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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.

Look at the next statement. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what will thou have me to do? this is talking about Paul in chapter 9 of the book of Acts and we don’t know how long this all took on that road and all the things that he said but after he got knocked down by Christ himself he saw the light. I guess you could say he sung that song or maybe he wrote the song I just saw the light.

I think somebody else wrote that song. But he did see the light. And the Lord tells us, why are you kicking against the pricks? Why don’t you listen to what I’m hammed as a … Don’t you think? And he was supposed to be so smart. But he found out he was so dumb. And yes, he even talked about how intelligent he was and just getting on a certain tribe and the Pharisee and keeping the law blameless, Philippians chapter 3, and down to verse 7 and 8.

But he makes a statement, what would I have me to do? See, after you trust Christ as your Savior, see, we’re saved because of what we believe. We serve, that’s what we do for the Lord. And so he asked this question, what will thou have me to do? That was my heart’s desire. And one of the reasons why when I went down to the little bookstore there in Athens, George, the Athens bookstore. And Joel Cummins was the guy that ran the bookstore.

And just a little old dinky thing on the side of the road there in Athens. And I’d get my little sack lunch and I’d run down there because I was working at that time at McGregor printing company. And I’d run in there and I’d get a missionary book off the shelf and I’d sit in the corner and I read and eat my sandwich. I only had a half an hour, not a lot of time, but I couldn’t afford to buy the book.

So he would let me sit in the corner and read the books off the shelf. And I’d sit there and next thing, you know, I’d be crying. I’d read about missionaries and where they went, what they did, talking about their love for the Lord and all that stuff. And I was thinking, man, I wish I could do something. I want to do something. But I just knew that God couldn’t use me. I already didn’t check me all. God can’t use me.

I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know how to serve a Lord. I didn’t know what it involved. I didn’t know what steps I had to take. I’d never heard of a Bible college. But I’d sit there and I’d try. And I mean with tears. And people would come in and they’d look over at men and go do what they were doing. And then after a while, you’ll come and say, Yang, you would better get back to work. You’re out of time.

And I still had to get down to the war. And then I’d run back to work. And I did that day after day after day. I didn’t know that my doing that was preparing me for something down the road. And I would often wonder, man, I wish I had, and I would close my eyes and I would dream that I had thousands of people, and I’m preaching to all these people, and all these people are getting saved. Now I did not have the clergy of the gospel.

I didn’t know anything about the Heaven tract, nothing about Florida Bible College, Ray Stanford, Hank Lindstrom, I did nothing about the Wall of Illustration, nothing about Ranch, nothing about camps, never been to a camp in my life. And here I am listening to these things dwelling in my mind and bouncing off the walls. And I think, man, I want to do something. And my heart’s desire is Lord, I want to do something. But I had no clue what it was.

I came to Florida Bible College eventually. And then I had a couple weeks off and I went up there to at the Georgian, there’s my father-in-law, he’s living up there in part of the apartments. And I would start complaining to him. I says, how come preachers are not clear on the gospel? They’re not clear. And I’d whine a little bit and he’d look at me and he says, oh don’t you shut up. He said that to me quite a few times.

Not in the nicest way either. Because he got tired of me whining. He said, if you don’t like the way they’re doing it, do it yourself. Okay? And now you’re talking about I’m going to do everything I possibly can. And I kept thinking about all those people and all those churches that were not clear on the gospel. How in the world am I going to get to all those people and all those churches and talk to all those young teenagers because I’d been down to camp?

And I’ve seen what happens when kids at camp. Little did I know that when I graduated, I’d go to Colorado, sort of a youth ministry, and then here’s just one little kid. 11 years old, came out, wasn’t supposed to. But he trusted Christ, the Savior, and wound up dedicating his life to the Lord. And so, Greg Steer, he started the youth ministry. And here, I was going to the Dertish-Eared Meetings in Atlanta, Georgia, civic auditorium, in Atlanta and at about six, seven, eight thousand people.

And all these youth directors from all those churches that I used to whine about, how I’m gonna reach them? Because I reach one guy, here’s all these youth directors bringing all these kids to this center. And Greg Steer is up there and he’s presenting the gospel doing the Wall of Illustration just like I did it. I can go through the same thing. And I thought to myself, self, God did use you. I didn’t have to go, but somebody I reached is doing that.

And now he’s not only doing it in Georgia, he did it in this state, that state, that state. Now he’s doing it in a number of states all across. So you can have a dream, but doesn’t mean the end of a dream because I’ve had so many depths of a vision. A vision where you wanted something done and then it all seemed like it all falls apart. That it’s not gonna happen in your lifetime. And so lo and behold, you just know that somewhere along the line, God may still give me the desires of my heart because I want to reach more people than I ever have.

And now with the YouTube ministry, the internet thing that what we’re doing, I’m reaching more people now at this stage of my life than I ever have. And all of the other years all put together. Now I’m reaching people throughout the world. And it just, sometimes I just sit and I just cry. Remembering back 58 years ago, when it was just a dream, just a little vision. And I didn’t see how God would open up doors. But be patient with God, because the will of God is the God doesn’t tell us everything that’s going to happen in all the steps in your life and all the, you know, the disappointments, sermon I preached on dead ends, dry holes, detours.

Because in our life there’s going to be a lot of detours. And there’s going to be some dead ends and there’s going to be some dry holes. You try something and you pour everything you have into it and then it not work. And it can be so deflating, so discouraging. And then you’ve got to come back and encourage yourself and the Lord. But look at the next statement. Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, that little part in the yellow, through the will of God.

I am a pastor today, only by the will of God, only because of His will. I did not decide on my own. I’m going to be a pastor. That was the last thing I wanted to do when I graduated from Florida Bible College. I just wanted to reach teenagers and play the guitar and do the wall of demonstration and just lead people to Christ. But after I started leading so many people to Christ, they didn’t have a church to go to, because no church is one of all these little kids.

They didn’t want these kids. I wanted to start a bus ride at this one church. They said, we don’t want those kids. Those kids would come in here and they would mark up the song books, they would mess up the bathrooms. And we just, and a bunch of older saints, we just don’t want those kids around here. And that broke my heart. That’s where my heart was and that’s the last thing they wanted. And so I left that church.

And so a couple years later I started a church because I didn’t have no place to send the kids. And it was just what made it happen. The next thing you know, you got a church. And I still preferred the teenagers over the adults. Bob Brooks and the Mary, they were out there in that ministry. They saw what we did, and I had a lot of people saying, Yankee, you need to reach the adults. They got the money, because teenagers don’t have any money, but it didn’t matter.

I was reaching adults. I was reaching the adults before they got to be one. Because when their kids, it’s a lot easier to reach kids than it is adults. You can rest assured. And so now they have families. And I was the day I was watching on YouTube, a message by Rick Lome, and he graduated from our Bible college. And now he’s running, I don’t know, three or four thousand out there in Colorado. And he doesn’t do everything the way I would do it, but he’s not my servant.

He belongs to the Lord. But he’s still simply clear on the gospel. There’s a lot of things I don’t agree with. I’ve had people say, I don’t agree with Yankee on everything. Not everybody agrees with me on everything. That’s okay. Anyway, look at the last verse. For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to get this desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will and all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

So what does God want for you and I? He wants us to be filled with the knowledge of his will, knowing the word of God. So you cannot know the will of God unless you know the word of God. Why do you think I wanted people to go to college? Why do you think I wanted people to come to the Sunday school and church and all that? To learn the will of God for their life. Because without the word, you can’t know.

It is not within man that walk of two directest steps. And the Holy Spirit leads you according to the word of God. It’s not like, OK, I’m saved. I don’t need that. I got the Holy Spirit. I’m just going to let the Holy Spirit lead and guide me. Have fun. but He leads you and teaches you the word of God. And without that, forget it. Turn your page. Top of the next page says that you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all please.

In other words, able to please the Lord in every area of your life. Being fruitful in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of God. Learn to please the Lord in every area of your life. Look at the next statement. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous. This is Psalms, the Psalms, the first Psalm. But the way of the ungodly shall perish, the way of the ungodly. So you can either live like a godly person or like an ungodly person.

Godly and ungodly mean to be like God. Ungodly means you’re not like God. So as a child of God, God wants us to be like God. imitators of our heavenly Father. That’s in the book of Ephesians in chapter five, verse one. So we can do that. Now look at the next verse. In Hebrews, Dr. Mark Cameron, whenever he would pray, he’d always pray and close with these two verses. And he says, Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant make you perfect in every good work to do as well.

Working in you, that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever, amen. Now, I remember him always quoting these verses, but he did it in a prayer. But now notice what he says here in that verse that says, make you perfect in every good work, why? To do his will. You see, the problem we have in our life is that we just want to do whatever we want to do. And I don’t need God to do that.

I don’t need to go to church to do that. If I want to just do whatever I want to do, be whatever I want to be, I don’t need God for that. So there’s a lot of God’s children that are totally wasting their life living like lost people. As though this is the only life there is. No, there’s another one after this one. And God’s going to bless us there for what we did for Him here. So you don’t waste your life.

But if you live for yourself, you’re wasting time. And after what? Nobody cares about your so-called pride and all the things you’ve accomplished in this world and what you got to be. When you stand before the Lord, God’s not going to be impressed. Well how much money you made or how nice of a home you lived in or how nice of this, none of that’s going to matter. I’ve got a beautiful home up there in Georgia and I’m living in a mobile home down here for nine years, it doesn’t matter.

It’s can you do what God wants you to do? Except since we’ve been down here, have I had any medical issues? Seems like every other month, the worst time I ever had was when I was down here and I got to shingles and I didn’t know what they were. I thought shingles was something you put on the house. And I was out there playing golf one day with Jan And I was eating alive. I said this is just itching me to death and it hurts.

It hurts, but I didn’t know it was shingle. I didn’t know what I thought I got some kind of creeping crud. There’s one thing I didn’t call it just creeping crud. I got that from my daughter’s. She calls it something like that. And next thing you know, it crawled up my shoulder. It crawled up the back of my neck. And one Sunday I had to take five pain pills just to get through that one Sunday morning service. I was a lulu.

I was like a drunk, but nobody knew it. I don’t know if I swayed or what I did or slurred or whatever, but you know after five of them you can feel pretty good. Some of the stuff can make you a likey drunk, you know, and I’ve never had a strong drink in my life. That’s why I can take two aspents and I’m ready to, so like I done hit the bottle. I mean, just some of you are going to take me seriously, but I’m telling you how I’m going to feel them.

But I’ve had a lot of things happen to me. So just because I’m the preacher, I’m not supposed to have anything go wrong. Go wrong. Go wrong. Go wrong. But it doesn’t. I got to go through them just like you do. And I got to go through them with a loved one. I mean, Betty’s gone through quite a few things, but we just go through it and trust the Lord that walkers through it. You see, if that’s the will of God for us, to suffer, then so be it.

I know the cure for suffering, dying. So I guess I’d rather suffer a little while. You know, this thing about growing old ain’t all it made out to me, but you ought to think about the alternative. So anyway, we just keep moving right along. Now look at the next statement here. And say to you, our Chippos, take heed to the ministry which thou hath received in the Lord. I’m supposed to believe that the ministry I have, God gave to me.

God has allowed me to learn certain things to help me and I should fulfill it. See the last part there? That thou fulfill it. Do what God wants you to do. Even the apostle Paul says that none of these things moved me, neither count on my life, dear unto myself. finish my course with joy. In other words, God has a job for all of us to do. Whatever it is, finish it with joy. Don’t grow up and be a mean old woman or a mean old man.

Just you’re no different and no better than anybody else. You say, well, I don’t like suffering. Who does? But we all have to suffer. And if you haven’t suffered enough yet, don’t worry. There’s worse ones coming down the road. We could all wind up in hospices tomorrow. Or we could have a stroke, eating up with cancer. Some people have since I’ve been here have developed cancer and have had to have radiation treatment. Some people got diabetes and I’ve had some people die.

I’ve done some funeral since I’ve been here. I may be doing yours before the end of the week, you may be having mind done by the end of the week. So we don’t live in fear because we live by faith in God and knowing that He will take care of everything. Whatever it is, He will walk us through it. And to believe that, look down at the bottom of the page, servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling in singleness of your heart as unto Christ.

In other words, whatever job you have, whatever you’re doing, wherever you are, serve the Lord with joyfulness of heart, singleness of mind as unto the Lord. If you have to fix the tire on your car, do it as this car belongs to the Lord, and I’m going to fix it for him. These dishes, they belong to the Lord. Now I want to wash them as clean as I can because they belong to the Lord. This house that I’ve got, I’m so thankful, this house belongs to the Lord because I dedicated everything that I have to the Lord.

This belongs to the Lord, and I’m going to take care of it. I’m going to do this, and I’m going to do that and do the things that you’re supposed to do because you’re only passing through this life one time. One of these days it’s going to all be over. Live now the way you’ll wish you had lived when you get to heaven to be with the Lord. Look at the next statement, not with eye service as men pleasers.

Don’t do what you do just to be seen of people because you see their praise is short-lived. You may do something that’s right and people don’t like it and are not pleased. Now what are you going to do? Well I didn’t do it for you anyway. I did it for the Lord. So you live your life because I want whatever I do to be acceptable unto God. You know what was interesting I read an article in the paper about the gay pride that they had and they’re saying we’re getting more acceptable now.

I I thought, with who? And the ones that are accepting it, their opinion don’t matter. But the Bible talks about doing those things that are acceptable unto God. Does God accept it? No, he does not. Was it? Well, they love each other. They lust after each other. Love means you want the best for the other person. And why would you do something to the other person that would bring down God’s judgment upon them? That’s not love. That’s lust. That’s not because you care about them?

No, it’s not. They’re deceived and sex outside of marriage is wrong. You cannot make it right. But I’m not speaking on that tonight. Look at the next statement. Not with eyes service as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ. And you’re the underlinedest part here. When you get your Bible and you underline these things, doing the will of God from the heart. You see, it’s not just doing what God wants you to do. It’s doing it because you love the Lord.

You’re doing it from the heart, from your soul. Because you really do care. You do have compassion. You do want to make a difference. And see, I don’t want people speaking at camp and being counselors. If they don’t know the Lord or don’t love the Lord, they won’t have the impact they’re supposed to have with the kids. You got to love those kids. You got to love them because they will break your heart. Because they’re not going to be that little angel.

They do things wrong. They’ll promise you this and promise you that and then you just break your heart. And you got to look beyond that. I thought I’m going to preach up a storm tonight. I think they’re they’re bowling and somebody just had a strike. You know what I was told that was? The devil’s up there beating his wife. Anybody ever heard that before? Devil’s beating his wife. There’s one man. He said, do you believe in the devil, I sure do.

Why do you believe in the devil? He said, well, I’m married as a sister. Well, anyway, look at the next verse. With good will doing service as to the Lord and not to men. You do what you do from the heart with good service. You’re doing what God wants you to do. See, after you trust Christ as your Savior, God has something He wants us to do. But He always puts it and He scatters little verses all over the place so that you’ll read and find, oh I didn’t know that was in there and you find something.

It’s like opening a refrigerator and, oh man, nothing but leftovers. When you’d like to have something fresh in a miraculous, he appears in your refrigerator? Well, it as long as it usually happens. The only thing in the refrigerator is leftovers. But you find a new verse once in a while, you’re open to the Bible and you begin to read and study it and you say, man, I never saw that before. Mm, boy, that is good, yum, yum, yum. And then you’ll read over here in another book and that will just, you might pass up 15, 20 verses and you’ll find one little phrase in a verse and God will speak to you through that little phrase in that verse.

And that’s what I would do in the non-market. I didn’t mark the whole verse, I just marked just a couple words in that verse, a couple words, and I’d go through the Bible, and I’d just mark, mark, mark, mark. And then some time I’d go through and only read only the things that I marked. I preached a number of sermons on just things that I’ve underlined in my Bible. No continuity, they’re just good thoughts that I’ve had. Then some time I’d go back to it, and I’ll make a whole sermon off of that few little words that I found in the word of God.

But look at that last statement where he says, knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, now this is what you pose to remember, the same shall he receive of the Lord. So if this verse is true, can you outdo God? Can you outgive God? You can’t. And he also says that he will not withhold any good thing to them who walk uprightly. And God’s ears are open to the righteous. You start walking with the Lord and doing things because, well, this is what the Word of God says.

And I want to do what God says to regardless. And you’d be surprised how that God will start leading God. See, he’s the shepherd. He guides the sheep. And thing is, see, we can’t see the shepherd, but we can hear his voice. See, the The word of God is the voice of God. And when you listen, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the spirit said unto the churches. Now in Matthew and so forth, it says, let he that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

But when you get to the church, he says, hear what the spirit said to the churches. So we’re supposed to hear his voice, and that’s why in John it says in chapter 10, my sheep hear my voice, and you go by the word of God. I can’t see Christ, I can’t see God. I can hear his voice. And whenever I start doing things, I know I’m not supposed to do his voice or start speaking up and says, if sinners entice thee, consent on not.

Set only good and holy things before your eyes. And you’d be surprised whenever you get loaded down, cast your cares upon the Lord for He cares for you. And when you don’t understand why this happened or that happened, all things worked together for good to them who love the Lord. You see, you can listen to His Word and let His Word bring you peace and comfort and joy. And you’d be surprised at the difference that it’ll make in your whole life.

Look up here just a moment. This hand represents you and me and the wallet represents sin. We all have sin upon us. God, He loves us. He hates our sin, but He loves us. But because the wage is as sin is death, all of us are guilty and all of us are condemned. to spend an eternity separated from God in a literal fire burning hell. And we want to be saved from hell. And there’s only one way. So to go to heaven, you have to be perfect, and none of us are perfect.

And there’s no way for you and I to work our sins off. You know, if I keep working off my sins, you can’t work them off. You only have to commit one sin. How many sins do they commit in the garden? They got kicked out? One. So you’ve You’ve got to be pretty good. Oh, you’ve got to be perfect. And none of us are perfect. So this hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God in the flesh. Came into the world because He loves us.

And I hate what we do wrong, but He loves us. But our sin separates us from God. So Jesus Christ who had no sin didn’t have to die. So He took all the sins of the whole world, paid for it on the cross and came back from the dead. And God said if we would believe He did it for us, He would put this payment to whosoever believes. Now, if you don’t believe it, you don’t get eternal life. You don’t get the righteousness of God.

You don’t get to go to heaven. But who so ever will believe it? And that’s a choice that individuals have to make for themselves. Nobody can make it for you. So when you believe it, it gives you eternal life as a gift and you get to go to heaven of what Christ did for you. Let’s pray show you. With heads bowed nice and closed, no one looking around. If you’re watching by internet and you understand what I’ve said right on the screen says, yes, I won’t trust Christ as my Savior.

love to know if you understood. And if you trust Christ right now, then He saves you right now, gives you eternal life right now, and you can know that you’re going to heaven because He paid for all of your sins. You won’t have any sins to pay for. He loves you that much, He did it for you. If you’re in the auditorium and you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, why not right now? The quietness of this moment, just talk to the Lord and say, Lord, I know I’m a sinner.

I believe Christ died for me, that He paid for my sin. And right now I will trust Him as my only hope of going to heaven. If you’ve never done it, would you do it right now? And if you will, I’d like to have prayer for you. And I’d like to know what I said made sense to you. So would you just slip in it very quickly but right back down? I’m not going to point you out. I’m not going to shame you or embarrass you.

Anyone at all before we close. Our Father, we do thank you so much for watching over us and meeting all of our needs. We thank for the privilege you’ve given to us to know you as our Savior, but also for that burning desire to want to serve you. We ask your blessings upon each person here, and everyone here is going through something, all struggling, and that’s why you want us to seek your will by seeking your Word. So bless each one, Christ and we pray.

Amen. Are you ready to learn how to live your life as a strong Christian, lead others to Christ, or excel as a church worker or ministry leader, then look no further, then Florida Bible College of Tampa. With traditional and online classes taught by instructors, with years of experience, Florida Bible College of Tampa can help you grow in your Christian life. Whether taking individual classes or working toward a one-year degree, Florida Bible College of Tampa is here for you. To learn more, visit online at floridabiblecollege.us or call the Register of Bob Gilbert at 8502275325.

That’s 8502275325. 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. For end, 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.