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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 Bibleignmenistries.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.

Anyway, while we’re talking about our message today, I told you to be thinking about something. What was that that I told you to be thinking about? to be thinking about. Florida Bible College. I had the privilege of going to Florida Bible College after it started about two years in a church no bigger than what ours is right here. And Dr. Stanford started it in 1962. I went in 1964, not a lot of students, but if they hadn’t had that college, nobody but me, it was worth it because it changed my whole life.

It gave me the tools by which I could do something with. And the most important thing is winning people to the Lord. So I wanted to do something that would amount to something that, you know, after life is all over with, you look at your whole life and you think, now, what did I do on earth for heaven’s sake? I want to have something that will last for eternity. And there’s nothing in this world that lasts forever except souls.

I believe that God after He saved us, leaves us here so that we can get somebody else to go to heaven and get another one to go to heaven, and get another one to go to heaven, and get another one to go to heaven. So all we’re down here is to pick fruit, just get people to trust the Lord, because people are what’s going to last in eternity. We can sing in heaven and we can fellowship in heaven and we can even study the Bible in heaven and we can pray in heaven, but I don’t know why.

But one thing we can’t do in heaven, we can’t win people to Christ in heaven, why? Because already know in the Lord. But we can do it now. And that’s why it’s so important. So I want you to look at this little statement that I, well, I didn’t make it up. Let the dead bury the dead. You might not know it, but that’s actually in the Bible. It is a phrase that’s used in the scriptures. So I want you to look there in your Bible to the book of Luke in chapter 9.

chapter 9. And look there in verse 1. This is Jesus, He comes into this world, starts His ministry at about 30 years of age. And one of the things He does is He chooses some individuals. He chose 12 disciples, called them, gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases. And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God. Now in the book of John, we find out that’s written pretty much at the same time because it happens about the same time.

He told Nicodemus, he says, you cannot see the kingdom of God or enter into the kingdom of God unless you’ve been born again. So when they go into about preaching the kingdom of God, it was about the new birth. It’s about how to be born into the kingdom of God. Notice in verse three, he says, take nothing for your journey, neither saved or script, neither bread nor money, neither have two coats of peace. whatsoever house you enter into their abide and dense depart, and whosoever will not receive you when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.

Verse 6, and they departed, they did it, and went through the towns preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. He got him some men, told him what to do, commanded them, they went, and they preached the gospel. As you study the Bible, you’ll find out known. dead. They’re all dead. Well, if you read the Bible, do you find your name in particular written in here? And Yankee Arnold, who lives in Athens, Georgia, I want you to go to Tennessee Temple School, then I want you to go to Fort Bible College.

Wouldn’t it have been easy for me to understand the world of God if it had done something like that? Well, he didn’t do that. So as you study the rest of Scripture, who then is responsible now? That’s what he told them to do. do. But I’m not them. So where do we get the idea that we’re supposed to win people to the Lord? Because I have a lot of people that say, look, that’s the preacher’s job. That’s what we pay him for.

You said people don’t say that. You think that’s what they do? Probably some of them sitting right here. That’s the preacher’s job. The wind people are, that’s his job. Excuse me, I’m the shepherd. You’re the sheep, sheep bear sheep. You didn’t know that? You’re going to learn a lot. Look at the next statement I want you to see there. In Luke chapter 9, look in verse 23. In Luke chapter 9 and verse 23. Look what he says. And He said to them, all, if any man will come after me individually.

He said it to all of them, if any man, now He’s telling them, this is a choice. If any man will come after me, now we come to Christ for salvation, but we come after Christ for service, because we’re all following Him. He’s leading and guiding and we’re following. He says, follow me and I’ll make you a rich man. No, a soul winner, a fisher of men. So he says, any man will come after me and let him see those two words, deny himself.

Now you think for a moment, how would you explain this verse? You want to apply this verse to your life. What do you think he means? Deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. Alright, you just read that verse. How would you apply that verse? Well that doesn’t mean me. That means everybody but me. Well it’s in the Bible. Any man, any man at any time, it looks like it could be a choice that any man can make.

Any man can take up the cross, any man can deny himself, and any man can follow him. So it’s something that God wants us to do. But nothing you’re going to find out, okay, what is the cross and what am I supposed to deny? As you think about it right now, this point in your life, what have you denied your life in your own mind? I gave up something so that I could do this for the Lord. Can you think of something?

There ought to be something, don’t you agree? There ought to be something. And follow me. Don’t you believe that it is God’s will that all of God’s children follow him? You believe it? So these are things you have to decide in your own mind. I won’t give account for you and you will not give account for me. When we get to heaven, every man shall give account of himself to God. Of what did we do, of what did we believe?

Now look what he says in verse 24. And whosoever will save his life shall lose it. But whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. What do you think that means? You think it ought to have a meaning to it? Do you think he’s talking about how you and I live or what we live for? Or are we talking about living my life whatever I want here? And then when I die, I didn’t do it for the Lord.

So this was my life. And I didn’t lay up any treasures in heaven so I don’t have anything when I get there. Now we know going to heaven is a gift. That’s free. Jesus Christ paid for our sins. So that we have eternal life and go to heaven. So going to heaven is because of what Christ did for us. You see, discipleship is what we do for him. And he says, I did that for you because I loved you.

Now, if you loved me, keep my word. If you loved me, follow me. If you loved me, him will my Father honor. So now, God didn’t make us love him. He didn’t force us to love him. And he wanted us to know how much he loved us. He paid for your sins when you didn’t ask him to. He paid for your sins and made a way for you to go to heaven, even though you could reject what he did.

But once you trust Christ as your Savior, God does not force us to serve them in any way, shape, or form. But now get what he says. For what in verse 25? is a man advantage if he gained the whole world and lose himself or be cast away or set aside, disapproved, not used for the Lord, put on a shelf. What did you gain? How long has God given you so far to live? And how many more years might he give to you?

Is that all going to be in vain if you do not use it for the Lord? What is your life worth? God left us here for a reason and if you have a pulse you have a purpose and that purposes to honor the Lord. It’s not about you or me doing whatever we want to do with our life. God has already said what He wants us to do. He wants us to deny ourselves. He wants us to take up His cross.

He wants us to follow Him. And He says if you cannot forsake everything he said you cannot be my disciple. Are you his disciple? That means a follower, a learner of the Lord. Now some people, they try to learn and follow Christian principles and character and have it in their lives, but never trust them as their Savior. So you can be a disciple and never be saved. And you may come along and trust Christ as your Savior and never fall in love with the Lord and never serve them all the days of your life.

But wouldn’t it be something for the world to see, a person who knows the Lord, he trusts the Christ as Savior and he loves the Lord. And if he loves the Lord, then he should live like he loves the Lord. And he should be able to deny himself anything in this world for the cause of Christ. Have we ever seen such a man? Look what he says here in verse 20, For whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words of him shall the son of man be ashamed when he shall come in his own glory, and in his fathers and of the holy angels.

So God says there’s a time coming. coming. If you’re ashamed of Him here, He’ll be ashamed of you there. Isn’t that a shame? Why do you think Paul says, I am not ashamed of the gospel? Therefore, he says, I am ready to preach the gospel to them at Rome also. I am a debtor. I am ready to preach the gospel. And he did what he did because God had given him a glimpse of heaven. And he traveled with Luke who had a glimpse of hell because he wrote Luke 16 and so Paul wanted to make a difference.

You see, it’s not that God’s going to kick you out of heaven or not let you come in. No. We’re going because of his great love for us and that cannot be annulled. It’s irrevocable. So there’s some things that I want us to take a look at. Now look what he says here in the book of Luke chapter 9 and verse 57. Verse 57, some had a bad case of what we call me firstitis. You know what me firstitis is?

It’s a deadly disease. Some people have what they call Sundayitis. You know what Sundayitis is? They get sick every Sunday. They’re well on Monday to go to work, but they’re too sick to go to church on Sunday. You don’t know anybody like that do you? You ever heard of anybody like that? Oh, we get that Sunday, I just, well, this is, man, give me first I just. I want to serve the Lord, but first of all, I got to do this.

First of all, I got to do this. But first of all, I got to do this. I’m not against serving the Lord. I’m willing to sacrifice anything and everything. But first of all, well, let’s see what he says about some people like that. In verse 57, it can get passed that as they went in the way, a certain man said, and Lord, I will follow thee with us so ever thy goeth.” Now, buddy, that’s what you want. That is commitment, right?

You’re already in the verse, didn’t you? You cheated, you jumped ahead of me. And Jesus said unto him, foxes have holes. Birds of the air have nest. The son of man hath not heard of lay his head. Now, remember, this is Jesus in the flesh, standing there talking to them. It says, now I’m going and I want you to follow me. When do you think he wanted them to follow him? next week, next year. You think it was meaning now?

You see a lot of people, it’s so easy to dedicate their life to the Lord because their life means starts tomorrow and he wants today. See, it’s easy to give God what you don’t have than it is to give God what you do have. You have now. Are you dedicated to the Lord now? See, dedication, dedication, you have to determine that’s what I want to do. And I give them today, and then I give them tomorrow, and I give them the next day.

Then you can say, I have given my life to the Lord. I gave the Lord what I had. But I promised God I’d always do that for Him. In the future’s always in the future. And one day I will, but you never did. You never got to tomorrow, because it was always today. And you didn’t give them today. And you always wonder, I wonder what I could have done, where I could have gone, what I could have accomplished. Does God know right now your potential?

He knows what you could have done had you prepared. And I told you when I first started, you’d be thinking about three words. What were those three words? Florida Bible College. Now I’m not saying you ought to go to Florida Bible College, but Florida Bible College is nothing but a place where you studied the word of God to do the will of God. That’s all it is. Forget the name. Do you believe it is God’s will for you to study God’s Word to do the will of God?

Huh? Then is it God’s will for you to go to Fort Bobble College? Thank you through. We are making it possible for people to know the Word of God so they can prepare themselves to do the will of God. But you see, you have to have a vision. What does God want me to do? It’s my life. Now, I got a choice. I can deny my own life of what I’d like to do. and be, or I can say, I’m going to just serve the Lord.

Whatever you want, wherever you want me to go, whatever you want me to do, I’m willing to do it. Now get this, because these verses are so important. He said in verse 59, he said unto another, another, another. Follow me, but he said, Lord, allow me first, suffer me first, give me permission first to go and bury my father. That doesn’t mean his father is dead. But when my father dies, I’ll be willing to go. That’s just like I told y’all, I’m willing to go to heaven.

I’m willing to go right now. But first Lord, let me stay long enough to bury everybody else. And then I’ll be ready to go. How bad do I want to go now? If the Lord was coming here right now, I said, I’m ready to take a load. Like this, he’d like to go to heaven. Everybody raised their hand except one guy said in the back row. He said, maybe everybody didn’t understand me. I mean, let’s go to heaven, everybody raise your hand.

But one guy sitting on the back row, he said, why didn’t you raise your hand? He says, well, are you planning on taking a load now? I’m ready to go to heaven, but maybe not now. I wanna serve the Lord, but not now, not today. I got some things I wanna do. I got some plans of my own. If it came to deny in yourself, what are you willing to deny in your life to get the best? What are you willing to sacrifice here, to get something that will be better than anything you could ever sacrifice?

It reveals the wisdom of the individual. Now notice what he says here in verse 2, Jesus said to him, let the dead bury the dead, let the spiritually dead bury the physical dead. Let the lost man do what the lost man can do and let the Christian do only what a Christian can do. The lost man doesn’t preach the gospel that I preach. Therefore I must preach the gospel. I can do any other job any lost man can do, why do I want to spend my life doing only what a lost man can do?

Let the lost man do that, but let God’s children do66666666 what God’s children are supposed to do. Were supposedUGE be a light in this world. Yes or no? That we ought to be a light and we ought to shine and we ought to be able to prepare the way for individuals to come to no crisis their Savior. Now get the next verse. In verse 61 and And another also said,wx Lord, I will follow thee, but let me first, you see that me first, me first, I think that case of me first,itis.

I’ll do it Lord, but first, go and bid them farewell which you’re at my home at my house. Oh really, you’re ready to go, you’re willing to go? Jesus said in verse 62, no man having put his hand to the plow. Looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. In other words, I myself, I don’t mind spending years of my life, which I have done over 50 years teaching and training people. But I like to teach people enough of the Word of God so that they don’t quit because they’re not fit to serve the Lord.

It means that you’re ready, you’re prepared and you want to do it. I don’t want quitters. God doesn’t want quitters. You put your hand to the plow and said, this is what God’s will is for me. And that’s what I want to do, then keep your eyes focused. That’s why they always had these mules or horses, and they put blinds on the side of them so that they don’t see all the distractions in the world. You were called to do something for God.

Then you go and do what God wants you to do. And don’t get sidetracked. And don’t quit. You have no idea how many times in my life I’ve come this close to quitting. And these verses like this, haunting my mind, He said, Jakey, you can’t do that. You can’t do that. Don’t you dare quit. Don’t you stop. And that hurts me sometime when I shake my head like that. But I forget about it.

I take pain pills every day, morning and night. But I can’t quit doing what I do as long as I can talk and have some sensibility. I want to keep doing what I do. But it says, take your hand to the plow and let it look back. Think of all those wonderful things I gave up for God. Man, I was a fool. And then you turn into it. And then you stop doing what God wanted you to do. You see, I know personally, I know people who have done this.

And they fall in love with the world. And the world and the things of the world become more to them and doing what God… Life isn’t forever here. We’re running out of time. So am I. Look at the thing that I wrote down here in black. It’s in bold right in the middle of your paper. a decision to serve the Lord is seen by God as an irrevocable decision. But any man who refuses to prepare is not fit to serve, because God tells us in His word studies, a show thyself approved unto God.

Now I want you to see this very quickly. Turn to the book of 2 Timothy in 2 Timothy and 2 Timothy and 2.CEO. 2 Timothy, chapter 2. And look what he has here in verse 1. Verse one, and Paul right into a young man in the things of the Lord, he says, now therefore my son be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The grace is the gospel. But it’s and the things that thou have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit now to faithful men who shall be able to teach others.

Also, the reason we like to call it situation because it’s a daily thing and we teach them the things they need to know so that they are able to teach Somebody else. And then they can teach somebody else. You see, the reason we wanted to take those times, and I spent four years, along with a few other people, and we spent some time teaching Jesse some things about the Bible. Do you know he can now preach? And he preaches good.

He does a great job. It didn’t happen overnight. It’s,… because somebody believed that it’s worth doing. What if all of us in the college decided isn’t it worth teaching anybody? But they teach faithful men, they’ve got to be here today, they’ve got to begnu this day, module this day, they’ve got to be here this day, but ifiblical, forget it, they’re not fit for it.Published because it takes dedication, itASED a commitment. You don’t put your hands I’m not going to do it anymore.

Don’t lose your love for the Lord. Don’t sit that love that you have for God aside, and you keep yourself focused on what God wants you to do. But it takes time and it takes training. Somebody has to teach people how to do these things. I took the time when I went to Ray Stanford and I watched Ray Stanford do that little wallet thing. Hank Lindstromortium watched him do that little wallet thing. And a thousand others watched him do that little wallet thing.

And 55 years later, I’m still469 doing that little wallet thing. And I’m also still teaching other people how to do that little wallet thing. And some of y’all have learned to be some good soul ones because you have learned how to do that little wallet thing, even though nobody had to tell you sit down with all sevens up and some of y’all can do it. Now, look here in this verse. When it says in verse two, he says, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also.

That’s the will of God. You got somebody has to teach, somebody has to learn. A lot of people use his excuse, well, I’m not prepared. I’m not trained. I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know how to do that. Did you know what, and I’m just gonna mention this to you. I decided myself to learn how to play harmonica. I can play harmonica. I don’t even have to think about it. It’s just so natural. It’s the easiest thing in the world.

Anybody can do that. If you can breathe, you can play harmonica. It’s easier for me because I’ve been doing it for 60-something years. I decided to learn how to play the guitar. It didn’t come natural. I had to work at it. I’m still working at it. I’ve trained other people. They got better me, so I quit. I could go over to that piano, and I could play a couple songs on the piano. But I’m not good, but I know what I’m playing.

and I can make a joyful noise unto the Lord. May not be that joyful to you, but to the Lord. Of course, that sounds pretty good. You just turn me off. But you gotta prepare and learn to do something. So I can’t do anything. Yes, you can. You said you won’t do it. I can’t talk to people about the Lord that you can too. Is that you won’t do it. You’re afraid. Admit it. Then only on the ground, we used to play golf.

We’d come to a creek down there. So you’re gonna go for it. Now I’m gonna lay up. If you’re a feared, say you’re a feared. Well, anyway, sometimes we’re just a feared and you’re a feared. Now look what he says in verse 15. Look at verse 15, chapter two, verse 15, study to show thyself approved unto God. A workman that needeth not to be shamed rightly dividing the word of truth. Is that the will of God? Yes, that’s the will of God.

Is that what I want He wants us to do? Yes, it is. Now look what he says in verse 21. If a man, see that word if, this is the same thing we find over there in the book of Luke. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet or fit for the master’s use, prepared under every good work. So what do you got to do? What you got to be taught?

You got to study. You got to prepare. And some people are not willing to pay the price. Because see, when it comes to our salvation, Jesus Christ had to be willing to pay the price. He came into the world to pay the price. And He didn’t pay the price by coming into the world. And He didn’t pay the price by living a godly life. He paid the price when He died to pay for our sins. the ultimate sacrifice. He paid the price.

He sacrificed his life so that we could have eternal life. And then he looks at us and says, do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love him? He walked in this room right now and he looked at you, eyeball the eyeball. He says, do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you really love me? I kept telling Peter to feed my sheep, Feed my sheep. Then ask them if you love the sheep, say, do you love me?

You’re gonna serve the Lord if you love him. And you’re not gonna serve the Lord if you don’t love him. It’s just that simple. Look at your notes on the bottom of the page here. First Thessalonians 2.4. Now I wrote a little thing in the middle there. Service to the Lord for the sake of the gospel is an irrevocable trust. And first Thessalonians 2.4, you need to look at this verse. 1 Thessalonians in chapter 2, and look in verse 4.

1 Thessalonians chapter 2 in verse 4. It says, but as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God which tryeth our heart. God has given you and I this irrevocable trust. He’s given to you and I the gospel. He has not rescinded that responsibility. That’s what he’s done. You and I are responsible, but we may not fulfill our responsibility. And that’s one of the reasons why when we get there we’re going to be ashamed that we had not given him more.

I could have given him more. When I think about all the places that I’ve been an opportunity I have, I think I should have done so much more. And sometimes I think I didn’t need that little wasted time and that little wasted time and that wasted place because I could have done more. But I don’t know anybody that’s loved the Lord so much that they’ve given them all. My father-in-law used to tell me a little statement, he says, the world has never seen what God can do through one man totally dedicated to him.

And I thought, man, I’d like to be that guy. I’d love to be that guy, but I don’t think I’ll ever be that guy. I may not shake the world, but I wouldn’t mind shaking the man who shakes the world because it might be some little kid in Sunday school or some little kid in the Yawana. Some kid he goes to ranch, some kid he goes to camp, some kid he comes to college and just gets such a burden he wants to do something for God and not waste his life.

So you pray to that end. You want that more than anything else in the world. We’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 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. 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. Friends, 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.