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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 message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Anyway, take your Bible and turn to the book of Genesis, the book of Genesis. Genesis and chapter 2, Genesis chapter 2. You often wonder sometimes, I’m just like I do, about, you know, where’s God? And what did God do all of this? What did He make the world and made man and all these kind of things? So it’s always good to find the first mentioned principle. When you go back into Bible to find out what He did, and it’s always good.

I have a portion in the scripture here that I really kind of liked it because it brings such wonderful joy and peace and happiness forever and ever and ever. I’ll show you in just a minute. But here in the book of Genesis in chapter 2, we know that one of these great reasons that God created everything is because He wanted somebody to talk to that could talk back that could accept His love and love Him back. But the Bible says that God must have joy out of that.

You know, to create a man. Look what I did. There’s a man. And foreign men out of the dust of the ground, plain old dirt, breathed into his nussels the breath of life and man became a living soul. That’s pretty good. But anyway, here in the book of Genesis in chapter 2, look in verse 15. Verse 15 says, and the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man’s hand of every tree of the garden thou may as freely ye.

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest there of thou shalt surely die. And the Lord God says it is not good that the man should be alone. Isn’t that a good statement? It is not good that the man should be alone. So that’s why the women been chasing the boys ever since. So as I will make and help meet for him, I’m going to make somebody just a complete.

In other words, he’s like, he’s, he’s, he’s, he’s, he’s, he’s there’s a difference between the word complete and finish. Anyway, I better not go down. Well, anyways, we’re moving right along here. Says in verse 19, and out of the ground, the Lord God formed every beast of the field, every file of the ear, brought them under Adam to see what he would call them. And whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. So if you want to know where did everything get its name, well, it says so right here.

And Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names all cattle and the file of the ear and every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found that helped me for him. Don’t you feel sorry for Adam? is going to solve this problem. God is going to solve the problem for this poor lonely man. Anyway, says in verse 21, “…and the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept and took one of his ribs, closed up the flesh instead thereof, and the rib which the Lord God had taken from man made he a woman and brought her unto the man.

And Adam said, this is now bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because he named everything, he named her a woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked and the man and the woman and were not ashamed and they lived happily ever after. That’s in the Hebrew. Have you ever seen those movies they always close off and they ride onto and they lived happily ever after?

Now, you know that’s in a fairy tale, right? The fairy tales and they lived happily ever after. Well, now, you know, some marriages are happy, but ever after. Happy forever. I wonder where whoever started that. Somebody had to start, you know, those things that were not true. But what I like about it is God made a man and wanted him to be happy. wanted him to be pleased. And God made a woman, brought her, and no, she had to be a perfect fit for him.

Just exactly what he needed. And there’s what they had in a perfect garden. Wouldn’t you like to have been in that part of it? And if you knew what would happen, if you ate that tree, you probably wouldn’t eat that tree. But God didn’t tell him, he just told him you’re gonna die, but what would you compare it to? You don’t even know what death is. You’re gonna die, I’m gonna what? Well, the other part that I like about this little story is over here in verse 8.

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. Just to think that you were in the presence of God, you could walk and talk with God. There was no sin between you. But then something happened. Adam and Eve ran and hid. They hid themselves because they knew, hey, something’s wrong. Something is wrong. they had disobeyed God. So the Bible tells us that, yes, God made man, but God came down.

God took the initiative. God wanted to spend time with us. Do you believe that there’s somebody who right now is craving to spend time with you? Just wants to talk to you. Spend time with him. He wants to walk with you. And as you’re walking and thinking and things like that, that God thinks you are so important that he wants you to give him all your time. To think about him continually, pray without ceasing, talking to the Lord all the time.

So God does want to commune with us, and I believe it’s a good thing. I think it’s a wonderful thing that in the very beginning, the first mention principle is God wanted to walk with man. And so take your Bible and turn in the book of Exodus in chapter 25. Exodus in chapter 25. Exodus chapter 25. And the Lord had revealed some things to Moses, told us some things to do and what they were supposed to get accomplished. And here in the wilderness it says in verse 1, and the Lord spake unto Moses, say, and speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering of every man that give it it willingly with his heart, you shall take my offering.

Every man God wants something from. Taken off from every man. Do you think God wants every man to walk with him? Every man to give something to God, an offering of something to God. But God tells us what he wants. God wants to walk with us, he wants to talk with us, but he also wants something from us. Now, The Bible gives us the dimensions and so forth of the tabernacle and the wilderness and all the things that they were supposed to do.

It gives a little monotonous sometimes reading about all these little pieces of furniture and the tent and how it’s supposed to be and all that. And sometimes whenever I’m reading that, it’s very hard to concentrate on exactly what he’s saying because it’s not the most exciting thing. But look what he says in verse 22. Look in verse 22. Verse 22 says, and there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, and of all things which I will give thee in commandments unto the children of Israel.

Now he also makes the statement there in verse 8, because he told him, he says, I want you to build this thing where I want to commune with you. I want a place that I can meet with you. I want I want to talk to you. I want to lead you. I want to guide you.” And he had to coerce the pillar of fire and he had to cloud and he gave them man in the wilderness. They had to totally, totally depend upon God and their walk with God through the wilderness because they didn’t have the ability.

They had no alternative. It was either that or die. So their very life depended upon their daily dependence upon God. Give us this day our daily bread.” And he makes the statement there in verse, and let them make me a sanctuary and get this last part that I may dwell among them. Do you think God wants to dwell among us? He’s the one who thinks that he’s going to come up with this. This is God. That little desire that you have within you to know God, to want to get close to God, to walk with them and all that.

Did you know that that comes from God? because God has placed certain things within us, the desire to want to know God. I’m soFollowing, so glad that God has put these things in his word because God’s-+it takes this initiative and seizit a good thing. Looked in 1 Kings and chapter 8.oubted. Now you know as time goes on they got into the land. They no longer had the tabernacle. Well David didn’t think that was not for the God of Heaven.

So David wanted to build a, you know, a real nice house. for God. And often when, well, where did he get that desire from? I wonder if God gave him the desire to want to build him a house because God didn’t say no. But he did make statements along the line, he says, how can you build something for me to live in? Do you know who I am? Do you know the earth is my footstool? The heavens, you’re going to build me a house?

Well, that was like the tabernacle and the wilderness. But now David wanted to do something great for the Lord and the Lord says, you gather all the material, but you’re not going to finish it. You’re not going to put it together. Your son Solomon, he’s going to do it down the road. And so sometimes you and I can have a dream and a vision that we ourselves won’t get to finish. Somebody else will come along and finish that dream that we had, but you can’t make somebody except somebody else’s dream unless God is the one who planted the dream and God wants it fulfilled.

And so God arrays up somebody else that can come along and next thing you know this will happen and that’ll happen and you see one plant, one water, but God gives the increase. This is the Lord’s work. It’s what God does. But notice what He says here in 1 Kings in chapter 8. I want you to notice there in verse 11, verse 11, he says, so that the priest could not stand to minister because of the cloud. The glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

And so now they getting the temple built, you know, Solomon’s putting it all together. In verse 12 he says, then spake Solomon, the Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. I have surely built thee and house to dwell in a subtle place for thee to abide in forever.” Well, you know, this house and this forever was based upon, you know, you serving me and you obeying me and God said, I’ll protect you from everything. You wouldn’t have to worry about anything.

And he would let the rains fall and the fruit would grow and everything would work out fine. Everything could have been great. And this wasn’t in the garden, this was in the land of Israel. And did Israel mess up again? They wind up having to lose it all. They took them into captivity. The temple was destroyed forever and ever, but it didn’t last forever and ever because there’s some things that are conditional upon man doing right by God. And so he says in verse 14, and the king turned his face about and blessed all the congregation of Israel and all the congregation of Israel stood.

So everybody was happy. It was a great event and the house was done. And God was going to dwell there in verse 11 in this place and his chaconic glory would fill the place. And they knew there was the presence of God. They knew where God was supposed to be. Oh yeah, he’s the God that made the heavens in the earth but he’d draw in that little old place in that little old room right in there where the Ark of the Covenant is, and they knew.

And it wasn’t long before they were causing their disobedience to Bible talks about Ichabod, the glory of the Lord is departed and the Shippon of Glory was taken away. Take your Bible look there in the Gospel of John in chapter 1, the Gospel of John. John chapter 1, years and years have passed. Solomon’s temple was destroyed, rebuilt, Harry came along and fixed it up where it was pretty nice in the days in which he was a ruler. And you’ll notice, in the Gospel of John, the Bible says in verse 1, in the beginning, the word was with God, and the word was God, and the word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God. Then he comes over here and he makes this statement in verse 10, he was in the world, and the world was by him and the world knew him not. But he was in the world. And he had come several times before that, but never like this. Last of all, he sent his son. And the Bible says his son, tabernacle among us, tabernacle. It’s though God was still in a tabernacle, but this was a tabernacle of flesh.

So he looked there in verse 14 and the word was made flesh in tabernacle. That word, same as tabernacle dwelt among us. Evidently, there’s something about God that He wants to live with us. And just think how bad we’d like to be with God. I want to be with God one day. What do you know there’s a God in heaven whose desire is greater than my desire? He wants to be with me more than I want to be with him.

And sometimes in my life I want to, how can that be possible? I always do. Anything to get into the presence of God. But the last thing I want to do is commit suicide. So I’ll have to wait until he’s ready. And to think that God wants to spend time with you, every man, and God wants to bless every man. And God wants every man, yes, to have peace and joy and happiness and love and all these things. But because we sin against God, we think we know better by how to do things than what God does.

And so that’s why we don’t walk with God like we ought to because how can two walk together unless they be agreed? So sometimes we don’t agree with God. And God doesn’t agree with us. So He has made a way. Now look what He says here. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory. The glory has of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. So He tabernacle among us.

Jesus Christ came into this world. And He wanted to dwell among us. He came here for a particular reason, but was because of what He wanted to do for us. He wants us that bad. Now you may not think you are of great worth of great value. You have a low image of yourself, but you ought to see what God sees. God thinks you are something else. You are worth something in His eyes. You are of great value. you.

You are a more value than all the earth, all the wealth in the whole world. You are worth more in God’s eyes. There’s something about you. Now don’t ask me what it is. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know what it is about me. That God would do what He did. That Jesus Christ would come into the world and do all these wonderful things for us to die on the cross, to pay for our sins, and go He told us agony just because He wanted to make a way for us to be able to be with Him.

He wanted us that bad. I think it’s really awesome. It really is. Now take your Bible and turn to 2 Corinthians in chapter 5. 2 Corinthians and chapter 5. There’s one little verse here that I wanted to kind of bring to your attention. verse 19, verse 19, where it says to wit, to witness that God was in Christ. So where was God? Well, God was in Christ. Did you know that Christ is the building of this body? That’s to be the sacrifice for our sins.

Christ was to suffer and to die God can, but the body can. God had a body prepared for him. God was in Christ. When Christ was walking upon the earth, That was God. We talk about trusting Christ as your Savior. That’s God. That’s God. When he came back from the dead, that’s God. But we often say that, you know, God died from my sin. We say Christ died from my sin because we know God. God can’t die. But God in flesh, he died.

And he paid for our sins, came back from the dead. And therefore he ascended into heaven, offers eternal life to who saw it would just believe that he did it for them. And he would give to them as a free gift ever, lasting life. But look what he says in this verse 19, where he says in verse 19, to it that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. In other words, you did the wrong, but he doesn’t put the wrong to you, he put it to Christ.

And all the trespasses that were against us was taken out of the way, nailing it to his cross, the book of Colossians in chapter 2. So important. And had committed to us the ministry of reconciliation. You know, man and God are enemies. So we need to be reconciled. So Jesus Christ became the peace offering for man for God. So that to take away the the imitibi, that was between us, so that now our sins have been taken away so that God wants to be with us so bad.

Look what He went through. Even whenever man was in the garden, God was there. And when they were in the wilderness of 40 years, God was there. And when they were in the land, God was there. In some of their darkest days of the Roman government, as Jesus walked around, God was there. There’s a song that we often sing, where are you there when they crucified my Lord? But He was there. And you and I are supposed to realize that we have something we can relate to.

Because God wants us so bad that He made a way for all of us to come to Him. Now take your Bible looking 1 Corinthians chapter 3. First Corinthians in chapter 3. 1 Corinthians chapter 3. And look in verse 16. In verse 16. where it makes this statement, no ye not, that ye are the temple of God.” Did you know that? Your body is the temple of God. Now in the Garden of Eden, he could walk with them in the cool of the day.

And then when he got in the wilderness, he had a temple made, a tabernacle, a big gigantic tent that they would carry around. Then when they got into the land they made a permanent temple and God dwelt in that temple, the wilderness and the one in the land. And then when Christ came, He was the temple of God, thou art God. When Thomas says, my Lord and my God, when He saw him after the resurrection. Now, where is God?

Well, He’s up there on some Some planets someplace flying high, nobody’s seen her hide hair or nothing. No, no, nobody. But wait a minute, that’s a fast. I have seen God. You see, He dwells in His children. And I’ve seen a lot of people, His children, who have expressed God in a lot of ways. You see, He lives through us. you’d be surprised what power of influence that you have in the lives of other people. Your lives has touched other lives and have been influenced by you, for the Lord, to draw people to the Lord.

You have expressed his words and shared his thoughts to other people. has lived through you because as he says right here verse 17 if any man excuse me verse 16 know you not that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelt in you now how did that happen the day you trusted Christ is your Savior the Holy Spirit of God well he doesn’t live in that Solomon’s temple back there that’s been destroyed it doesn’t live in that tabernacle in the wilderness He lives inside of me, He lives inside of you.

And He’s just as real inside of me as He was when He was in the tabernacle or in the temple or He walked in the cool of the garden without Him in the eaves. God is real and He lives inside of me. Does He live inside of you? Does He? How many of you know God lives inside of you? of you. Let me see. All right, we canjury. Only five of you didn’t raise your hand. No, no, no. Once you trust Christ is Savior, the Holy Spirit of God dwells within you and your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Now, why did He do all that? Because He wants to be close to you. He wants to be with you. That’s why He did everything that He did, because He values you. He puts you right up there. It’s not because of any great thing that you’ve done. It’s just because of who you are. You see, you were made in the image of God. You were made in His image. Do you think God knows where you are right now? He lives inside of you.

The, of course He does. And that’s why it’s so important. Look there in 2 Corinthians in chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. And look at verse 1, this is something that’s going to be forever and ever and ever. Not talking about you and your wife. Verse 1 says, for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle word is on, we have a building of God and house made by God is a building of God and house, not made with hands.

And what does the next word say? E-ternal. It’s eternal. We are going to get a body that’s going to be eternal. And we will be forever and ever and ever in the presence of God. You know what hurt the Lord? It was when in the garden. He could no longer work with Adam and Eve the way it was. Things changed when he was rejected. And whenever they were in the wilderness and he was right there, did there ever come a time when the children of Israel desired to go back to Egypt?

Did they murmur and complain at all about their sorry lot in life, been out there in the wilderness? Nobody loved it. them. Nothing to eat except them little wafers that come down every day and then they didn’t get enough water to drink when they wanted it. Do you think God was ever offended, mocked or made fun of? It didn’t just happen at the cross. This happened all the way down through time as long as it had been man. Did you know that even you and I as a child of God can steal murmur and complain just like they did in the wilderness.

Did you know that some of us can begin to worship other idols just like they did when they went into the land because you can have football as a God. You can have money as a God. You can have all kinds of idols. God God says the last part of chapter 5 in 1 John, children keep yourself from idols. Evidently God’s children worship idols. We have something else that takes the place of God. Is this something that took place only at the cross?

No. Even today we’d be surprised how little sometimes we honor the temple that God’s given us, this body of ours. The body is supposed to be pure for the Lord, holy, separated unto the Lord, to be used for God. This is His temple. Do you think there’s a possibility that sometimes Christians abuse or defile the temple that belongs to God? And by doing so, God may have to take Him home. Some are sick, some are weak, some are dead.

Always seek to do right on of the Lord in all things. you are the temple of the living God. That’s where he dwells. And he did all the things that he did because he wants to be close to you. The key is do you want to be close to him? Let’s pray, Shavim. Father, we thank you so much for all these things that you give us in your Word. Help us to realize how important it is to walk with you and to realize that we are the temple of the living God and that you are here and that we are precious in your sight.

Thank you so much. We ask your blessing upon the service to follow the Christ name. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida, with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you are blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Bibleline and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll free, 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bibleline programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link.

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. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10-30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, 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 and just keep looking up.