This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, everywhere, every time. 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 prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach us at 813-884-4328, or you can donate on the homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

If you want to know what the world is like outside, we’re just trying to take a peek here and look there in Philippians in chapter two. And verse 14 and 15, especially looking verse 15 and 16, these two verses. Because here we are, we’re in this world. We’re not out of the world, but we’re in the world. That ye may be blameless and harmless. That’s the way you’re to be. The sons of God, without rebuke, This is the way you are to be.

Doesn’t matter what’s going on. This is how God wants you to be. In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, in other words, the world is crooked, the world is perverse, and we’re living in it. But we’re to be different than what the world is. Now get this, a mon hoom, and you are on the line is, ye shine as lights in the world. You ever hear that little song, this little light of mine? I’m gonna let it shine.

but don’t really mean that. What do you mean by it? I’m gonna let my little light shine. He shines the brightest when it’s the darkest. And none of us wanna face any darkness. We don’t want problems. We just hope we can just live a nice, long, quiet, peaceful life and no darkness whatsoever. Keep the storms away, but God’s gonna send storms. And you might as well understand, we live in a wicked world and there’s wicked people that’ll do wicked things and everything’s not gonna go according to the way we want it to go.

there’s problems all the time. Now, he says in verse 16, how do you shine in this world as lights in the world? Now, the world is wicked, God says that. That’s the recognized, that’s accepted. But how you’re supposed to be in this world is blameless, harmless, and without rebuke. Then he says in verse 16, holding forth the word of life. That’s the word of eternal life, holding that forth. That’s the light by which the lost man can see. That’s why we keep doing that.

You know, they went sewing in Friday night and I think they said they had about 38 or so, something like that, trust the Lord. Isn’t that awesome? They had 10 of the kids who went sewing it. Now, that’s a scary thing walking up and just talking to somebody cold turkey like that. It petrified with adults, even in regards to how strong we are in the faith, wouldn’t that scare you just a little bit? Or sometimes it scares people just to give out a track.

But I’ve had some interesting emails come this week. Two letters I’m going to share with you in church service. I think they’re awesome. Just great. But notice what he says in verse 16, holding forth the word of life that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. In other words, your labor in the Lord is never in vain, but your labor with people can be in vain. In other words, they may not not accept what you say.

In other words, if I witnesses this person, God’s going to reward me for my faithfulness. Not whether or not he believes it or not. But I don’t want to have labored in vain. I want them to trust the Lord. God’s going to reward me for what I did, but I want them to trust the Lord. And if they don’t, then it’s like I labored with them in vain. They didn’t get it. They didn’t trust the Lord. They didn’t accomplish what I wanted it to.

But yes, down the road they may trust the Lord. So he says, you’re in this world and the world is wicked, the world is dark, and you’re just shining forth his lights. Do it. Because I am laboring, trying to help you to be strong so that you’ll give out the word of eternal life. That’s what you’re supposed to do. And if you don’t do that, it’s like I’m encouraging and then I’m not getting anywhere. There’s a lot of preachers who have left churches because they couldn’t get the people to do anything.

You think that’s possible? A person who preaches what the people should do, how they ought to be, and it’s just like, hello, wall. And nobody tells, nobody tells, listens what the preacher said. No, it didn’t. No lives are changed. Nobody listens. Nobody changes anything. Does anything. It’s just the same old routine. You need some work done. Nobody volunteers. You need this done. Nobody. Nobody. Nobody. Nobody. Because you don’t. They’re setting the ways. Not going to move. Not going to change.

And you think I can discourage a preacher. So the preacher can think, well, if this is hard ground and solid rock, I need to move it to some soft, fertile ground. And so some seeds, see something happen. Because everybody wants to see something happen. You don’t want to labor in vain. You don’t want to do what I do when I was up there. They took me fishing. He had a big old pond on his own property there. So training wanted me to go fishing.

All right, I go fishing. I said, no, I don’t catch fish. And I can go down there, I feed fish. I fed those fish. I had a night crawl of that big, and that thing was a wiggle and all over the place. And I finally stuck in about three different places. And I put it in there. I said, now if I was a catfish, I’d just go all over that thing. And I put it in there. And then a little bitty fish, you know, I’d put it in there and just a little thing off.

And I pulled it up. There was nothing there. And I put another one on there. I thought out there. And I finally got one, and he grabbed a hold of that thing. And he went around and truly went, oh, I got one, I got one, I got one, I got one, and then right before I got rid of it, it went off the line. Now that was frustrated. I felt like I’m laboring in vain. You’ve got to have patience.

I’ve had enough patience. My patience is gone. Now if I don’t case something there, you know what I did? I moved to another spot. I tried there for a while. But there was the man who ran the place, I mean he owned the house. It was his property. He went and he He sat down and he just sat in one spot and he just sat there and he just cast down. And he kept pulling them in. Well they, he ought to catch them.

He knows all the fish. They know him. They’re friends. They’re buddies. And he kept pulling them in and putting them in there. I don’t know how many he had. We had fish that night. Guess how many Yankee caught? None. I could not contribute when I owed him. And so when I didn’t get a nibble or a bite, I moved over here. Then I moved over here. Then I moved over here. And he sat there in that same spot, just kept pulling them in.

And so it wasn’t like me for all I was down there and next to where he was. Ha ha ha. They knew it. There’s words, somehow get’s out with these fish that Yankee’s fishing, don’t bite. Just take the bait off but don’t take that hook. So anyway, I’m just gonna stick to trying to preach the gospel. I have not entered into any vast tournaments or anything like that lately. Well, I never have. But you wanna catch fish. Now, that’s the way the world is.

But what’s the way you and I should be? Well, look there in chapter two. Just look at the, I like jumping in all of the scriptures. I’m here and I’m there and I’m over there. I’m there, that’s fine. But I think you get my drift though, don’t you? Aren’t you following me? There ought to be a little continuity to this. Here in Philippians in chapter two. Because of how bad it is out there, the way you’re supposed to be inside.

So he says, if there be any consolation, look in verse one, chapter two. There’d be, therefore, any consolation, incorrect, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship, now we talked about the love but we talked about the fellowship. We talked about the how you are on the inside of your tender, bowels and mercies and so forth. And that’s the tender love and kindness that you show toward other people. So he says in verse two, fulfill ye my joy that you be, and here’s a word that you need to underline, like-minded.

In other words, if a person is fleshly-minded or spiritually-minded, what does it mean to be fleshly-minded? It means you mind to flesh. Spiritually-minded means you mind the spirit. So God said, I want you to have a mind like the Lord, like minded, a mind like his. So that you don’t see the world the way the world sees the world. You see the world the way God sees the world. And you see you the way God sees you, not the way other people see you.

And so there’s always this divine perspective and a human perspective. And so it all depends on just how are you looking at this? Now look what he says. Having the same love, been of one accord, one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory. But in the lowliness of mind that each esteem other better than themselves. The esteem in others better than you is a way for you to keep from exalting yourself over them and misusing people or just using people to get ahead and walking on people.

God says, no, no, you don’t do that. In other words, you always want the best for the other person. serving the Lord is trying to figure out how can I help somebody else be stronger than the Lord? Do you want other people to be stronger than the Lord? Then they need a good strong testimony. They need to see a good example of the believer. You agree to that? Everybody goes like this means yes. This means no. And you understand this.

Then look what he says. In verse four, look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. In other words, how can I help? What is their state? And see, when he talks about state, that means that’s the, how you’re doing right now. Your position in Christ is your standing. Your standing before God is you are in Christ and that can never change. You are as righteous as God. That’s your position cause you’re in Christ.

Now, in this world, as you are living, in spite of all the experiences of life, He says this, look in verse 19. He said in verse 19, but I trust in the Lord Jesus to sin, to Mothias shortly on the youm, that I also may be of good comfort when I know of, and those two words, your state, how you’re doing. In other words, you wanna bring me comfort? You do right. Cause when you don’t do right, it doesn’t bring me comfort.

Because you see, when you’re concerned about other people And when they don’t do right, it hurts you, right? You ever had kids that don’t do right? Does it hurt? Got grandkids that don’t do right? Does it hurt a little bit? You ever have a wife that don’t do right? Don’t go there. What about a husband? Oh, my husband, he’s perfect. All my wife, she’s perfect. But says here, no. Oh, my wife, she’s perfect.

But says here, know of your estate. for in verse 20 says, for I have no man like minded who will naturally care for your state, for all seek their own, not the things which are of Jesus Christ. And he says in verse 20, but ye know the proof of him that as a son with the Father, he have served with me in the gospel. So you’re talking about how a person is doing, how they’re living. If I walked up to Warren’s, there weren’t how you’re doing spiritually.

I’m not talking, I’m not talking, I’m not talking. You know, or if I walked up to you and I asked you, what has the Lord been teaching you lately? Duh. Well, haven’t you learned anything? What have you learned from the scriptures lately? Where have you been studying? What’s the last verse you memorized? How are you doing spiritually?

Can you still wear a smile? Are you the little ducks? Nobody loves you. Having a pity party? Now, it’s true that some people are still hurt yesterday morning when I got ready to come up to the church. And I was tired. I didn’t want to get out of bed. But anyway, I stuck me up before six. And I went down here to McDonald’s. I usually get me a cup of coffee. They don’t have any power. They didn’t have any power.

So I just boogied right on down here and came down to Nicki’s and I sat down here. And you find that there’s, as I listened to the radio that yesterday morning, they were talking about fishing. I’m not fishing. Okay, I’ll listen to fishing. Not my best subject, after all the things I’ve just said. So I listened to fishing, how to catch a fish. And this man calls up and he says, and I don’t have a clue where he came from and how he got onto the subject, but he started crying on the phone.

He says, my wife works for the power company. And he says, I am so proud of my wife and the work that she does and how many hours she’s putting in and she’s working and she’s getting all these nasty calls from people who don’t have power and they’re just really letting her have it. And he says, I don’t know whether or not we’re going to have to move or what we’re going to do because it’s amazing how wicked some people are and what they, and he was just crying on the phone and talking to it.

There’s on radio and I’m listening to that. Now there’s a lot of people that are really hurting but some people are causing other people to hurt because they’re hurting. They’re making other people bitter because they’re bitter because the people across the street got lights and they don’t have lights. And there’s a lot of difference when you have electricity and you don’t have electricity. And when you see those who do have electricity and you don’t have electricity, that’s not fair.

And we know everything in life has to be fair. And you think, well, why? I mean, they’re no better than I am. And you’d be surprised how anger can build up and jealousy and envy and bitterness and hatred and they said the people were making phone calls And he just balled because of his wife and all that she’s doing I guess you work for the power company well She said he works for the power company I don’t she was one of the texts they called the complaint department of what was going on But I I felt I felt sorry for him.

I really did and so I began to hurt because that’s man was hurting because his wife was hurting He’s kind of run sideways But he goes down through here and says, let this mind be new. In other words, regardless of what’s going on in the world, how does God want us to be? And it’s so easy preaching, and as they say, hard living. It’s so easy to say all these right things until something happens to you. And then it’s a different story, right?

Look at it, it says in verse five. Now, this, you should apply personally. Now, we’re looking at this, but why does he say this about Jesus Christ? let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. In other words, we’re talking about having the same mind. The same mind is who? Paul knows, same mind is Christ. Paul had a mind like Christ and he wants us to have a mind like that. So let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, now look who he was, been in the form of God, thought of not Robert to be equal with God.

Look who he was. And in spite of all the glory that he had, he was the creator of heaven and earth, the creator is going to be born into this world. And he became the Son of God in flesh. He didn’t have to do that, but he says, and he being rich made himself poor that we through his poverty might be made rich. Look who he was, look what he had, look what he gave up and became poor so that we through his poverty might be made rich.

So people who know the Lord see are very rich. You see I’ve got a home in heaven and it can’t get flooded. There’s no hurricanes there and it’s not going to blow it away. You see this is just one of my homes I have down here but I got another one. I got another. I got one up in Georgia too. I’m gonna leave that whenever I leave this world too. But I’m living in a mobile home over here and And it was in the flood zone.

And so they said, get out, okay, that’s what I do, I do that. And so some wanted to use the church here, and we found out that the church was in the flood zone, and we can’t let people stay here, if there’s gonna be water up here at six, seven, eight feet. So based upon what people have been told. So you make decisions all the time. Have you ever had a decision that you made, and then right after you made it, You second guessed yourself that I make the right one We’re facing that with the insurance on whether to have flood insurance and wind insurance and Well, I’m spiritual.

I just got God insurance God sends a storm blows it all the way Well, I sent somebody by the tell you what to do and you didn’t do it I better watch what I’m saying. I’m gonna eat these words Look what he says now. He says here in verse 7, but made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant, was made in the lightness of men, been found in fashion as a man he humbled himself, became obedient in the death, even the death of the cross.

Now we read all of this about Jesus Christ. So you see there in verse 6 we talk about you know here he’s the king, he is the ox, the servant, He is the perfect man in verse 7 and he’s God in verse 9. You’ve got Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The four pictures of Christ were right here in these verses. So when you read the book of Matthew, it pictures Jesus Christ as the king of Israel and he is the lion.

Then you have Matthew, Mark. He is also a servant. He is the ox and he is the perfect man in Luke. And that’s why in the book of Luke talks about his birth as a man and therefore he is the perfect man. But as the man he is also in Gospel of John he is God. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld the glory of the glory of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth.

Jesus Christ is King. But he’s also a servant. He’s a man, but he’s also God. And that’s what’s taught right here in these few verses. Now, what he says here is something to keep in mind. He obeyed the Lord here and then God highly exalted him in verse 9. But now to personalize this for you and I, when you trusted Christ as your Savior, did you realize that now here’s God and here we are. We are unjust. So Jesus Christ is not a Christian.

So Jesus Christ, who was just, died for the unjust, that we could be made just before God, justified. So then God looks at you and I, he sees no fault, no wrong, no sin, we are as righteous as God. And the only way that happens is because we trusted Christ as our Savior. He took our sins, gave us His righteousness, and therefore we’re good to go. Because you can’t go to heaven if if there’s a sin against you. So Christ died for him and of our sins.

All of them. If he died for all of them but one, he didn’t help you because no sin come in him. So we are justified with God. When he Christ says right here in verse six, who been in the form of God thought it not Robert to be equal with God. Now look up here. Jesus was equal with God. You and I, when we trust Christ the Savior and we have the righteousness of God given to us and that’s who we are.

That’s who I am and we have already inherited the things of God. I don’t have to wait till I die. I am already an heir of God and joint heirs with Christ. So I’m already rich. You are already rich. You already have a home in heaven. You’re going to have all the rewards of so forth God’s going to give you because of what you’ve done. You’d be surprised how rich you really are and how rich I am. But in spite of how rich we are, it’s like God, see when you were born again, you were born from above.

He let you come into this world. So we come into this world. We gave up all those riches and all that glory to come into this world so that we can cause other people to become rich. Not by giving them the world, but by giving them the treasure that’s in these earthen vessels. That’s why in the book of Corinthians, 2 Corinthians chapters 4 and verse 7 that we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the Excellency may be of the power of God and not of us.

So here in verse 6 we’re children of God. Verse 7 we make ourselves a servant. This is why in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 the Bible says that the apostle Paul says I have made myself servant unto all that I might gain the more. Why do you do this? That I might gain.” And so Paul says in the book of Philippians that I might gain for me to live is Christ and to die is game. So that while I’m living and gaining, and look what else he says, in the last part of verse 7, was made in the likeness of men.

We are men. But I’m a child of God, but I’m still a man. I’m still living in this world. And if I serve the Lord and I’m faithful to the Lord, and then he says, how long should a man be found faithful? Well, does he give us a clue? Oh, looking for Satan. Being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself. This is the mind that you and I spoke. God does not want to make you humble. God wants you to choose to be humble.

He wants you to submit yourself to the will of God and get this and became, and you ought to underline these words, obedient until somebody upset you. Obeyed until things go against you. When you don’t get your own way, obey until what? D-E-A-T-H, I wonder what that means. Until you’re dead. Serve the Lord faithfully until you’re dead. And then whenever you leave this world, look in verse nine, Wherefore God has highly exalted, yes, Christ. But remember, we’re in this world, we’re suffering for Christ in his place.

We are ambassadors for the Lord. And God has something so wonderful for us and he’s going to bless us because of it. And we will quit right there. Anyway, this hand representing Jesus Christ, he’s God in the face, he came into the world because he loves us, hates our sin. because he separates us from him. He separates me from him and separates me this way. Jesus Christ who had no sin, he didn’t have to die. So he took all of our sins.

We say we have to pay for it. He took it, he paid for it. And he says, my God, my God, why has not forsaken me? He paid for our sins, came back from the dead. And God said, if we’ll believe that he did it for us, he would put this payment to our account, and we go to heaven on what Jesus Christ did for me. I believed it. I took out this insurance 57 years ago. I’ve never had to make one payment.

I don’t have to, oh, I don’t owe God anything because it was free. All the premiums all paid at one time. And this payment he made, he put it in escrow account, and anybody who wants to draw on it can have it. In other words, if you want to go to heaven, all you got to do is believe that when he died, he died for you. And if you believe he died for you, he puts this payment to your account, you go to heaven or what he did, your sins are paid.

The sins are paid. He already did it. But isn’t it foolish for a person to reject something, God’s already done for him, and he can have his turn life and know that he’s going to heaven when he dies? Hope you enjoyed this little message. I don’t know if it’ll help you at all, but I don’t have all the answers, but I do believe that God is in charge and God is in control and God can use the weather, the brain people to Him, or the chasing people.

That teaches all kinds of lessons. Let’s pray, shall we? Every head bowed and every eye closed, no one looking around. If you hear this morning, Maybe you have never trusted Christ as your Savior. God may be working in your life. A lot of things to get people to stop and listen, maybe to search. And if you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, would you trust Him right now? The only thing you have to do is when Christ died, believe He died for you, that He came back from the dead.

And says, I just want you to know that I did that because I love you. I did that because I paid for your sin. And I don’t want you to go to hell. And I just want you to believe I did it for you. And if you’ll believe that, God said He would give you as a free gift everlasting life. He had never cast you out and never lose you. I pray that you’ll trust the Lord. God is powerful, God is real.

He hasn’t gone to sleep, He hasn’t gone to bed, He hasn’t gone on a vacation, He’s watching. And He cares about you. You are important to Him. If you’ve never trusted the Lord, would you do it right now? And I’m gonna ask in just a moment to raise your hand, raising your hand doesn’t save you. It just lets me know that what I said made sense to you say, preach to that made sense to me. And I will trust Christ as my Savior.

And I’d like for you to pray for me. Would you just slip in a very quickly put a wrap back down? Is anyone at all? Yes, God bless you, sir. Anyone else? Just slip it up and wrap it down. We’re not going to pain you against a wall, not going to embarrass you, but right where you’re sitting. A man would be a fool that turned down a free gift. And once you trust Christ in saving your God’s child, God’s child forever.

And God can use many things to teach you, to bring you closer to Him. Our Father, we thank You so much for all that You’ve done for us. Thank You for this individual who I lifted hand indicated He’s trusting You as Savior, that once He trusts You, He never has to do it again because You give Me eternal life. And Father, we also praise You and thank You for all the goodness that You’ve shown to us, that we’ve seen through storms, fires and earthquakes, the mighty power, the wonderful works of God and how that you can use these things for your honor and for your glory.

Follow me may not understand at all, but in no way do we want to diminish the fact that you care about us and that you love us and that you want the best for us. And that you have a justifiable reason for everything you allow. And we thank you for the Christ name of Christ, amen. Don’t miss out on all the fun. Join Pastor Jesse and Kyla Martinez on Thursday nights from 7-9 PM for Tampa Youth Ranch and Calvary Community Church.

Tampa Youth Ranch is a great mix of live music, games, Bible study, food and fun, where teens 13-18 get to know God and the Bible with their friends. Check it out online at tampayouth ranch.org and see the cool pictures from past activities and all the fun you’ve been missing. No right? No problem. 1-3-3-3-4, 46-55 today for information on getting a ride to Tampa Youth Ranch. Thanks for joining us on Bible Eye. 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. God 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.