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

First Corinthians chapter three, first Corinthians chapter three. I want to talk to you a little bit about learning how to sail. You say, I’m not interested in sailing. Well, you’re going to sail anyway. One of the day you’re going to sail away home. It’d be nice to know how to sail through life without shipwreck. Bible talks about people having shipwreck in their life. And the reason is because they didn’t know how to sail. And there’s several things that the Bible talks about holding faith and a good conscience, lest you have shipwreck.

So if you don’t wanna have shipwreck, well then you need to know how to get out in the deep waters. Those who hang too close to the shore, well then you just lava wand up on the shore and not been able to walk on the water. I have enjoyed my trip through life with the Lord. There’s a lot of things that I’ve learned along the way. Now you’ll hear a lot of people talk about, you know, you got to have a relationship with God.

And those that say it, I don’t think they have a clue in the world they’re talking about. What do you mean by a relationship with God? I want to talk to you a little bit about it. I want to help you understand what the Bible is talking about when it talks about fellowship and friendship and fruit chip and stewardship. And you know all those ships, because everything, all these ships must be important. Because they teach us how to sail, how to keep from wrecking.

You see there’s the water where you got to trust the Lord and there’s the land where you feel safe. And some people want to put one foot on the land and one foot in the boat. You know they got problems. They’re going to have some serious problems. But anyway, I wrote down here the definition of fellowship once described as two fellows in a ship, going in the same direction, hopefully. Now sometime when Tupu will be getting married, she wants to go this way and he wants to go this way.

So they spend half their life fighting over who’s in charge and who’s the boss. Well we got a little thing about that down here too, but we’ll look at that and just They don’t read your notes in advance. Some of you have already done it, trying to prove whether or not this message is gonna be worth hearing or not. Number one here, companionship. You know, we wanna have fellowship and companionship. Looking for the fellowship of friendly people. The state of men a fellow are associate.

A company of equals or friends, association, like a youth fellowship. the quality or state have been a comradery among those that are like-minded, thinking the same way on the same page. And the two words are building trust and confidence and fellowship with one another. That’s one of the things we talk about with church. Everybody should be on the same page. As he says in 1 Corinthians, he’s talking about all having the same mind, let there be any divisions among you.

And so, Adeah balanced all of these things. Well, here in 1 Corinthians 3, it makes a statement in verse 10. This is an assumption that these have already trusted Christ as their Savior. There’s nothing in spite of the 14 problems that are mentioned here in the book of Corinthians that insinuate that they’re not really saved. Paul doesn’t do that. He corrects bad doctrine that they had with the correct doctrine that he has. And so when people are not doing right…

You give him the right doctrine to try to help in that area. So this is what he does. 14 major problems. So he says, now that you have trusted Christ’s Savior, you have believed there’s only one foundation. That’s Christ. So all of us have to be on the foundation which is salvation by grace. You can’t earn eternal life, can’t work for it. And you can only get on that foundation by faith alone in Christ alone. Now look what he says here in verse 10, according to the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master builder.

I have laid the foundation and another builder there on, but let and get this every man take heed how he built it, there upon. So here’s the foundation and that’s Christ. When you trust Christ as your Savior, you are placed on the foundation. That’s the rock. Now you may tremble on the rock, but the rock will never tremble unto you. So you are on the rock. Now God says, since you’re on this rock, this is your foundation, the truth that Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be, the Son of the living God.

He made the payment for the sins of the world and you have accepted Him as your Savior. If you’re trusting in your good works, that’s building up on sand. But if you trust Christ, you’re building on a rock. Now he says that you’re on that rock, take heed, every one of you, how are you going to build? So you’re going to build something on this thing we can call it my little spiritual house. So you got to put some things together.

So the master builder and building up on this rock. So you are in your Christian life, learning how to build yourself strong, says in the book of Jude, building yourself up in your most holy faith, building yourself. The greatest thing you will ever accomplish in your life is not the job you have, the money you have. It’s going to be how strong were you in sailing the seas. Is your ship worthy? Can you build yourself strong enough to fight the temptations of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life?

All the things a devil may throw at you. And can you run your course that God has said before you? Interesting. Most people have already have shipwrecked their life. In other words, they will never accomplish with their life what God intended. They thrown it all away. But you see it happens without you even knowing it. Trying to sell a ship upon dry land just doesn’t work that away. See the land is the flesh, the water is the spirit. So God wants us to be spiritually minded, learning to walk in the spirit.

That means to walk in the spirit means to walk in obedience to the will of God. Are you strong enough to do that with all the things that are pulling against you? That’s why it’s such fun serving the Lord. Because you see, when you walk in the water, there’s no tracks to follow. There’s nobody else’s trail to trace. You have to walk each day, each step, just you in the Lord. One of the greatest things in the Old Testament is he walked with God, an Enoch walked with God, and he was not for God took him.

Learning to walk with the Lord. So he says here, let every man take heed how he builds thereon. Look at number two, number two there, look in 1 Timothy chapter 1, 1 Timothy and chapter He’s saying that there’s a lot of teachers that are trying to teach the law, which is mentioned over there in verse 7 of chapter 1. There are those who are desirous to teach the law, yet they don’t understand what they’re saying. And they build upon sand.

You want to build upon the rock. Now, that’s what he says. In verse 19, holding faith and a good conscience, which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck. You see, after you trust Christ as your Savior, you know you have eternal life. You go into heaven when you die. Okay, that’s settled. That cannot be undone. Can’t be altered. God can’t change it. You can’t change it. You’re going to heaven like it or not because God keeps his word and God is faithful.

You are not saved because you promised God anything. You’re saved because God promised you something. He promised to give you eternal life. He said, I’ll never cast you out, and I’ll never lose you. That’s how you can know that you’re going to heaven whenever you die. Now, when He makes this statement, which some having put away, what did they put away? Faith and a good conscience. Where you know in your mind, you’re doing what God wants you to do.

You’re believing to think God wants you to believe. You’re living the way God wants you to live. Are you strong enough to do that? That’s why the reverse right before they’re talking about that you may war a good warfare, because see, you’re in a war. And you want to win. Can you get through this life without the devil winning in your life? I want to win. Often here, Donald Trump talking about, we’re never winning anymore. We want to win again.

I think, well, a lot depends on just what do you want to win? I want to win in the Christian life. I want to win this battle that I’m in. I’ve got a war with the lust of my flesh. So do you. And there’s things that you want in life that may have nothing to do with the will of God. Can you choose the will of God? Are you strong enough that you want that more than anything else in this world?

Now, look at the next little statement. The word anatomy for the purpose of this study will mean the spiritual dissection of the body of Christ in discerning the structural growth of the body, which is the church. In other words, what makes the body work? You can study about the anatomy of a frog. You ever do that in science class? The anatomy of a dog, the anatomy of a person. You just have the anatomy of your liver and your lungs and all the parts of your whole body.

But what makes a church strong, the anatomy of a church, the body of Christ? What if we could break it down just a little bit and study the certain parts of it? And you will find out that the whole works better when you understand the functions of the parts. Because I want a church that’s strong in the Lord, you can’t have a strong church without strong Christians. The individuals must be spiritually strong. We want to reach as many people as we possibly can, but it comes because there’s people who are deep in the Word of God.

And your faith goes down into the Word of God and wraps around this big old boulder that’s in here, this verse, and then this verse, and then this verse, and this verse, and so you’re able to stand strong and true because your faith is deep and grips these verses, the Word of God. Now if you don’t have your faith ripped around the verses in the Word of God, then you’re not going to be able to stand the winds of doctrine that comes your way.

But anyway, look at number one. The anatomy of sonship, no son without the Father, no Father without the Son. You see, in Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6, when he talks about Jesus Christ. The Son is given, the Son is given, and He is born. And His name shall be called wonderful and counselor, the mighty God, the Prince of Peace. Listen to what He says, He shall be called the everlasting Father. If He’s called the everlasting Father, He must have an everlasting Son because you can’t be a father without a son.

So Jesus Christ is the Son of God the Father and He’s the everlasting Father. So whenever we talk about you know having a relationship with God, it’s not that it’s a bad word, it’s just what it means. If you try to tell a lost man you need to have a relationship with God. Now explain what you mean. Define your term. Do you mean that I’m supposed to have this relationship with God and that I go to church and that I read the Bible or I pray and I’m getting closer to God.

I’m getting closer to God. Without sonship there is no relationship. See once you trust Christ as your Savior you’re born into God’s family. Now there is a relationship there. Somebody says, what’s your relationship with God? I’m his son. He’s my dad. He’s my father. But outside of that see how we’re getting along depends on whether or not are you his child. So, the scripture says in John chapter 1 and verse 12, as many as received him to them gave he the power to become the what?

Sons of God. You become a son of God by faith in what Christ did on the cross for you. So now that you’ve trusted Christ as your Savior, God says, you have become His child. He is now your father. So my relationship with God is that He is my father and I am His son. Now you may also want to know, what do you, how y’all getting along? Do you know there’s some people, they have a mama, dad, they got brothers, sisters?

You say, well, what’s your relationship? Well, that’s my mama and that’s my brother and that’s my sister and that, how you getting along? That means a totally different thing, doesn’t it? Because your relationship is, that’s my dad. That’s my sister, okay? How y’all getting along? Like cats and dogs. Or I haven’t spoke to my dad in 30 years, or my mom for blah, blah, blah, all kinds of things. And you’d be surprised that there’s so much in a relationship that people don’t get along.

get along. And then there’s others, you get along fine. So look at the next statement, the anatomy of a relationship. Having a relationship with the Father is based on sonship. There can be no fellowship without sonship. A spiritual relationship is a connection or association or involvement with the Lord. It could also include a connection between person by blood or marriage. Can ship? We have that. So I want you to look at this first. In first John 1, 1 John chapter 1, and look at this now, it’s important for you to see what the Bible says.

Chapter 1, look in verse 4, because your fellowship with the Lord after you have trusted Christ a Savior, how are you doing? Remember, two fellows in a ship going in the same direction. God wants us to have fellowship with the Father and with each other. It It means that we’re getting along. That there’s nothing as a child of God that I’m walking in the flesh and contrary to my heavenly Father. And we’re getting along fine. You know what, I’ve enjoyed not just know that I’m a child of God, but for 55 years or so to be able to walk with God, to walk with God through life.

I don’t care what happens, I always know. My Father will walk me through it. All I gotta do is just walk with him. He’ll walk me through it. Good matter, it doesn’t matter what happens. Me and God can handle anything. Between me and God, we know everything that is to know. Between me and God, I have all the power I need to do anything between me and God. You’d be surprised how much of it, but I’ll end on him.

But you see, you’ve got to understand that this is such a wonderful thing to know that you are a child of God. Now look what he says in verse four. And verse four says, and these things are written that your joy may be what? Four, joy is because you know I can trust him. I can trust God with anything and everything. But when you can’t trust God because of a lack of faith, then your faith is not as strong as it ought to be.

And when your faith isn’t strong, you have doubts. You feed your faith, your doubts will start to death, but if you feed your doubts, your faith will start to death. So feed your faith, study the word of God. Your faith will become strong, and because of faith and confidence in the Lord, you’ll have more joy in your Christian life. You see, you don’t have to go to bed every night, worryin’. Worryin’ is a sign of an undisciplined mind. Worryin’ is a sin.

You were not born worrying. You acquired it. Some of y’all do pretty good. But you see, trusting, you have to learn. You have to learn to trust. And so, past successful experiences makes you stronger for the future. But if you fail the test, you gotta take it over. We tell the college kids that all the time. Fail the test, you gotta take it over. and you want to learn and pass, learn, pass, learn. And you grow that away and God will bless because while we’re in first John, look there very quickly in chapter three and verse one.

Chapter three, verse one, so important. Behold what manner of love the Father have bestowed upon us that we should be called, see those words, son of God. When you trusted Christ as your Savior, you became a child of God. When he writes you, beloved, it means beloved. When you accepted Christ as your Savior, you are letting God love you. When a person rejects Christ as Savior, they’re saying no to the love of God. Christ is God’s love. That’s how God proved to the world that He loves us.

And some people will reject the love of God. Now look what else he says. In verse 2, Beloved, now are we the sons of God? I’m not going to be a child of God someday. I already am a child of God. I’ve been a child of God for 57 years. But anyway, this is what is happening. You’ve trusted Christ the Savior and God wants you to know this and understand them. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of James in chapter 2.

Just backwards a couple pages. You’ve got, you know, 1st and 2nd Peter in there, and you go to the book of James, the book of James in chapter 2. James chapter 2 in verse 23, when God is talking about His great servant Abraham, you know Abraham, not Abraham Lincoln, Abraham that was in the Bible and the Old Testament. He says, concerned Abraham that one night he took a night and says, count the stars. And he says, your seed is going to be just like that, innumerable.

And he says that he believed God, and then he makes a statement. And his faith was counted for righteousness. He was made righteous by his faith in God. Then when God also asked him to do something difficult for him one day, it was offered up his own son. He was willing to do it. God says in verse 23, and the scripture was fulfilled which said Abraham believed God and it was imputed unto him for righteousness and he was called the, and here’s those three little words, the friend of God.

Now I got a few friends in life, not a lot, but I’ve got a few, but my greatest friend is the the Lord himself. He is my friend. I am his friend. So there’s also this fellowship and there’s also the friendship that you can have with the Lord. He ought to be the greatest friend you’ve ever had. No man is greater than the man who was willing to lay down his life for his friend because he laid down his life for me.

The greatest way I could be a friend God is the laid on my life for Him. So you’re his child, but you’ve got a choice in life. How much does he mean to you? So look there in chapter 4 of the book of James and look in verse 4. James chapter 4 and verse 4 where he says, you adulterers and adultresses, no you not that the friendship of the world. Get that? You’re online. The friendship of the world is imitite with God, whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the what?

Ooh. And that’s where some of God’s children are. They’re greater friends with the world. They get along better with the world than they do with God or God’s people. I’ve had people tell me, I don’t have to go to church. You don’t. But if you want to be right with God you do? Now that’s the problem. Do your don’t you? Do you want to be a friend of God? It means you can’t be a friend of God and love the world.

You figured out where you want to. I’m just telling you what he said. And those who are friends with the world, he says, you’re set yourself against God. And then God will have to chase and discipline you. Now take your Bible and turn to the Gospel of John, the gospel of John in chapter 15. John chapter 15, and there’s a portion of scripture that’s mentioned that’s, I think, really sharp, really good. So in John chapter 15, look what he says in verse 11.

Verse 11, these things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full. this is my commandment that you love one another, is I have loved you.” Now this is not to get to heaven, this is to his disciples, on what he wants us to do. And so if he tells you to do something, you don’t do it, then you’re not acting like he’s your friend. And he tells you why.

He says in verse 13, greater love hath no man than this, that a man laid down his life for his friends. ye are my friends. See the next word. If ye do what I command you. Abraham was the friend of God and fulfilled the scripture because he believed God. And he was willing to even lay down his son’s life and obedience to God. God says he’s my friend because he’s willing to do what I told him to do. Now here you are, there’s things you want to do.

It’s your life. This is your life. So why can’t I do whatever I want with my life? Because God says it’s not yours. I bought you and I paid for you. Therefore you belong to Him. And your body belongs to Him. So He says, glorify the Lord in your body and in your spirit which belongs to the Lord. Now look what else He says here. And verse 14, ye are my friends. If you do whatsoever, I command you. And what did He command you to do?

Love what another. And look what He says in verse 15. Henceforth from now on. I call you not servants, but the servant, for the servant, no, not what his Lord doeth, not were slaves, but in contrast to that, God not only tells us what he wants us to do, but he tells us why he wants us to do it. God tells you how he wants you to live, and he’ll tell you why he wants you to do what you do, so that you’re not in the dark, because God says in verse 15, he says, but I have called you friends for all things that I have heard of my Father, I have made known unto you.

I made them known unto you.” You see, if you love people and you want them to have the best, then the best thing is for them to know Christ of Savior, and after they know Christ of Savior, the best thing for them is to learn how to walk with God. Well, the last thing I’d want to do is to do something with my life that would cause them to stumble over my testimony. I’ll say this. It’s not to brag at all because I need a good illustration and I can’t think of anything better.

My kids, regardless of what my kids do, or however they choose to live, they never saw their dad take a drink. They didn’t learn that from me. My kids never saw their dad on drugs or smoking or using profanity. I’ve never sworn a cuss word in my life. So anything that they learned, they didn’t learn it from their dad. They can learn it from somebody else, but I don’t want them to learn it from me. I don’t want to be a stumbling block to them.

As far as the church goes, I tried my dead level best to maintain a testimony that’s right and honoring to the Lord. Do I do it perfectly? Yeah, no I don’t. Nobody does. But I… Do I do it perfectly? Yeah, no, I don’t. Nobody does. But I strive to honor the Lord. I want to be a friend of God and by being a friend of God, then I gotta do whatever he asked me to do. Friendship, who is your greatest friend?

There’s people that can choose and pick all kind of you. The Lord, I’ll be your greatest friend. The best friend you’ve ever had. He laid down his life for you. He loves you that much. And then he tells you, look, I’m not just telling you what I want you to do. I’m telling you even why I want you to do it. He said, if you’ll do this for my saker, you’ll do this for the gospel sake because you just don’t want to see people go to hell.

You want Christians to have the best. You want to be an example of a believer. You want to be that testimony that people need to see. That’s what makes living a Christian life so important. Don’t miss out on all the fun. Join Pastor Jesse and Kyla Martinez on Thursday nights from 7-9 PM for Tampa Youth Ranch and Calvary Community Church. Tampa Youth Ranch is a great mix of live music, games, Bible study, food and fun, where teens 13-18 get to know God and the Bible with their friends.

Check it out online at tampayouth ranch.org and see the cool pictures from past activities and all the fun you’ve been missing. No right? No problem. 1-3-3-3-4-46-55 today for information on getting a ride to Tampa Youth Ranch. Thanks for joining us on Bible Eye. If you are in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4-800-11 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. And now, a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. One day it will happen.

The trumpet will sound and we will be changed. Cut 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.