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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 Bible line 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.

Look what He said in verse 16, holding forth the word of life. There’s your flag. That I, as the flagpole, may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. In other words, I didn’t, did I stand for nothing? What do you stand for? If you don’t stand for something, you what? Ball for anything. So anyway, go down there now to verse 23. him therefore I hope to send presently. As soon as I shall see how it will go with me.”

See, sometimes we always, well, if I serve the Lord, God’s gonna tell me everything is gonna happen. He’s gonna reveal everything. And everything’s gonna go, no, no. Paul had to wait and see, he had adversaries. He was in prison. He didn’t know how long he’s gonna be there. He was hoping he could get out. He said that I wanna see you again, as he makes a statement. He says in verse 24, but I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly.

In other words, he wants to do that. See up there in verse 19, Timothy, shortly and down there and shortly. In other words, pretty soon, pretty soon. I wanna be able to come pretty soon, but he kept saying, you know, rejoice and be glad and be filled with joy, all these things and look at all the things he was going through. So we as God’s children sometime, we don’t have everything going our way. And just like you may not know what’s gonna happen tomorrow, what Paul says.

He makes a statement, as soon as I shall see how it will go with me. He doesn’t know the future. He doesn’t know what’s gonna happen. And that’s why he makes a statement in the book of Acts. He says, need to count on my life dear unto myself that I may finish my course with joy and the ministry that God has given to me. He says, I just wanna finish my course with joy. In other words, when you finish, you should be filled with joy up to the day you finish your course.

And some people, they get unglued and fall away from serving the Lord. Don’t finish well. You want to finish well. Keep serving the Lord. Have a little life in you. Put a little spring in your step. Put a song in your heart. Don’t go around showing people how miserable you are, how everything is going against you. And you like it when people would just pour mouth all the time. Just pour mouth. Never have anything. I can’t go nowhere and just whan, whan, whan, whan, whan.

Somebody said, you want some crackers with that? No crackers go with wine. I don’t drink wine, so I don’t. But I have a lot of crackers. I’ve had a lot of crackers. And so you got to go through life. Learn to encourage. Lift up your spits. Be an encourager. Not somebody always moaning and groaning. verse 24, but I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly. Yet I suppose it necessary to send to you Epaphroodius. He says, my brother and companion in labor and fellow soldier, but your messenger and he that minished to my wants, you see some people couldn’t get done, what they get done, if it wasn’t for those that are helping them.

One of the best illustrations I saw on building a team. They did it one night. How many of y’all went in here and you saw that? All right, not all of you saw that. It was a great illustration. And she had talked about who could she use. I said, I think Trent would be good. So she went to see Trent. And Trent came up in, he had a big heavy part. All he had to do was just stand there and just do whatever they told him to do.

And they gave him, I don’t know, 15, 20 things to do and he’s got stuff all over me trying to do it all. He’s the missionary, he’s the accountants, he has to do all these things. And so he’s dropping pencils, he’s dropping paper, he’s dropping, why? Because he’s overloaded, he got so many things to do. So, he needed some help. So, one person came up here and they took that one. And another person came and took that next thing.

He knew he had a team. Now he gets to spend some time doing what he wanted to do. And this is why you’ve got to build a team. I told a bidder. Whatever you’ve got to build a team. You’ve got to have people. We can’t have a choir if you don’t build a team. You’ve got to get people. Somebody got to play the piano. Somebody got to play the orchestra. Somebody got a play the instrument. Somebody got a sing.

You got all these people. And it better if you have more than one. us for no more if you have a team. I told Jesse I said you got to build you a team. You got to build people that you can trust in ranch. When it comes to the college do we have to build a team of people. You’ve got to have the right people in the right spot to do the right thing. If they don’t who has to do all the work.

Now do you want me to be the non-opinion the player? I could be the song leader and the choir director and teach all the college classes and speak in ranch, drive the bus, clean up, cook all the meals, totally responsible for third-sunded dinner and I’ll cook all the meals and I’ll wash all the dishes. Do you think how long you think I last? I won’t last a week. I’ll get worn out just thinking about what I got to do.

Haven’t you got tired? Thinking about all the things you got to and you haven’t done a thing yet. And that’s what can happen here. It’s when you’re having so much that you think I got to get done and you haven’t done a thing and you’re just plumbed all along, you haven’t got out of bed yet. So you’ve got to build a team, somebody to help you. You can’t do it all. So you want, and you need people to help.

And let me just show you this. Just so that you know, look in chapter four Philippians. because he’s talking about people that he’s needed, people that are helping him in the ministry. Look in verse one, therefore my brethren dearly be loved and long for my joy and crown. So stand fast in the Lord my dearly beloved. I be sichy, yodious and beseech, sentes, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I entreat thee also, true yoke fellow, help those women, look at this, which labored with me in the gospel, so that he have women helping him in the gospel, yes.

And claim it also, and with other my fellow laborers, whose names are in the book of life. See the people that Paul used with those who knew the Lord. They had their names written in the Lamb’s book of life. And that’s why you have to build a team of people that know the Lord and love the Lord of the same mind. In any way, I love that person in the scripture because he’s talking about how he depended and needed other people.

You need people. That’s why sometimes it’s so good to have a husband and wife that knows the Lord loves the Lord because you can do so much more. You realize I couldn’t do, I don’t think, probably 50% of what I get it done if it wasn’t for Betty helping me. That woman, I have never seen anybody quite like her. And that’s just the truth. I’ve been all over this country, and I’ve met a lot of preachers, and I’ve met a lot of preachers’ wives, and not a one of them to do what my wife does.

The way she is, and I don’t have to fight with her all the time. That doesn’t mean we don’t have disagreements, and we don’t speak for a month. But that’s a, no, but there’s things that you do and somebody has to yield. And so I just give in, you know, but we work together. It’s not, well, this is Yankees ministry. No, we’re working together any ministry, but it don’t belong to me. So you’ll get a lot further down the road if you realize it’s not yours.

You’re just temporary in a spot and the whole life is temporary And you never know where God’s gonna put you. And so don’t become so possessive that it’s all mine. Well then I don’t want nobody to do nothing but me. No, then you gotta do everything. And so you learn to work together and somebody that can help you and encourage you. And that’s gonna be the person you’re married to. So if you’re married, always encourage your husband. Always brag when you’re, Betty always brags on me, compliments me, it doesn’t matter, she’s mine.

And her goal is, she knows, if I’m successful, she’s successful. If I fail, she fails. She has to go right along, whatever I, so her goal in life is to make sure that Yankee does what God wants him to do, and she can help me, and she does. And just like Paul is bragging, no reason he didn’t mention his wife here. Why didn’t he mention his wife here? As far as we know, he doesn’t have one. And he was, well, she might be using another jail.

But if he ever did, because he was a member of the Sanhedrin, then generally they have a wife. And so evidently, either he lost her somewhere along the light, or she went one way and you went the other way, I don’t know. But anyway, learn to serve the Lord and be thankful for those who help you in the ministry. Now look what he says here. down there in verse 26, for he longed after you all and was full of heaviness because that ye had heard that he had been sick.

He was full of heaviness because he heard you heard he had been sick. And here’s a man who was sick, nigh unto death, and he kept serving the Lord, and it says, for your lack of service. Ooh, that must have hurt. In verse 27, for indeed He was sick, nigh unto death. Now, this is toward the end of Paul’s life, and we wonder why didn’t Paul heal him? He healed everybody else, because it comes to time when God doesn’t heal everybody.

Doesn’t heal anybody, and he could have died. And so, people who preach this health and wealth philosophy, I don’t care for it. God wants everybody wealthy. He wants everybody to live treasure in heaven. But he says and talked against land of treasure upon the earth. Now if God gives you something, but praise the Lord. But if he takes it away, you’re supposed to praise the Lord too. Remember what Job said when he lost so much? And he says, the Lord give it and the Lord take it away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord. If God gives it to you, blessed be the name of the Lord. Lord took it away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. You shouldn’t change. And you shouldn’t believe God loves me so much. is what He did. Take it away. God hates me so much. You’re basing your love and your hatred upon what you get and what you don’t get. Wrong. If God takes away everything that you have, that doesn’t diminish one eye-oater, his love for you.

And if you own, understand that, you can serve the Lord. Or it’ll make you bitter toward God because, you know, He took something away from me. If He really loved me, if He really loved me, oh man, I mean, times I’ve had to deal with people that because they have attitude problems. Look what he says. In verse 27, for indeed he was sick night unto death, but God had mercy on him and not on him only, but on me too.

You’re done lying this part. Less I should have sorrow upon sorrow. In other words, you’re going through life and there’s a lot of heaven, there’s a lot of problems. The last thing you want is somebody to add to your problems. Sorrow upon sorrow. It kind of weighs you down. And seeing the devil knows that if he can get you down with one thing, all of a sudden he’ll jump on you with all fours and try to get you really down.

He can have somebody say something bad to you about you. And next thing you know, you get in a bad mood. And next thing you know, here comes two or three more. And they add more to it. But fuel on the fire. Well, that’s why you often hear people say, you know, that was the last straw. That was a straw that broke the camel’s back. No, it was accumulation of straws. It’s accumulation of problems that bear down upon you and break you.

And the Lord says this in the book of Deuteronomy, if thou will not serve the Lord with joyfulness of heart, I will put a yoga iron upon your neck until it destroys you. In other words, when you don’t cast your cares upon the Lord like you should, all right, he’s gonna give you another care and another care, all these are pressures. This is weight, all this is burdens. And because you won’t cast it upon the Lord, these will destroy you.

And you say, I just can’t bear anymore. Any more than what? Cast it on the Lord. Pride will keep you from doing it. I don’t need God, I can handle it myself. And I believe most people’s mental problems are because of guilt. And the guilt is because of sin, because they do not do what God says to do. Look what he says here in verse 28. He says, I sent him therefore the more carefully that when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.

In other words, I got somebody that did, He served the Lord so faithfully. He was sick. But what was He doing? This is very interesting. And we’ll go back and read it some more, but I want you to jump down to verse 30. Because for the work of Christ, He was nigh on the dead. Not regarding his life he got underlying this part because it kind of lets you know it’s like a little a slap. To supply your lack of service toward me.

See that? In other words, because you didn’t help, he had to do more. And he was not in the death because of it. Now, there’s a lot of things that we do in the ministry. But you know, after the third Sunday dinner, everybody enjoyed, everybody worked. We all sat down, we ate, a lot of good fellowship. When we got through, I walked in toward the kitchen and a bunch of ladies in there worked and getting everything cleaned up. Guess who was watching the dishes?

Regina. Who? Regina. I didn’t, I still didn’t hear you. Regina. Regina was in there helping, and then you also had Jesse Martenas in there and that thing washing the dishes and then guess who came in to help him Know the girl that came up here in song Allison She was in there sweat Hello dry in and Different people working and helping now. I would love to see No somebody take that as a job, but see if somebody doesn’t do it I told you, I said, if you don’t get somebody to do it, guess who’s got to do it?

You. And he’s in there working. And then they have to do all other things. And there’s a lot of responsibility. Wouldn’t it be neat if you had somebody that would do all things? And sometimes people will and they can be faithful in doing it. Sometimes we’ll find out. Lo and behold, the ones that we thought was going to help in the kitchen, help cook. They didn’t show up. They just didn’t show up. No, then you’ll be that there and some of the other ladies go back there and try to make up for whatever you’ve been done.

Sometimes you think, well, if I don’t do it, somebody else will do it. Yeah, but that somebody else may not be able to do. It’s not always that somebody else can always pick up the slack. Sometimes the slack doesn’t get picked up, just like I mentioned this. When I was on television up there in Georgia and because it was a great expense and I said won’t borrow money and it won’t go into debt. At the beginning of it, people gave and everything went fine.

But after a while, people lost heart. They didn’t want to do it anymore. So now I either got borrow some money or go into debt. Which one should I do? Well, somebody else will help. If I don’t give somebody else will, no they didn’t. I went off the air. I went off the air. You see why? Because You say, well, how come you didn’t talk to God? I did talk to God. Well, why didn’t God tell somebody to give?

He did. Well, why didn’t he give? Because they rebalious. Does everybody obey God? No. And so if they don’t, then you don’t stay on. So a lot of things will be done if God’s people were found faithful always, but not everybody always says you’re always trying to build a ministry on the temporary dedication of God’s people. Wouldn’t it be neat if everybody stayed dedicated to the Lord all the time? Do they? Do we have people sometimes that’ll come to church and then you won’t see them for a month?

Only because they don’t want to come. You know what? We can have a good group on Sunday morning, then a poor group on a Sunday night, or a Wednesday night, because people do what they want to do. If they want to, they do. And if they don’t, they don’t. But sometimes because they can’t. Some people can’t drive at night. Some people are getting older in age. I wonder when I’m going to get to the place where Dr. Paul’s and I just can’t be there on Sunday nights because I can’t drive at night.

You know what he will say? Let Betty drive. Okay. I don’t think he’s going to cut me in his slack, but you’re always working. Paul was working with people. Sometimes people do and they don’t. This is why he says to supply your lack of service toward me. Now let me show you this one verse so that you’ll get it. Look here in Philippians in chapter four and look in verse 10. This is why Paul said this, but I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at the last your care of me hath flourished.

What’s the next word? Flourish what? Again. Flourished again. I rejoice in the Lord greatly. See whenever people are doing it, you’re pleased, You’re glad, and then it drops. Support drops. But when the support comes back, you rejoice more now than you did back here. So you learn to be more thankful. Because you realize they may not. They did. They didn’t. They do. Greatly rejoice. Because anytime you have people that have come to church, they trust Christ to save you, maybe help a little bit, then you don’t see them for a while.

And lo and behold, they’ve got to go check out a few things, you know, see if there’s a better preacher around, usually what it boils down to, or a better choir or a better services or better air condition or something better. And then loom behold, after a couple years, they come back. They’re glad they’ll be back and you’re glad to see them than you were before, because you know you can lose them. But you’re glad they came back. So you can rejoice greatly.

So you’re always living with the anticipation that loom behold, everybody who even leaves a ministry will learn something that makes them stronger in the long run and you may get them back. Or if somebody is just coming through and they may be here temporarily and next thing you know they go someplace else and do a greater work than it would have ever done the faith of state here. You don’t know leave it into the Lord’s hands you just be found faithful and serve the Lord and don’t get up here and then down here.

Alright so anyway take your Bible and turn to the book of of Philippians, the book of Philippians. Now, these were the Philippians. They were chirped, filled with these Filipinos on, I tell the college kids that and they just said to and they write it in the notes. I have to stop them. I’m Josh in ya, I’m Josh in ya kids. And Philippians chapter three, where was the apostle Paul when he wrote this book?

He was in jail. And he even told them an awful lot of things about, you know, joy, joy, joy, and happiness and all that kind of stuff. He looked like he ought to have a bad attitude to me. I mean, everything was going against Paul, and people left him, people were cursing him, wanting nothing to do with him anymore, people that he led to the Lord, and people were supporting him, got him to the foreign fields, and then he dropped their support.

So he had to make tents and sell tents in order to pay his way. But he says here in chapter three, finally my brethren. Now I want you to see that word finally. Now look how much more he wrote after the word finally. He writes two chapters finally. When you see the word finally, don’t you think he’s probably winding it down now? Finally, I’m gonna do that in church for these days. You know, it gets about five minutes to 12.

Finally my brethren, I’m gonna go for another hour. I better not do that. Finally, my brethren, so brethren, let’s you know, he is talking to believers. And then he says these wonderful words, rejoice in the Lord. In other words, it means to show great joy and great delight, great joy, great delight. Because so many Christians are not happy Christians. We ought to be happy. Not that everything happens to us, makes you happy, but because of who you are and the opportunity is God’s given to us.

Look up here, this hand represents you and me. The wallet represents all of our sins. We all have sin on us. God loves us, but He hates our sin. Now, for us to pay for sin is eternal separation from God in hell. But God loves us. God doesn’t want us to go to hell, He wants us to go to heaven. But to go to heaven, we have to be perfect as righteous as God. Nobody’s perfect. We’ve all sinned. We’ve all come short of God’s perfection.

So because of sin, we can’t get in. So the Bible says we cannot save ourselves. So we can’t do anything to get to heaven because we’re already condemned, found guilty. We’ve got a debt to pay. So we can’t go to heaven. It’s impossible. Nothing we do can get us to heaven because we have a debt to pay and that’s eternal separation from God. We’re all in the same boat. So unless God does something, there’s nothing we can do. So Jesus Christ, this hand represented Jesus Christ, God in the flesh came into the world because He loves us.

He displayed His love toward us and while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Not when you were the the saint, he did it while you were yet a sinner. So Christ who had no sin didn’t have to die. So he took all the sin of all the world, paid for them to cross, came back from the dead. He said that if you and I would believe that he did that for us, he would put that payment to your account and we would go to heaven on what he did.

Fifty-five years ago I heard this message for the first time. I was 18 years old, so I trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior. I heard that I could not save myself. I thought I was pretty good and I had to repent, change my mind. I cannot save myself. So I had to change my mind and trust Christ as my Savior. I repented. You see, if you are an unbeliever and you believe you had to change your mind. True? So I can lead a lot of people to the Lord without ever telling them to repent.

But I can tell a person who’s lost, you need to change your mind. You need to believe on Jesus Christ. You don’t believe it now, will you believe it? And when you believe that, he gives you as a free gift everlasting life. You go to heaven on what Christ did for you. So change your mind and believe it. That is what God wants you to do as a result of your changing your mind. So if you’re here today and you think that your good life is going to get you to heaven, change your mind.

If you think giving money, singing an inquire, being a deacon, a laureth, or whatever. I love my husband and my wife and kids. Well that’s wonderful, but that doesn’t save you. You need a savior and And Jesus Christ is the only Savior there is. See, we can’t save ourselves impossible. That’s why you don’t have to turn from your sin. He paid for it. What He wants you and I to do is believe He did it for us. That made sense to me.

So I trust that Christ is my Savior years ago. And that’s how I know that I’m going to heaven whenever I die. Let’s pray, shall we? With every head bowed and every eye closed and no one looking around. If you’ve never done so, today would be a perfect day. This would be a good moment for you to truly trust Jesus Christ and Him alone as your only hope of going to heaven. I’m going to ask you in just a moment to raise your hand.

Raising your hand doesn’t save you. I’m not going to have you forward. I’m not going to embarrass you. But right where you’re sitting, if what I said made sense to you, you say, preach to that made sense to me. And I want to be certain I’m going to heaven. And right now I do change my mind. I’m gonna trust Christ and Him alone as my only hope of going to heaven and I’d like for you to pray for Him.

Friend, would you just slip your hand very quickly and put it right back down? Not gonna embarrass you, not gonna point you out, not gonna have your stand up coming forward, but right where you are. Did it make sense? Will you trust Christ as your Savior? Then what at all? If you’re watching by internet, if you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, right there on the screen, you can click it on and let us know that someone trusts the Christ of their Savior.

Our Father, we thank you so much for all you’ve done for us for giving us a free gift of everlasting life. And Father, we also pray that each person here that knows you Savior would realize if there’s things in their life that they’re doing that’s not right, that they would repent, change your mind, reconsider and see that some things need to be corrected, that it could lead to a change of life because each one of us should live in such a way that shows how much we love you and what you’ve done for us.

So bless each one. We ask your bless our time together in Christ’s name we pray. Amen. This is your invitation to join us for our third Sunday dinner held in the Florida Bible College of Tampa building on the Calvary Community Church Campus. The dinner is a family-style, covered dish dinner and a great way to showcase your favorite dish and pick up new recipes. Each month you have the opportunity to invite your family and friends to join us for our Sunday morning service at 1030 and then stay for our third Sunday dinner immediately following noon.

Third Sundays at Calvary Community Church, where you’ll be fed spiritually and physically. 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.