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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 concluding message of this teaching will be a blessing to you and your family.

But now, notice the next statement. It says in Matthew chapter 10 verse 37, He that loveth, father, or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that love of Son or daughter, more than me is not worthy of me. It means you can’t pay the price. When I made up my mind, I decided I’m gonna go to Bible college. And I decided that I wanna learn how to tell people how to go to heaven. And I remember trying my best to talk to my mama about the Lord.

And my mama told me to shut up my own business in the lever alone. And my father spoke, let me say, if we wanna hear creature, we’ll go to church. Now I guess I could have just shut up and let it go and never witness to them anymore. But I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted them to have eternal life. I wanted them to go to heaven and I would not quit. So I kept at it. Finally, my mama trusted the Lord in one meeting I was having and she was sitting right in that area like this.

And I gave the invitation and she raised her little old bony hand. She trusted Christ as her savior. I was thrilled to death. I later I went outside the church and went out and do some woods and it was pine trees and it was dark at night but the moon was out and I cried. I just went by mama trussle lord, mama trussle lord. And I decided I want to serve the Lord all the days of my life more than I do anything else.

But if you don’t love the Lord more, you’ll quit because somebody’s going to be offended because of your dedication. All that live godly are going to suffer persecution. Not everybody’s going to understand. Why are you throwing your light? I’m going to go to Bible college. Why are you throwing your life away? What are you going to be a Bible? You go to a barber college to be a barber. You go to study law. You’re going to be a lawyer.

Will you be a Bible? I guess that’s really what it is. I want it to be a Bible. I want to be something that somebody could read and understand. I wanted to carry this word in my mind. I wanted to live the Bible. I wanted to walk with God. Now, you’ve got to price the paper. but most people cannot pay that price. When I had a wife in two little darlings and I decided to go to Bible college, I did not have a job waiting on me.

I didn’t have enough money to even get the Bible college. I ran out of money in Orlando, Florida. I had to borrow $40 from my brother to get down to the FBC down in Miami. And when I got down there, the college was no bigger than this church right here. And there’s only a few people there. But I spent the four best years of my life and I paid a price. I averaged two and a half hours of sleep a night for two years.

I didn’t get to go to the beach. I didn’t get to go on vacations. I had to pay for what I was getting. And it wasn’t given to me on a silver platter. I had to work and memorize scripture. I never finished high school. He said, why didn’t you finish high school? Well, I didn’t want to go to 11th grade because my dad was still there. No, no, I just didn’t. But I wanted something more. Yes, I did go back and get my GED.

That’s a story in itself. It was a miracle. But look at the next statement. And he that take it, not his cross, follow up after me is not worthy of me. It means you can’t pay the price because the cost is too high. Listen, and I’m only honest with you. I’m not saying what I’m talking about, the bragging, both of you, I’m just saying the price that you have to pay. A pastor that’s lasted for 55 years doesn’t come cheap.

You got some that can be like a flash and I mean they can go up and come down just as fast but you maintain 50 something years. And walking with God and the discipline you have to have and the trials that you have and the things that people say and do and keeping your testimony above reproach, watching yourself at all times because everybody wants to bring the preacher down because that makes them feel better because nobody can point out our sins as long as we just, you know, break everybody else.

And most people think, well, my light will shine brighter if I just blow out somebody else’s candle. Mine shines brighter now. No, it doesn’t. And you think there’s not a price to pay and things that I can’t do, oh, I could. The place that I don’t go because I don’t think it’s wise. And so I have to make decisions. But now that I’m 76 years old, I wouldn’t change any of it. And I have no regrets. But if I hadn’t done it, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.

There’s a price to pay. And I told the Lord, I said, Lord, I don’t care what it costs me. I want to do it. And I never want to stand in a pulpit and tell people what you’ll do for them if you don’t do it for me. So I want you, Lord, to feel free. Let anything happen to me in my life that you think would help me to be more effective. I don’t care what it is. Let it rip.

My wife would cringe. My father-in-law said, oh my God. But I was sincere and I was serious about it. I didn’t want to play games with the Lord. I wanted to see what can God do because he made a statement to be one day. He says, the world has never seen what God can do to one man. That was so dedicated to him. I says, then I want to be that man. I may never be, but I want to be a man that God could use.

All I want to be is usable, available. Lord, I’m available. Not the talent and ability, but available. Look at the next statement, top of the page two. He that findeth his life shall lose it means can’t pay the price. And he that loses his life or my sake shall find it. See a lot of people can’t pay the price for something better. Have you ever seen somebody go into a store and there’s a diamond in there that’s got, you know, this great big old 200 carats, this great big and it’s only a half a million dollars and they got one down here and they got to use them, I had to find glass to see that.

That’s the one I got Betty. I don’t know if we got married. And we haven’t found the diamond, but we know it’s in there because that’s what they said, it was in there. I got it three months after we got married and took about two years to pay for it. I can’t remember how much it costs, but it was a lot when you didn’t have a lot. And so I couldn’t get the one I want because I couldn’t afford it.

So I got this. As you go through life, you’re going to find out you can’t afford a lot of things. You might see a big old mansion. It’s a man, I love to have that, but all you can afford is that little old shack by the railroad track. And that’s all you can afford. But when it comes to the Lord, did you realize that you can have whatever you’re willing to pay? And it’s not money. It’s the sacrifice of your life.

Like somebody says to David Levinson, I would give my life if I could have a ministry like yours. He said, well, that’s what it cost me. That’s what it cost me, my life. What does God’s will mean to you? Life is going to be over soon. You don’t get a rerun, no instant replays, just one trip through life. Look at the next statement. If you cannot find the time now to meditate in his word, you won’t find it later.

You have to make time. I didn’t have time to go to Bible College. I had to make time. I didn’t have time to do a lot of stuff I had to make time. And now remember that I had gotten so tired, I was so weary that I came home from college, I don’t know if it was 12 o’clock or something like that. And I walked home because it was just right across the street from where I had to go at this time from the college.

And I walked into the house and I had about an hour or so before I had to go to work. And I plopped down on the bed. Betty took my shoes off and I laid down it. And I fell asleep. She came in and she woke me up and says, Janky, you got to get up. I said, I can’t, hon. She says, you’ve got to. I said, I can’t move. She says, you got to go to work. And I’m fixing to go to work and give a man good 18 hours.

And I can’t hardly get out of bed. So she put my shoes on me. She stood me up, walked me out to the car. And I sat down in the car. She reached over there and turned ignition on cars running. And so I put it in reverse and backed out of the drive. I went down to the end of the block there, and I went down toward 27th Avenue. And I ran across there on the other side of the door at the college was.

And I went down there. But she never does it. But this time she did, she walked down to the end of the street and she looked down there and there said the car in the middle of the highway. She walked down there and I was sound asleep sitting in the middle of the road. It was the only time that I never went to work because of how tired I was. And every Friday I quit college. I said I quit.

I quit. then we’d have devotions and a little. Afterglows on Sunday night, down in coconut grove, and kids were standing around and they would talk some of these young college kids, and it’s singing some songs, and they’d give testimonies how that they’re struggling and what they’re doing, but they would say, you know, if Yankee can do it, I can do it. And he’s, he’s an old man with a wife and two kids. I was 24. If Yankee can do it, I can do it.

Not on all my stars. If they only knew what was going on in my mind. Monday morning, I’d be backing up. class and that happened week after week after week. So it wasn’t cheap, it cost. You see, discipleship cost you everything if you want something more, if you want something better. Now you can walk close to the Lord or you can walk further away from the Lord, but you still belong to the Lord. And it’s amazing the price that some people will pay.

Now look at the next statement, God never asked Joshua what he wanted to do with his life. God’s word commands is it either obey or disobey? He didn’t say Joshua, you know, you’ve been doing this for 40 years with Moses, but I just wanna know what would you like to do with your life? What would you like to be? Where would you like to go? Study it, you won’t find that. Can you see the apostle Paul on the road to Damascus?

The bright light shines, he trusts Christ as a savior and the Lord says, well, Paul, now that you’re saved, what would you like to do with your life? Where would you like to go? Who would you like to be? God says, I’m gonna show this man what great things he must suffer for my name. And I’m gonna send him to the kings and I’m gonna send him, that’s what he did. We think because we, well, we live in America.

We got freedom. We can do anything we want to do. We got a dream. We got the American dream. Means you can dream and do whatever you wanna do. Not with God, you can’t. God’s telling us in his word. This is my will. This is what I want you to do. Now we can choose. So it’s either obey or disobey. Look at this statement. After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord had came to pass that the Lord spake in the josh with the son of nine, Moses has been just saying, Moses, my servant is dead.

Now therefore rise, go over this Jordan. That one, all this people, well Lord, I’d like to do that. But you see, I’ve got some plans on my own. My plate is so full. I get that a lot. My plate is full. Well, I’m glad my plate’s always empty. I never have anything to do. Jesse’s finding out what it’s like to have a plate with some things on it. He’s finding out what it’s like to do this and this and this and this and this and this and this and then I’ll sometime say, since you don’t have anything to do, Jesse, I want you to do this.

And then he gets up off the floor. But he tells him, this is what I want and look in the next verse, there shall not any man be able to stand before the all the days of my life. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, God. You mean I got to do this all the days of my life? I got to do what you want all the days of my life? I mean, don’t I get a choice?

Yeah, you can even obey or disobey. Jeremiah says, God, you knew me before I was ever born. And you have called me and you wanted me to be a prophet. Don’t you think God has something for you? God has a will for you. Have you ever been hungry and want to know, why did God let me be born? How does God want me to please him with my life? Now you can be a doctor and you can be a lawyer and you can be a yard man.

You can do all these different jobs, but it doesn’t eliminate the overriding rule. What does God want you to do? And he says, whatever thy hand findeth to do with all thy might, but you can do whatever you do for God’s honor. And if it doesn’t bring honor and glory and praise to God, you might be doing the wrong thing. Examine yourself because you won’t get to do this twice. You get one chance through life. Find the will of God for your life.

Look at the next statement, only be thou strong and very courageous. Oh, that’s great. That thou mayest prosper. See, God has already told us that this is what I want you to do. And you’ll be successful if you do what I tell you to do. You see success does not come because of how much money you got in the bank, how big a business is or how many homes you have, or that’s not success in God’s eyes. Success in God’s eyes is did you or did you not do what I told you to do?

When we get to heaven, God’s going to reward us for what we did for him. Not what we did for us. There is a difference and many people can live their whole lives and never discern that. And you can look and you can live just like everybody else. You know that one person is doing it for the Lord and one person doing it for themselves. Why did you do what you do? Love your wives. Why? Because God’s will says love your wife.

Keep yourself clean and pure for that one woman that you have a right to and you don’t have a right to another woman. You only get one. And then when she dies, you can get you another one. So if God wants me to have another one, then let him take the other one first. You’re not supposed to have two living mates. Now this is where I make a lot of people maddin’ upset because who does he think he is?

I’ll just tell you what the Bible says. If you’ve got a problem with it, get your scissors and cut it out of the book. But I’m not changein’ this book to make people happy and to please them. You go by the book or take the thing and throw it in the trash. Go do whatever you want to do. Look at the next statement. This little statement I wrote it in here, I thought you’d like that. Prosperity in this world is determined by obedience to the will of God.

But it’s a true statement based upon what the word of God says. So if God is going to cause every man shall give account of himself to God. Every man is going to give account of himself. Account of what? What did he do? What God wanted him to do with his life or not? You see, going to heaven, I’m so glad that’s free, but I’m not there yet. But God has told me in his word, this is what I want you to do with your life.

And the Holy Spirit that lives within you will always lead you to do that, which is holy, which is Godly, which is right. The Holy Spirit can’t lead you to do unholy things. Look at the next statement. Psalms 25 15, mind, eyes are ever toward the Lord. So as you live your life, keep your eyes on the Lord. Always seeking what does God want me to do? He is the author and the finisher of our faith. Keep looking unto Jesus.

Hebrews in chapter 12 and verse one and two, tremendous verses. And to lay aside every weight that so easily be said us that we may finish our course with joy, as Paul says in chapter 20 of Acts. Look at the next statement. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself. John 7 verse 17, if any man will do his will, he’ll reveal it to you.

It’s not that he’s going to reveal it, then you get to choose whether you want to do it or not. This piece of paper, God says, you just go ahead and sign it and then I’ll fill it in as you go. What we want is we want to fill it out and then God would you endorse this, assign this, I want you to approve this. No, is it God says, I will fill it out as you go. Then in the way the Lord leads.

So God will lead you as you go. It’s a walk with God. It’s not a sprint, but it’s a walk with the Lord. One step at a time and then God will reveal this and then God will lead you here and then God will open that door. He’ll close that door. And you’ll find out after about, no, 30, 40, 50 years, you can see how God has led. And if you take all the right things you know to do and put them in a path and an order and start doing all the right things to do, you’ll have a path of righteousness.

He will lead me in the path of righteousness. He will never lead you contrary to what’s right. It’ll always be honoring to the Lord. Look at the next statement. Psalms 32 verse eight says, I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with mine eye.” These are power verses that give you that surge so you can keep doing what God wants you to do. Learn the word of God. And like David says, he encouraged himself in the Lord.

You can only encourage yourself in the Lord when you remember what God promised, what God said. And he’ll bless you. We learned a little song years ago. Psalms 37, 23 says, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delighted in his way. How many of y’all have ever heard that little chorus? A botan of you. A steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delighted in his way. No, I’m not going to have you sing it, but you ought to learn. The steps of a good man are ordered. That’s why you need study the word of God so that you can find out what is that which God orders for me to do. Now look at the next verse. Through thy precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

It shows you where you stand and it shows you the way you’re supposed to go. Now if you don’t want to go the way God wants you to go and live the way God wants to live and love your wife and your children and her husband and all the things you’re supposed to do? No, just sit down aside. You don’t have time. But if you want to walk with God and you do want to go God’s way, then you’re gonna have to make time.

Because if I was the devil, I’m not. If I was the devil, I would do everything I possibly could to devour your life. Eat up all of your time so you don’t have time for God. You don’t have time for church, you don’t have time for your family, you don’t have time to do all the right things you’re supposed to do. You just don’t have time. And you’ve got just as much time as everybody else got. 24 hours a day.

Most people do exactly what they really want to do. And you’ll have all the time to do what you really want to do, if whatever you really want to do. But some people lack motivation. Everybody’s motivated to do what they want to do. What I have fun doing with kids at camp is trying to get them motivated, to do what God wants them to do. So I got to tell them some advantages of why they should serve the Lord.

And I got to give them some disadvantages of why they should not serve God. I have to tell them and try to make it clear because their whole life, however long that might be, is ahead of them and you want the best for them. Now look down here at the last three verses that I’ve got down here. Power verses two consider and these will help you tremendously. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not unto thine own understanding.

Now in the Hebrew, that means trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. See there doesn’t help to know Hebrew. Is it what does it mean? It says, I mean that’s what it means. That’s what it said. You see it’s not a matter of interpretations, just matter belief. Can you believe that trust and lean not unto the unknown? Don’t trust yourself. Well, I’m smart. I don’t need nobody telling me what I can to do.

Oh, yeah, I can say you’re a self-made man. Quit early, huh? The other day, I don’t forget who did it. I said, I don’t think God will take me a beauty nap. And then I came back and didn’t finish a nap, did you? You know, there’s always somebody that just gets a little big in on you. You ever know anybody like that? Your husband does that to you too, huh? Look at the next verse. In all thy ways, think God.

Acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path. If you want to do the will of God, you can’t want the will of God for your life more than what God wants for your life. And so he wants to lead you. He wants to guide you, but he’ll guide you through the pages of this book with the truth that’s found in the Word of God. And so wherever you are, whatever job you have, whatever your circumstance may be, let him start right there and you just start doing all the right you know to do.

And if you’ll do that, then God will open up doors and God can close doors and he can bless your life. So that down the road, you can look back and you don’t have all those regrets. You’ll be so glad you put God first. Now look at the last verse on the page, last verse, be not wise in thine own eyes.” Why? Because why would he have to tell us that? Do you think there’s actually people who are trying to be wise in their own eyes?

You think that? Is it possible? Aren’t you glad you’re not one of them? You think you can be deceived so easy without even knowing it? Have you ever had somebody tell you the truth about something and you totally just resent it because they told you the truth. But you want to know the truth, right? Is it the truth you want or you want your truth? Now I have not said anything to make anybody mad. I haven’t got somebody in mine.

I don’t have to tack from the pulpit. I don’t do that. I’ll just tell you what it is. And I trust the Holy Spirit that lives within you to take what you need. And this person over here might need some of this and this note here needs some of this and somebody needs some of that but I hope that it will be a blessing to each and everyone or serve as a warning or a wake-up call to hey take a look at yourself how you doing?

Are you walking with the Lord? You’re the one that determines that and how close you get to the Lord. But is there things in your life that’s hindering your walk with the Lord? Look up here, this hand represents you and me. God says all of us. He loves. He created us to please him. But because we have no sinful nature in us, we’ve all sinned. And because of sin, we have to pay the penalty, which is eternal separation from God in a literal fire burning hell.

Now God loves us once us to go to heaven and to go to heaven we have to be perfect. Nobody’s perfect. Nobody’s good enough. No one has ever lived good enough to go to heaven. We have all sinned. We’ve all come short of God. God’s perfection, short of God’s glory. So God says, you cannot save yourself. You can’t earn eternal life. You can’t work your way to heaven by good deeds. This hand represents Jesus Christ, he’s the Lord God in the flesh.

He came into the world because he loves us. He hates our sin because our sin separates us from him. So Jesus Christ who had no sin didn’t have to die. So he took all the sin of all the world, paid for it on the cross. When he took all the sin of all the world, included mine and that included yours. It means the whole world. Everybody, because we’ve all sinned. And he loves all of us. So he took all the sin of all the world.

The patriot on the cross came back from the dead and said, that whosoever and the whole world would believe that he did it for you, that he would put that payment to their account and you go to heaven on what he did. See, the reason I can’t go to hell because I have a, I got a payment for my sins. He said, what if I I send 10 years from now, and every day in between and every day after.

Well, I got a payment for all my sins. The reason I can’t go to hell is because I don’t have any sins to pay for Christ, paid for my sins. But He did it for you too. And the only thing you have to do to go to heaven is believe He did it for you. Isn’t that simple? All you have to do to go to heaven is believe that He paid for your sins and you’re trusting Him as your Savior.

See, if you trust Him, then you’re going to heaven depends on Him and what He did. don’t want you do. Let’s pray show him. Every head bowed, every eye closed, no one looking around. If you’re here this morning and you’ve never trusted the Lord, would you trust Jesus Christ right now? Is your only hope of one to heaven? I’m not going to have you forward, not going to embarrass you, but right where you’re sitting, you can talk to God.

He knows your thoughts. He said, if you’ll believe that what he did, he did it for you. If you’ll believe that he did it for you, he’ll give you this free gift eternal life. And you can that right where you’re sitting right now. And if you’re making that decision, I can’t read your mind. I don’t know what God knows, but I do love you. And I do want you to trust Christ. I do want you to go to heaven, but I don’t know it unless you tell me.

So with his bow nice clothes, raise in your hand just your way of telling me, preach your eye trusted Christ as my Savior this morning, and I want you to pray for me. I’d love to. So in the clauses with this moment is there anyone at all say, I will trust Christ as my Savior and I’d like you to know would you just slip in it very quickly and put it right back down Zayimul at all. If you trust Christ right now He saves you right now gives you eternal life right now.

Anyone in law before we close this way just a moment. The most important decision you’ll ever make. If you’re watching by internet right on the screen says yes I’ll trust Christ as my Savior I pray that if you understand and trust the Lord He’ll give you the free gift of everlasting life. I’d like to know it. Father, we thank you again for your blessings. Thank you for this time together. Bless each one for being here. We pray your protection.

In Christ’s name we pray. Men reserve the last Saturday of the month for the Iron Sharpen’s Iron, Men’s Bible Study and Breakfast at Calvary Community Church. What is it, 730 for a home-cooked breakfast? Then, at 8 AM, the featured speaker of the month will present a one-hour classroom style men’s Bible study in a relaxed atmosphere where questions in dialogue are welcomed. The scripture tells us that iron sharpens iron, and this men’s Bible study is open to those of all levels, whether new believers or mature Christians.

The iron sharpens iron men’s Bible study and breakfast don’t miss this monthly opportunity for fellowship and the study of God’s Word. Thanks for joining us on Bible I. 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. Believe in that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.