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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.

We’ve got an interesting subject. So, let’s take our Bibles and look here a subject called biblical separation. I never knew what this was talking about. I didn’t even know it was in the Bible because I never worried about too much on separate. I just did pretty much as a teenager whatever I wanted to do. I kind of went where I wanted and did a lot of things I probably shouldn’t have done. Made some wild decisions. I just turned 17 and afterward man and uncle living with them and so they had mercy on me.

So they’re going to put me through this special school. And anyway, just because they said one word, a phrase that really I didn’t like. And so out of anger, I got mad. So I ran away from them. I was like, I’m tired of people telling me what I can. He cannot do. I’m just going to go down to Pittsburgh. and I’m going to join the Navy. And I never knew much about them telling you what you can and cannot do.

Now that was a dumb, stupid move right there. Would you say? And did they tell me everything to do? I mean, I couldn’t move without them telling me what I couldn’t do. But anyway, whenever I got out of Navy, it’s amazing I could go in when I was 17, get out when I was 17. But who’s laughing, the manila? Well, I was able to cram three years into a few months. But anyway, I decided I’m going to California. So I was 17, maybe 17 and a half.

So I hitch-tiked to California. And I still had on my navy shoes, and I had on my navy belt. And you’d be surprised. I mean, policemen, notice things like that. So I had got into Uma, Arizona, and they came by and took me to the Marine Base, AWOL. And I took me, I don’t know how long to have been, so that I was not AWOL. That means absent without leave. Then I had to explain to them everything that had happened gone.

And then I’m going through El Paso, Texas. I’m just walking through the city. They had a big old ferry going on and I’m minding my own business just walking down the main road hitchhiking Well, I didn’t know they had a log in hitchhiking then they’ll pass off so All of a sudden a couple of cop cars come flying up one stop right in front of me Or behind me and I turned around and then another come flying into the other direction another one come flying into me And he jumped out of the car and they ran up to me in our case spread them put your hands on the car I thought, why ain’t done nothing?

What’s going on here? Anyway, they said they got on the phone, like you hear him talking, I said, yep, he fits the description. Yes, he’s the man, we got him. And I said, who have you got? This is, we know you just robbed the place down the street. I hadn’t robbed anything, done anything. I was just minding my own business. And so they said, simply the duffel bag. So I mean, after a few days on the road, It doesn’t smell too good.

And I was picking him up, putting him all over the hood of the police car. And he’s a, he says, he can put it back. I said, back up. Well, I haven’t had a chance to watch this stuff. Anyway, they got another phone call. We got the other guy. We got the real guy. He’s on another street. And so whoever you got, he’s not the right guy. So they let me go. But they warned me, said, you cannot hitchhike through Texas.

I didn’t know that. I know the wrong. But some couple that was there, a young couple, they was listening to what was going on. And so they offered to give me a ride all the way to Las Cruces, New Mexico. So I went to Las Cruces. Anyway, I’ve had a wonderful experiences. I was going around to the Great Big O Lake in San Francisco. I think it was San Francisco. or Los Angeles in someplace. It was where they have a Hollywood in Vine, where’s that at?

I just remember standing on the corner of Hollywood in Vine. Where? The Los Angeles. OK, where it was. And I decided just to take a walk. And there’s a multitude of people all around this big old league. So I just walked up, and I just stood out there and just looked at everything. I was curious at 17 years of age. And I saw way on the other side of the lake, two policemen. And they walked, and they walked, and they walked, and they walked, and they walked, and they walked, and they walked, and they walked, and they walked, and they walked, and they walked, and they walked, and they walked, and they walked right up to me.

A thousand people out there, and they didn’t stop until they got to me. I think sometimes somebody’s always telling on me. It’s like God’s up here saying, get him, get him, get him. And so they came over to me and they spotted my shoes and my belt. Navy shoes, Navy belt, AWL. Had to go through it all over again. And I realized that there’s separation that is mentioned in life whether you know the Lord or not. I mean, God made a man, God made a woman, they’re separate.

There’s all kinds of things in life that we go through. But when you come to the Bible, there’s things that can help you to grow strong in the Lord, and there’s things that can harm you. So I wrote down some of these things, but I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5 is a tremendous verse. Talk a little bit about the way we walk and talk about walking funny or pigeon-toed or anything like that.

Walking circumspectly. But look there in the text, Ephesians 5 verse 14, where he says, Wherefore he said, Awake thou that sleepeth and arise from the dead. So you have a separation. There’s those who are awake and there’s those that are asleep. There’s those that are alive and there’s those that are dead. But there’s always a separation. In Christ you’ll give the light so there must have been darkness. Now look there in your notes. And just a couple verses found in the book of 2 Corinthians, chapter 6, verses 14 through 17, tremendous verses.

But there’s mentioned over and over again about separation, separation, separation. And he’s talking to God’s children. There is a difference in verse 14 about believers being yoked together with unbelievers. So believers are not supposed to be yoked together with unbelievers. But that could be in a lot of different areas. some of the areas you have to watch is that in areas of business. You know, there’s two or three people that decided to go into business together. And there might be a couple of them that know the Lord and a couple of them that don’t know the Lord and the next thing you know, you’re not going to have the same principles.

You’re not going to believe in doing exactly the same name or the right way, and some may be willing to, you know, sneak a little bit, cheat a little bit, do whatever, and God can chase them to good people right along with the bad people because there are certain consequences so we have to be careful. Righteousness, fellowship with unrighteousness, no there’s to be a separation. If you want to do what’s right then you need to hang around those that will do what’s right.

If you don’t there’s going to be there’s going to be problems that can happen in any area of life. Usually we say that you cannot rise above the caliber of your friends. In In other words, whatever they are, water seeks its own level. You find somebody that’s just like you. I’ve told teenagers this in rants for years. I can bring a kid from Colorado. Lee Patton can bring somebody from Texas, and lo and behold, they can get their ranch, get the camp, and they won’t take them a couple hours.

They find each other. And whatever kind of an attitude they are, or how they perceive things, they find each other. And that’s why sometimes you try to separate them, separate them, because you want them, You learn from these over here and you learn really, but if you put them together, they won’t learn at all. They won’t listen and they feed each other. So you have to be careful. Light, communion with darkness. You see, darkness and light don’t go together.

One does away with the other. And verse 15, when you talk about Christ, He is the true value. And concord means simply mean in agreement. In other words, what do you have that’s in agreement with the devil? What agreements does Christ and the devil get along with them? What point do they really shine together? If they’re on an agreement on this, I don’t think you’ll find the devil. And Christ agreeing on anything. So when you’re talking about, when you want to compromise a little bit, you talk to you, of what areas can we agree on?

They’re trying to figure out a way to have peace over there in the Korean peninsula, you know. Well, what can the north and the south, what can we agree on? Not much. Only that you maybe want to live. But there’s not many things you can agree on. But when it comes to the Christian, you’re always having to judge. What can we agree on? Because there has to be an area of fellowship, but if everybody has to be perfect, you wouldn’t have any fellowship at all with anybody.

But now, note it. Number 15, Christ and the devil. True value and worthlessness. You have something of value. So in your life, you’re always trying to find something that will help you to be more profitable for the Lord. So you’re looking for things that has value to it. There’s a lot of things you can spend your life on and doing that absolutely has no value to it. In other words, the value for eternal things or temporary things. So you have to use some discernment.

That’s why we need to go to and to really study the word of God. Verse 16 talks about your body, my body, temple of God. Well, God says you are a temple of God. What value does the temple of God have with idols? So God says, you don’t worship idols. After I led this year one kid to the Lord, his name was Richard Hormel. He was a quarterback from Miami High. And he was a quarterback for the Miami High Stingeries, but he came to ranch and he trusts the Lord at ranch, but then he asked me to come over to his house and talk to his mom.

And so I talked to her, she could understand some English, she trusts the Lord. So grandma was there. grandma was really old. She was in her 80s and very, very old at that time. It doesn’t seem to hold anymore. But anyway, she came in the room and Richard Hormel said, I’m like, he says, would you talk to my grandma too? I said, sure. He said, but she don’t speak any English. I said, what do you want me to do?

Lord, give me the gift of tongues. He says, you just tell me and I’ll tell her. I said, all right. So I would talk and he would translate. And after five, she trusted the Lord just so easy. She just trusted the Lord. She just melted. She went into the other room and I thought she was just going to go to bed or take a bath or something like that. You know, whatever old ladies do, I don’t know. And for what she came in and she had a whole bunch of little idols, Catholic statues and idols and stuff.

And she put them on the intake when she says, what about these? So I told her, I said, well, they have eyes, but they see not. They have mouths, but they speak not. They have legs, but they can’t walk. They have ears, but they can’t hear. I says, the Bible says those that worship them are like unto them. She took all of them and put them right in the trash can. In other words, I never said anything about that.

But sometimes some people, when they trust the Lord, they just want to go ahead and start serving the Lord. Whatever it takes. But then there’s other people that might take a while, you know, might take years. But there is an advantage of teaching people the value of separating. So when you’re talking about teaching a person the Word of God so they can learn discernment, this isn’t good for me, this is, this will not hurt me. And so you’re trying to make decisions that go through life.

And you’ve got a lot of decisions to make all the way through life. And you try to find out what’s going to help me. Now look at the first thing we have here. Number one, separation from the world. We are lost, we’re of the world. That’s easy to understand. But if God is going to save you and give you eternal life, then there has to be those who do not have eternal life. So there has to be a division between believers and unbelievers.

And look at letter A there, that which is born in this flesh is flesh, that’s a separation. and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. That’s a separation. That’s flesh, that’s Spirit, discerning the difference. This is why Jesus says you must be born again because you have a birth, it’s not sufficient. You need a new birth. So he didn’t tell us anything about cleaning up this old birth, this old man, he said, I wanna give you a new man.

It’s the new birth. So there is this separation. Look at letter B. He that believeth on Him is not condemned, but separation. He that believeth not. So there are believers and there’s unbelievers. We often say there’s saints in the aunts. Two classification of people, saints in the aunts. Those who have eternal life, those who do not have eternal life. And so after you trust a Christ as your Savior, you need to know you are different than you were before you trusted Lord.

You’re now. God’s child. You once was a devil child. You now have the Holy Spirit before you did not have the Holy Spirit. There is a different, there is a separation between the two. So he says in letter B, but he that believeth of them is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already. So there are those who are condemned, those who are not condemned. Those that believe, those that do not believe. There is a division. There is a separation.

Now here, let her see, and you can find many verses, but I like the Psalms. Especially verse the first Psalm, blessed is the man that walk of not in the counsel of the ungodly, that separation, nor standeth in the way of sinners, that separation. Nor siteth in the seat of the scornful, that separation. So if you want to be wise, then you can’t do the things that God says, now you can do these things, but you need to separate yourself and be different if you want to be different.

Things that are different are not the same. Look at the next scripture. The separation that I wrote there in that one verse alone, walketh not cause it’s different. Standeth not, it’s a separation. Siteth not. separate it and not seek the counseling of the world to help God spiritually. Now there’s a lot of things that lost people know that you can have to have answers to. They may know how to work on your car, they may know how to work the law and things like that.

But you as a child of God should still learn to be wise in what you do and that the Holy Spirit can lead and guide you. Look at number two, separation from the word. So we know that far as the world goes, what is going to help separate you from the world as now that you are a child of God. Well that’s going to be the Word of God. So you need to know the Word of God. So look at letter A there, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law that he meditate day and night.

This is something that you have to, I guess, come to the conclusion of. Who has the authority in your life? Who’s the one that tells you what to do or what not to do? If it’s not God, who is it? Now some people are only as strong as the last person they talk to. That was their source of authority. AreFOX strong enough that you can say, I want to obey whatever God says and He’s become that voice of authority.

And it doesn’t matter what anybody else says or things. Now if I believe this is what God’s word said, that’s what you have to decide in your mind. who is going to be my source of authority to guide my life. Now if it’s going to be the Lord then it has to be His Word, right? So you go to the Word of God. Let it be all scriptures given by inspiration of God in this profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction, and righteousness that the man of God may be perfectly complete through the furnace and to all good works.

This is what the Word of God is for. It’s that which helps, makes us different from the world. When he simply says, be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. How? That’s wonderful. Tell me to do all of that. Okay? How, Lord? Well, the Word of God is for this. And look at the next verse. 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 15, where it says, study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that need if not to be a shame, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Study to show thyself approved unto God, or the person who doesn’t is going to be different from the person who does. There is a division. There’s a separation of man who studies the wisdom of the world and the man who studies the wisdom of God. They know where they should think the same way. They shouldn’t be the same because see the world tries to imitate the believers. They can go to church, read their Bible, I’m talking about the person who really has trustly Christ.

I’m talking about the person who does what God’s will for his life. Did that person has to Nauhe God wants him to think? Look at number three separated unto the walk. In other words when you realize you Christ’s Savior, now you’re God’s, God’s, God’s, God’s, the world. You’re now in God’s Kingdom. You’re His child. And so when you learn the word of God, then you walk. So do you need to know the Word in order to know how to walk in this world?

Yes, because that’s what it’s for. Now look down at the bottom of the bottom of the page there. Paul says, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, that word prisoner comes from a Greek word, do lost, and it means to be made a love slave. It means I’m a slave of the Lord, but I’m a love slave. It means I voluntarily choose to serve a Lord. I’ve known some people that listen to my messages that I got on YouTube, but then they’ll always come out with a question or a statement because they don’t listen to all of my messages.

I’m supposed to answer everything and everything. every message so that they’ll have that answer. And so some of them say, now listen to this sermon and it’ll answer that question. Listen to this sermon, it’ll answer that question. But they won’t cut me any slack right off the bat. Well, if Yakey Arl understood Hebrews chapter six, I wish he would preach something on Hebrews chapter six. Well, lot it all, I have. And it’s on there, but they just haven’t seen it yet.

So I guess in some of them will write me a letter and they’ll write me one question and it’s taken our answer some of these questions. So I use them to other people to have fun. But when you talk about the separated unto the walk, the walk that God has for you, he says, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord, he says, beseech you that you, and here’s two words. I put it in, but walk worthy. So it’s not just a matter of walking and pretense that you’re doing, because you read the book of 1 John in chapter two, he says, he that saith, he loves God, but he doesn’t walk right.

And God says he’s lying. And if he saith, you can say a lot of things, but what you say doesn’t mean a cotton picking thing. What are you doing? What are you doing? You can say, I love God all your life. Nobody cares what you say. What are you doing? Are you living like you love God? Then that’s what you have to do. But look what he have here. He says, walk worthy of the vocation, wherewith ye are caught.

So if you’re going to walk worthy means that there are some people who are not going to walk worthy. There’s always a separation. And as a child of God, you are always faced with the things that will lead to feed the spirit or feed the flesh. You’ve got this choice, these decisions you have to make. And there’s a multitude of them. Look at the top of the next page. with all loneliness and meekness, with long suffering, for bearing one another in love.

Now this is how God tells us He wants us to walk, doing that. Now that might say, well that’d be a piece of cake until somebody makes upset you or does something to you and then being forgiven in a long suffering? Look at, let her see it. Endeavoring to keep the, see those words, unity of the Spirit, unity of the Spirit in the bond of the, this is how you walk. So you’re supposed to separate yourself. Not everybody does everything that same way or even the right way, but try to see that this is how God wants me to live.

Am I a separated Christian? Now most people when they talk about not being separated, well I don’t drink, smoke, dip in chewing go with the girls who do. There’s a lot more involved in just those things. We’re talking, sometimes you’re talking about, okay, you got to get into this standard of this dress or hair and movies and dances, beer joints. How many places are there? Boy, if we ever started making a list, how big would that let’s be. And then we have to keep adding to it.

But so what I’ve tried to do over the years is not me trying to do anything that would be questionable, but try to get a person on the same. Is this going to feed the spirit, my new birth, make me stronger, or is this going to make me weaker in the flesh? Which way will it lead me? Will it lead me away from things of God or toward them. Does it show to other people that I love the Lord of what they call questions in their minds?

Will I become a stumbling block to them? And see, there’s a decision you have to make because after a while, say, you have to get to the place where you’re not going to have everybody stand around telling you what you can and cannot do. You have to do not have to think for yourself. And you’ve got to learn how to encourage yourself in the Lord. And when you’re not doing right and you know, the guilt to the conscience and all these things that bothers us sometimes, you have to learn how to walk with the Lord and nobody can walk with the Lord for you.

These are things you have to understand. But you need to start and there may be things you’re doing in your life that not right and you say, well, I don’t see it really bad with women. Is it helping or hurting you? If everybody knew this one thing that you’re doing, would it be good or bad? So you had to wait and maybe that’s It’s not worth doing. So you gotta learn how to judge some of these things and discern yourself.

It’s always a discern everybody else. But I’m talking about yourself because that’s really boils down to it. When we get to heaven. I don’t think Peter’s going to have to stand in for me and says, Lord, I disagree with that. Let me tell you why Yankee really did this. I don’t think it’s going to work. Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. So God knows. Now look at the next statement. When we talk here about the light, see there in verse letter E, well D, I was just talking about that.

He’s putting a flesh in the spirit. And you always got the desires for both, but which one do you feed? And let her eat, if we say that we have fellowship with Him in walk and darkness, we lie and do not the truth. This is so you can discern for yourself because if you know what the works of the flesh are, well, if you’re bringing forth the works of the flesh, that’s not the love of God. Love not the flesh, not the love of the world.

He doesn’t love if the world has not the love of the Father in Him. so you can kind of judge for yourself. Spiritual maturity is when you can discern your own life and correct it without somebody having to do it for you. The next statement, if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us or continually cleaps us coming. Number four, separate it unto the work of the Lord.

Because when you learn how to walk with the Lord, you’re gonna find there’s a ministry somewhere. God wants you to do. There’s this minister. What is the ministry? Now you read 2 Corinthians in chapter six and it says that we have this ministry. Second Corinthians chapter four, verse one, see we have this ministry. And the ministry that God has called you to do, whatever that might be, is something that ought to be the greatest desire we have is I wanna fulfill that ministry.

I wanna fulfill the course that God has for me. Now look what do we have here. Let her, eh? Now there were in the church that was at Antioch, certain prophets and teachers. As Barnabas and Simeon, that was called Niagara, and Lucius of Sorene, and Menian, which had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul. So what did they told her to do? There were some people, and they wanted to send them out. So we see there in our letter E.

And as they ministered to the Lord and fastened, the Holy Ghost said, separate me, Barnabas and salt for the work, we’re unto, I have called him. So they had a responsibility that people did. But God has a responsibility. The Holy Spirit has a responsibility. Jesus has a responsibility. Are you a new listener to Bibleline? Do you enjoy the teachings of Dr. Arnold? Well, if you’ve never contacted us before, we want to give you Dr. Arnold’s book, gospel-driven man. Every day we receive many emails from folks who have questions about repentance and salvation, about faith in works, and about how to share the gospel with friends and loved ones.

This book, The Gospel-Driven Man, covers all those topics, and we want all new listeners of Bibleline to receive a free copy. There’s no obligation, no donation necessary, simply call us at 1-800-576-3771 or write to us and request your free copy of the Gospel-Driven 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 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. And now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound, and we will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day. Believing that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.