Well, how did he show he loved us? He died and gave up his life for us. Therefore, you and I have life because he gave up his life. Then you notice there in verse 39, he that find that his life shall what?

Lose it. You live for the things of this world and you’ll lose the purpose of your life. You don’t get a rerun, no instant replays, one trip through life and that’s it. How wise are you? How intelligent are you? You reveal your wisdom about the decisions that you make and believe it or not there’s people that you know that know you and know that you’re playing the fool because they know the decisions you make are not decisions that a person who loves God would make.

When you’re not faithful to the Lord, it’s because you do not love the Lord. Love them the Lord, you’ll be found faithful in serving the Lord. Now look what he says. He says in verse 39, and he that loses his life for my sake shall find another words you got to purpose. I do this often with the kids and sometimes I say, what is this? Yes, that’s a pen. What’s the purpose of a pen? To write. That’s the purpose of it.

But if it doesn’t write, well, can I use it for it? It was designed to write. I could point with it. I could put it behind my ear and look and tell us it. I can pick my nose with it. I can. I won’t, but I can. Listen, there’s some Christians who are going to do worse than That. Because they won’t serve the Lord for the purpose for God intended, and so they will do a thousand other things right because they’re afraid that if they serve God, they’re gonna lose out in this life.

Listen, you can’t lose serving God. You can’t do more than what’s required, and God is gonna reward you for whatever you did, and God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of service. Everything that you do for the Lord. is profitable. Your land of treasure in heaven. You don’t lose serving God. But if you are afraid of losing anything in this world, and it means so much more to you that, well, I can’t serve God, and some people become workahollets and they never have any time to put God into life.

No time to read the Scriptures. No time to pray. No time to witness. No time to do the thing God wants. Well, I’m just too busy. I’m just too busy. Do you know what? You might be too busy. You know, being too busy is your choice. Every man has the same amount of time, depends on what you wanna do with it. And you will do what you really wanna do. And you know it. So you have to make up your mind.

And I, do I wanna serve the Lord? This is what he’s talking about. Now, I want you to know this and believe this because it is so wonderful. Now you take the whole 10th chapter and you’ll learn a lot about discipleship. You learn what it means and how to overcome the fear of being a disciple of Lord. Look there in chapter 9. Chapter 9 and just notice something very simple. I covered this many times before and I give you certain words that I think are important.

I noticed there in verse 36, verse 36, Matthew chapter 9. But when he referenced the Jesus Christ, when he saw the multitude, he was moved with, and see that word, compassion, compassion. You see, these are some things that God wants every disciple of his to have. He wants you and I to have compassion, compassion. Do you care where people spend eternity? That’s always bugged and plagued my mind. I just don’t want people to go to hell because I really believe there is a hell.

You see, you don’t need someone to down the cross and pay for your sins to keep you from going to a place that don’t exist. If there is no hell, then I don’t need a savior. I don’t need Christ, but there is a hell. That makes more important what he did. Look at the next thing, look there in chapter 10, verse one, and when he had called unto them his 12 disciples, he gave them power. Now you and I, when we trusted Christ as Savior, and we had the Holy Spirit in dwelling us, He called them and sent them forth and gave them power.

So now you and I, when we trust Christ as Savior, He has called us and gave us the power of the Holy Spirit, living within every one of us. In other words, the power of God is the right, the authority to preach the gospel. Who gave you the right? God gave me the right. government didn’t give me the right. Government doesn’t give me permission to preach the gospel. God did. Notice the next thing. Look there in verse five, in verse five.

These 12, Jesus sent forth and commanded them saying, go not into the way of the Gentiles, because he said, I just want you to go right now to the law sheep of the tribes of Israel in verse six. And as he go, he said, I want you to preach. and he gave him power to do certain things. But you see, every one of us as a disciple, we should have compassion. Know that God called us to do it and commanded us.

He commanded them in verse five, go. And this is why at the end of the book of Matthew, chapter 28, he says, I command you to go to all the world and preach the gospel to everybody. Teaching and baptizing and so forth and lo, I am with you always. That’s what he wants. Some of God’s children be the secret service Christians. They’ll go through their whole life, knowing they’re going to heaven, and they think, that’s fine as long as I got my little pinkies inside the pearly gates.

But how many came with you? If you were to go into the pearly gates right now, is there anybody that’s gonna be following because of your witness here on earth? The closest ones is the ones that makes it the heart of this is what the Lord was talking about. husband against wife, against mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother, sister-in-law, why are they against each other? Because there’ll be those who will trust Christ as Savior. And some of the hardest people for you ever to reach is gonna be those in your own household most times.

And it causes devasions. And if you love them, you try to witness to them. After I trusted Christ as my Savior, I tried witnessing to my stepdad. And he literally would just get up and walk out of the room and says, if I want to hear preaching, I’ll go to church. Broke my heart. And I tried to witness to my mom. My mom did pretty much the same thing. They’d just tell me to shut up and leave them alone.

That hurt. But there was this pension. Same thing happened with others and my relatives. But I kept on and kept on until finally I was preaching in a little old Baptist church. We had in some pint they get someplace, I had in the bunnies. And because I now was a preacher, I got my mama to come. She finally broke down and she came to hear her boy preach. And when I gave the gospel she raised her hand to trust Christ’s Savior.

I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t hardly get my next breath. I started sobbing, I walked out of the church, and I went out to feel a weapon. I didn’t want my mom to go to hell, and I didn’t want my stepdad to go to hell. So I was out in the street, poor Louisiana, and I wrote this letter to my stepdad, and he was in the living in Anthony George, I said, this is what I want you to do.

I said, go to Northside Baptist Church this Sunday morning, talk to Virgil Edwards, and tell him you want to be saved. I didn’t know how to explain it as clear as I ought to, not at that time. He goes to church that Sunday morning, sees the preacher after the service, and Virgil levers led him to the Lord. He did exactly what I asked him to do. On Monday he got my letter in the mail. He did everything I told him to do, and I hadn’t talked to him about it for almost two years.

And I couldn’t stand anymore, so I wrote that letter. And so when he read my letter, He’d just done. He’d gone, he’d been out all night, drinking, messing up. Everyone go to church, they went by talking to him. But he was so low, down so low. He went to see my father-in-law, they went and led me to Lord. And so they invited him in and gave him some breakfast. They asked him if he wanted to go to church when the met Sunday morning they said yes.

So he went to church and afterwards he trusted the Lord. I was almost a thousand miles away. Do you think prayer words? When he read in the letter, what I wanted him to do, and he did everything, I told him to go by and see my father-in-law and go to church with him, and that’s what he did, before he ever got my letter. It’s awesome. But I got stories that I can tell you all over the place because I really believe this is important, and it’s something God wants us to do.

Look at another thing. I want you to see this. You see in verse 15, you have to have a concern about there’s a judgment coming for the lost man. Verily I send you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah and the day of judgment than for that city. A day of judgment. People that are lost are going to have their day in court at the Great White Throne judgment. I won’t have to be there to be judged.

But I think about those people that are going to be lost and they’ll stand there and then wonder, maybe ask, why didn’t somebody tell me this? Why didn’t somebody tell me this? And that played my mind. It burdened me. But this is something that you’ve got to have as a disciple of Christ that it gets inside of your soul and you can’t get rid of it. And that’s been burning inside of me for 56 years. And I haven’t yet been able to figure out how come all of God’s children don’t have that same burden.

I don’t know what it would be like to live your life and not love the Lord. I don’t know what it would be like. I can’t fathom the idea of it. Of loving something in this world more than I love the Lord because of what He’s done for me. And then as the years passed by to see the people that have trusted Christ to save your thought, what if I hadn’t a fell in love with the Lord? What if I didn’t do it?

Well, I don’t know the consequences. Look at the verse 23. the Lord knows that every disciple needs comfort. To know that yes, we may do what we’re supposed to do, but the Lord’s coming back. He’s gonna come back again. And he says, till the Son of Man becomes, the Son of Man is coming. Now in context, I know what he’s talking about, but I also know that as you read and you study these things, there’s something that he doesn’t want us to fear.

Look what he says in verse 26. Fear not those that not, therefore, for there is nothing covered that shall be not be revealed, and he had that shall not be known. He just talked about what they called him, the Prince of Beals of them. He said, if they do this to me, what do you think they’re gonna do to you? What’s he gonna do to you? Do you realize you think about this for a moment? There’s a guy that was a billionaire, and most people didn’t think too bad about him.

He had all the money he could want, got to do anything he want, buy anything he want. But I believe that because he loved America, he decided to run to be the President of the United States. Could you imagine all the things he’s trying to do to get us back to the Constitution and things that are a decision to me? I believe is right. It’s good. It’s proper. But how would you like to have all these people that are right in all these things and send all those nasty things?

How would you like them to say those things about you? You see why so many people wouldn’t want to be the president of the United States? Because of the extreme vetting that goes on. How cruel people can be. The tongue waggling what it can cause all those things. Ah, he’s a man. He’s not a perfect man. But look at the things that are said that are deliberate lies. Well, if they will do that against a person like Jesus Christ, who was perfect, who did no wrong and look how he was treated.

He says, you want to follow me and you will be treated better? He said, they did that to me. Look what they could do to you. He says, but don’t be afraid of what people say. And then down in verse 28, fear not them which killed the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body and health. Don’t be afraid of what people are going to do to you.

Don’t be afraid of what? the one thing that will destroy a good disciple of Christ is fear. You’re afraid of losing your job. Fraid of losing your health. Fraid of all these things and you can’t trust God. So you’ve got to do it yourself. You’re a self-made man. You quit too early. So you can’t trust the Lord with the future. I would rather lose everything in this world, but at least I don’t want to lose that devotion I had between men and the Lord.

He ought to mean more to you than the clothes you have on your back. If he takes away your health or your wealth and everything else you have, one of the things that I know I can never lose, he says, I’ll never leave you and never forsake you. You can’t lose him. So what you’re worried about? When we leave this world, we’re gonna go to heaven. What do you wanna do? Die healthy? Wouldn’t mind it. Now look down your inverse 31.

Fear you not. You are valuable to the Lord. And some people say, well, God doesn’t need me. God doesn’t need me. That’s not what the Bible says. God created you because He wanted you. He created you because He loved you. And God wants to be loved. And you are needed. If you don’t think you have any value, He went to the cross and died, gave up His Son, so that you, If there was no other person in the whole world, you could have eternal souls that you could go to heaven.

How much value do you think you’re worth? See, I don’t have a bad image complex. I see myself the way God sees me. Yes, I’m a sinner and I ought to go to hell, but I’m going to go to heaven because God sees me as something very valuable, something he was willing to pay a great price to get. So in God’s eyes, God says, I’m somebody. And I’m gonna look at me the way God looks at me. And it doesn’t matter what people think.

I have a good image of myself. I don’t sit around pining away my life. And having pity parties all the time when something don’t go my way. Cause I don’t really care about it. I don’t care if I died a day or tomorrow. I’ll tell somebody the other day. The best thing could happen is drop dead. Oh, don’t say that. Don’t say that.

Everybody wants to go to heaven, nobody wants to leave here to get there. So he says in verse 32, “‘Whosoever therefore shall confess me before man, him, will I confess before my Father, which is them?'” See, these are already talking about people that know the Lord. He’s already talking about His disciples. He’s already talking about them witnessing and going. So this confessing is not to be saved. They already are. And he says, if you will confess me before my Father, which is in heaven, I will confess you.

And if you deny me before man, I will deny you. Oh, what do we talking about salvation or service. If we’re talking about salvation, well this is bad news, but if we’re talking about service, if I will confess Christ here, not one time when I come down in front of a church, yes, I trust Christ by saying, there I got that job done. No, no, no, no. It’s talking about the purpose of your life, confessing Christ whether it’s on your job, whether it’s at home, between husband and wife, between you and your kids, living like a cow of God ought to live, like a disciple of Christ.

You’re a learner, a follower of Christ. When they see you, it should be a little bit what Christ is like. The graciousness that you have, the love that you have, the forgiveness that you have, all those things and qualities of God’s character, you are to demonstrate for others. But yet so many of us sometimes we’re so mean and ugly and unkind and cruel and hateful bitter. That’s not what God asked us to do. And so he says here, you will deny me, I’ll deny you.

But what can he deny me? Rewards. Because this is what he’s talking about. Now look what he says in verse 41. Verse 41 says, He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s what? Reward. And he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. You do this, you get this, you do this, you get this. Rewards are earned. That’s because you and I chose not to be secret service Christians.

We let people know who’s we are. Let the redeemed of the Lord, don’t say so. What’s the end of it? Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, say so. You ought to see some of the things that I have put on YouTube about what I believe about everything. If there’s a real, what to believe, I got a statement on it somewhere. And I’m not through yet, I’m still ladsome we’re up there. But look what he says down in verse 42.

And whosoever shall give to drink under one of these little ones, a cup of cold water only in the name of the disciple, barely I send you, he shall in no wise loses salvation. Loses reward. So this is why he says, if you will confess me before man, how can fetch you before the Father? Because you’re worthy of rewards, you’re worthy. If you don’t do it, you’re not worthy to receive the rewards. That means that praise, that honor and that glory.

Whatever that praise, honor and glory will be in front of everybody in eternity. Forever, it’s eternal praise, eternal glory, eternal honor in the presence of the Lord, the angels and every other believer. And that’s why he says, don’t be ashamed before him and his coming, he’s coming. And that day, to be here pretty soon. And you’ll be so glad you serve the Lord. And it may have cost you something. It can cost you friendships. It’s cost me an awful lot over the years.

I wanna pre-disdermant on what has it cost, but that’s nothing compared to what Christ did for me. Is that be bloating, bragging, whatever? You just want to serve the Lord with all your heart. If any man served me, him will my Father honor. Now this is not how to get to heaven. That’s because you that have already trusted Christ and this is about your service to the Lord, after your saved. You may serve and you may not. Nobody can determine the limits of your dedication.

Not everybody loves the Lord equally. Not everybody is going to serve the Lord equally. But every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. God sent you a name. 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 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 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. Believe in that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.