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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 message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Take your Bible and turn to the book of 2 Chronicles chapter 16. Second Chronicles in chapter 16, I want to just give you a couple thoughts that really helped me about 50 something years ago Because I had to come to the conclusion. I kept asking my father law I said if I don’t tell anybody about how to go to heaven if I don’t if I don’t do it I says that mean if I don’t do it God will just get somebody else He says well not necessarily Because you see there’s not always somebody else There’s not always somebody else going to take up slack.

Paul even talked about a person on this one. He said he was willing to die and almost worked himself to death to make up for the lack of service somebody else wasn’t willing to do and Paul was very fortunate that he didn’t die. He said it would have added sorrow on the sorrow. I had to come to the conclusion that God wants me to do something and I want to do it. But one of the verses that my father-in-law showed me, and he told me this, he said, Yankee, he says, the world has never seen what God can do through one person that’s totally yielded and dedicated to him.

And I imagine a lot of people have heard that and said that and no doubt they have, and a lot of preachers said the same thing. But that’s stuck with me. The world has never seen what God can do with one person. I want to be that person, at least to see what God can do with me. So here in verse 9, this is in 2 Chronicles chapter 16 verse 9, he says, for the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong, and to behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.

Herein thou have done foolishly, therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.” In other words, because you didn’t do like I wanted, you’re going to have a lot more problems. Did you realize that if you don’t serve the Lord, you’re going to have a lot more, so you have enough problems as it is serving the Lord, but you’re going to have a lot more if you don’t. God is like radar screens searching for somebody He can show himself strong on his behalf.

God’s looking for somebody. What we want to do is to have the opportunity and have an environment by which kids can come and teach them the word of God and how to love the Lord, how to walk with God. You see, a lot of people don’t know how to walk with God. Now let me be honest with you. It’s not going to change your life because you come to church one day a week. It won’t change your life. You’ll make a few little changes here and there, I’m talking about where it permeates your mind, where your whole mind is so consumed with serving God.

Why do you think me and Hank Lindstrom both went to Florida Bible College? We said and we listened and we were set there four or five hours a day, five days a week for four years because it does something to you. It causes you to want to serve the Lord with all yard and you’re not easily distracted. You stay on course. So Hank was here for 42 years. Well, I decided I’m going to serve the Lord and that was 1964 when I got saved.

That was 53 years ago, but I’m still on course. And I’m still just on fire for the Lord today as I was back then. And I want to do what I still do as much as I possibly can. Because it’s the Word of God. It’s like a fire in your bones. And you don’t, you can’t stop. You just got to keep going. You realize you don’t have much time left. It’s like I pitch your handless and looking over the banister up there in heaven and say, gank, go get him, go get him.

Don’t stop now. Don’t hang up now. Don’t you send something like that? I’m gonna be up there very soon. Well, maybe not too soon. But you want to accomplish something with your life and we have got a great program lined up, but it doesn’t do a bit of good if you don’t have the kids, you don’t have money for scholarships. And this is where I need you. We had a hard decision to try to make up a kid named Jesse, he was sitting in office the other day.

He says, Pastor, we could sure use a bus like this. I says, no, wait a minute. I says, you rise, I’m trying to get money for scholarships, and you want me to try to get money for a bus. I says, which is the most important? Scholarships for the kids or a bus? Is it the buses to get kids? I says, I’ll just take it to the church and let the church decide. That way we’ll let God decide. Whatever God burdens a person with, do it.

And if we have enough to get a bus, we’ll get a bus. We don’t, we won’t. But we have to do what we can with what we have. I got good news for you. I got some good news and bad news. I’ll give you first of all the good news. We have all the money we need for scholarship and the bus. But it’s still in your pocket. That’s the bad news. That was the bad news. Take your Bible and turn with me to the book of Ezekiel, the book of Ezekiel chapter 22.

In Ezekiel chapter 22, there’s a verse that really bothered me for a long time. It still does. It’s where the Lord, see, the Lord didn’t want to have to chase in Israel. The Lord didn’t want to have to take him out of the land. He didn’t want to have to bring Babylon against him, but because of their rebellion, they didn’t do what God wanted them to do. He says in verse 30, he said, and I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it.

And I found more than I needed. What did it say? I found none. See, there’s nothing wrong with the gospel. The message is nothing wrong with it. There’s nothing wrong with the plan. There’s just something wrong with demand. A lot of God’s children won’t go. Remember the verse that we read just a minute ago, going to all the world, preach the gospel? And when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you have all the power that you need to be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and you did it in Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth.

Through the internet system that they’ve been made available for us today, we can get the gospel to how many countries all over the world. And I think it wouldn’t be neat if we had students that we could start a church that’s clear on the gospel in every city in America, every city, because a lot of kids go to a lot of different Bible colleges, but they don’t have a passion for souls. They learn how to make a living, but they don’t learn how to live.

You see how to live, you don’t have to worry about the economy because you’ve got a God you can talk to and walk with and trust and he’ll walk you through and it doesn’t matter what the stock markets do. It doesn’t matter what anybody does. But when you don’t know God and you can’t walk with God like you ought to walk with God because you’ve learned to trust in your money and trust in your job or you look to the White House and say Obama’s going to deliver me.

Oh no he ain’t. I didn’t mean to say that. But he said I found none. You say, we God’s always going to get somebody else. I found none. I found none. And that bothered me. And I thought, why should I go? I mean, who am I? I never finished high school. I’ve murdered the English language. I have no special gifts or talent or abilities. Why should I do it? Why don’t everybody else do it? I would venture to say that there’s probably A bunch of people sitting right here, years ago, you thought about going to Bible school and being whatever God wanted you to be a preacher and evangelist or missionary or something, and you didn’t do it.

You didn’t do it. And then as time goes on, lo and behold, you get yourself bogged down into house payments and card payments and all these bills, and now you got to work and you can’t get free. And now somebody says, can you serve? Well, I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. because they become workahorts and they can’t let things go and they don’t know what +# really is. He says, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these other things will be added unto you.

Put God first in everything that you do and God will bless you. In the book of Isaiah chapter 6, Isaiah chapter 6. Let me mention this to you while you’re turning there. Last Wednesday night I talked to him about this little thing called CAUSEC cause, cause. The Lord has a cause. It’s the greatest cause in all the world. We read about it just a while ago. They’re going to all the world and preach the gospel. That’s a cause. Jesus Christ came into the world, died on the crosspeptor.

the sins of all the world and wants everybody to know it. There is no greater cause by which a man can live for it. You see, Jesus trained 12. One was lost, and 11 deserted him. How would you like to turn over the most important job in all the world? The greatest cause there ever is to 11 deserters, and he’s trusting them as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God would strive at their heart.

But you see, Christ passed away, went to heaven, but the cause lived on, the reason, but those apostles, they all died, but the cause didn’t die, it still moves on. And then you think that for the last 2,000 years, people have been born and lived and died and born and lived and died, but the cause lives on. It doesn’t die because you die or I die. What we live for is what God wanted and initiated and he’s never rescinded his command.

It’s still a command. Hank Lindstrom came here and started a great work. He had a cause. I went to Colorado, I had a cause. A lot of people have started ministries and become missionaries in the evangelists because of this cause. There’s some people that could care less. I’m more interested in my life and my money and what my dreams are and I’m not interested in getting involved. I know. And you leave it to somebody else to get involved. Somebody else do it.

I know that there’s people. I know. People who have money, but they always wait and see. Let me see who else does what they can do. Because if they don’t do it, then I won’t do it. You ever think, I’m going to do what I believe I should do because I believe God wants me to do it. Not wait and see what everybody else is going to do. I want to do what I can because it’s me. It’s my decision.

It’s my God. What is Israel for me? That’s what I do. When you get to play in politics and see what everybody else is going to do, you don’t lost it. You don’t understand the cause of Christ. And some people are afraid they’re going to do too much work. I can’t volunteer for that. I can’t let see somebody else to do it. If there’s somebody else to do it, then I don’t have to do anything. You may have a great voice and you can sing.

But I’m not going to do it. Let somebody else do it. I can teach, but let somebody else do it. And you’re all going to let somebody else do it. So when you get to heaven and God got all the rewards, oh, oh, oh, oh, you let him do it. I’m gonna give him the rewards. You let him do it. I’m gonna let her have the rewards. Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. And if you don’t labor, you don’t get it.

Doesn’t matter what you had. Doesn’t matter what you could do. Doesn’t matter about your talent and abilities. What did you do with them? Did you invest it into the cause of Christ? Five years ago, October, Hank passed away. But did the cause die? All right. Okay. So. Mm hmm. So. So. Yeah. Mhm. So. Yeah. Mhm. Good. Okay. So. Okay. Okay. Now. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So. Okay. Okay. Okay. Now, you had some people here and you had a good bunch of men and a nominating committee and some elders and they didn’t let the cause die.

There’s still a reason. They could have just disbanded. Everybody goes through it. No, there’s a cause. And they voted for me because they thought I would help carry this cause on. It’s not about me. It’s not about Hank. It’s not about the men. It’s not about you. It’s the reason that God has for us. Maybe in a few years, I’ll be up for singing in the choir with the rest of those fellows, but the cause should live on. Because we don’t know how much time we got, how much God gonna give us, but we keep doing what God wants us to do.

You build a ministry upon the temporary dedication of people’s time because not everybody lasts forever. There’s people that will come And they will stay and they will go. And as years roll by, people come, they stay and they go. They may go that away, if they may go that away, but they’re gonna go. Not everybody stays the same. So there is a cause. Now look what he says in Isaiah chapter six. He says, in the year that King Uzziah died, he says, I saw the Lord.

And when he saw the Lord, he saw himself. And when he saw himself, He says, there in verse five, then said I, woe is me. I am undone because I’m a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For mine eyes have seen the king. I’ve seen the king. I saw him. See, if you see the Lord and what the cause is, anyone do everything I possibly can in this life with whatever God’s given to me, Because there will come the time no man shall work.

Night cometh when no man shall work. But we still have some time. And I want to do all that I possibly can. If you can’t help finding this, don’t do no work. Pray. I spoke on that in Sunday school. Pray. Do you believe in prayer? Do you believe that you’re close enough to God, that you can talk to your heavenly Father and ask God for what you believe this ministry needs or what the college needs or the night school needs, whatever the need is.

Or you can sit in the choir, just figuratively speaking and criticize everything that everybody does. If I stay here long enough, you realize you’re gonna find fault in me all over because I’m a man just like you said, of like passion. I have weaknesses, I have failures, and I’m not going to please everybody. But somewhere along the line, I would hope people would understand and look a little bit deeper and see why is Janky doing what he doing? Why does he want to do this?

What’s the purpose behind it? What’s the goal? And to see something more than a hunk of six foot of flesh? Look what he He says down here in verse 8, also I heard the voice. I saw the Lord. I heard the voice. I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send? Who will go for me? And then said I, here’s my brother send him. Here’s my wife send her. Like if one man said, I regret that I’ve only got one wife to send to the country.

No, I don’t think it goes exactly like that. But you see, the time is now. If for not us, well, who? God wants all of us to do what we can. I’m not asking anybody to do something they can’t do. I’m just saying, will you talk to the Lord and because of the cause, do what you can? When God says that you will teach teach others that they may teach others. Well, when we’re going to do that, how do we do that?

When I was on Sunday school, it was any morning, it won’t work. When I was on Wednesday night, it won’t work. It won’t produce the leaders you got to have. You’re not going to have the church planners and the missionaries and the preachers. And so you’re not going to produce them without a dedicated time to pour your life into a person. And God’s, yes, every once in a while, seems like he just taps somebody on the shoulder, and that person sits there and thinks, I’ve got to do this.

I’ve got to do this. And then sometimes, you know, when it’s not you, I don’t see no reason for that. They just don’t make any sense to me. Obviously, why in the world is you’ve got to think that you’ve got to do this or she’s got to do that. I just don’t make no sense to me. me. That’s because you don’t see it. You don’t have to. Not everybody is on the same page. Not everybody has the same burden, but you better think you’re lucky stars somebody did.

You’d be surprised if I was asked. How many of you in here have trusted Christ as your Savior because of Hank Lindstrom? There’d be a bunch. I was here the day when they did his funeral. I was sitting right here. Dr. Stanford was up here speaking. And when they asked how many, I looked around and I couldn’t believe how many people had trusted Christ as their Savior because of Hank Lindstrom. Do you think all of those people were glad Hank went?

That he did it? And down the road there might be somebody else, a multitude of people said, you know, I’m so glad that person went to Bible school. I trusted her because of that person. I’ve had a lot of people over the years. Yes, they’ve been through like I get letters all the time that I went to Georgia or I went to Colorado or I went to Minnesota and that I’ve been here. But for 53 years, it’s all been the same thing.

Just keep sowing the seed. Just keep sowing the seeds. God’s just looking for some dedicated nobodies, dedicated nobodies that He can use on his behalf. He says, yes, not chosen. You know the uppity-ups, the high class. But he’s looking for those that are at base. Those who just humble themselves say, Lord, I’m not much, but whatever I am, I’m yours. I’m yours, Lord. I look at its own we sing. Everything I am, everything I’ve got. Everything I am and everything I’m not.

God, I believe, wants to do a great work. But He’s just looking for some people that He can show Himself strong on their behalf. I want you to help me with scholarships. I want you to help me to get a bus. And I want you to help me with the kids that are coming. So my main need of place to stay. I want you to help me with the night school. And if you can come and take a class, you’re helping.

You’re helping. And how many other things? I don’t know. But I feel like I’m running out of time. Remember I told you I felt like I was on a treadmill, and then somebody went over there and turned it up to 10. And then they took the knob off, and I can’t figure out if it’s going to just thing down. Some people never get in the main row because, you see, they can’t find the on ramp. And some people that were on the main highway, well, they found the off ramp.

Where are you? Looking for the on ramp? So I want to be a part of something like this. Are you looking for the off ramp? This is too much for me. I can’t get involved and you do your own thing. I hope it makes sense to you. This hand represents your name. The wallet represents sin. We all have sin on us. Did you know this simple little illustration is by one of the clearest ways of presenting the gospel? Did you know that probably 99.9% of all preachers don’t know how to do it?

They don’t know how to do this. You hear it all the time. Probably take it for granted. And it’s the most important time of the whole meeting. Because there might be somebody watching or here that’s never heard it before in their whole life. So this hand represents you and me. The wall of represents sin. We all have sin on us because God loves us. God loves us but He hates what we do wrong. And to pay for what we do wrong is eternal separation from God in our literal fire burning hell.

He loves us, wants us to go to heaven. 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 and God won’t let sin in the heaven. So what am I going to do about it? You can’t get rid of it. How do you get rid of sin? It’s on the inside of you. It’s part of your nature. Tell a dog to stop acting like a dog.

Tell a chicken to stop acting like a chicken. Tell a person don’t send anymore. Impossible. It’s what you are. You are a center. Why you have a sinful nature. So we’re all in the same boat. And God says you cannot save yourself. You cannot earn your way to heaven by how good you are. This hen represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God in the flesh. Came into the world because he loves us, but he hates what we do wrong.

Our sin separates us from the Lord. Jesus Christ took that sin, paid for it on the cross and came back from the dead. And God said, if we’ll believe he did it for us. us. He would put this payment to our account. We get to go to heaven on what Christ did. You don’t earn it. You don’t work for it. It’s a gift. It’s free. If I offered you this microphone, it’s not on. You’d have a microphone if you accepted.

If I offered you my wallet and you accepted it, I’d have an empty wallet. If I offered you my Bible and you accepted you’d have a Bible. Well, if Christ walked in here right now and offered you eternal life and you accepted, what would you have? Eternal life. And if it’s eternal life, it It lasts forever. And if it lasts forever and all you sins are paid, where would you go when you die? The heaven, so King and no, you’re going to heaven before you die?

Yes. I know I have eternal life. I’ve known that for 53 years. The best news that I’ve ever heard in my whole life. God is good. I’m so glad that there’s something worth living for. Worth living for. You can live for a lot of things. But I’m talking about something worth living for. Something worth living for that’ll count for all eternity. That’s the salvation of souls. That’s where we are. I hope it makes sense to you. Let’s pray, shall we?

Every head bowed and every eye closed and no one looking around. If you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, friend, you don’t have to give a dime. You don’t have to change your life. You don’t have to stop anything, join anything. All you need to do is just be honest between you and God and say, Lord, I’m a sinner. And I believe Christ died on that cross and paid for my sins. And friend God said, if you’ll believe it, he would save and give eternal life.

You get to go to heaven or what he did for you. Would you believe it? Would you trust him? If you will trust him right now as your savior, God said he would give you as a free gift of her lasting life. And you can go to heaven whenever you die. I’m gonna ask you in just a moment to raise your hand. Raise your hand doesn’t save you, but it does let me know that what I said made sense to you and say, preacher, that made sense to me.

And I will trust the Lord right now and I’d like for you to pray for me. We’ll just slip you in it very quickly and put a rabbit down. Is anyone at all? Yeah, what all? Just slip it up real quick and put it right back down. Just God bless you, buddy. Anyone else? Anyone else? Our Father, we thank You so much for all You’ve done for us. In Lord, I pray that people will not take my, My message is I’m trying to browbeat them.

I’m not trying to do that. I’m not trying to hurt anybody. I just want to try to let them see the importance of what we’re doing and what we live in for. The miniatures we have, how important they are. All we thank you for this time and again, our message, congratulations. 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, 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 mane. 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.