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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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Take your Bible and turn it with me to the book of Matthew. Matthew. Chapter 9, Matthew chapter 9. I want to speak a little bit about why didn’t somebody do something? Why didn’t somebody do something? The Lord tells us in the Old Testament, Ezekiel, that God sought for a man to stand before him and the people, and he says he found none. And I read that, I thought, So well, why didn’t somebody do something? You read the story in the Old Testament about David, as a young lad, had been anointed to be the next king of Israel, because Saul wasn’t obeying the Lord, and God was going to replace him.

Now, he can replace you as far as positions go, but salvation is eternal. That promise is never to take it away. That is the gift of God. But one day he went and he heard a big old giant by the name of Goliath, making threats and challenges, and not a man of the whole army of Israel would take up the challenge. David walked up and he heard all of this bolstering going on and says, why don’t somebody do something?

Why don’t somebody do something about this? Well, if nobody else did, he did, and God used him, and he killed the Goliath and cut off his head. God richly blessed him. The Bible says David behaved himself wisely, then more wisely, much wisely. As he grew in the Lord, he became very wise. After we you and I trust Christ as our Savior, we’re supposed to grow in the Lord, become wiser in our life. Here in the book of Matthew in chapter 9, look at verse 35, and it says, And Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

But when he saw the multitude, he was smoothly compassion on them because they fainted and were scattered rod and sheep, having no shepherd. You think if sheep are scattered, there’s no shepherd, somebody should have done something. Jesus said in verse 37, He says, the harvest truly is plenty but the labors are few. If somebody should have done something. Is it because God didn’t ask anybody to go or is it somebody didn’t go? Somebody failed. Somebody didn’t do what they were supposed to do.

All I know is this, I am so thankful for the one man in my life that crossed my path in 76 years only one man has ever told me about the Lord. I’m glad that that one man decided to do something about it. He crossed my path and he told me about the Lord. If I had stood on the brink of hell and was getting ready to be cast into hell at the great white throne judgment. Would I have cried out why didn’t somebody do something?

Why didn’t somebody tell me? Why didn’t somebody explain it to me? But I’m glad somebody did. If you have trusted Christ as your Savior, you are glad somebody did something. When I was 22 years old, it burdened me so bad I couldn’t stand it. And I didn’t know what anybody else was going to do, but as far as I was concerned I wanted to do something. I want to tell people how to go to heaven. I wasn’t interested in being a preacher or evangelist.

No, I just wanted to tell people how to go to heaven. And that’s why I wanted to go to Bible college. Somebody ought to do something. But as time goes on, the less burden I see of God’s people, their content, they’ll let nothing be done. They’re too busy, they’re placed too full, they don’t have time, they’re not committed, they have no burden, they have no burning coals inside that sets them on fire. Well, they want to make a difference.

Take your Bible and turn with me to the book of Jude. The book right before the book of Revelation, right before the book of Revelation. And you’ll notice there’s a statement here, it’s mentioned in verse 20, Jude in verse 20. This is after you have trusted Christ to save it. Now that you know the Lord and you know you’re going to heaven when you you die. He says in verse 20, but you’d be loving building up yourselves. Now I tell the college kids the greatest thing you’ll ever build is not a ministry.

Build up yourself strong in your holy faith and then whatever you are you reproduce. If you’re a soul winner you reproduce. So winners. If you’re lazy you’re producing this. If you’re motivated, you can motivate. You see some people, they don’t want to get involved and make a difference. They’re content just, let everybody just live their own lives. Just be content. Do whatever you want to do. I know there’s people who say not my business to try to tell other people what to do.

Yes it is. My business is telling people what they’re supposed to do. Think about it, ain’t that true? I’m supposed to tell, will you get married and you have kids? Are you supposed to tell your kids how to live? Well, I don’t want to tell them how to live. When you see somebody in air, do you have the courage to rebuke them, to rebuke them, to make them face the consequences. Well, I love them too much to hurt their feelings.

That can be a cop-out because you’re afraid you don’t want to do it. You don’t want to offend somebody. But God’s word is pure. It is clean. It is clear on what we’re to do. But now look in verse 20, but ye beleavened, building up your selves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God. See, these are things you and I are supposed to do. We’re to build up ourselves by putting our faith in what the word of God says.

So that’s holy faith. Faith where you put it in God’s holy word and become a strong Christian. And then in this verse, keep yourselves in the love of God, because there’s some people, believe it or not, who have fallen in love with the world. When you read the book of Revelation in chapter 2, he talks about the church there in Ephesus, I know thy works. I know your labor of love.” He said, but I have somewhat against you because you’ve left your first love.

In other words, you don’t love God like you used to. And little by little you can fall from your steadfastness and you need to be on guard. Look what he says verse 22, and of some have compassion and see those next three words, making a difference. Somebody ought to do something. Somebody ought to make a difference. Don’t you believe somebody ought to make a difference? What long is it somebody else? Maybe you need to ask this way. Maybe I ought to do something.

Maybe I can make a difference. Maybe I ought to do something. Whenever you and I stand before the Lord at the Judgement City of Christ and He says and every man has to give a count of himself. It’s going to be too late to say, you know, I should have done something. I should have done something. I could have made a difference. I could have made a difference. Look what else he says in verse 23. Making a difference and in verse 23.

And others save with fear pulling them out of the fire. Pulling them out of the fire. See, where are people that are lost? Where are they going? Look what he says in verse 7. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh are said for an example, suffering the vengeance of what kind of fire? Eternal fire. Somebody ought to do something. Somebody ought to make a difference.

Somebody ought to have compassion. Somebody ought to be moved with fear. Somebody ought to pull them out of the fire. Somebody ought to do it. If you think about it, we’re living in good old Christian America and everybody’s a Christian in America. I mean, we’re not Chinese, are we? So we must be Christians. That’s what I used to think. I didn’t know the difference. But when I found out that I’m going to heaven, I also realized there’s others that are going to be into hell and I want to do something.

I knew I didn’t have everything put together. I knew I was a little on the rebellious side, little cocky smart Alec, you know, like you used to be too. Know it all. Don’t want nobody telling me what I can and cannot do. But I wanted to make a difference. I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of 2 Peter. Just turn to the left a a couple of pages. Second Peter and looking chapter one. Second Peter and chapter one.

And you’ll notice there it talks about in verse one, to them that have obtained like precious faith. Did you know that one of the most precious things you have ever done is put your faith in in what Jesus Christ did for you. Precious faith. And then you’ll look down here in verse four. Worthy are given unto us exceeding great and precious, what? Promises. Did you know after you trusted Christ as your Savior and you received free gift of eternal life, God has given to us precious promises in His word.

word. And you would think that somebody ought to believe those promises. Somebody ought to be willing to step out and trust God and try to shake the world with the truth, the power of the gospel. Somebody ought to do something. Wouldn’t it be great if we had a hundred young men coming up like Jesse and Trent, John John that want to serve the Lord wouldn’t be great but not just them. Ask yourself this question. Maybe I ought to do something.

Maybe I could make a difference. If you lived your whole life and just stayed out of trouble and enjoyed yourself and had money in the bank you can retire. Everything’s wonderful. But did you make a difference in the destiny of where people are going to spend eternity? Well, look at another thing I want you to see there. Look in verse 3, according to his divine power, his the Lord’s divine power. Because you see you and I, we were not saved by fleshly power.

We weren’t saved by worldly power. We weren’t GoldMagikarp saved by electrical power, we were saved by a stick of dynamite. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. You and I were saved by divine power. We didn’t have the power to save ourselves, and we don’t have the power to keep ourselves saved. We were saved by divine power. So that new birth that you and I have received, God left us here on planet Earth because there’s something He wants to do that is divine.

You and I have been given this treasure in earthen vessels. Now I also want you to know that there is in verse 4 Whereby or given unto us exceeding great and precious promises that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature. This divine nature has to come from divine power. Came from the Lord Himself. God gives us a divine nature, a spiritual nature, a godly nature. When you trust the Christ as your Savior, you are born into God’s family, you are God’s child, and you have a godly nature.

nature, a nature like gods. But when we were born in this world in this old flesh body, we have a sinful nature like the devil. So there’s God and there’s the devil. I’ve got an old sinful nature like the devil and I’ve got a new birth, a new nature like gods divine and somebody oughta make a difference between the two. You can live like the flesh or you can live according to that new birth, that divine nature that God’s given to you.

So He tells us here, add to your faith. See what He says there in verse 5? Beside this, given all diligence, see these next four words, add to your faith. You have eternal life. You’re God’s, you’re going to heaven. If you never do anything from the Lord, that doesn’t know what God did for you. He still saved you, gave you a new birth, new nature, you’re good to go. You’re going to heaven because of what He did for you.

But don’t you want to make a difference? Don’t you want God to use you to make a difference in somebody else’s life. I would think so. So he says, there’s some things I want you to add to your life. And then if you’ll do these in verse 8, if, if, see that word, if, if these things be in you and abound, they make you that you shall need to be barren nor unproof. It doesn’t say, and you’ll be saved.

No, you’re already saved. But you want to be a fruitful Christian. You should want to a difference. You can do this because why didn’t somebody do something? You notice the next verse it says in verse 9, but he that lacks these things is blind. So can a Christian become blind? There are believers who are blind as a bat. You can say, you go to do this. Well, I don’t see that. You ought to go to church. I don’t see that.

You ought to read God’s Word. Well, I don’t see that. What are they telling you? They’re blind. That’s their way of saying, I’m blind. I can’t see. You ought to win souls. I don’t see that. You ought to support missions. I don’t see that. You’re blind. And you don’t see. And there’s some people who will see and they’ll sacrifice and give and do and get involved and you can count them. Remember this, if the pastor can’t count your faithfulness neither does God.

If I can’t count on your faithfulness neither does God. Moreover it is required in the steward that a man be found faithful. If you’re not faithful you’re not usable. Doesn’t matter about talents and abilities. Nothing matters. If you’re not faithful you’re not obedient. You’re disobedient and you can be a maverick. You know, the maverick just stare that wants to go his own way. Doesn’t even want to go with a herd, just whenever it gets ready. According to their own moods, but you can’t count on them.

There is a thing about being faithful. And so he says here in verse 10, if, see that word, if, if ye do these things, ye shall never fall. So can a Christian fall in the Christian life? Can you fall? Take your Bible and learn the first Corinthians in chapter 10. First Corinthians chapter 10, first Corinthians chapter 10. And you’ll notice that there are some verses in the Bible that says those who have trusted Christ as Savior, you can’t fall.

You can’t fall from salvation. You can’t lose your salvation. But a Christian can fall in the Christian life. And that’s something you need to be aware of. You don’t want to be one of those who fall by the wayside. So he makes a statement down here in verse 8. And there’s only one little word I want you to on the line in that verse. Neither let us commit for an occasion as some of them committed. Not everybody does the same thing.

And see that word fell. Fell in one day 23,000 of the children of Israel. They came out of Egypt, across the ritzy and lo and behold. A time of testing, maybe a couple million people and 23,000 died at one time. Why? They fell. They fell. And notice what else he says here. Look there in verse 12. Wherefore, let him that think if he stand to take heed, let’s see what? So fallen is a possibility. Notice the very next words in the next verse talks about there have no temptation.

It means if you don’t stay close to the Lord and you don’t build yourself up strong in your most holy faith, if you don’t want to make a difference, you’re gonna fall in the Christian life. And you’re not going to be as blessed as you could have been, but you’re bringing on yourself. You do it to yourself. I can’t make anybody serve God. I can’t make it into you right. I don’t punish anybody. I’m doing anything to anybody. Because see, that’s a personal thing between you and God.

Therefore I have no temptation taken you but such is as common a man. But God is what? God is faithful. And if God is faithful, what do you think He wants us to do? be found faithful, doing what you can with what you have, where you are for the glory of God. You can do this. You want to make a difference. You don’t want to just always be somebody else. God got to use somebody else. Why can’t God use me?

I want to make a difference. I want to do something. Look there in the Galatians in chapter 5, the book of Galatians in chapter 5, real quick. chapter 5. And I want you to look there in verse 4. Verse 4, Christ has become of no effect unto you. Whosoever of you are justified by the law ye are fallen from grace, fallen fromottesville. You see who is he’s talking to? Well, you see up here in verse 1, he’s telling the Galatian believers to stand fast in the liberty where with Christ has made his free and be not entangled with the yoke of bondage.

Don’t be entangled with the yoke of bondage. In other words, putting yourself back under the law or trying to put others back under the law, as though you can be saved by the law. He says, if you think you have to be circumcised now to be saved. He said, I got news for you. In verse three, He is a debtor to do the whole law. So in chapter three, in verse 10 of the same book, He says, curses is everyone that continue if not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

In other words, if you’ve got to keep the law, you’ve got to keep all of the law. If you’ve got to be saved by the law, you’ve got to keep all of it. And if you’re going to be spiritual by the law, you’ve got to keep all of it. And the law condemns the law’s legalism and it does not work and it will not save. So you can fall underneath the legalism of the law and think that’s going to make you spiritual.

Well I go to church. If you’re doing that thing, that’s what make you spiritual. Live home, make you spiritual. Read in your Bible. These are things that can help you. All that’s good. But just because you do those things doesn’t make you right with God. See, being right with God is a spiritual thing. Not just because you obey certain rules and regulations. When you think that they in rules and regulations, what makes you saved, that’s legalism. That’s not true.

If you think doing those things going to make you what makes you spiritual, that’s not true. But if you’re spiritual, you can do those things and will do those things that are right. But they won’t make you right with God. Just because you came to church this morning you got a Bible in your hand and you look real sharp and pretty, smelled good and all that kind of stuff. I don’t make you right with God. You can say it here and be just as wicked as anybody.

And your thoughts can meander and you can think all kind of things you’re not supposed to think about. True? Am I telling you the truth? You know I am. This means yes. This means no. No. Turning your Bible to the book of Luke, the gospel of Luke in chapter 8. You’ve heard of the parable of the sore and the parable of the sore there’s something that you need to see. In chapter 8 this is on page 10 83 in a Bible that’s loaned to you.

And I want you to look down here in verse 11 because He’s explaining to them the story of the parable. Because they said, what did I mean? So he says in verse 11, now the parable is this, the seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside of they that here didn’t come up the devil, taken the word out of their heart, less they should believe and be saved. So in other words, being saved is all they have to do is believe.

See, that’s the same message that Jesus preached and Paul and David and Abraham and Moses and John the Baptist. They’ll preach the same gospel. But he says, lest they should be saved. So they weren’t because they didn’t believe. Verse 13, they on the rocker, which when they heard received the word with joy, and these have no root which for a while believe and in time of temptation fall away. You see the reason you can hear the gospel and believe it and have eternal life and be saved.

But because you have no root you don’t dig into the word and become established because you know what the verses say and you’ve got salvation verses and you believe them and you’ve got some service verses and you believe them and your faith goes down like roots around those rocks in the Word of God and you become stabilized so that every wind of doctrine that comes by doesn’t move you. But because your roots are not deep you’re gonna fall away.

You’re gonna fall into the world and not gonna be able to be used by God. And you’re not gonna make a difference. You’re not gonna grow strong. saved but fruitless. And that’s why he talks about they bearing the fruit. See in verse 14 the last thing, bring forth no fruit maturity. And then in verse 15, bring forth fruit with patience. So there’s fruit that God wants you to have. That’s what Jesus said. Now take your Bible and turn to Romans 14.

Romans chapter 14. Romans chapter 14 and you’ll notice in verse 13 there’s a interesting little verse because he just said you know we shall all give an account before God and we’re all going to have to stand at the Judgement City of Christ and so he makes the statement here in verse 12 so then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God. Now one day you and I are going to have to give an account to God and we will probably say, why didn’t I do something?

Why didn’t I do something? I could have made a difference. Maybe you could have led your grandfather to the Lord of your grandmother. Maybe you could have led that little girl to the Lord. Or maybe some anoronkel. Maybe some neighbor. Maybe somebody where you work. And all it would have taken is just you had the I have, do you know where you’re going to go when you die? Has anybody ever taken the Bible and showed you how to have eternal life?

If you could know you could go to heaven, wouldn’t you like to know? Do you mind if I take just a moment and tell you what happened to me? Or I know I have eternal life and I want you to know. You know, God loves you and so do I. Now let me tell you how you can know that God loves you. You figure out a way to open up a conversation, but you can do it, But people don’t do it because they don’t either offend somebody or be offended because of fear.

Then scared. 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 4081 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. Cada can meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.