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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 Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach us at 813-884-4328 or you can donate on the home page 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.

There are three things that I believe are sources of our testing or I could say that causes us to fall because you’re going to be tempted by these three things. One is the devil and two is you’re going to be tested by the world and then of course you’ve got the flesh. So you’ve got these three enemies of yours and they’re always working on you and every one of them can become temptations, trials, and tribulations. You’re going to have these things.

Now, I want you to take your Bible and look there in the book while we’re right here. First Peter chapter 5, looking first Peter chapter 5. When we talk about the devil, and as you read the fifth chapter, you’re talking about some people who have some knowledge of the word of God. And he’s talking about being in verse 3 about being examples of the flock. Well examples are those who have been walking with the Lord and know how to walk with the Lord for others to follow them and talks about us following those that are elders in verse 5 likewise you youngest submit yourself unto the elders so there’s two groups of people the young and the old those who know the Lord walk with the Lord and talks about those that are lifted up with pride and how that we’re supposed to cast all of our cares upon the

Lord. So you’re going to have problems in life and as you have these problems in life you’re supposed to submit yourself to the Lord, cast your cares upon the Lord. So when it talked on here about the devil look there in verse 8, be sober be vigilant because you’re adversary, and if you don’t have this underlined in your Bible or Marta, I would do so. The devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour, and he devours the proud of heart.

He devours those that are not humble and dependent upon God. One of the dangers of God’s people after a while is they get lifted up with pride because I know so much. I am so strong. and there’s scriptures that deals with this. And God can allow the devil to tie you up, because remember the devil gets you by as according to this. He devours you with the cares of this world. That’s why he says up in verse 7, casting all your cares upon him for he careth for you.

But then the devil comes along and he wants to devour you with all these cares of the world and get you worrying about the things of life. And so you have to be careful, but you can withstand the devil in verse 9, whom resists steadfast in the faith knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brother that are in the world. So it’s not just you. Many of God’s children have become entangled with the affairs of this life that they cannot please him who has called him to be a soldier.

looking first John chapter 2, first John in chapter 2, just a couple of pages to your right, first John chapter 2, and you’ll find out that these three sources of temptation, and here’s one of them, and how many of God’s children are going to be And verse 15, love not the world. Why? Because if you love the world, he says the love of the Father is not in you. In other words, you can’t love both. You can’t love God and then love the world at the same time.

Now, the word world is not referring to just people. But the things of the world, this life, where you don’t think about eternal things, you only think about temporary things. things. So he says, love not the world, need to the things that are in the world, things. If any man loved the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world.

And this world is going to pass away along with all the lusts and desires and wouldn’t it be a shame to live for something that’s going to pass away and never be rewarded for it. To waste your life is to waste your life upon the lust of the world that’s going to pass away and the things you acquired with all of them. And so there is this damage that can be done and cause a Christian to fall, even the strongest of Christians.

This is not just talking about we’re just those weak Christians out there. This is also a warning to those who think they have arrived and achieved great superiority over those weaklands in the flesh, and it would never happen to us, and we can’t do this or that. Beware, pride cometh before a fall. And I believe that’s what Peter is talking about. But anyway, take your Bible and turn to Colossians in chapter 2. The book of Colossians in chapter 2.

Colossians chapter 2 and look in verse 8. This is a good verse and the reason for this verse is because he’s talking to them about as you have therefore received Christ so walked you in him. That’s mentioned in verse 6. You received Him by faith. So how are you supposed to walk by faith? You took God’s word on what He said how to get to heaven. Now take God’s word on how you’re to live the Christian life. And in verse 7 concerning you and I, growing in the Lord, He says, rooted, built up in Him, established in the faith.

Don’t sound like we’re talking about a bunch of weak Christians. Those are rooted and grounded as you have been taught and abounding therein with Thanksgiving. You have arrived. Now look at the next verse. Beware lest any man spoil you. It’s just like whenever the enemy would take whoever they were warned against and they would spoil them means they take everything of value away from them. There are those who want to spoil you. In other words, taking from you, that which is of value to ruin your testimony, to destroy your character, to render your life useless before God, because there’s those who would love to see you fall flat on your face.

I honestly believe there’s a lot of people who would love to see me totally mess up. they would feel so relieved because anybody who wants to serve the Lord and is serving the Lord is a rebuke to those who will not serve the Lord and therefore if more people would not serve the Lord then they don’t look so bad and so there are those who go around and they’re only job in the Christian life it seems like is blowing out somebody else’s candle see if I blow your candle mind shines brighter.

No it doesn’t. You start a win and it reaps a whirlwind and you destroy your own testimony, your own character. But now I want you to look at something else. Look here in Colossians in chapter 3 and Jesse has covered many of these scriptures and so there’s no reason to cover a lot of them but I do want to read something to you. Unlike a license or permission to sin. A true understanding of the application of God’s grace really results in a holy life.

In other words, for a man to live by grace, holiness will be the result. godliness will be the result. No man who is living by grace permits a license to sin. They’re not compatible. They do not go together. You cannot use, well, we’re just living by grace. We can do anything that we want to do, live however we want. That is not the purpose of grace, and that is not what grace does. Grace, you’re loved for the Lord because of what is done for you is what motivates the person out of a nice warm, receptive heart to want to please his heavenly Father.

But a holy life denies ungodliness and worldly lust. You may have the worldly lust. You have that sinful nature living within. But the battle is not fulfilling those desires. So that means that it’s just not a matter of going through life, trying not to fulfill the lust of the flesh, but the desires of the Spirit. Where it says in the book of James, the whole Spirit lusteth. In other words, he desires you and I to serve God more than the desires of the flesh to fulfill the lust of the flesh.

You see, there’s two different desires here. So you and I, the closer we get to God, the more the Holy Spirit those desires can grow and become strong enough to overcome the desires of the flesh. And if that doesn’t grow, then the desires of the flesh are so strong they destroy God’s children. But it involves an ongoing, ongoing walk in faith in Christ through the Word of God and humble service to others in love while looking for that blessed hope of Jesus Christ’s imminent return.

So while we’re waiting for Him to come back, you and I have a responsibility to live a holy Godly life. Now in the book of Peter, he talks about chapter one, be holy for what? Be holy for, I am what? I am holy. So it’s not so that we can have a license to do wickedness, it’s the freedom to do godly, to live holy life. And so that’s what we strive for. And a scripture I wanted you to look at Galatians in chapter 5.

Now many of these scriptures we’ve looked at, you know, time and time again, but in the book of Galatians in chapter 5, you’ll notice they’re in verse 16. Verse 16, this I say then, walk in the Spirit. Now only a believer has this choice. A lost man can only walk into flesh, but a saved man has two births, two natures, and he can either walk with the Lord or he can walk into flesh. But the key of not walking into flesh is to walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

You still have them. We all still want to do wrong regardless of how sincere we may to be in that we want to live a perfect life and we know we can’t, but we know that we can walk with God. And then He describes the difference between the flesh and the spirit. Verse 17 down to verse 21 gives you a good description of what it means to walk into flesh and what you can expect to be the results. And so He says here in verse 19, now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these?

adultery that’s been walking in the flesh. Fornication, uncleanness, less seriousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variants, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envious murders, drunkenly and reveling, such like all this is the result of walking in the flesh. But look at the last part of that verse, on the which I tell you before as I’ve told you in time path, they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. This is the flesh that’s your first birth will not inherit the kingdom of God.

That’s why Jesus told the negative, you must be born again. So when you trust in Christ as your Savior, it is your new birth that inherit the kingdom of God. It’s your new birth that inherits eternal life. The first birth does not and can not. So it’s of the flesh that you walk in the flesh. Now in verse 22, but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, lung, suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, and so forth. This is the good stuff.

So if the Holy Spirit lives within me and the Holy Spirit lives within you, then if the Holy Spirit is Living through us, then we should be manifesting love through us, and peace through us, and joy through us, and long suffering through us. That’s how the Lord is doing this through you. Now, if the Holy Spirit doesn’t have control of you, you’re not going to manifest these characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit. But if you are and you’re close to the Lord and the Lord is freely working through your life, then you’re going to demonstrate these results.

If you’re walking in the flesh, you’re going to produce the works of the flesh. I hope you see that. You can understand that. But in chapter 6 and verse 1, Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, that means he’s walking in the flesh. Ye which are spiritual, that’s those who are walking in the Spirit. So who’s supposed to restore who? The one that’s walking in the Spirit. The help, the guide that’s walking in the flesh. Restore such a one in the Spirit of what?

Maintenance, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Tempted to fall. You see, anybody can fall at any given time. That’s why you always have to try to stay close to the Lord. Keep doing the right thing with the right people. Don’t trust yourself. Don’t trust that old sinful nature that you have. And I know that y’all don’t, but I want you to take your Bible and I turn to the book of James in chapter one. The book of James and chapter one, James chapter one, and look down in verse 13.

You have some scriptures here that’s telling us that we’re going to be tempted, but before you ever get to these verses, He tells us, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations or different testings. Because if there’s anything that you don’t know, let him ask of God and God will give you what you need to know. So it’s a way of us learning. God will allow us to be tested, not like the lion’s zone. Just forget about the lions.

But you’ll notice, he says they’re in verse 12, like in verse 12, you have this as a required course. You have no options. You can’t get out of it unless God just takes you out of this word. But as long as you’re in this world, you’re going to have to face the trials, the difficulties, these various tests. You see there in verse 12, blessed or happy is the man that hates temptations. No, he endures the temptation. For when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

See, loving him is the motive of why we do what we do. Loving him is what gives you the strength and the power that you need. But you see, whenever you lose your love for the Lord, you’ve lost your motivation to withstand the pressures of life or the temptations of life or the lusts of the flesh. And so that’s why you’ve got to guard more than anything else in the world is your love for the Lord. And that’s why you go all the way back to book of 1 John in chapter 2.

Now get what else he says here. And verse 13, let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God. I wouldn’t have failed if God hadn’t attempted me to do this wrong deed. God doesn’t tempt anybody to do wrong. God can allow the devil to tempt you and God can give him permission to tempt you just like he did with Job in the Old Testament But God doesn’t tempt any man to sin so you can’t blame God God can use it as testing but you’ll notice that with the temptation Just like he says there in verse two and three of the first chapter there Let him ask of God see there is a way out that you may be able to bear it, you don’t have to fall.

Falling is a choice. It is a deliberate decision and sometimes it can be brought about because of the lack of knowledge, ignorance. When God says to study God’s word add to your faith so that you don’t fall and if you don’t do that you’re asking to fall because God warns And so he says here, let no man say when he is tempted, because it is a required course. You ought to take in circle the word when, it’s coming. I am tempted to have got, for God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempted he any man.

Now in the Old Testament, it’ll talk about God created evil. In other words, God created the results of sin, but he didn’t create the sin. But the results of sin, God did. In other words, you may choose to rebel against the Lord, but God is the one that determines the consequences of your decision. Some people, God may take home before their time, just like when we talk about the Lord’s Supper. Many are sick, some are weak, and some are dead.

So not the same thing for every individual. Some, sick, some weak, some dead. And so God is free to determine, What punishment he wants to bring, he may take one person home and leave another person here till he’s a hundred. What’s that to you? You’re supposed to know that if I play around, God is free to do anything he wants with me. But you also know that if I serve the Lord, God is still free to do anything he wants with me.

But whatever it is, it won’t be because of rebellion. Then I can count on a blessing that God is using something in my life that can help me to be stronger. So he says, every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own wife. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, of his own lust and enticed. Every man has a sinful nature within him. Remember I’ve said, here’s a cat, here’s a mouse trap. And it’s cat that wants to mouse.

Well, I got to have something inside that wants to, what causes this cat to want to eat this mousie? It’s just something that’s inside, it’s the nature of it. Well, what causes this mouse to want to eat the cheese? There’s something inside the mouse that says, not like cheese, and he can get trapped. Well, see, inside of you and I is an owe sinful nature, and the devil can use those desires that we have to lead us astray. All we like sheep have gone astray until you get saved.

Then you don’t go astray anymore. Or is there something still on the inside of us that loves the world, that loves the lust of the flesh, the pride of life? We’re still going to face those battles as we go through life. But to be tempted is not sin. His arms are so tempted that that’s not sin. That’s because you have a sinful nature. That’s natural.

Because then he says in verse 15, then when lost half conceived, it bring forth sin and sin when it is finished, bring forth death. And notice verse 16, this is written to the saved or to the lost men. Who, the saved men, do not err my beloved lost men? No, it’s not written to the lost man. Let us close with these verses. Look there in the book of Titus. The book of Titus in chapter 2. Titus chapter 2 and verse 11 through 14.

God’s word tells us how God wants us to be. You see in verse 11, where it says, by the grace of God that have to appear to all men, bring salvation to all men. Now not all men accept it, not all men believe it, but salvation is brought to us by the grace of God. Now look what the grace of God, because of the way we were, God saved us to the way we were, forgave us the way we were, because He loved us, let that grace teach us.

And verse 12, so people can’t say that grace teaches me to live in sin. It does not, look at this verse, teaching us that denying ungodliness. See, grace teaches you to deny ungodliness. Grace teaches you to deny the world he lost. And grace teaches us that we should live how soberly sound mind, righteously, godly, when? When? This present world where we are today, tomorrow. And so anybody who says, Yankee just trying to get people to live in sin, then they didn’t listen to my sermon.

and it’s not a knock on grace to tell people that after you trust Christ as Savior, it is the will of God that His children who have been saved by grace should become trophies of God’s grace. And then He says in verse 13, looking, so we’re to live in this present world looking for the blessed tribulation period.

That’s what it said. You’d be surprised how many people want to straighten me out on the Rapture. But anyway, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Now get this, who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people. Look at the next words. Zealous of bad deeds, zealous of a sinful life.

The Word of God is simple and clear, and you don’t have to read between the lines. The Word of God is clear. Look up here, this end represent you and me. The wallet represents sin. We all have sin on us. But praise the Lord, and God loves us. Now he hates our sin, but here you see our sins condemn us. He didn’t believe it on him is not condemned, but he didn’t believe it not is condemned when? Already. And he didn’t believe it on the Son half life and he didn’t believe it not the Son half not life and the wrath of God abided upon him.

So we’re all sinned and we’re under the wrath of God. But God loves us and wants us to go to heaven and to go to heaven we have to be perfect as righteous as God and none of us are. We’ve all come short of God’s perfection. represent Jesus Christ, God in the flesh. He came into the world because He loves us, hates our sin, because it separates us from Him. So Jesus Christ took all the sin of all the world, paid for it on the cross.

Now that was by grace. We couldn’t make Him do that. Love made Him do that. And because He did pay for all of our sins, He came back from the dead and said, if you and I, if we would believe He did it for us, He’d put the payment to our account and we get to go to heaven on what Jesus Christ did. I’m going to have a not because of what good things I’ve done, but because of what Christ did for me.

And after you trust Christ as your Savior, is it the will of God that God’s children who have been saved by grace that God wants them to grow in grace, to learn more of the Word of God, so that they’re not tossed to and and fro by every wind of doctrine. I believe so. Let’s pray, shall we? There ever hit bow in every act of clothes and no one looking around. If you’re here tonight or watching by internet, understand that yes, God, He does love you.

If you’ve already trusted Christ to just save you, understand it is the will of God that you live a good life, a godly life, not to get to heaven because it is the will of God that you do so. But if you never trust the Lord, God on the screen says, yes, I’ll trust Christ as my Savior. I appreciate it if you would. Let us know, because we wanna rejoice with you. Our Father, we thank you again for this time together.

Thank you for all you do for us. And Father, we do pray especially for some that are facing surgery. And Lord, there’s others that are having some difficulty and looking at things that they want your will to be done in their life. And Father, we do pray for them. and Father, maybe a lot of others that we don’t know about, but you do. We do pray that you’d watch over Trent and his new wife and guide them and help meet their needs and help them to do right.

I love you and walk with you. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you were blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, You can reach Bibleline and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing 813-884-4328. That’s 813-884-4328. To listen to today’s message again, or to obtain a free download of any of our Bibleline programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10.30, and at six o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcasts of our services may be seen by clicking the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. 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, and just keep looking up.