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 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 message will be a blessing to you and your family.

I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Genesis. The book of Genesis. I want to speak very briefly on 101, especially playing basketball. It’s, you know, 5 against 5. But a lot of guys like to hone their skills, and so they like to play 101. When it comes to you and the Lord, did you realize how it’s just going to be 101? Can you imagine that here was Adam in the garden? Adam in the garden was able to go one on one with the Lord.

Adam didn’t have any sin. He was in a perfect paradise. Everything was wonderful. They fellowshiped together. Their relationship was great. The Bible says in the walk in the cool of the day, well, what if it had been you? Wouldn’t you have loved that to be put into the Garden of Eden? And then to be given the most beautiful woman in the world. she be the most beautiful woman in the world. She was the only woman in the world. And that’s why he said to Adam says, do you love me?

He says, who else? Tell me did you get that. And of course you know what happened. But let me ask you a question. How many chances did God give to Adam and Eve to get it right one time. Think about this for a moment. How wonderful it was and how bad it became for a little bitty sin. They ate an apple. Was it an apple? I don’t know. Some people say they think it was a banana because they had a peel.

I don’t But whatever it was that they ate, it was such a simple little bitty thing. It was no big deal. It was just one little thing. I mean, why punish him so bad? Think for a moment. God is perfect. God is perfect, then he cannot tolerate any sin in his presence. And the Bible says that the Lord walked in the cool of the day. was in the garden. God talked to Adam and Eve. So now everything’s changed. Everything changed because of one little deed.

Not two, not three, just one. One sin, it’s all she wrote. And when he made the statement, look in Genesis in chapter 2 and verse 16. in verse 16. And the Lord God commanded the man saiyan of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shall not eat of it for in the day that thou eatest there thou shalt surely die. Now a lot of you say, well he didn’t die that day, but remember this.

There are three deaths that we talk about in the Bible. There is the depth of a relationship because isn’t it true that God and Adam walk together, talk together? Now that relationship has been destroyed. It was the death of a relationship. They could no longer participate together like they once did. One little sin, so much damage. Think of all the consequences in the world because of that one tree, one fruit, one sin, and look at all the results. Have you ever thought about some of the things, little things, that you tolerate in your life and don’t even think about the consequences of one little sin?

and yet one little sin in your life and my life can make a lot of difference. Because we can’t always see how it relates to everything. We can’t see all the cause and effects down the road. But sin is sin. Sin is imperfection. God is perfect. God cannot tolerate sin. So there is the death of a relationship. A man by the name of John Cross. He was a missionary to Papua New Guinea. He took his wife and his son, named Andrew, It went all the way over there to Papua New Guinea.

We’ve had several missionaries that have come through here that have been to this place. To bend to these tribes. They had a little house built on stilts, not far off the ground, but just enough that a person could wieze a little way underneath it. They loved their little hut that they lived in. They loved every morning waking up in that fresh air and the beautiful greenery that they they had and they loved being there, they loved what they were doing, they loved the people and everything was great.

Kind of like being in a paradise. One day a big old rat crawled under the house, got about in the middle of the house, underneath it, died. How many of you have ever been to Colorado or out west where you’ve seen as you’re driving long and you can tell lo and behold there must be a cattle farm around here somewhere because there’s an odor about it and you say to certain people how can you live so close to this cattle farm because of the odor what do you smell it says money smell money and if you stay around it long enough you know after what you don’t even you don’t even notice it anymore I’ve noticed been down here in Georgia, there are a lot of chicken farms around.

Can you tell when you get close to a chicken farm when the wind is just right? You say, what is that smell? Say, money, money. That’s what it is. And some people that are not used to that, it is foul. It’s a bad over. It’s a bad omen and they can’t, they try to hold their breath. If you’ve been driving the car and you come across something like that and try to hold your breath but you hate to take a deep breath and then see how long you can hold it.

They had a a rat. Well the stench got so bad they couldn’t stand it. So they moved to the back part of their house to try to get away from the stench but it They permeated the whole house. Andrew got the job. They told him to put a plastic sack around his hand. And he was small enough he could crawl underneath the crawl space. And he finally got to the thing trying to hold his nose and get a hold of that dead rat.

Crawling underneath the house on his belly and engine his way. Finally got to this rat, got it by the tail. He looked at it and realized that there were maggots all over this rat. So he got it by the very end of the tail and drug it out as he crawled underneath that thing, trying to get out from under there and the smell was terrible. And he took that thing and he swung it over his head and he let it go out into the woods.

Now if that rat could have come to life at that moment, that rat could have known that Andrew was angry. He probably could have heard him say if he could hear. You’re out of here. And the rat would have probably said for how long? And Andrew would have said forever, forever. Well, when can the rat come back? What would you want the rat to come back? Never, never, because you don’t want to be in the presence of such a gross file smelling stench for the rest of your life to someone that is perfect.

That’s what you and I smell like in the presence of God from one sin. God could not stand for any sin to be in His presence. He often talks about the sins of man as a stench in his nostrils. His son that he sent into the world, well, it was a sweet smelling saver. It talks about the sacrifices that were made in the Old Testament as a sweet smelling saver, sweet to the nostrils of God. But God does not like sin.

He hates sin. Adam and Eve only had to commit one sin to be cast out of the garden. How long were they cast out of the garden? Forever. They couldn’t go back. Even put a angel with a flaming sword to keep the way so that nobody could come back in. I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Habakkah in chapter 1. I want you to look there in verse 13. There is also not just the depth of the relationship because now that had been severed.

Thou art of pure eyes than to behold evil. Canst not look on iniquity. You ought to underline that statement in your Bible. The Lord’s perfection cannot tolerate imperfection. That’s why you and I were not able to live in the presence of God. So you and I, when we were born into this world because of this old sinful nature that has been passed on to us, we are separated from God. We are spiritually dead, separated from God. And so what the new birth is about is you being connected back to God, God restoring life because he says, thou shalt surely die means that you were cut off from the very source of life.

I’ve used the illustration before if these plants were real and I was to take a flower and I cut it off. Well, the flower has been cut off from the source of life. It’s dead. Now, it doesn’t look dead. It still smells good. It looks good. just that it’s dead because you and I know once it’s cut off from the source of life it’s dead. It’s going to take a few days before it withers. You and I have been cut off from the very source of spiritual life.

We’re spiritually dead. It means that God is a spirit and being spiritually dead, we can’t communicate with God. And that’s why we have to be made spiritually alive. So when you trusted Christ is your Savior, you were born of the Spirit made spiritually alive. So now you have a body soul and a spirit. So your body is what makes you world conscious and your spirit, what makes you God conscious and your soul is what makes you self conscious. But being spiritually minded it means that my spirit can communicate with God who is a spirit.

He also says that concerning the body, Eventually, the body of man will die. It will die. There is the death of the body. Look in Psalms 104, the 104th Psalm. Verse 29 says, Thou hitus thy face, they are troubled. Thou takeest away their breath, they die, return to their dust. That’s the body. Now the spirit of man lasts forever. Death is simply the spirit from the body. Whenever you lost that relationship in the garden from God, it was you were made spiritually dead.

You were separated from the presence of God. That’s why they were cast out of the garden. Later they were cast out of their body. And one day at the second death, they will be cast from the very presence of God forever. That’s the second death. But here he makes Saban, thou take us away their bread. Now keep this in mind. It is God that gives life. God gives life. The right to life comes from God. God is the one that can take and let us live and God can let us die.

What is supposed to be a mature man and woman? Well, mature people that are married and they’ve got responsibilities. So we often say they are responsible for their own actions and what they do. If I was to ask you how many of you think you ought to pay your legitimate debts? Well most people raise your hand, yes everybody ought to pay their legitimate debt. But whenever we have bills to pay, we just believe that that’s a normal, a right thing to do.

So whenever the gas bill comes due we got to pay the bill. pay the bill. So one of the advantages of being an adult on our own is if we get to pay our own bills. This is why some kids like to stay at home because they don’t have to pay many bills. I know some kids they’ll never get out of home. They’re smart enough to figure this thing out. Some kids never grow up and figure this out. But can you figure out why a man and a woman will look at each other and have such wonderful dreams for the future?

And they want to talk about getting married someday and getting out on their own. Getting out on their own. What do you mean getting out on your own? You get your own set of bills. You get to pay. So you got to get a job. Work. Make some money so you can pay your own bills. Or you can stay at home and live off mom and dad. But have you ever seen a… A mom, a dad that hates to pay the last bill.

Well, what is the last bill we’re gonna have to pay? Well, the wages of sin is what? Debt. Debt means you earn the right. You have to die. You have a debt to pay. You have a debt. And because you sinned, the soul that sinned that shall die. So we have to die. That’s really, is nothing more than a bill we have to pay. Now, wouldn’t it be neat if the Lord came back before we died? Now, you know, there is some people that are going to be alive when Jesus Christ comes and they’ll never have to pay that bill because they won’t die.

I don’t want to live forever down here. I just want to live long enough to bury everybody else. Why is it that everybody knows they got that one bill to pay but nobody wants to talk about paying that bill? Nobody really looks forward to death and yet it’s the last find out. You know when you pay that bill, you don’t have to pay a light bill anymore? You don’t have to pay no more bills anymore. Think about it. Our final enemy is death.

As a final bill that we have to pay down here, God says that soul that sent that shall die and there’s a payment to be made. Do you realize that there was a day upon this earth when if man had not touched that fruit, we would have been living, we are still being born, but we would have been living in total paradise. Do you realize that death is also the death of future joy? To realize that what you are going to have and could have had by the disobedient.

One sin is going to keep you from all of that. It caused the death of a relationship that you had between you and God. Caused you to death of a body that God gave and made that could have lasted forever. body and my body could have lasted forever. For eternity our bodies were designed to last forever. But because of sin, look what it’s cost. And then for the joy that we would have had for all eternity death of a dream.

You know there’s some time to a guy, he looks at a girl and he thinks, boy, we need to get married. And it takes everything he’s got, the muster up, that courage to say, will you marry me?” And she says, yes I will. I will marry you. And the joy at that moment whenever he’s asked and she says, yes and there’s a ring put on her finger and they are so thrilled and happy. Now are they thinking about the future or thinking about the past?

They’re thinking about the future. They’re thinking about how it’s going to be wonderful and happy and they’re lived together because they the kindness of cowboy movies as they ride off into the sunset and they live happily ever after. And they’re engaged. They’re thinking about who they’re going to invite to the wedding. They got to get a preacher. They got to take and get all the things together, the flowers, and who’s going to be in the wedding, the best man, the best girl and all this stuff, and the bridesmaid, whatever.

And all these people and who’s going to be invited and the party and the food, and they’re all excited about all these things. cards got to be written out. They think about the house they’re going to have, where it’s going to be, you know, and who’s going to work, who’s not going to work, or whether they’re going to pull the money together, or her account, his account. How many kids are going to have? It’s all about the future. They’re all excited.

And it’s good, and they’re happy about it. But for some reason, if they decide to call off the wedding, they broke the relationship. Does that change all the plans? You think they’ll go through with all the plans? It changes everything. Did you realize how little decisions can affect so much in our lives that we don’t think are really that big? And yet it can affect everything, affect so much. But what Christ did was to restore everything that was lost.

All the death of a relationship, to restore the death of a physical body that was designed to live forever, but now 50, 60, 70 years, maybe a few more, but it’s still sorrow. And then we are cut off and then fly away. And the death of the joy of the future. individual wants to be happy. But we don’t want to be happy in heaven, we want to be happy now. So what would it be great if we could get a little bit of that happiness and that joy and bring it into the present?

Well, God says we’re supposed to believe him so much. You see, a little faith in Christ. Takes the soul to heaven. But a lot of faith in the Lord, after we’re saved, can bring a lot of heaven to the soul. So by believing God and trusting God, we can be happy now. We can have peace now. Even while the world is at such turmoil, we can have joy. Things that the world can’t give and things the world can’t take away.

But if one lives, we can have peace. bitty sin can cost so much. Think what one little bitty obedient decision can bring. So that’s why the offer is made to every individual because it’s a one-on-one. It doesn’t matter what everybody else did or are doing. It’s what am I going to do. What is going to be my decision? Here’s Christ. He died on the cross from a whole world. I can either accept it or I can reject it, but it’s my decision.

Not yours. It’s mine. You can’t make it for me. I can’t make it for you. It’s a personal one-on-one decision. And if I choose, I can have eternal life. I can become a child of God. And God will give me a new birth. The new birth that’s born without a sinful nature. See, my first birth was born with a sinful nature. My second birth was born without one. So I not having a sinful nature, my second birth, it can’t sin.

If it can’t sin, it can’t die. So that means I’m a child of God forever. And my greatest relationship is now with the Father and I am related to Him as His child. Now I have a relationship that can never be broken. That relationship can’t be broken. My fellowship with God can be broken, but not my relationship. So I have an eternal relationship because I am an eternal Son of God. He is my eternal Father. I belong to Him.

That can never be broken. Now or tomorrow or on an eternity it can never be broken. I am a child of God. That is a relationship that’s better than the one they had in the garden because that one could be broken. It wasn’t so much that Adam and Eve were so perfect. They had the capacity to sin. They just hadn’t sinned, but they had the capacity to sin. You and I in our new birth will not have the capacity to sin.

Like a cup, it has the capacity to hold water. We will be created in our new mercy without the capacity to hold a sinful nature. we can’t see and we will not be able to tolerate sin no more than God would. The closer you get to God, the closer you stay with the Lord, the more you walk with the Lord, the sins of the world become a stench in your nostrils. You can’t stand it. You can’t stand it when people take God’s name in vain.

You can’t stand that. And you’ll see things that other people won’t see. You’ll hear things that others won’t hear because see the closer you are with the Lord, you’ll wind up loving and hating the same thing that God does. Now some people get so far away from the Lord, see they have gotten it used to the stench, the rebellion of people, the way the world is. Everybody’s like that. And so they just become like the world. They’ve lost the shock value.

And we ought to stay where we can still be embarrassed, still be ashamed still get read faced because you see if you don’t that dead rad under the house you’ll get to where you can just live with it it’s all right after a while or you can get it out of there I’m talking about in this life there’s some things we can’t change with other people but it’s a one-on-one it’s what do you want what do you accept because as a chalap God we have a day coming where we’re going to stand before the Lord and He’s going to reward us.

Now He doesn’t reward us in groups. He doesn’t reward a committee. He won’t bless us in heaven as church members. Would y’all please come up here? It’s individually. What did you do? What did you do? What did you do? Remember He faced Adam and says, Adam, what has style done? Well you know that woman you made? Eve, what did you do? Well the serpent, you know the serpent you made? The blame game began. Now while we’re down here we blame everything everybody for my sorry lot in life.

But with God see it was one on one. In spite of what Adam said, the woman that you gave me, God put a curse on Adam. And the woman, God cursed the woman. And the serpent, do you ever wonder why God never asked the serpent, what did you do? Some people say because he didn’t have a leg to stand on. Some of y’all get dead after a while, you know. But he cursed the ground. God cursed the whole earth, one loves sin.

This is why as much as possible, and nobody can do it for you. Who is going to make you read the Bible? Because that’s how God speaks to you. Prayer, well that’s how you talk to God. It’s a one-on-one. See, nobody can do this for you. It’s an individual thing. And when we get to heaven and God rewards everybody, God’s going to reward one on one. It’s what you did. And blank game won’t work. God said, what did you do?

Why didn’t you serve me? Well, nobody else did. And I worry about that. What did you do? And God’s going to reward us for what we as an individual. And every man shall receive his own reward, according to his own labor. That’s one on one. God’s going to do it, and it’s a personal thing. Has nothing to do with your wife, your husband, your children. It’s you. It’s me. It’s a personal thing. It’s one on one. And I think we need to keep it in mind because God’s not looking for the committees.

Don’t worry about the committee. This ends with you and me and the wallet represents sin. all have sin on us. God loves us, but He hates our sin. And the Lord tells us that because He loves us, He wants us to go to heaven. But because of sin, we can’t get in. God says that to pay for the sin is eternal separation from God in a place called hell. God wants us to go to heaven, and we can’t get into heaven because heaven is perfect.

We cannot save ourselves. If you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, would you trust Him right now? Just say simply, Lord, I know I’m a sinner. I believe Christ died, paid for my sins, and I’ll take and trust Him to take me to heaven whenever I die. Friend, if you’ll do that, God will save you, give eternal life. If you’ve never trust the Lord, I urge you to do so. So why not right now in the quietness of this moment, say something simple like this?

I know I’m a sinner. I believe Christ paid for my sins. Right now I’ll trust Him to take me to heaven when I die and preach I like you to pray for me in closing. So we hit by a nice close so that I can pray for you. Would you slip in here very quickly and put it right back down, Zim, where’s all? If you’ve never trust the Lord, would you trust Him now? Yeah, what is all? If you have trust in Christ as your Savior, realize how one little sin in our life can alter so much in our life.

The things that we don’t think are important, Steady in the word of God is what keeps your discernment sharp, where you can see and understand and see how God thinks and feels about things. Because it’s a one-on-one, nobody can do this for you. You can be as holy and as godly as you choose to be. Or you can be currently minded. Do right, serve the Lord. Father, we do thank you so much for all you’ve done for us. We ask the blessings upon each one here, and have a Father to put you first in every area of our lives.

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 are 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 tool free. 800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bible line programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link.

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. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10-30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, 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

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 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. ever Pharaoh let the people go, he could change the message, but he never changed the message. It always stayed the same, even though he would not obey. And it took a while, but lo and behold, he finally came through and he says, I’m going to let the people go that they may serve you.

And so he finally gave in and it all were, but look in chapter 9 and verse 1, then the the Lord said unto Moses, go in unto Pharaoh and tell him, thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, let my people go that they may serve me.” See, God never changed His message, stayed the same. How would you like to have only one point in your sermon? Let my people go. Let my people go. How would you like it if every Sunday morning I came here and I only have one sermon and it’s It’s always just one verse and I’ll correct it and change that whenever I get the results from the other sermon.

You see, people today, they want to be tickled. Tickle my ears. Tell me what I want to hear. Make me feel good. Sin doesn’t make people feel good. I can preach on certain things and make people squirm because they don’t like that. And if you make them mad, they don’t come back. That shows, did they come because they love the Word and really want to do whatever the Word of God said? When you’re right with God, it won’t matter what the preacher says.

If you’re right with the Lord and you’re doing right, it won’t matter what I teach. You’re going to love the Lord and love His Word and you can be found faithful. But you can’t agree with everything that everybody says. But if you’re convinced that this is what God said, you ought to obey what God says. And your heart should be warm toward the things of the Lord, not warm and fuzzy. But I’m talking about when you’re sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is teaching you through the Word of God always quickly obey delayed obedience is disobedience Take your Bible and turn to the book of 2 Samuel 2 Samuel And look there in chapter 12 2 Samuel and chapter 12 Have you ever heard of a guy named David?

King of Israel You know, one day he did something he shouldn’t have done. He had responsibilities, but he didn’t do it. He stayed home. And that day he just happened to look over this little banister and lo and behold he saw a woman and thought things that he shouldn’t have thought. And because of that, he committed adultery with her and then she gets pregnant and now he’s got to hide that sin. So what he does is he has her husband come home from the battle and hoping that he’ll spend the night with her and then they’ll think it’s his baby.

See there? See there? Now Christian can’t think things like that. This one did. David. You know, the one that has, he’s the apple of God’s eye. I mean, this is God, the lover of the Lord. I mean, this sweet pomice of Israel. He would do anything wrong like that. And if you’re really saved, you’re not going to want to go out here and do those bad things. Yes, she do. another sermon, we’ll get into that some other time. But look in verse 1, God had a man and God sent a man.

He sent a man to see David and the Lord sent Nathan unto David and he came unto him and said unto him, there were two men in one city, one rich the other poor. Rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds but the poor man had nothing. Say one little you lamb which he had brought up and nursed up. And it grew up together with him and with his children. It did eat of his own meat and drink of his own cup and lay in his bosom and was unto him as a daughter.

And there came a traveler unto the rich man. And he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd to dress for the wayfaring man that was coming to him, but took the poor man’s lamb, dressed it for the man that was come to him. And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. And he said to Nathan, as the Lord liveth, the man that have done this thing shall surely die. And Nathan looks at King David and says, thou art the man.

Thou art the man. Don’t you know that would be like a dagger in his heart? How would you like to be the preacher that had to deliver the message to the king? who has the power to take a good life. And it takes a great, a great, better courage to do what God says, do. When you know that he could get mad. But look what he says in verse 7. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man, thus saith the Lord God of Israel.

I unknown the king over Israel. And I delivered the out of the hand of Saul. God said, I did all of this. I gave the I gave thee thy master’s house and thy master’s wives into thy bosom and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah. And if that had been too little, I would much more have given into thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord? To do evil in his sight, thou hath killed you right of the hit tight with the sword.

Thou hast taken his wife to be thy wife. Have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. And so, see, God blamed him for that man’s death. Even though he told Joab, taken, put him in the heat of the bottle, so he’ll die. Yeah, he died by them, but he said it was your fault. You did that. So here’s David, the man after God’s own heart committed murder and committed adultery. How would you like to be the preacher to have to go preach the sermon to him?

Do you think he’s really waiting to be told this? Confront this? I don’t think so. But you see a lot of times God’s people they do things that they shouldn’t do and They come to church and they don’t want the preacher to say anything because it could offend them So instead of confessing things between them and the Lord and getting things right They try to cover it or hide it But it says here in verse 10 now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house because thou has despised me You see, the reason he committed adultery, he said, because you despise me.

The reason you committed murder is because you despise me. The reason people do what they do and don’t correct me because they despise God. They despise His Word. They want to mock God. And God says, you won’t mock me and get away with it. That’s why there’s a warning of judgment. And it will take place. your Bible and turn to the book of Jeremiah chapter 28. Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet. Boy, he had a sermon that I wouldn’t want to preach.

He had a ministry that I wouldn’t want. Not everybody loved Jeremiah, but in Jeremiah chapter 26 I just want to know there was a guy named Hananiah that he says look there’s nothing wrong everything is okay and you don’t need to listen to Jeremiah everything don’t be cool he says the Nebuchadnezzar they’re not going to come in that that’s all talked Jeremiah’s a false prophet you don’t not listen to him and he confronted him and Lord the boom on looking verse 15 then said the prophet Jeremiah the prophet here now, Hananiah, the Lord hath not sent thee, but thou makeest this people to trust in a lie.

You see, sometimes God’s people have to confront, to deal with things. See what’s right? See what’s wrong, and it hurts feeling. See, it’s not that the preacher Jeremiah was wrong, or Enoch was wrong, or know was wrong or Moses was wrong, this that people don’t want to listen to what God says. That’s what’s wrong. That’s what’s wrong. And so he says here, Thou have made the people to trust in a life. Therefore, thus saith the Lord, behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the year.

This year, thou shalt die because thou have taught rebellion against the Lord. So, Hennenai the prophet died the same year in the seventh month. Dope. Did God deal with him? Oh, God dealt with him. Jeremiah was telling the truth. You see Jeremiah didn’t pull any punches. He just told the truth and he wound up in a pit. They wanted to kill him. I mean, just so many things that happened to the poor guy and all he was trying to do is what God said.

And you know what? He got so discouraged at one time. He says, I’m not going to say anymore. Let them do whatever they wanted to. I’m not going to say another word. And he says, but his name is Jesus. word was in my bones as a fire that I could not stay. In other words, I couldn’t stop from preaching. I had to do it. So he did it. Take your Bible and turn to the book of Mark chapter 6.

The book of Mark and chapter 6. Now this is mentioned in several places, but I like the Scriptures on this. It explains it just a little bit better. Mark chapter 6, and look at verse 14. And verse 14, you’ve heard of a guy named John the Baptist, a man that God says, there’s no man born of a woman greater than this man. Must have been some man. Well, you know he didn’t have a big ministry because he started, right, about six months before Christ did, started his ministry.

And so he was a forerunner of Christ, so he didn’t have a long ministry because Christ’s ministry was only three and a half years and he was dead before Jesus was crucified. So he didn’t have a long ministry a couple years and yet to have all that said about him, what a man. But what did this man do? Well, he looked like probably a wild man out of the wilderness. He probably didn’t have one or three pieces without it.

He probably didn’t have any degrees after his name. But you know what John the Baptist, he said, I’m just the voice of one crying in the wilderness. He was the forerunner Christ. He says, I am not the Christ. He says, there cometh one after me, whose shoe latches I’m not worthy to bow down and tie shoes. He says, I baptize you with water, but he that cometh after me shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit. So he had a message and he did preach and he preached repentance to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

What he preached. And everybody loved him. Well, not exactly, but he preached what God wanted. You see, too many people today are seeking people’s approval. Forget people’s approval. You better seek God’s approval. You do what you believe God wants you to do. Now what everybody else thinks you ought to do? You do what God wants you to do. But look what he says in verse 14, and King Herod heard of him, for his name was spread abroad and he says that John the Baptist was risen from the dead and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him.

Other says this is Elijah. Other said that is a prophet or one of the prophets but when Herod heard therefore he said it is John whom I beheaded he is risen from the dead. See he thought he was Jesus was John Baptist. This guy would have a nightmares. This guy would have problems. And so he says here in verse 17, For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake. His brother Philip’s wife, or he had married her.

But seeing God’s eyes, she was still Philip’s wife. He took somebody, he didn’t have a right to take and married her, and he says, you took another man’s wife. And he says there in verse 18, for John had said unto Herod, it is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. And did he make anybody mad? Evidently. Not everybody loved John the Baptist. And so they had a big party. And Herod was going to do whatever this little young lady you want to get up here and dance around.

That’s right, you don’t go to parties like that. And anyway he says here in verse 19, therefore Herodians had a quarrel against him and would have killed him but she could not. For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and a holy and observed him. And when he heard him and and did many things, he did many things, and heard him gladly. And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday, we ought to sing happy birthday to Herod.

Well, maybe we’ll just bypass that. This is birthday. So you see, even back then, they celebrated birthdays. I guess it must be all right, it’s in the Bible. And made a supper to his Lord’s High Captains and Chief Estate of Galilee, and when the daughter of the said Herodias came in and danced, and pleased Herod, and then that set with him the king said unto the damselm, ask of me what so ever thou will, and I will give it to thee.

And he swear unto her, what so ever thou shall ask of me I will give it to thee unto the half of my kingdom. Must have been some dancer. Must have been some dancer. In verse 24, and she went forth and sent unto her mother. What shall I ask? And she says the head of John the Baptist. Now remember, what wrong had John the Baptist done? He hadn’t done any wrong to anybody. He was just a forerunner of Christ.

Jesus says, no man, born of a woman, greater than this man, in prison. And he preached because he was in prison because he said you don’t have a right to do that. That’s wrong. And he confronted. You think people were just corrected, but they don’t correct it. See, when you’re wrong on something, it burns inside of you and you hate the person who tells you that will confront you with that. This is why we have people today that want to pass laws making sin right because it helps them to feel better about themselves.

Everybody does it. everybody else don’t think the way you think. If everybody would just think the way God thinks, then everybody would be all right, but people don’t. So they want to sin and uncover the sin. What is an abortion? A sin to cover a sin. A sin to cover a sin. Say, well, that free choice, you made the choice when you committed adultery, you committed for an occasion when you had sex together, you know what, not do it.

You save yourself for marriage. Sex outside of marriage is wrong. I didn’t make that. I’ve God says that. Now, should I be timid in saying what I believe the Word of God teaches? Because, well, we’re living in a time and age when, you know, that’s old-fashioned talk. Well, until I get a new Bible with an update. I’ll just have to keep teaching the one that I got. Still says it’s wrong. So he says here, I’ll give it to you.

And he says in verse 24, and she went forth and asked for verse 25, and she came in straight way with hasten to the king and asked, and I will give what thou give me bind by in a charge of the head of John the the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorrow, yet for his oafsake, and for the sake which sat with him, because he had already given his word, he could not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought, and he went and be headed him in the prison, and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel, and the damsel gave it to her mother.

And when his disciples heard of it, they came and and took up his corpse and laid it in a tomb, all because he made somebody mad. You see, this guy had his head cut off. Moses, when he went to face Pharaoh, could have cut off his head. You see, there’s all kinds of things that can be the consequences of us taking a stand for doing what’s right. Yours might be that you might witness as somebody and it might cost you your job.

But many people today don’t take and run the risk of anything. We just go ahead and try to soften things down and just love. The key is just get along because we don’t want to confront people. I’m not talking about being mean. I’m not talking about being unkind. I’m not talking about being ungodly. I’m just talking about just do right. Just do right. If there’s things in your life that are not right, don’t you want the Lord to reveal it to you so that you can correct the problem?

Because if you don’t, your heavenly Father’s going to beat the Torah out of you. Now, what would you do other have? Correct the problem or beat up? You see, God can send all kinds of things into your life that you don’t see and understand where it’s coming from. And you don’t know why is this happening? Why is this happening? Why is this happening? God may be trying to get your attention on something. You ever heard, you know, sometimes God may have to use a tube before to get your attention?

Might be what he’s doing. Look there in chapter four of the book of Acts. The book of Acts in chapter four. And you’ll notice that in this fourth chapter, they had been told not to do something. And so people were upset, especially the leaders. But look at verse five, and it came to pass on the moral that their rulers and the elders in the scribes and then it’s the high priest in Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and as many as were of the kinders of the high priest were gathered together in Jerusalem.

When they had set them in the midst, they asked, by what power or what name have you done this? Then Peter filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, ye rulers of the people and elders of Israel. If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man by what means he is made whole, be it known unto you all and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of the guy that lives in Nazareth, whom ye…

Now some people tell you, you can’t say the name Jesus Christ, you know. Do you know you can talk about every religion in the world? You mention every name you want to, but don’t mention Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the best name in all the world. He is my Savior. He is my Lord. He is my God. He is my King. I am not to be ashamed of Jesus Christ. Anyway, as he stand there and answer their question, I guess he could have said a lot and beat around the bush, but he came out and he said it, be it known unto you all in the name of the people.

He said, and by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God hath raised from the dead, even by him that this man stand here before you whole, whom ye does he point the finger? Do you think it made him mad? Upset? Yeah, it made him mad. You ought to read this sermon that Stephen preached in the seventh chapter of the book of Acts. What did he make him mad? As far as I know, it was only sermon he ever preached, and they stoned him to death.

Because they got so upset with what he said. I thought, now, Stephen, no, if you just only had read the book by Del Carnegie on how to win friends and influence people, it would have really helped. You just didn’t do it right. You must have done something wrong. Do you know, to some things, you can’t do anything right with some people. I don’t care how you do it, it won’t be the right way. Because whenever somebody doesn’t want the truth, you can’t get the truth to them the right way.

There is no other way to make them accept it. No. So he says in verse 12, neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. He’s answering their question and letting them know there is no salvation in any other except the name of Jesus Christ. But that’s preaching right between the eyes. That’s not holding back. That’s telling it like it is. That’s because, see, when people do not fear man and you fear God, you can deliver, like God says to deliver.

You can live the way God wants you to live if you fear God instead of man. But the only thing that holds you back and fear will keep you from doing the things you ought to do It’s because you fear man. You’re afraid of man. You’re coward. You’re weak. You run. Confidence in God’s what gives a man boldness. Learn to trust the Lord with your fear. See courage is feared that says it’s prayers and goes ahead. Now, I don’t have time to go into some of the other places I wanted to, but just to understand Sometimes a preacher preaches a hard sermon.

We don’t try to hurt nobody. I want you to understand where I’m coming from. I believe that everything God told his men to preach is because God loved the people. And God wants to warn, God wants people to trust him. But God wants people to know that God doesn’t tolerate sin, and that God will judge. And I believe that America, unless there’s a great spiritual revival in this country, that there is going to be a great judgment upon this country.

But all I want to do is try to help people. I don’t want to hurt nobody. But I know sometimes the things you just say do, it does hurt. But personally myself, I don’t want to. But I love telling what God’s Word says. And I hope you enjoy listening to it. Look up here. This hand represents you and me. The wallet represents sin. We all have sin on us. God loves us, but He hates our sin. And since we’ve all sinned, we’re all condemned, and the wages of sin is death.

We have to pay for it. We’ve got a death payment. We owe. We’re in debt. But God says to go to heaven, you have to be perfect as righteous as God. You have to be perfect, and nobody’s perfect. We’ve all sinned and come short of God’s perfection. And God says, you cannot earn eternal life. You can’t work your way to heaven by your good deeds. So this hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord. He’s God in the flesh. He came into the world because he loves us.

Now you hate what we do wrong, but he loves us. But he says, our sin separates us from God. So Jesus Christ, who had no sin, didn’t have to die. So he took all of our sins, not some of them, all of them paid for them on the cross, came back from the dead. Now this payment, though it’s been made, is not put to your account, to you believe he did it for you. So if you will believe that he did it for you, then he puts this payment to your account and you get to go to heaven on what he did.

All you had to do is accept it, just believe it. And God says these things have already written under you that believe on the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. You see, this is the most important message in all the world. This story, there’s power in it. Because when a lost man hears and understands it, and trust Christ is Savior, his destiny is changed. He becomes a child of God. He’s going to have money to die.

So much just by that place in his faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. He shed his blood on the cross to pay for all the sins of the whole world. I have entrusted Christ as my Savior, and I hope that you have. Let’s pray, shall we? With every head bowed and every eye closed and no one looking around. If you’ve (); trusted Christ as your Savior, understand this, God says there is no difference for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Everybody is a sinner, we all are. But God loves us, He loves us. And sin is the Son to pay for your sins, and instead if you’ll trust Him, He’ll save you and give eternal life. Would you do that? Would you trust Him? If you’ve never done it, do it right now. With heads bowed nice and closed and no one looking around, if you’ve never trusted Christ, I urge you right now. The quietness of this moment, just between you and the Lord, would you trust Him?

If you’re making that decision, I would like to know it only because I’d like to have prayer for you. And so I’m gonna ask you in just a moment to raise your hand. Raising your hand does not save you. It just lets me know that what I said made sense to you. And you’re saying, preach it, that made sense to me. I know I’m a sinner, and I believe Christ died for me, and I want to trust Him to take me to heaven whenever I die.

And friend God said, if you’ll believe it, you’ll do just that much. He would give you the free gift of eternal life. Never cast you out and never lose you. He’s our new one at all. Just live it up very quickly, but rub it down. New one at all. Our Father, we thank You so much for this time together. Lord, we just are thankful that we have the freedoms that we presently enjoy, but we also can see that we’re on the verge of losing them.

We pray for wisdom, help each person here to do right, to look to you for guidance. And Father, we pray that those that are in Congress now in the White House, that you would help them to make the right decision, that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life. 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 are 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 tool free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. 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 are 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 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, 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.

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 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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Anyway, I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of… Well, what’s a good book? Genesis, let’s go. We’ll go from generation to the book of revolution, all right? The book of Genesis, in chapter 5, Genesis chapter 5, you know, every one of us like to go to church and sit there and the preacher just make us feel all kind of warm and fuzzy inside and real nice and comfortable and cozy and we leave, we just feel so good.

That’s me. I want you to meet a preacher, not just one, a whole bunch of them. When you study the Word of God and you see how some of these preachers preached a very unpopular message, you would think, well, I wonder what the people thought of that. Now you know that God had told Noah that there was going to be a flood, going to be some water and going to be some mud. And lo and behold, it happened. But I want you to look there in Genesis in chapter 5, Genesis in chapter 5, and verse 21, Enoch lived 60 and 5 years and begot Methuselah.

Anoch walked with God after he begot Muthuzla, 300 years and begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Anoch were 360 and five years. Now you and I know that he must have been a preacher. Well, he walked with God, if he walked with God, he must have been obedient to God, so he must have preached, right? Well, it doesn’t say that right here. But I do want you to hold your place here because we’ll come back to Genesis in chapter six here in just a minute, but take your Bible and turn all the way over there to the book of Jude, the book of Jude, and there’s a scripture here that I want to bring to your attention.

In the book of Jude, in, oh, there’s only one chapter, but I want you to look there in verse 14, and it kind of gives you an idea of the message that a man like Enoch preached. Now if you were on the earth at this time, remember that Noah was also here, and Noah was preaching, Enoch was preaching, and they lived a long time, so they had a long time ministry. And I believe that Enoch was used by the Lord to preach righteousness, and wicked.

So look what he says here in verse 14. And Enoch also the seventh from Adam prophesied of these. Say and behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints. So even before the flood Enoch knew about the Lord Jesus Christ coming back in the end time with ten thousands of his saints but you go back to the Old Testament and you don’t find that there. See they knew a lot more than what we give them credit for, because the Word of God says so.

But what kind of a message did he preach? I mean, was he a good preacher? Did he tip toe through the tithers? Well, look what he says here in verse 15 to execute judgment. So he preached before and prophesied, this is what’s going to happen. To execute judgment upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches, which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

Do you think that God knows all those people that spoke against him? God says he does. And God is going to deal with all those people that did all those bad things. You know we have people today. They go to church and there’s one thing they don’t want to hear. Don’t talk about sin because that upsets people. Don’t talk about standards of right and wrong because half of God’s people are disobedient to God and they’ll get their feelings hurt so you can’t see anything that would upset them.

Because after all, we’re supposed to feel good. That’s why we go to church. When you go to church, you’re supposed to go because you wanted to learn what the Word of God said. When you go to church to hear the Word of God, you’re supposed to go because you want to know if there’s anything in my life that’s not right. Search me, oh God, and see if there be any wicked way in me so that can correct it. But most people don’t have that kind of an attitude.

See, many times it’s just they’re just playing games. They just want to do enough good to keep God off their back. So they can do whatever they want to do. But they’re not serious about the thing. They’re not really committed to anything. And so church isn’t a priority in their life. It’s just something that they can do once in a while if they got time for it. Or they can work it into their schedule. I’ll interrupt anything else. But look what he says.

These are murmurs, complainers walking after their own lust and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, Having men’s person and admiration because of advantage. Does it seem like that Enoch was probably a hard-nosed preacher? Do you think he was pretty hard-nosed? He would hit him right between you. I bet you. I’ll bet you. He made people mad. I’ll just bet you he upset people. I’ll bet you. Now remember, He’s living right before the, the flood. He’s preaching and warning people about judgment coming.

And I’ll betcha people mocked him. I’ll just betcha they did. Take your Bible and look here in the book of Genesis in chapter 6. Genesis chapter 6 and look in verse 5. And God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth. but he didn’t want to say they don’t because he didn’t want to hurt their feelings.

You know what God was always looking for? A man that would do what God said do, preached the way God says to preach and give them the message God wanted them to hear. And he had nothing to do whether they like it or they don’t like it. Truth is truth. But some people can’t handle truth. They are so deceived and being deceived, They live in a world of their own making, and they don’t want to think about God. So they isolate God out of their mind, and they live in this little compartment that they’ve got in their own world, and they’ve got bricks around it, and you can’t get in.

And they want to live there. And God sees all the wickets. Do you think if God saw it back in Enoch’s day, do you believe he might see what’s going on in the world today? God sees what people think about Christianity. God knows what people think about God. Do they want Him in our schools? Do they want prayer in our schools? Do they want all these things? No. Well, do you think God in heaven knows that? And yet God tells us that He ought to be in all of our thoughts.

And all thy ways acknowledge Him. Except when you go to school or if you’re in government or government property or it’s… No. Look here in verse five. God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually. This is what God saw. That, but not in verse eight, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. So there’s a lot of people, wicked people, but Noah found grace.

And then he says here that God was going to bring judgment upon the earth. Gonna judge the earth. See there in verse 11, the earth also was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence. Buddy, it sounds like the world today. He’d be surprised all the things that are going on. And the Bible says in the last days, earthquakes all over the world, and Buddy, they’re everywhere. And it’s multiplying. And tragedies that are happening, it’s … You would think we must be living in the last days or something.

You would think that maybe the Lord’s coming back soon. But there’s people who mock that also. . And don’t believe that story. And so sometimes the preacher’s supposed to preach what God says even though people don’t believe it. You see, God didn’t say that people had to believe what we say, but we are supposed to say it anyway. Now, take your Bible and turn to 2 Peter, 2 Peter in the New Testament, and 2 Peter 2. 2 Peter, right after 1 Peter.

2 Peter, 2 Peter 2. There’s some things that God had said about false teachers and false preachers and so forth in the last days. But it talks about how God is able to judge all the wicked people. And God did. He judged the angels that sinned against them. He judged those that sought them in Gomorrah. But look there in verse 5. And he spared not the old world, but he saved Noah, the eighth person, and you ought to underline this in your Bible, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.

Now the ungodly were there, ain’t it, was preaching to them. And he talks about ungodly, ungodly, ungodly, all the way down to there in the Book of Jude. And so Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Do you believe everybody listened to what Noah had to say? Do you believe they believed his message? Well, he had to tell him about why he was built on this big old boat. They were building a big boat so that he would float because he had knowledge that there was going to be some problems coming.

How would you like to pray? Hey, it’s going to rain. They say, what’s that? They believe that the earth had just been, you know, good dude and came up. I don’t know if they ever had any rain clouds or not. I don’t know. But it’s going to be a flood. So he builds a boat, 120 years and preaches, and eight people get in the ark. eight people get in the ark. Now, was Mr. Noah and Mrs. Noah, three sons and their wives, eight people, a few, got into the ark.

And you think, well, after preaching that long, that everybody would have believed him. Because it was God’s message. But see, there’s people who do not like to listen to what God has to say. And so, his message doesn’t get through. It doesn’t sink in. But God tells his men, preach the truth, preached the Word. Because, see, we’re living in some end-time days and I don’t believe people really believe it’s as serious as it looks like. I think everybody’s gonna get better and better and better.

But according to the Bible, it says, it’s gonna get worse and worse and worse. And we’re heading for some dark days in the future. So, he said, this is what I want you to know. Look there in chapter three. in chapter three, where he makes a statement in verse one, this second epistle, beloved, I’m now right unto you in both which I stir up your pure mind by way of remembrance, that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before of the holy prophets and of the commandment of us, the apostles of our, the Lord and Savior, knowing this verse that there shall come in the last days, scoffers walking after their own love.

And what are they scoffing? the message that the preachers were preaching. So there’s people they’re gonna laugh and mock at the message that we pray. There’s people that don’t believe the rapture is going to take place. You’d be surprised all the things that I get about people who believe that they said, they believe the rapture is gonna take place. Well, I’m one of them. I believe the rapture is gonna take place. I believe Christ could come back very soon.

But you believe that the Lord is coming back. And I believe the Lord’s coming back. When you look at all the things that are happening in this world, it ought to be enough to scare the average person, but you that know the Lord, and your hope is in the Lord. You know you’re looking for the upper taker. You know that Christ is coming back, and it could come back at any moment, and that is exciting. But anyway, there’s those that hear the message and mock the message, mock God’s people.

So if you will preach the gospel and you tell people what you think that’s going to take place in this world and prophecy. Did you know that there’s people that may not believe you? I know that’s hard for you to believe. People may not agree with you and they’ll disagree with you and that’s going to happen. Take your Bible and turn to the book of Exodus in chapter 8, the book of Exodus all the way back there in the Old Testament, Exodus and chapter 8.

Now Moses was a great man, and God used him in a great way. But God had told him and gave him a message. Now, his wasn’t a great big message. He didn’t have to memorize a lot of stuff. He didn’t have to worry about memorizing the Bible. He didn’t have to learn the Torah at that time. God gave him a simple message. I want you to go down into Egypt and tell Pharaoh, let my people go. Simple message. Sure, Lord, sounds like a piece of cake.

All I got just going on, tell them to let my people go. And everything’s going to work out cool. Because he’s going to obey the Lord. And of course the person’s going to hear the message is going to obey, right? Well, not exactly. He says in verse one, and the Lord spake unto Moses, go unto Pharaoh, say unto him, thus saith the Lord, let my people go, that they may serve me. Told them what to do and why? why?

I want you to tell them, let my people go that they may serve me.” And of course, he says in the next verse, if they refuse, if they refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs. I would like to preach a message like that. And you don’t know if God’s going to come through with it or not. I’m supposed to tell you that if you don’t let his people go, he’s going to send frogs after you.

Hey, I’m scared. and he told him over and over and over again. Look at him in verse 9, and Moses said in the favor of glory over me when I shall entreat for thee and for thy servants and for thy people to destroy the frogs from thee and thy have, but they came. The frogs showed up. I am going to be a preacher of the Lord. I’m going to not tell a little favor, oh, you let God’s people go, or I’m going to send frogs on you, would you be afraid to believe what God said?

Would you like to go over there and look at Sodom, who’s saying he’s not dead, and say, let the people have freedom off with your head. Or go see somebody else and say, let the people have freedom. Would you be scared? That’s like Moses going down there because remember they wanted to kill him when he left. He says the one that sought your life is dead now. It’s God even knew that. God knows everything. Look in verse 20, in the Lord said unto Moses, rise up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh.

Low he cometh forth to the water and say unto him, thus saith the Lord, let my people go that they may serve me. In the Lord God didn’t change the message. He didn’t change the message. One time this guy was preaching as a candidate for this church, and they thought he was pretty good because he talked to us on, you must be born again. So the hired a guy and till the next Sunday he preached the sermon on, you must be born again.

Sunday night he preached the sermon on, you must be born again. Wednesday night he preached on, you must be born again. the deacons came to see him and says, preacher, we enjoyed that message on you must be born again. But do you have another one? He says, the reason I preach on you must be born again is because the Bible says you must be born again. So that Sunday morning he preached a message on you must be born again.

And if they will trust the Lord and be born again, I guess he could go on to another sermon. Whenever Pharaoh let the people go, he could change the message, but he never changed the message. It always stayed the same, even though he would not obey. And it took a while, but lo and behold, he finally came through and he says, I’m going to let the people go that they may serve you. And so he finally gave in and it all worked.

I look in chapter 9 and verse 1, then the Lord said unto Moses, go in unto Pharaoh and tell him, thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, let my people go that they may serve me. See, God never changed his message, stayed the same. How would you like to have only one point in your sermon? Let my people go. Let my people go. How would you like it if every Sunday morning I came here and I only have one sermon And it’s always just one verse, and I’ll correct it and change that whenever I get the results from the other sermon.

You see, people today, they want to be tickled. Tickle my ear. Tell me what I want to hear. Make me feel good. Sin doesn’t make people feel good. I can preach on certain things and make people squirm because they don’t like that. And if you make them mad, they don’t come back. That shows, did they come because they love the word and really want to do whatever the word of God said? See, when you’re right with God, it won’t matter what the preacher says.

If you’re right with the Lord and you’re doing right, it won’t matter what I teach. You’re going to love the Lord and love His word and you can be found faithful. But you can’t agree with everything that everybody says. But if you’re convinced that this is what God said, you ought to obey what God says. And your heart should be warm toward the things of the Lord, not warm and fuzzy, but I’m talking about you. When you’re sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is teaching you through the Word of God, always quickly obey.

Delayed obedience is disobedience. Take your Bible and turn to the book of 2 Samuel, 2 Samuel, and look there in chapter 12, 2 Samuel and chapter 12. Have you ever heard of a guy named David, King of Israel? You know, one day he did something he shouldn’t have done. He had responsibilities, but he didn’t do it. He stayed home. And that day he just happened to look over this little banister and lo and behold he saw a woman and thought things that he shouldn’t have thought.

And because of that, he committed adultery with her and then she gets pregnant and now Now he’s got to hide that sin. So what he does is he has her husband come home from the battle and hoping that he’ll spend the night with her and then they’ll think it’s his baby. See there? See there? Now Christian can’t think things like that. This one did. David. You know, the one that has, he’s the apple of God’s eye. I mean, this is God, the lover of the Lord.

I mean, this sweet pomice of Israel. He would do anything wrong like that. And if you’re really saved, you’re not going to want to go out here and do those bad things. Yes, you do. That’s another sermon, we’ll get into that some other time. But look in verse one, God had a man and God sent a man. He sent a man to see David and the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him and said unto him, there were two men in one city, one rich the other poor.

Rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing. say, one little Ulam, which he had brought up and nursed of. And it grew up together with him and with his children. It did eat of his own meat and drink of his own cup and lay in his bosom and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveler unto the rich man. And he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd to dress for the wayfaring man that was coming to him, but took the poor man’s He was a lamb, dressed it for the man that was come to him.

And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. And he said to Nathan, as the Lord liveth, the man that have done this thing shall surely die. And Nathan looks at King David and says, Thou art the man. Thou art the man. Don’t you know that would be like a dagger in his heart? How would you like to be the preacher that had to deliver the message to the king? Who has the power to take on your life? And it takes a great, better courage to do what God says, do.

When you know that he could get mad. But look what he says in verse 7. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man, thus sayeth the Lord God of Israel, I unknown the king over Israel, and I delivered the out of the hand of Saul. God said, I did all of this. I gave thee thy master’s house and thy master’s wives and to thy bosom and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah. And if that had been too little, I would much more have given into the such and such things.

Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord? To do evil in his sight, thou hath killed Uriah the hit tight with the sword. Thou hast taken his wife to be thy wife. Hest slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. So, see, God blamed him for that man’s death. Even though he told Joab, take and put him in the heat of the battle so he’ll die. Yeah, he died by them, but he said it was your fault.

You did that. So here’s David, the man after God’s own heart committed murder and committed adultery. How would you like to be the preacher to have to go preach the sermon to him? Do you think he’s really waiting to be told this? Confront this? I don’t think so. But you see, a lot of times God’s people, they do things that they shouldn’t do. And they come to church and they don’t want the preacher to say anything because it could offend them.

So instead of confessing things between them and the Lord and getting things right, they try to cover it or hide it. But it says here in verse 10, Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house, because thou hast despised me. You see, the reason he committed adultery, he said, because you despised me. The reason you committed murder is because you despised me. The reason people do what they do and don’t correct me because they despise God. They despise his word.

They want to mock God. And God says, you won’t mock me and get away with it. That’s why there’s a warning of judgment. And it will take place. Take your Bible and turn to the book of Jeremiah chapter 10. 28. Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet. Boy, he had a sermon that I wouldn’t want to preach. He had a ministry that I wouldn’t want. Not everybody loved Jeremiah. But in Jeremiah, chapter 26, I just want to know there was a guy named Anania that…

He says, look, there’s nothing wrong. Everything is okay and you don’t need to listen to Jeremiah. Everything’s gonna be cool. He says to never connect, they’re not gonna come and that’s all taught. Jeremiah’s a false prophet. You don’t not listen to him and he confronted him and Lord to boom on looking verse 15. Then said the prophet Jeremiah under Hananiah, the prophet Here now, Hananiah, the Lord hath not sent thee, but thou makeest this people to trust in a lie.

You see, sometimes God’s people have to confront, to deal with things. Say what’s right, say what’s wrong, and it hurts feeling. See, it’s not that the preacher Jeremiah was wrong, or Enoch was wrong, or Noah was wrong, or Moses was wrong. It’s that people don’t want to listen to what God says. That’s what’s wrong. That’s what’s wrong. And so he says here, Thou have made the people to trust in a life. Therefore thus saith the Lord, behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the year.

This year, Thou shalt die because Thou have taught rebellion against the Lord. So Hennenai, the prophet, died the same year in the seventh month. Did God deal with me? Oh, God dealt with him. Jeremiah was telling the truth. You see, Jeremiah didn’t pull any punches, he just told the truth. And he wound up in a pit. They wanted to kill him. I mean, just so many things that happened to the poor guy. And all he was trying to do is what God said.

And you know what? He got so discouraged at one time, he says, I’m not going to say anymore. Let them do whatever they wanted to. I’m not going to say another word. And he says, but his word was in my bones as a fire that I could not stay. In other words, I couldn’t stop from preaching. I had to do it. So he did it. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tappa, Florida with Dr.

Ralph Arnold. We pray that you were blessed by today’s message. Part 2 of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Watch Bibleline and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll free, 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. 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 are 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 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline 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.

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 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.

Oh, what’s wrong with asking Jesus to come into my heart? But once this is not talking about salvation. You see, this is talking about those who have already trusted Christ as Savior, and dwelling in your heart is dwelling in your mind so that God can control your life. Remember, says it, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So this is what you think with that little brain up there. And so the inner part of the man himself, whatever you want to say, this is me.

God wants to indwell you and control you. Now he may live in you because you trusted Christ the Savior, but he has no control of you. In the words, Mom and Dad may have a little boy, but that don’t mean you can control that boy. Now he’s in the family, but you may not have control. I know a lot of parents who’ve had a lot of teen natures and have absolutely no control over them. In other words, most teen natures are raising their parents.

They tell them what what they’re going to do. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be. But he makes a statement that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith that ye, you’re already saved. So this is not talking about how to be saved. Being rooted in ground and in love may be able to comprehend or to understand all the things and so forth that God wants you to know and to do. So yes, there’s verses in the Bible talks about Christ dwelling in your hearts by faith.

But we’re talking here about how he’s living within you. He’s dwelling with you. You in him, he and you, and without him you can do nothing but he’s talking to those who are saved and not to those who are lost on how to be saved. There’s no verse in the Bible that says, ask Jesus to come into your heart in order to be saved. Now it’s a wonderful little statement but it just doesn’t have any foundation to it. it is not clear.

And it’s very difficult to explain to little children because we had in Colorado in our youth meeting, the little kid was sitting down in the front row and just crying his eyes out. And the reason because somebody made the statement, you know, these wonderful little children workers and told the little kids that they had to ask Jesus to come in the heart, but he can’t come in unless you undo the latch. And the latch is on the inside, so you have to undo the latch so you can let Jesus in.

And don’t that sound just wonderful. And the little kid was crying. Finally talked to him, he didn’t know how to undo the lock. The door was locked on the inside, and he didn’t know how to undo the lock. Well, that’s not what I really meant. Then don’t say it. Say what you really mean. Don’t give a kid something they have to try to figure out. What do you mean by that? Whenever you tell somebody you’re going to miss heaven by 18 inches, really?

That’s not the truth. a lie. This thing down here, it pumps blood. Now, a lot of times people when they get scared, the heart beats, or they feel love and the blood flows. Yes. Oh, panellopey. Oh, panellopey. Yes, your heart beats. And that’s because of your mind controlling how you’re thinking and that affects everything else. Like I told you one day, I’ll never buy that. I have to be careful around y’all. This boy kisses his girl. She got chills up and down in her back.

His pub circle was dripping. Oh well. Deuteronomy chapter 6, turn all the way over to Deuteronomy chapter 6. And look there in verse 5. Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 5. It makes a statement. Verse 4, our God, ill him, is one. I don’t know it. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all of mine heart and with all my soul, with all my might. And they said, Yay, we will do that. Well, they didn’t do that. How do you know you really love the Lord thy God with all my heart, mind, body, soul and strength?

How do you know when you obey the law perfectly? Okay, how you doing? Nobody ever did for 15 years, 1500 years. First mistake of my life. of a remade. But does God want us to love them with all our hearts? Well all of your being, it’s not very romantic to say, I love you with all my mind. Just sound more romantic, I love you with all my heart. Yes. Now the girls or toenails or curl up and all kind of stuff, you know, it’s just got to be right.

Something just don’t sound romantic, you know. But anyway, take your Bible and turn to the book of Psalms 119, 119 Psalm, Psalms 119. Now, yeah, there’s a lot of interesting verses in the 119 Psalm. It was more than two or three, but quite a few. But in the one we just looked at in Deuteronomy that they’re supposed to love the Lord thy God with all of thy heart and so on, well, they didn’t and they can’t and they won’t and you have to admit total bankruptcy.

I can’t do what the law requires and so I trust Christ is my savior. That’s the only way because you cannot perform and live the way God wants you to live without a new birth. It’s totally impossible. That’s why you need a new birth. But here in 119 Psalm, look there in verse 11, thy word have I hid in mine heart. I hid it in my heart. When you start memorizing scripture, it’s probably going into your computer up here, into your mind.

I put God’s word in my mind. Now, if you think it’s down here, one of the problems I used to have with the kids and they would always ask the question, What if Jesus is in my heart? Jesus is in my heart. And then what if you have a heart transplant? And you have a heart transplant and somebody who didn’t have Jesus in their heart. And they gave you the heart of an unbeliever. And they just took your heart out to go, Jesus In comes zero, and what if you died right after Jesus is gone?

Now what happens to you? You got a problem? So I’m glad that I don’t haveFINEST to get into all that stuff, you know. It just complicates things. You just know that I believe it. heart sometimes it’s just for it’s me. I believe it. Now I don’t care where the body. God put that little brain of mine. He could have put it in my toe. I don’t care where it’s at. But I believe I’ve been over the other day. I was going to see if I could know the time I shoe.

You know, Betty can spend all the way over and stand up and tie her shoe. Now if God’s one of the man to do it, he’d have put my feet on my knee. It is a a long way down there. And I get a creek in my… There were a few that are older in here. You kind of get the idea. But I don’t know where everything is. Christ is living in me. The Holy Spirit is living in me.

Now where He wants to roam, I don’t care. If He wants to spend one day in this room, or this room, or that room, or that room, or in here or up there, I don’t care. He’s in me. And how much room he’s got to run around and I don’t care? Christ. And I know it, and I don’t try to get it so complicated that it becomes a bog to my mind. But I know this. He says, I want to hide God’s word in my heart.

That I’m not sin against the. And the Holy Spirit bring in things to your remembrance because it’s been put into your mind. So we study the word of God so we can put the word of God up here. The Holy Spirit uses the word. that stored up in the brain, in the mind. And they said that most of us never use 90% of our brain. Well, that’s the part I got from my new birth then. I don’t really know and don’t care.

But it’s not wise to try to get a lost person to ask Jesus to come into the heart. Because now you got to find out, okay, now how do you know when he did? And what verses would you use to verify it? So you’ve got automatic problems. A look in Psalms 44, Psalms 44, this turn to you left a few pages there. Psalms 44 and look in verse 21, you ought to underline this verse. He says, shall not God search this out?

For he knoweth the secrets of the heart. God knows how you think, knows how you feel. Knows what you know, knows what you don’t know. knows what you’re hiding, knows what you’ve done, haven’t done. God knows everything. John chapter 2, when he was talking about Christ and the temple and so forth, he knew what was in man. Wouldn’t you like to be able to read people’s thoughts? I wouldn’t mind reading people’s thoughts. I just don’t want them to read in mine.

But God can. As you said here right now. Do you really understand? Can you grab the God knows what you’re thinking? God knows what you’re thinking. Isn’t that scary? He knows. And does he know if you’re trusting him or not? Does he know if you’re really worried or not? I’m just trusting the Lord. God says you are not. You can’t fool him. You can’t lie to him, but God knows the heart of man. That was everything about us. Look in Psalms 34, just turned back 10 saw chapters there.

Psalms 34 and look in verse 18. Psalms 34 and look in verse 18. There’s two verses here I want you to look at. But verse 18 says, the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart. A broken heart. Now in the book of Psalms 51, in verse 17, it talks about David praying to the Lord. into the Lord, because a broken heart, a contrite heart, God will not despise. It’s talking about a person who has humbled himself before God.

It’s the humility that you have between you and God. God hates pride. And a person who exalts himself, God will humble you. But if you humble yourself, God will exalt you. So keep that in mind. And look in verse 19. He are the afflictions of the righteous. But the Lord deliverth Him out of most of them.” You know that’s enough to scare the deficit, said that. But it isn’t a great consolation of that He deliverth them out of them all.

Because see, God knows your thoughts, God knows how you’re thinking. God knows what you’re going through. God knows what you face. God knows what I’m facing. He says that we can look to Him and He will deliver us out of them all. So that’s why you don’t have to worry about what’s coming down the road because God’s going to deliver you out of all of them anyway. And the man who trusts the Lord doesn’t see all the evil. That’s what it says in Jeremiah 17.

But if you’re not really trusting the Lord, all you see is the problems that are scared to death and the fear produces torment. And a lot of people are tortured. But they do it to themselves. I’m looking at Bible, I’m looking at Proverbs 17 since we’re so close here to Psalms. Proverbs chapter 17. And look there in verse 21, first of all, He that begateth a fool, doeth it to his sorrow, and the father of a fool hath no joy.

That’s why we as parents don’t like for our children to be fools, it doesn’t bring you any joy. But look what in verse 20. Two, a Mary heart doeth good like medicine, a Mary heart doeth good like medicine, but a broken spirit drive the bones. Did you know that I’ve had people say that when they come to Calvary? And we’re all standing and we’re all singing and then he says greet one another and and and fifty to a hundred people are moving all over the place.

Now there are always you know some people they just stand there and wait and wait. until you come to them and shake your hand. But then there’s others who get out of their seat and go meet somebody and them, sometimes they’re scared to that, but they do it. But by being friendly and with a smile and walking up to somebody saying, how do you do? Glad to see you shaking their hand. You know, at least it makes a person feel welcome, warm, just be glad to see them.

Or you walk up somebody, hi, you’re here again. What did you come for? A Mary Heart is not only good medicine for you, it’s good medicine for somebody else. That’s why somebody, you know, let’s say for example, a peer of model, he just finished singing a beautiful song. I mean, he poured his heart out, gave it all he had. And 10 people came up and said, boy, Peter, that really blessed my heart. That was such a wonderful song. But God really touched me through that message and he can go back to the back.

And one person walk up and say, that’s stunk. Did you know that one remark will have more weight than those 10 good ones? And he’s liable to get in his car, cry all the way home and run his car into a ditch because that one nasty con man, there is power and having a merry attitude, a Merry Spirit. It’s good medicine, but you go the opposite direction and it’s dry to the bone. It eats up your body. It’s like cancer, it’s the up inside, the bitterness.

It doesn’t do you very well, but it’ll help you to stay healthier longer. Let me give you this. The reason that I do not like to use that phrase of asking Jesus to come into heart because that response asks Jesus to come into your heart. It’s not in the Bible. That’s one reason that I don’t use it. That’s one of the reasons that I don’t use it. It’s not in the book. It doesn’t say do that. Now there are verses in the Bible that says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.

So I don’t mind telling people just to believe that what Christ did on the cross books for them and that they trust Christ is Savior. They can have eternal life because the Bible says that. Bible says that. The Bible says that. You say, well, doesn’t the Bible say, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man will open, I will come in and sup with him. Well, yes, in the book of Revelation chapter 3 and verse 20, but that’s not talking to the lost men.

That’s talking to the believer. So you see, you’ve got to separate, you know, what’s about salvation and what’s about service. That’s something that believers ought to do. We ought to, as a child of God, dwell with the Lord. Means to abide in Him. It says that in the book of John chapter 15. We’re to abide in the Lord. And so when it comes to the phrase itself, it’s not good to use. It’s not in the Bible. The second reason is not how someone is saved.

Asking Christ into your heart is a result that you should not ask for, you’ve got to do what will bring the result. In other words, Jesus came into my heart. They don’t come. My lungs. My liver, my toe. You could ask Jesus to come in any part of your body you want to, but he doesn’t do that? Well, how am I going to get him to dwell in my heart? Him indwelling you is the result of you trusting Him.

You have to know who He is and what He did and trust Him as your Savior. And then by doing that, Christ will indwell you. You never have to ask the Lord to indwell you because that’s automatic. That takes place because you trusted Him. But if you don’t trust in him, you’re asking for the result and it won’t work that way. So.

Asking people to ask Jesus to come into your heart. It requires no understanding of the gospel. You don’t have to understand the gospel at all. Just ask Jesus to come into your heart. But see, that’s not clear. Then you don’t know if he did. And then how do you know he doesn’t leave? Well, he was there yesterday. Well, how do you know he’s there today? So when you don’t understand anything, oh, you know, I’m saying, because I asked Jesus to come in my heart when I was a little kid.

And a lot of people put incompetence in that. That’s not a good foundation to trust in. Because that doesn’t mean that you understood you are a sinner and you have to pay for your sins and you’re lost and you’re going to hell. And Christ died on the cross and paid for your sins. And only by you trusting Him and Him along for what He did. But if you don’t know what He did and you don’t know how bad you are And you think just asking Jesus in the heart is going to get you to heaven?

It won’t work that way. Christ has become of no effect under whom so ever that is seeking to be saved or justified by anything that they say or do. You’re saved only because you’re trusting Christ as your Savior. So it does confuse the means of salvation with the result of salvation. It results in no assurance of salvation and it becomes a false assurance if anybody thinks they’re going to heaven. Because when you stop and think about it, there’s no verse that says, God will save you if you do such a thing.

Now, it doesn’t matter how many children workers there are that love the little kids. If the message is still unclear or false, it’s still unclear and it’s false. That’s why you’re supposed to fight for the defense of the gospel. This is why Paul says, This is why Paul says in the book of Philippians and Chatema, I am set for the defense of the God, defend the message. God did not say, go into all the world and ask kids, or teenagers, or adults to ask Jesus to come in their heart.

You have to understand the gospel message. And that is a poor substitute for understanding. And some little children, that’s all they know because that’s all they were told. And I’ve heard a lot of little kids give testimony as I ask Jesus into my heart. And they even might be very sincere. But wouldn’t it be a shame for a lot of kids to be lost and go into hell because they trusted in something because some adult told them this is what you had to do.

And they got it all mixed up, trying to get the results of salvation instead of the means of salvation, how a person is saved. Asking Jesus into your heart does not clarify the conditions of salvation so it doesn’t make it simple, it doesn’t help it to be clear, it doesn’t do anything for the gospel. Therefore, I do not do it at all. I told you when I started, I did it at one time. As far as I know, that was the only time that I ever did do it.

And as far as I know, that was the last time I ever did it because I saw that myself. I stood there looking at those two little kids and knew they were lying to me. I feel it right here. I’ve been saved for four years and I haven’t felt it right here yet. So maybe I wasn’t saved, but you’re not saved because you feel it. You’re saved because God said it and you accept it. That settles it. So it’s the easy thing for a person to know and to do is just use what God says the way God said it.

Look up here. Letting this hand represent you and me and the wallet represents all the bad things that we do. And everybody’s done bad things. God calls us, this is our sins. This is you and me. Now God says that we’ve all done things wrong because we have an old sinful nature. So everybody does things wrong. So we’re all in the same boat. Nobody’s in it better than anybody else. God is not a respecter person’s and he said, all have sinned.

All have come short of His righteousness, everybody. So we’re all in the same book. God says that the pay for that is eternal separation from God and hell. So since everybody sins, everybody’s condemned. Now to go to heaven, you have to be perfect as righteous as God and none of us are perfect, none of us are righteous. But you can’t have sin in heaven. So we’ve got to do something about this and this is why most people believe that if you go to church and do good things, those good things will take care of these bad things.

So these good things in reality in their mind is paying for the bad thing they’ve done. But God doesn’t say to pay for these bad things you did is do a lot of good things and those good things will take away the bad things. And when you die, it depends on do you have any left or did you have more good than you had bad? That’s not the Bible, and it will not get you to heaven. God says you cannot earn eternal life, you cannot work your way to heaven.

This hand represents Jesus Christ, he’s the Lord God in the flesh. He came into the world because he loves us. Now he hates our sin because it separates us from him. So Jesus Christ, who had no sin, did not have to die. He took hours, paid for it on the cross, and came back from the dead. So he died for the sins of everybody and all that we have to do is believe that he did it for us So when you believe that he did this for you He puts that payment to your account and you get to go to heaven on what he did why because all my sins are paid There’s no sin for me to pay for he already paid for him.

You don’t have to pay for it twice So when he died on that cross he paid for my sins. I I believed it and that settles it. I’m going to heaven on this foundation, this truth, Christ died for me. If He died for me, then that means I don’t have to die and pay for my sins because He did it for me. Don’t that make sense? So now I’m going to heaven. I have eternal life. I’m going to heaven when I die and I’ve known that for over 50 years.

thing in the world. Let’s pray, show me. Every headbound, every eye closing, no one looking around. If you’re here tonight and you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior or if you’re listening by internet, remember right where you are. God knows who you are. God knows what you’ve done. God sees all. He knows your thoughts. He knows how you think, how you feel. He knows if you believe it or you don’t. He said if you He would believe it, that He did it for you.

He would put that payment He made to your account and you get to go to heaven on what Christ did for you. Don’t put trust in man. Curse it as the man who trusts in man. That means in you too. Because God says you can’t save yourself. You don’t have the power to save yourself. You’d have to live a perfect righteous life from the day you were born. You’ve already blew that. So why not right now in the kindness of this moment, talk to the Lord and say, Lord, I’m a sinner.

I believe you died for me. And I’m going to trust you as my Savior. And friend, if you’ll make that decision, I’d like to have prayer for you. So we’ll head by nice clothes. Anyone at all say, yes, that made sense to me. And tonight, right now, I will trust Christ as my Savior. And I’m not going to have you forward, not going to embarrass you. I’m not going to do anything to you. But you say, you preach that made sense to me.

And I want to know I’m going to heaven. And I’d like you to pray for me. We’ll just I’m gonna slip you in it very quickly and put it right back down. Is there anyone at all? Anyone at all? Just slip it up, put it right back down. You that are watching by internet, if you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior by listening to the radio broadcast or the internet, would you please let us know, would love to hear from you?

Just email us or whatever way you can, but we’d love to know it’d be such a blessing to us. Father, we thank you so much for this time together. Bless each one for being here. And for the study of you, word, in Christ and 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 are blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Bible Line and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing tool free, 800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bible line programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link. 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. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10-30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, 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.

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 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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

in your Bible to the book of Jeremiah, the book of Jeremiah. I want to talk to you a little bit about understanding the heart issue, understanding the heart issue. Everybody has a heart, at least I sure hope you do, but a lot of people have a little trouble with it. I’m not saying I understand all about it, but the heart in the scriptures is used in several ways. One refers to your old sinful nature and sometimes it refers to you, you know, the way you are.

And there’s time when it seems like, you know, the heart of man is a good thing. And then in other places, it’s like a bad thing. Well, you got to read the context and you put it in the context. It’s fine. No problem. One thing that caused a lot of problems years ago is we heard preacher that made the statement. Some people are going to miss heaven by 18 inches because they believe it in the head, but they don’t believe it in the heart.

So 18 inches you’re going to miss heaven by 18 inches because you didn’t believe it in the heart. You got to believe it in your heart. Well, I had trouble with that a little bit years later, but the first time was because Betty heard a preacher that said that and he sounded like he was serious about that that he literally meant that. So my wife says you know I believe it but I don’t know if my heart believes or not I don’t know if my heart believes it.

Well you got to believe it with your heart. Well how do you know if it’s your heart that’s believing it not you? So she couldn’t separate it too. So can it cause trouble? It can be very misleading and so anyway we got that taken care of. I was down here in Belgrade, Florida one year and I mentioned this to you before. Dr. Hank Lindstrom, back then it was just Hank Lindstrom. Nobody called him Doc or Pat. He was at Hank and my name was just Hank so we were Hank and Hank and we were in Belgrade, Florida and he asked me if I’d go up there with him to speak at this migrant camp.

So I, sure, I went. And a few of the other students from the college went up there. So we’re out passing out some flyers and inviting kids to come and so we’re to the meeting that night. So I saw these two little girls walking down the dirt road. And so I walked up to them, you know, I’m in college, I know everything. I mean, I know the Bible. I’m bold as a lion, and I walk up to two little victims.

I’m going to get them. They didn’t know I was going to get them. And I walked up to them and I said, are y’all going to heaven? I said, you want to go to heaven? Didn’t you say nothing? I said, well, you got to ask Jesus to come into your heart. You say you didn’t say that. Yes, I did. I said, you got to ask Jesus to come into your heart. And they looked at each other. I said, don’t you want to go to heaven?

I said, would you ask Jesus to come in your heart? I never had nobody said yes. I said, well, go ahead. Well, they didn’t know what to do. That ain’t nothing. They didn’t lie. I said, go ahead. So they bowed their head and glededed, and let’s head down on what they said. And then they looked up at me. I said, did you do it? I said, did he come in? He said, uh-huh. I said, how do you know? And one of the girls she grabbed her heart, I feel it right here.

I thought to myself, Yankee, you’re not very clear. I didn’t like this. I didn’t feel comfortable at all. I hadn’t even gave the gospel. I had said it. I just asked, will you, last Jesus to come in? Because see, I was mimicking, quoting what I’d heard so many people say. No, I had led people to the Lord using the Roman road and praying through on the sinner’s prayer, but that’s the first time I’ve ever done that. I heard it from somebody where I have no clue.

Anyway, I didn’t. like the results of it. So can it cause trouble? Yes, it can cause trouble. With the person who hears and with the person who tells. So there’s a lot of people who asked kids and teenagers, well, you asked Jesus to come into your heart and then you got to conclude, okay, how do you get him in? And then if you did, how do you know he’s there? I feel it right here. No, you can’t feel him because he’s a spirit.

Uh-oh, got a problem. So you try to figure out is there a better way to do things? There’s always a good way. It’s called the right way. The right way will work. The right message will work. All you have to do is believe it. But I want you to see here in book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter 17. Jeremiah 17 looked there in verse 5. Thus saith the Lord, cursed be the man that trusted in man and make it flesh his arm or his strength, his power, what he’s leaning on trusting in and whose heart departed from the Lord.

Cursed be the man that put his confidence in man. In other In other words, you shouldn’t trust yourself to save yourself. Now, it can apply in many other areas, but at least you should not trust in yourself to save yourself because God said cursed be the man who put his confidence in man. People who go to church in order to go to heaven is under a curse because he’s trusting in his good works to get him to heaven. So he’s not under the blessing, he’s under a curse.

That’s why God says it’s not of works. Why? Because works of man is a curse. It’s not a blessing because all works are under the law. It’s what you can do, what you can perform. That’s a curse. Curse it as every man or every one that does not continually fulfill all the works of the law. Now look what else he says. And verse six, for he, that man, that man that trusts in some, he shall be like the heat in the desert, the heat in the desert, I should say heat the heat in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh.

Now the person who trusts in himself, trusts in the flesh, can’t see when good comes. But now something that’s totally opposite of this is the man who learns to trust right. Look there in verse eight. It follows that verse seven where it talks about blessed is the man that trusts it in the Lord. So you see there’s two ways of trust. You can trust yourself or you can trust the Lord. If you trust the Lord, you’re blessed. Means you get eternal life, you get to go to heaven, you die.

You tie that in with the book of Galatians in chapter three. But look what it says in verse eight. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters.” This is similar to the book of Psalms in chapter one. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters and that grinned out her roots by the river and shall get to not see when he’d comeeth. That means just the opposite of the person who trust in man.

He can’t see when good comes and the man who trusts in the Lord can’t see when the evil comes Because you see, you’re trusting in the Lord and that trust in the Lord helps you to see better. And you think on positive things, the other things on negative things. It affects how you see life. And some people, all they focus upon is they’re a pessimist. They can’t do anything. They’re always negative and always down. And a person who learns to trust the Lord is positive, wants to go out on on the limb, try, listen, you take for example, I am willing to run risk.

I am what they call a risk taker. If you say it, Yankee, you can’t jump over that cliff. I might try it 20 years ago. But you don’t double dog dare me on something because I’m going to try it then. You don’t tell me what I can’t do because then I’m going to try to show you that I can do it. I don’t mind going out on the limb and was the camp or a radio broadcast or ranch or any of the ministry.

I just do it because, see, when you get to where you trust the Lord, you just want to give God another chance to do something big. And God can’t do something if somebody doesn’t try something. He can’t get me out of something if I never get in anything. Therefore I don’t mind God boxing me in and lead me into dead ends and detours and dry holes because I know that God’s going to get me out somehow. Because He promises so many things.

Look at verse 9, the heart, the heart is deceitful above all things, desperately wicked and who can know it? In other words, who can understand? Why man does what he does, thinks the way that he does. There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the ender of are the ways of death. No, but it seems right because you use all your wisdom, all your logic, all your reason in power, but it’s just it’s just still wrong.

And that’s why you go, got to go according to the Bible and what God says. Now look there in verse 10. Verse 10 says, I the Lord search the heart. I try the range. In other words, God’s the one that sees and reveals to us what’s guiding us, what controls us, what’s leading you. You know, when you put the bits in a horse’s mouth and you can steer that horse, well God says he tries to range. He wants to see how sensitive are you to his control.

And this is sometimes things that people don’t understand that God is always testing you. And are you hard for him to maneuver around? Are you always arguing with God? Are you very easy and sensitive with God? And God can just whisper in your ear. With a soft word or does God have to get your attention every time with a two before because you won’t listen? Now you’re the one that decides whether or not will I will I not be sensitive or teachable pliable in the hands of God Now I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Ephesians in chapter 3 The book of Ephesians chapter 3 Now you’ll notice in the book of Ephesians chapter 3 there is a verse here that talks about Christ dwelling in your hearts and so forth, but look in verse 16, verse 16, that he would grant you according to the

riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. So you got to admit the Bible says that Christ dwells in your heart. Well, what’s wrong with asking Jesus to come into my heart? But what? This is not talking about salvation. You see, this is talking about those who have already trusted Christ as Savior and dwelling in your heart is dwelling in your mind so that God can control your life.

Remember, he says it, and be not conformed to this world, but be you transform by the renewing of your mind. So this is what you think with, that little brain up there. And so the inner part of the man himself, whatever you want to say, this is me. God wants to indwell you and control you. Now he may live in you because you trusted Christ a Savior, but He has no control of you. In the words, mom and dad may have a little boy, but that don’t mean you can control that boy.

Now, he’s in the family, but you may not have control. I know a lot of parents who’ve had a lot of teenagers and have absolutely no control over them. In other words, most teenagers are raising their parents. They tell them what they’re going to do. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be. But he makes a statement that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith that ye, you’re already saved. So this is not talking about how to be saved.

Being rooted in ground and in love may be able to comprehend or to understand all the things and so forth that God wants you to know and to do. So yes, there’s verses in the Bible talks about Christ dwelling in your hearts by faith. But we’re talking hear about how he’s living within you. He’s dwelling with you, you in him, he and you, and without him you can do nothing but he’s talking to those who are saved and not to those who are lost on how to be saved.

There’s no verse in the Bible that says, ask Jesus to come into your heart in order to be saved. Now it’s a wonderful little statement, but it just doesn’t have any foundation to it. It is not clear. And it’s very difficult to explain to little children because we had in Colorado in our youth meeting, the little kids were sitting down in the front row and just crying his eyes out. And the reason because somebody made the statement, you know, these wonderful little children workers and told the little kids that they had to ask Jesus to come in the heart, but he can’t come in unless you undo the latch.

And the latch is on the inside, so you have to undo the latch so you can Let Jesus in. Now don’t that sound just wonderful. And the little kid was crying. Finally talked to him. He didn’t know how to undo the lock. The door was locked on the inside and he didn’t know how to undo the lock. Well, that’s not what I really meant. Then don’t say it. Say what you really mean. Don’t give a kid something they have to try to figure out.

What do you mean by that? Whenever you tell somebody you’re going to miss heaven by 18 inches. Really? That’s not the truth. That’s the way. lie. This thing down here, it pumps blood. Now, a lot of times people when they get scared, the heart beats, or they feel love and the blood flows. Yes. Oh, panellopey. Oh, panellopey. Yes, your heart beats. And that’s because of your mind controlling how you’re thinking and that affects everything else. Like I told you one day, I’ll never mind up.

I have to be careful around y’all. This boy kisses his girl. She got chills up from down in her back and his pop circle was dripping. Oh well. Deuteronomy chapter six, turn all the way over to Deuteronomy chapter six. Deuteronomy chapter six. And look there in verse five. Deuteronomy chapter six and verse five. It makes a statement. Verse four, first of all, says, here O Israel, the Lord Jehovah, our God, El Hymn is one, Adonoy. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all vine heart and with all my soul, with all my might.

And they said, Yay, we will do that. Well, they didn’t do that. How do you know you really love the Lord thy God with all my heart, mind, body, soul, and strength? How do you know when you obey the law perfectly? Okay, how you doing? Nobody ever did for 15 years, 15 years, 1500 years. First mistake of a remade. But does God want us to love them with all our hearts? Well all of your being, it’s not very romantic to say I love you with all my mind.

It just sounds more romantic, I love you with all my heart. Yes, now the girls or toenails will curl up and all kind of stuff. But you’ve got to be right. Something just don’t sound romantic. But anyway, take your Bible and turn to the book of Psalms 119. 119 Psalm. Psalms 119. Now there’s a lot of interesting verses in 119 Psalm. There’s more than two or three, but quite a few. But in the one we just looked at in Deuteronomy, that they’re supposed to love the Lord.

Lord thy God with all thy heart and so on.” Well, they didn’t and they can’t and they won’t. And you have to admit total bankruptcy. I can’t do what the law requires. And so I trust Christ as my Savior. That’s the only way because you cannot perform and live the way God wants you to live out a new birth. It’s totally impossible. That’s why you need a new birth. But here in 119 Psalm, look there in verse 11, thy word have I hid in mine heart.

I hid it in my heart. When you start memorizing scripture, it’s probably going into your computer up here, into your mind. I put God’s word in my mind. Now if you think it’s down here, one of the problems I used to have with the kids, and they would always ask the question, what if Jesus is in my heart? Jesus is in my heart. And then what if you have a heart transplant? And you have a heart transplant and somebody who didn’t have Jesus in their heart, and they gave you the heart of an unbeliever.

And they just took your heart out that goes, Jesus, in comes zero. And what if you died right after Jesus has gone? Now what happens to you? You got a problem? So… I’m glad that I don’t have to get into all of that stuff, you know. It just complicates things. You just know that I believe it. The heart sometimes reaches for, it’s me. I believe it. Now, I don’t care where God put that little brain of mine. You’re going to put it in my toe.

I don’t care where it’s at. But I believe. I was, I’d been over the other day. I was going to see if I could, no, tie my shoe. You know, Betty can spend all the way over and stand up and tie her shoe. Now, if God’s one of the man to do it, he’d have put my feet on my knee. It is a long way down there. And I get a creak in my… No worries, you that are older in here, you kind of get the idea.

But I don’t know where everything is. Christ is living in me. The Holy Spirit is living in me. Now where He wants to roam, I don’t care. If He wants to spend one day in this room, or this room, or that room, or that room, or in here or up there, I don’t care. He’s in me. And how much room He’s got to run around it, I don’t care. Christ is in me, the hope of glory. And I know it and I believe it.

And I don’t try to get it so complicated that it becomes a bog to my mind. I know this, he says, I want to hide God’s word in my heart that I might not sin against thee. And the Holy Spirit bringing things to your remembrance because it was been put into your mind. So we study the Word of God so we can put the Word of God up here. The Holy Spirit uses the Word that’s stored up in the brain, in the mind.

And they said that most of us never use 90% of our brain. Well, that’s the part I got from my new birth then. I don’t really know and don’t care. But it’s not wise to try to get a lost person to ask Jesus to come into the heart because now you got to find out, okay, now how do you know when he did? And what verses would you use to verify it? So you’ve got automatic problems. Look in Psalms 44.

Psalms 44 has turned to you left a few pages there. Psalms 44 and looking in verse 21, you ought to underline this verse. He says, shall not God search this out? For he knoweth the secrets of the heart. God knows how you think, knows how you feel. Knows what you know, knows what you don’t know. Knows what you’re hiding, knows what you’ve done, haven’t done. God knows everything. John chapter 2 when he was talking about Christ and the temple and so forth, he knew what was in man.

Wouldn’t you like to be able to read people’s thoughts? I wouldn’t mind reading people’s thoughts. I just don’t want them to read in mine. But God can. As you said here right now, do you really understand? Can you grasp the God knows what you’re thinking? God knows what you’re thinking. Isn’t that scary? He knows. And does he know if you’re trusting him or not? Does he know if you’re really worried or not? I’m just trusting the Lord. God says you are not.

You can’t fool him. You can’t lie to him. But God knows the heart of man. Knows everything about us. Look in Psalms 34. Just turn back 10 saw chapters there. Psalms 34. And look in verse 18. Psalms 34 and look in verse 18. There’s two verses here I want you to look at. But verse 18 says, the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart. A broken heart. Now in the book of Psalms 51 and around verse 17 it talks about David praying to the Lord because a broken heart, a contrite heart, God will not despise.

It’s talking about a person who has humbled himself before God. It’s the humility that you have between you and God. God hates pride and a person who exalts himself, God will humble you. But if you humble yourself, God will exalt you. So keep that in mind. And look in verse 19. Many are the afflictions of the righteous. But the Lord delivered them out of most of them. You know, that’s enough to scare the deficit, said that. But it isn’t a great consolation of that He delivered them out of them all.

Because see, God knows your thoughts. God knows how you’re thinking. God knows what you’re going through. God knows what you face. God knows what I’m facing. And He says that we can look to Him and He will deliver us out of them all. out of them all. So that’s why you don’t have to worry about what’s coming down the road because God’s going to deliver you out of all of them anyway. And the man who trusts the Lord doesn’t see all the evil, as it says in Jeremiah 17.

But if you’re not really trusts the Lord, all you see is the problems and they scare you to death. And the fear produces torment and a lot of people are tortured, but they do it to themselves. Take your Bible And look in Proverbs 17, since we’re so close here to Psalms. Proverbs 17. And look there in verse 21, first of all, he that begateth a fool, doeth it to his sorrow and the father of a fool hath no joy.

That’s why we as parents don’t like for our children to be fools, because it doesn’t bring you any joy. But look what in verse 22, a merry heart doeth good like medicine, a merry heart, doeth good like medicine, but a broken spirit drath the bones. Did you know that I’ve had people say that when they come to Calvary and we’re all standing and we’re all singing And then he says, greet one another and 50 to 100 people are moving all over the place.

Now there are always, you know, some people they just stand there and wait until you come to them and shake your hand. But then there’s others who get out of their seat and go meet somebody and then sometimes they’re scared to death but they do it. But by being friendly and with a smile and walking up to somebody saying, how do you do? Glad to see you shaking their hand. You know, at least it makes a person feel welcome, warm, that’s good, glad to see them.

Or you walk up somebody, hi, you’re here again. What’d you come for? A merry heart is not only good medicine for you, it’s good medicine for somebody else. 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. Part 2 of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach by the line and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing tool free 1-800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. 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 are 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 broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 be able to receive the help of the Bible. 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 message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Take your Bible and turn to the book of 1 Corinthians. Corinthians in chapter 13, if you’re going to write down anything, I’ve got six things that I think will help you. First thing I want you to write down is enjoy this precious moment. Enjoy this moment. Don’t ruin it this moment. I mean this day, this hour, this time. Learn to appreciate the very moment that you have. I think you’ll be happier when you learn how to do that. Many people live in a dream world that will never be.

When everything is right. Like some people say, well, when I get everything right, then I’ll come to church. When everything is right, I’ll do this. It’ll never happen. You have to learn to enjoy the ride. Happiness is not a destination. Boy, I’ll be happy when I get this or when I get that. No, you won’t. You’ve got to learn how to be happy in the process on your way. So look what he says here in verse 11. 11 I want you to look at verse 11 Paul says when I was a child I Spake as a child I Understood as a child I thought as a child But when I became a man I put away childish things So the first thing you need to do is Put away childish things You’re not a child anymore grow up So when it says when I became a man

I spake as a man. I understood as a man. I thought as a man So if you don’t want to act like a child Grow up and become a man first crinkies in chapter three And you’ll notice what he says in verse one He says and I brethren could not speak on the you as on the spiritual But as on the carnal even as unto babes in Christ I have fed you with milk, not with meat. For hitherto you were not able to bear it.

Neither yet, nor are you able. For you are yet carnal, like a babe. Well, where is there among you envy and strife and divisions? Are you not carnal? Or are you not a child? Children, wine, and complain, and moan, and groan, and murmur, and are usually down in them out. But he says, when I became a man, I put away these childish things. Put it away childish things is put in the way of sippel little stupid things that ruined your life.

I’ll look in Philippians in chapter 3, Philippians and chapter 3. In order to enjoy the moment, there’s something you have to do. He says in verse 13, brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended. In other words, I’m not complete. I haven’t accomplished everything that God has for me. It’s not over yet. But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before. In other words, you got a race to run, so run the race and let God have his way and however he wants to lead and to guide you.

And you’ll accept that. You do not want to be found fighting against God, but I would be foolish to take on God. And what really irritates God is when for the time you ought to be a mature child of God, you’re still just a babe. But when you grow up, he says, put away these childish things. Now, look in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 34. Verse 34, take note therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.

Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. In other words, don’t borrow evil from the past and don’t borrow evil from the future. Just expect God to give you the grace that you need today to solve the problems of this day. Because it’ll be sufficient. God will not require of you anything you can’t perform. If you can’t do it, God would be wrong to give you more than you can handle. God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.

Every Christian can do exactly what God wants him to do every day. That’s the book. That’s the book. And God says that all you have to do is be found faithful, but it’s learning how to think. The second thing I want you to write down is this, have a positive outlook. Now, there’s people who have negative outlook. What it is, they’re negative. Okay, what is it? They’re getting it. Lawyers always look for what can go wrong. Do you understand or know what Murphy’s law is?

What is Murphy’s law? If it can go wrong, it will. Well, there’s Christians like that. They never think of anything positive. They’re always negative. Some people just don’t like change. In other words, if there’s a big old ditch, big old mud puddle, don’t dare me to jump over it. Because you dare me, I’m going to show you how you can do it. If I fall right in the middle of the mud. Now there’s other people that are finding another way of getting around it.

I’ve got to try to show you that I can do it. I’ve lived long enough now that I shouldn’t do it. So take your Bible. I want you to look at this over in the book of Nehemiah. Got Nehemiah, Esther, Job. Nehemiah and chapter eight. This is on page 549 in the Old Testament. in Nehemiah chapter eight, look in verse one, and all the people gathered themselves together, and Yod on the line is, as one man. It’d be like all of our church coming together, and we’re like one person.

We’re all on the same page. We all believe the same thing. We all want to do the same thing. And we all work together for the same thing. And we pray concerning the same thing. And what a power that would be. Like they say, the world has never seen what God can do through one man that’s totally yielded to God. I don’t know if the world has ever seen what could be accomplished with one church totally yielded to the Lord.

What they could do, the impact they could make. I’d like to find out. Luke what he said in verse 2, and Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and and and and women and all that could hear with understanding. Look at verse 3, and he read therein before the street that was before the Watergate from the morning until midday. That was not a one-hour sermon. I don’t even think it was a two-hour sermon. From morning to midday.

Early in the morning probably till noon? Well, that’s a long church service, isn’t it? And Ezra described stood upon a pulpit of wood. This is where we get it from, which they had made for the purpose. I like that. So he got all the people together, made him a pulpit out of wood. And then he says in verse five, and Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people. And when he opened it, all the people stood up in verse three.

And And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday. So while he read they all stood. So what are you doing setting down? While I’m preaching you ought to stand. I’m standing. Why can’t you stand? How would you like to stand for the hour that I’m preaching? And look down in verse eight. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly. That means they started probably in the book of Genesis, they named Red, and they read, and they read, and they read.

And he says, and look at the last part of this verse, and gave the sense in the words and caused them to understand the reading. So it not just that they read it, Then they explained it so that they would understand it. Don’t that make sense? That’s what preachers do today or supposed to do. Look in verse 10, they said, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy unto our Lord. Neither be ye sorry and ye ought to underline this part of the verse.

You heard that song before and we showed it to you in one of the verses. Psalm. The joy of the Lord is my strength. The joy of the Lord is my strength. The joy of the Lord is my strength. The joy of the Lord is my strength. I mean, you all ever heard that before. And all over. Everybody ought to sing. He fills my mouth with laughter. Ha, ha, ha, ha. Alright. Look in verse 12 now. And all the people went their way to eat and to drink and to send portions and to make great birth.

And you ought to underline this, underline it. Why were they so happy? So fill with joy because they had understood the words that were declared unto them. When you understand what God has said in his word and you can believe them, It can cause you great joy and peace and happiness. That’s where it comes from. But anyway, Proverbs chapter 17, take your Bible and turn to Proverbs chapter 17. And verse 22, it says here, a merry heart doeth a good like a medicine but a broken spirit dryeth the bones.

Now I believe this. I believe a lot of people’s medical problems is because they don’t have a merry heart. You let yourself become a bitter person and you’re gonna have more health problems. It will affect your your body physically. Haven’t you ever been to the doctor and he said well what your problem is you’re under too much stress. But why are you under stress? See a Christian is supposed to have somebody we can cast all of our cares upon.

So if you cast your cares upon the Lord, I know that that’s easy preaching and hard living. I was on the road one time and we just traveled on preaching. This was 20 years ago or more and we had a great big motor home back then. It was a continental trailway bus and so we’re boogin around the country and Betty had to go to the doctor and the doctor says I don’t know what kind of work your husband does but you need to change jobs or do something differently.

He says, you’re in a lot of stress. So I went off the road and took a church. That man doesn’t know what he’s talking about. There is no stress like being a pastor because you’re dealing with people of all shapes and sizes, all different levels of spirituality. And they all want you to say just exactly what they want to hear, but don’t get on my case, don’t preach against sin. Help me spiritually, but don’t tell me what I’m doing wrong.

And they want to preach it with 50 years experience, but only 40 years old. Stress? Do you notice, even though I say and I hit things seriously and sometimes hard, I still have it with a little sense of humor, don’t I? Because I love to laugh. If you don’t love to learn to laugh, you can do a lot of weeping. I have been in such a jam that I had no possible way of getting out of it. And I said, Lord, this is going to be fun.

I’ve got to see you get me out of this mess. And I’ve got to just wait and see what God’s going to do. But I’ve never been afraid of getting anything because I always know God get me out of them. But learn to have a merry heart. Learn to laugh a little bit. Remember that sermon I preached on the woman stands there in the in the mirror. She’s hung up with me for 30 years. And I’m old and I’m gray.

And I’m sagging. Give me a compliment. He said, well, there’s nothing wrong with your eyesight. Let’s see that, but it’s humorous. But see how you laugh? Laughter is good medicine. Laughter is good medicine. It will help you physically. It really will. Proverbs in chapter 15. and look there in verse 13 verse 13 says pretty much the same thing but he says a merry heart make it a cheerful countenance you want to improve your countenance did you know if you don’t learn to smile you’re gonna look older smile you said well I’ll get wrinkles yeah but they’ll be in the right place They’re mirror on the wall, crack.

Anyway. A merry heart, make it a cheerful candidate, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. Let up a little bit, because if you don’t, you may never be a happy person, because there’s always sorrows. There’s always something to upset the apple cart. I don’t care what it is going on, there’s always some problems that you have. Now I’m not talking about walking around with a smiley face all day long. There’s times that you’ll have to be sorrowful and you’ll grieve.

But don’t let it overwhelm you to the place where you can’t smile anymore, but you can’t be happy. Number three, I want you to write down. Slow down. You don’t need to do all that you think you have to do. Slow down. The Bible says God has given us all things freely to enjoy. There’s nothing wrong in joy in life. Rest in the Lord. Rest in the Lord. Wait patiently for Him. Learning how to depend upon the Lord. The only reason you become a workaholic is because you think it all depends on you.

And you just work yourself to death and never have any free time to do what you really want to do. So you have to be careful. There’s time, I mean you got responsibilities. You got to be able to figure these things out and look to the Lord for guidance. I believe that you ought to do with your life. life what you really enjoy doing it. It’s possible. Enjoy it doing what you’re doing. Learn to wait and depend upon the Lord and look to Him and believe in that God is going to do what He says He will do.

I waited patiently for the Lord and He inclined to meet her in the cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit out of the mighty clay set my feet upon a rock, established my goings, And he had put a new song in my mouth. They’ve been praising to our God. Minish, I’ll see it in fear and trust in the Lord. God put a song in your heart. Sing it. Does God done anything for you lately? But he put a new song in my heart.

If I could, I ought to learn the sing. You don’t have to sing. Somebody, I was singing today and somebody says, but is that what you call a joyful noise? Oh, it’s coming down the hallway. Somebody stuck their head out and says, that way you call a joyful, who did that? Hurt my feelings. I could have been a professional singer now. He’s discouraged me from doing it. See there? What I could have been. All right, look in Psalms 126, 126 Psalm.

See if you should slow down and smell the roses, I did in a beast stung my nose. Psalms 126, look at it. When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. That was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue would sing Him. Then said they among the heathen, the Lord hath done great things for them. The Lord hath done great things for us. We are glad. Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south, they that so in tears shall reap in joy.

He that goeth forth and weep at bear in precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Oh, that sounds good. Well, that sounds good. People in captivity learned the same. Some things you may not be able to change. You may not be able to change the situation where you work. You can’t change the situation concerning your health. told me it, one of the day we’re going to die anyway. Learn to be happy and fill with the joy of the Lord until you’re no longer here.

You’re going to have problems, you know it. You’re going to suffer, you know it. I already know it. And sometimes you’re going to hurt. But when you can muster just a little bit of a smile, do it all. Aren’t you impressed with people when they’re really going through the fire? And they say, praise the Lord. I don’t understand it. I can’t help it. I can’t change it. But praise the Lord anyway. There’s people who can do that. And there are other people who find it very, very difficult to smile through anything.

And some people just don’t know how to express themselves. But it doesn’t hurt to say, God’s been good to me. And like Jobah, he did not sin or charge God foolishly. He simply said, the Lord, give it. The Lord, take it the way. Blessed be the name of the Lord. I still got the Lord. You know, the most precious thing in all the world is to have the Lord. Now, you can lose everything else, but you can’t lose Him.

So you see, you still got the best. You still got the best. I want you to write down this statement. Number four was the small laugh which was Psalms 126. Number five, live expecting a miracle at any time. Live expecting a miracle at any time. And you can write down the scripture reference, James chapter four and verse two. Because it talks about ask and receiving. If you prayed, you should expect. You prayed, expect. Live every day expecting God to work some little miracle.

You know if God can work a little miracle, God can work a big miracle. If God does it. And God delights and performing for us when we’re totally helpless and there’s no other way no other visible means of support. When there’s nothing else you can do, so that way he definitely will get the honor, the glory, and the credit. When you’re totally in despair, true faith is serving God when it appears that God has let us down, when it seemed like God has failed us.

Look at this verse over in the book of Psalms, since we’re right here in Psalm. Look in Psalms chapter 50, the 50th Psalm. And look at verse 15. Verse 15 is a good verse underlying in your Bible. Call upon me in the day of what? See it’s like saying you’re going to have that day of trouble. You’re probably going to have a lot of days of trouble. So what do you do, call upon the Lord and And get what he says, I might deliver thee.

I will deliver thee. And thou shalt glorify me. That’s why you had the day of trouble. So that he could deliver you before the trouble. But he let you have the trouble so that you cry out to the Lord, so that you would brag on him when it’s all over with. Now, sometimes I believe God’s children cry out to God, God, He delivers them and they never thank Him. So since you didn’t pass the test, you might have to take it over again.

You know, you always have to come up against something that’s bigger than your faith, in order to challenge your faith to grow, to get over that obstacle. God’s not going to lose the obstacle. He wants to give you the faith that you need to accept the challenge. That’s what forces your faith in the Lord to grow. Otherwise you and I would never grow. Would never mature. Never be the way God wants us to be. Number six was just write this down very simple.

Just never give up. Believe that failures and dead ends and dry holes and detours and all those things are They’re just stepping stones to success. They’re just stepping stones to success. I said, your failures and your dead ends and your dry holes and your detours. They’re just stepping stones to success. Because you believe that God works all things for your good. You want to be strong in the Lord. God wants you to be strong. Tribulation worked with patience. Patience is a strength of a strong man of God, but tribulation is what develops the patience.

But many people don’t let tribulations perform its work. It’s to build you strong in the Lord. Alright, look up here. Letting this hand represent you and me. The The wallet represents sin. We all have sin upon us. Now God says that He loves us. He loves you, loves me. He hates our sin because our sin separates us from God. So the payment for sin is death, eternal separation from God in hell. And God loves us and wants us to go to heaven.

And to go to heaven we have to be perfect because righteous is God. But God says that we’re not righteous. We’re not perfect. not good enough to go to heaven. He says, there is none righteous, no not one. All have sinning Him short of God’s perfection, the glory of God. So God says, we cannot save ourselves. Going to heaven is not by my works. I’ll never be good enough. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord. God in the flesh.

He came into the world because He loves us. He The H are sinned because it separates us from him. So Jesus Christ took the sin, paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead. God says that if we would believe that He did it for us, He would put this death payment He made to our account as the payment for our sins. Then I have no sins to pay for. All my sins are paid. They’re all forgiven.

And if they’re all forgiven, then I would have as a free gift eternal life and get to go to heaven whenever I die. That is not because of any good deed that I’ve done. It’s all because of the work that he did. So all I had to do to go to heaven was believe that Jesus Christ paid for my sins and trust him as my only hope of going to heaven. That’s the best news in all the world. Let’s pray, shall we?

For every head bowed and every eye closed and no one looking around. If you’re here tonight or if you happen to be watching by internet, right where you are, you don’t have to do anything as far as your good works or concern. You don’t have to do anything about your sins. Price already took care of that. And he says that if you’ll believe that he died of that cross and paid for your sins, he said he would save and give us a free gift everlasting life.

So why not write down the quietness of this moment just between you and the Lord. Say something simple like this, or I’m a sinner. I know that. And I believe you died on that cross and paid for my sins. And right now the best of know-how I will accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. For in God’s it, if you’ll trust Him, He’ll save you. Give you eternal life and you can know that you’re going to heaven whenever you die.

I pray that you will. But heads by nice clothes, if you have not trusted Christ as your Savior, would you trust Him right now? I’d like to have prayer for you in closing. And we’ll all just slip your hand up very quickly and by that you mean just pray for me, I will accept Christ as my Savior tonight. I want to be certain I’m going to heaven during one of all. Our Father, we do thank You so much for giving us the clarity of these things in Your Word so that we can be found faithful.

And Lord, they help us concern in our attitudes to know that you love us. And we live in a troublesome, sinful, wicked world. But Father, you said, we are going to have these troubles. But to call upon you and you would deliver us. And then we would give you the praise and the glory and the honor because of it. We thank you so much for all you’ve done, and I have your blessings upon us in Christ’s name. 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 are blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Bible Line and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll free, 800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bible line programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link. 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. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10-30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, 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.

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 regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the BibleLineMinistries.org homepage. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to theottest gospel of Jesus Christ, and that today’s concluding message of this teaching will be a blessing to you and your family.

So John 3 16 is the answer to the man that came to Jesus. See, Jesus could catch fish at night. And they could be somebody, they did better. Nobody else around, that’s okay. He didn’t have to tune his own horn. If I go someplace with you and there’s an opportunity to witness, chances are I will just stay back and let you win them. I want you to catch fish. I do not want to rob the honor or the glory.

You say it because you don’t know how to do it. Yeah, that’s the way it is. I don’t know how to do it. But I want people to learn how to catch fish. Look what he says. In verse 16, this is the answer on how to catch a fish. Tell them this story. This story catches a lot of fish. It’s one of the most used pieces of bait in the Word of God to tell a lost man God so loved the world.

That’s you. That he gave his only begotten son. That’s Jesus Christ. whosoever anybody, you or me or anybody, believe it in him. That’s all you got to believe it. It should not perish because you won’t go to hell but have everlasting life. Would you believe it? He that believeth hath everlasting life. He that does not believe the wrath of God abideth upon him. Now look there in chapter four. Chapter four, well you see chapter three you had this religious man, the up and the up.

And he led him to the Lord because he came to him. Well lo and behold, Jesus says, I must needs go to Samaria. Now why did he have to go to Samaria? Because there was a woman that was going to be at the well at a certain time and he knew it. So he sent his disciples away into the city because he knew you don’t need a whole bunch of people to jump on and attack this woman. A lot of time when I go sewing, I’d rather nobody be with me.

I just want to do it by myself. Sometimes I’m afraid I might get some help that I don’t want. Have you ever seen somebody start witnessing somebody and then somebody else jump in and try to steal the honor and the glory after you got them ready to fall and a person who starts to let him finish you sometime. You may say a little bit here and there, but you want them to catch the fish. Don’t rob it from them.

And also you want to pray and keep in everything else quiet and so forth so that nobody interrupts. Be wise. But Jesus went to a woman who had five husbands. She had had five husbands and was living with a man that wasn’t her husband. And this was in the middle of the day. So can you catch fish at night? Yeah. Can you catch fish in the daytime. Sure.

Well, nobody else is around and it doesn’t matter. Did you know that you and I are not supposed to be a respecter of persons? That it doesn’t matter, they’re status in life. If they’re a soul, God loves them. God loves all those people that are standing on all these street corners asking for a handout. The sometime when you drive by is how I wish they wouldn’t do that. Look what they do to this city. Do you realize that in Israel’s time there were beggars everywhere?

Most countries you go to, you’ll find a lot of beggars. Well, one of the reasons we don’t have as many beggars as we use most countries is because we’ve got a welfare program that they don’t have to beg, they just get it from the government. But what if that none of that existed? You’d be surprised how many people would be out there and begging. When I took my kid down in the old Mexico, 25, 30 years ago. I gave each one of them some money to buy a few things.

We didn’t get two blocks until all their money was gone because there was people asking for it and they just gave everything to him. I was thankful for their compassion, but I had to inform them that daddy didn’t have an unlimited money tree. I gave them a little bit more money and said, you can’t give to everybody. You remember when Peter and John was going down the road there and went and got ready to go into the temple called beautiful?

And says, this year, the guy asked him, arms, arms for the poor. He said, silver and gold have I. Now this was the first pope. Silver and gold have I, none. None. He didn’t have a fancy robe on, didn’t have a pointed thing on his head. And he didn’t have any silver and gold. Well, I could go somewhere with this. And neither did he tell him, Well, you’ll be all right. Just kiss my ring or my toe.” You say, you make me mad.

I don’t care. Doesn’t matter. But he says, if thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that saith unto thee, give me to drink, thou would have have asked of him and he would have given thee living water. So did Jesus go fishing? You see, one came to him at night and he went to one in the daytime. You’d never know where you’re gonna catch fish. But remember, Jesus was a fisherman. And you and I, he says, follow me.

And the words he wants us to do what he does. And that’s why you find in the Bible about us taking the gospel to the world. Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. It means go fishing, go fishing, go fishing. Look in Acts chapter two, the book of Acts in chapter two. Acts chapter two. And look there in verse 41, verse 41 says, then they that gladly received His Word were baptized. And the same day they were added into them about 3,000 souls.

Jesus went fishing and He had His disciples and He gave them the ability to speak in a language that everybody could understand. Why? Evidently, they must have preached the gospel because you can’t get saved without the gospel. So whatever else happened on that day, it was for the main purpose of preaching the gospel and God, God, going fishing. You see, God drew them in and God had the bait and he had a few poles there and he used them and 3000 people got saved at one day.

You say, well, I’m not interested in numbers. God is. He even wrote a book in the Bible called Numbers, didn’t he? And who’s the one that wrote these numbers in the Bible? The Holy Spirit of God? Why do you think this is in here? To give us examples. When you read the book of Acts, it is the continuation of book of Luke. And it’s the beginning of what Jesus began to do. It’s like a continuation. It’s a history. And in the book of Acts, it tells you what happened.

It is an evangelistic book about some evangelist who was fulfilling the Great Commission. Now going into the world, and that’s why you find all these soul-winning stories in the book of Acts. Acts. Even the word itself, things like it means I’m supposed to do something, doesn’t it sound like action to you? Maybe it is. Because you see, if the Holy Spirit is involved, there should be action. You and I have been blessed by God to be given the indwelling Holy Spirit to call us to action, to do something.

Now, I like the various ministries that we have, but the greatest ministry in this church is individual soul winning. Nobody knows about it. In other words, you don’t have to always toot your own horn. But there’s nothing wrong in letting people know that, yes, you had somebody trust Christ to save you. But you know, you know that you’re given the glory in the honor to the Lord. You’re just thankful God is able to use you. I think it’s a great thing.

Some of you will give out CDs. Some of you’ll give out tracks. Some of you talk to people. Some of you give money to make things possible so you get on the radio and so on. But the reason that I want you to do it is because I want you to do it for the Lord. You’re doing it for the Lord. This is what the Lord wants you to do. You have been called under this. You that are missing Sunday school on Sunday morning, you’re missing some good teaching.

It will help you tremendously. Remember when you’re limited in knowledge you’re limited in ministry. So the more you know, the more you can do, the more you can explain to help people to see God wants you to do this. Look in Acts chapter 10, the book of Acts in chapter 10. Acts chapter 10 and look in verse 24. Acts chapter 10 verse 24. Peter had gone to talk to a man by the name of Cornelius who was a leader of an Italian band.

See, they had bands back in those days. And it’s a good story. See, they’re in verse 1. There was a certain man in, a cesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band. See, there’s, they had a firehouse fire back in those days. Called the Italian band. But anyway, we’re moving right along. But this man was a devout man, a religious man. He was just a lost man. and he was searching. So God had to find him a fishing pole.

He already had the bait. He just needed a fishing pole. So he found Peter and told Peter, this is what I want you to do. And Peter went to his house. And the Bible says there in verse 24, and tomorrow after they entered in the Caesarea and Cornelius waited for them and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. So he got everybody together in his house and here comes Peter that’s got a prey to him. In verse 25, and as Peter was coming in Cornelius made it, fell down at his feet and worshiped him.

But Peter took him up saying, I’m not the pope, stand up. Well that was in the Hebrew, agree. He said, I myself also am a man and he’s no more than a man. He’s never been more than a man. We’re just people. We don’t fall down to worship any man. There’s only one that deserves to be worship and that’s the Lord. And he makes the statement here in verse 27. And as he talked with him, he went in and found many that were come together.

Now, what do you think all this is going on? God wants Peter to go fishing. And there was a man that was lost and he called them to come together. Now up in Georgia when I got down there I was on the radio and our services was broadcast live, one hour every Sunday morning live. A hundred thousand watt radio station, FM covered all of North Georgia up into the mountains and parts of Tennessee and North and South Carolina and Alabama.

So I was talking to a lot of people every day. small church, but we had a big mouth and we were reaching a lot of people. Well, there were some people that had asked me if I would come down and have a little Bible study with them. It was on a Monday or Tuesday night. So my brother, I asked him if he’d go with me, he says, fine. So I went down there and lo and behold, they had about 15, 20 people together and they met in his house.

We out there in the boonies and there was no church around close enough on them, but so they had gotten their relatives and so forth to come together. Now I wonder what I should talk about. I wonder what I should talk to them about. All great I am. No, I don’t think so. I talked to them about how great he is. And I gave him the gospel and we had some people trust the Lord and they wanted me to come down again.

I said, I can’t do that. I said, I got too many things going. So my brother says, I will. So my brother went down there and lo and behold, they wind up starting the church and still going on now, all because of somebody who heard the radio broadcast and wanted me to come down here to it. I was out there one day I came through Georgia and I had a great concern for all of my relatives, all my relatives.

And buddy, I have a lot of relatives up in the flatwoods of Georgia. And most of their parents were just like mine. They were bootleggers. My daddy was called Shine because he was a moonshiner. And anyway, they had been out there in the bunnies. They asked me, they knew that Yankee was a preacher. So we agreed on, we’d get that old Methodist church, there’s no Methodist church. Little white church, right out there in the cemetery all around it. My dad is buried there now.

I am. I said, I’ll come. And I went there and we got the relatives together. I had my aunt and my aunt did everything. She knew everybody, knew where everybody lived, and she got together. And buddy, we packed that little church. And I pleaded with them. I told them what I found that I had come to know Christ as my Savior and I wanted them to know what they knew my dad. They knew my mom. They knew my sisters.

Most of them knew who I was. And whenever I gave the gospel, I had a bunch of them trust Christ to say. I’ll never forget the day that one of those guys that sat there was a guy named Crazy Luke Graham. Crazy Luke Graham, he used to be a wrestler, a professional wrestler, a mean wrestler. He was blonde headed and years ago he was even on television and they would get in the ring and they would wrestle and fight and throw each other out of the ring and all that stuff and but he got beat up sometime.

Now my mama, she couldn’t stand him. go to the wrestling and she’d watch that stuff. I said, Mom, most of it’s fake. I said, most of it’s fake. I said, they got to be in good shape, but it’s fake, huh? And Mom wouldn’t believe it. That’s real. And she’d go there and she’d sit on the front row because of my cousin. That was, he was my first cousin. And he was in there and he’d rassel. And they’d tried to pick him up and throw him out of the ring and all this stuff, you know.

And my mama, she was hollering, yelling, screaming. And I thought she’s going to die. And others that went with my mom. And he couldn’t believe it. My momma would get so excited about this. Well, that ain’t nothing. My momma’s sister, ain’t I lean? She was watching it on a Saturday night, watching the wrestling. And my aunt, even though she’s sitting in the living room, she’s like getting in the rain with them. And she says, and they always do something dirty in the wreaths, always on the other side.

And never can see what the guy’s doing this dirty. He’s He’s right, it’s wrong. And my aunt’s trying to get the referee to see what’s going on. Do you realize she died of a heart attack watching that? I did her funeral. My aunt died watching the wrestling that was fake. Died of a heart attack. Can’t believe it. Well, there’s always something that goes on, but the key thing is you want to reach your family. And here’s this great big rastler.

He had trust the Lord. I believe I led him to the Lord. And his kids asked me if I would do his funeral. So at the funeral, here’s all his relatives, all his kids. I hadn’t had a chance to talk to them, but they got them together and I gave the gospel and they trusted Christ as Savior. One of the highlights was after I had told my mom that that I had trusted the Lord, she’d get up and walk out of the room and she wouldn’t listen to me.

Just broke my heart. And I wanted my mom to know how to go to heaven and she just wouldn’t listen. My stepdad told me, he UKIP and if I want to hear preaching, I go to church. I guess I didn’t do it right, but I was trying. See, a poor attempt is better than none at all. But my stepdad, he wound up having heart trouble and he was in the hospital in Atlanta. And I went up there and I didn’t know if I’d get a chance to get in to see him.

And I was standing outside looking through the glass. And my stepdad, he had tubes all over him, heart machines and stuff. My mom was standing there beside the bed and I looked in and I could see him and he saw me and he pointed to my mom and he says, he said, you want Yankee to come and pray for you? And he was moving his head like this. So my mom asked me to come on in and he was the same one that told me to shut up my mom business Leave me leave him alone, and I went in there and talked to him and he trusty Christ of Savior It wasn’t long after that that he died But I’m glad he’s but he’s in heaven That big old wrestler.

No, he died. I did his feet. Well, he’s in heaven. I got a lot of relatives that have passed off And I’ve had funeral for about 20 of them But I went fishing I went fishing some of y’all have got a lot of relatives Don’t take it for granted that somebody’s gonna win him. It may not happen that way. I told him in ranch last night that I had an Ant and uncle. I drove over 450 miles one way to talk to my ant and uncle and they told me to leave him alone.

I Got in the car broken hearted and I drove all the way back 900 miles, but I tried I tried. Have you ever gone fishing? If fishing a certain hole not catch anything Do you quit fishing or you just move to another spot? You just move to another spot. My catch went here. My catch went over there. And sometimes lo and behold, you get your whole bunch. I’ve been with my uncle and he always let me paddle the boat while he fished.

But he would give me a quarter for everyone he caught over three pounds. I didn’t get many quarters. I did a lot of fishing, riding a boat. But some of you are missing out on the greatest opportunity in the world and that’s to talk to somebody. If you can’t do with a lot of people around, then get somebody when there’s nobody else around. And just share it with them. Have you ever had somebody explain to you how to have eternal life?

And a lot of people say, well no, no I haven’t. Do you mind if I take just a moment? tell you what happened to me or what I found out. So if you keep it personal, you’re not preaching at him, you’re just talking to him. Because you want to be a fisherman, you want to explain things to people. Well, he went and he did this and lo and behold, people trusted the Lord. Look what he says in verse 34, we’ll just see that.

Then Peter opened his mouth and said of a truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. But in every nation, he that feared him and work of righteousness is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ, He is Lord of all. That word, that word is what He’s talking about. And down in verse 40, Him, God raised up from the dead and so forth. In verse 42, and He commanded us to preach unto the people and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick in the dead.

To Him give all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever, believe it in him, shall receive remission of sin.” You know what soul winning is? Is people having their sins taken away. See, the payment’s been made, but it’s not put to their account. Eternal security is the forgiveness of sins. See, all my sins have been forgiven. That’s why I am eternally secure. When Christ died, He died for me. And He did that a long time ago, 2,000 years ago.

And He loved me. He paid for my sins. And I’m going to heaven because of what He’s done for me. Jesus Christ was a fisherman. And the stories are about fishing, about so winning. You see, the book of Acts is to show you and I what He meant. And he says, going to all the world, I’m preaching, this is what he meant. You can see what the apostles understood by what they did. What did they do? They did what he said do.

Well, I wonder if he meant that just for them, just for them. If he meant it just for them, how come if I believe that I can do that too, I can fish? And because I believe that, how come I’ve caught a lot of fish? And a person who doesn’t believe it hasn’t caught a lot of fish. Sometimes it depends upon what you really believe. Do you really believe you can catch fish? Now I’ll admit, when it comes to catching real fish out here in the water, I’m not a very good fisherman.

I’ve caught a few, but not like some people do. I think the devil goes down to him, yank is out there fishing, don’t bite on his. And he’ll bite on everybody’s mind. But everyone’s in the wild, I’ll catch a fish. And it makes me so happy I was fishing with my brother one time up there in the lake up in top of Buneavista in Colorado and In him and somebody else was fishing and they were just a pull on the man.

I couldn’t get anything And so I would take theirs off and throw it down and throw the hook back out and I’d do the same thing with him And I finally caught a fish and I got the fish put it in my hand and put thing off of him through the fish up I threw that I threw the wrong thing I finally caught a fish and then through the only fish that I caught back in the water. I know, I know, I know.

I didn’t tell you I was a bride this kid. My mama said I was good looking, but she never said I was smart. You see, mama was wrong on both accounts. But that is even I was born. I was the eggless kid who had never seen in his life. That’s on. My dad never seen Peter. Said I had long, straight black hair all over my body. He said, he’s going to put me in a burlap sack and throw me in the river and drown me.

Can you believe that? Sweet in us and a little baby like me. I was just born. And I remember that happening. My mama told me the story. Now what am I fixing to do? I’m fixing to fish. See some of y’all didn’t get too smart for your own good. I’m fishing. In other words, if you’re here and you’ve never trusted Christ to save you, did you realize There’s a God in heaven who is fishing for you. He means he wants to catch you.

And he wants to give you some bait. So listen up because… I want the Lord to catch you. He caught me. I want him to catch you. How many of y’all in here have been caught? How many of y’all have been caught? Let me see. Look at that. See there? They heard something. Here’s what they heard. This is you and me. This is sin. We all have sin on us. God loves us, hates our sin. And for us to pay for sin, eternal separation from God in hell.

God loves us, wants us to go to heaven. But to go to heaven, you have to be perfect. perfect is righteous is God and none of us are perfect. We’ve all sinned. We’ve all come short of God’s perfection because of this sin we can’t get in sin. So God says you can’t earn your way to heaven. You need a Savior. This hand represents Jesus Christ, God in the flesh. He came into the world because He loves us. He hates what we do wrong.

Our sin separates us from God. So Jesus Christ took the sin, paid for it on the cross and came back from the dead. This little love story is because God wants you to know, I love you. I love you. And everybody wants to be loved. But He said, I love you so much. I’ll pay for your sins. And I will give you as a free gift everlasting life. Isn’t that some pretty good bait to catch a person? Because most people want a happy turn of life.

Most people want to go to heaven. people don’t want to die and go to hell. So why not tell them the story that they would love to hear? Love to understand. This week, let’s all go fishing. I want you to fish. I want you to try to catch somebody this week. Just think how many we would have trust, Christ to save you. If everybody in here only had one person that you led to Christ this week, but like how many of that would be?

I think we can do it. I believe it’s the will of God that we’re fishermen. Now you may not always catch the fish, but I think you ought to fish. Y’all at least try fishing. Let’s pray, shall we? With the headbound nice clothes, no one looking around. Why not right now? The quadrants of this moment just say something like this between you and the Lord. Lord, I’m a sinner. I know I’ve done things wrong, but I believe you love me and that you paid for my sins.

And friend God says right now that if you would except Him as your Savior, He would save you and give you as a free gift everlasting life. Would you do it? Would you trust Him if you will? Then I’d like to know and I’d like to have prayer for you. So I’m going to ask you in just a moment to raise your hand, but raising your hand doesn’t save you. It just lets me know that what I said made sense to you.

So before we close in prayer, is there anyone else who says, yes, I’ll trust Christ as my Savior this morning and preach a life for you to pray for me. We just slip you in a very quickly and better affect down, Zane, we’re at all. And we’re at all. Our Father, we thank you again for your blessings to us. We’re thankful that somebody one day went fishing, and we were caught. They told us the greatest story that’s ever been told.

And help us to share that with others, bless each one here. In Christ and 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 are 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 tool free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771.

To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bible line programs, just go to our home page at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the radio broadcast link. 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. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10-30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcasts of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, 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.

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 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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Thanks for being here today. Got a few things I want to talk to you about. You know, I’ve had people ask me if there’s a pet heaven. You know, a heaven for, you know, their little animals. You know, they got dogs and cats and birds and things like that, and they want to know if they’re going to go to heaven. Well, I guess I can tell you the truth now. There’s a pet heaven. This little boy, he had five gerbils.

They all died and they went to pet heaven. Got up there and St. Pete opened the gate for them and they went in there and the men, they were just having a ball. You know, all that gold floor to run around on, had a good time. They came to St. Pete and says, this place is so huge. And it’s just we’re not our feet. Can you do something for us? So he gave them roller skates. And so they were in hog heaven now.

Anyway, this little girl, she had a cat and the cat died. The cat goes up there and Saint Pete, come on in. After about six months, Saint Pete walked up to the cat and says, well, how do you enjoy this place up here? Oh, I am having a blast. This is wonderful up here. Well, what do you like the best? He says, what I like the best is those meals on wheels. You’ve got to have a little humor along the way.

Look there in the book of Luke. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, the book of Luke chapter 19. Luke chapter 19, I preached this a couple of Sunday nights ago about the purpose of Christ coming into the world. Why did He do any of it? Well because it says here in verse 10, Luke chapter 19 and verse 10, for the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. It means he came to go fishing. I had Mr.

Zizmore come up here and he just handed me this, fishing. It’s time to head out for speckle trout. I’m speaking on fishing today and this is the first time he’s giving me one like this on fishing. So now’s the time to go fishing. It really is time to go fishing. I believe every time I get a chance to preach, I’m fishing. My weddings that I’ve done are, I’m fishing. Funerals, oh, I love to go fishing in a funeral. That’s a nice fishing hole.

Sometimes God gives you opportunities you know, one-on-one here and one-on-one there. But sometimes it’s good to get a whole bunch at one time. the most I ever had at one time was about four or five hundred at one time. And I really love that. But that’s rare, it don’t always happen. Most times it’s just one here, one there. In the ranch meetings that we used to have when we used to run four or five, six hundred kids, we’d have 25 to 50, trust the Lord every Thursday night.

And that went on for several years. That was a lot of fish. But now a lot of people never go fishing at all, just don’t really know how to fish. Some people just just don’t care to fish. Now I believe that God loves fishing. God is a fisherman. He only had one son and caught him out of fish.

He only had one son and he was a missionary. When Jesus came into the world, he went fishing. That’s what he was doing. You and I see, or we’re just the, oh, I guess, a fishing pole. We have some special bait that God’s given us. See, the fishing pole is to be in the hands of the Lord, and God wants to just use us as fishing poles and place us wherever he wants, but you have to use the right bait.

The bait that goes on the hook is the word of God. God, because God knows what will catch what fish. He’s a good fisherman. All he wants is a few people that will yield themselves to him so that he can use you. And he’s got a lot of fish in rods and he’s got a lot of bait. He’s got a lot of lands in the water. Jesus is a fisherman. Take your Bible and turn to the book of Matthew chapter 4.

Just turn to you to laugh. Matthew chapter 4, now the message today is not going to be a root and tutens, super-duper high-profile, exciting message because I just feel like just talking to you if you don’t mind that. So I just want to talk to you. And here in Matthew in chapter 4, you’ll notice there in verse 18, and Jesus walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon, Paul, Peter, and Andrew, his brother, cast in a net into the sea, but they were fishers.

He said unto them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Now it seems like that if you follow Christ, you should become a fisher of men. You say, well I’ve been following Christ for 20 years. Well, have you been fishing for 20 years? My whole life is about fishing. Every time I preach, I’m fishing. And the reason we always give the gospel, and if you remember Dr.

Hank Linson would always probably give the gospel and weave the gospel through the message and always explain the difference between salvation and service, quite because he’s fishing. And if a person’s sitting there and they’re lost, they’re not sure of going to heaven when they die. By the time he gets through, he wants to be sure they understand how to go to heaven when they die. Why? Because he’s fishing. When he was on his radio broadcast, chances are he would present the gospel and he could take any question.

It didn’t matter what question you ever asked a preacher that knows this and you can turn it and get right back to the gospel. I don’t get what the question is. Ask me any question on anything that you want and I can find a way to get to the gospel. Well, that’s what we do. Why? Because we’re fishing. Christ sent us into the world to be fishermen. So we try to figure out ways in order to win people to Christ.

And that’s why by all means be creative. Try to think of something that might work. Ways that you might be able to train somebody else how to be fishermen. This is what God wants us to do. And look in verse 20. And they straight way or immediately after 20 years left their nets and followed him. When you take a match and strike it and it lights and then you’re going to light a candle, when do you expect that candle to start giving light?

Immediately. When you light it, it should give light. How How long do you think God wants you to be saved before you witness to anyone? Forever? And ever? Twenty years? Thirty years? Did you know that I started witnessing immediately, right after I trusted Christ as my Savior? Man, I couldn’t wait to let people know I trusted the Lord. And yes, I thought that the whole world was waiting on me. And I find out the world wasn’t waiting on me.

I really was kind of rude at times. I didn’t know how to explain the gospel very clearly. I was reading in the paper this morning how that there was some preacher that was in this gas-barillo, whatever you call that thing. I’ve never been to it, but telling people and holding up the signs, and repent and talking about all their sins and things like that. That might be part of the message that you need to give, but you don’t want to forget the part about that God loves sinners.

And that warning people that about their sin, yeah, but you need to tell them the good news of how to have eternal life and that God so loved the world. And I believe a lot of people. We’ll judge the majority of preachers by the way some people try to present the gospel and try to knock them over their head like with a 2×4 and tell them how bad they are, wicked they are. Now, they may know that, but did you also tell them how God loves them and they can have eternal life and go to heaven?

Or is it just about trying to get people to change the way they live and never get saved? I think it’s very important. We’re supposed to go fishing, but some people take the pole and they go fishing and then just splash the water. And wonder why the fish don’t get on the hook? Well, you’re not supposed to do that. I’m not a very good fish. But but I know that you’re not supposed to take your pole and splash the water.

If I was a fish, I’d get away. And that’s what I think a lot of people are. We’re supposed to win them, win them. So I believe there’s a lot to it. Look there in John chapter 1, the gospel of John in chapter 1. When would you think a good time it is to go so winning? I’ll bet you if I was to ask those in here, people in here, are saved on different days, in different ways, different times, but it seems like now is the accepted time.

The whole now is the day of salvation. You can get saved anytime, anywhere. If that’s true, then that means you can be saved and preach the gospel anytime, anywhere. You never know because you’re so inseeds and you want people to hear it, to understand. Hearing the book of John in chapter one, I want you to look at verse 40. In verse 40, in verse 40, he says, one of the two which heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.

He first findeth his own brother, Simon, instead of him. We have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted to Christ. And in verse 42, and he brought him to Christ. He brought him to Christ. You know what we call so many is bringing people to Christ. You see, you and I, we’re not the Savior’s. We’ve never saved anybody. But all we’re seeking to do is bring people to Christ. The other part that I like about this is he first findeth his own brother.

When I trusted Christ as my Savior, I became concerned about my family. I wanted my brother and I wanted my sisters, and I had four of them. But I had six kids in our family. There were six of us. And I wanted everyone in my family to go, now it didn’t matter how many fights we had had. And buddy did we have fights. We hardly ever got along. And we’d fight like cats and dogs. And that was okay.

But don’t somebody else pick a fight with my brother or one of my sisters? Because then we’ll fight you. It’s just that you didn’t do that. We stuck together, but it was okay for us to fight. But when I trust the crisis by Savior, I didn’t want my brother and sisters to go to hell. I didn’t want my mom to go to hell. So of course I wanted to talk to them and witness to them. And I believe that that’s a good thing.

Did you know if everybody only reached their family, only reached their family, with when the world? You’d win the world if everybody just reached their family. Because you reached this family and that family reaches this one and that buddy, there’s no end to it. You could win the world just by reaching your own family. But it says here in verse 42, and he brought him to Jesus. How many have you brought to Christ? You’ve known Christ as your Savior.

You know you’re going to heaven. Have you ever brought anybody to the Lord? Now remember, you can’t save them, we understand that. But have you let God use you to bring somebody to Christ where they trust it, Christ that they’re Savior? One of the good ways to do it is this, you ask them, do you know where you’re going when you die? Or have you ever had anybody take the Bible and show you how to have eternal life? And they say no.

And then when you talk to them and when you get through and then you ask them the question, If you died right now, where would you go? And they say, I’m going to heaven. You brought somebody to Christ. Because if the first answer was no, in the next thing, you know, they say yes. . . . . . . You’d be surprised what that does to them, but what it does for you also is kind of like those lays potato chips that you used to talk about, but you can’t eat just one.

Because when you catch one of those fish, you want to catch another fish and another fish. That’s the way God has designed it. Look in John chapter 3, John chapter 3, and you’ll notice sometimes, sometimes you can go fishing at night. Jesus went fishing at night time. Sometimes God will bring people to you. Sometimes He’ll bring people across your path and you see it as an open door, the great opportunity. And so there was a man named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews who came to Jesus by night and said to him Rabbi, we know that thou art a master from Israel because of what you’re able to do and all that.

And Jesus was very impressed with what? Thank you. you. No, he says, you must be born again. You must be born again. I’ve talked to a lot of people, but I don’t chase rabbits, and you have to be careful of all the compliments and praises you get sometime because it could cause you to be tied up into that instead of what your job is. Get back on the trail. And he says, you must be born again. He’s well, how can a man be born when he’s old?

Could he even his mother’s womb and be born again like that? No, that’s not what he’s talking about. He said, that’s what you’re born of the flesh, just flesh. That’s what you’re born of the spirit of spirit. Behold, I said, you must, you must be born again. So he was letting, Nickodemus know, you have to be born again. Now this was a religious bench. So sometimes you’ll win people to Christ at night, sometimes they’ll come to you and sometimes they’ll be intelligent people.

they might in the world eyes be somebody.” Well, that’s good. That’s good. But now, when he asked the question, then he deserves an answer. So if you look down there where he’s supposed to know and understand, he gave him an illustration in verse 14. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up. Well, he ought know about that story in the wilderness because he was a rabbi. He was a Pharisee.

He should have known this. And the Bible says that when the people murmured, God sent the snakes, the serpents, and they were biting the people, and they were dying. So he said, make a brass and a serpent, and put it upon a pole, and who’s to have it, but just look would live. I mean, it’s all I got, just look and it lived. No work should it all. Just look and you’d live. I imagine there was something that would not do it.

But it’s that simple and that easy to be saved. Just look and live. When I explained the gospel and I said, look, Christ paid for all of your sins. All you have to do is believe He did it for you. Will you believe that? Yes or no? So simple. You see, most people try to get somebody what you got to change your life. You got to promise how you’re going to live. You have to commit yourself to give money and to go to church and you got to do the, well look at all that you got to do.

Take forever to convince a person of that. I know Christians who are not convinced they ought to go to church or to give or to live holy lives. Why no, where would you want to try to get a lost man to do it? There’s Christians that don’t even do it. So don’t hang that yoke of iron upon their neck.

So all you gotta do is just look and live. So John 3, 16 is the answer to the man that came to Jesus by. See, Jesus could catch fish at night and they could be somebody. It did matter. Nobody else around. That’s okay. He didn’t have to tune his own horn. If I go someplace with you and there’s There’s an opportunity to witness. Chances are I will just stay back and let you win them. I want you to catch fish.

I do not want to rob the honor or the glory. You see, because you don’t know how to do it. Yeah, that’s the way it is. I don’t know how to do it. But I want people to learn how to catch fish. Now look what he says. In verse 16, this is the answer on how to catch a fish. Tell him this story. This story catches a lot of fish. It’s one of the most used pieces of bait in the Word of God to tell a lost man, God so loved the world.

That’s you. That he gave his only begotten son. That’s Jesus Christ. That who so ever, anybody, you or me or anybody, believe it in him. That’s all you got to believe it. Should not perish means you won’t go to hell, but have everlasting life. Would you believe it? Hear that believe it? Have everlasting life. He that does not believe the wrath of God abided upon him. Now look there in chapter four. Chapter four, well, you see chapter three, you had this religious man, the Up-a-D-Up.

And he led him to the Lord because he came to him. Well lo and behold, Jesus says, I must needs go to Samaria. Now why did he have to go through Samaria? Because there was a woman that was going to be at the well at a certain time and he knew it. So he sent his disciples away into the city because he knew you don’t need a whole bunch of people to jump on and attack this woman. A lot of time when I go so in and I’d rather nobody be with me.

I just want to do it by myself. Sometimes I’m afraid I might get some help that I don’t want. Have you ever seen somebody start witnessing somebody and then somebody else jump in and try to steal the honor and the glory after you got him ready to fall and a person who starts to let him finish you sometime. You may say a little bit here and there but you want them to catch the fish. Don’t rob it from them.

And also you want to pray and keep in everything else quiet and so forth so that nobody interrupts. Be wise. But Jesus went to a woman who had five husbands. She had had five husbands and was living with a man that wasn’t her husband. And this was in the middle of the day. So can you catch fish at night? Yeah. Can you catch fish in the daytime? Sure. Well, nobody else is around. It doesn’t matter. Did you know that you and I are not supposed to be a respecter of persons?

That it doesn’t matter. They’re status in life. They’re a soul. God loves them. God loves all those people that are standing on all these street corners asking for a handout. The sometime when you drive by is how much they wouldn’t do that. Look what they do to this city. Do you realize that in Israel’s time, there were beggars everywhere? Most countries you go to, you’ll find a lot of beggars. Well, one of the reasons we don’t have as many beggars we use most countries have is because we’ve got a welfare program that they don’t have to beg.

They just get it from the government. But what if that none of that existed? You’d be surprised how many people would be out there and begging. When I took my kid down in the old Mexico, 25, 30 years ago, I gave each one of them some money to buy a few things. We didn’t get two blocks until all their money was gone because there was people asking for it and they just gave everything to hand. I was thankful for their compassion, but I had to inform them that Daddy didn’t have an unlimited money tree.

I gave them a little bit more money and says, you can’t give to everybody. You remember when Peter and John was going down the road there and went get ready to go into the temple It’s called beautiful. It says, this year, a guy asked him, arms, arms for the poor. He said, silver and gold have I. Now this was the first pope. Silver and gold have I? None. None. He didn’t have a fancy robe on, didn’t have a pointed thing on his head.

And he didn’t have any silver and gold. Well, I could go somewhere with this. And neither did he tell him, you’ll be all right, just kiss my ring or my toe.” You say, you make me mad, I don’t care. Doesn’t matter. But it says, if thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that saith unto thee, give me to drink, thou would have have asked of him and he would have given thee living water. So did Jesus go fishing?

You see, one came to him at night and he went to one in the daytime. You’d never know where you’re gonna catch fish, but remember Jesus was a fisherman. And you and I, he says, follow me. And the words he wants us to do what he does. And that’s why you find in the Bible about us taking the gospel to the world. Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Means go fishing, go fishing. Go fishing.

Look in Acts chapter two, the book of Acts in chapter two. Acts chapter 2, and look there in verse 41. Verse 41 says, then they that gladly received his word were baptized. And the same day they were added into them about 3,000 souls. Jesus went fishing and he had his disciples and he gave them the ability to speak in a language that everybody could understand. Why? into the Gospels. Well, I can’t say what you’re doing. And there’s no one here that thinks.

I love that. As you say, I have been fighting for a little bit, but I’m happy to see. I’m happy to see what the Gospels are like. So I’m going to talk a little bit about that. I’m sorry. But I’m going to talk a little bit about that. I’m going to talk about that as I’m going to talk, saved one day. You say, well, I’m not interested in numbers. God is. He even wrote a book in the Bible called Numbers, didn’t he?

And who’s the one that wrote these numbers in the Bible? The Holy Spirit of God? Why do you think this is in here? To give us examples. When you read the book of Acts, it is is the continuation of the book of Luke. And it’s a beginning of what Jesus began to do. It’s like a continuation. It’s a history. And in the book of Acts, it tells you what happened. It is an evangelistic book about some evangelist who was fulfilling the Great Commission.

Now going into the world, and that’s why you find all these soul-winning stories in the book of Acts. Acts. Acts. Even the word itself seems like it means I’m supposed to do something. Doesn’t it sound like action to you? Maybe it is. Because you see, if the Holy Spirit is involved, there should be action. You and I have been blessed by God to be given the indwelling Holy Spirit to call us to action, to do something. Now, I like the various ministries that we have, but the greatest ministry in this church is individual soul-winning.

Nobody knows about it. In other words, you don’t have to always toot your own horn. But there’s nothing wrong in letting people know that, yes, you had somebody trust Christ of Savior, but you know, you know that you’re giving the glory and the honor to the Lord. You’re just thankful God is able to use you. I think it’s a great thing. Some of you will give out CDs, some of you will give out tracks, some of you talk to people, some of you give money to make things possible so you can get on the radio and so on.

But the reason that I want you to do it is because I want you to do it for the Lord. You’re doing it for the Lord. This is what the Lord wants you to do. You have been called under this. You that are missing Sunday school on Sunday morning, you’re missing some good teaching. It will help you tremendously. Remember, when you’re limited in knowledge, you’re limited in ministry. So the more you know, the more you can do, the more you can explain to help people to see.

God wants you to do this. 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. Part two of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. 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 toll-free, 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’sFINEST 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 are 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 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline 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.

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 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. Did you know a lot of the people follow Jesus only because of the free handouts they can get something for free It wasn’t because of him It was worth a gate get from him There’s people like that they don’t need God They don’t want God until they’re in trouble and then they want to take and pray some magical prayer and God supposed to Here I am and Then do it You can’t use God like that.

It won’t work God wants to use you, not you use him. There’s a difference. Yeah, God wants to use you for his purpose, his honor, his glory. Not you using God for whatever you want. Like he’s my little, my sugar daddy, he’s my little, um, miracle working guy that I keep in my back pocket. And I only call upon him once in a while when I really want him. And you think, okay, now you made a bunch of bad decisions.

You got yourself in a lot of problems. And then you’re just going to quote some nice little prayer. But God doesn’t love me. God didn’t answer my prayer. prayer. You think he’s just some millionaire uncle that’s supposed to, you call him, he ought to give you whatever you need. It won’t work. Sorry. But he worked in miracle and many have because they saw the miracle. They followed him. But is he the bread of life? He is the bread of life.

You see, he is more important to me than my necessary food, and I like food. I love food. But the Lord is to be more important to us than bread to keep us alive. And then this whole rest of this chapter talks about how that he says your fathers were in the wilderness, and they had manna from heaven. He says, I’m the true bread that came down from heaven. That’s why in the Old Testament, yes, they had the manna come.

It was a pipe. It was a them to understand that the bread that caused us to live forever is the bread that came down from heaven. And it was the man in the Old Testament. But when Jesus literally came, he watched the bread from heaven. See there in verse 33, for the bread of God is He, which cometh down from heaven and give a life, eternal life to the world. And that’s why he says in verse 35. And Jesus said unto him, I am the bread of life.

He that come up to me shall never hunger. He that believeth in me shall never thirst. See that’s why when you go into the temple to see you, that’s the bread and there’s the water. And he’s all of these things because it’s a picture of Jesus Christ. They had a vivid picture of the Lord in the Old Testament so that they would understand these things. Because see the Bible says he had not yet been manifested. He hadn’t revealed himself yet.

Hold your place right here. Look there in the book of Hebrews in chapter 9. Hebrews in chapter 9. I want you to see a verse there with me. And just take a quick look at this. Look in verse one, then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service and a worldly or earthly sanctuary. And there was a tabernacle made. The first wherein was the candlestick and the table in the showbread, which is called the sanctuary, that’s in the holy place.

And after the second veil, the tabernacle, which is called the the holiest of all, the holy of holies, which had the golden sensor in the art of the covenant overlaid about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenants. See, I didn’t make that up. I was getting it from the book. See, the Bible says this. Look what else he said. And over at the cherubim of glory, shadowing the mercy seat of which we cannot now speak particular in detail.

Now, when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the heirs or the sins of the people. The Holy Ghost, this signifying, and Yoda on the line, this, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. Christ hadn’t come yet and made the way and explained it all.

Everything hinges upon Jesus Christ. Now he has been manifested in the Bible tells in the book of Timothy in chapter 3 and I believe verse 16 where it says concerning the order of the church, how that God was manifested in the flesh. It’s been done. And he has gone into the temple. It’s been done. The veil has been writ. He has entered into heaven and offered his blood upon the altar in heaven. Because the one upon the earth was made after the pattern of the one that Moses saw in heaven.

You say, is that in the Bible? I’m glad you asked. Look in verse 23. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves were better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us. So He is our high priest, and He has done these things.

It had been manifested, revealed so we can see and understand how How you and I now have the right to enter boldly to the throne of grace because of what he did. He made a way. He made a way. There was no way before. There’s no way for you or me to enter into the presence of God. We had no standing. We had no right, no authority. We’re not on the same level. The only way you can face God is without dying is to be just with God.

No fault, no sin. Christ was the only one that had that right, that authority. So that’s why all this is so interesting. Now I want you to look there in John chapter 6, where he made the statement in verse 37, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that come to me, I will know wise cast out. He will never cast you out. And there was a problem that if they came into the holy place and it wasn’t right, they had to tie our rope around the high priest because nobody was going in there to get him and they would drag him out.

But you and I can enter into the presence of God because the Lord had made a way. He is the way that when he says, I am the way, the truth and the life, he’s telling the truth. That’s why he did it. That’s why he came. But now in verse 44, I want you to see this. No man can come to me except the Father, which have sent me, draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day.

So everybody think, well, okay, now this means that nobody can go to learn unless God draws us. And so they believe in predestination and a false idea of predestination. But Christ says, if I be lifted up, I will draw all men. And that’s why he says, preach the gospel to all men, because through that message, he wants every man to know that God has paid for his sins, and that all men, the good news is that they can be saved and have eternal life.

So the drawing is there, and that’s what we do when we present the gospel. But some people respond, some people do not. It is a choice of what people will or will not do. Now, he says, that’s what I’m saying. Does it offend you?” And everybody seems to get a little offended. But looking verse 63 of the same chapter, it is the spirit that quickens or makes alive. The flesh prophetate nothing, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.

That’s why he said, he that hearth my word and believeeth on him that sent me half everlasting life. And so he says in verse 64, but there are some of you that and you ought to underline it. That believe not. Some you do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believe not and who should betray Him. He already knows. He’s God. And he says in verse 65, therefore said, I unto you that no man can come unto me except that we’re given him of my Father.

In other words, so how does he draw? He draws with the gospel and those that believe. Go and those that do not believe, don’t go. And that’s why he made the statement from that time, many of his disciples went back. Because they only followed him for the one reason, because they liked what they were getting. And so he says, will you also go away? And look in verse 68, Simon Peter answered, said unto him, to whom shall we go?

Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe, And are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. He said, we believe it. Some did believe it, and some did not believe it. Now take your Bible and turn me to the book of John chapter eight. John chapter eight, remember as you go through the tabernacle, there’s also what is called the lampstand. The lampstand was made of pure gold. And it had one single place for the light and three on the sides, and the Bible talks about they put oil in them.

And this is where they, because of the Maccabees, Mathew Maccabees, because the people were so cruel to the Jewish people. This is between the Old Testament and the New Testament, and there had been such persecution and Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificed a pig upon the altar. And so they cleansed the temple. They got together and they had a little war and they defeated the enemy. But whenever they wanted to rededicate the temple, which took eight days, they didn’t have enough oil because they didn’t have enough oil.

They only had it for one day. But the oil miraculously kept burning for those eight days. And even to this day the Jewish people talk about the festival of lights, or they call it Hanukkah, which is the last three weeks of the month of December. And so that’s what they’re doing, that’s called the dedication of the rededication. And so it’s a festival time for them. But it’s talking about this lampstand. Christ says, I am the light of the world.

See there in verse 12? In verse 12, where he says, he’s spoken to them, I am the light of the world. He that followed me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. See, everything in the temple was a picture of Jesus Christ. It’s the type of Him. He is the fulfillment of it. You take Christ away, and that’s such a meaningless thing that they were doing and what they were going through. Unless there’s a purpose behind all of it.

And many times people don’t see what’s behind it. What’s the real reasons? But he says, I am the light of the world. And to be a light of the world, he said, you have to die. Look in chapter 12 real quick, chapter 12. He says in verse 23, and Jesus answered them and said, the hour is come. On many occasions they tried to kill him and he kept saying, my hour is not my hour is not yet come. But now the hour is come.

And he says, very, very I say unto you, except the corner of wheat, fallen to the ground and died about it alone. But if it died, it’d bring forth much fruit, talking about himself, talking about the death that he’s going to die. And he says in verse 27, now is my soul troubled. What shall I save? Father, save me from this hour. But forFlor this cause came I into this world, unto this hour. So this was the cause of why He came.

He came into the world to die for the sins of the whole world. And not to pay for the sins that you did this year. And then you got to do it again next year. And then in the next year, that’s all a type of works for salvation, which can never pay for sin. And so Christ was going to make a payment for sins, which would last forever and only have to do it one time. And my water will wash you clean forever.

And you’ll never thirst again. And my bread, when you eat that bread, which is the type of me, I’m the bread that came down from heaven. He didn’t believe it than me, hath everlasting life. Never has to be done again. He’s a different kind of a high priest, not after the order of Aaron, or the tribe of Levi, but after the order of Melchizedek. And so he says down here, and I want you to see this, where he makes the statement in verse 32, he says, and if I be lifted up from the earth, we’ll draw all men unto me.

This he said signifying what death he should die. So he told him before he died, he knew it. And it says in verse 34, the people answered him, we have heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever. So they knew from the Old Testament that when Christ came, he would live forever. So that’s why they couldn’t understand, how was he gonna die? If he’s going to live for them, they knew from the Old Testament Scriptures. When you study about what God said about today, but in his son, which later on we put a lot of those verses to Solomon, but there was another son that’s been referenced to, and is a son that will live forever, and he’ll rule forever.

Take your Bible and look very quickly to Psalm 72. I want you to see this. The 72nd Psalm. Psalm 72. And look what he says here in verse 17. His name shall endure forever. His name shall be continued as long as the sun. This is talking about the Lord. When he comes, he will endure forever. Look in Psalms 89 and look up there in verse 29, verse 29, where it says in verse 29, his seed which is a reference to the Lord, the Messiah, Christ Himself.

Also will I make to endure forever and His throne as the days of heaven, forever. Look down there in verse 33, nevertheless my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffered my faithfulness to fame. My covenant will I not break, nor all to the things that has gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my wholeness that I will not lie unto David. His seed, from David, his seed shall endure forever.” So they knew that the Messiah was supposed to live forever.

Well how’s he going to live forever if he’s going to die? And Jesus says, believe in the light while you have the light. You see, sometimes And we think we have to understand it in order to believe it. And it’s kind of like the Lord says, I want you to believe it so that you can understand it. Did you know if you’ll believe that this book is true and it is the word of God, then you’ll begin to understand it.

But if you think you’ve got to understand it all before you can believe it, it’s backwards and it won’t work. This is not a normal book about a normal man. This is totally superior. There’s nothing like this book. This is truly the Word of God. Look at in verse 36, why you have light, believe in the light that you may be the children of light. So Christ is the light and He says that once we have believed on Christ and we have eternal life, He says ye are the lights in the world.

Look down in verse 46, I am come a light into the world that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. Verse 48, he that rejects me, and he received, if not my words, have one that will judge him. So can you reject it? Yes, you can. Can you accept it? Yes, you can, but that’s your choice. So you believe what he says in order that you might understand. You don’t try to figure it all out in order that you might believe what he says.

God has made the gospel simple and clear, but you will never understand everything about it. And that’s why I usually tell people, sometimes with questions and even with doubts. You don’t understand it all. But you can understand enough that you’re a sinner and God loves you. He died on the cross and paid for your sins. If you believe it, you can have eternal life. I don’t understand how he’s going to do it, but I’m going to believe him. And because you believe it and as you begin to read and study, you’ll understand more and more and more.

But if you wait till you try to understand everything in the Bible, before you can believe it, it’s not going to work. Because he says the things of God are spiritually discerned. It means a lost man can’t understand all of this stuff. Most Christians don’t even get all of it, even if you’ve been studying it for a number of years. Do you know what’s really neat? As you go through here and then all of a sudden you find, well, there was the altar of incense.

It’s where they would take and put different kind of spices and so forth and kind of a sweet smell because see, in this room, in that room, it was totally dark. There was no light. If it hadn’t been for the lampstand, there was no light in the room. And they went into the other one, the only light they had there was the Shukana glory. That was probably bright enough. But here there’s no light and that’s why they had to take and keep changing, putting the oil in and trimming the lamp and so forth.

But it talks about the altar of incense. Did you know in the book of Revelation in chapter 8 it talks about a scene that takes place in heaven and it talks about the prayers of the saints that are offered unto God. And see you and I need to understand there’s somebody who enters seeds for us and that’s why look in chapter 17 chapter 17 You have the intercessory prayer of Jesus Christ, where He prays to the Father, intercessory prayer, the altar of incense where that becomes the sweet smelling savor in the nostrils of God.

Now you’re not, we’ll never understand all this stuff, but when we get to heaven, it’s gonna be like God, you know, like all this comes to life and we’re gonna see so much more, but we didn’t understand it because of our, our old flesh birth that we have that blinds of some time. That’s why it’s so difficult for us to trust the Lord fully in everything in life because we have this whole sinful nature and just won’t let us alone.

That’s why our love is not as pure as that ought to be. Our understanding is not as pure as that ought to be. Our forgiveness is not as pure as that ought to be. Nothing is the way it ought to be because we’re battling with this old flesh that we got. here in Gospel of John and look in chapter 17 where he says, these words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come.

Glorify thy son, that thy son also make glorify thee. As thou have given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou have given him. This is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent. So Jesus is now talking to the Father and says, glorify thou me with the glory that I had with thee before the world was. That’s the next verse, looking verse five.

And now O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world began. Jesus didn’t start that day that he was born into this world. He already existed. I have manifested thy name, he’s done all these things. And he is talking to the Father, why? Because Jesus is now entering to the presence of God. See, none of us was ever qualified. None of us could ever do this. But see, he was a perfect individual who never sinned.

He’s the only one that had the right to enter into the presence of his Holy Father. And he intercedes for us. He made a way for us. Now in the gospel of John when he says, you believe in God, believe also in me. He said, in my Father’s house or many mansions, If it were not so, I would have told you. He said, I go to prepare a place for you. And many believed when he said, I go to prepare a place for you.

I mean, I go to prepare a way for you, a way for you to get into the presence of God. I got a place with all these mansions. He said that where I am, there you may be also. Now, twice he had made that statement to those that would not believe it. He says, and where I go, you cannot come. But he told Thomas, he said, where I am, there you may be also. that where I am, you may be.

But the other, he said, you can’t come. You can’t come. So are there gonna be people that will be with them? Yes. Are there gonna be those that will not be with them? Yes. And that’s a shame. Because he made a payment for the sins of the whole world. And that’s why I’m always trying to get individuals to trust Jesus Christ as their savior. The best news in all the world. Let me just show you a couple of the universities before we close here.

You see there in verse 20, neither pray I for these alone,” in verse 20, but for them also which shall believe on Him through their word. You see, this is why I believe it’s so important for us who know the word, know that we’re going to heaven because we want others to believe and hear through us. So that’s why we persuade and we witness and we preach the gospel and do whatever we can do because there’s a lot of people that’s never heard how to have eternal life.

They just don’t know. And yet the Word of God says that, looking verse 24, he says, father, I will be that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hath given me, for thou love us me before the foundation of the world. This is an awesome intercessory prayer. You see, he made a way. And whenever he says, I’m going to leave you now, I’m going to go and they say, well, we don’t know how to get there.

He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me. If you reject Christ, you cannot have eternal life. You will not go to heaven. You cannot be saved except through Christ and Him alone is your only hope of ever going to heaven. Look up here. This hand represents you and me and the wall of represents sin. Now we all have sin on us. Everybody knows everybody does things wrong, but God loves us.

He hates our sin. And because of sin, we can’t enter into the presence of God. We have no stand in no right. We’re not justified. We would die in His presence. And so the Bible says because of sin, we’re all condemned, but that He loves us. Wants us to go to heaven to be with Him for all eternity. way. And by your works is not the way. Go in the church to try to earn eternal life or give money to try to get eternal is not the way to do it.

It will not work. He says, it’s not by works of righteousness which we have done. This hand represents Jesus Christ, God in the flesh. He came into this world. He tabernacles among us. And he lived a perfect life and had no sin, didn’t have to die. But because of his love for us, he took our sin that separates us from him. He took our sin, paid for it on the cross. He died for our sins. And all that you and I have to do is believe he did it for us.

He puts that payment to our account. We go to heaven because he died for me. I don’t have to pay for my sin. He paid for my sin. But God says the payment’s not put to your account unless you believe it. This is a decision you have to make. You can accept it, you can reject it. He prayed for those that would believe it. He says that where I am there you may be also. But if you don’t accept it you will not be there.

I hope you understand it and it makes sense to you. Let’s pray, shall we? With every head bowed and every eye closed and no one looking around. If you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, Where’d you trust Him right now? You’re not going to understand at all. You believe that you might understand. You can understand this much. There is a heaven. There is a hell. There is a God. You have sinned against Him. You will die. Will you trust Christ as your Savior?

Will you trust Him, depend upon Him, to take you to heaven whenever you die? I’m not talking about you trusting some normal man. This is the God-man. We head by nice clothes that anyone would all say, yes, that made sense to me. And preach at this point, and I will accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. Would you skip your hand very quickly and put a rut back down? And say, yes, I will trust the Lord this morning is my only hope of going to heaven.

If you’ve never done it, would you do it right now? Just slip it up very quickly and put a rut back down. I’m not gonna embarrass you, not gonna have you forward, not doing anything to you. And one of the all, if you have trusted Christ as your Savior, understand that God’s will is for you to realize that you now have the right to enter into the presence of God through Jesus Christ. Father, we thank you so much for this time together.

Bless each one for being here. Christ and 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 are 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 toll free. 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bibleline programs, just go to our home page at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link.

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. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10-30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcasts of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friends, 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.

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 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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

in your Bible to the Gospel of John, the Gospel of John. A couple of weeks ago, I preached a sermon on the tabernacle, and I used the auditorium as an illustration. How? That there’s the outer court, and they had the brazen altar, and they had the altar of incense, and they had the labor, and they had a veil, and this was called a different room, it was the holy place. And in the holy place was, well, the table of show bread and the lampstand.

Then there was another veil that went into the holy of holies. And this veil, only the high priest got to enter into that veil once a year to offer a blood upon the mercy seat once a year for the sins of himself and for the sins of the people. And And that the Ark of the Covenant was in that holy of holies. And there on the top, the lid was what the mercy seized over the Ark. And in this Ark of the Testament, well, there were three things in there.

One was the Jar of Manah, and then the Aaron’s Rod that butted in the Ten Commandments. And so we went through that and took the whole service that night. I made a statement that as you studied the gospel of John, you will see it looks like Christ is walking through the tabernacle. So I want you to take your Bible and turn to the gospel of John and I want to show you what I was thinking about because you’re looking at the gospel of John as it’s laid out as though he was walking through the temple.

John chapter 1 looked there in verse 14. When it makes the statement in verse 14, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. That word dwelt among us means to tabernacle among us. See, Jesus Christ had been prophesied to come and that he was the righteous branch. He was my righteous servant. And so in the Old Testament, They knew the Messiah was coming. They didn’t all understand the difference between the suffering of Christ and the glory that should follow and how the timing of all this was to be done.

So there was a lot of things they didn’t put together. Well, even today there’s a lot of people that don’t put some of these things together. But in this verse when it says that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory. glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Now look there in verse 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. Now He was the life of the world, and He came into this world, and the Bible says that the earth is like a dark place. And he’s the light that came into the world and talks about John the Baptist and says there was a man named John who was sent to be a witness of the light that all men might believe in him.

And he says he made the world and came into the world, but the world received him not but to as many as received him to them gave he the power, the right, the authority to become the sons of God. And then in that famous verse that we talk about in verse 14, where it says, the Word in the beginning was God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God, and the word was made flesh.

God manifested himself, took upon himself a human body, and lived upon this earth, and refers to his body as the temple. Because this was the Lord living inside of an earthly tabernacle. And so this explains a little bit at the beginning of where it’s going to head. Soon as all this takes place, you’ll notice there in John chapter one, and he makes the statement in verse 21, and they ask him, what then are thou Elaius? And he’s answered, I am not.

Or thou that prophet and he answered, no. And this is a question that were asked to John the Baptist. They said to him, who art thou? That we may give an answer to them that sin is. What sayest thou of thyself? He says, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. straight the way of the Lord as says the prophet Isaiah, and they, which were sent were of the Pharisees and they ask him, instead of him, why baptize the style then?

If there’ll be not that Christ, nor Elijah, neither that prophet John answered them saying, I baptize with water, but there stand one among you whom you know not. He it is who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoes latches I am not worthy to and loose. These things were done in Bathabara beyond Jordan where John was baptizing. Now look in verse 29, you ought to underline this verse in your Bible because it says, the next day John seeeth Jesus coming unto him and sayeth, Behold, the Lamb of God which take it the way the sin of the world.

He’s done to be the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. You remember of the story where Abraham was going to offer up his son upon the altar and actually slay his son. And the Bible says that God stayed his hand and there was a ram caught in the thicket. And right before that it made the statement because the concerned son had asked the question, Dad, I see the wood and I see the altar, I see the fire and where’s the lamb.

And he says, God will provide himself a lamb. Not that God would provide a lamb. God would provide himself a lamb. And that’s written all the way back there in the book of Genesis. So this isn’t some new idea that come along. Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God slain from the foundations of the world. And so as you go through here and you notice in this chapter, talks about somebody that he met. This was not the normal man.

This was not just a regular individual. He had supernatural abilities. Look what he says down here in verse 45, Philip findeth Nathaniel and said unto him, we have found him, of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did right. So even they understood that Moses back there in the first five books the Messiah that was going to come, the Christ that was going to come. Because they said they wrote about it and get the rest of it. Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph, and Nathaniel said unto him, can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?

Philip said unto him, come and see. Jesus saw Nathaniel come and set him to Him, and said unto Him, Behold, and Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile. Nathaniel said unto Him, winch noest thou me. into him, went to knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, before that Philip called thee, when thou was under the fig tree I saw thee. Jesus didn’t have to be there, but he could see him. Now that would let me know right off the bat.

There’s something different about this guy. He has supernatural abilities. It says her in chapter 2 in verse 24, Jesus did not commit himself unto them because he knew all men and needed not that any should testify of men, for he knew what was in man. This is not your average individual. Jesus Christ is that righteous servant, that righteous branch the Bible talks about that is going to come someday. And he is going to go into the temple and the reason he has to go into the temple is because he is going to offer some blood upon the mercy seat.

The mercy seat was the lid over the ark. It wasn’t a big place, it was a small little place. The ark of the covenant was a small thing and the lid had two cherubim that came over it. And inside of it was those three items and the blood was to be sprinkled by the high priest. Now the thing is, in order to do that, you had to be of the tribe of Levi, but Jesus didn’t come from the tribe of Levi.

Came from the tribe of Judah. So where does he get the right tact as a high priest? Well, the Bible says he was not going to be a high priest after the order of Aaron or the Levites. He would be one that would be after the order of Melchizedek, who the Bible doesn’t say we have any knowledge about his beginning or his ending or anything about him. He just shows up. And Jesus was going to be one that had no beginning and no ending.

And this is going to be a totally different different kind of a high priest. You see, those high priests in those days, they had to offer sacrifices for themselves. And then they go into the presence of God in that holy place, for the Shekana glory, and they didn’t know if they would live or die. So it was always done with fear and trembling. And that was only done once a year, and nobody else got to do that. So Jesus is the one that’s going to take and make our way for you and I to enter into the presence of God.

How can a holy God meet with a center on what grounds? And so that’s why the Bible says there’s only one man that’s a mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. So Jesus was going to come and do this. Now in chapter two you’ll notice the first thing right off the bat is he goes into the temple. As he goes into the temple he sees all these people, these money changers in been there. And I got a good hunch that not only did they change money, make profit, but they probably sold some animals.

They weren’t probably the best, but they would make deals, bargains. And Jesus, when he came, was very upset. And he says, the zeal of the Lord had eaten me up. In other words, I think he was mad as a hornet in Georgia language. So he says there in verse 15, and when he had made a scourge of small courts, he drove them out of the temple and the sheep and the oxen poured over the changers’ money and over through the tables and said unto them that so does take these things hence make not my father’s house a house of merchandise and the disciples remembered that he had written to the zeal of thine house had eaten me up then answered the Jews instead of named him what signs sure style unto us seeing that thou doest these things in the words who are you where’d you come from what right do you

You have to do this. I mean, this ain’t your party. Nobody invited you. But all the things about the temple pointed toward Christ coming. And here he is, and they whisked not who it was. And so he says there in verse 19, Jesus answered and said unto them, destroy this temple, and he’s not talking about the literal temple that had been built after 46 years. He’s talking about his own body because his body was the temple. God was tabernacle in this body.

And that’s why Jesus was present. He was God. And that’s why he said, he that have seen me have seen the Father. Because nobody could see God, but he was veiled in a body. And get this. The Jew said, four years six years this temple in building will thou reared up in three days, but he spake of the temple of his body. And therefore he was risen from the dead. He disciples remembered that he had said these things into them, and they believed the scriptures in the word which Jesus had said.

So he starts off right off the bat with the ideas about this temple and how he thinks about the temple. Because the temple, see, was the way the people were supposed to have a way by which they could approach God, but only through that high priest. So Jesus Christ is called the king. He’s called the high priest. He’s called the son of David, son of God, and he’s the priest. He’s the prophet. He’s the king. And so to be the high priest, it means he has to offer the blood upon the altar.

Now, in the Old Testament, somebody tried to take that honor upon themselves, and that was a no-no. You didn’t do that. As you would enter into the temple, there was this brazen altar by which they had the burnt offerings made to consume at time the total flesh, which was a sin offering. There were other ones that were like guilt offerings and trespass offerings by which people who sinned against each other had to come and make a sacrifice. So there were different kinds of offerings that were made.

There was the the labor and the labor was the water where they had to wash themselves. And the very next chapter, in chapter three, he’s talking to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews who came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do the miracles that thou do us except God be with him. In verse three, Jesus answered instead of him, Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

And then he talks about that which is one of the flesh is flesh, that which is one of the spirit of spirit, but the new birth as you wind it on down through. You’ll find out that when he gets to chapter 4, he talks to the woman at the well and he said to her, he says, if thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that saith unto thee give me to drink, thou would have asked of him and he would have given thee living water.

And she says, give me this living water. And he makes a statement there in John chapter 4 and verse 13, he says, whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But in verse 14, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I give him shall be in him a well of water, springing up and everlasting life. God said, I have water that when you drink this water, you’ll never thirst again, never thirst again.

And so as you go through the temple, you’ll find out there’s certain things that are all referenced toward the Lord. the washing of the water by the Word. Because see the priests had to bathe themselves or wash their hands and their feet before they could enter into the holy place where they had the table of show bread. The table of show bread, well there’s the bread and 12 loaves for the 12 tribes of Israel. And there was the, some call it the candle sticks but it’s not candles because they didn’t use candles.

that was oil, they were oil lamps. And the oil, they had to take care of these things every day. So there was priests who had to minister in the temple every day that had to go on. But only once a year did they go into that veil. And that was where they had the holy of holies. So in John is talking about the washing of the water by the word. Now that’s where we get when you trust Christ as your Savior and you drink of the water of God’s word, you have eternal life, once and for all, forever, to be forever clean, to know that you’re going to heaven whenever you die.

And the Bible makes the statement in chapters 7 and verse 39, I believe it is, on that great day of the feast Jesus stood in Christ and if any man thirsted, let him come into me and drink and as the scripture hath set out of his belly, shall flow rivers of living water. water. This make he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive. See, in John chapter three, when he’s talking to Nicodemus, he’s talking about the Holy Spirit.

That which is more of the Spirit is Spirit. And that which is one of the flesh is flesh. There’s two different kinds. But the Holy Spirit is talking about the Word of God and the water of the Word. So it’s laid out in a wonderful way as you make your way down to the temple. Take your Bible and turn there to the book of John in chapter 6. You’ll notice in John chapter 6 we have it talking about the bread now.

How that Jesus Christ says that He is the bread of life and man cannot live by bread alone in this world, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God. There’s something more important than bread, but God wants us to understand if Jesus can do this, He’s not just your normal man. He’s not just the average guy. This man is the God man. And it says here in the book of John in chapter 6, he says in verse 5, when Jesus then lifted up His eyes and saw a great company coming to Him, He said unto them, Philip, when shall we buy bread that these may eat.

Now Jesus knew why he asked the question. He knew what Philip would say and he also knew that there was a little boy there. He already knew this because he’s God. He knows what’s in man. He knew there was a man there, a little boy that only had two little bitty fishes, five loads of bread. Jesus knew that. But he asked the question because he was going to do something. He was going supply fish sandwiches for everybody. But look at verse 6, and this he said, to prove him to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

He knew in advance what he would do. Philip answered him, 200 pennies worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said it to him, there’s a lad here which had five barley loaves and two small fishes. But what of a among so many, what are we going to do? And Jesus says, make the men set down. Now there were much grass in the place.

So the men set down in number about 5,000. Now I don’t know how many women and children were there, or it’s just a really a reference just to the men. There’s a lot of people there. How would you like to feed 5,000? Peter Amato. He He has fun just with a couple hundred at times, five thousand. And here’s Jesus out there on the seaside, the northern part of the Sea of Galilee. And there’s two fish, five little baritos. This guy is not your normal guy.

You know, as I read this and I see what he says behind the scenes of these things about it, he knew what was in man and he knew already what he was going to do. I love reading stuff like that because it works on my mind. If that’s true then that’s true now. That means he knows what I’m thinking. Not just what I say. Not what I do. He knows how I think. He knows my motive because he didn’t lose all of that just because he went to heaven.

If he knew it then, He knows it now. True, scary, huh? Look what he says. He said, tell everybody to sit down, 5,000 of them. Jesus took the loaves and when he had given thanks. This is one of the reasons we do it. We should give thanks to the Lord for the food we’re about to eat. You remember after his resurrection and he had those two guys on the road and they didn’t know who he was? And then when they got ready to eat, says he broke the bread and gave thanks.

Ah, I know who he is. So he says there in verse 11, and Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given things he distributed to the disciples, the disciples to them that were set down, and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gather them together, fill twelve baskets with fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

In verse 14, he said, hey, we just saw a miracle. Did you know a lot of the people follow Jesus only because of the free handouts? They could get something for free. It wasn’t because of him, it was worth a day, get from him. There’s people like that. They don’t need God. They don’t want God until they’re in trouble. And then they wanna take and pray some magical prayer. And God’s supposed to, voila, here I am. And then do it.

You can’t use God like that. It won’t work. God wants to use you, not you use him. There’s a difference. Yeah, God wants to use you for his purpose, his honor, his glory. Not you using God for whatever you want. Like he’s my little, my sugar daddy, he’s my little, um, miracle working guy that I keep in my back pocket. And I only call upon him once in a while when I really want him. And you think, okay, now you made a bunch of bad decisions, you got yourself in a lot of problems and then you’re just gonna quote some nice little prayer God doesn’t love me.

God didn’t answer my prayer. You think he’s just some millionaire uncle that suppose you call him. He told to give you whatever you need. Won’t work. Sorry. But he worked a miracle and many have because they saw the miracle. They followed him. But is he the bread of life? He is the bread of life. You see, he is more important to me than my necessary food. And I like food. I love food. But the Lord is to be more important to us than bread.

They keep us alive. And then in this whole rest of this chapter talks about how that he says your fathers were in the wilderness and they had manna from heaven. He’s on the true bread that came down from heaven. That’s why in the Old Testament, yes, they had the manna come. It was a pipe. It was a them to understand that the the bread that caused us to live forever is the bread that came down from heaven. And it was the man in the Old Testament.

But when Jesus literally came, he watched the bread from heaven. See there in verse 33, for the bread of God is he, which come down from heaven and give a life, eternal life to the world. And that’s why he says in verse 35. And Jesus threatened him, I am the bread of life. He that come up to me shall never hunger. He that believeth in me shall never thirst. See, that’s why when you go into that temple, that’s the bread and there’s the water.

And he’s all of these things. Because it’s a picture of Jesus Christ. They had a vivid picture of the Lord in the Old Testament so that they would understand these things. Because see, the Bible says he had not yet been manifested. He hadn’t revealed himself yet. Hold your place right here. Look there in the book of Hebrews in chapter nine. Hebrews and chapter nine.

I want you to see a verse there with me. And just take a quick look at this. Look in verse one, then barely the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service. and a worldly or earthly sanctuary. And there was a tabernacle made. The first wherein was the candlestick and the table in the showbread, which is called the sanctuary. That’s in the holy place. And after the second veil, the tabernacle, which is called the holiest of all, the holy of holies, which had the golden sensor in the art of the covenant overlaid about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded and the tables of the covenants.

See, I didn’t make that up. I was getting it from the book. See, the Bible says this. What else is it? And over at the cherubim of glory, shadowing the mercy seed of which we cannot now speak particularly. in detail. Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood which he offered for himself and for the heirs or the sins of the people.

The Holy Ghost, this signifying, and Yara on the line, this, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. Christ hadn’t come yet and made the way and explained it all. Everything hinges upon Jesus Christ. Now he has been manifested in the Bible, tells in the book of Timothy in chapter 3, and obviously, verse 16, where it says, concerning the order of the church, how that God was manifested in the flesh.

It’s been done. And he has gone into the temple. It’s been done. The veil has been writ. He has entered into heaven and offered his blood upon the altar in heaven because the one upon the earth was made after the pattern of the one that Moses saw in heaven. You say, is that in the Bible? I’m glad you asked. Look in verse 23. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves were better sacrifices than these.

For Christ has not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but in the heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us. So He is our High Priest. And He has done these things. It had been manifested, Revealed so we can see and understand how you and I now have the right to enter boldly to the throne of grace Because of what he did he made a way He made a way there was no way before there’s no way for you or me to enter into the presence of God We had no standing We had no right no authority We’re not on the same level The only way you can face God without dying is to be just with God.

No fault, no sin. Christ was the only one that had that right, that authority. So that’s why all this is so interesting. 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. Two of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. 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 toll-free 1-800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bibleline programs, just go to our home page at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link. 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. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10-30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friends, 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 come to you. 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 the commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Turn your Bible to the book of 1 Timothy, 1 Timothy, chapter 5. The scriptures tell us an awful lot about the sin of gossiping, tail-bearers devouring one another. All these things that people do when they disobey God. What if some things that people say, and it’s not true? But then people believe that it’s true, and then so then they talk or treat that person as though, that’s a wicked person and it’s not true. Wouldn’t that be a terrible thing to do?

Look there in verse 15, or some are already turned aside after Satan. Remember that you’re either going to serve the Lord or you’re going to serve Satan. There isn’t anybody else. You say, well, I’m just going to do what I want to do. OK, you’re going to serve Satan. No, I’m not going to serve Satan. I’m just going to do what I want. What’s the difference between you and him? So you have a nature just like his. So it’s a fifth rebellion to God.

It’s Satan. So you’re either going to obey God or you’re going to obey the devil who we serve is revealed by the decisions that we make. And then he makes this statement here in verse 17, let the elders that rule well. Now that’s preachers elders in a church. Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor. So what does that mean? Aren’t like this? If a man goes to work and he just say in the church and he makes a hundred dollars.

If the average of the people is $100, then how much should the preacher make if he gets double-honor? $200. If they get 500 average, the preacher is supposed to get twice that. If they got $1,000 average, then the preacher gets $2,000. That is if he has committed himself to the study of the Word of God. Look what he says. In verse 17, let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially day who labor in the Word and doctrine.

Preachers are supposed to give himself to these two main things. That’s the Word of studying, knowing the Word, and prayer. Because that’s a powerful thing to know. Because that’s what you teach the people and that’s what governs their life. It’s the knowledge they gain from what the Bible has to say. And then the prayer that he does on behalf of interceding for people. One of the most powerful things you can have is somebody that can pray and talk to the Lord.

Because he’s either a holy man or a righteous man, Godly man. But look what he says in verse 18 for the scripture sayeth. This is the Old Testament Thou shall not muzzle the ox that should have out the corn In other words the ox that treads the corn ought to be able to eat of the corn and What he’s talking about the preacher that preaches the gospel should live of the gospel And he says this and that the labor is worthy of his reward.

This is what belongs Then he says in verse 19, that was the positive. Now here’s the negative. Against an elder or preacher received not an accusation but before two or more witnesses so that you don’t just listen to what somebody says there has to be witnesses and also in conjunction with this it’s based upon the truth of the Old Testament law to or more witnesses so that it’s established and it’s true because they’re going to check it out and prove before you just believe what somebody says find out if it’s true because what if it isn’t true have you ever heard somebody say something against a preacher and it not be true and yet people believe it that the devil can he doesn’t want people to believe that the pastor is either a good man or a godly man because he don’t want people going to listen to the guy.

The devil will say and do whatever he can to destroy it. Then in verse 20, if it’s true… Then, that sin, the elder, rebuked before all that others also may fear. In other words, can the preacher just do whatever he wants to do and get away with it? No. If he’s wrong, he’s to be confronted. And if he’s confronted, it’s to be between two and three witnesses at least, and to be proven to be true, and then it’s supposed to be known to the people, to rebuke the person, so that at person knows he can’t get away with it.

And then everybody else in the church knows, look, if the preacher got rebuked, everybody ought to get rebuked. If you really did believe what the scriptures teach, then there is to be church discipline. We should challenge and motivate one another to serve the Lord and to do right. Now, look now in the book of John, the Gospel of John. When Jesus Christ came, well, there was the problem of believing Him. And some would believe on them if they saw miracles done.

But there was the religious leaders that they had a problem with Christ. See, they didn’t believe He was who He claimed to be. And the reason the Apostle Paul made the statements that he did is because they had a lot of accusations made against him because people were saying things against Paul. And it wasn’t true. Paul says, look, find out if it’s true first. He said, I’m the guy that led you to Lord. I’m the guy that’s been teaching and training you all the years.

He says, listen to what I’m saying before you just quickly believe something and then you act upon it and it not be true. Well, what about Jesus? Did he have anybody ever say anything like that about him? Oh, yes. Why do you think they put them on a cross and crucified him? Because somebody said, somebody lied about him. Remember, they had witnesses, but they were false witnesses. They lied about him. They said he said things he didn’t say, and then something they said about him, well, he claimed to be God.

Well, he was, and that wasn’t a lie. It was the truth. So anyway, in the last part of verse 18, looking verse 18 of chapter 5, therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him because he not had only broken the Sabbath, but in their opinion, he was wrong, and they convinced the people that he was wrong, but also that God was his father. He’s making himself equal with God. Jesus said that God was His Father. Well, they know that if God was His Father, they know He’s saying He’s God too.

He’s equal with God. If you’re a human and you have a child, your child is human as you. Yeah. If God is God and God has a son, his son is just as good as God. I can say he’s as good as God. He’s as good as God. So when you go down through here and it talks about the judgment, look what he says in verse 30. I can of my own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge.

And my judgment is just because I seek not my own will. But the will of the Father which had sent me, if I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. In other words, you’re not going to believe me. If I only say what I am, then you’re not going to believe what I say. And maybe they don’t have to. But he says, I’ve got some witnesses. I got more than two. I’ve got more than three. And so they were to believe him.

Hold your place right here and look there in the book of Numbers in chapter 35. In verse 30 says, who’s so killeth any person? The murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses. But one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die. In other words, nobody is to ever die because of what one person says. So you had to have two or more witnesses because you’re talking about taking a man’s life. We said, well, do you mean if two people got together and said something about somebody, they could have them killed?

Well, yeah, but there was something else to it though. And so look there in the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 17. See, God didn’t tolerate in the nation of Israel anybody believing anything else except the truth. And that was that he was God. They were not to tolerate all religions in America. Everybody can have any religion they want because that’s what slowly wanting to change our laws in our land because we have people here who have different religious beliefs.

They no longer hold the Christian faith. There was articles that I’ve read where the Muslims want to replace the constitution with the Quran. Well, should that be allowed? It shouldn’t be allowed. But you know, if they get it in enough places of leadership, get enough of them voted in, and little by little, they’re wanting to get into places of politics, because they know that they can change our country without having to bomb it. They can just pass laws and take over our country.

But look what else it says here, looking verse two. If there be found among you within any of our gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, man or woman. That hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God in transgressing his covenant, and has gone and served other gods and worship them either the Son or the moon or any of the host of heaven which I have not commanded. Whoo, that would take care of all these astrologers in our country and all those who worship their little horoscope and all that stuff again.

See, that’s a wicked thing. The horoscope, something so innocent, it’s just fun. No, it ain’t just wicked. How do you know God says so? You go by what the book says. He says in verse 4, and it be told thee, and thou hath heard of it, and inquired diligently, and behold, it be true. Now keep this in mind. We talk about two or more witnesses. It’s not just because somebody said something. It is to be inquired, searched into diligently, and get this, and it was true.

the thing was certain, and there’s no doubt about it, because you don’t just take a man’s life. But he says it’d be found to be true. And then he makes this statement. He says, and the thing’s certain that such abomination is wrought in Israel, in other words, the man or woman guilty of it, then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing unto thy gates, even that man or that woman and shalt stone them with stones till they what?

Die. This is God’s way of putting away evil from Israel. Okay, you think you can just live like you please and get away with it? They didn’t do it then. You don’t do it now. Get what he says. In verse 6, at the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death, but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. Now get this, the hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death.

In other words, who’s the one that’s got to throw the first stone? The one that brought the accusation before you make an accusation. Am I willing to take this man’s life? Is it true? You see, this was to stop gossip. But in verse 7, the hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death and afterwards the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.” You see the ones that were the executioners or the people themselves.

Remember the hangings in the Old West? Outside where everybody can see it. Why do they want everybody to see it? This is what happens to those who commit crime. Crime doesn’t pay. Well, lo and behold, we live at a time where a crime does pay. Everybody does something and get away with it because our laws protect the criminal and they let the victim suffer the consequences. I go back to the book of John in chapter 5. You see, whenever it just in the New Testament says to be established in the mouth of two or more wits, this is what it’s referring to, but it’s to be searched into and verified to make sure that it’s certain it’s right and a person most of dying.

So when they said these things about Jesus, see, they were trying to get Jesus to be rejected because, you know, stirring up the people and the people were to have them stoned or crucified them. But now look what he says in verse 30, I can of my own self do nothing as I hear I judge and my judgment is just because I seek not my own will, but the will of him or the Father which have sent me. But he says this, there is another that bear with this of me and I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true.

In the words, I’ve got somebody that knows what I said and will bear witness and say that what I’m saying is the truth. Who was it? Well, he says right there in verse 33, he says, you sent unto John and he bear witness unto the truth. For I receive not testimony from man, but these things I say that you might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light. And you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light at first, but because they found others talking about Jesus and Jesus claims to be God.

See, either the Pharisees, these hypocrites, had to either believe that Jesus was telling the truth, or then they’d have to believe on him. And that would mess up their little, I guess you’d call it their scam because they were religious scam artists. They were scamming the money off the people because the scriptures would always lead to Christ. So he, Christ, says, I’m going to give you some witnesses, not just what I say, but it’s also John said it. He says, and you know John, you heard John.

John said that I was the light. John said that. John’s the one that said you ought to believe on me. John’s the one that said that he was not even worthy to step down and get in and did Ty’s shoes. But I have a greater witness than that of John. For the works which the Father had given me to finish, the same works that I do, their witness of me, that the Father had sent me, he said, look, I’ve already raised the dead, I’ve turned water into wine, I can walk on water, and he said, I fed the 5,000, I’ve raised the dead, I called the blind to see and the deaf to hear, he said, what else do you want?

He says, what I’ve done, my works, that tells you who I am. You think, well, that ought to be enough. That ought to be convincing. No, I didn’t convince you. Some people, you’re never going to convince. Even when we witnessed the people, some people we went, some people, you’re never going to win. Just accept the fact. Jesus couldn’t convince them. I mean, if I saw somebody do all those things, I know that there’s no normal man. Something’s going on here.

I’d want to investigate. I want to find out. I want to listen to this guy. and the Father Himself, which hath sent me hath borne witness of me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His shape, and you have not His word abide in you. For whom He hath sent Him, you believe not. He says, you don’t believe what God says, because God bears witness of me. And He makes the statement a little bit further.

He says, I am the light of the world. He says, when you put me on the cross, He says, my Father will tell you who I am. That’s why whenever Christ was on the cross, what happened to the lights in the world? They were all turned off. He got dark. He said, when you put me on the cross, he said, my father will tell you who I am. He said, I said, I’m the light of the world. You don’t believe that.

My father’s going to tell you who I am. He bear witnessed me. My father turned off all the lights and they got dark while he hung on the cross. He says, my father’s going to do that. Now, you did with all these testimonies, these witnesses, they would really believe it. Man, that would have scared me to death, not to trust the Lord. He says in verse 39, search the scriptures. Now what is the scripture? Scriptures is the Old Testament.

He says, for in them you think you have eternal life. You think you have eternal life just because you have the scriptures. He says, search the scriptures. He says, and you’ll find out they testify about me.” See what he says? And they are they which testify of me. The scriptures tell you who I am. And if you really know the scriptures, really believe the scriptures, then you would believe that I am truly the Son of God. I am the Savior of the world.

I am the one that’s come to make the death payment for the sins of all mankind. You would believe that I am what I claim to be the Son of God. He said, if you believe the Scriptures, but you don’t believe the Bible. You know the people who believe that you can be saved and lost, lose your salvation, you got to be good, you got to go to heaven and all that stuff. They don’t believe the Bible. They don’t believe the Bible.

Because see, they don’t believe the gospel message. The message of the gospel is that when you believe it, you have eternal life. If you don’t know you have eternal life, you don’t believe the message. You don’t believe the message. You’re not believing in Christ unless you know you have eternal life, unless you know that you’re going to heaven when you die. If you don’t know, for sure you’re going to heaven because you don’t believe it. Look there in verse 40.

And this is a very, very important verse. And ye will not come to me that you might have life. It’s not that they cannot come, it’s that they will not come. He says you will not come. He just says you could not come. Because Christ will save anybody. He says you will not come that you can have life So the reason they don’t have life because they won’t come it’s their fault not cause I’ve had people say well God chose to save some and let the rest of go to hell God came to save the whole world If they will believe it, but they won’t come to him.

They will not believe they will not trust him He says and ye will not come to me that you might have life. I I receive not honor from men, but I know you that you have not the love of God in you. You don’t have the love of God in you. See, that a lot of people live their lives and they love a lot of things in this life, but they don’t love God. One of the greatest things you and I can do is love the Lord.

How come Jesus Christ could say to them that you do not have the love of God in you because he knows every man? God know right now whether you really love him or not. If you really love the Lord. That is the key to loving him and being found faithful to him. If you’re not faithful to the Lord, you don’t love him. You’re deceiving yourself. You’re deceiving yourself. Because love is what makes you do anything. It’s like a man saying, I love my wife, but then you’re not faithful.

Something’s wrong with that. You love God, you’ve got to be faithful to God. You’re not faithful to God. You’re something wrong with a love problem. All these scriptures are dynamite. He’s in verse 40. I am coming my father’s house. name. You receive me not. If another shall come in his own name, him you will receive.” Now remember this, since Jesus Christ has been here, there’s a lot of people come and go and people claim to be prophets and so forth.

But there’s never been one, not really, a real prophet that came on the scene and claims to be sent by God until we have this guy named You ever heard a guy named Mohammed who started the religion of Islam? Did you know there’s a day coming when the people of Israel, I believe, are going to accept that religion? Someone’s going to accept. He says, I came in my father’s name. He’s going to come in his own name. There’s only been one.

This is why there’s a good possibility that the Islamic religion could be what leads into to the great tribulation period and be the worst religion that’s the world’s ever known. What would happen and what would this world be like if the Muslims were totally in charge of this world? What kind of freedoms would we enjoy? And would it be true that chances are you would lose your head? And the Bible says that the revelation that we saw the souls of him that were beheaded for his name’s sake.

It looks like everything is lining up just like God said it would. And they’re going to make his peace treaty with Israel. He says in verse 44, how can you believe which receive honor at one of another and seek not the honor that coming from God only? In other words, they were so hip on themselves that they looked upon each other. Oh, I honor you and you honor me and we honor each other and we’re somebody and we’re the do dads, I mean we really got it made.

We’re the big shots around here. He says, you don’t seek honor from me and you don’t seek to give honor to me. So whenever you’re like that, you’re a thief. See, they were not as righteous as they thought. They were self-righteous in their own mind. They sought to justify themselves even before man. And so there were some great thing and God says, you don’t want to be like a the Pharisee, which is a hypocrite. In verse 45, do not think that I will accuse you to the Father.

There is one that accuses you, even Moses, in whom you trust. In other words, you trust the law. You say you believe the Bible. You believe the law. You believe the Scriptures. Yet the Scriptures tell you about me and you don’t believe it. Moses told you in chapter 18 of the book of Deuteronomy that a prophet like unto him will come one day. And it’s talking about Jesus Christ. You’re on the 18. He says Moses told you about me and you don’t believe him.

Do you think Jesus was a wimp? He stood up and knew that these people wanted him dead. See over there in verse 18? They wanted him dead. And this is his answer back to them. He didn’t run. He didn’t have to hide. He says what I’ve done and what I’ve said has not been done in a corner. Jesus was a man’s man. Now look what he says there in now in verse 46, for had ye believed Moses, you would have believed me for he wrote of me.

That’s powerful. So he’s saying you don’t believe the Bible. You don’t really believe what you say you believe. You say you believe the Bible, you don’t believe the Bible. And this is why I say to people today, you don’t believe the Bible. I told a preacher that I said, you don’t believe the Bible. I said, read and you’re going to hell because you don’t believe the Bible. He believed you’re saved by what you do, and you have to live right.

And I said, you believe that? Your loss is a hound dog in the end of the soup bone. And people that get up here and can talk about getting the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and all that. They’re funny. They don’t believe the Bible. They don’t believe salvation is totally, really, truly by grace. And they believe you can lose your salvation if you ever had it. They don’t believe what Christ said. You don’t believe the Bible. You believe what you think the Bible says.

believe what you think the Bible ought to say but you don’t believe what the Bible says. It doesn’t say all that stuff. So a lot of people just do not get it. When I say they don’t get it and they don’t get eternal life they ain’t going to heaven when they die. Look up here. Letting this hand represent you and me and this wallet represent sin. Now we all have sin on us. Everyone here is a sinner. Just like me.

We’re all sinners. God loves us. Now he hates our sin, but he loves us. All of us are in the same boat for all have sin. All have come short of God’s perfection. The wages of sin is death and since every man sin, every man is condemned. And God wants every man to be saved and to go to heaven. So Christ is a sin. die for all men. You see, to go to heaven you have to be perfect, but nobody’s perfect.

Nobody’s righteous. So that’s why no man can save himself. And so a man cannot do any good deeds to get to heaven because you see it can’t be bought. We’re already condemned to pay for what we’ve done. So a man has to be saved. This is Jesus Christ. God’s Son. God chose His Son to come into the world because he had no sin. He was his righteous servant. He took all of our sins, the sins of the whole world upon himself, came back from the dead.

And God said that if we’ll believe that he did it for us, God is bound by his word. He has to save everyone who believes, whosoever believe it. For God so loved the world that he gave has only be gotten son that whosoever be leaveth in him should not perish, but have it a lasting life. God from the foundation of the world has predetermined to save all those that will believe. And all those that will not believe, God has predetermined, they’ll spend an eternity separated from God in a literal fire burning hell.

Salvation is free. It’s a gift and it’s whosoever beleiveth. Let’s pray show him. With every head bond, every I close and no one looking around. I hope you understand what I’m saying. I have no axe to grind. I just want to preach the book. And I want you to understand that God loves you. He’s in his son to die for you, to pay for your sins. He said, if you’ll trust him as your savior, he’ll give you eternal life as a gift.

You don’t earn it. You don’t work for it. You don’t buy it. And God says, once He saves you, you’re His child forever. You’ll never cast you out, never lose you. If you have trusted Christ as your Savior, I hope you understand the importance of telling people, getting them out under the sounds of the gospel. Let God use your power of influence in the lives of other people to get them under the sounds of the gospel. It’s so important.

Our Father, we ask Your blessed upon each person that’s here to help them to understand that you have chosen them. They have been elected, unknowned by you, called to serve you. Not to be saved, but because we are saved. And I pray, Lord, that each person here would respond to you, correct anything in their life that needs to be corrected. I love you with all their heart. 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 are blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach by the line and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll free, 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. 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 are 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 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friends, 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.

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 regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for a 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 down in verse 20. And we know that the Son of God has come and have given us an understanding. Not everybody understands it. That we may know Him that is true and we are in Him that is true even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

So He that hath the Son hath eternal life. Eternal life is the Son. Eternal life is Christ. When you have Christ, you have eternal life. And the only way that I could ever go to hell is for Jesus Christ to go with me. I don’t think he’s going. And he says that he’ll never leave me and never forsake me. Wherever he is is where I’m going to be. And I don’t care where he is, I’m gonna be with him.

God he’ll never forsake me. That’s a promise in his word. I either believe what he says or I don’t believe it. And if I do believe it, then that’s what I ought to preach. What is my gospel that I preach? I don’t believe that it’s just a good message. I believe it’s the best message. In other words, I don’t believe there is a message better than this message. We don’t have to apologize for this message. We don’t have to be ashamed of this message.

We ought to be able to stand up against anybody. Ready, O, T, V? I don’t do who they are, anybody. And say, this is the gospel. This is the message that I believe in what I preach. And I don’t apologize for it. This is the truth. I do believe that I am eternally secure. There is no other way of knowing that you’re going to heaven. So is it better to think, to hope, to guess, maybe, perhaps or know that I have eternal life, to know that I’m going to heaven?

look at the next question. Is it better to have a payment for some of my sins, most of my sins, or all of my sins? Which would be the best? All of my sins. Well, slap my mouth, that’s what I believe. So then evidently I must believe the best message. Well, of course I do. We teach the best message, the gospel. That is, so one of all, I want you to look at this verse, look here in the book of Acts chapter 13.

Acts chapter 13 verse 38 and 39. 38 and 39. And just look and see what it says. Verse 38 says, this is on page 11, 67, in an old Scofield reference Bible, we’re in the church Bible from the view of there. Verse 38 says, be it known unto you, therefore men and brethren, that through this man, Jesus Christ, is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. Did you know forgiveness of sins is for all my sins? And to be forgiven of all my sins is eternal security.

To be forgiven of all of my sins, he can’t hold them against me. What sin gonna condemn it? Hell, if they’re all forgiven, all my sins. See, the penalty of my sins have been forgiven. And he says here in this verse, 39, and by Him Christ, by Him, get this, all that believe. Now there’s some people that will believe it, some people will not believe it, they’ll never believe it. All that believe are justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

You could never keep the law of Moses. And be justified. You’ll never live perfect enough to say, I’ve kept the law, I deserve to be saved and deserve to go to heaven because I have lived such a good life. There has never been such a person in this world, man or woman. Now we’re excluding Jesus Christ. Everybody else. Nobody has ever lived good enough to save themselves. Not one. That’s why Christ died for all. and just so that you know this.

Mary who gave birth to Jesus says, I will rejoice in God my Savior. If she was not a sinner, she would not need a Savior. Think it through. He is the Savior of the world and everybody needs a Savior. I just heard recently that they’re talking about trying to make somebody a saint. It’s been in papers front page and they’re just trying to find a miracle that somebody did that can claim and say yes he did perform a miracle and so one person testified I was healed because of it and therefore they have the right to be a saint.

Now let me just explain this to you. I am a saint and I don’t need your vote. I don’t require your vote. You see, how come you get to be a saint? I’m not a saint Bernard. I’m a saint. I’m a saint because I have been made pure and holy and set apart by the payment Christ made on the cross for me. If you have trusted Christ as your Savior, you are a saint. That’s why the Bible says to the saints that are at Rome, to the saints that are at Corinth.

And yet these saints weren’t living like saints. But because Christ paid for their sins, they were sanctified. They were the Haggioso and the Greek set apart, been made pure and holy. And that’s why we call this sometimes a sanctuary. Your body is to be sanctified because you are a saint. So I don’t have to worry about, did I perform any miracles? Is there anything that I’ve done that now everybody’s gonna vote on me being a saint? Three or four hundred years after I’m dead.

Who cares? Who cares what people think about you? You’re, we’re gonna make Jay, we’re gonna make Jay a saint. And let’s say Jay’s been dead for a hundred years. Do you think he really cares? And what do we bestow? What did we do for him? Nothing. It’s a joke. That’s religion. It’s not the Bible. It’s religion. That’s where man says, he was so good. We got to bestow upon him some special honor. And yet in God’s eyes, if he’d never trusted Christ’s Savior, Hohrabbai, J goes to hell.

But the only reason he’ll get to go to Heaven is that Savior. Have you trusted the Lord yet, Jay? Oh, good. That’s great. I hate for Him to teach a Bible lesson and read our scriptures for us every Sunday and doesn’t even know the Lord. But it says that you’re justified by faith and faith alone from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. People don’t believe the Scripture. Look at letter C. Is it better to be saved for a day, a month, a year, or forever?

Well, forever. See, wouldn’t that be better? I mean, if God can save me for a day, oh, why can’t God just go ahead and save me forever? What’s the difference? If He can’t save me for no longer than a day or a week, then I don’t need it. I don’t need it. But now if it’s forever, now that’s, you know, that’s where crossing the ocean for. That’s where missioners going to here and there and around the square, telling people how to have something because you’ve got something.

You’re going to all the world and tell people, you’ve got to be good. Is that good news or bad news? To tell people to be good, to go to heaven is bad. It causes people to think I can maybe live up to being good enough to make it. And so they go to church and they do all these good things and give some money, trying to earn their way to heaven and God’s already said, it’s free. It’s free. And people just can’t believe it.

Let her do you have a salvation. You can lose or when you can’t lose. Just think about the question. Is it better to have a salvation that you can lose or you can’t lose? But when you can’t lose, wouldn’t that be better? Why wouldn’t God make it that way if that’s the best? Why in the world would Christ down the cross to pay for my sins to save me for a day or a week, but he can’t do it forever?

In the words, I couldn’t get saved by my worst, then pray to them, how can I keep my salvation by my works? They weren’t good enough to save me, how come they’re good enough now to keep me saved? See, either by grace or by work, it can’t be both ways. As much as I want people to go to church and learn the Word of God, I can’t put that as a requirement to go to heaven. Why? I’m not God.

What right do I have to change the Word of God? Just because I want people to live right. Do I want you to serve the Lord and do right to read His Word to pray to give? Do I want you to do those things yet? But not to get to heaven Because it won’t get you there. It’s a total waste of my time and yours. And yes, there’s some people who trust Christ as Savior. They have eternal life and they’ll go to heaven when they die.

And they may never darken the doors of the church. They may never give a cent. And yet they’ll go to heaven because God loves them that much. Has nothing to do with it, whether you like it or you don’t like it. It’s not in your power. It’s not in your hand. Everybody in this church, if you hated my guts and you wanted me to go to hell, sorry, I’m going to heaven anyway. And you might as well like me here because you’re gonna have to live with me there for eternity.

So you might just start loving me now. Look at the next letter E, to receive eternal life as a free gift or by living a perfect life. If you had a church, which way would you want it? Would you want it as a gift or would you want to try to live a perfect life to get it? And remember, when you want to live a perfect life, that means from the time you’re born to the time you die. How are you doing?

You say, well, I haven’t sinned in 40 years. Let me talk to your wife. I think you’re lying. You’re lying, you’re dying. Now, look at the four things that I mentioned down here on the bottom, the strong points of our salvation. Once you are his child, you’re always his child. It’s kind of like me and Betty had three kids born into our family. They will always be our kids. Okay, I’m born them. Try it. They’re all once you’re born in your family, they’re always your children.

But I’ve tried to tell my kids something that God’s word teaches. You have a choice of being an obedient child or disobedient. Chopped you still as child. When you trust the Christ to say that you can be an obedient or disobedient. And if you’re an obedient child, God said, He’ll bless you here, reward you when you get to heaven. You’re disobedient. He says, I’m gonna have to chase in you, discipline you. Maybe take you home before your time. So can I live as I please?

Yes, I can. I still go to heaven. Yes, I can. And you preach it to tell you otherwise, doesn’t understand it. He’s a compromise, or if he does believe it, he’s afraid to go, you’re gonna turn against him or leave the church. I don’t worry about tiptoeing through the tithers, but I want people to serve the Lord. I don’t want them to be chastened. I want people to do right because I want God to bless him upon you. When you get to heaven, I want God to be able to reward you.

But you don’t do those things to get there. So going to heaven is free what you have. When you get there, it depends upon what you do for him. So I try to challenge and motivate people. Yes, I want you to love the Lord. I want you to serve him with all your heart, but not to get to heaven because that’s impossible. And if you just keep those things strong, but once you’re his child, you are his child forever.

Look at letter B. Once forgiven, always forgiven. Your sins are removed as far as the east is from the west, never to be brought up again. Once a saint, always a saint. Hebrews 10, 14 says, once perfected, always perfected. People that believe you can lose your salvation don’t believe God made you perfect in Christ when he saved you. Now this is what’s difficult. Have you ever seen a perfect person? In Christ, we’re all perfect.

When you trusted Christ as your Savior, you were born in the God’s family without a sinful nature. So I’ve been born twice. The first time, well, that was pretty bad. I got an old sinful nature and messed up an awful lot. Still bothers me, everyone’s in a while. But I trusted Christ as my Savior and God gave me a new birth. The new one. It doesn’t have a sinful nature. It was born of God. Because it doesn’t have a sinful nature, it doesn’t sin.

If it doesn’t sin, it doesn’t die. Second birth lasts forever. It was born from an incorruptible sea, which is the Word of God. So I got two births. The first one, one of these days, they’re going to bury it in the ground. Y’all gonna cry a little bit and, oh, we miss it. But while you’re down here moaning and groaning, I’m gonna be up there. You’ll see, though I die, yet shall I live. I’m going to heaven, my new birth, and it’s perfect.

That’s how come I can go to heaven when I die. Why? Because my second birth is perfect. You see, you have to be perfect to go to heaven and people can’t get this. You’ll never be perfect by trying to get your first birth to improve. You can send it to church and all this thing, but it won’t improve it. You’re still a sinner. Nothing’s changed. It’s whenever you trust Christ as your Savior and God gives you a new birth, you become His child.

And once you’re His child, you’re His child forever. And in letter D, you see, in this life, if you serve the Lord, once God says, lay up treasure in heaven, where thieves can’t break through and steal it. It means you can’t lose it. So if I was to serve the Lord here in a few years that God gives me a live, I’m laying up treasure in heaven. And he makes a statement in the book of Matthew in chapter 10.

He says, and whosoever shall give even unto these little ones a cup of cold water in my name. Verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. You see, when you do things that God wants you to treasure, rewards, lay it up in heaven, you can’t lose. You could only lose what you could have done, what you could have done. God says He wants us to receive a full reward and serve the Lord all your life.

That means from the time I trust the Lord, until the time that I leave this world, it’s the will of God that I walk with my heavenly Father, that I serve Him. But I don’t do it to get to heaven. But God says, He’s gonna bless me anyway. He’s gonna reward me when I get there. And I figure I just want God to do whatever God wants to do. And if he wants to bless me in this life, Lord, you go right ahead.

And if he wants to reward me when I get to heaven, that’s fine with me. I serve the Lord because of what he had done for me, not what he’s going to do. Just saving me from hell is enough reason for me to serve the Lord for the rest of eternity. I want you to look in your Bible very quickly to the book of John chapter three, John chapter three.

The Gospel of John chapter three. I want you to know that if you do not trust Christ as Savior, sometimes people think, and a verse written in the book of Hebrews in chapter 9, verse 27, it is appointed on the men once to die and after this judgment. That judgment is the great white throne judgment. the great white throne judgment, there is no second chance. There’s no second chance. And the Bible says if their names are not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life, which means the second birth, you trust the Christ of Savior.

Then if your name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, then they’re cast into the lake of fire, where there will be forever and ever. There’s no second chance. They don’t get out and get the chance to change mind. That’s why it says, as the tree falls, so shall it lie. When you die, it’s either you’re in Christ or you’re not in Christ. You see, we were born in sin. If you live in sin and die in sin, that’s a position.

Then you’re lost for all eternity. But when you’re born in sin and you trust Christ as Savior, you’re in Christ, not in sin. You’re in Christ. And The die in Christ is to live forever with the Lord. So anyone who trusts Christ as Savior, you have eternal life. And he says in verse 18, he that believeth on him is not condemned. But he that believeth not is, what’s the word? Condemned, condemned. Already. Why? Because he hath not believed. So you can’t make people believe it.

But I want you to understand it. If you’re here this morning, you not trust the Christ as your Savior. You say, well, that’s okay because I’ll get a chance to have, there’s people who call themselves Jehovah’s Witnesses that believe you’re just in soul sleep. And eventually one of these days, God can give everybody another chance. Boy, don’t that sound like, well, it didn’t, it doesn’t matter. I got another opportunity coming down the road. I’ll just wait till then.

That is totally contrary to everything taught in this book. It makes a mockery out of preaching the gospel now, because it won’t really matter. If you eventually can all get there, and there’s people who believe in universalism, that everybody’s going to be there anyway. You don’t need to worry about it now. Is that the Bible? No. It makes a mockery out of preaching the gospel, because why preach the gospel? Why wouldn’t see anybody? Let him alone. When they get a second chance, they’ll all believe anyway.

So see there? But what if it’s not true? The Bible says there’s those who believe and those that do not believe and those that do not believe it. God says are condemned. Look what He says there in verse 30 say, he that believe it on the sun hath whatever lasting life. Look at the other part of it. Don’t forget the other part of the verse. He that believe it not the sun shall not, that’s in the future shall not what?

Shall not see life until he gets a second chance. See people read in the description, it’s not there. Don’t say that. It says he shall not. That’s a promise that’s in the future will not see life but what the wrath of God abideth upon him the wrath of God and how long you think that’s going to be where it says in the book of Revelation the smoke of their torment not the smoke from the fire the smoke of their torment ascended up forever and ever and when he took the bees in the false prophet and cast them into the lake of fire and then later the The devil was cast into the bottomless pit.

After the thousand years was over, the devil was cast into the, like a fire or the beast and the false prophet, are still there. And when you read the book of Matthew, I want you to do this one verse, look in the book of Matthew chapter 25. Matthew chapter 25. Matthew 25. And look at verse 41. Verse 41. You see, I know the devil’s gonna be there. Maybe the angels will be there, but people? Well, look in verse 41.

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand. Now this word them refers to people. People, depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepare for the devil and his angels. Look, then in verse 45, Then shall he answer them saying, barely I send you in so much as you did it. I’m not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me. And these, these shall go away into how long is this punishment to last?

Ever lasting punishment, punished for how long? Forever. But the righteous and to eternal life, life eternal. Is there a difference here? Is there a contrast? Yes, there is. Does it seem like we’re all going to be in the same place eventually? No. That’s heresy. It’s not the Bible. It’s not where it’s taught. This means that it’s important for you right now to make sure have you really trusted Christ as your Savior. You can hear it for years. But did you really hear it?

Do you really understand if you don’t trust Christ as your only hope of going to heaven, you don’t go to heaven. You don’t go. You will go to a literal fire burning hell. And there’s preachers that don’t even wanna mention the word hell because it makes people feel uncomfortable. Did you know that it will not be long before me preaching on hell? It’s gonna be against public policy. Because it’s gonna cause people mental anguish. I’m not joking, it’s coming.

And I will probably have myself a jail ministry. Because I will not trim one word of what I believe the book teaches. You don’t need a savior to keep you from going to a place if it doesn’t exist. I believe Christ died and paid for my sins so that I would not go there. That’s why I needed a savior to save me from that place. I don’t want to go to hell. And that’s why when I was 18 years old, I sat there in that living room.

And I ball like a baby. And I bow like a baby. And all I knew is when my father-in-law stopped talking to me, I knew if what he says is true, I am going to hell. I’m going to hell. And I knew I don’t want to go there. So that night I trusted Christ as my Savior, and I know that I’m going to heaven. And I believe that I not only have a good message, I got the best message.

A gospel that has power to it. Because this gospel saves me from all my sins forever. And I can know that I’m going to heaven. It doesn’t get any better than this. God, I have a new commercial on TV. Look up here, this is you and me. This is sin. We all have sin on us. God loves us, hates our sin, but He loves us. So the Bible says that the paper’s sin is eternal separation from the Lord. Since we’re all in the same boat and God is not a respected person, God can’t save one person unless they deserved it.

And there’s nobody that deserves it. So nobody can go to heaven by earning it. So God says to go to heaven, I have to be perfect, because righteous is God, no sin. But I’m not perfect. I am a sinner. And God says, I cannot save myself. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord 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 the sin, paid for it on the cross and came back from the dead and said that if you and I, if we would believe that he did it for us, he would put this payment to our account and we get to go to heaven on what Jesus Christ did for us.

And if you believe this, if you believe it, he says, I give to you everlasting life. It means life that last forever. That eternal security. What it means is once you’re saved, you’re always saved. Once you’re a child of God, you’re always a child of God. And once you’re forgiven, you’re always forgiven. That’s the book. Let’s pray, shall we? If you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, But if you hear this morning, you say, that made sense to me.

And I want to be certain of going to heaven when I die and preach, I like for you to pray for me. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve heard it. How sincere you may be. Are you saved? Are you going to heaven when you die? You can know for sure. If you’re not, why not right now? And the quietness of this moment, just talk to the Lord and say, Lord, I don’t understand it all, but I know I’m a sin and I believe Christ died, paid for my sins.

And I’m going to trust him as my only hope of going to heaven. If you’re making that decision, I’d like to know it. I’d like to pray for you. I’m not going to have you forward during the battleship, but right where you’re sitting, you can just slip your hand very quickly and put a right back down. Just God bless you. Anyone else? Anyone else? Just slip it up real quick, put a right back down. Other others. Our Father, we do thank you so much for all you’ve done for us, for the one indicating that by an uplifted hand that they would accept the payment you made on the cross for them.

We ask your blessings upon each person here and Father help us see the importance of why we need to tell people about it. 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 are 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 tool free.

800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. 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 are in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 3360. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 to be a part of the Bible. you 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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

I want to talk to you about something that is maybe a follow-up of last Sunday. Last Sunday was a message on what is the gospel. And today I want to tell you what is my gospel. It’s good to have a good message. But you know, not only want to have a good message, I want to have the best message. I would hate to think that I have lived for 50 years after I trusted Christ as my Savior and preached a message, but it wasn’t the best message.

I would hate to think that there’s another gospel out there somewhere that’s better than the one that I’ve been preaching. I have never in 50 years had to apologize for the gospel that I preach. I believe that it is the gospel, and I don’t believe there is a message better than the one that we have. I am also thankful, very thankful that I have the privilege of following in the steps of a man like Dr. Hank Lindstrom who knew the gospel and believed the same gospel.

And so we have the same gospel. So I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Romans in chapter 2. The book of Romans and chapter 2. Here in the book of Romans in chapter 2, I want you to see there in verse 11. Verse 11 down to verse 16 where he says, for there is no respect to persons with God, for as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law. So the Bible says there’s those that are going to perish.

It means that they’re not going to heaven. It means when never Christ says, for God so loved the world that He gave His only be God and Son to whosoever, believe it in Him, should not perish. But there’s a lot of people who do not believe in Him, and they will perish. They will actually be in a literal fire burn and hail for all eternity and they will have no salvation. This is why God says for us who do care to share the gospel, to preach the gospel.

And He makes the statement here in the verse 13 for not the hears of the law or just before God. How many times have you heard somebody say, well I’ve read the Bible, I’ve read the Bible through and through, I know all about the Bible, but just because you don’t mean you understand it. And you’d be surprised how many people, even preachers, that do not understand the truth of the gospel. The Apostle Paul made the statement in the book of Galatians in chapter 2.

He says that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. You see, we defend it because if we don’t defend it against any works whatsoever, One work destroys grace. One work, then it’s no longer grace. So the test of the gospel is it by grace. And he says here in verse 14, for when the Gentiles which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these have a not the law or a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts, the means while accusing, for excusing one another.

In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, and you ought to underline the last phrase, according to my gospel, there is no respect to persons with God. And did they or did they not trust Christ as their Savior? Not to do so. There’s a great penalty, great price to pay for not trusting the Lord. Now I want you to look there in your notes that I gave to you. There can only be two options concerning salvation.

One, you can be saved and lose it. or you can be saved and not lose it. Don’t that make sense? You can either be saved and lose it, or you can be saved and not lose it. It’s got to be one way or the other. It cannot be both ways. It can’t be both ways. It’s impossible. When I trusted Christ as my Savior 50 years ago, then I have either done things that would cause me to lose my salvation and then had to get saved again, or I was saved forever that day.

I trusted Christ as my Savior. It cannot be both ways. There are only ways that I can say at this point in my life that I know that I’m going to heaven whenever I die, whether it’s today or tomorrow or whenever, is that it’s free. But if it’s not free and I have to earn it by some performance of mine, then I can’t be sure I’m going because I’m not sure how I’m going to perform. And that would be true with any preacher, any person, in any church.

If they’re eventually going to heaven depends upon their performance, how they live, then their salvation depends upon their works. That means they can’t be sure how they’re going to perform because they’d have to be God to know the end from the beginning. But what if God from the beginning is already declared not by works of righteousness which we have done? Now that blows most people right out of the saddle. But people are not really listening. They have ears to hear, but they don’t hear it.

They have eyes to see, but they don’t see it. And they can be so close for so many years of their life and still not get it. They can’t believe that God will love them that much, that He will give them eternal life without any promises of how going to live. Now I want you to think about this. If I can be saved and lose it, all right, how can I lose it? What would I have to do to lose it?

And if I lost it, what I know when I lost it? See this is one of the problems that most people have when they think you can be saved today and then lose it tomorrow, is they never know for sure when they lost it. Because they don’t really know what sin cost them. salvation or how many of their sins cost them their salvation. So that’s why most people say, well I hope I’m going to heaven. I hope but they don’t really know.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could know positively, be not in the shadow of a doubt that you’re going to heaven whenever you die? That’s good news. If a man could lose his salvation because of some particular sin, well I’ve always been on the impression that when Christ died, they only had to die one time for all the sin of the whole world. Well, if He died and paid for all the sins of the world, what sin didn’t He pay for?

It paid for all my sins. Only thing I had to do was believe He did it for me and He would put that payment He made to my account and I get to go to heaven. So that means it would have to be a sin that Christ didn’t pay for in order to condemn me. But if it’s paid, why would I have to go to hell and pay for the sin if it’s already paid? And I believe he did it for me.

So there is no story in the Bible. There is no verse in the Bible that says a man can be saved and lose it. The other point made here is you can be saved and not lose it. Well, I believe and I showed you this last week that when When you trusted Christ as your Savior, God said, not Yankee, not the preacher, God says, I will in no wise cast you out unless you sin again. No, He didn’t say that.

But that’s what people add to it. Or, you know, you can’t tell me that all you can do is trust Christ’s Savior and you’ll go to heaven when you die. Why can’t I tell you that if God said that? If God said that, is that good enough? The Lord said, the boy was not good. Is it you can’t believe God? People just can’t believe Him. Because, you see, we thank God thinks the way we think. And in His Word, He says, your thoughts are not my thoughts.

Your ways are not my ways. We honestly, in what most people, I would say, believe that you ought to deserve to go to heaven, and that all those bad people, well, they deserve to go to hell. But God says, there are no good people that we’re all bad. We’ve all sinned. We’ve all come short of God’s perfection. So nobody has ever been able to save themselves or keep themselves saved. How can I keep myself saved? I wasn’t good enough to save myself from my sin.

So how was my good life going to keep me from committing some sins? You mean I can’t commit one? If I do, now I go to hell. There is no chapter and verse in the Bible that says it. So it can’t be both ways. Look at number one during your notes. The means of salvation. How is a man saved? You remember last week I took my coat on and I put my coat on. I took my coat on and I took my coat off.

Showing you that you’re either saved by grace or you’re saved by works. But you can’t be saved by both. Because he says, if it is by grace, then it can’t be by works. Otherwise grace isn’t grace. But if it is by your work, then it can’t be by grace. Otherwise work isn’t work. It’s got to be either by grace or by work. Have you ever heard of a verse that says for by grace? Are you saved? That not itself?

It is the gift of God. Not of work. Not of works. not. See, God has spoken, but people can’t believe that. They still believe that you still got to do good works to eventually make it. Not true. So he says, if it is by grace, it must be totally by grace. Totally. Not just that he saved me today. Now I got to earn it for the rest of my life. No, being saved for all my life is by grace.

I don’t work to do anything to save myself by any performance that I do. Now in our mind we think, well, that’s the way to ought to be, but not in God’s word. God is the architect. He is the designer of the plan of salvation and this is what God said. If it cannot be both ways then which way is it? It is by grace and grace alone. Grace means you do not deserve it and this is what’s hard for people to understand.

For example, do I have to go to church to go to heaven? No. Do I have to give money to go to heaven? No. Do I have to be water back ties to go to heaven? No. Do I have to keep the 10 commandments to go to heaven? No. Well then how do I get there? Christ died for me. Christ died for me. He paid my way. And all I had to do was believe He did it for me.

It is so simple that people can’t believe it. And yet that’s all they have to do. And it doesn’t matter how sincere a person may be. you’re still going to be lost. You’ll still be separated from God. I know it sometimes is hard for us to believe that God would literally do this. Let a person spend an eternity separated from God, inhale and never get out. And sometimes we think, well, maybe down the road, you know, after a little ways, God will just, hey, just to get all of it.

Let’s just all go into heaven. But that ain’t what he said. That’s not what he said. He that believeth on the hat everlasting life. He that believeth not. So that’s not the same. The wrath of God abides upon him. Forever. Doesn’t say temporarily. That is forever. Look at number two. The duration of salvation. How long is it supposed to last? Well what is he going to give me? If I do trust Christ as my Savior, what will He give me?

If I trust He Christ as my Savior 50 years ago, what did He give me? He that believeth on me half? Ever lasting life. How long would that last? Forever. If He gives me everlasting life, evidently that’s how long I’ll be saved for. Forever. Why would he give me everlasting life if it doesn’t last forever? He should just give me temporary life, you know, guaranteed for maybe at 24 hours, or maybe maybe a week. He that believed told me half life for a month.

But if he just said what it was, then I know how long I’d be saved for. Don’t you think that would have been fair for God to do for us? But he didn’t even say a year. He just put that word in there forever. You either believe it on me, is saved forever. I’ve never lost in life. It’s not to say forever, forever. You say, you don’t deserve to be saved. I don’t deserve to be saved for a minute.

I don’t deserve to be saved for a day. I didn’t deserve to be saved for a month. I don’t deserve to be saved for a year, let alone forever. But what if God really meant what He said? What if He really meant that? It means that every preacher who teaches the other is wrong. They’re wrong. And there’s a lot of them that are preaching just that kind of a message. Here in your notes, I had fun doing this. Confidence in eternal security.

Consider the following questions, which would be the best news. Here’s the question. See if you can pass the test. Is it best to think, hope, guess, or know that you have eternal life? Which would be the best answer? Boy, y’all are brainwashed. It’s best to know. Well, but does the Bible say that? Where does the Bible say that you can know that you have eternal life? I’m so glad you know where it’s found. Where’s it found? 1 John 5, 13.

Look over there. I want you to see this verse. I did not put this in the Bible, but I was 18 years old when I saw it for the first time. Remember I wasn’t raised in church, but when my father-in-law showed me this verse, man, it didn’t take long before I got big old swollen tears in my eyes. I just, it’s so hard to believe that you can know your happy turnal and know that you’re going to heaven. And nobody says in verse 13, these things have I written unto you that keep the 10 commandments and go to Calvary Community Church and pays 50%.

It says, these things have I written unto you that what? Believe. Believe on the name of the Son of God that you, who, those that believe, you may know that you have eternal life. Not everybody. Those that believe can know this. Know what? Know that you have what kind of life? Eternal life. So I can know I have eternal. Now look what he says in verse 10. Verse 10, he says, He that believeth on the Son of God, hath the witness in himself.

He that believeth not God, hath made him a liar. Not to believe what God says is to call God a liar. He said that if I trusted him, he would save me. For how long? He’s going to give me everlasting life must be forever. And if it’s forever, not to believe that is to call God a liar.

You said, well, you can’t tell, maybe I can’t. Can God, what a person listen to what God says? He said, if you don’t believe what I’m telling you, you’re calling me alive. Look what else he says here. In verse 11, this is the record that God hath given, past tense, not going to, hath given to us, that believe eternal life. And this life is where in the sun. It’s not in the church, it’s not in the Ten Commandments. It’s in Christ.

He that hath the Son, half life. He that hath not the Son of God, half not life. So who has eternal life? Those who have the Son. Not who that has good works. I got my baptism, I’m trusting in it. I got my church membership, I’m trusting in. Well, that can’t save you. You’re trusting in something. Well, work won’t work. Salvation is in Christ. It’s in a person. Look down in verse 20. And we know that the Son of God has come and have given us an understanding.

So not everybody understands it. That we may know Him that is true and we are in Him that is true even in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. So he that hath the son hath eternal life. Eternal life is the son. Eternal life is Christ. When you have Christ, you have eternal life. And the only way that I could ever go to hell is for Jesus Christ to go with me. I don’t think he’s going.

And he says that he’ll never leave me and never forsake me. Wherever he is, it’s where I’m going to be. And I don’t care where he is. I’m gonna be with him Because he’ll never forsake me That’s a promise in his word. I Either believe what he says or I don’t believe it and if I do believe it then that’s what I ought to preach What is my gospel that I preach? I? Don’t believe that it’s just a good message.

I believe it’s the best message In other words, I don’t believe there is a message better than this message We don’t have to apologize for this message We don’t have to be ashamed of this message. We ought to be able to stand up against anybody. Radio, TV, I don’t know who they are. Anybody. And say, this is the gospel. This is the message that I believe in what I preach. And I don’t apologize for it. This is the truth.

I do believe that I am eternally secure. There is no other way of knowing that you’re going to heaven. So is it better to think the hope, the guess, maybe, perhaps, or know that I have eternal life, to know that I’m going to have a look at the next question. Is it better to have a payment for some of my sins, most of my sins, or all of my sins? Which would be the best? All of my sins. Well, slap my mouth.

That’s what I believe. So then overdoses, and they say, I must believe the best message. Well, of course I do. We teach the best message, the gospel. That is, so one of all, I want you to look at this verse. Look here in the book of Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13, verse 38 and 39. 38 and 39. And just look and see what it says. Verse 38 says, this is on page 1167 1167 in an old Scofield reference Bible, we’re in the church Bible from the pew there.

Verse 38 says, be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man, Jesus Christ, is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. Did you know forgiveness of sins is for all my sins? And to be forgiven of all my sins is eternal security. Do you be forgiven of all of my sins? can’t hold them against me. What sin going to condemn me? Hell, if they’re all forgiven, all my sins. See, the penalty of my sins have been forgiven.

And he says here in this verse 39, and by him Christ, by him, get this, all that believe. Now, there’s some people that will believe it, some people will not believe it, they’ll never believe it. All that believe are justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. You could never keep the law of Moses and be justified. You’ll never live perfect enough to say, I’ve kept the law, I deserve to be saved and deserve to go to heaven because I have lived such a good life.

There has never been such a person in this world, man or woman. Now we’re excluding Jesus Christ. Everybody else, nobody has ever lived good enough to save themselves. Not one. That’s why Christ died for all. And just so that you know this, Mary who gave birth to Jesus says, I will rejoice in God my Savior. If she was not a sinner, she would not need a Savior. Think it through. He is the Savior of the world and everybody needs a Savior.

I just heard recently that they’re talking about trying to make somebody a saint. It’s been in the papers. Front page. And they’re just trying to find a miracle that somebody did that can claim and say, yes, he did perform a miracle. And so one person testified, I was healed because of it, and therefore they have the right to be a saint. Now let me just explain this to you. I am a saint and I don’t need your vote. I don’t require your vote.

You see how come you get to be a saint? I’m not a saint Bernard. I’m a saint. I’m a saint because I have been made pure and holy and set apart by the payment Christ made on the cross for me. If you have trusted Christ as your Savior, You are a saint. That’s why the Bible says to the saints that are at Rome, to the saints that are at Corinth. And yet these saints weren’t living like saints. But because Christ paid for their sins, they were sanctified.

The word hagiazu in the Greek set apart, been made pure and holy. And that’s why we call this sometimes a sanctuary. your body is to be sanctified because you are a saint. So I don’t have to worry about, did I perform any miracles? Is there anything that I’ve done that now everybody gonna vote on me being a saint? Three or four hundred years after I’m dead. Who cares? Who cares what people think about you? We’re gonna make, Jay, we’re gonna make Jay a saint.

And let’s say Jay’s been dead for a hundred years. Do you think he really cares? And what do we bestow? What did we do for him? Nothing. It’s a joke. That’s religion. It’s not the Bible. It’s religion. That’s where man says, he was so good. We got to bestow him some special honor. And yet in God’s eyes, if he’d never trusted Christ’s Savior, who Rabbi J goes to hell. But the only reason he’ll get to go to heaven is that he trusts Christ’s Savior.

Have you trusted the Lord yet, Jay? Oh, goodness, that’s great. I hate to hear him the teacher. Bible lesson and read our scriptures for us every Sunday. And it doesn’t even know the Lord. But it says that you’re justified by faith and faith alone from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. People don’t believe the scripture. And look at the letter C. Is it better to be saved for a day, a month, a year, or forever?

Well, forever. See, wouldn’t that be better? I mean, if God can save me for a day. Oh, why can’t God just go ahead and save me forever? What be… What’s the difference? If he can’t say me no longer than a day or a week, then I don’t need it. I don’t need it. But now if it’s forever, now that’s where crossing the ocean for. That’s where missioners going to here and there and around the square telling people how to have something because he got something.

To go into all the world and tell people, you gotta be good. Is that good news or bad news? To tell people to be good, to go to heaven is bad. It causes people to think, I can maybe live up to being good enough to make it. And so they go to church and they do all these good things and give some money, trying to earn their way to heaven. And God’s already said, it’s free. It’s free. And people just can’t believe that.

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. Part two of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. 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 toll free, 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again, or to obtain a free download of any of our Bible and programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the radio broadcast link.

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. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10.30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline 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.

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 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.

Looking for 16. For God so loved all the good people that were really trying their best. Is that what your Bible says? No, no, no, it didn’t say that. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. That’s Jesus Christ. The whosoever, whosoever keeps the 10 commandments and obey the goal and rule and go to Calvary Community Church and play 25% half everlasting life. Do you see anything I’m doing that’s wrong? Is it wrong to add to what God said?

Why not just let God say what He says without me adding to it? When He says here that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that hosts so ever, they leave it. Should not perish but have everlasting life. And all He has to do is believe. Look there in verse 36. He that believe it on the Son, half, present tense, half, right now. What kind of life? Temporary life? Everlasting life. And he that believe it not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abides upon him.

So whether you have eternal life or not, or the wrath of God or not, depends on whether you have the Son or not. He that hath the Son hath life. And he that hath not the son of God hath not life. Look there in verse 18, he that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed. Not because he didn’t live up to a certain extent. He’s going to be lost, a literal fire burning hell because he hath not believed.

He did not believe the gospel. What was this gospel that Christ died for my sins? He died for mine. It means I don’t have to pay for my sins because He did it for me. It means I don’t have to earn my way to heaven by my good deeds because He did it. All I had to do was believe He did it for me. When I believe He did it for me, God gives me as a free gift ever last in life.

And I get to go to heaven on what Christ did. John chapter 5 and verse 24. And verse 24 says, Verily, verily. That means truthfully, truthfully God cannot lie. I say unto you. He that heareth my word and believe it on him that sent me hat everlasting life. That’s present to me right now. Hat everlasting life and get this in the future shall not come in the future. And to condemnation means that If I trust Christ as my Savior today right now, it means that I have everlasting life, and in the future I can never be condemned.

That’s pretty good. That’s what makes it good news. See, it’s not good news to go around the world telling people that, you know, you got to straighten up and fly right. You got to walk out straight and narrow path. You’ll have to endure to the end if you want to get to heaven. You got to keep the 10 commandments to go to heaven. All that shows He was a man, he can’t do it. And I always tell people, you can’t do it.

And then I try to let them know, look, let me tell you some good news. The good news is that Christ died for you. He paid for your sins. Will you trust Him as your Savior? Will you trust Him to take you to heaven whenever you die? And God said He would give you as a free gift everlasting life. Look there in John chapter 6. John chapter 6 verse 47 says, I said to you, he that believe it on me, hath, present in hath, what?

Right now, hath everlasting life. See, the good news is that when you trust Christ, he gives you everlasting life. Oh, look what he says in verse 37. In verse 37, same chapter. He says, and verse 37, all that the Father gives me shall come to me. Him that come up to me, I will and know wise, cast out God, said, I’ll never cast you out. I’ll never lose you. He won’t cast me out. Well, unless you sin again, did it say that?

It didn’t say, why do people want to add to it? They didn’t say that. I’ll never cast you out. I’ll never lose you unless I sin again. Don’t say that. People can’t believe God really means what He says. It just blows their mind. That’s too easy. It’s too easy. It ought to be easy, he said, preach the gospel to every creature. Then it must be easy to understand. It’s easy, but the devil makes it so difficult and hard. And so there’s some kind of preacher’s thing that they have to really help God out.

We got to have these people really mean business. God’s the one that meant business. There’s nothing you have to stop. There’s nothing you have to do. There’s nothing you have to promise. It’s so important to get this. Now look at one more verse with me right here. In John chapter 10, John chapter 10 verse 28 makes this statement. And I charge them. No. And I give unto them temporary life. What kind of life? Eternal life. What if it’s eternal life?

I want to know how long that lasts. Isn’t that a difficult question? long. That’s like asking somebody, when was the war of 1812? All right, here’s another hard question for you. Who’s buried grants tomb? Some people can’t figure this stuff out. This is difficult. I know that. And I give them eternal life and they shall what? Never perish. That means today, tomorrow, I can never go to hell. Never, never. Never. Best news in all the world. You know So when He makes a statement here, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Let me show you a simple illustration. Here’s me, here’s God. I want to go to heaven when I die. So I go to church, I go to the front. I pray, beg, hang, let go. Get a grip on God. Tip the Lord of the quarter when they all from plate came by and I’m ready to go, I’m good to go. And then when I do something wrong, Uh oh, I’m slipping away. Slipping? I’m lost. Now I gotta get saved again.

Go back, back, go. Get saved again. And as long as I’m doing fine, where you going? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m going to heaven. Now I’m going to hell. Now I gotta get saved again. Where you going, Yankee? Heaven? Where you going? Not hell. Gotta get saved again. That’s not the Bible. Because see, God says, if I trust Him, He will save me. See any difference? He said, He won’t cast me up. He said, He won’t lose me. He says, He gives me eternal life and no man can pluck you out of his hand.

You see, I’m trusting Him, God, who can’t lie, to take me to heaven. And He said, if I would, He would. So I did and He will. So by going to heaven is about what Christ said and what Christ is doing. He is my Savior, not me. It has nothing to do with me. Nothing. Zero. How I live never affects the Word of God. Now yes, as a child of God, it is the will of God that I as His child serve Him.

But I do not serve God to go to heaven. I am not here this morning. I am not preaching this morning so that I can finally make it to heaven. I’m going to heaven because fifty years ago in a little-low living room, I wasn’t in a church. The man was not a preacher, but he simply opened up the Bible and explained John 3 16 to me. And sitting there that night, I understood all that I had to do, all that I could do was accept Christ as my Savior and He would save me and give me eternal life.

And I’d go to heaven whenever I died. And if He gave me eternal life 50 years ago, would I still have it today? And will I have it a hundred years from now? I have eternal life. I’m going to heaven when I… But does that mean just because you’re going to heaven? You probably lived a very wicked life. I live more wicked before I trust the Lord. I guarantee you that. But since I’ve trusted Christ as my Savior and I’m God’s child, I believe that as a child of God I should serve the Lord, but not to get to heaven.

None of my service gets me to heaven. None of my service to the Lord for fifty years helps me secure me any other way. Anyway, there indeed means nothing like that. But I serve the Lord because I want to, because I love him. I love the Lord, and I know he loves me. And I don’t do it for rewards. I really don’t even do it for blessings. I do it because of what he hath done, what he hath done.

I’m not going to hell. I’m going to heaven when I die. And I love the Lord with all my heart, and I want to serve with everything that I have. but I don’t serve the Lord to get to heaven. My salvation, my going to heaven was a gift. It was given to me freely. Had nothing to do with how I lived. And if today or tomorrow I live to become the most wicked man this world’s ever known will not change the everlasting love of God toward me.

And he may chasten me, maybe take me home before my time, but I’m still his child and I’m still going to heaven when I die. It never affects the gospel, the good news of salvation. by grace and grace alone. The next statement I have wrote down here is you cannot know that you are really saved until you can say, I have it. Can you say right now positively in your mind? Can you say, I have eternal life? I am going to heaven when I die.

How many of you didn’t hear no positively beyond a shoutout if you died right now, you know you’re gonna heaven. Let me see you hand. If you’re here and you do not know that, You see all these other nuts in Him. You can become one too. Because a man would be a fool to turn down a free gift. Especially when there’s no tricks to it. You see, you don’t have to join this church to go to heaven or any church.

You don’t have to give a penny. When the orphan plate comes by, you can take some out for the heat in any way. Just joking, don’t take it. Look at the next statement. A man cannot know he is saved until he believes in eternal security. In other words, you need to know that you really have eternal life and that you’re going to heaven when you die. That’s the way you know I really believe the gospel, the good news, is that I have what He said I would have if I believed Him.

If you believe Him, God promised you to have something. What? Eternal life. Now either you do or you don’t. So look at the next statement. Since the gospel and eternal security is the same, you can have one without the other. If a person doesn’t believe in eternal security, they don’t believe the gospel. Because that’s what it is. It means that’s why I’m trusting Christ to take me to heaven whenever I die. Not if I died this moment, but I might die a week from now.

I might die 10 years from now. Well, whenever I die, I want to know I’m going there. I’m not there. See what’s down there? I ain’t going to see. It’s a place called hell, a little fire burning place. And this boy wanted firing insurance. The only reason I ever trusted Christ is about saving me, but not because I knew God loved God. I just didn’t want to go to hell. Now if you want to go to hell, that’s just your choice.

I’ll think you’re something missing upstairs if you do. Look in John chapter six, John chapter six. Just turn back to your left, just a couple pages. In John chapter six, there’s a big old story here, but we won’t get into that big old story I just wanted to show you something about bread. In verse 33 says, for the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and give us life unto the world. They said, evermore, give us this bread.

Jesus said in verse 35, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth of me never thirst. Two things mentioned here. hunger and thirst, two natural desires of man to drink and to eat. Boy, I love that. Food was one of the greatest inventions of all time, but he uses this to show you something. He says, in the Old Testament, they had manna. And when they ate that manna, Well, they had food to sustain them and to live for 40 years.

But he says, they’re all dead. The Lord gave them temporary light, but he didn’t give me eternal light. They didn’t live forever. He said, I’m the bread that came down from heaven. He said, if a man will eat this bread one time, one bite, taste and see that the Lord is good. One bite and you’ll have bread that will give to you eternal life and you will never from that point on never hunger, never. Never. And if you never hung, it means you never had to do it again.

That means that when you trust Christ as your Savior and He gives you eternal life, you never have to do it again. How many times can God give you eternal life? Now I can figure this out. Now people get something, they can’t figure this out. He said, if you eat this bread, one time, you will never hunger. Never. Isn’t that good news? It means that when I got saved 50 years ago, I never have to do it again. When I accepted Christ as my Savior, When I accepted Christ as my Savior one time, I never have to do it again.

It means that nobody has ever been saved twice. I’ve talked to people who’ve been saved. Oh, I’ve been saved a lot of times. You don’t get it. You have never found in the Bible where anybody has ever been saved twice. Never. No such thing. You’ve never found any Bible, any verse, any story where a man has ever been saved and lost the salvation. There is none, not one. Now you would think if a man could be saved today and lose it and still go to hell in the future, there would be at least a story, a verse, an illustration that said that.

Find it. You can’t. It’s not there. Maybe it’s because it’s not in the Bible, but people will tell you that where they get it from. They make it up because they can’t believe it’s by grace. They really don’t believe it’s by grace. You got to do something. Don’t you don’t? It’s a gift of God. Just believe it. Just believe it. You know what he also did? He says, you’re never thirst. And in chapter 4, John, he talked to the woman at the well.

He says, if thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that saith unto thee, thou would have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. She says, evermore, give me this water. She says, you don’t have a rope, you’ve got a bucket. How you get this water? He says, you drink the water that’s in this well, and you will thirst again. Look there. He makes a statement. In verse 13 of chapter 4, Jesus answered in Senator, whosoever drinketh of this water.

So first again, she was out there to well. She was thirsty. She was drinking some water. He says, you drink that water, you’re gonna thirst again. Means you gotta do it again and again and again and again. I ate yesterday, guess what I’m gonna do again today? I’m gonna eat again. Because it was temporary. Now God says, I have some water that if you drink this water, one time, you are never thirsted again. She says, evermore, give me this water.

And what did He say just there in chapter 6? You’re never thirsted again. It means it never has to be done again. I have been saved one time in my life. I never have to get saved again because it is totally impossible for me ever to lose my salvation. It’s not in my hands. My salvation is in his hands and he said, I will never cast you out. I will never lose you. No man can pluck you out of my hand.

You cannot ever come into condemnation again. That sounds pretty good to me. Now look at the next statement. Number two, what the gospel is not. It is not of works lest any man should boast. I want you to look there very closely at what I have italicized. To trust in the commitment of performance, regardless of how small constitutes works for salvation. You cannot commit yourself to live a certain way as the foundation upon which God is going to save you.

For example, and I mentioned two things here. One, Lordship Salvation, which teaches you must make Christ the Lord of your life to be saved. It is not true. Mark 12 says that this is the law. This teaches you must promise to start being good. To an individual, a semi-loss man. And I want to go to heaven when I die. And you tell me that I must commit my life to Christ. Or I must make Christ’s life. the Lord and the master of my life.

You just told me I had to earn my way to heaven. You just told me I had to earn my way to heaven. Because I’ve got to commit my life to Christ. It means I’ve got to change the way I’m living. It means I’ve got to stop certain things and start doing certain things. Then I’ve got to make Christ the Lord and the master of my life in order for God to save me. That is not salvation by grace.

That is not the gift of God that’s worked for salvation. And I don’t care how many preaches preach it. And majority of independent, fundamental Bible, even missionary minded, Baptist churches preach it. And I’m not lying to you, but it is not the gospel of Jesus Christ as a child of God, as a child of God. Now, yes, I should submit to the will of God. I shall let the Lord have his way in my life and be my master, tell me what to do, and I should obey him.

And yes, I should do all of it, but not to get to heaven. When you make it a criteria for salvation, you added works to the gospel, and that is an accursed message, and it is a wicked thing for any preacher to do. It doesn’t matter how many of them say it and do it. It’s not the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, the second thing I’ve mentioned down here is where I am told, let’s see, I’m the lost man.

You’re witnessing to me, or there’s the preacher, and he’s telling me what I gotta do. And he tells me, you gotta turn from your sins to be saved. You gotta repent of your sins to be saved. What they mean is stop being bad. Anyway, you cut it. It means stop doing all those bad things. You’re doing, you gotta stop your sins. And is that the prerequisite? I got to do this before God will save me. If I do, that works for salvation.

I’ve got to deserve to be saved. I got to deserve to be saved by grace. That isn’t a paradox. And so what happened to the song? After they tell you all of that, and then it’s let’s all stand and sing just as I am. Just as I am. But you got to promise to stop this and stop that. Start doing this, start doing that. You’ve got to commit your life, change your life, stop this. And look, you’ve got to deserve to be saved.

Now let’s all seem just as I am. Nippa, crit. Say what you mean, mean what you say. God does, and he says it’s not by word. And see, you will never understand what grace means about what God says the gospel is if you don’t understand what it is not. It’s not of yourselves. It is not by works. And that means there’s nothing that a man has to do as a prerequisite to change in his life or the… What are you willing to be made willing?

You don’t have to be willing to… Well, you got to really mean business. No, you don’t. He meant business. He said, you trust me, I will save you. So 50 years ago, I trusted him as my savior. He is my savior. He’s saving me. I’m not saving me. I’m going to heaven because of what he did on the cross for me. That last little line I got there to definitely know you are truly going to heaven. You must believe in eternal sickness.

You must believe that you’re secure. And you only believe that because you believe what God said. He said it was a gift. Can you believe it’s a gift? It means that when I give it to you, I won’t take it back. It’s free. I’m going to heaven because God loves me that much. Look up here. I’m not really a long winded preacher. I’m commanded to keep you in here until it’s time to eat. And I got three minutes to go.

See, I know you’ve been watching the clock. Some of you sitting there. I told a person one time I said, wake up that person set besides you. He says, you put him to sleep. You wake him up. One man got up and started walking out of the church when I was pracing. I said, where are you going? He says, I’m going to shave. I said, why didn’t you shave before you came? He said, I did. This hand represent you and me.

The wallet represents sin. We all have sin on us. God loves us. Somebody loves us. And the Bible says that if we pay for sin, it’s eternal separation from God. But God loves us once it’s to go to heaven. And to go to heaven, you have to be perfect and none of us are. We’ve all come short of God’s perfection because of sin. Can’t get in. God says, you can’t earn eternal life. It’s not a matter of me trying to figure out what to do with my sins.

I don’t have to stop them, turn from them, change them. Nothing. Let that alone. That’s a done deal. He took care of the sin. This man represents Jesus Christ, God in the flesh. He came into the world because he loves us, but he hates our sin because it separates us from him. So Jesus Christ, who had no sin, didn’t have to die. He took our sins, died in our place, came back from the dead and said, if you and I, if we would believe he did it for us, He would give us as a free gift, everlasting life.

We become one with the Lord. And He said, I’ll never leave you, and I’ll never forsake you. You’ll have to figure out a way to break this. And that’s impossible. And God says that when you trust Him as your Savior, He gives you eternal life. And you get to go to heaven because of what Christ did or the cross for you. There is no other hope. There is no other way. There is no other name. Where you trust Christ as your Savior, doesn’t it make sense?

No tricks to it, no gimmicks. Let’s pray, shall we? You say, preacher, that made sense to me this morning. I’ve never really understood it before. Heard about it. Heard all around it. But it would never make really clear. And friend, if you’re sitting here and you’re not positive that if you were to die, you’d go to heaven. Why not just in the quietness of this moment, just talk to the Lord? You see, God sees you. God knows you. God loves you.

He paid for your sins. Would you just talk to him? Say, Lord, I’m a sinner. And I believe you died from my sins. And I’m going to accept that payment you made for me. And for when God said if you would believe it, He would give you as a free gift everlasting life. And if it’s everlasting life, it lasts forever. And if it lasts forever, where would you go when you die? To heaven. If you hear this morning and you say, that made sense to me.

I mean, I’m trusting Christ as my Savior this morning. I’ve never done it before, but it made sense to me. And right now I’m trusting Him as my only hope of going to heaven and preacher, I’d like for you to pray for me. And just a moment, I’m going to ask you to raise your hand. Raising hand doesn’t save you. It just lets me know that what I said made sense to you. I don’t want anybody embarrassed, so I do it with his bow nice clothes, but I would like to know what I said got through.

And I’d like to pray for you. I really would. So anyone at all say, yes, that made sense to me. to me and I’m on a trust crisis by Savior this morning. God bless you and God bless you, man. You can put your hands down, anyone else, other others. But if you trust Christ as your Savior this morning, God saves you this morning, gives you eternal life, and you get to go to heaven when you die. God loves you that much.

Our Father, we thank you so much for your blessings to us, and for those that indicate about and uplift at hand that they would accept that payment you made for them. Father, by doing so, they become your child, your child for all eternity. There’s no condemnation today and won’t be none tomorrow. And they can know that they have eternal life and they’ll go to heaven. We have to have blessed up on each person here. You’ve been good to us.

We thank you for this church and we ask Father your blessings upon each person and each family. Christ and 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 are 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 tool free, 1-800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. 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 are 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 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcasts of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleign, 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.

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 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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, and chapter 4, 2 Corinthians, chapter 4. You have heard most of your life if you’ve gone to church about the gospel of Jesus Christ. You’ve heard that you’re supposed to take the gospel into all the world and preach it to every person. You know, as a child of God, we’re supposed to witness and give the gospel. You know, there’s a lot of churches that are supposed to be gospel preaching churches.

Well, everybody that talks about the gospel doesn’t naturally mean they give the gospel. I want to tell you, point blank, here this morning, in a simple little message, what is it? What is the gospel? And I want you to totally understand it, fully understand it, because the gospel is the greatest story that can ever be told. There’s nothing in this world better for any man to ever hear than the gospel of Jesus Christ. So if you look there in your Bible to 1st, 2 Corinthians in chapter 4, I want you to Look in verse three, where it says, but if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.

Now, I want you to see a couple things that was mentioned right before this great statement. If our gospel be hid, it’s hid to those that are lost. So evidently the gospel is for the lost. Now the gospel cannot be explained or made clear, understandable by the lost man. He doesn’t know the gospel. That’s why he’s lost. Those who do understand the gospel are supposed to fight for the clarity of the gospel and in defense of the gospel. Because that is our responsibility.

Because God has entrusted you and I with the gospel, even so we speak. Not as pleasing men, but God which try at their heart. So I want you to look there in verse one. Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, and this ministry is about the gospel, not being hid, but being revealed. As we have received mercy, we fate not, we don’t stop, we don’t quit, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking and crafting this or handling the word of God deceitfully.

In other words, there’s some things that we may hide, but it’s not the gospel. There’s some things that we will manifest, and it ought to be the things that God wants us to reveal. There’s some things that God doesn’t want us to reveal from our lives. You see, there’s sins and so forth that we’re not supposed to boast about or brag about, but we’re all sinners. We know that. But he didn’t say, go into all the world and preach about your sins.

He says, nor handling the word of God deceitfully. You see, you mean there’s people that do? Yes. There’s people who make merchandise of other people. They simply want to pickle your little fancy, pickle your ears, tell you what you want to hear. Don’t talk about sin because that might make you feel bad. Don’t talk about hell because that’s an ugly thing and that makes me uncomfortable. So we won’t talk about that. We’ll just talk about love. If I really love you, I must tell you the truth.

And if I don’t tell you the truth, it’s because I don’t love you. And there’s a lot of people who really have no concern or care about the destiny of anybody. They simply want to make merchandise of people, and all they want is your money and your membership, but they care nothing about the soul of the individual. The last part of that verse is, but by manifestation ofountain truth, commending ourselves through every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

But if our gospel be hid, it’s hid to those that are lost. In whom the God of ): this world hath blinded the mind of them which believed not. Lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God should shine unto them. Now, I want you to look at your notes just a couple of things that I mentioned here. The Lord has placed this treasure, this glorious gospel, this good news into earthen vessels. You see down in verse 7 where he says, we have this treasure in earthen vessels.

This gospel that we have is a treasure. It’s the greatest treasure in all the world. If any man finds everything else in the world, become the richest man in the world, He roams everything in the world, but he dies and goes to hell. He was a fool. The greatest treasure is knowing God, and you cannot know Him except through the gospel. This message that God has blessed us with. We have been privileged to explain to individuals. The gospel is the lens through which we see God.

You take away the gospel and you’ll never find God. never know God. No man can know God except through the story of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the revelation of God in the flesh. And you can’t know anything about God except through his son who came to reveal his father. To Mar the gospel is to deface the portrait of Christ. It talks about the face of Jesus Christ, the face of God. You and I cannot know who God is, what God is like, what God hath done, what God will do, except through that story of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The word gospel is good news. It’s good news about what God has done for man and weoldemort. The third thing I have here is the gospel blinds the minds of those that we seek. So to veil the gospel, these to add things to the gospel that God didn’t add. Try to take away someidav from the gospel that God says put in. So in the gospel therein is the righteousness of God revealed. In the story of the gospel is the wrath of God revealed.

Romans chapter 1, your love and loyalty to Jesus Christ is revealed by your love and loyalty to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And your love and loyalty to the gospel of Jesus Christ reveals your love and your loyalty to Jesus Christ. If you’re not faithful to the gospel, you’re not faithful to Christ. If you’re not loyal to the gospel, you are not loyal to Christ. You cannot love Christ any more than you love the gospel and you can’t love the gospel any more than you love Christ.

It’s an awesome story. It’s the greatest story. Any Phasians 289, I want you to take your Bible and turn there with me. The book of Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 and 9. These are my two favorite verses in the entire Bible. Probably never seen them before. But if you have a Bible, you ought to underline those two verses in your Bible. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 and 9. I want you to read those verses out loud with me. For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.

In this verse it tells you what the gospel is and what the gospel is not. So it’s very easy to understand what the gospel is. It says here in this verse that it is a gift of God. It is is the gift of God. For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Faith is not the gift. Salvation is the gift. The inside is a gift. Now I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Romans, the book of Romans.

And chapter five, Romans chapter five and look at verse 15. Chapter five verse 15 says, but not as the offense so also is the free gift. You ought to underline the free gift. For if through the offering of one, many be dead much more the grace of God that they gift by grace in your underlying those words gift by grace, which is by one man Jesus Christ. had to bound it unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift for the judgment was by one to condemnation.

But the free gift is of many offenses unto justification. So in other men, a man can sin an awful lot and still be justified by faith and receive a free gift. And so as you go down through here it talks about the gift of God, the gift of God. Now look there in Romans chapter 6 and verse 23 verse 23 where it makes this statement for the wages of sin is death but the gift of God the gift is eternal life.

So So the gift is eternal life. It’s free. It is a gift. Means you can’t earn it, can’t work for it. And it is by grace undeserved. So no man has ever earned it or deserved it. So that is what we’re talking about. We talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now look there in Romans, while you’re here, and look in chapter 11. Romans chapter 11 and look in verse 6. It’s difficult to explain the gospel to someone when it seems like, well, everybody knows that.

No they don’t. Everybody understand, no they don’t. Majority of church people, I’ve invented to say, in most churches that have no clue what the gospel is, what to say it is or what to say it is not. They don’t know. They hear about it, but don’t know what it is. You see, when he said, going to all the way in preach to the gospel, he didn’t mean going to all the way in preach to book of Revelation, to book of Daniel.

Well everything in the Bible is true, so it’s a good story, so it’s all in the gospel. No, it’s not. The gospel is a specific thing about how a man gets saved. How a man escapes hell. How a man gets to heaven. How a man has eternal life. That story of why Christ came. So just because you teach the Bible doesn’t mean you taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. So here in the book of Romans in chapter 11, look there in verse 6.

If you’ll have verse 6 underlying your Bible, you’re probably not saved. Now young. But underline this verse because it’s such an important verse. And if by grace, then is it no more of works? Otherwise grace is no more grace. If it be of work, then it is no more grace. Otherwise work is no more work. So it’s either by grace or by works, but it can’t be by both. And if it is by grace, then it can’t be by works.

Otherwise grace isn’t grace. And if it is by work, then it can’t be by grace. Otherwise work isn’t work. So how simple it is illustration. I showed you a long time ago, but you probably forgot it with my coat off. Well, that’s grace. My code on. Well, that’s works. But God says if it’s by grace, can’t be by works. Otherwise, grace isn’t grace. But if it is by works, well, then it can’t be by grace. Otherwise, work isn’t work.

So I’ll tell you that is. Now, I mentioned to you before, if I was asked to go see the President Day of the United States, better say, Yankee, don’t forget to put on your coat. Yes, dear. So I go in there to see the President of the United States. Is my coat on? What were my code off?

Yeah, don’t worry about what other people think. You’re an independent thinker. You think for yourself. Nobody tells you how to think. But how many think my code is on? Let me see your hand. Oh, you got a few. A few of you. How many think my codes off? Let me see him. Okay. Okay. Got a few. How many are confused?

Did you know there’s more of you that are confused? Why are you so confused? Because, see, I’ve added works to groups. You see, I give you, it’s free. No, it’s by your works. Are they the same? That’s not the same thing. If it’s by grace, it can’t be this way. If it’s by words, it can’t be this way. They don’t mix. So whenever a man is told that you’re going to have an oh, it’s free, but you got to do good too.

Well, then that just contradicted this. Now, either it’s free or it’s by your works. It can’t be both ways. God says if I grace or it’s by works, but it can’t be both ways. See, that’s what causes so many preachers to be confused. Why? Because their message is confused. The people are confused. It’s one way or the other. And the only way that you really know that somebody really believes and understand what you’re saying, I asked a man this question one time.

Now you listen to this question. Some of you’ll probably get it wrong. Can a practicing homosexual go to heaven when he dies? A practicing homosexual go to heaven when died if he trusts he tries to save you. Well, most of y’all get an A for the day. Did you know if you asked that question in some churches, that would be a total no. And the reason is because they don’t understand the gospel. Because you see, in the back of their minds, he doesn’t deserve to go.

He doesn’t deserve it. Look, what he’s doing. As though what you do in your life determines where you go when you die. It doesn’t. And this is what blows most people’s minds. can’t believe that. You can’t tell me all you have to do is believe. Well, if I can’t tell you, God can’t tell you, it don’t matter, does it? Nobody can tell you. But what if God says it is that way? If a man does trust Christ’s Savior, and if a man doesn’t change his life, If a man still lives like a devil, and if a man dies, and if the man went to heaven, be grace wouldn’t.

And people still will not believe it, because he doesn’t deserve it. Because in our little mind, we still think good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. And that is not the Bible, and it’s not true. Look during your notes, there’s two things that I have here that I think are very important. the gospel must be free or it’s not the gospel. The gospel must be forever or it’s not the gospel. You either have to be saved forever or it wasn’t the gospel you believed.

You see, whenever you trust Christ as your Savior, are you trusting Him to save you for an hour, a minute, a day, a month? How long? Forever. Because if it’s not forever, what value is it? Is it, oh, I’m trusting Christ as my Savior till I sin the next time? Then I got to get saved again. What’s wrong with trusting Christ to say me forever? The good news is that when Christ saves a person, He saves you forever for all eternity.

Why don’t you take your Bible looking John chapter three in verse 16? John chapter three in verse 16. Now I know that majority of you here, you’ve heard this same message for 30 years, but there may be some of you here that’s never heard it at all. Some of you might need to refresh your course to appreciate what you’ve been given, to understand it. Look in verse 16, for God so loved all the good people that were really trying their best.

Is that what your Bible says? No, no, no, it didn’t say it. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. That’s Jesus Christ. The whosoever, whosoever, keeps the 10 commandments and obey the goal and rule and go to Calvary Community Church and play 25% half everlasting life. Do you see anything I’m doing that’s wrong? Is it wrong to add to what God said? Why not just let God say what He says without me adding to it.

When he says here that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that hosts so ever, believe it, should not perish but have everlasting life. And all he has to do is believe. Look there in verse 36, he that believe it on the son half, present tense, half, right now. What kind of life? Temporary life? Everlasting life. And he that believe if not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abide upon him.

So whether you have eternal life or not, or the wrath of God or not, depends on whether you have the Son or not. He that hath the Son hath life. And he that hath not the son of God hath not life. Look there in verse 18, he that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed. Not because he didn’t live up to a certain extent. He’s going to be lost, the literal fire burning hell because he hath not believed.

He did not believe the gospel. What was this gospel that Christ died for my sins? He died for mine. It means I don’t have to pay for my sins because He did it for me. It means I don’t have to earn my way to heaven by my good deeds because He did it. All I had to do was believe He did it for me. And I believe He did it for me. God gives me as a free gift everlasting life.

And I get to go to heaven on what Christ did. Look in John chapter 5 and verse 24 In verse 24 says verily verily. I mean it’s truthfully, truthfully God cannot lie. I Say unto you He that heareth my word and believe it on him that sent me Hat everlasting life. That’s present to me right now. Hat everlasting life and get this in the future nature shall not come in the future into condemnation. Means that if I trust Christ as my Savior today right now, it means that I have everlasting life.

And in the future I can never be condemned. That’s pretty good. That’s what makes it good news. See, it’s not good news to go around the world telling people that, you know, you’ve got to straighten up and fly right. You’ve got to walk out straight and narrow path. You’ll have to endure till the end if you want to get to heaven. You got to keep the 10 commandments to go to heaven. All that shows him and he can’t do it.

And I always tell people you can’t do it. And then I try to let them know, look, let me tell you some good news. The good news is that Christ died for you. He paid for your sins. Will you trust him as your Savior? Will you trust him to take you to heaven whenever you die? And God said he would give you as a free gift ever lasting life. Look there in John chapter six. John chapter six verse 47 says, Verily, verily, I say to you, he that believeth on me hath, present in half what?

Right now, hath everlasting life. See the good news is that when you trust Christ, he gives you everlasting life. Oh, look what he says in verse 37. In verse 37, same chapter. He says, and verse 37, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me, Him that come up to me, I will in no wise cast out God said, I’ll never cast you out. I’ll never lose you. He won’t cast me out. He’ll know. Well, unless you send again, did it say that?

It didn’t say why? Why do people want to add to what? He didn’t say that. I’ll never cast you out. I’ll never lose you unless I send again. Don’t say that. People can’t believe God really means what He says. It just blows their mind. That’s too easy. It’s too easy. It ought to be easy, Dunder. He said, preach the gospel to every creature. Then it must be easy to understand. It’s easy. But the devil makes it so difficult and hard.

And so there’s some kind of preacher’s thing that they have to really help God out. We’ve got to have these people really mean business. God’s the one that meant business. There’s nothing you have to stop. There’s nothing you have to do. There’s nothing you have to promise. It’s so important to get this. Now look at one more verse with me right here in John 10. John 10 verse 28 makes this statement. And I charge them. No. And I give unto them temporary life.

What kind of life? Eternal life. What if it’s eternal life? I want to how long that lasts. Isn’t that a difficult question? How long? That’s like asking somebody, when was the war of 1812? Or here’s another hard question for you. Who’s buried grants tomb? Some people can’t figure this stuff out. This is difficult. I know that. And I give unto them eternal life. And they shall what? Never perish. That means today, tomorrow, I can never go to hell. Never, never, never.

Never. Best news in all the world. You know when he makes a statement here, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Let me show you a simple little illustration. Here’s me. Here’s God. I want to go to heaven when I die. So I go to church. I go to the front. I pray, beg, hang, let go. Get a grip, grip on God. Tip the Lord of Quarter when they are from plate came by. I’m ready to go.

I’m good to go. And then when I do something wrong. Uh-oh, I’m slipping away. Slipping. I’m lost. Now I gotta get saved again. Go back, back, back, go. Get saved again. And as long as I’m doing fine, where you going? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m going to heaven. Now I’m going to hell. Now I got to get saved again. Where you going, Yankee? Heaven? Where you going? Not hell. Got to get saved again. That’s not the Bible. Because, see, God says, if I trust Him, He will save me.

See any difference? He said, He won’t cast me up. He said, He won’t lose me. He says, He gives me eternal life, and no man can pluck you out of His hands. You see, I’m trusting Him, God, who can’t lie, to take me to heaven. And He said, if I would, He would. So I did, and He will. So by going to heaven, it’s about what Christ said and what Christ is doing. He is my Savior, not me. It has nothing to do with me.

Nothing, zero, how I live never affects the Word of God. Now yes, as a child of God, it is the will of God that I as his child serve him. But I do not serve God to go to heaven. I am not here this morning. I am not preaching this morning so that I can finally make it to heaven. I’m going to heaven because 50 years ago in a little-low living room. I wasn’t in a church. The man was not a preacher, but he simply opened up the Bible and explained John 3.16 to me.

And setting there that night, I understood all that I had to do, all that I could do was accept Christ as my Savior and He would save me and give me eternal life. And I’d go to heaven whenever I died. If He gave me eternal life 50 years ago, would I still have it today? And will I have it 100 years from now? I have eternal life. I’m going to heaven when I… But does that mean just because you’re going to heaven, you probably lived a very wicked life.

I live more wicked before I trust the Lord. I guarantee you that. But since I’ve trusted Christ as my Savior and I’m God’s child, I believe that as a child of God, I should serve the Lord, but not to get to heaven. None of my service gets me to heaven. None of my service to the Lord for 50 years helps me secure me in any way. There indeed mean nothing like that. But I serve the Lord because I want to, because I love him.

I love the Lord, and I know he loves me. 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. Part 2 of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. 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 toll-free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771.

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 are 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 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, 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.

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 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 message will be a blessing to you and your family.

I want you to take your Bible and turn to the Book of Matthew. a book of Matthew, and chapter five, Matthew chapter five. Verse 48, verse 48 of Matthew chapter five, it’s a verse that’s enough to scare you to half the dead. And I want you to make sure you listen to everything that I’m saying, very important. Verse 48 says, be there for perfect, even as your Father, which is in heaven, is perfect. God is perfect, and He wants us to be perfect.

Now isn’t that a little on the odd side, especially telling us in this world to be perfect like somebody else is perfect? Because you and I know that’s impossible because nobody’s perfect but God. He’s the only one that’s perfect. Some even said that, you know, what must I do? Good master in reference to Christ. He says, why call us thou me good? There is none good but one, that’s God. So there’s only one that is good, but alone perfect.

Because the Bible says we have all sin, and he says there is none good, no not one. So there’s none good, not one, there’s not one that’s perfect. So why would Christ ask us to do something or be something we cannot be? Somebody mentioned that they thought Jesus Christ had two messages, had two gospels. And if somebody came to him that thought they had to earn their way to heaven, he would tell them, You know how good they had to be.

Perfect. And then when somebody else knew that they couldn’t do it, he would tell them just by grace alone, by faith alone. When you read Matthew, Martin, Luke, it seems like there is two messages, but there really isn’t. Christ used the law to show people that they cannot save themselves by their works. So I want you to look here in Matthew chapter 5, And look what he says in verse 20 verse 20 now. This is when Jesus Christ was here now This is God Jesus Christ is God and he says in verse 20 He says for I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees You shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven Unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees you cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven So the Pharisees were the law keepers.

Those were the best people in the city, in the whole nature of Israel. If they were the best, and that wasn’t good enough, and yours had to be better than that, well, how are you going to do that? Well, then he went through and he says a few things that also would cause you to have some problems, because he makes a statement in verse 22, But I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.

And whosoever shall say to his brother Raka shall be in danger of the counsel, but whosoever shall say thou full shall be in danger of hell. You mean just something so simple? You fool. You know you go to hell for that. So we finally got, I guess, to the place where parents finally had a good way of trying to keep their kids under control and make them do right. You don’t make up your bed. You’re going to hell. You don’t eat your food, you’re going to hell.

If you don’t go to school and door your homework, you’re going to hell. So it wasn’t long before everybody was told they’re going to hell for everything. So, my luck is to figure that, well, I’m going to hell anyway. I might as well have me up all for a banana. This isn’t talking about… You haven’t earned your way to heaven. But it is showing you that it’s impossible for you to earn your way to heaven. He also made a statement in verse 27.

I want you to see that. Verse 27, you have heard that it was said of them in old time, thou shall not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath already committed adultery with her already in his heart. He said, well, that’s all for a man. That’s almost impossible. You mean if you don’t do it, but if you think it, you’re going to hell for that, then everybody’s going to hell.

I mean, Jesus is getting a little strong here. I mean, this is impossible. And if you do one little thing, look what he says in verse 29, if I write hand, I offend, they pluck it out. Then they’re by go around blind. He also says, you know, in verse 30, if your right hand offended the cut it off. So whatever you see, if it’s offensive, then what you saw wasn’t the problem, it was your eye, cut out your eye.

And if you do something, I mean, this wrong, then you cut off your hand. Well after a while, you wouldn’t have any feet, you wouldn’t have any hands, you wouldn’t have any eyes. I mean, what could you do? This is impossible. There’s got to be another explanation. I would think, well, there is, there is, there really is. But look what he says also in verse 38. He says, you have heard, and I’m sure you have heard, that it hath been said an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.

He said, what do they mean? Well, if you knock out my eye, guess what I’m supposed to do to you? Not got your eye. That takes people out of the eye taking out business. You knock out my teeth, I knock out your teeth. Therefore, we start knocking out teeth. Or everybody don’t have any teeth anymore. He makes a statement here in verse 43. You have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy.

But I say unto you, love your enemies. You say, now, this is what, see, he says, unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the fairly, you shall not in any wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. Then he lays all these things out here. This is what you gotta do. Ooh. You gotta do all this, man, who’s gonna make it? But he says, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and he said, but I say to you in verse 44, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, pray for them which spitefully use you and persecute you, that ye may be the children of your Father, which is in heaven, that ye may be the children.

I mean, I gotta do this to be a child of God. They know it just don’t make any sense. It seemed like this is backwards from everything I was always taught. This is, you gotta live a perfect life. You can’t do that. And then he talks about down here and again in verse 48, be therefore perfect even as your father, which in heaven is perfect. You say why people can get so confused? I can see why they can get confused.

Was Jesus confusing? No. It’s our limited understanding. You see, whenever people think they have to live so good to go to heaven, you know what Christ would say? Just be perfect. If you want to be saved by your good work, it shouldn’t then be perfect. If you want nobody to be perfect. What? The point. You sure can. So why try? But during the kingdom of God sits upon the earth, this is what He’s going to require. You have to live like this during the kingdom when He’s up on the earth.

Matthew chapter 19. There was a man who came to Christ. I want you to see this in verse 16. Matthew 19 verse 16. He said, and behold one came and said unto him, good master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? See everybody wants to have eternal life. What good thing must I do that I may have eternal life? What do I have to do? He said unto him, why call us thou me good?

there’s none good, but one, that’s God. But if thou will enter into the life, keep the commandments. See there you see, he says you got to keep the commandments to be, have eternal life. All right. And he said unto him, which? He said, which one? Which one do I have to keep? Well, you and I know that according to the book of Galatians, they have to keep the law, you have to keep how many of them? All of them.

And he says, and not only keep them today, you have to continually keep them every day as long as you live from the time you’re born to the time you die, you’ve got to keep the law perfectly. And if you fail at any point, then you blew it. You can’t go to heaven. Well, he says, Thou shalt do no murder, shall not commit adultery, shall not steal, shall not bear false witness, honor thy father, thy mother, and thou shalt love thy neighbors thyself.

And the young man said, all these things have I kept from my youth, up from the youth. I done did all of that. I did it. So I get to go. He says, what lack I yet? In other words, what else do I have to do? Jesus said to him, if thou will be, what’s the word? If thou will be perfect, go and sell that thou hast give to the poor, thou shall have treasure in heaven and come and follow me.

Boy, that’s a whole bunch. So you can see why people think they have to be good to go to heaven and why people think they have to keep the 10 commandments to go to heaven and why people think they have to give up something to go to heaven and give to the port to go to heaven. So people think going to church. given your money and not living a certain way and following the Lord all that’s involved in going to heaven because that’s what he said.

That’s what he said. You can’t ask. He said that. I just read it to you right out of there black and white. But in verse 22, he said, but when the young man heard that saying he went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. Now, whenever Christ used the law and he says, thou shall not commit a adultery and thou shall not steal and thou shall not. You know the one that he didn’t mention? Thou shalt not covet. He left Christ left that one out.

So when he said, well, what do I lack at? You broke the one on covet, he broke all the other and he just didn’t know it, but he covet. And so Christ used the law to show him that he has not kept all the law. So he makes a statement in verse 23. Jesus said unto his disciples, Verily I send to you that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. Why? Because why do you have so much riches?

Covington. You see, most people have a lot of riches if they covet a lot, but you can be a poor man and covet. Can you covet what a rich man has? Mm-hmm. You may be dirt poor here today and guilty of covetousness because you live for greed. You just can’t get it, but if you could you would. But he makes a statement. He says in verse 24, And again, I send you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter to the kingdom of God.

He says, it’s harder to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter. Why? Because the rich man trusts in his riches. As long as you have a lot, I don’t need God. I don’t need God. Because I got money. So many people think that as long as I got money, I can buy anything I want. You’re going to find out one of these days, it cannot buy you life. It may extend your life a little bit because you can afford a good health insurance and a good doctor, but so do they you’re going to die it can’t get you eternal life.

I know that in verse 25 when his disciples heard it they were exceedingly amazed saying now get this he says who then can be saved who can be saved because if you have to be perfect in order to be saved the question the disciples ask who can be saved because this would eliminate how many people in the world. Everybody because none of you in here can meet the standard. You see God gave his law in order for you to look at it and realize you can’t keep it.

You cannot keep the law. There’s not a man that can stop from ever lusting after a woman because you have a sinful nature within you. You cannot always love your neighbor. You don’t always love your enemies. And you don’t always do good to them who persecute you and say evil things about you. No you don’t. You get mad and you get angry and you want to fight back and you want to hurt back and you may not outwardly do it, but inwardly gets brewing and you know it if you’re an honest individual or you could be a liar.

The Bible says we’re all liars. I remember the first time I ever saw Ray Stanford do this in a big old meeting that he had. He said, how many of you in here have never told a lie, raise your hand. I mean, never told a lie, raise your hand. Well, you know, you’ll have a few kids who raise your hand and they’re lying. And so, of course, they’ve got to put your hands down. Okay, nobody’s ever told a lie.

How many of you here have never stole anything in your life? You never stole anything? Well, I can’t, well, I never stole anything. Well, I stole a pencil one time. Well, have you ever stole credit for something you didn’t do? Well, yeah. Okay. He says, so now I need to know that I need to hang on to my wallet because everybody in here has admitted that you’re liars and thieves. Everybody, you’re liars and you’re thieves. We are. That’s what we are.

We’re liars and thieves. And everybody is. And nobody can save themselves. But look what he says in verse 26. Jesus beheld them, said unto them, with men, with men, this is what? He says it’s impossible. You mean the way very one that just told you to be perfect also just told you it’s impossible. And yet you see, people don’t read far enough. And so now many of them taking those other verses, you got to keep the law to go heaven.

You got to be good to go to heaven. And you got to love your enemies and you got to go to church. You got to learn to give to the poor and you got to do all those things in order to go to heaven when you die. And nobody can. You can’t fulfill all of it. You’re not good enough. So God says it is impossible for you. But look what He says in the last part of it. But with God all things are what?

It is possible. possible for me to be saved. By God, but it’s not possible for me to be saved by me. I cannot save myself. You cannot save yourself. Now, I want to show you a verse that many people have heard all so long, almost all their life, but don’t really understand. Look in the book of 1 Corinthians in chapter 15, 1 Corinthians and chapter 15. We often call this the resurrection chapter, and it is. It’s talked about the resurrection.

But there’s something in here that I want you to see. Here in 1 Corinthians in chapter 15, I want you to know there in verse one. He said, Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel, which I preach unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand, by which also ye are saved. You are saved by what? The gospel. And he says, if ye keep in memory. So now you know you could not be saved by yourself.

You could not cause it’s impossible. But he says, with God it is possible. So evidently, somehow the gospel is to reveal to a lost man that which was impossible, impossible. The gospel. The story of presenting the gospel to a lost man, a person doesn’t know where he’s going. Shows a man why it’s impossible for him to save himself and why it is possible for God to save him. And the reason it’s impossible for a man to save himself, because God says there’s none good.

There’s none righteous. There’s none perfect. All have sin. man can’t save himself by his good deeds because he don’t have any. He ain’t have any. But yet in that same message is something that reveals the possibility of God saving a man. So the gospel reveals the impossibility of man saving himself. But the good news is that a God can and God will. Now, that’s what he says here. He says in the last part of verse two, he says, by which you are also say if you keep in memory what I preached unto you unless you have believed in vain, you often will how can you believe in vain?

You can believe in vain very easy, how? Well if you believe in Jesus Christ and he really didn’t die for your sins, that didn’t mean. You believe in vain or you trust in vain if he died and didn’t come back from the dead then you’re believe in in vain. Trusting in somebody who’s still dead. And you also see you can believe in vain if you don’t believe what the gospel really says. See a lot of people say, well, I’ve heard the gospel all my life and they say they believe in Jesus Christ, but don’t really believe what he said.

You can believe in George Washington, but that doesn’t mean you’re trusting George Washington to get you to heaven. You can believe that Jesus Christ down the cross and paid for sin and still not you go to heaven just because you heard that that’s a historical fact but to some time that comes the time when you have to believe he did it for you but what is said in verse three variety of living under you first of all that which I also received how the Christ he just died for our sins now stop right there you hear the statement all the time Christ died for our sins all right which of our sins did he die for If He died for all of our sins, there are people who teach that Christ paid for your sins up to the time you believe.

And then after that, you’re on your own. Then commit a sin that He didn’t die for, or a sin that He did die for, but you haven’t been forgiven for it. So there’s two things that has to take place. One is you must believe that He paid for a high man of your sins, all of them. And you must believe that He forgave you of all your sins when you trusted Him. Because if you believe He paid for all of your sins, then you say, okay, I believe He paid for all of my sins.

And He’s forgiven me only for those that I confessed. But now I’ve got to confess all of these one by one. Is it possible for you to commit a sin and not know you did it? Are you aware of every one of your sins that you have committed? So at this point, if you believe that you could lose your salvation because there’s some sin that you did not get forgiven for, then you don’t know that you’ve already lost it or not.

Because you can commit a sin and not know it. Is it possible for a person to be deceived? Yeah. So you could deceive yourself into thinking that what you did was okay and God says it is a sin and he could have already cost you your salvation and you didn’t even know about it. How stupid. So you have to understand this. He died for how many of your sins? All our sins. Now when I say he did it for our sins.

That means mine and yours. Our would be all of us. That means if I believe he did it for all of my sins, well, if he forgave me of what I’ve already done, but then I’ve got to get individually forgiven for all these sins, then I’ve got to stay on track and ask forgiveness for all these sins that I’m going to commit now into the day. So today, or forgive me, or forgive me, or forgive me, or forgive me.

How big of a gap can I have in here what I wouldn’t have to worry about it? How often would I have to keep asking him to forgive me? But make sure that I got them all covered. You don’t really know. So see, your salvation would depend upon you asking for forgiveness over and over and over again. God says, no, you don’t have to do that. You see, when you believe He paid for all of our sins, and you accept that payment that He has forgiven you of all of your sin, all forgiven, He forgive you of all of them, That’s the penalty, which is death and hell.

You have been forgiven of the penalty of your sins. As you live your Christian life, yes, as a child of God, I should confess my sins to the Lord. That’s for fellowship, not for salvation, total difference. But you see, what you have to understand is, is this sin that I commit today, or the sin that I commit tomorrow, or the sin that I commit the next day? Who’s are they? If I did it, I owe it. I own it.

It’s mine. So when I say Christ died for our sins, I must believe He died for my sin. That was mine. That was mine. That was mine. That was mine. That was mine. And He died for my sins. So He doesn’t say here. He died for only those things you’ve already done 10 years ago. years ago, he died for my sins. All of them are included. So they’re all there. And he had forgiven me of all sins from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

So I have a payment for all of my sins all at one time. Remember that if a man trusts Christ as his Savior and God gives to him as a free gift ever lasting life, if it’s everlasting life, it lasts forever. This is why I am so strong on the doctrine of eternal security. One saved, always saved. And the reason is because, see, that is the gospel. If a man does not believe that he has eternal security, I don’t believe the man is saved.

I don’t believe anybody who’s saved if they don’t believe they’re saved forever. Because Because if they don’t know for sure they’re going to heaven, why should I believe they are? Why should I believe you’re going to heaven when you don’t even believe it? Only way you can believe that you’re going to heaven when you die is that there’s nothing that can keep you from getting there. If you could do something today or tomorrow or the next year that can keep you from getting to heaven, you don’t know you won’t.

If it’s possible, how do you know you won’t? And if that means that you could commit a sin that could lose your salvation, you’re actually say and Christ didn’t pay for that sin and if Christ didn’t pay for it you’re calling God a liar. Any person who does not believe in eternal security calls God a life. Don’t believe him. When Jesus says he that believeth on me hath everlasting life if you don’t believe you have everlasting life then you don’t believe what he said.

I’m not telling because people are wonderful and sweet and kind and all of it. If they don’t believe what Christ said then they don’t believe it. They don’t believe it and if they don’t believe it they call him a liar and so therefore I believe in the doctrine of eternal security. That once you’re saved, you have eternal life as a gift and you’ll go to heaven whenever you die and there is no tricks to that, there’s no gimmicks to that.

It is the best news and all the work. Now because this is truth in 1 Corinthians in chapter 15, I want you to see this verse. Because it is true and he is coming by it. He says in verse 20, but now is Christ risen from the dead so your faith is not in vain. Become the first fruits of them that slept by sense and for since by man came death by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

For in Adam all die, that’s the first man, even so in Christ, the last man shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order, Christ is coming back. And when he comes back, he’s taken all of us out and we can believe that all of that’s Now he can’t do that if he didn’t pay for all of our sins. And here’s why. How many of your sins were in the future when Christ died? When Christ died 2,000 years ago, how many of your sins were in the future?

All of them. You weren’t even born yet. Can Christ pay for your sins before you committed him? Yes, he did. Can Christ forgive you of sins? You have not yet committed. Yes. He can pay for them before you commit him and he can forgive you before you commit him. It’s maybe difficult to understand, but that’s the power of this good news. And he says, we’re saved because he has an endless life, an endless life. He lives forever. And his blood is incorruptible.

And I have a payment that is eternal, eternal redemption, a payment that he made. And then I want to close in this one verse, look at in verse 58, verse 58, because this is true. And life is short and we’re not going to be here forever. Therefore in verse 58 Therefore my beloved brethren be ye steadfast Unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord Do I believe that a Christian should labor in the Lord?

Yes? Do I believe in good works? Yes? I do but I don’t believe you should do that to be saved or to stay saved I was saved by grace means without my works. I am kept saved without my works. He saved me by His power. He kept me saved by His power. I didn’t have the works, good deeds to save myself. I don’t have the good deeds to keep myself safe. But as a child of God, I believe in certain law with all my heart, not to get to heaven but because I’m going there.

If you have not trusted Christ as your Savior, you are lost. You are going to hell. But it doesn’t have to be that way. as long as you can draw breath, you can trust Christ as your Savior. He said, he’ll never cast you out and never lose you. All you must do is believe that he did it for you. Look up here. This is you and me and this is sin. We all have sin upon us. Now God, keep his mind.

God loves you. Hates your sin, but he loves you. The Bible says we committed the sin, but he paid for our sin. So from the time that I’m born to the time that I die, all my sins that I own, their mind. He died for it. He paid for all of mine. So it doesn’t matter whether it’s past, further future, if they’re mine, he paid for it. He died in my place for mine, that which I owned. These were my sins and he paid for them in four.

Came back from the dead. Now when I believe he did it for me, he forgives me of all that I’ve done, not because of what I’ve done, but because of what he did for me. He paid for my sins. And so now all my sins are paid. All my sins, God don’t have a sin against me. There’s not one sin that can keep me from going to heaven because you see I don’t have any. He died in my place.

I’m going to heaven because of what he did for me. I am as righteous as God in God’s eye. God sees me, he sees me just as righteous and Holy as his Son is just as righteous and holy as God himself because see there’s no sin in heaven But I’m going there See with man, it’s impossible, but with God he can make you perfect and if he can make you perfect Would that be good enough to go to heaven?

Yeah, so I’m going to heaven because I have been made perfect as righteous as God Not because of what I did not because my works, but because Jesus Christ He loved me, took my sins, paid for them on the cross, came back from the dead. And God said, if I believe He did it for me, it’d give me eternal life. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you are 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 tool free, 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again, or to obtain a free download of any of our Bibleline programs, just go to our home page at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the radio broadcast link. 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.

Our Sunday morning services begin at 10-30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline 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.

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 regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for a 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 This teaching will be a blessing to you and your family. But look at number two, the false guilt. First John 3-20, I want you to look at this verse, it’s a very good verse and you need to know where it is and that it’s in the Bible. First John and chapter three. And look in verse 20, because it’s talking about your own conscience, your conscience.

And you can have a good conscience, a clear conscience, a defiled conscience, a guilty conscience. But it makes a statement here in verse 24, if our heart can dim us, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things. Now in verse 21, if our heart can dim us not, then have we confidence toward God. So there’s things that you and I do that we give ourselves permission to do. If you give yourself permission to do it with all the scripture that you know, and it doesn’t bother your conscience because you believe it’s right, then believe it’s right.

And don’t have a false guilt that you place upon yourself that it’s nothing wrong with it. You see, you can weigh yourself down because of things that can happen beyond your power to control. And it may have nothing to do with what you have done or haven’t done, so you don’t condemn yourself for that which somebody else does, like a child believing that mom and daddy got divorced because it was my fault. And maybe they’re only five or six years old or eight or 10 years old.

I talked to when Kitty came from a broken home, he said, yeah, I broke it. But you need to understand And that there’s some things that can cause depression that you were not the cause of it. And if you don’t learn how to handle some of these things, it will take its toll upon you. So look at number two, guilt feelings that arise when no sin has been committed. Have you ever had an accident, a car accident, anything? I have turned around quickly and bumped right into people.

the thing I say, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. Now, should I feel guilty for the rest of the day because of what I did? Yes, I should. I knew he was going to say that. If it’s an accident, it means you didn’t plan it. You didn’t plan it. Accidents, mistakes of common human air committed without pre-planning, or stressful decisions. There’s a lot of decisions you have to make in life and you may not want to make them.

But after you’ve made them you feel guilty for having made it. But you have to do it. And sometimes that takes place with loved ones. For example, you love your mother or your father as some relativists real close and Well, you may find yourself because of certain circumstances, you may have to put them in a nursing home because you’re not able to take care of them, for whatever the reasons. But then you feel guilty because you did it. But why would you condemn yourself for doing what you believe was the right thing to do?

So you can lay guilt up on yourself That’s not the result of a sin that you’d committed, but because of stressful decisions, sometimes you have to make. There’s times when I had to tell Supplementary Children, no. No, I’ll have to admit now, they had a hard time learning what the word meant. So even when they were 16 and 17 years old, I still had a hard time convincing them what INFO the word NO meant. And it can be very stressful at times because they want to do something and I didn’t think it was a wise thing to do and I would say NO.

then I would feel, I hate to have to say that. I wish I didn’t have to do that. But you see, sometimes you have to make decisions that are filled with stress because you don’t wanna have to make it, they don’t wanna have to hear it. You don’t know how they’re going to accept it. Do you think that as the pastor of a church that sometimes I make a lot of decisions under stress, that I’d rather not make. Sometimes I deal with people and I’d rather not do.

Sometimes I cancel with people I’d rather not do it. And sometimes it can be very stressful. Why? Because you don’t know the outcome. You don’t know how people are going to accept things. I’ve talked to married couples and single people and you name it, I’ve had to do it. But it’s a part of the responsibility. Now I can just stress myself out until I’d have to have a weak vacation. This sounds good. I think I need a cruise. I think I need to go on a cruise.

Just to get my senses back and rest a little bit and because of the stressful situation, Did you know there’s stress a little bit with just having a summer camp? When you think about what it cost, the money you’ve got to raise, the speakers you’ve got to have, all the workers and counselors you’ve got to have, and dealing with the people you’ve got to deal with, and you haven’t got a clue how it’s going to work out. What about just when there’s Sunday school that can produce stress?

I want to produce stress. Saturday night can have stress. We can be under a lot of stress. I’ll bet you that those little ladies that were playing the piano and the organ for the first time were stressed out. You think so? When Peter had to direct the choir, I’ll bet he had some stress upon him. You don’t think that he got it down. It didn’t bother him at all. But everybody has stress. You’ve got to go through it. That’s what reveals what kind of strength you have.

It’s just like whenever they wanna put a gas line into a house or water line, they usually test a certain amount of pressure they put it in to see if it’s got a leak. Well, why are they doing that? Cause they wanna put a lot of pressure on it. And if it doesn’t leak with all the pressure, they’re putting on it. It’s not going to leak with the pressure you put on it. So therefore it should be okay. All right, God will do a lot of that same kind of testing upon you and I with pressure, pressure.

And we talk about time, heat and pressure. And you and I are under that as we go through life and it causes us sometimes to be so discouraged and so depressed. And so there are some things that we cause because of our mind not being right and we harbor ill feelings and our emotions are all run away. But this is so important. Look there at this statement, children who blamed themselves for parents’ divorce, having to place a family member or a close relative in a nursing home.

Have you ever done things for somebody because you love them? They take everything that you do, that you do that’s good and you do that’s right, and they find a way to twist it to hurt you. And if you didn’t love them, it wouldn’t hurt. But it hurts. Why? Because you love them. And sometimes people are not even aware of what they’re saying and doing. I mentioned to you that time when my sister had come to Colorado, And I had to put her in a locked up facility for almost a year.

And I’ll never forget when I watched her when she went into that room and she looked at me. She said, I hate you. I hate you. And I’m thinking, I love you, Liz. I love you, Liz. I really care about you. And she’s looking at me saying, I hate you. I hate you. Just the opposite of how I thought. And I’m making decisions under so much stress. But the time came after about a year, I said, Lizzy, I said, you want to go home to see Mom and him?

She said, I thought it was ET. me go home. I said, you want to go home? And she just started to balling. And when I brought her back home, let’s see mama, she’s in heaven now. Mama’s in heaven too. Mother, sister, she’s up in heaven too. One of these days we won’t have no more stress. But that will happen when we get to heaven. As long as you live in this world, you’re going to face pressure and a lot of stress.

Look at the next statement, things that happen beyond our control. There are some things you can’t control. It’s out of your hands. And I don’t know what it is because with every individual it’s different. Number three, rejection, betrayal and unfair criticism is solved by our security and God’s love. How secure are you that God really loves you and that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord and you’re securing that. If you’re securing that, then your life is not going to be all shook up based upon whether other people accept you or don’t betray you, don’t abuse you because you know who you are and who you serve, where you belong, and you’re securing his love.

Because in people’s eyes it comes and goes, it comes and goes. So if you stop and think about this, the epitome of all of this victim of sin was Jesus Christ. You’ve never found anybody who was more victimized than that individual. You think of whatever can happen to people, it happened to him and yet he committed everything to the Father and they even put him on a cross, took his life, but he came back from the dead. He’s in heaven now in case she didn’t know that.

And there might have even been time when Jesus was discouraged or depressed. Read how he thought and felt in the garden and how that his soul was sorrowful even under death and how that he prayed even great sweat drops of blood. And he asked his disciples, cannot you pray with me just for one hour?” And they wouldn’t do it. They just went to sleep. How do you think he felt? Could not you have prayed for me one hour? Didn’t they understand the seriousness of the situation?

Evidently not. So there’s nothing you and I are going to do or go through that will ever come close to what he went through as far as been a victim of somebody else. We’re going to be victimized in this world. Look at number four, number four, broken dreams. Or as you’ve heard me preach before, the death of a vision. You ever have a vision, a dream of what you wanted to do or be or accomplish or something? And you know at this point in your life, it’ll never happen.

It’ll never happen. You kind of like give up a broken dream. Did you know that you can work toward something and pour everything you have into it and then it not materialize? Not materialize. I’ve had a few of those over the years. I’ve thought At times when our ministry was going the best in Colorado, I thought it’ll never end, it’ll never end. But just that quick, the economy changed and people had to leave our ministry to go get jobs.

And I lost my workers and I lost 40 students in the Christian school and so many of the teachers had to go and get jobs. And all of a sudden as fast as we went up, we went down. And you couldn’t stop it. It was beyond your control. It didn’t matter what you did. You couldn’t stop it. Just like a lot of businesses today. A lot of schools and colleges and churches dry up. And sometimes it’s nothing to do with anything they could have done.

Some of you’re working for people, then you might lose a job. And your health may be good today, and it’s pitiful tomorrow. And it’s beyond your control. You can do all the right you want to do. And it seemed like everything can be done. fall apart. That’s life. And what are we supposed to do about all of this? Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, laying not unto thine own understanding. All thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.

Just keep getting up. Under number four, I wrote down big dreams, dream big, but honor God above the dream. Because you see, your dream may not materialized, but the God, he hasn’t changed when I order. And he’s just as big and powerful as he’s always been. Because see, if I don’t get my dream, it’s because God had a bigger dream for me. I just couldn’t see all of it. God uses sometimes the depth of my visions to give me a better vision, to help me to see something I would have never seen no other way.

Because you see, it always seems to be easier to challenge and motivate people that are in good spirits and in good shape. But what about all those people that are not there? How many more people you can relate to and help and encourage? Look at number five. Number five, trying to please everyone is solved by first seeking overall to please the Lord. Galatians chapter 1 and verse 10, you got to see this verse. You got to see this verse.

Knock your socks off. In the book of Galatians in chapter 1 verse 10, the apostle Paul had told those people there in Galatia, he says, I marvel that You’re so soon removed from him, they called into the grace of Christ into another gospel, but there’d be not another gospel. He said, but there’s some that would pervert the gospel of Christ. And he said, though we are an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel, then let him be accursed. And then I said before, even so say I now did.

And then he gets down there to verse 10, and he says, does it sound like I’m trying to please people by what I’m saying? No, for do I now persuade men or God, or do I seek to please men, for if I yet please men, I should not be the servant of Christ. Your gold in life is not to please people, it’s to please the Lord. People may not be pleased by what you say and do. They come and they go.

They have different desires at different times, and you never know where they’re going to land. But God is sure He’s rock solid. He tells you what pleases Him. So seek to please the Lord. And buddy, that will help your attitude. That will help you more than anything else. Is it, am I pleasing God? Because you may not please people. And not everybody’s going to be pleased with what you say and what you do and the way you are. But I love that verse.

He says, do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet please men, I should not be the servant of Christ. You see, you can’t please both. You can’t please God and man. And so if you’re pleasing God, be satisfied. If you’re seeking to please man, you’re wrong, right off the bat. And you ought to be discouraged because you have just chosen the impossible path. True? It is impossible to please people all the time.

The last statement I have down here is, grace involves tolerating other people’s flaws. I’m going to live by grace, then tolerate other people’s flaws. The Bible talks about love covers a multitude of sin. I didn’t say it covers all of them, but it does cover a multitude. There are many harsh critics and trying to please fuss people can cause depression. They can impose impossible expectations on you. True. Now, you may not need this today, but I assure you sooner or later you will, because all this is nothing more than just plain or common sense, just common sense.

Well, they say that common sense isn’t very common anymore, but it’s the Word of God. Principles found from God’s book. Look up here. Welcome to our service. We’re glad to have you. But we want you to know something more than anything else in the world. You can be discouraged. You can be depressed. Not knowing the Lord, not knowing where you’re going to go and you die. Not knowing who you are and what you are, what you’re doing. When you don’t know what happens after death, it can be very discouraging to anybody.

But all of those questions got resolved with me 51 years ago When I heard the best news I ever heard my whole life You know what was interesting today somebody called on my cell phone from up in Georgia somewhere and When I saw the first three numbers I thought oh it’s probably one of my kids, but I didn’t know for sure because the rest of it I didn’t recognize so I said hello may I help you I was in a game good mood.

And the first thing she says was, uh oh, I think I dialed the wrong number. I said, well, who did you call? She says, Patricia, I said, you know what? You are right. You dialed the wrong number. But you might have dialed the right number. She says, what do you mean? I said, well, let me tell you. I said, I know I have eternal life and I know that I’m going to heaven when I die when I want to die.

So wouldn’t you like to know? And she says, well, yeah. And so I talked to her a little bit and I led her to the Lord of the telephone. So I said, see there, you didn’t dial the wrong number after all. And I says, now, if I saw you 10 years from now and I asked you, where are you going to go in your dias? I said, what would you say? She said, I’m going to heaven. I said, well, how do you know?

She says, because I believe he died for me. She said, just like, she said that he died for me. He paid for my sins. And I says, if I never see you in this world, I’m going to see you. when I get to heaven, she says, I’ll see you in heaven. I thought, oh, that was so neat. It’s a wonderful story that God has given to us. Regardless of the problems that we may have, one of the biggest mistakes that we make is saying, well, when I get all of my problems solved, then I’ll think about the other people.

How long do you think it will be before you talk to anybody if you wait till you solve all of your problems? It’ll never happen, why? because you’re always having problems. You’re either in the midst of a problem, coming out of a problem, or getting ready to go into a problem. You know, somebody sent me an email about something that was on YouTube. So I went on the YouTube and I thought, man, it sure would be nice to be on YouTube.

Then that way people could just click on and, you know, anywhere in the world and be able to see my little messages or whatever I’ve got and a little gospel presentation and all that. So Betty walks into the room and she says, Yankee? Why don’t you type your name in there and see if you are on the YouTube? I said, well, I’ve never put anything on YouTube. So I typed in Ralph Yankee Arnold and lo and behold, I mean all these videos.

I had no clue any of them was up there and then it has so many 100 and something clicked on to this one and 90 on to this one and 60 on this one and 50 on this one. And all these people that had been, and this one was three weeks ago, and the other one was a month ago, and I didn’t even know I had anything on the YouTube. Somebody’s doing this. I have taken a lot of my messages, and they put them on the YouTube, and I had no clue.

You go home and you get your little computer, and you type in Ralph Yankee Arnold on the YouTube, and you watch, and see, it just all comes out. And it knocked me for a loop. I had no clue. And here I am preaching the gospel of the people around the world, And I couldn’t believe it. And one of them made a nice comment. It says, powerful message, great sermon, somebody in North London. London. What a wonderful life. What a great God we serve.

What an opportunity. So you never know what is going to be done and how far it’s going to go, but I just get excited about the things of the Lord. God is sure being good to us. Well, anyway, this hand represents you and me, the wallet represents sin. We all have sin on us. You see, God, He loves us. He hates our sin. And because of sin, well, we’ve got to pay for it. The wages of sin is death.

So we all sin that, we all have to die. So that’s just accepting the facts. Everybody lives, everybody sins, everybody dies. Now to go to heaven, you have to be perfect as righteous as God, and none of us are perfect. None of us are righteous. So we have built in a natural depression, discouragement, because the greatest place in all the world is heaven, paradise. a perfect place and we’re not. This is why there’s so many religions in the world because so many are frustrated trying to figure out how to get there.

So everybody’s making up their own religion because they haven’t found the truth. You see, you don’t have to make up a religion or join a religion. God says you cannot save yourself. This hand represents Jesus Christ, he’s the Lord, God in the flesh. He came into the world because He loves us and he hates our sin. And the Bible says that our sin separates us from the Lord. So Jesus Christ, who had no sin, did not have to die.

He took all the sins of all the world, paid for it on the cross, and came back from the dead. And God said that if you and I, if we would believe that he did it for us, he would put this death payment that he made to our account, a death payment for my death, substitution. And I get to go to heaven on what he did. He died and paid for my sins. If he paid for my sins, it means I don’t have to pay for them.

I don’t have to pay for one sin. Of all the sins I’ve ever done from the time I’m born to the time that I die, I don’t have to pay for one of my sins. That’s grace. I deserve to die and go to hell. But I’m going to heaven because of his love for me. And God said he’d give me eternal life as a free gift and would never cast me out and never lose me. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.

Now who so ever believe it in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Best news in the world. I’m going to heaven when I die. Let’s pray shav’im. Every head bowed and every eye closed and no one looking around. If you hear tonight or watching by internet, would you right now just talk to the Lord and said, Lord, I don’t understand at all. I have been discouraged. I’ve been depressed. I don’t have the answers. I don’t have any hope.

I realize I cannot save myself. But I believe Jesus Christ died for me and paid for my sins. Tonight I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior. And bring God, said that if you would trust Him, He would save you and give eternal life, and you can go to heaven whenever you die. Would you trust Him? If you will, God will save you. Father, we thank you so much for this time together. Bless each one here and help us, Father, to look to you and to trust you and lay not unto our own understanding.

You said in Your word, trust in the Lord, Jehovah. We’re in the Lord Jehovah’s Everlasting Strength. That will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon thee. Thank you Lord for your word and all you’ve done for us in Christ and 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 tool free 1-800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. 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 are 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 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcasts of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline and now a 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. Believe in that the Lord is coming soon, and just keep looking up.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 to be able to help you. 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 Bibleline Ministries dot O-R-G homepage.

We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family. Number six, worry is solved by faith in the promises of God. That’s why you study the promises of God so that you know what God says so that you don’t have to worry. Most of our worrying is because it’s based upon our own performance of what I can do or can’t do.

And so my life is totally dependent upon my ability. And when you can’t see how you’re going to do it, you worry. And you can’t see financially how you are going to get yourself out of this, or you’re going to try to solve this medical problem, or this whatever it might be. Well then all those worries come back because you forget the promises of God. God didn’t promise that we’re going to live here forever. He did not promise us that we’re going to have all the money we want.

See, you might just live until you die, you can die at any time in any ways. So you don’t worry. Number seven, jealousy is solved by esteeming others better than yourselves. You know, if you read the book of Colossians in chapter 2, it talks about esteeming others better than yourself, seeing them that way so that you’re not jealous because they are lifted up and they’re doing things and God’s using people because you know that if you humble yourself to the Lord God will honor you.

God will bless you. God will use you. So you see, it’s a personal thing between you and God and all these things reveal where you are spiritually. And some people are not as strong as they think. And I believe sometimes we don’t want to find out how weak we are. We’re scared. We’re afraid there’s going to be a problem come along that I can’t handle. Well, maybe I can’t, but me and God can. And so whatever it is, you just trust the Lord to walk you through it.

Number eight, laziness is solved by meaningful productivity. Now, when we study the book of Ecclesiastes, if you want to see a book that can really depress you, that’s one book that can. All is vanity and vexation of spirit. In other words, what in the world is the purpose of life. Why do I do all this work? Why has all of this got a meaning or whatever? So it’s always looking at life as a man under the sun, as a man living without the knowledge of God.

And so there’s not much hope, not much reason for anything. And so we’re just like the beast of the earth, we live and we die, and that’s all there is to it. But I do want you to see a couple verses there. Look in the book of of Ecclesiastes. The book of Ecclesiastes, in the book of Ecclesiastes and look there in chapter 3. Chapter 3 and look in verse 17. A lot of things he goes down through here and talks about there’s a time for this, then a time for that.

Time to be born, time to die. Time to love, time to war, and a time to weep in verse 4 and a time to laugh, time the mourn, time to dance.” In other words, all this is what goes on in your life. And so he says in verse 11, he hath made everything beautiful in his time. Also, he has set the world in their heart or eternity in their heart so that no man can find out the work that God make it from the beginning to the end.

Regardless of how long you and I live. By human wisdom, we will never find out or understand God. So, it says down here in verse 13, looking verse 13, and also that every man should eat and drink, enjoy the good of all of his labor, it is the gift of God. Did you know that God given to you and I, the ability, not only the ability to work, but the need to work? is a gift. Now you talk about being bored in life.

God has designed life that if you’re not willing to work, then let you die. So, well, I don’t want to die. Then work. Find a way to meet your needs. Till God has designed life and given you a body, God gave you a mind and God says, work is a gift from God. Now take your Bible and look there in the book of Genesis. All the way over to the book of Genesis. In Genesis in chapter 2, Genesis chapter 2 and look there in verse 15.

Even before Adam and Eve had sinned, he gave them responsibilities in the garden. So he says in verse 15, And the Lord God took the man, put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it. He had a job to do. He also was given a job of naming all the animals, all the plants, given everything a name. You know he had to be pretty smart to start off with. And yet they want to tell you that the first man, you know they came walking out of that cave, you know, with a big old club and beat the woman over the head, and dragged about the head and dragged back in the cave.

And didn’t know how to talk, but just grunt, grunt, grunt, grunt, grunt, grunt. Now the first man God ever made was probably one of the most intelligent men ever made. And so they were very, very smart at the very beginning. Look there in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 17. Chapter 3 verse 17, you know they had sinned, so they had to be placed under a curse. In verse 17, and under Adam he said, Be cause thou hast hearken unto the voice of thy wife, and hath eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, thou shalt not eat of it?

Now, keep us in mind, even though he did listen to his wife, God still held the man responsible for his actions. True? He was responsible for what he did. God did not accept his excuse. Well, that woman you made me. I mean, he used that excuse, but God did not accept that excuse. Every one of us as individuals are responsible for the decisions that we made. And so he says, thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground.

Why did he cursed the ground? And you’ll see those next three words for thy sake, because man would totally be miserable in life if he didn’t have to work. Being able to work is truly a blessing Because God has placed so much upon the idea of work, of man having to work and to provide. And so he says that this is what God wants us to do, and this is what he’s done. But a lazy man, a lazy man, God despises a lazy person, people that don’t like to go, don’t like to produce, don’t like to work.

Find a work. Find something to do for the Lord and try to find out how you can do whatever this God wants you to do, but God despises slothfulness and laziness. Those are not too honorable traits that go back here to book of Ecclesiastes chapter 3. I want you to see this in verse 17. He says in verse 17, I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked. For there is a time, therefore every purpose and for every work.

But a man needs a purpose for why he should work. And if a man can find a way to get out of work, most time that will be his purpose in life, trying to find out how to get out of work. It’s better to have a little and and work hard and earn the right to rest. Some people haven’t earned the right. This year, one business man, he was talking to this hippie years ago back in the 60s. You know, they’re all called hippies.

You know, lay around in one of work, smoke, grass, go to pot. Anyway, talking to this hippie, and he says, why don’t you get up and go to work? He says, why? He says, so that you can have a job and make some money. He says, why? Well, so you’ll have food to eat and a place to live. He says, why? He says, so that you can grow old. He says, why? Well, so that you can retire. He says, why?

So you can take it easy and relax and enjoy life. He says, I’m already doing that, but he hasn’t earned the right to do it. You’re supposed to earn the right to take it easy and to relax and enjoy life down the road. But most people, they want to jump the gun and do it now, and then there’s no preparation for the future. You’ll find out one of the blessings of life is just to keep on working. A lot of people have died after they retire, so you have to be careful.

You’ve got to have something to keep living for, something to keep motivating you. Look down in verse 22. 22, he said, wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his own works. For that is his portion, for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him, for a man to work and enjoy what he’s doing. It is a blessing to man, even for a man that doesn’t even know the Lord, but for the man that does know the Lord to have a purpose in life and to be willing to work.

That’s why he talks about the Lord’s work. He’s a study to show thyself a workman, workman, rightly dividing the word of truth. And so whatever thy hands find it to do, do it with all thy might. So all this is mentioned in the word of God. Now look at number nine, rejection of Christ produces an awful lot of depression because think of the question. There’s so many problems that people have when they don’t know who they are and when they don’t know about death and they don’t know what they are, they don’t know where they’re going and they don’t know where they came from and they don’t know the purpose of life.

That causes so many people to be so down and so discouraged, so depressed. Because, you see, if you’re nothing more than an animal than there is no God, there’s no Creator, there’s no plan, so that requires a planner. There’s no real laws because that means a loggiver. There’s no right and wrong. Everything’s a dirty grade, just whatever you want to do. You’re just an animal. Up on the top of some evolutionary ladder. How discouraging and depressing that would be.

This is why there’s so many people have nothing to live for. And isn’t it a shame that there’s a religion where there’s only hope of going to heaven, and there’s only real hope of going to heaven if they can kill some infidels, then they might get to get some virgins up there in heaven and so on. How stupid. Can you see why there’s no hope in those countries? While those people are willing to die, there’s nothing to live for.

It’s so pathetic. You and I have something to live for. So rejecting of Christ is such a depressing thing, but see, that’s where you and I have hope. You and I have something to offer people because they’re so down and so discouraged, they don’t have the answer. Only through Christ can these answers be given where they can know the truth. And then number 10, demonic depression, believe in the lie causes depression. So when you don’t believe the truth, you will believe a lie.

And if you believe the lie, it’s not the truth and it won’t have the answers and it will not satisfy. Now, very quickly, the non-centfold causes of depression. You see, there are some things that causes depression, but it’s not the result of your sins. You see, those other things we talk about are things because of bad decisions you make on your own. It’s a result of how you’re thinking. But there are other things that can cause depression. Number one, being a victim of sin.

Now in Exodus chapter 6, verses 6, 7, 8, 9, it talks about how that there came a pharaoh who knew not Joseph. didn’t know anything about Joseph. 400 years has passed. Now, the children of Israel, the Hebrew were slaves, and their taskmasters were hard upon them. And the Bible says that they cried unto the Lord because of their taskmasters, how they laid upon them such heavy burdens. And so, being so down and so discreet, what wrong had these Hebrew children done?

They didn’t ask to go down in Egypt. They were taken down there by Jacob, the father of the nation of Israel. Joseph had already been sent down there to give them a place to incubate so they could graze themselves up into a great nation. So now after all these years, they got problems. and they’re so sore depressed. They cried out unto God, and the Bible says God heard their cries and sent Moses down there. But what wrong had the children of Israel in reality?

What did they do to deserve this? They hadn’t done anything. So there’s going to be things that’s going to happen to you and to me that you did not do anything to deserve it. You didn’t cause it. That’s why it’s a non sinful cause of depression. But can you get depressed because of what others do to you? Because of the situation, the circumstances that you find in life. For example, a child that’s abandoned by the mother can cause a lot of depression.

I was really small when I got very, very discouraged, very depressed. And my mom and my dad had taken the other three, and they had gone down into Florida. And I was with my uncle up there in Georgia, and they lived way out in the woods. I remember the house that they lived in. It didn’t have a floor in it. It was just the dirt. And they’d send me out there, and I had to twist, straw, till it breaks off, and then you could bring it in there, and they would put a stick in there and wrap around it, and they would sweep the floor with it.

We did it at our house. So I knew how to do it for them. So they sent me out to do it. But I cried so many nights, and I had no clue where my mom or my dad was. I hadn’t seen my sisters. But it really, it took its toll upon me, because even when you’re a young child, you can feel rejected, dejected. Remember, I didn’t have the best coming into the world, And then after being raised in the world, not everything was, you know, wonderful.

I didn’t have that kind of a childhood. But I know what it’s like to be discouraged, even though I didn’t know how to say it. I didn’t even know what the word was. I didn’t know what depressed was. But I remember crying an awful lot. And I remember them trying to get me to not cry so much. And then I remember one day they took us over to see Jim Elaine and I saw Nett and Lizzy, the one that was older than me, and I saw them coming from the house.

They hadn’t seen me and I hadn’t seen them. We didn’t know where each other was. And we just ran up to each other and we cried and slobbered all over each other and wiped our noses all over each other. And we were just so glad to see each other. But you know, even though that happened to me, over 63 years ago, I still remember that.

And nothing will ever make me forget that. But as you go on in life, you’ll find that there’s a lot of things that’ll happen to you, you did not cause. So you can be abandoned and it can cause you great depression. It can happen because a husband leaves a wife, All the wife leaves the husband. She’s number two there, a husband or wife whose spouse commits adultery. And what can cause such hurt and heartache? And yet it may not be no fault of your own, but it can so discourage you, cause you to be so down because you’ve been so hurt.

You’ve been defrauded. Another kind is a crime victim. You’re the victim of a crime. Somebody can sin against you, do wrong to you. And these are things that can take its toll upon you. And yet it’s not because of something that you did wrong, but it can cause you to have all these guilt feelings. But look at number two, the false guilt. 1 John 3 20, I want you to look at this verse, it’s a very good verse and you need to know where it is and that it’s in the Bible.

1 John and chapter 3, and look in verse 20, because it’s talking about your own conscience, your conscience, and you can have a good conscience, a clear conscience, a defile conscience, a guilty conscience. But it makes a statement here in verse 24, if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things. Now in verse 20 but if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. So there’s things that you and I do that we give ourselves permission to do.

If you give yourself permission to do it with all the Scripture that you know and it doesn’t You shouldn’t bother your conscience because you believe it’s right. Then believe it’s right. And don’t have a false guilt that you place upon yourself, that it’s nothing wrong with it. You see, you can weigh yourself down because of things that can happen beyond your power to control. And it may have nothing to do with what you have done or haven’t done, So you don’t condemn yourself for that which somebody else does, like a child believing that mom and daddy got divorced because it was my fault.

And maybe they’re only five or six years old or eight or ten years old. I talked to when Kitty came from a broken home, he said, yeah, I broke it. But you need to understand that there’s some things that can cause depression that you were not the cause of it. And if you don’t learn how to handle some of these things, it will take its total upon you. So look at number two, guilt feelings that arise when no sin has been committed.

Have you ever had an accident, a car accident, anything? I have turned around quickly and bumped right into people. And the thing, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. Now should I feel guilty for the rest of the day because of what I did. Yes, I shouldn’t. I knew he was going to say that. If it’s an accident, it means you didn’t plan it. You didn’t plan it. Accidents, mistakes of common human air committed without pre-planning or stressful decisions, stressful decisions.

There’s a lot of decisions you have to make in life and you may not want to make them. But after you’ve made them, you feel guilty for having made it, but you have to do it. And sometimes that takes place with loved ones. For example, you love your mother or your father as some relativist real close and well, you may find yourself because of certain circumstances, you may have to put them in a nursing home because you’re not able to take care of them.

or whatever the reasons. But then you feel guilty because you did it. But why would you condemn yourself for doing what you believe was the right thing to do? So you can lay guilt up on yourself that’s not the result of a sin that you committed, but because of stressful decisions, sometimes you have to make. There’s times when I had to tell my children, No, no. I’ll have to admit now, they had a hard time learning what the word meant.

So even when they were 16 and 17 years old, I still had a hard time convincing them what the word no meant. And it can be very stressful at times because they wanna do something and I didn’t think it was a wise thing to do and I would say no. And then I would feel, I hate to have to say that. I wish that didn’t have to do that. But you see, sometimes you have to make decisions that are filled with stress.

Because you don’t want to have to make it. They don’t want to have to hear it. You don’t know how they’re going to accept it. Do you think that as the pastor of a church that sometimes I make a lot of decisions under stress that I’d rather not make. Sometimes I deal with people and I’d rather not do. Sometimes I cancel with people I’d rather not do it. And sometimes it can be very stressful. Why? Because you don’t know the outcome.

You don’t know how people are going to accept things. You know? I’ve talked to married couples and single people and you name it. I’ve had to do it. but it’s a part of the responsibility. Now I can just stress myself out until I’d have to have a you know a weak vacation. You know this sounds good. I think I need a cruise. I think I need to go on a cruise. You know just to get my senses back and rest a little bit and because of the stressful situation.

Did you know there’s stress a little bit with just having a summer camp. When you think about what it cost, the money you’ve got to raise, the speakers you’ve got to have, all the workers and counselors you’ve got to have, and dealing with the people you’ve got to deal with, and you haven’t got a clue how it’s going to work out.

What about just when there’s Sunday school that can produce stress? I want to can produce stress. Saturday night can have stress. We can be under a lot of stress. I’ll bet you that those little ladies that were playing the piano in the organ for the first time were stressed out. You think so? When Peter had to direct the choir, I’ll bet he had some stress upon him. You don’t think he got a down path. He didn’t bother him at all.

But everybody has stress. You got to go through it. That’s what reveals what kind of strength you have. It’s just like whenever they want to put a gas line into a house or water line, they usually test the certain amount of pressure they put in to see if it’s got a leak. Well, why are they doing that? Because they want to put a lot of pressure on it, and if it doesn’t leak with all the pressure, they’re putting on it, it’s not going to leak with the pressure you put on it.

So therefore it should be okay. God will do a lot of that same kind of testing upon you and I with pressure, pressure. And we talk about time, heat and pressure. And you and I are under that as we go through life and it causes us sometimes to be so discouraged and so depressed. And so there’s some things that we cause because of our mind not being right and we harbor ill feelings. and our emotions are all run away.

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. Part 2 of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. 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 toll free, 1-800-576-36. 371. That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bible line programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link.

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. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10.30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, 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.

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 regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bible on 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. So look at the last part of verse six. So Absalom stole the heart of the men of Israel. So by stealing their heart, they became loyal to him. So now David has to be concerned because now Absalom is gonna kill his dad. So now David has to leave Jerusalem and run for his life.

See that under in verse 12, The last part of it says, and the conspiracy haha was strong. In verse 13, and there came a messenger to David sin, the hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom. And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem arise, let us flee. For we shall not escape from Absalom. So suddenly, now he has to run for his life. This is King David. Why doesn’t he have the peace and the joy of the Lord?

Because he played the fool and he’s reaping it. And he loved Absalom. And Absalom was a very handsome individual. See there in verse 25, look at verse 25 just to show you can see there. In verse 25 he said, but in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty. from the soul of his foot, even to the crown of his head, there was no blemish in him. He must have been some good looking hunk, as the women would say.

Must have been like Peter over there. He’s just smiling. Ha, ha, ha. Hey, that’s pretty high over there now. You’ve got to admit that. But you see, all of these things that happened, and it just gets worse and worse and worse. So look there in chapter 18 and verse 9. Chapter 18 and verse 9. Verse 9 says, An Absalom met the servants of David. An Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under a thick bow of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth, and the mule that was under him went away.

Well what got caught? His beautiful flowing locks of hair. That’s another reason why not to have long hair. When you’re trying to get away on a mule and your hair gets stuck in a tree and the mule walks out and he’s hanging there by his little goldy locks in the tree. But it says in verse 10, and a certain man saw it and told Joab and he said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in a nooch tree. Joab said unto the man that told him, and behold thou source him, why dost thou not smite him there to the ground?

I would have given thee 10 shekels of silver and a girdle, and the man said unto Joab, though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand. Yet would I not put forth my hand against the king’s son? For in our hearing the king charged thee and Ebishai and Ataya, he said, say, and beware that none touched the young man Absalom. Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against my own life, for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thy self would have had set thyself against me.

Then said Joab, I may not teary thus with thee, and he took three darts in his hand and thrust him through the heart of Absalom while he was yet alive in the midst of the yoke.” So. Number four, message came back and lo and behold, David is told about Absalom’s death. And he says there in verse 33, and the king was much moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. You know, after David’s sin, you don’t find much happiness.

You don’t find much joy. This is why David wind up having two years later. David had to go to the Lord and he talks about how it is so heavy upon him and how he had to confess things to the Lord and because of the weight owes upon him. And look what he says here and as he went, does he said, oh my son, Absalom, my son, my son, Absalom and you ought to underline this part in your my Bible.

Would God I had died for thee? Oh, Absalent, my Son, my Son. Number four. You see, He was the one that should have died. True? But God says, you’re not going to die. But you see, all the damage it was done because He was evidently discouraged. He didn’t want go, he stayed there, he looked, he thought, he took something that didn’t belong to him. And every one of the others did exactly the same thing. And look at the damage and the destruction.

You see, depression can cost you an awful lot, but depression is a choice that you must understand. Depression is a choice. It’s because of how you’re thinking. Why do you think the Bible says be strong and very courageous? It talked about having a positive attitude because of your trust in the Lord. When you don’t trust the Lord and have to trust yourself, you have limited power, limited ability. Therefore, you don’t have the peace or the hope or the joy that you have what it takes to get you out of whatever it is.

And there’s problems in life. We all have to go through them. It’s one thing if you will go through them with your confidence and your trust in the Lord, or that you will betray the Lord. And you’re going to have depression build up and you’re going to get so down and so discouraged and you’ll think wrong. wrong and when you think wrong, it will not just be you that’s affected. The Lord tells us in the book of Acts, talking about the third and the fourth generation, whatever I do affects my kids.

And whatever affects my kids affects their kids. And whatever affects those kids are going to affect the next kid. Up to the third and the fourth generation, you don’t do what you do alone. No man is an island unto himself. And this is why this is so very, very important. Guilt is to the soul what pain is to the body. And there are things that we think that are sins of the mind that causes our depression. Well, anyway, I got some notes that I gave out to you.

I’ve already given you the first messages and I thought, well, I’ve just jot down a couple of the little notes that I’ve already done and then I wrote some of the rest of them. Nothing that I do is that original, I copy, copy, copy. I get ideas from this person, that person, I read a lot. But sometimes I come across someone saying, you know, that’s good, that’s helpful. And some things help me, and so whatever helps me, I pass on because I’ll have to be honest with you.

There’s a lot of times when I get so discouraged, so depressed. You say, you mean it’s your age? after 51 years, you still get discouraged? Yeah, what about it? And I don’t like myself when I get like that. I don’t like being down. I don’t like being discouraged. I’m almost like Moses that, Lord, I don’t wanna see how wretched I am. I don’t wanna see how bad I really am. Lord, don’t let go of me. Lord, I want you to take down the hedges once in a while and you know, you let the old devil get to me a little bit, but not too much, you know, just enough.

Just to keep me humble and keep me close to you, but don’t overdo it. I used to scare Betty’s dad to death. He says, I’d tell himself like that. And he’s, oh, I can’t believe you pray like that. I said, I just want to learn every lesson that I can learn. I want to be as wise as I can be. I don’t know how long I’m going to live, but I know that you have to go through things to learn things so you can be profitable to somebody.

And I said, I just want to learn as much as I can, so man alive. The lure that time seemed like he had just poured it on thick. And so anyway, the Lord tells us in His word, God hath not given us the spirit of fear but of love. Power and a sound mind. Now all these things about depression, just, you know, down and despair, is really just the evidence of an unsound mind. You’re not thinking right. So God’s always trying to get us to think right.

And so what reveals whether or not you’re thinking right? Well, the problems of life. It kind of reveals what you’re trusting in for sure. Because we’re so easily deceived. So God allows us to be tested in so many ways to reveal to us our weaknesses so that we know what we need to work on. So anyway, look at the first part here. With depression, the alarm clock goes off and we can’t face life. There’s just some people who don’t want to face life.

This is what causes people to commit suicide. a Christian commit suicide. Think about it. Well, they still go to heaven. Yeah. See, if it’s a sin, well, Christ paid for it. So all sin has been paid. So does that mean because I say you’re going to heaven, I’m advocating Christians go commit suicide? No, I’m not saying that. No, I’m not saying that. I do not advocate people to live in sin just because you’re saved by grace. I believe we should serve the Lord and do right.

Not to get to heaven, but because we’re going there. Look at the little box statement here. We can’t sleep or we sleep all the time. You go from one extreme to the other. Can’t sleep or just don’t want to get out of bed. Don’t want to do anything. Or we can’t eat or we eat all the time. You know, depression can cause both ways. Well, you can’t eat and you can’t sleep. And then sleep all the time or just eat all the time.

I’m wondering when I get to heaven I can eat all the time. I do like eating. It is a wonderful invention. The next statement, it’s better to discover what’s wrong before considering the solution. And the reason is because the doctor diagnoses the problem before he prescribes the medicine. So sometimes you need to study yourself, examine yourself, and see how are you doing spiritually? Because I believe that the first 10 things that we’ve mentioned, they all deal with sins, mostly, of the mind.

Things that we have to deal with, things that hit us emotionally. Remember, most sins are taken care of and the anger, the bitterness, all these things simply because we learn how to forgive. But forgiveness deals a lot with the emotional part of it for us. And then there’s the judicial part of it where a person is still held responsible for their actions. See, people may wrong you and you can forgive them. But emotionally you forgive, so it eliminates you having hatred or vengeance to get even spirit back to the person.

But it doesn’t eliminate the judicial part of the forgiveness because a person still should be held accountable for what they do that’s wrong. For example, a guy rapes a girl. Hey, I’m sorry. Forgive me. So if she forgives him, then he don’t have to pay for what he’s done? No, there’s a judicial part of it that he still is responsible for his actions and a price must be paid. The man that killed my son, I can forgive him because I do not want up on my mind the guilt that I harbor, vengeful, hateful, meanness toward the individual.

So me forgiving Him personally relieves me of that emotion that I don’t have to have the guilt of how I feel toward someone because if you hate them, you know it’s wrong, and it’s going to take its toll upon you. But you still judicially want them to realize there is a responsibility that has to be taken care of and that it has to be dealt with according to the law. But look at the first statement, guilt is solved by forgiveness.

Materialism is solved by contentment. If you was content with what you have, then you don’t have to be so materialistic minded. See, some people think that the more they buy, the morePOST they’ll be. And that’s why, you know, they just buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, and they think it’ll make them happy, happy, happy, happy, happy. Well, it doesn’t. Because they got to go out to next week and buy some more and so you don’t have to worry about the deal.

He’s impressed. You see, people have to find a way to relieve themselves of the guilt or the depression, trying to figure out a way to get rid of it. How to make me feel happy because of something else that’s going on. So they try to… try to cover the real problem and they’re just trying to soothe over. And you know, you may have a root problem over here, but it surfaces over here. And there’s a lot of people that give you the impression, this is what’s wrong with me.

And really, it’s not what’s wrong with them. There’s a root problem way down deep. And sometimes you have to try to find out what it is that’s causing the problem. Look at number three, anger is solved by entrusting yourself to the Lord. Because if you can trust the Lord was whatever it is, it’s supposed to make the anger, and you can commit that thing to the Lord. It can really relieve the depression. You know, the discouragement, because it can build up into anger and so forth.

And these are things that destroy the creation. These are the sins of the mind that the man who loses control is going to have to suffer with depression. It means you’re going to be so discouraged that you’ll think quit. Stop. Stop doing what I’m doing. Did you realize if you studied the life of the Apostle Paul and what he went through, I couldn’t think of another man who could be so discouraged more than Paul. And yet he said it was nigh unto death.

I mean, he was really taken down, and he was really hurt and forsaken. And he says, all have forsaken me, except just a couple of people. So what he really went through and the hardships, and yet he just kept on going, but he never quit. He says, because of the ministry, because it was so worth whatever he had to go through. He hung in. Number four, hatred is saw by forgiveness and love. If you can learn how to love, you don’t have to worry about the hate because love, the Bible talks about perfect love casts us out fear.

And fear actually is a result of hating because you’re afraid of what’s going to take place and you hate when somebody steals something from you or says something about you and you can hate another person because they’re like robbing you of something that you’re supposed to get, like maybe from other people, a little praise and honor and glory. And so it causes all kind of jealousy and stuff. Number five, perfectionism is solved by acceptance of human limitation. You and I know we would like everything to be perfect, wouldn’t you like your wife to be perfect for a change?

We just like her to be perfect. Well, wouldn’t she like for the husband to be perfect for a change. Well what if he was just right once in a while? And when you’re like your kids to do right, but we can also easy focus upon the error, the human limitation. Because if you know and you recognize and you can accept the fact that people are human and to air is human. And everybody has limitations. They don’t know it all.

They can’t do it all. So don’t expect it all. It will help you not to be so down and discouraged because of the way people are, because people can be so, so deflating at times, just because they don’t pay you the tension that you think you deserve or the compliment you think you deserve or whatever it might be. And you can be so discouraged and so depressed so quickly, so easy. Look at number six, worry is solved by faith in the promises of God.

That’s why you study the promises of God so that you know what God says so that you don’t have to worry. Most of our worrying is because it’s based upon our own performance of what I can do. Or can’t do. And so my life is totally dependent upon my ability. And when you can’t see how you’re going to do it, you worry. When you can’t see financially how you are going to get yourself out of this, or you’re going to try to solve this medical problem or this whatever it might be.

Well then all those worries come back because you forget the promises of God. God didn’t promise that we’re going to live here forever. He did not promise us that we’re going to have all of us. the money we want. See, you might just live until you die and you can die at any time in any ways. So you don’t worry. Number seven, jealousy is solved by esteeming others better than yourselves. You know, if you read the book of Colossians in chapter 2, it talks about esteeming others better than yourself, seeing them that way so that You’re not jealous because they are lifted up and they’re doing things and God’s using people.

Because you know that if you humble yourself to the Lord, God will honor you. God will bless you. God will use you. So you see, it’s a personal thing between you and God, and all these things reveal where you are spiritually. And some people are not as strong as they think. And I believe sometimes we don’t want to find out how weak we are. We’re scared. We’re afraid there’s going to be a problem come along that I can’t handle.

Well, maybe I can’t, but me and God can. And so whatever it is, you just trust the Lord to walk you through it. Number eight, laziness is solved by meaningful productivity. Now, when we study the book of Ecclesiastes, if you want to see a book that can really depress you, that’s one book that can. All is vanity and vexation of spirit. In other words, what in the world is the purpose of life? Why do I do all this work?

Why has all of this got a meaning or whatever? So it’s always looking at life as a man under the sun, as a man living without the knowledge of God. And so there’s not much hope, not much reason for anything. And so we’re just like the beast of the earth we live and we die and that’s all there is to it. But I do want you to see a couple verses. They’re looking in the book of Ecclesiastes, the book of Ecclesiastes.

In the book of Ecclesiastes and look there chapter 3. Chapter 3 and look in verse 17. A lot of things he goes down through here and talks about there’s a time for this, then a time for that. Time to be born, time to die. Time to love, time to war, and a time to weep, in verse 4, and a time to laugh, time to mourn, time to dance. In other words, all this is what goes on in your life.

And so he says in verse 11, he hath made everything beautiful in his time, also we have set the world in their heart or eternity in their heart so that no man can find out the work that God make it from the beginning to the end. Regardless of how long you and I live, by human wisdom we will never find out or understand God. So, he says down here in verse 13, looking verse 13, and also that every man should eat and drink, enjoy the good of all of his labor, it is the gift of God.

Did you know that God given to you and I, the ability, not only the ability to work, but the need to work is a gift. Now you talk about being bored in life. God has designed life that if you’re not willing to work, then let you die. So, well, I don’t want to die. Then work. Find a way to meet your needs. Till God has designed life and given you a body, gave you a mind, and God says, work is a gift from God.

Now, take your Bible and look there in the book of Genesis, all the way over to the book of Genesis. in Genesis in chapter 2. Genesis chapter 2 and looked there in verse 15. Even before Adam and Eve had sinned, he gave them responsibilities in the garden. So he says in verse 15, And the Lord God took the man, put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. He had a job to do. He also was giving a job of naming all the animals and all the plants, giving everything a name.

You know, he had to be pretty smart to start off with. And yet they want to tell you that the first man, you know, they came walking out of that cave, you know, and with a big old club and beat the woman over the head and drag the back of the head and drag her back in the cave. And, um, didn’t know how to talk, but just grunt, grunt, grunt, grunt, grunt, grunt. Now the first man God ever made was probably one of the most intelligent men ever made.

And so they were very, very smart at the very beginning. Look there in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 17. Chapter 3 and verse 17, you know they had sinned so they had to be placed under a curse. And verse 17, and unto Adam he said, Be cause thou hast hearken unto the voice of thy wife, have eaten of the tree of which I commanded, they say, and thou shall not eat of it.” Now keep us in mind, even though he did listen to his wife, God still held the man responsible for his actions.

True? He was responsible for what he did. God did not accept his excuse. Well, that woman you made me. I mean, he used that excuse, but God did not accept that excuse. Every one of us as individuals are responsible for the decisions that we made. And so he says, Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground. Why did he curse the ground? And you’ll see those next three words for thy sake. Because man would totally be miserable in life if he didn’t have to work.

Being able to work is truly a blessing because God has placed so much upon the idea of work, of man having to work and to provide. And so he says that this is what God wants us to do and this is what he’s done. But a lazy man, a lazy man, God despises a lazy person, people that don’t like to go, don’t like to produce, don’t like to work, Find a work. Find something to do for the Lord. And try to find out how you can do whatever it is God wants you to do.

But God despises slothfulness and laziness. Those are not too honorable traits that go back here to book of Ecclesiastes chapter 3. I want you to see this in verse 17. He says, In verse 17, I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked. For there is a time, therefore every purpose and for every work. But a man needs a purpose for why he should work. And if a man can find a way to get out of work, most time that will be his purpose in life, trying to find out how to get out of work.

It’s better to have a little and work hard and earn the right to rest. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida, with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you are 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 tool free, 1-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8- 800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. 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 are 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 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, 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.

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 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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

But one thing that will get between you and the Lord is envy and jealousy. Because sin will separate you from your heavenly Father in the sense of your walk with the Lord. And there is a price that you’re going to pay. Look what he also says down here in verse 12. And Saul was afraid of David. Why? Because the Lord was with him. The Lord was with him and he was afraid. But what did David do in verse 14?

And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. See that’s more important than anything else in the world. David was not the king. He was submissive. He behaved himself well. He didn’t do wrong. He didn’t try to attack. He didn’t try to get even. All he did was do right. He didn’t ask for what he received. He didn’t ask to be anointed king. He was just a humble shepherd boy, just do whatever the father wanted him to do.

You just be faithful to do what God wants you to do and let God raise you or humble you, whatever God wants. God says in His word that He will not put you underneath a bush. If you will be faithful to shine, He’ll put you on something so that you can shine as a light. the Lord and trust the Lord. And so it says here in verse 15, wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, not just wisely, but very wisely.

He was afraid of him. Why was he afraid? Because he knew that the Lord was with David and that he was going to be replaced. He knew it. He could see it. So what are you going to do to how to solve this problem? What should Saul do to solve this problem. Well, kill him. There’s the answer. All you gotta do is kill him. So he did try that. And so a lot of problems. Look at verse 28. Verse 28, and it says, and Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David and that Michael Saul’s daughter loved him and Saul was yet the more afraid of David because now his daughter loves him.

It didn’t matter what happened. David behaved himself and look what he says now in verse 30. Then the princes of the Philistines went forth and it came to pass after they went forth that David in order on the line of behaved himself more wisely. See every time he gets better and better and better. He disciplined himself more and more. And so the more he did, the more that he was hated. The more he was hated. Now look there in, get the right chapter here, David now is going to have a big problem, but I want you to take your Bible and look now in the 2 Samuel in chapter 13.

2 Samuel in chapter 13. We know that David had sinned and because of his sin, the Bible tells us that God was going to have to chase in David because of it. And look there in chapter 12 very quickly. Just look up there in verse 6. Because a little story was told to David and his David listened to the story about a man who had taken the next door neighbors little lamb and slaughtered it so that he could feed a visiting traveler who came to his house.

And he had a lot of sheep, but he took the neighbors only little lamb that they had and he killed it. And David got mad and in a fit of anger. He said something that he lived to regret. And he says in verse 5, and David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan the prophet, as the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die. Well, he shouldn’t have said that. And in verse 6, and he shall restore the lamb for full because he did this thing and because he had no pity.

And then And Nathan looked at him and says, thou art the man. Thou art the man. You’re the one that did it. And so God said some things to him. But he says down in verse 13, David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, the Lord also hath put away thy sin. Thou shalt not die. Thou shalt not die. Now, I believe that later on, David wished that he had died. He wished he had had died.

But right here, God says, thou shall not die. And he says in verse 14, how bit because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme the child also that is born into the shall surely die. This little lamb that this neighbor had died. So God has allowed this little child, an innocent little child, never done anything to nobody, just born. And God let that little lamb, that little child die. And David, it says, not only because the lamb died, but fourfold.

And so God says, this is what’s going to happen. You and I need to understand these are not just stories in the Bible. There’s biblical principles laid down in the Scriptures that you and I are supposed to learn from to guide our lives. There has to be something by which we can apply to our life to make us wiser so that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel or fall into the same hole that somebody else fell into. So God said the child would die and the child did die.

Now look there in chapter 13. In verse 1, it talks about a young man by the name of Anam, the son of David. Well, Absalom, who was also a son of David while he had a sister. So evidently this half brother, he loved the sister of the other brother. And so it says that it vexed him so bad he couldn’t stand it. And he wanted her very bad. So instead of controlling his passion, his sexual drive, he tried to figure out a way he could do it and he was just sick.

So he happened to share his little information with someone and they told him, says, well this is what you ought to do. And Johnadeva was a very subtle man in seeing verse 4 and he said unto him, Why art thou? Be in the king’s Son, lean from day to day. Will thou not tell me? And sit unto him, I love Tamar, my brother, Absalyn’s sister.” And he says, I’m sick. His countenance has changed. So he’s not being wise in what he’s doing or how he’s thinking, how he’s feeling.

He is down, he is so discouraged, he is depressed. But he’s depressed because of how he’s thinking and he’s not thinking right. When you don’t think right and you get down, sometimes you make the wrong decisions. That’s why I usually tell people do not make decisions, big decisions, heavy decisions when you’re down and discouraged. When you’re depressed, don’t make any decisions. If you can keep from it, try not to make them. Wait until you are You’re up until you’re right and you’re strong with the Lord.

And then you can let the Lord lead and guide you. And always seek to do whatever it is that God’s will is for you. So anyway, he said, I got an idea. He says, you just pretend like you’re really sick. And you’re laying it all. And you want her to bring you some food to eat. And when she gets close to the bed, all you do is get ahold of her and drag her into bed with you. See how the mind can work?

So you begin to steam. Well, in verse 11, and when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her and said unto her, “‘Come lie with me, my sister.'” And she answered him, “‘Nay, my brother, do not force me. “‘For no such thing ought to be done in Israel. do not thou this folly.” In other words, he’s going to rape this girl. And she says, don’t do this to me. He will make her unclean. And that’s where this could have devastating effects upon her for the rest of her life.

But all he’s thinking about is that one little moment of pleasure for himself. He says he loves her. Then love would wait and love would do what’s She said, look, wait, wait. If you want me that bad, marry me. You know that David will not withhold me from you if you’ll just marry me. So she says her in verse 13, and I will as shall I cause my shame to go. And as for thee, thou shall be as one of the fools in Israel.

Now therefore I pray thee speak unto the king. For he will not withhold me from thee. Howbeit he would not harken unto her voice, but being stronger than she forced her and lay with her. And now look in verse 15, then and hated her exceedingly so that the hatred where would he hated her was greater than the love where would he and loved her. Do you think it can change that quick? It can change. This is what happens a lot of times to people when they get married.

Oh, we just love each other. Just love, love, love, love, love. Everything’s wonderful. They can do no wrong. Mr. Perfect, or Mrs. Perfect. And then they get married, then they turn to hate. They hate them. Can’t stand them. Ah, don’t touch me. Did they change? If people can change. Can they get ugly? Oh, they can get ugly. And it produces such guilt up on Tamar. And guilt upon, because of what it done, and the love turns to hate, and it’s just the opposite of what you expected.

Now you’d be surprised that many people’s depression problems is because of guilt, because of sin. Not all the time, there’s another sermon coming down the road, just be patient. But this is about sin and the guilt and the consequences that takes place in a person’s life. So in verse 21, but when King David heard of all these things, he was rough. So it affected him. In verse 22, Absalom spake unto his brother, and him neither good nor bad. and Absalom hated Adam because he had forced his sister Tamar.

So look how it started to affect the family. Remember David had said, fourfold. Well it’s starting. It’s starting. And so the one the child died. Now one has been raped. And now you have Absalom hating Adam. Do you know what he did? For two years he let that build up inside of him. He pretended that everything was fine. So what he planned on doing was he was going to get King David to have all the sons. The King’s sons come over to us, have to have a big party and even get him to come.

You know the one that he raped his sister. So when they got him all together he had already told John the dad. He told him and said, look, when you get him all together, when I tell you to, I want you to kill him. I want you to kill him.” You see there in verse 28? Now Absalom had commanded his servants saying, Marky now when Anon’s heart is merry with wine and when I say unto you, smite Anon, then kill him.

Fear not have not I commanded you, be courageous and be valiant. So they killed him. And the other king’s sons got out of there, but the message had come back to David. All of his sons had been How do you think David felt when he heard all of his sons were dead? Look at the sorrow. You see, he sowed the wind and he reaps a whirlwind. He says, let it be upon me. And he says, God said, you will not die.

But it’s going to come four times in it, but it did it can’t start coming. And he says, it will not leave your house. The wickedness had come. The damage was being done. And so what, you look down there in verse 32. And Jonah, the son of Shimiah, David’s brother answered and said, Let not my Lord suppose that they have slain all the young men of and the king’s sons, for Anon only is dead, for by the appointment of Absalom, this has been determined from the day that he forced his sister to him, or he planned this for over two years.

He had to wait till the right time. So all this hatred and bitterness Well, didn’t they know anything about love and forgiveness? What about the law that could have handled some of these things? And King David could have done some of this stuff and dealt with issues. Didn’t they know that adultery was a crime? They knew that. They knew the law. But see, wouldn’t carry it out. Wouldn’t deal with it. So when David doesn’t deal with the problem, somebody else deals with the problem.

And it just gets worse and worse and worse. That’s why you’re not to allow things to build up inside of you and field you with hatred and envy and bitterness and all these things that can lead to, yes, all kinds of depression. And then the results you’re not going to like. That’s why there’s scriptures that talks about over and over again, be not afraid, be not afraid because been afraid you take matters into your own hands. When you take matters into your own hands, there’s a price to pay and you’re not going to like the price you’ll have to pay.

You’ll notice there in verse 37, but Absalom fled and went to Telmea and he says, in the last part of verse 13, David mourned for his son how often? Every day, David mourned. Now this is several years after what he had to go through the yellow one and he finally just got through with that. See that in verse 21, but when King David heard of these things, he was mad and he was upset and then he finally gets over some of these things and lo and behold he has to go through it again.

All because when he was supposed to uh, delete his army out there when it was time for kings to go to war he stayed home and looked over a banister and I had a beautiful young woman and he took something that didn’t belong to him. Did he get away with it? He didn’t get away with it. Just because God loved him and God forgave him and God did not take his life, he didn’t get away with the consequences of what he had done.

There was a serious price to pay. Now look at verse 38, and verse 38 an epsilon fled. So now his another son is running. One is dead, Tamar has been raped, and now epsilon is on the run because he’s afraid of David. So he runs. And how long did he run? For three more years, see there in the last part of verse 38, and there were three years. And the soul of King David longed to go forth unto epsilon, for he was comforted concerning Adam, sin he was dead.

So he finally got comfort from the one and now the other one’s gone. So three down and one to go. Look there in chapter 14. Chapter 14 tells us about a problem because of David’s half-hearted forgiveness of Absalom. He wanted Absalom to come back had been gone for several years. So anyway, and Joy Abt-Hanna talked him in to coming back to Jerusalem, and so he came back to Jerusalem. But David wouldn’t see him. Just let him live there, but he wouldn’t see him.

See in verse 28, So Absalom dwelt two, four years in Jerusalem and saw not the king’s face. Five years now has past five years now. Well, Absalom finally says that Joab, look, talk to King David and tell him, if he wanted me here, I’m here. But I want to see my king’s face. And if there’s iniquity in me, then let him kill me. See, that’s mentioned there in the last part of verse 32. And if there be in iniquity in me, let him kill me.

So he finally could send and they got together and they hugged and kissed and smooshed and all that, you know, and everything’s hunky-dory now. Everything’s wonderful. Except now Absalom is burning with hatred toward his dad. He’s upset with his dad. Because he had to run for his life. It didn’t matter because of what he did. You see, you start building up things and imagining things and everything gets said and there’s no forgiveness. There’s no love. There’s no understanding. No communication.

Didn’t even talk to him all this time. So David was a hard man. The sweet psalmist of Israel. when he was right with the Lord. And when a man’s not right with the Lord, he can get ugly very quickly. You’d be surprised how sweet you can be and how ugly you can be. That quick. Really can. So now, Absalom is going to do whatever it takes to take the throne, the kingdom, away from his dad. So now what he does is he tries to play up to the leaders there in Israel.

And as he plays up to the people in Israel, he starts winning them over to him. And they would have problems. And he said, well, you know, if I was king, this is what I would do. So yes, up in verse three down to verse six. And so in verse six, and so this man did absolute to all Israel that came to the king for judgment. He would catch him in the gate, and they’d talk to them inside of the problem.

So everybody looked up to Absalom. So look at the last part of verse 6. So Absalom stole the heart of the men of Israel. So by stealing their heart they became loyal to him. So now David has to be concerned because now Absalom is going to kill his dad. So now David has to leave Jerusalem and run for his life. See that under in verse 12, the last part of it says, and the conspiracy was strong. In verse 13, and there came a messenger to Davidson, the hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom.

And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem arise, let us flee, for we shall not escape from Absalom. So, suddenly, now he has to run for his life. This is King David. Why doesn’t he have the peace and the joy of the Lord? Because he played the fool, and he’s reaping it. And he loved Absalom. And Absalom was a very handsome individual. See there in verse 25, look at verse 25, just to show you can see there.

In verse 25 he said, but in all Israel there was none. there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty. From the soul of his foot, even to the crown of his head, there was no blemish in him. He must have been some good looking hunk, as the women would say. Must have been like Peter over there. He’s just smiling.

Hey, that’s pretty high over there now. You’ve got to admit that. But you see, all of these things that happened. And it just gets worse and worse and worse. So look there in chapter 18 and verse 9. Chapter 18 and verse 9. Verse 9 says, An Absalom met the servants of David. An Absalom rode upon a mule. And the mule went under a thick bow of a great oak. and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth and the mule that was under him went away.

Well what got caught? His beautiful flowing locks of hair. That’s another reason why not to have long hair. When you’re trying to get away on a mule and your hair gets stuck in a tree and the The new walks out and he’s hanging there by his little goldilocks in the tree. But it says in verse 10, And a certain man saw it and told Joab and he said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in a milk tree. Joab said unto the man that told him, And behold thou sauchen, why dost thou not smite him there to the ground?

I would have given thee ten shekels of silver and a girdle. And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand. Yet would I not put forth my hand against the king’s son? For in our hearing the king charged thee and Ebishai and Attiah he said, be where that none touched the young man’s absolent. Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against my own life. For there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thy sub would have had set thyself against me.

Then said Joab, I may not teary thus with thee.” And he took three darts in his hand and thrust him through the heart of Absalom while he was yet alive in the midst of the yoke. Soumerous, number four, message came back and lo and behold, David is told about Absalom’s death. And he says there in verse 33, and the king was much moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. You know, after David’s sin, you don’t, you don’t find much happiness.

You don’t find much joy. This is why David wind up having two years of death. later, David had to go to the Lord and he talks about how it is so heavy upon him and how he had to confess things to the Lord and because of the weight owes upon him. Look what he says here. And as he went, thus he said, Oh, my son, Absalom, my son, my son, Absalom, and you ought to underlying this part in your Bible.

Would God, I had died for thee? Oh, Absalom, my son, my son. Number four. You see, he was the one that should have died. True? But God says, you’re not going to die. But you see, all the damage it was done because he was evidently discouraged. He didn’t want to go. He stayed there. He He looked, He thought, He took something that didn’t belong to Him. And every one of the others did exactly the same thing. And look at the damage and the destruction.

You see, depression can cost you an awful lot. But depression is a choice that you must understand. Depression is a choice. It’s because of how you’re thinking. Why do you think the Bible says, be strong and very courageous? It’s talking about having a positive attitude because of your trust in the Lord. When you don’t trust the Lord and have to trust yourself, you have limited power, limited ability. And therefore, you don’t have the peace or the hope or the joy that you have, what it takes to get you out of whatever it is.

And there’s problems in life. We all have to go through them. It’s one thing if you will go through them with your confidence and your trust in the Lord, or that you will betray the Lord. And you’re going to have depression build up and you’re going to get so down and so discouraged and you’ll think wrong. And when you think wrong, it will not just be you that’s affected. The Lord tells us in the book of Acts, talking about the third and the fourth generation.

Whatever I do affects my kids, and whatever affects my kids affects their kids, and whatever affects those kids are going to affect the next kid. Up to the third and the fourth generation, you don’t do what you do alone. No man is an island unto himself, and this is why this is so very, very important. Guilt is to the soul what pain is to the body. There are things that we think, that are sins of the mind, that causes our depression.

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. Part 2 of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Watch Bibleline and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll-free, 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. 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 are 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 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline 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.

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 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 message will be a blessing to you and your family.

What is prayer? If you had to give me a definition of what is prayer, what would you tell me? Give me your definition of prayer. What is prayer? You just led somebody to the Lord and you explained it to them what prayer is. Prayer is what? Talking to God. Alright? Is it any more than that? Praise in the Lord? Okay. What else. You think you have exhausted the meaning of prayer? What else could prayer mean? Praise? Yeah? Talking to him?

Yeah? Talking to him about what? Thanking him? Okay. Thank God. Those are examples of prayer, but prayer is asking and receiving. So if you’re asking and not receiving, something’s wrong with the asking, according to the Bible. God says He hears our prayers. Well that’s good. But how do you know that prayer works? How do you know? If you get what you ask for, but I want to be specific, I don’t want to say, Lord bless me because then I won’t know if He did or He didn’t because I didn’t ask for anything specific.

So should prayers be more specific? What are you asking for? So you know whether He answered it or not. Lord I want a can of Brunswick stew, overcomes a can of Brunswick stew. Now if you do that about five ten times you just liable to believe there’s somebody on the other side of that wall. True? But what if after all of your years and you prayed but you prayed such general prayers that you really don’t know if he ever answered them or not.

Have you ever asked for something specific and And God gave it to you and yet when you read the Bible It’s not that God wants us to pray in generalities He wants us to ask for something specific We now go to Walmart y’all walk in there and go up to the manager says out would you please give me some mom? some items I Need some merchandise and Then when you walk out of that store you feel like you’re supposed to God what you went for And yet when it comes to prayer, I don’t know if people really understand what it is What’s it based on?

Whoever told you that prayer works. Who told you that? How do you know it does? Your daddy told you so the basis of prayer is my daddy In the Bible the word prayer is mentioned over and over and over again many many times the word prayers used in the Bible So you find out what is prayer, and it talks about people who pray to God. I mean, they talk to God, they ask God for something and God answered. So people by prayer can move the Almighty God and get God to do something He was not going to do.

Some people say that praying is just asking God to do what God wants to do anyway. But if you didn’t ask, you wouldn’t do it. But He wants to do many things. it’s just you lining up. Do you think how you live helps to influence God concerning your prayer? Yes. So how you live makes a difference with whether God answers your prayers or he doesn’t. Look at Jeremiah chapter 25. Now there’s three words that we want to look at tonight.

One of words is the word prayer. The other one is called promise and in the other word is possibilities. Prayer, promise, possibilities. So we want to talk about prayer and promise and possibility, but take your Bible and look all the way over there into the book of Jeremiah, chapter 25. In Jeremiah, chapter 25, look there in verse 11, this is a prophecy. Remember this, there has to be a basis for prayer. One, you have to understand who is the one who told us to pray to start with.

All right, God. But then you gotta understand what is prayer. All right, it’s asking and receiving. So if you ask God for something, you are expecting to receive. That’s where faith comes in. If you don’t really believe it, why waste your time praying? But if you do pray really believing, then you should expect receiving. True? I have had a very difficult time in my Christian life trying to figure out prayer. I don’t always understand it. It’s like electricity. I don’t like to mess with that electricity because I don’t understand it that much.

But prayer, I don’t understand much about it. All I know is that God says it works. And I know that we’re supposed to do it. And I know that he says that you have not because you ask not. And God says you don’t have something because you asked it amiss or you asked it to consume it upon your own lust. So there are rules. And I don’t know all the rules. I wish I had it very simply laid out where God says, these are the rules concerning prayer, but you can’t find it that way.

You’ve got to study the Bible. You gotta study all the stories. You gotta find out what God did in this case, in this case, in this case, in this case, like a lawyer who bills a case off of the cases. And I just wish that sometime it was just a little bit simpler, but God wants us to study. He wants us to read. He wants us to search, wants us to knock and keep knocking. And then we says ask and keep asking and seek and keep seeking.

Not one time and stop, one time and stop. No, we suppose to stay at it. So we’re supposed to live in an attitude of prayer. Here in verse 11, it says, in this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment. And these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seven years. And it shall come to pass when seven years are accomplished that I will punish the king of Babylon. And that nation, sayeth the Lord for their iniquity and the land of the Calvians, and will make it perpetual desolation.

God said, this is what I’m gonna do, write it in a book and blah, blah, blah, blah. So that’s what Jeremiah did. So this was written 70 years before they were to come back out of captivity. Now take a Bible and look all the way to book it. Daniel, look at Daniel in chapter nine. Daniel was a young Hebrew lad that was taken into captivity along with a bunch of others. So time has passed. They’ve been taking the captivity.

He might have been a teenager, 14 years old, something like that. So 70 years has passed. So you know, the man’s got to be at 85, 90 years old. So Daniel’s got to be an old man. And so it says one day that he was reading the prophet Jeremiah and it says there in verse 2 of chapter 9. He says in verse 2, he said, in the first year of his reign, I Daniel understood by books the number of the years where of the world of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolation of Jerusalem.

So he had the Bible, he had those books, those Old Testament scrolls, and he said he was reading them. And he saw that and he understood by reading what Jeremiah had already written that this thing is going to put the last seven years. Prayer must, must be based upon a promise. God promises something. And so when you pray, you’re basing your prayer up on a particular promise God made. So when it tells us in the book of 1 Peter, he talked about the exceeding precious promises, then your prayers are based upon promises God made.

If there’s no promises, you have no basis for your prayer because God never promised this, this, this, this, this, this, so why should you pray for this, this, this, this, and this? You don’t have a basis for it. You’ve got to have a basis for the prayer. So God has given us precious promises throughout the world of God. The more promises you know, the more things you can pray to God for. And you are simply reminding God and is based upon His Word.

Keep us in mind. If you had a garden, you had some corn, put it in the ground, and you’ve had some oaks and you put it in the ground. You had some tomato plant, you put them in the ground. You had this and you put them in the ground. What is one thing? The promise is that they are going to grow if they get something. They’ve got to have something else. What is it? They’ve been planted, put it in the ground, covered up.

Why? do they now need? Water. They got to have water. Water and prayer is the same thing to the promises of God. Those promises that God made are the seeds from the Word of God that’s been planted and it’s only waiting for something. And see these seeds are promises that God’s made to his children and and only a few of his children will ever put water upon the plant and see something grow. So if this is true, a Christian should want to find out what are the promises and then apply the water.

And the water is him praying. God says, if you will pray, I will do this. Remember all the things that happened to Israel. God has said is, if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and forsake their wicked way and call upon me and so forth, I will forgive their sin, heal their land. Didn’t that what he said? Chronicles? What he said? That’s a promise. So if you know that promise, you can do something. Do you know what Daniel did?

because he knew what God had promised about the nation of Israel. And how God does this, I’m not sure. How that God can look down the road and see that here’s a man who’s going to read the prophecy that he had Jeremiah right 70 years in advance. And yet this promise is fulfilled because of his prayer. And boy, you ought to read his prayer. Look in verse 3. And I set my face unto the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplication with fasting, sai, klothan, and I prayed unto the Lord my God, made my confession and said, O Lord the great and dreadful God.

And goes through here and talks about what we as a nation have done, how wicked they have been. And he speaks for all of Israel, pours out his heart, whole chapter. And it talks about how just God wants. And God says, this is what the people have to do in order for the promise to be fulfilled. So here’s Daniel, seven years later, and how does God, he has to get him the message through the prophecy, and he’s gonna pray.

But God knows that he’s gonna get the message, he’s gonna pray, and God can make the prophecy according to his prayer. It just bogs my mind. I can’t figure it all out. And yet God says, because of prayer, but God can make a prophecy in advance before you ever read the prophecy or before you ever prayed. But what if Daniel had to pray? Well, there probably wouldn’t have been the prophecy. But I don’t know. See, God knows what would have been had you done something else yesterday.

He knows all the possibilities, all the possibilities of all the options of every decision he you’ve ever made. Don’t that blow your mind? Just think how different your life would be if you just made a a few different decisions in your life. But anyway, as you go down through here, you’ll see many things. Now what I want you to do is look there in chapter 9 and look in verse 12. And he hath confirmed his words which he spake against us and against our judges that judged us by bringing it upon us a great evil.

For unto the whole heaven hath not been done as had been done upon Jerusalem because they were destroyed. As it is written, get this, as it is written, in the law of Moses, all this evil has come upon us, yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand thy truth. Did you know that one of the biggest cures for a wicked life is prayer? If a man truly believes in prayer and talking to God, and you know you’ve got to be right with God in order for God to hear and to answer your prayer, it cleans up your lungs.

The wickedness of God’s people is a dead giveaway that they’re not praying. Christians worry, always in despair and distress, to sign they’re not one. They ain’t praying. No, they know prayer. Believe in prayer, but not praying, not really praying. because there’s certain things that prayer does to a person. He says they’re in verse 14. Therefore, half the Lord watched upon the evil, brought it upon us. For the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth, for we obey not his voice.

Do you believe that if they had prayed, all that would have been changed? A lot of things would not have happened. Jerusalem would not have been destroyed. The temple would not have been destroyed. None of that would have never, never, could never come in there and destroyed them. that if we’ve been taken into captivity a thousand miles from home, none of that would have happened if the people had prayed. Because if you pray, you keep everything else right in your life, if you really believe prayer.

Because you know you’ve got to live a certain way. You’ve got to be right between you and God. You have to confess what you’re doing that’s wrong. You have to desire from God like holiness. It’s the key. Why do you think in the New Testament Christ told his disciples to pray. He was always telling them to pray. When Christ was here, did he pray? He’s the son of God, and yet he prayed. Even when he went into the garden, there’s going to get him that night.

He told his disciples, pray for me. They didn’t pray, and he said, could you not have bear with me one hour? You could pray for me one hour. What were they supposed to pray for? Him? What do you pray for? If prayer doesn’t work, why waste your time doing it? Who’s listening? So when you do pray, do you really expect somebody to be listening to you? I expect God to be listening when I’m talking, but you know what God expects?

He expects me to be listening when he’s talking. When you read the Bible, that’s how God speaks to you and when you pray you’re talking to God and it’s not to be a one-way conversation. You’re supposed to talk to him. He talks to you. You have a communication going on to what it’s supposed to be. Have you ever prayed for something and then you say, well, you know, I hope, I hope, I hope, I hope, I hope, I hope.

And then you begin to question and doubt or if God answers your prayers, you don’t even thank them for it. you know that Daniel prayed the Bible says three weeks before an answer ever got to him. And it says that the angel had been hindered. You see, there’s a spiritual war going on. That’s why you’re not supposed to stop praying. Keep praying. Always believe it. Take your Bible and turn all the way over there to the book of Luke.

In the Gospel of Luke, there’s a scripture talks about praying. Look there in verse 25 of chapter 2. Verse 25 of chapter 2. Here’s another story of a old man. If you hadn’t lived in that day and you knew the scripture, you really believed him, then you should have been looking for the Son of God to come. Because he knew how long it was supposed to be, knew where the King was supposed to be born. They knew all of this.

A few of them did, a handful of them, and they prayed. Have you ever asked the Lord, Lord, I want to be alive when the rapture comes. I don’t want to die of old age. Did you know that there are some people that are going to pray and that they are going to get their wish? I want to be in that number. I have no desire to die down here and I want to be changed in the moment, the 22 of them, only a handful of people are going to get that honor of all the people that have ever lived.

It ain’t going to happen to everybody, a lot of people are going to die. I don’t want to die. I want to be caught up with the Lord in the air. Now is it wrong for me to pray that prayer? I pray that. I want the Lord to come back in my lifetime but He don’t have to come right now. Just long as there’s a rhythm and a lifetime. Just don’t let me die until the time. I want to do something get for the Lord.

I feel like I still got a little time left. I still got a few good years maybe in this old body and I want to accomplish this whatever I can’t. Then get this. In verse 25, and behold there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon and the same man was just and devout. If he was a just man and a devout man, do you think he was a praying man? Evidently he was a praying man and it says here and the same man was just in about waiting for the consolation of Israel.

And the Holy Ghost was about waiting for the consolation of it. I want to know who he’s waiting on. In the context you’re talking about Jesus Christ being born. He was waiting for the Son to be born. He did not want to die until he laid his eyes upon the Son of God. And he asked the Lord, Lord don’t let me die until I see the Messiah. They’ll think they were some people that believed and they prayed and God answered their prayer.

Now, a lot of people have the same promises and Christ was promised to come. Didn’t God promise that He’s coming back again? Promise about the translation of us being caught up in the wrath of all that’s true? Well, why can’t I pray for that? Did you know the last promise in the Bible is in the book of Revelation, the last chapter? And even that says was a prayer becomes John prayed even so come Lord Jesus Even so come Lord Jesus now he come in his lifetime But it might come in hours But give what he says here.

It says in verse 20 and it was revealed under him by the Holy Ghost That he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ And he came by the spirit into the temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of a law, which was to be circumcised. That’s mentioned right there in verse 21 to 24. And so he says, then took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now let thou buy servant the pardon peace according to thy word, for my eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel.

And Joseph and his mother marvel at those things which were spoken of him. This is what in the world is this man talking about? How did he know? But he had been waiting and looking for the Messiah. And he prayed and God answered his prayer. I think it’s awesome. Look over there in the book of 1 Peter chapter 3. 1 Peter chapter 3. New Testament, 1 Peter chapter 3. And then look down in verse 12. Look in verse 12.

There’s a lot of things about prayer where we don’t have time to cover one meeting. I simply want you to know that prayer is based upon promises of God. So you need to know the promises, which is in the Word of God, so that you can base your prayer upon what God promised. And if you do that according to Israel, then you have possibilities, unlimited possibilities. But when you don’t know that and you don’t really believe that, you will be very limited in your prayer.

And this is where I am. I feel like I am so limited in my prayers because there’s so much I don’t know about the Bible. So many promises that I don’t know where I can forget. I can read the promise and then it’s gone out of my mind. And sometimes I will try to figure out a way to do something instead of one of the greatest things that we have that are disposal is praying. We can pray. When everything else seems to fall apart and there’s no hope, no other way, have you ever seen somebody that goes to the hospital and all they got was bad news and it’s terminal There’s no solution and people get into hey call all the churches get everybody pray it Why do they want everybody to pray because they believe that somehow God may override whatever the doctors say

What over ever my body is saying and then the limitations of it maybe perhaps my prayer God may change it That’s why as you when I go to the hospital or I meet with someone. I don’t mind prayer I believe that God may intervene and because of my prayer How much is my prayer work? How much is the prayer of a righteous godly man worth? Well to a man that’s dying it might be worth everything. What if you need something bad?

See the greatest thing I’ve ever asked God for is to learn lessons, to learn values, to build my character. Everything that our church has gone through. Go through it. Just go through it. Don’t Don’t worry, don’t start to figure out everything you can. We’ll never live long enough. And what’s going to happen now, or I don’t know, I don’t care. Just keep praying and give God a chance to do something that God can do. Something that’s beyond your ability to do anything about.

Faith is born in despair. When you’re totally at your wit’s limit and you have no way of knowing, then you have the idea. Prayer based upon promises that’s based upon unlimited possibilities and that’s where you got to find out what does God want to do and Seek the Lord with all your heart But look what he says here at the first 12 for the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and His ears are open unto their what?

now if they’re It’s nothing to pray. There’s nothing to that verse. If there’s really no God up there to hear, and it’s not going to change anything, why go through the motion? Why play the game? Unless there is something that is of magnificent, wonderful power at our disposal, and we don’t avail ourselves of it. Well, he says this, his ears are open under their prayers, but get this. The face of the Lord is there. against them that do evil.

So what you do can in effect your prayers and whether God will answer enough and just to give you a clue look up there in verse 7. Now above this talks about the woman but this verse talks about the man. In verse 7 likewise he husbands dwell with them talking about the the wife according to knowledge if you can. If you can understand them, you’ll be doing great. That’s why it says, maybe you have to be an old man before you figure that out.

Anyway, he says, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel. Now they say that the woman is the weaker vessel, the man is the stronger vessel. But I really think that the man is the weaker vessel because of his weakness for the other vessel. Anyway, there’s another sermon in here. Get this. He says, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, in other words, the gift of eternal life, your bold husband wife, your heirs together of eternal life.

And you are going to be with each other forever in heaven. Of course there’s going to be a few other people there too. But get what the last part of verse. He says that your prayers be not one. Is it possible that you can do something that would hinder your prayers? Now there’s something in the spiritual realm that can hinder our prayers. There’s things that you can do personally that can hinder your prayers. But it can also hinder the husband and wife, their prayers.

So the things need to be right between husband and wife for their prayers not to be hindered. Yes. If this is all true to the person who really believed it, it would make you want to keep things right between husband and wife, right? For the benefit, this is the greatest benefit. Power of prayer, that’s better to be able to do that than to have social security, money in the bank, health insurance, life insurance, All that security is better to have God through prayer.

That’s better to have. Because when that falls apart, or when the doctors can’t do anymore, and they have their limitations, God is unlimited, and you’ve got greater possibilities. Now I’m not saying you gotta throw the other way, but I’m talking about you all to be strong in prayer. A man who is not strong in prayer is not strong. You’re only as strong as your prayer life, And if you have no prayer life, you are not strong. You don’t have a spiritual life.

You may come to church, you may even read your Bible, but you are not strong if you do not pray. You must pray. That is the word of God. And yet I still don’t understand everything about prayer. I can tell you all of this. And I don’t know whenever God’s going to answer your prayer, it’s not going to answer your prayer. There’s promises that you have to know and you have to believe. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr.

Ralph Arnold. We pray that you are 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 tool free, 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. 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 are 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 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, 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.

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 regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for a 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. Remember, we have an advantage over the world. We have a perfect God. Isn’t that wonderful to know? We have a perfect God. So none of us in any time in our life can find any fault with God. So all of a fault must be with everybody else. Because he can’t be with him.

Because he doesn’t make mistakes. He doesn’t do anything wrong. What can you blame Him for that went wrong in your life? There’s all kinds of things you can blame, but God isn’tpleted one of them. Now, we have a perfect book, a perfect God and a perfect book. And the Bible says the testimonies of the Lord are true, making wise the simple. And that God’s Word is perfect, it’s holy, it’s sweeter than honey. all these wonderful things about the Word of God.

And you and I are supposed to believe that this perfect God that gave us a perfect book has a perfect plan for our life. I’m supposed to believe that. Not just a good one, not just an except, but a perfect will for my life that you may know that it is a good and acceptable and perfect will of God. That’s what it says. I used to take those three words, good and acceptable and perfect will of God, take the G from good and the acceptable and the A and the P and G, A, P and gap.

And I believe that in this world, the perfect will of God is for us to fill the gap between God and man so that God can use us to reach others. And so all of the problems that we have, as I I mentioned was to prepare you for greater things so that God can use you in more areas. Isn’t that wonderful to know? Well, we’re going to talk a little bit more about this subject of what causes depression. Now some of the stories you’ve heard before, but we’re going to look at it from the point of view of the emotions that are found in the lives of these individuals because we We are emotional people.

We have feelings. We react. We respond. Because of what we see and what we hear, what we’re going through, what we feel. And a lot of God’s children do not have the patience that they need. Ooh, I hate sometimes things not working out the way I want it to. And I really despise getting behind a slow driver on the highway. when they ought to know I’ve got things to do and places to go. And it seemed like they’re in no hurry at all.

And one of these days I just felt like just laying on the horn as I passed by and looking at them and as soon as I did I know it was going to be Mr. Paulson. You know where they go Steve, there you go Steve. You know, because I’m going to be in a hurry. And I’m going to see somebody else and I think, you know what? Why are they going so slow? Some people have patience in this world.

And I’m not one of them. I want things now. So I get very frustrated, angry, quick. And Betty would just sit there and she’s just, nothing just getting mad once in a while. She hardly ever gets mad at anything or anybody. I think, yeah, it makes me bite my tongue. But anyway, as we’re moving right along, last week we spoke on the guilt. Greed and anger, hatred, and being perfect and how it can really cause you a lot of problems, and emotion and depression because we get down so easily, so quickly.

But a lot of it has to do with our perspective on life. What we expect and what doesn’t happen. And we don’t know how to handle this emptiness, the void, the shortness of getting what we want. I used to always talk to the people, You know, have a dream! You heard that guy have a dream! I had a dream. And my dream turned into a nightmare. And God says in His Word, be careful of those dreamers who say, God have said, and God said, I didn’t say that.

And God’s going to have to deal with those dreamers. It’s good to dream if it’s good dreams. It’s about the right thing, about what the will of God is and the right that you want to do. But a lot of times we don’t we don’t do that. But anyway, there’s several other emotions that we have and that’s worry and jealousy. Worry and jealousy. Just those two little words I want to just deal with tonight. Because I want you to see in the lives of individuals what it does to them.

See if you could study the Bible and When you studied the characters in the Bible, you’ll find out they were real people who really had responsibilities and what their decisions was and what they did and the results. So as you study the Old Testament in Sunday’s school, it was always the positive things. David killed Goliath. Yay! Dang them in the lion’s den. The three Hebrew children. You know good stories that always is positive and on the up and the up.

But very seldom did we look at the same men later and study how they were thinking. What caused them to be so down and discouraged and so depressed. So we’re looking at a little bit of that here tonight. So take your Bible turn to 1 Samuel chapter 16. 1 Samuel and chapter 16. 1 Samuel chapter 16 and I want you to look there in verse 14. 1 Samuel chapter 16 and verse 14. Everyone’s heard the story of David and how he, you know, took cure of Goliath.

Well that’s a good story and I like that story and I’m going to preach on it one of these days. Well I have many times but I want you to notice here in verse 14 14, but the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. Now many times it’s just if the Lord takes his hand off of you, you would be surprised at the devastation they can take place. What can happen to you and what God permits to happen to you when God takes his hand off of you?

You have no idea how protected you are, how protected I am because the hand of the Lord is upon us. But you realize if God took his hand off of us, how quickly we would sink, stumble, fall. If God removed that little fence of protection around us, we are not as strong as we think. Remember, last week we talked about Moses. And Moses says, Lord, I do not want to see my wickedness. No, I don’t want to see how bad I really am because Moses was a perfectionist.

He won everything right. And he couldn’t do everything right. because he couldn’t, he just lose his temper and get mad and say things he shouldn’t have said, did things that he shouldn’t have done. Did he cost him? Oh, it cost him. Cost him dearly. But anyway, he makes a statement here that Saul was beginning to drift away from the Lord. God told Saul, I have reached down and got ahold of you and I made you the king. I chose you.

And he says, when thou was little in thine own eyes, I exalted you. But now he’s gotten to the place where he no longer wants to listen to God. He’s becoming too big for his britches. So his heart begins to stray from the love of the Lord. And God knows this. You see, they were able to do certain things because the Spirit of God would come upon them. And then the Bible says that the Holy Spirit would leave them.

Now that doesn’t mean they lost salvation, but they did lose the joy of their salvation. And that they were like put on a shelf and not used by God the way God wanted to. So anyway, because of his problem… The Bible says here in verse 15, Saul’s servant said unto him, Behold, now an evil spirit from God, troubleth thee. Hit troubleth thee. Remember this, Satan likes to fish in troubled waters. Satan likes to fish in troubled waters. When he can find a troubled soul, an emotional wreck, somebody’s ready for their little breakdown.

They can’t take anymore. When you’re all troubled, that’s when the devil really likes to go fishing because he’s going to catch you. It’s so easy for him to catch. And then he can lead you and guide you because you work off of emotions. See, what stabilizes a Christian is whenever he is moved and guided by facts that don’t move. Things that don’t change the rock of the word of God, the Lord that doesn’t move, the word that is solid, hold fast unto these things, and you will be as stable as that which you hold on to.

And if you hang on to the things of the world, you’re not going to be very strong and you can’t last long. So anyway, says here in verse 16, let our Lord now command thy servants, which are before thee to seek out a man who is cunning player on the harmonica. Let me read that again. To seek out a man who is a cunning player on a harp, and it shall come to pass when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand and thou shalt be well.

Now you and I know that tension really causes all your muscles, the tints up, and it can really affect you physically. And something was wrong with him mentally because he had lost his trust in the Lord and because he would go into great depression. And you and I know that sometimes when we get all up tight that you can play some nice soothing music and you’d be surprised how it can relax you because it affects the mind. And when it affects the mind, it can affect the body and relax you like sitting in a nice big old tub full of nice hot water.

Oh man. When you’re tired and weary and worn and you feel the tub almost where it’s ready to flow over the top and you just sit there for about 20 minutes when it’s just nice and hot aw, what a way to go. And then when you think about the music has in the same effect upon you, it relaxes you. So here’s a man, the king, and did you know that the Lord allowed this to happen? Did you know that God, while he was allowed this, God had been working and preparing a young man?

A little shepherd boy, a nobody. I mean, the the eighth in the family of Jesse, and he’s out there tending the sheep. And the Bible says that he was cunning, skilled. You see, it doesn’t matter whatever it is, whatever thy hands find it to do, do it with all thy might. And some people learn how to play guitar. Some people learn how to play a piano. Some learn how to play a harmonica. But whatever there it is, you should try to do a good job.

Did you realize that out of all the people in the whole land of Israel, do you think David was the only one that could play our harp? But he probably learned the skills and he was very, very good and that God was able to prepare him and here’s a king that needed some soothing music. And it just so happens that somebody happened to know a little shepherd boy. And anyway, God brought him in, and God was able to use him in a great way.

You see there in verse 17, and Saul said unto his servant, provide me now a man that can play well and bring him to me. Then answered one of the servants and said, behold, I have seen a son of Jesse, the blood of him. I, that is cunning in playing a valiant man, man of war, prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him.” You see that little phrase, the Lord is with him. People could tell this kid walk with God.

Something about this young individual. And so anyway, he goes and he plays and Saul is greatly comforted because of that. And he says there in verse 23, and he came to pass when the evil spirit from God was a fond soul that David took a harp and played with his hands. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. All because of a young boy who just did a job well. Do you think that if we’re going to do anything we ought to do?

You never know how God is going to you something that seems like it’s so small. And yet the Bible tells us about this kid. See there in verse 12, it says, and he sent and brought him in. Now he was ready and with all of our beautiful countenance. Goodly to look to. And the Lord said, arise, unknown him for this is he. And then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him and the mist of his brother and the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.

It left in verse 14, it left Saul, but it went to David. And David was going to be the next king. So the Lord knows how to raise up and how to put down. And you remember that even though God may have raised up Saul, God can also take it away from him. God may give you things to date because of your faithfulness and take it away tomorrow because of your unfaithfulness. the Lord works behind the scenes that you cannot see and he has a reason for doing what he does.

You’re not supposed to learn that but these are things that affect our attitudes. Now when you read in the New Testament a long time you can take the word spirit, the human spirit of man and talk about the attitude that a man has. The spirit within him, the attitude that he has, how does he see things? What’s his perspective and all these things are very very important. Now look in chapter chapter 18. Chapter 18. We’ll come at another time and talk about the little battle that they had going on, but there’s other things that I want to talk about.

And I want you to notice there in chapter 18 and verse 5, David went out, whether so ever Saul sent him, behaved himself wisely. Saul sent him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants. It came to pass as they came when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistines that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing to meet King Saul with tabards and music and with instruments of music, and the women answered one another as they played and said, Saul have slain his thousands and David, David has ten thousands.

See anything wrong there? If you saw, and especially when it’s the women, remember at one time Saul was a young man, and Saul was heading shoulders above everybody in the whole nation. He must have been a man’s man. Now here comes this little squirt, and all the women are singing about, hey, Saul has killed his thousands, but he has killed his tens of thousands. Do you think there’s any room here for a little bitterness and hatred? Jealousy starts building up inside of an individual.

Remember this, if you ever see anyone succeed in life because they did something wicked, why would you be jealous of them for that? If they got what they got because of wickedness, why would you want that? Another point, Why would you be envious or jealous of anybody who got what they did because they did right? So jealousy is a loser either way. Regardless of what other people do, it should not cause you to wish them evil and try to exalt yourself as though I’m better than they are.

Well, then let God exalt you and let God humble them. You don’t have to try to do it. You can let God handle it. Now, look in verse 8, look in verse 8. It’s important to see the attitude because this is what causes depression. It’s your perspective how you see things. Saul knows he’s not going to live forever, but he also sees a young man coming on the scene and what scared him the most about David was he said the Lord was with David.

The Lord was with him. See in verse 8, Saul was very rough and the saying displeased him. And he said, they have ascribed unto David 10,000. And to me, they have ascribed thousands. And what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day and forward. In other words, he kept his eye on him because he didn’t trust David. The jealousy is the fear of being replaced. Now that can happen on your job. That can happen in a church.

Can you get jealous of what somebody else is doing in a church? And say, well, I’m just as good as they are. I don’t know why I can’t do this or why I didn’t get a chance to do that. What about me? Am I chopped liver? You know how we always said? You’d be surprised how quickly that little demon can build up inside of you and eat at you. And did you know that it can affect you for the rest of your life until you get it settled?

settled, and it can eat on the inside of you like cancer. If you see, see, what about this? Are there not other churches where a preacher has 10 times more people than I have here at Calvary? But they’re not as good as I am. So therefore I’m jealous. They ought not have that many. I ought to have more than them. I’m better than them. And so I could let that eat at me until it destroys me. It can happen.

When you can have a youth group or you can have the choir or you can have, you know, I don’t care what it is. There’s always somebody that can do probably something better than you. But one thing that you can have between you and God is a walk with the Lord that they can’t take away from you and you ought to be as close to the Lord as you want to be. But one thing that will get between you and the Lord is envying and jealousy, because sin will separate you from your heavenly Father in the sense of your walk with the Lord.

And there is a price that you’re going to pay. Look what he also says down here in verse 12, and Saul was afraid of David. Why? Because the Lord was with him. The Lord was with him and he was afraid. But what did David do in verse 14? And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways and the Lord was with him. See that’s more important than anything else in the world. David was not the king. He was submissive.

He behaved himself well. He didn’t do wrong. He didn’t try to attack. He didn’t try to get even. all he did was do right. He didn’t ask for what he received. He didn’t ask to be anointed king. He was just a humble shepherd boy that do whatever the Father wanted him to do. You just be faithful to do what God wants you to do and let God raise you or humble you whatever God wants. God says in his word that he will not put you underneath a bush.

If you will be faithful to shine, he’ll put you on something so that you can shine as a light. Believe the Lord and trust the Lord.” And so it says here in verse 15, wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, not just wisely, but very wisely, he was afraid of him. Why was he afraid? Because he knew that the Lord was with David and he was gonna be replaced. He knew it, he could see it. So what are you gonna do to how to solve this problem?

What should Saul do to solve this problem? Well, kill him. There’s the answer. All you gotta do is kill him. So he did try that. And so a lot of problems. Look at verse 28. Verse 28. And it says, and Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David and that Michael Saul’s daughter loved him. And Saul was yet the more afraid of David because now his daughter loves him. It didn’t matter what happened. David behaved himself. And look what he says now in verse 30.

Then the princes of the Philistines went forth and it came to pass after they went forth that David and Yoda had on the line them behaved himself more wisely. See, every time he gets better and better and better, he disciplined himself more and more. And so the more he did, the more that he was hated him, the more he was hated. Now look there in, get the right chapter here, David now is going to have a big problem, but I want you to take your Bible and look now in the 2 Samuel in chapter 13ll.

Samuel in chapter 13. We know that David had sinned, and because of his sin, the Bible tells us that God was going to have to chase in David because of it. And it looked there in chapter 12 very quickly. And just look up there in verse 6, because a little story was told to David, and his David listened to the story about a man who had taken the next door neighbor’s little lamb and slaughtered it so that he could feed a visiting traveler who came to his house.

He had a lot of sheep, but he took the neighbor’s only little lamb that they had and he killed it. David got mad and in a fit of anger, he said something that he lived to regret. And he says in verse 5, and David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man and he said to Nathan the prophet, that’s the Lord and the liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die. Well, he shouldn’t have said that. And in verse 6, and he shall restore the lamb for full because he did this thing and because had no pity.

And then Nathan looked at him and says, Thou art the man. Thou art the man. You’re the one that did it. And so God said some things to him. But he says down in verse 13, David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, the Lord also hath put away thy sin, Thou shalt not die. Thou shalt not die.” Now, I believe that later on David wished that he had died. He wished he had died.

But right here God says, Thou shalt not die. And he says in verse 14, how bit because by this deed, Thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme the child also that is born into the child surely died. This little lamb that this neighbor had died. So God has allowed this little child, uninnocent little child, never done anything to nobody just born. And God let that little lamb that little child die. And David it says, not only because the lamb died, but for a fold.

And so God says, this is what’s going to happen. You and I need to understand these are not just stories in the Bible. There’s biblical principles laid down in the scriptures that you and I are supposed to learn from to guide our lives. There has to be something by which we can apply to our life to make us wiser so that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel or fall to the same hold that somebody else fell into. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr.

Ralph Arnold. We pray that you are blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Bible line and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bibleline programs just go to our home page at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the radio broadcast link. 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. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10-30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at Bibleline Ministries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline 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.

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 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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

God is God and God is perfect. God can make no mistakes. God does nothing wrong. You just may not see it. And sometimes the timing just seemed like it’s way off. And that’s why there’s a verse in Psalms, the Lord helped me speedily. Speedily. It means like right now Lord I need help. If you haven’t been there you will. Just wait you will. The Lord will see to it that sooner or later he He pulls all the rugs after Monday.

Even he turned off all the lights and he locks all the doors and all four walls sorts moving in on you. And it seemed like the ceiling is like brass and you can’t get through. And then lo and behold, there’s a ray of light. And you look down that long, dark, continental, and there’s a ray of light and you get closer and it’s a gorilla with a flashlight. And you think just when it’s going to be deliverance, you’re all excited.

And then it turns ugly again. And you say, well, I thought, I don’t know if I can go on. Yes, you can. God, grace is sufficient. That’s what he said. But you know, you can’t believe anything. He says, can you? Or can you? You can believe what the Lord says. Now, take your Bible and turn to Psalms in chapter 38. Psalms 38. The 38th Psalm. Psalms 38. they’re in verse one, in verse one. Remember guilt, the opposite of forgiveness.

Let me just give you this little point here so that you understand. Remember all of us are sinners and there is a God in heaven who is the judge. So whenever Christ died on the cross, He paid for all the sins of all the world and when you accept that payment, the God of the world, the judge declared you innocent, declared you righteous. No sin against you forgiven. Isn’t that a wonderful thing? Now sometimes we wonder why do I have to use 1 John 1-9?

That if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin. Well, you may not thought I’ve already been forgiven. He is faithful and just to forgive of us have all sins and cleansed from all unrighteousness. So why have I got to confess again if I’ve already been forgiven? Well, we’re talking about somebody different now. For example, if I sinned against Peter Amato, I can go to Peter Amato and Peter Amato can forgive me.

Isn’t that wonderful? Or why didn’t I go to you? Cause I didn’t sin to get you, I sinned against him. Now, if I was to sin against Steve, should I go to Peter, or should I go to Steve? Go to Steve. And I asked him, I wronged you, and Steve, will you forgive me? And Steve can forgive me. Well, see, he forgave me. Then he forgave me. And as I lived long enough, I probably would be dull eventually. So would you forgive me?

Will you forgive me? Will you forgive me? Have you ever asked different people to forgive you? Yeah. See, whenever you were lost and you needed to be saved, it was the God of the universe, the judge, that said in the court of law, that says you were guilty, and Christ made the payment for your sins, and so you accepted God, the judge for goodness. Now see, he’s my father. I don’t face the judge. I have to deal with my father.

And so as I live my Christian life, I sin, sometimes against my father. So I need to go to my father. Now if I sin against my wife, I should go to my wife. Doesn’t the Bible teach somewhere? Forgiving one another? Well, I’ve already been forgiven, so I don’t have to ask anybody else. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. If I sin against somebody else, I should ask that person if I sin against you. I should ask you. But see, first John 1 9, that’s between me and my father.

My father. See, it’s not the judge, it’s my father. And then I might send against James. James, if I send against James, then I should ask James to forgive me because I send against him. So see, first John 1-9 is not for salvation. First John 1-9 is not so that I can get to heaven eventually and keep the, no, it’s because I send against my father. And he says that your joy may be full, talking about the fellowship with our father.

So that’s why you’ll see in different places, it talks about God, the judge, or God. And then he said, and our Father, it’s like there’s different ones. So now as a child of God, I may wrong my Father. So there is a guilt that in your life, because you’ve wronged your Father and the joy of your salvation is not the way it ought to be. And the guilt weighs upon your shoulder. Now we know that David was a man after God’s own heart.

And so he had gone for about a year, you know, since his little shenanigans, you know. Nobody knows. There was a God in heaven and knew. And look in verse one, oh Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath. Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. And you ought to underline these three words for thine arrows. Thine arrows stick fast in me. You see, there is a convicting of the Holy Spirit, just like little arrows, and they will not let you rest.

They will not let you sleep. They will not let you enjoy. And they will be like something just jabbing you and keeping you. That’s why I used to talk about, you know, when somebody is doing something wrong and they refuse to get it correct and to pray a hedge of thorns around them so that they quickly are hurt or pricked and get back to the Lord. It’s not because you want them to suffer. You want them to get back to the Lord because you want them to have the joy of the Lord.

Look what he’s saying in verse three, there is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger. Neither is there any rest in my bones because of my what? And you are underlined this. See whenever you walk away from the Lord and you don’t serve the Lord, there’s a price to pay It’s gonna produce a guilt upon you and when the Lord talks about I’ll put a yoke of iron upon your neck until it destroys you This is what he’s talking about If there’s not a literal yoke of iron that he’s how many people have you seen with a yoke of iron on their shoulders?

You haven’t seen nobody with it yet But there is the weight of the guilt of the sin that produces that depression and they destroy themselves. And so he says here in verse 4, For mine iniquities are gone over my head. As a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my what? My foolishness. You see these are results consequences because of the guilt that can take place because of the sin And so between you and your heavenly Father the Holy Spirit is at work You see he is a great comforter when you’re obedient and a great discomfort when you’re disobedient Understand the difference now go back down here and just look at this verse verse 17 For I am ready to halt, stop, and my sorrow is continually before me.

For I will declare my iniquity,” and you are on the line these words. There’s nothing wrong with the Christian being sorry for his sin. You ought to be sorry for the things you do against your heavenly Father and the things that you may do against God’s children. You’re not free to do whatever you want like it doesn’t really matter. It does matter all of it’s important So let me read that verse to you again for I will declare my iniquity.

I will be sorry for my sin so Whenever a Christian sins against the Lord. What should you do? first John 1 9 And 1 John 1, 9 says what? If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleansse from all in righteousness. That’s because can you and I still sin against our Father? See, He hasn’t always been my Father. He’s only been my Father since I trust Christ as my Savior and I was born in the God’s family.

Now I sin against my Father. And my Father gets upset. And my father is going to chase and discipline me. Look there in the 32nd Psalm, the 32nd Psalms. Just turn back to you left a couple of pages there. Psalms 32. And you’ll notice there in verse one, where he said, Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Now we know where this is talking about in Romans chapter four. You’ll find that verse mentioned. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputed not iniquity, in whose spirit there is no God.

In other words, where God does not take a man’s sins and put it to his account. This is taught in the Old Testament. This is wonderful. I preached this sermon not long ago on that, but now looking verse three. Now we know that David had sinned with Bathsheba and he had also had Uriah killed. And God knew he told Nathan. Nathan the prophet came to see him and he says, ah, thou art the man. And he says, when I kept silent, my bones wacked all through my roaring all the day long.

For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me. My moisture is turned unto the drought of summer. I acknowledge my sin, that’s the act. Onto thee and mine iniquity, my sinful motive. Have I not hid? I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and thou forgave us the iniquity of my sin. You can confess the deed and yet not take blame for it.” You ever confessed to something? Well, I might have said that and I said that, yeah, but it wasn’t my fault.

That’s a good confession, isn’t it? Oh, yeah, I hit her alright, but she made me. Okay, maybe I killed him, but it’s wrong because I loved him. You see, when you always find a reason why you did the wrong and try to justify the wrong, you might have just shut up. Confess, you ain’t confess nothing. Confessing is when you take responsibility for your action. I did it. It was wrong. End of story. And don’t use other the peoples as a blame for it or an excuse.

Let them be responsible for them and you be responsible for you. I think you’ll come out a little bit better that way. Now, while we’re right here, let’s just close it with this over here. Looking Psalms 51, Psalms 51, and look down there in verse 5. This is where David in confessing to the Lord more about what did say, Behold, I was shaping in iniquity, and in sin did my mother concede me, no means I was born with a sinful nature.

Behold, thou desire’s truth inward part, and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to no wisdom. Purge me with hissap, that I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hath broken may rejoice. Wash me and I shall be whiter than.” See, this is to the believer. This is really to the believer. I’d die face from my sin and brought out all my iniquities, creating me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. See, this isn’t the Old Testament. Holy Spirit would come on to do a job and then leave. But in the New Testament, see, the Holy Spirit would come and indwell you and never leave. So you never had to worry about it. I’d never have to pray, Lord, don’t take your Holy Spirit away from me. I don’t have to worry about that. That’s the difference between in dispensation.

He says here in verse 12, restore unto me, and you ought to underline this, joy of thy salvation. So you hadn’t lost salvation, but you sure lost joy. And when you lose joy, that’s what causes the depression. Are there a lot of people depressed in this whole world? Can it happen to Christians? Can Christians get depressed? Did you know that God had to do what he did to Joshua and promising him right up front? He said, as I was with Moses, so shall I be with you.

Be there for very strong and very courageous. Because, see, when you’re not filled with courage, you have all the fears that take over and cause you to be depressed, to be down. And it takes away your joy of having faith in the Lord. You’re afraid to step out, afraid to try something. Listen, I have no clue how the new venture of the Bibleline is to… I don’t know how it’s going to go. But I’m willing to see. I know it will not go if we don’t do something.

But I know that might, if we do. So my hope is in the Lord. It’s not in people, it’s not anything else. I don’t know. All I know is it, man, it’s a wonderful walk with the Lord. To live by faith, trusting Him. To see what God’s going to do. Sometimes you want the fruit, but you don’t want to get out on the limb. There’s still a little fire in the gut. I’m getting older, but I’m not that old, not yet.

Let me go down one of these days, but I’m not down yet. I enjoy serving the Lord. And he says here in verse 13, then, then, then. Because when you have the joy, then, well, I teach transgressors, highways, and sinners shall be converted into the, because I believe God will use me. If you feel like things have dried up and something’s not right in your life, It could be because there is sin in your life and the guilt is destroying your will.

It causes great depression. He says deliver me from blood guiltiness. Oh, God, thou God of my salvation and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. Because see, whenever things are not right, it takes away the joy, the singing, the peace of mine. And he says in verse 15, oh Lord, open thou mine lips, and my mouth shall praise, shall forth thy praise, for thou desire not sacrifice, else what I would have given. Thou delight if not in burnt offerings, God didn’t want to sacrifice.

God wants you. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. Oh God, thou will not despise. See that’s what God’s after. And And so God has designed life in such a way that if you get so burdened down that you become so depressed that could so easily be cured. Cast all your cares upon Him for He cares for you. And if you don’t do it, the weight of the problems and the burdens and the cares and the guilt of not doing it will destroy you.

And you will blame everybody but yourself. You will not look in the mirror and you say, it’s my fault. Because God was sufficient. God was enough. I just didn’t do it like God says I should have done. Remember, we have an advantage over the world. We have a perfect God. Isn’t that wonderful to know? We have a perfect God. So none of us in any time in our life can find any fault with God. So all the fault must be with everybody else, because they can’t be with Him, because He doesn’t make mistakes.

He doesn’t do anything wrong. What can you blame Him for that went wrong in your life? There’s all kinds of things you can blame, but God isn’t one of them. Now, we have a perfect book. a perfect God and a perfect book. And the Bible says the testimonies of the Lord are true, making wise the simple. And Godoultry is perfect. It’s holy. It’s sweeter than honey. All these wonderful things about the Word of God. And you and I are supposed to believe that this perfect God that gave us a perfect book has a perfect plan for our life.

I’m supposed to believe that. Not just a good one, not just an accept, but a perfect will for my life. That you may know what is a good and acceptable and perfect will of God. That’s what it says. I used to take those three words, good and acceptable and perfect will of God, take the G from good and the acceptable and the A and the P and G, P and gap. And I believe that in this world, the perfect will of God is for us to fill the gap between God and man, so that God can use us to reach others.

And so all of the problems that we have, as I mentioned, was to prepare you for greater things, so that God can use you in more areas. Isn’t that wonderful to know? Well, we’re going to talk a little bit more about this subject of… What causes depression? Now some of the stories you’ve heard before, but we’re gonna look at it from the point of view of the emotions that are found in the lives of these individuals. Because we are emotional people.

We have feelings. We react. We respond. Because of what we see and what we hear, what we’re going through, what we feel. And a lot of God’s children do not have the patience that they need. Ooh, I hate sometimes things not working out the way I want it to. And I really despise getting behind a slow driver on the highway. Especially when they ought to know I’ve got things to do and places to go. And it seemed like they’re in no hurry at all.

And one of these days I just felt like just laying on the horn as I passed by asked by and looking at them, and as soon as I did, I know it’s going to be, there’s called Mr. Paulson. You know, or there goes Steve, there goes Steve, you know, because I’m going to be in a hurry and I’m going to see somebody else and I think, you know what, why are they going so slow? Some people have patience in this world and I’m not one of them.

I want things now. So I get very frustrated, angry quick. And Betty would just sit there and she’d just, nothing just get mad once in a while. She hardly ever gets mad at anything or anybody. Nothing. Yeah. Makes me bite my tongue. But anyway, as we’re moving right along, last week we spoke on the guilt, greed and anger, hatred, and being perfect in how it can really cause you a lot of problems and emotion and depression because we get down so easily, so quickly.

But a lot of it has to do with our perspective on life, what we expect and what doesn’t happen. And we don’t know how to handle this emptiness, the void, the shortness of getting what we want. I used to always talk to the people, you know, have a dream! You heard that guy, have a dream! I had a dream. And my dream, turn it to a nightmare. And God says in His Word, be careful of those dreamers who say, God have said, and God said, I didn’t say that.

And God’s going to have to deal with those dreamers. It’s good to dream if it’s good dreams. It’s about the right thing, about what the will of God is and the right that you want to do. But a lot of times we don’t. We don’t do that. But anyway, there’s several other emotions that we have and that’s worry and jealousy. Worry and jealousy. Just those two little words I want to just deal with tonight. Because I want you to see in the lives of individuals what it does to them.

See if you could study the Bible and you studied the characters in the Bible, you’ll find they were real people who really had responsibilities and what their decisions was and what they did and the results. So as you study the Old Testament in Sunday’s school, it was always the positive things. And David Kivolaya, dang them in the lion’s den, the three Hebrew children. You know, good stories that always is positive and on the up and the up. But there’s seldom that we look at the same men later and study how they were thinking.

What caused them to be so down and discouraged and so depressed. So we’re looking at a little bit of that here tonight. So take your Bible and turn to 1 Samuel chapter 16. First Samuel and chapter chapter 16. First Samuel chapter 16 and I want you to look there in verse 14. First Samuel chapter 16 and verse 14. Everyone’s heard the story of David and how he, you know, took care of Goliath. Well, that’s a good story and I like that story and I’m going to preach on it one of these days.

Well, I have many times but I want you to notice here in verse 14, but the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. An evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. Now many times it’s just if the Lord takes his hand off of you, you’d be surprised at the devastation they can take place. What can happen to you and what God permits to happen to you when God takes his hand off of you? You have no idea how protected you are, how protected I am because the hand of the Lord is upon us.

But you realize if God took his hand off of us, how quickly we would sink, stumble, fall, if God removed that little fence of protection around us, we are not as strong as we think. Remember, last week we talked about Moses. And Moses says, Lord, I do not want to see my wickedness. No, Lord, I don’t want to see how bad I really am because Moses was a perfectionist. He won everything right. And he couldn’t do everything right. And because he couldn’t, he just lose his his temper and get mad and say things he shouldn’t have said, did things that he shouldn’t have done.

Did he cost him? Oh, it cost him. Cost him dearly. But anyway, he makes a statement here, that Saul was beginning to drift away from the Lord. God told Saul, I have reached down and got ahold of you, and I made you the king. I chose you. And he says, when thou was little and thine own eyes I exalted you. But now he’s gotten to the place where he no longer wants to listen to God. He’s becoming too big for his britches.

So his heart begins to stray from the love of the Lord. And God knows this. You see, they were able to do certain things because the Spirit of God would come upon them. And then the Bible says that the Holy Spirit would leave them. Now that doesn’t mean they lost salvation, but they did lose the joy of their salvation and that they were like put on a shelf and not used by God the way God wanted to. So anyway, because of his problem, the Bible says here in verse 15, Saul’s servant said unto him, Behold, now an evil spirit from God, troubleth thee, it troubleth thee.

Remember this, Satan likes to fish in troubled waters. Satan likes to fish in troubled waters. When he can find a troubled soul, an emotional wreck, somebody’s ready for their little breakdown. They can’t take anymore. When you’re all troubled, that’s when the devil really likes to go fishing because he’s going to catch you. It’s so easy for him to catch. And then he can lead you and guide you because you She works off of emotions. See what stabilizes a Christian is whenever he is moved and guided by facts that don’t move.

Things that don’t change. The rock of the Word of God. The Lord that doesn’t move. The Word that is solid. 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. Part 2 of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. 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 toll-free 1-800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bible line programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link. 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. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10-30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friends, 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.

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 regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for a 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. Esther knew that she would have to go to see the king because Haman had got the king to pass a law that would kill all the all the Jews and yet she knew that she couldn’t go see the king unless he summoned for her and if she did go to see him he would have to hold out his scepter and that means that she could come on in and she would be spared and so she even though she was the queen but she was a Jew.

And Hamans decree would have killed her, more to Kai, and all the Jews in the land. So things weren’t going too good. So she went to go see the king, and when she went to see the king, he says, what’s the matter, Pokesy? He says, I’m not feeling very well. Her countenance was not exciting and glorious and thrilled. And he says, what’s wrong? She says, well, I got a problem, but I want to have a banquet for me and you and Haman.

Just as three, and she said, I’ll fix it. She wanted to Haman to be there when she tells the king what he wants to do. Now Haman on the other hand, he thought that everything was going great for him. He says down here in verse seven, then answered Esther and said, my petition in my request is, if I have found favor in the side of the king, and if it pleased the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow as the king have said.

Then when Haman forth that day, joyful with glad heart, but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he stood not up nor moved for him. He was full of indignation against Mordecai. Now, this is hatred. He hated this man because Mordecai wouldn’t stand and pay homage to him because after all, Haman was a great man. But Mordecai didn’t worship men. Mordecai worship God. Mordecai wouldn’t bow to anybody.

So somebody was upset because. He was, well, you defied me. And some people just hate others because they don’t honor them the way they think they ought to be honored. Don’t you know who I am? So he says in verse 10, nevertheless, Haman refrained himself. When he came home, he sent and called for his friends and his wife. And Haman told them of the glory of his riches and the multitude of his children and all of things wherein the king had promoted him and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.

Boy was he one proud man. I mean he was riding high. He was somebody. Well but he had a problem. In verse 12, Haman said more over, ye, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself. Look who I am. I’m somebody. And tomorrow am I invited under her and also with the king. Yet all this availiff mean nothing as long as I see Mordecai, the Jew, sitting at the king’s gate.

He’s like, I can’t stand it, man. I hate that man. Now this man, and it caused him, he is so filled with hate. It blinds him. It doesn’t matter how much he already has, here’s a poor old Jew, said that the gate doesn’t honor him. And what does he want to do? Not just to this one Jew, to all of them. He want to kill all of them. All of the Jews. Because one guy didn’t pay him attention. Now, I know you’re not you’re not you’re not Haman, but did you know that somebody can mistreat you and not give you the honor and so forth?

You think they should and you’d be surprised how you can fit feel with hatred so easy so quickly. Now you talk about why are you depressed? If you get down and you’re depressed you start thinking, why am I depressed? Why am I so down? Why am I so discouraged? And you might find out because you’re not impressed with God. You’re not impressed with His will. So you’re depressed because of yourself. You’re depressed because of people. You’re depressed because of circumstances.

Everything is not working out for your honor and your glory. You see if you were to reverse it and say I want to do whatever it is for God’s honor and for God’s glory. So as long as I give God the honor and the glory for whatever happens to me, What happens to me? Does it really matter? It’s whenever you want it to be to you and then people don’t honor you and they don’t praise you and they don’t exalt you and they don’t bow to you You know, this is what causes such a rebellion among people because Everybody has a will and most people do not like to submit their will to anybody This is what’s destroying marriages across this country because the woman doesn’t want to submit to the man The man doesn’t want to submit to God and nobody wants to submit to anybody and the kids don’t want to submit to the parents

Because all they see is rebellion and more rebellion and then you wonder why so many people are depressed They’re down. They’re discouraged and this is a part of the reason why So he says in verse 14 Then says jurisse his wife and all his friends on him let a gallow be made of 50 cubits high by 75 feet high and of tomorrow speak down unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged on it. Thou didn’t go thou in Mary with the king into the banquet, and the thing please Haman and he caused the gallows to be made.

So he’s already counting his chickens before the hatch. He’s already built in the gallows. He has even got permission from from the king yet. So now he’s all cheerful. Why? Because of how he’s thinking. And he was down because of how he was thinking. You see, when you’re happy it’s because of what you’re thinking and when you’re sad it’s because of how you’re thinking. So it’s how you think very important. It is very important. People that are really depressed usually bring it upon themselves.

Now like I said, there’s times whenever it could be medical reason. It could be because of non-sinful reasons. And so as time goes on I would like to maybe cover more of these things. But I want you to get this because it’s so important. Chapter 6, on that night, could not the king sleep. He commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles and they were read before the king. Now isn’t it amazing just to happens to not be able to sleep this night?

The night before Haman and Krenesto was going to come into a little banquet. And so here’s the king and he’s setting up and he can’t sleep. So what did he do? He gets out to the old records and starts reading the books. And lo and behold, he reads in there where somebody had saved his life. Somebody saved his life and he hadn’t done anything about it. And all this time was spent. Look what he says there in verse two and it was found written that Mordecai had told of Vindantah.

He says, and to reach two of the king’s chamberlands, the keepers of the door who sought to lay hands on King Herhasaurus. And the king said, what honor and dignity has been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king’s servant that ministered unto him, there is nothing done for him. Well, though, that’s a shame. So the king finds out, hey, there’s a guy in the kingdom that did something for me, saved my life, and nobody’s done anything for him.

So what is he going to do? He’s going to ask Haman. Heyman, what should I do for the man that needs to be honored? Oh, he thinks it’s him. So the king says here in verse four, and the king said, who is in the court? Now, Heyman was coming to the outward court of the king’s house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king’s servant said unto him, behold, Heyman, standeth in the court, and the king said, let him come in.

So, Ammon came in. The king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor? Now, Ammon thought in his heart, to whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself? So well, I’m really going to pour it on thick. This is what you ought to do. And, buddy, did he eat those words? You know what I like about the Lord? God has to have a sense of humor.

This is funny, serious, but it’s got a little sense of humor to it. So what should I do to somebody, to honor such a man in verse 7 and Haman answered the king, for the man whom the king delighted to honor? Well let me count the ways. Let the royal apparel be brought which the king uses to wear, and the horse that the king rides upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head, and let this honor be brought to the king.

apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes that they may array the man with all whom the King delightive to honor and bring him on horseback through the streets of the city and proclaim before him, thus shall it be done to the man whom the King delightive to honor.” Well the king said, hey that’s a great idea. That’s a wonderful idea. In verse 10, then the king said to Haman, Make haste, take the apparel and the horse, as thou have said, and do even so to mortify the Jews that siteth at the king’s gate, let nothing fail of all that thou hath spoken.”

Wasn’t he excited about this? You talking about how to, you know, crawlfish? He hates this guy, and he had an open his mouth, mouth and what he had said, see God can take the wickedness of man and turn it around to honor his own. Don’t worry about what people say about you. You just do right. You just be faithful. How would you have liked to have the part of being Mordecai at the gate? And not to have anything. And yet he has his name written down in the Word of God as a great individual and people to read about him for all these years.

Who would have ever thunk it? And here you are, you might not think your life is too important and it might be that for one main thing in your life, one main deed, one person that you touch, you know it’s just kind of like that man where Peter and John and you know they were kind of walking along and they went into the beautiful temple there and lo and behold there was a man there that had problems he had walked in 38 years.

Silver and gold have I none but such as I have given the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. Now wait a minute that man had been here for 38 years. Why hadn’t he been healed by Jesus? Jesus had to come that way a lot of times. Why wait all that time? Why didn’t he do it? But for some reason, he was passed over for such a time as this. And it talks about a blind man that was blind from birth.

He said, why is he like this? What sin hath he done? Was it his mother or his father? He says it wasn’t because of anybody’s sin. It was because of the honor of the Lord, the glory of the Lord. You see, he was going to show somebody something, the power of God, and he needed a blind man. And there happened to be a blind man who was at the right spot at the right time, and God healed him. And it became a story, a testimony, because he had just talked about, I am the light of the world, and the light of the world.

And this is, you’re not the light of the world, you bear record of yourself, and your record That is not true. He says, when you put me on the cross, my Father will tell you who I am. And when Christ was hung on the cross, God the Father told who His Son was. He said, I am the light of the world. He hit the main switch of heaven and all the lights went out. He said, I told you. So here you have the man has to be honored.

So in verse 12, Mordecai came again to the kings gate, but Haman hasted to his house And here’s a couple things you need to underline in your Bible. Morning and having his head covered. Why was he mourning? Why wasn’t he glad for this guy? You see, it’s one thing that reason you should not be jealous and jealousy that leads to depression. When you’re filled with you, remember, these are sins and a lot of the sins of the mind, you’ll find those written in the book of Galatians in chapter 5, in the book of Colossians in chapter 3, there’s sins of the mind that causes great depression.

And when you get depressed, you’d be surprised what it’s going to do to you. Did you know that his depression cost him his life? And his son’s lives cost him an awful lot, didn’t it? It did. And so he says here in verse 13, the Haman told Zarish, his wife, and all his friends, everything that had befallen him. Where when nothing really has happened to him? Nobody’s really done anything to him. All this is built up in his own mind.

You realize that you can build things up into your mind as somebody gets on. Nobody’s wrong, this man. Who did something wrong to Haman? Didn’t more to Kai do anything wrong to this guy? This guy, not really. He isn’t doing anything wrong to him. So what is he upset about? Not really. He didn’t do anything wrong to him. So what’s he upset about? Most people, if they really think things through, are making mountains out of Moheal. How do you make a mountain out of a Moheal?

More dirt. Just more dirt. And some people just add more dirt and more dirt and more dirt. When they did it themselves, most people are destroying themselves and it’s an inside job. They’re on home record. They’re wrecking their own lives and it causes such great depression. It’s always wonderful. We can just always talk about the love of God and the peace and the joy. But you see, we’re individuals and we are human and we have discouragements. We have disappointments.

have despair. And if you don’t watch it, those saying can so pull you down and it can destroy your life. You don’t want that to happen to you. He says here, If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews before whom thou hath begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shall surely fall before him. And when they were yet talking with him came the kings, and hast it to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Oh boy, now he gets to go to the banquet. He’s been just dying to go to and die and he will. Chapter 7, so the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. The king said again on the Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, what is the reputation, Queen Esther? And it shall be granted thee, and what is thy request, and it shall be performed even to the half of the kingdom.” Then Esther the Queen answered and said, if I have found favor and thy side, O King, and if it pleased the King, let my life be given me at my petition and my people at my request.

But we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, Then I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage. Then King Ahasaras entered and set him to Esther the Queen. Who is he? Where is he? That ders presume in his heart to do so. Who in the world wants to do this? Guess who’s standing there? And Esther says the adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman.

And Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. I wonder why. And the king rising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden and Haman stood up to make requests for his life to Esther, the queen, for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. And it just so happened, just coincident. He fell. He stumbled. Somehow he fell on the bed. Look at this. Verse 8, then the king returned out of the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon esther was.

Then said the king, will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. And Hormona, one of the chamber lanes said before the king, behold also the gallows 50 cubits high, which Haman hath made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, stand it in the house of Haman. Then the king said, hang him thereon. So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai.

Then was the king’s wrath pacified. Now, the story goes on, and it gets who got Haman’s house, Mordecai. Mordecai got all that he had. the Lord can take care of God’s people. Now God is going to take care of you. Be patient, but be faithful while you’re patient. Don’t be found like the test was with Job. Maintain thine integrity. Don’t curse God. In the meanwhile, don’t blame God and be upset with God as though God doesn’t know what he’s doing.

If God is God and God is perfect, God can make no mistakes. God does nothing wrong. You just may not see it. And sometimes the timing just seems like it’s way off. And that’s why there’s a verse in Psalms, that Lord, help me speedily. Speedily. It means like right now, Lord, I need help. If you haven’t been there, you will. Just wait, you will. The Lord will see to it that sooner or later, He pulls all the rubs after Monday.

Even He turned off all the lights and He locks all the doors and all four walls sorts moving in on you. And it seemed like the ceiling is like brass and you can’t get through. And then lo and behold, there’s a ray of light. And you look down that long, dark tunnel and there’s a ray of light and you get closer and it’s a gorilla with a flashlight. And you think, just when it’s gonna be deliverance, you’re all excited.

And then it turns ugly again. And you say, well, I thought, I don’t know if I can go on, yes you can. God, grace is sufficient. That’s what he said, but you know, you can’t believe anything, he says, can you? Or can you? You can believe what the Lord says. Now, take your Bible and turn to Psalms in chapter 38. Psalms 38, the 38th Psalm. Psalms 38, look there in verse one, in verse one. Remember guilt, the opposite of forgiveness.

Let me just give you this little point here so that you understand. Remember all of us are sinners and there is a God in heaven who is the judge. So whenever Christ died on the cross, He paid for all the sins of all the world. And when you accept that payment, the God of the world, the judge declared you innocent, declared you righteous. No sin against you forgiven. Isn’t that a wonderful thing? Now, sometimes we wonder why do I have to use first John 1-9?

That if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin. Wait a minute, I thought I’ve already been forgiven. He is faithful and just to forgive us of all sins and cleansse from all unrighteousness. So why have I got to confess again if I’ve already been forgiven? Well, we’re talking about somebody different now. For example, if I sin against Peter Amato, I can go to Peter Amato and Peter Amato can forgive me. Isn’t that wonderful?

Or why didn’t I go to you? Cause I didn’t sin against you, I sin against him. Now, if I was to sin against Steve, should I go to Peter, or should I go to Steve? Go to Steve. And I asked him, I wronged to you, and Steve, will you forgive me? And Steve can forgive me. Well, see, he forgave me. Then he forgave me. And as I lived long enough, I pugbed me to all of y’all, eventually. So would you forgive me?

Will you forgive me? Will you forgive me? Have you ever asked different people to forgive you? Yeah. See, whenever you were lost and you needed to be saved, it was the God of the universe, the judge, that said in the court of law, that says you were guilty, and Christ made the payment for your sins, and so you accepted God, the judge, forgiveness. Now see, he’s my father. I don’t face the judge. I have to deal with my father.

And so as I live my Christian life, I sin, sometimes against my father. So I need to go to my father. Now, if I sin against my wife, I should go to my wife. Doesn’t the Bible teach somewhere forgiving one another? Well, I’ve already been forgiven, so I don’t have to ask anybody else. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. If I sin against somebody else, I should ask that person, if I sin against you, I should ask you. But see, first John 1-9, that’s between me and my father.

My Father. See, it’s not the judge, it’s my Father. And then I might send against James. What’s his name? James. If I send against James, then I should ask James to forgive me because I send against him. So see first John 1-9 is not for salvation. First John 1 9 is not so that I can get to heaven eventually and keep going. No, it’s because I sinned against my father. And he says that your joy may be full, talking about the fellowship with our father.

So that’s why you’ll see in different places, it talks about God, the judge, or God. And then he says, and our father. It’s like there’s different ones. So now as a child of God, I’m a wrong my father. So there is a guilt that in your life because you’ve wronged your father and The joy of your salvation is not the way it ought to be and the guilt weighs upon your shoulder Now we know that David was a man after God’s own heart and so He had gone for about a year, you know since his little shenanigans, you know nobody knows There was a God in heaven and new and And look at it in verse one, oh Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath.

Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. And you ought to underline these three words for thine arrows, thine arrows stick fast in me. You see, there is a convicting of the Holy Spirit just like little arrows, and they will not let you rest. They will not let you sleep. They will not let you enjoy. And they will be like something just jabbing you and keeping you. That’s why I used to talk about, you know, when somebody’s doing something wrong and they refuse to get it correct him to pray a hedge of thorns around them.

So that they quickly are hurt or pricked and get back to the Lord. Just not because you want them to suffer. You want them to get back to the Lord because you want them to have the joy of the Lord. Look at verse three, there is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger. Neither is there any rest in my bones because of my what? And you are underlined this. See whenever you walk away from the Lord and you don’t serve the Lord, there’s a price to pay.

It’s going to produce a guilt upon you. And when the Lord talks about how put a yoke of iron upon your neck until it destroys you, this is what He’s talking about. there’s not a literal yoke of iron that he’s how many people have you seen with a yoke of iron on their shoulders you haven’t seen nobody with it yet but there is the weight of the guilt of the sin that produces that depression and they destroy themselves and so he says here in verse 4 for mine iniquities are gone over my head as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me my wounds think and are corrupt because of my what?

My foolishness. You see, these are results, consequences because of the guilt that can take place because of the sin. And so between you and your heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit is at work. You see, he is a great comforter when you’re obedient and a great discomfort when you’re You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you are 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 tool free, 1-800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. 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 are 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 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline 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. live today and every day. Believing that the Lord is coming soon, and just keep looking up.

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 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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

I want to talk to you about a nice little subject. It’s called How do you recognize? depression Now, you know the Bible talks an awful lot about being encouraged Exorting one another and when you get depressed You depress other people in case you didn’t know that when you get excited about the Lord You can get other people excited about the Lord. So what kind of a testimony have you been having? Are you moping? Norn is God died, fell off his throne, been taken over, is he sick?

Now if you get down and discouraged and depressed, does the Bible have anything to say about that? Now when you study the Bible you may not find that much in it about the word depressed, but you will find some things that cause depression and believe it or not, There are individuals in the Bible that were greatly depressed. But there are several things to keep in mind. There are sins that can cause depression. And there’s non-sinful courses or causes of depression.

And there’s false Jews that cause depression. And there’s medical causes for depression. Now, we don’t have time to cover all of those, but just a few that I would like to cover tonight. And it deals with the sins that causes depression. Now, let me just mention some of the sins that causes depression. One is guilt, greed, anger, hatred, perfectionism, because you’ve got to have everything right. worry, jealousy, laziness, rejection of Christ, sex as a God, Satan worship. In other words, sometimes the sins of the mind causes great depression.

And if you do not watch it, these are things that can take its toll up on you. And so these are brought on by your own wicked thinking. When you don’t think right, you can depress yourself very easy. And whenever you do that, of course you do that to other people because most of these sins are things that are also affecting other people because they also see you and hear you. So I wanted to start off with this one word, perfection.

Perfection. And because of perfection, there is a man in the Bible. Believe it or not, that was what we would classify as a perfectionist. Everything has to be right. And you know, whenever you want everything right and it’s not right, you do not want to even see your own wickedness. You don’t want to see your own failures. You don’t want to mess up because you can’t handle it because you want everything right. You want to do everything right and lo and behold you can’t.

Sooner or later you’re going to really disappoint yourself and remember this. One of the most I guess discouraging people in the Bible, most depressed men in the Bible was a man named Jeremiah. You ever heard of Jeremiah? The weeping profit. Everything went wrong in his life. Now I’m not talking about Job, I’m talking about Jeremiah. And I also understand this, because of these sins, the sins of the mind produces guilt. And guilt is to the soul what pain is to the body.

Now, you ever have pain in the body? It’s the way of letting your body know that, and you know, something is wrong. And if you didn’t have pain in the body, you probably wouldn’t last so long. But it’s a way of signaling you to let you know you’re doing something that you shouldn’t do. You’re over exerting yourself. Or you have a pain in my side. I’m going to have an attack of appendicitis. Or you have headaches, and it could be because you have a tumor.

There’s all kinds of things that causes pain, and pain is a way of making you aware of a problem that needs to be resolved. So that’s why when people have pain in their need, they might want to get a new need replacement. Or they might want to get a hip replacement. All because pain tells us something is wrong. What God has given to us another mechanism, and it’s called guilt. Guilt is between you and God. It’s God’s way of telling you something’s not right.

Now you may deny the sin, run from the sin, but the sin will find you out. it will chase you down. It will run after you. And the guilt you can’t get away from. So this is why there’s people in the world that wanna get laws changed. Why? Because they feel guilty when they know they’ve broken the law and they’re doing things that the law says you can’t do or that the Bible says you can’t do. So they want to try to justify themselves so they don’t feel guilty.

That’s why whenever sometimes you want to do something you wanna find somebody who agrees with you because then you feel better. Because now you don’t feel as guilty because, well, so it’s so said it was all right. So we’re always sometimes looking for somebody to justify our wrong way of thinking or think that we do. So sin does take its toll upon us. So look there in the book of Numbers in chapter 11. Numbers chapter 11, way over there in the Old Testament.

Numbers chapter 11, there’s a man named Moses. And some of these things I’ve mentioned to you before, but I want to hit it just a little bit different. You see, he wanted to be a perfect leader. Whenever he had told the people, he says, why do y’all strive against each other? And they said, are you going to kill us like you did the Egyptian yesterday? He couldn’t handle it. Because he had done something wrong and somebody knew it. So he runs and hides in the backside of a desert for how long?

40 years. 40 years. It’s a long time. It’s a long time for guilt to run after him. This is why God had such a hard time getting Moses to go back down to Asia. He went away, away, away, away, away. Who are you? What’s your name? What am I supposed to say? I can’t talk. And he gave all these excuses why he can’t do because he doesn’t want to be a failure. I tried before I failed, I’m not going to do it again.

And that’s the way sometimes the perfectionists will be. They get critical of themselves and other people very, very fast. So whenever you’re a perfectionist, you become very judgmental, very critical. and sometimes even of yourself to the point of great depression. Really down and really discouraged and it happened so easy. So here in the book of Numbers in chapter 11, look in verse 10, then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families. Every man in the door of his tent and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly.

Moses also was displeased. Moses was upset. Now, the difference between self-righteous anger and godly anger, righteous anger, is if somebody does something against God and you have righteous anger because they offended God, that’s one thing. But sometimes when somebody offends us, we also have anger, but it’s self-anger that can lead to sin very easily. And that’s why the Lord says, don’t let the sun go down up on your wrath. Be angry in sin not because most anger leads to sin.

And so God says, Don’t let it go overnight. Don’t let the sun set with you angry. Try to solve all that you can because you may not sleep too good at night when you get down and discouraged and depressed. You know, there’s a lot of people in our country because they have no clue on how to handle guilt. They’d have to take drugs. Drugs to wake up, drugs to go to sleep, drugs all the time. When you go to the medicine cabinet of the Word of God to the great physician, did you know that God has a way of handling all these depressions that everybody goes through?

It’s just that people don’t believe what God says and they can’t trust him. So that’s why they worry because they’re scared. They feel with fear. They don’t know how God’s going to get them out of something. And then whenever you want everything to be right, you feel with anger. You get mad. You get filled with bitterness. That’s what causes people to become so depressed. And does it affect their lives? Greatly affects their lives. Now look what he says in verse 11.

And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? Wherefore have I not found favor in thy sight? That thou last the burden of all this people upon me? Lord, do you realize what you’ve done? You made me the leader of a couple million people and I’m supposed to solve all their problems. This is too great for me. I can’t stand it anymore. This is the straw that broke the camel’s back and there are probably a few camels around there.

He says in verse 12, have I conceived all this people? Have I been gotten them? That thou should have say unto me, carry them in thy bosom as a nursing father, beareth the sucking child unto the land which thou swears under their fathers, when should I have flesh to give unto all this people? For they weep unto me saying, give us flesh that we may eat. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.

He did not want to see himself fail, and he doesn’t know how to solve the problem. He is down, he’s discouraged, he’s angry, he gets set with God, he’s bitter to people. Moses had an anger problem. He was depressed. And because of being depressed, he doesn’t want to see himself as a failure. And neither does he want the people to see him fall apart because sometimes that’s one of the things that really bothers us. We don’t want to see people see us mess up.

And we’re afraid sometimes we’re going to mess up because the way gets so hard. We don’t want to break down and yet we don’t have the strength to go on. So what do we do? And this is where he was. So look in verse 15. And if thou dill thus with me, kill me, I pray thee out of hand. If I have found favor in thy sight, let me get this part of the verse down. This is very important.

Let me not see my wretchedness. I don’t want to see how bad I am. Did you know that if God took his hand off of us, you would really see how bad you really are. Did you know the truth that you now know from the word of God, or the restraints upon your old sinful nature? Did you realize how bad you would be and how wicked you would be if it wasn’t for some of the truth that you do know?

Did you realize that there’s a lot of people in this world that do not have the truth of the word of God and they don’t have the Holy Spirit and they don’t have any restraints? Look what, how they’re living? Look at the world, look what’s going on. And there’s like there’s no fear, there’s no guilt. It doesn’t bother because everybody’s doing it. You always feel better when everybody else is doing it. Misery loves company. The guilt is shared. Hey, we’re all in this together, but we’re having a great time.

But there’s a time of reckoning coming in. The world will fall into great depression. That’s why most people in America can’t even think straight. They’ve lost the power of reason. They cannot discern the times in which they live. They can’t discern what’s going on and they have no clue on a solution. So it’s very interesting. But it says, let me not see my wretchedness. Now you’re talking about being depressed. There is a depressed man. Here is an a man who has an addiction.

To anger. Anger is an addiction. Just like a lot of times, all of us have certain kinds of addictions and we have to go through it. Take your Bible and turn to the book of Esther, the book of Esther. The book of Esther, right before the book of Job, and Esther in chapter 5, Esther in chapter 5. This is a very interesting little story. Because, see, there’s a man who was also equally depressed, and his name was Jonah. Jonah was depressed, and his problem was with hatred.

He hated the Gentiles. He was a Jew and hated the Gentiles. He did not want to go to Nineveh. He knew that God was merciful, and he knew that if he was to preach to them, that they They would change their mind and get right and God wouldn’t zap them. And what did he want? He wanted God to get them. But Jonah hated the Gentiles. Well, a man by the name of Haman hated the Jews. And because he hated the Jews, he wanted the Jews to be annihilated.

Well, Haman hated Mordecai. And there’s a little story here that kind of talks a little bit about this. And if you look there in chapter 5, the book of Esther, Esther knew that she would have to go to see the king because Haman had got the king to pass a law that would kill all the Jews. And yet she knew that she couldn’t go see the king unless he summoned for her. And if she did go to see him, he would have to hold out his scepter.

That means that she could come on in and she would be spared. And so she even though she was the queen, that she was the Jew. And Hamans decree would have killed her, Mordecai, and all the Jews in the land. So things weren’t going too good. So she went to go see the king and when she went to see the king, he says, what’s the matter, Pokesy? He says, I’m not feeling very well. Her countenance was not, you know, exciting and glorious and thrilled.

And he says, what’s wrong? She says, well, I got a problem, but I want to have a banquet for me and you and Haman. Just as three and she said, I’ll fix it. She wanted to Haman to be there when she tells the king what he wants to do. Now, Haman on the other hand, he thought that everything was going great for him. So he says down here in verse seven, has been answered Esther and said, my petition in my request is, if I have found favor in the side of the king, and if it pleased the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow as the king have said.

Then when Haman forth that day, joyful with glad heart, But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate that he stood not up nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai. Now, this is hatred. He hated this man because Mordecai wouldn’t stand and pay homage to him, because after all, Haman was a great man. But Mordecai didn’t worship men. Mordecai worshiped God. Mordecai wouldn’t bow to anybody. So somebody was upset because he would have defied me.

And some people just hate others because they don’t honor them the way they think they ought to be honored. Don’t you know who I am? So he says in verse 10, nevertheless, Haman refrained himself. When he came home, he sent and called for his friends and his wife. And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children and all the things wherein the king had promoted him. And how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.

Boy was he one proud man. I mean he was riding high. He was somebody. Well, but he’s had a problem. In verse 12, Heyman said more over, yay, Esther the Queen did let no man come in with the King unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself. Look who I am. I’m somebody. And tomorrow am I invited under her and also with the King. Yet all this availiff mean nothing as long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the King’s gate.

He said, I can’t stand it, man. I hate that. Now this man and it caused him, he is so filled with hate, it blinds him. It doesn’t matter how much he already has, here’s a poor old Jew, that the gate that doesn’t honor him. And what does he want to do? Not just to this one Jew, to all of them. He want to kill all of them. Over Jews. Because one guy didn’t pay him attention. Now I know you’re not, you’re not Haman.

But did you know that somebody can mistreat you and not give you the honor and so forth you think they should and you’d be surprised how you can fit feel with hatred so easy so quickly. Now you talk about why are you depressed? If you get down and you’re depressed you start thinking why am I depressed? Why am I so down? Why am I so discouraged? And you might find out because you’re not impressed with God. You’re not impressed with His will.

So you’re depressed because of yourself. You’re depressed because of people. You’re depressed because of circumstances. Everything is not working out for your honor and your glory. You see, if you were to reverse it and say, I want to do whatever it is for God’s honor and for God’s glory. So as long as I give God the honor and the glory for whatever happens to me, what happens to me? Does it really matter? and they don’t praise you and they don’t exalt you and they don’t bow to you.

This is what causes such a rebellion among people because everybody has a will. Most people do not like to submit their will to anybody. This is what’s destroying marriage because the man doesn’t want to submit to God. Nobody wants to submit to anybody and the kids don’t want to submit to the parents. everybody and the kids don’t want to submit to the parents because all they see is rebellion and more rebellion. And then you wonder why so many people are depressed.

They’re down, they’re discouraged. And this is part of the reason why. So he says in verse 14, then says, jurisse his wife and all his friends on him, let a gallow be made of 50 cubits high by 75 feet high and of tomorrow, speak down unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged on it. Thou then go thou in Mary with the king into the banquet, and the thing please Haman, and he caused the gallows to be made. So he’s already counting his chickens before the hatch.

He’s already building the gallows. He hasn’t even got permission from the kingMicro. So now he’s all cheerful. Why? Because ofutherford he’s thinking. And he was down displayText because of how he was thinking. You see, when you’re happy, it’s because of what you’re thinking and when you’re sad, 😉 it’s because of how you’re thinking. So, it’s how you think very important. It is very important. more of these things. But I want you to get this because it’s so important in chapter 6.

On that night could not the king sleep. He commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles and they were read before the king. Now isn’t amazing just to happens to not be able to sleep this night. The night before Haman and Queen Esther was going to come into a little banquet. And so here’s the king and he’s setting up and he can’t sleep. So what does he do? He gets out to the old records and starts reading the books.

And lo and behold, he reads in there where somebody had saved his life. Somebody saved his life and he hadn’t done anything about it. And all this time was spent. Look what he says there in verse two and it was found written that Mordecai had told of Vindanta. He says, and turish, two of the king’s chamberlands, the keepers of the door who sought to lay hands on King Ha’azarus. And the king said, what honor and dignity has been done to Mordecai for this?

Then said the king’s servant that ministered unto him, there is nothing done for him. Well, though that’s a shame. So the king finds out, hey, there’s a guy in the kingdom that did something for me, saved my life, and nobody’s done anything for him. So what is he going to do? He’s going to ask Haman. Haman, what should I do for the man that needs to be honored? Oh, he thinks it’s him. So the king says here in verse four, and the king said, who is in the court?

Now, Haman was coming to the outward court of the king’s house, to speak unto the king, to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king’s servant said unto him, Behold, Haman, standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in. So Haman came in. The king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself.

So well, I’m really going to pour it on thick. This is what you ought to do. And buddy, did he eat those words? You know what I like about the Lord? God has to have a sense of humor. This is funny. Serious, but it’s got a little sense of humor to it. So what should I do to somebody to honor such a man in verse 7 and Haman answered the king, for the man whom the king delighted to honor.

Well, let me count the ways. Let the royal apparel be brought which the king uses to wear. And the horse that the king rides upon and the crown royal, which is set upon his head and let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes that they may array the man with all whom the King thee lighteth to honor and bring him on horseback through the streets of the city and proclaim before him, thus shall it be done to the man whom the King thee lighteth to honor.”

Well the king said, hey that’s a great idea, that’s a wonderful idea. In verse 10, then the king said to Haman, make haste, take the apparel and the horse as thou have said, and do even so to morelakai the Jews that saideth at the king’s gate, let nothing fail of all that thou have spoken.” Wasn’t he excited about this? You talking about how to, you know, crawl fish? He hates this guy and he had an open his mouth and what he had said, And see God can take the wickedness of man and turn it around to honor his own.

Don’t worry about what people say about you. You just do right. You just be faithful. How would you have liked to have the part of being Mordecai at the gate? And not to have anything. And yet he has his name written down in the Word of God as a great individual. people to read about him for all these years. Who would have ever thought that? 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. Part two of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. 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 tool free, 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. 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 are 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 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline 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.

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 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 message will be a blessing to you and your family.

to the book of Philippians and chapter 4. Philippians chapter 4, the message today is a war on worry. You may not know this, but it is true that many Christians worry. Well that’s a little bit about what I want to talk about. You were not born worrying. Worrying is just like whether it’s smoking or drinking or you know it’s an acquired habit you learned out of that and so many people have practiced until now they are experts at worry you may not know that you’re worrying and you may not even think that worrying is a bad thing or that worrying is really a sin worry will reveal many things about you and I I have worried and therefore I am an expert on worry.

I do it all the time. Despite what I know, I still worry and I can’t figure out how to just totally stop worrying completely. I guess as long as I’ve got this old body that I’m living in, I might be doing just a little bit of it. But I want to help us anyway with the scriptures. Philippians chapter 4, Paul has wrote this while he’s in prison. So this is what we call a prison epistle. And notice how happy the guy seems to be.

You might be a little bound and discouraged because of where you would be if you were in prison. But he makes a statement there in verse 4, Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say, Rejoice. Does that sound like a testimony of a man who’s having a pity party for himself? Not exactly. And then you look there in verse 10. But I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at the last your care of me has flourished again.

So there’s things that happens in a person’s life that causes things not to flourish. Sometimes it seems like there’s droughts in your life. And you wonder where the next meal is coming from or the money is going to come from the pay for this or if you’ll ever get well or you know there’s all kinds of things. So we have many, many things in this life that we can worry about. But you know one thing I never worry about anymore?

I never worry about where I’m going when I die. There was a time I worried about that. But did you know that once you have trusted Christ’s Savior and God gives you eternal life and you become His child, if you really understand it, you really don’t have to worry about it anymore, do you? Because you know you have eternal life. You know that you’re going to heaven and you know that you can’t change it and you know that God can’t change it because eternal life was a gift.

It was free. God gave it to you and you accepted it and you have eternal life. You’re God’s child. You’re going to heaven. I never worry about that anymore because I’ve got God’s word on it. Well, what if you had God’s word on other things, you know, concerning life? What you wouldn’t have to worry about that either, would you? The trouble comes is because we don’t know what God says about many other things that pertain to life. So what if we did?

What I want you to see there in verse 10. When he says, I greatly rejoice because there’s certain things that he’s learned and one was not to worry. He learned not to worry. Look at verse 10, but I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again, wherein you were also careful but you lacked opportunity. Then in verse 11, not that I speak in respect of what, for I have learned how to worry.

Is that what he says? I have learned how to worry. No, he doesn’t say that. I have learned in whatsoever state I am, they’re with to worry. You see, you could take the words peace and content, we’ll cast those out of the Bible and put the word worry in the place of it and you’ll see how ridiculous it sounds. the reason we don’t have peace. And the reason we’re not content is because we are worried. We worry about a lot of things.

And look what he says in verse 12, I know both how to be a based and worried, and I know how to abound and worry. Everywhere I worry. And in all things I worry. I’m instructed both to worry and to be hungry, both to abound and to worry and to suffer need and to worry. Do you see anything wrong with what I said? And yet, how many times we do worry about a lot of things that God says that we need to pray about?

So as you read these scriptures, you see that that’s not what it says and it’s just the opposite. That’s a sign of growing in the Lord when you can have peace of God. You see, you have peace with God when you trust it, Christ is your Savior. But the peace of God is what God gives to you on a daily basis when you rely upon Him and you trust Him. Looking verse 13, I can do all worrying through Christ.

Christ is going to strengthen me, they help me to worry more and more. It doesn’t say that. So there is something that’s totally opposite of all of that. But we worry about losing our health, losing our job, losing the loved one, losing somebody’s affection, losing, you name it, and we worry. But there’s some wonderful things that God has given to us. worry is like a rocket chair. It gives you something to do, but it won’t get you anywhere. It never solves a problem.

It’s dragging the past that you can’t do anything about into the future and ruining this perfectly good given day that God’s given to me. Worry is the interest paid on trouble before it comes due. And so some people just worry about everything. They’re worrywarts. words. Have you ever heard someone say, I am worried sick over and then you put the word in there? Because we don’t know the answers of some things in life and so we worry about things.

We won’t say it’s worry and worry can produce a lot of stress in a person’s life. One person says, if it wasn’t for stress, I wouldn’t have any energy at all. They just Work under stress all the time, that’s what keeps them going. Worry is a sin that can literally make you sick. Consider the stress-related illnesses. Heart attacks, worry can do that. Worry can produce high blood pressure. Worry can produce ulcers. Worry can produce insomnia. Worry can produce headaches, strokes, immune system malfunction, suicide.

Stress can do all of that. And stress is because you’re worried about someone. You see, you don’t have to worry about anything you put in God’s hand, but you will not say, I’m not, I’m trusting the Lord. I’m trusting the Lord. And then you worry yourself sick. You’re not trusting the Lord. You’re saying the words and you can be, have you ever seen an alcoholic in denial? They just don’t believe that they’re an alcoholic or a drunkard. They deny it.

They deny all the symptoms. And yet there’s Christians that deny the symptoms. They’re under a lot of stress and they’re worried sick, but they won’t say, no, no, no, no, no, I’m trusting the Lord. No, you’re not because worry is a sign that you’re not worry is a sin and you will never have The freedom the liberty that you ought to have until you recognize it for what it is If you’re sick and tired of been tired and sick you need hope help and healing Remember God is the great physician and he has just the right prescription for his children The text in Philippians in chapter 4 and verse 6 and 7, looking verse 6, says, Be careful for nothing.

That word careful means be anxious for nothing. Be, don’t be worried about anything. He says, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God. And then he says, and the peace of God. If you don’t do what God says do in His prescription, then you’re not going to have the results of it. How many people are having to get prescription drugs? Don’t worry again. But you know, when it comes to spiritual healing, God has a prescription that He’s wrote out.

And all you have to do is take two pills a day or do whatever it says do and the peace of God will be with you. It means it will annihilate worry. So there are symptoms that we have and there’s a prescription that is a cure. Here are four steps from these verses of how to get from worry sick to worry free. Now everybody would like to say, well I don’t worry, I’m not worried about anything. And then but the stress Well, show symptoms in their life sometimes that they are.

Constraint is a command. The text says, be careful for nothing. Nothing. Means don’t worry about anything. Not some things are justified. No, don’t worry about anything. That doesn’t mean you’re not concerned about how this comes out of that. But I’m talking about, you know, concerned about, you know, you got to work so you can pay bills, you got to do that. You do all the things you can. But worrying to make you sick, that you can’t do anything about God’s as a sin.

Worry is not a disease. You need catches from somebody. But if you hang around people who worry all the time, it won’t be lumped, or you might be just worried just like they are. Because a person who has a particular problem, like a person who gossips, like the hang around people who gossip, and they feed each other information to let you know they really love gossiping. But if you say, do you believe in gossip? Oh no, I hate gossiping.

And then they just mention things to people, you know, this is just a prayer. But they gossip. Gossip is a sin. There’s a lot of things that are sinned, but we overlooking say, well, that’s not it. We deny it. We’re is not a disease unless you consider sin a disease. It is not an uncontrollable condition. I can’t help myself. How many times have I heard of you? Well, I just can’t help myself. Well, maybe you can, but God can.

Now will you let God help you? can help us in every area of our life. The word worry comes from two Greek words which means to divide the mind because there’s a part of your mind that says trust the Lord and there’s another part of the mind that says worry worry worry worry worry well a double-minded man is unstable in how many of his ways all of his ways did you know worrying about one thing can contaminate the peace of mind you had in everything else.

Worry is a sin and sin is like leaven and leaven is like the Bible says a little leaven, leaven it the whole up. So a little worry can destroy a lot of peace of mind. He can keep you from sleeping at night. He can cause a lot of stress-related illnesses in your life, in your physical body. All those things can happen. Yeah, I’m word sick and many times that relates into physical problems. In the Bible it makes this statement.

Let me read this to you first of all. The word it says here, you will be dominated between positive or negative thoughts. Success starts in the mind but so does worry. All your success and failures begin right up bear as a man think of so is he so you have to learn how to think you can think positive or you can be negative some people it doesn’t matter you know isn’t the sunshine beautiful today well you could have seen it this morning it was clouds everywhere and I know that it’s a sunshine it right now it’ll be raining in a minute they have something negative to say I don’t care what it is and then And there’s some who are just positive.

And this daddy had a little boy, and a little boy was just so positive about everything. It was just positive. He said, I’ll knock some of that positive out of you, but he was always negative. He took him out there and he says, now, please knock that manure out of this barn. And so the little boy got out there and he started and his daddy checked down in about fifteen minutes and the little boy’s a humming and a whistling and a singing and throwing manure everywhere.

He says, what are you doing? What are you so happy about? Shelton manure. He said, well, this much manure, there’s got to be a pony around here somewhere. But all depends on how you look at life. You can be negative all your life or you can be a little on the positive side. John, chapter 14, verse one says, let not your heart be troubled. Says you believe in God, believe also in me. God said, let not your heart as your mind.

Don’t let it be troubled. Don’t worry. And the answer was, you believe in God, believe in me, trust me, trust me. I know we’ve had president and said, look, just trust me. That’s enough to cause everybody to worry. Just trust me. You can trust the Lord. The Lord will never fail. The Lord won’t let you down. You can be as happy as you want to be. Without changing circumstances or anything. You see, happiness is a state of being. It’s the way you are.

You can choose to be happy or you can choose to be sad and everyone of us do. You are as happy as you really want to be because nobody can make you happy and nobody can steal it from you if you don’t want them to. You can be mad angry bitter happy joyful if you want to be whatever it take take your pick it’s your choice and worry worry is a sin. There are 400 references to peace with 100 in the New Testament.

Most of Paul’s letters start and end with a reference to peace. God wants his people to have peace, peace of mind. And if you’re peaceful in your mind and your spirit, you know, you can be so happy, you can be joyful, you can be so rejoicing all the time about everything like I said, rejoice always. And again, I say rejoice, confess, worry as well. the sin. First John one, I said, if we can s our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and the cleansers from all unrighteousness.

Ain’t that what it says? All right, that’s to the Christian, not to the lost person. That’s to the person who knows they have eternal life. They’re going to heaven when they die. And they’re a great is worry of sin. If worrying is a sin, then should you confess your sins to God. You shouldn’t should confess. You’re a worry to God. And there’s a reason. And you need to understand it from God’s point of view. Don’t say, well, I just can’t, it’s just the way that I am.

Stop all that. Listen to what God says. Don’t excuse yourself. Don’t make allowances for yourself. Always be seeking to be what God wants you to be, watching your attitude. Worry shows a lack of trust in the Lord. Yes or no? It shows a lack of trust in the Lord when you worry. If you are dominated by sinful, worry, fear, anxiety, you are thinking too much about yourself. One of the biggest things that helped me to be a soul winner, to talk to people about where they’re going to spend eternity, is when I stopped thinking about me and started thinking about them, you think about yourself and you’ll be scared to death.

What are you scared of? Them? Or what it does to you? Or how are they going to respond? or you’re going to be rejected, or what are they going to think about you? It’s all about you. It’s all the reason we want to be afraid. Our fear is what causes us not to do the thing that we should, but that means you’re not trusting the Lord. We think about ourselves. We become intimidated. And it can keep you, enrob you of the greatest things in life.

The first step toward victory is to recognize and confess, worry as sin. Worry is emotional atheism. You heard me say many times, many Christians liveWisconsin though God fell off his throne and he can’t get back up. No. God is alive, God is real. He is on the throne and he does work and heotal and he can do what he promised he will do. Worry is emotional atheism. It means to some extent I don’t believe God. I don’t trust God.

God’s gonna fail me. He’s gonna not gonna come through. So we worry because now if that’s all true that it’s It’s all depends on me and I can’t handle it. And it’s just too much pressure. That’s the last straw and I can’t handle anymore. I’ve had so many people say, you know, I can’t handle it. I’ll shut up. You can too. You and the Lord, by yourself know God said He will not put upon you anything greater than you can bear.

Yes or no, than He won’t. You don’t have any problem big enough to break you. But many people are broken. Not because of the problem, but because of their weakness to trust the Lord. Worry is an indication that we think God cannot look after us. Perpetual uneasiness is symptomatic of prayerlessness. No one can pray and worry at the same time Rosenstein. Now, which SHARES you doing? You can’t worry and pray at the same time. Well, I prayed about it.

And then you worried? No, you didn’t pray about it. You said the word, but you didn’t pray. Pray me, I’m casting all my cares upon the LordGil. Well, if you did that, then what are you worried about? Let’s see, we say the words, where our Christianity becomes mechanical. It’s not really alive. It’s not a personal God that I really believe in, but we have so much to learn from the Lord’s Word. Look at this. And this is so important.

The last part of this statement, unbelief is a what? Sin and a sin is to be confessed. So if worrying is a sin, it has to be confessed, but you have to see it as that. The next statement, worry actually vandalizes the body. What does that mean? Sometimes somebody might vandalize your home or your car, but isn’t it a shame when a Christian vandalizes their own body? the words you are destroying yourself, hurting yourself. And that’s why you will not be a happy Christian, you will not be Revis Christian, you will not be a victorious Christian because you’re mutilated and vandalizing yourself.

This not the world is doing it to you, you do it to yourself and how you accept things. Now get this statement. Worry actually vandalizes the body. You’re emotional and spiritual well-being has an effect on the body. Have you ever had doctors tell you that? Has doctors ever told you that worrying is not good for you? Stress is not good for you? You never had a doctor tell you that? They will. Just ask them. And that’s why sometimes there’s nothing they can do, no medicine they can give, they can cure it.

Because the problem is not. The nor- The normal thing because it’s a spiritual problem. Things that happen because of the mind. That controls the brain that works the parts of our body. Three keys for lasting change. The renewing of your mind. Any visions in chapter four talks about put off the old man, put off the old behavior. Or there’s something to put off. That’s repent, change your mind, reconsider. You don’t want to be the way you were your Christian now, but you have to renew your mind.

Verse 23. And that is be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Appear, how you think? God doesn’t want you to think like a normal individual who lives in the flesh in the world because that’s not youropri of God. You’re a citizen from heaven and your destiny is fixed. You’re going to heaven whenever you die. And you’re here temporarily as long as God has a ministry for you and you’re to accomplish that which God intended. And until then, let God have His way with you.

Don’t challenge God. Don’t rebuke God. Trust Him. Believe it. And let God do whatever God wants to do. He can be free to bring into your life or out of your life whatever he wants, and it won’t bother you, you can accept that. And then you’ll begin to grow as a Christian. If not, it’ll make you bitter because you’ll get hurt. You didn’t get what you wanted. Your expectations were not met. You’re not all that you thought you ought to be.

We’re not interested in what you want. We’re interested in what God wants. You see, there’s a conflict of the wheels. There’s a lot of things you want out of life. Maybe you wanna do or be or go or whatever it is. Yeah, but then there’s something over here. Oh, what does God want? And these two make the trash. And that’s why you can have peace of mind if you’ll just say Lord, whatever you want. Let’s find what they need.

And you can have peace. But if you don’t, you’re gonna be totally disarray and despair because it may never work your way. Learn to trust the Lord. And the third thing is replace. You gotta put on the new man, which was created in righteousness and true holiness. So there’s something to put off, change your mind, something to put on. And God says, if you learn this, it can truly help in your Christian life. You can’t change the past, but you can ruin a perfectly good day by worrying about it.

Have you ever had a wonderful day that God gave to you? And then you ruined it by bringing up the past that you can’t do anything about it. And you can be just, listen, You can rehash things that happened long time ago. And did you know you dwell on it long enough and it’ll make you insight just as mean and bitter and hateful as it did 20 years ago? And ruin this moment. Now you think that’s what God’s will is for you?

This is why you gotta forgive, forget that it go dwell upon that which God wants you to have. There’s problems in life, but the problems are not supposed to make us totally filled with despair and stress and worry and to what’s sick and we can’t move and operate because of it. Cast your cares on Christ. 1 Peter 5, 7, when he says, cast all your cares upon him for he cares for you. You believe that? Then you believe that, then you can trust on.

If you take everything and put it in God’s hands, you’ll see God’s hands and everything that you put in his hands. Ask God to lift the weights off your soul. Have you done that? You don’t think he will? See many people figure this way. Why pray when I can worry? Is there anything wrong with that? It’s supposed to be why worry when I can pray. The second thing, if it’s too small a matter to pray about, it’s too small a matter to become a burden.

You should never think that your problems are too big, God can’t do anything about it, or too small that God’s not gonna be concerned. Both are an insult to God. God just pray about how many things. All things, pray all the time. aques. Have a good time. Alright. Alright. p. I’ll see you in a second. Good night. I’ll see you in a week. Okay. That’s it. Good night. Hey. Good night. I’ll see you again in a few days. Yeah.

Okay. Let’s go ahead and turn. Okay. Good night. Good night. Good night. Okay. Let’s go ahead. Alright. I don’t have time to read that. I was going to read the words of that song. What a friend we have in Jesus. You ought to just read the words of that song. We sing it, but you ought to just hear the words. What a friend we have in Jesus. All our grief and so forth to there. And then talking about casting our cares upon the Lord.

And all the word that we do because we do not take it to him in prayer. So awesome song. Carry confidence in your countenance. Give God thanks for what you do. pray for in advance over you receiving it. Gratitude and praise confirmed that you are trusting in the Lord. Thanksgiving and praise are an antidote to worry. If you look at that verse when he makes his statement verse be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.

When you pray to God and you’re asking God for something then it says give thanks before you get the answer. Give God thanks for what you prayed before you ever get it because don’t you thank you well but rejoice not so much in what God is going to do or what God is going to answer but rejoice in the fact that I have a God who heard my case and I’m gonna leave the righteous judge the options are open they’re all his he can do anything he wants he can say yes he can say no he can say wait a while and his answer is sufficient for me, that’s all I wanted was to hear it with a God who could do something about it and I’m going to trust Him with a result.

Now tell me if that won’t give you a peace of mind. It lies beyond the power of an individual to make things work because you’re limited. You don’t have all the answers. You can’t do everything. But there’s a God who does, he does know and he cares. Chronic warriors make the mistake of waiting for their circumstances to change before rejoicing. You take a piece of paper right down all the blessings you can think of as a tonic for your soul and see if you can think of anything that God has done for you that you can rejoice about and be thankful for.

Learn to be thankful. It’s hard to be a worrier when you’re thankful and you’re praising the Lord for what He’s done in your rejoicing and the right thing. What are you going to worry about? It will give you a peace of mind that your husband can’t give it to you, the wife can’t give it to you, the kids can’t give it to you. Nobody can give to you. This is between you and God because it’s the peace of God.

It’s a personal thing. Otherwise the Bible is just a book. It’s a mechanical thing and it’s not a living, vivacious personal book that gives you a relationship with Christ that nobody else can. In the Christian life you live by faith or you don’t live at all. When you cease to live by faith you cease to live. Do you know God says a child of God is not only saved by grace, He is to live by faith. And if He lives by faith, then that’s the only way you can live as a Christian.

Poor God is to live by faith. Well, if you’re not living by faith, you’re not living. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida, with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you are 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 tool free, 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. 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 are 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 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline 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.

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 regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for a 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 Bibleignindustries.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. Almost all of our problems are spiritual problems of how you handle it. And if you’re spiritually strong, you can face anything. It’s just that problems reveal how weak we are sometimes. And missionaries on the foreign field, they got to go through the same thing. But sometimes they can’t huddle around with all the people who know and understand what they’re going through because they’re on the foreign field.

And sometimes they don’t have the friendships or the fellowship with other people that are to get a deep knowledge of God’s Word and can really be a blessing to them. So that’s why little notes and things like that can always help them and to pray for them. So it’s a very important thing. The other thing is weariness. Now we know nobody here gets weary. I mean these are not things we would apply ourselves, right? But weariness. They get bogged down doing petty things, little things.

Now this used to just irritate me to no end. Because I would rather, rather, just my wallet in my hand and preach the gospel all the time. But it’s, that’s not reality. You still gotta do all these other things. Your car still breaks down. You gotta go get gas. I hate getting gas. I despise stopping and getting gas. I feel like that’s the biggest waste of my time. But then I realize if I don’t get gas in this car, this car is not gonna go and get car, don’t go.

I don’t go. So I gotta do that. I really know, I do enjoy eating, but I hate stopping and taking the time for eating, but I do it because I know I gotta eat or I die. And I don’t wanna die yet. And I tell Betty, I says, honey, it’s a shame to have to take a bath. I’m just gonna, I’m just gonna get dirty again. I hate shaving. I don’t like to shave. And I gotta shave every, I said, honey, I don’t wanna shave this.

She says, you’re the preacher, honey, but I don’t want to shave. She says, it’s your image. Oh, this image. And I got to shave. And sometimes I just, I hate to shave. And as much as possible, I don’t like coats and ties. But all these things are things that I have to do. But it doesn’t mean I have to enjoy doing them. The Bible says endure all things. It did not say enjoy all things. It says, say, rejoice always.

So I try to find a way to do that. But you and I, it’s so easy to get weary and well doing. Just keep on doing what’s right. And some things you just got to remember, the priority, keep the main thing, the main thing. The other thing that I wanted you to mention to you, and I want you to take your Bible and look at this, look in the 139th Psalm, the 139th Psalm. So this is where you talk about your x-ray vision, x-ray vision.

Now you and I may not have the x-ray vision, but I know somebody who does. He can see everything, everybody, everywhere, and body he really knows us. But look how he prayed here, David did in 139th Psalm, look in verse 23. And you want to do this, and you want the missionaries to always keep examining themselves. in verse 23, search me, oh God, and know my heart. Try me, means test me and see if I’m not real. But test me.

Know my thoughts, my thoughts about God, about the mission field, everything that I’m doing, my motives. And then he says here in verse 24, and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the path of everlasting. In other words, I want to do what’s right, but I know I have a wicked heart and I’m trusting in looking to you to reveal things to me that I may not be aware of so that I can make the right decision.

And that’s something that all of us needs to do. The next thing is to be yielded to the Lord. And if you read the sixth chapter of the book of Romans, you’ll find the word yield, yield, yield, yield, all the way through it. you’re to submit. Yourself to the Lord, not fight the Lord. The word zeal down here, it talks about that in the book of John in chapter two about the zeal of the Lord have eaten me up.

And why Jesus got kind of, you would say, been out of shape because of seeing the money changers in the temple and all the things that they were doing and what’s going on. and the house of prayer into a den of thieves. Anyway, he got upset. But there’s a zeal, a zeal, a zeal to have in serving the Lord. See, it’s one thing to have the zeal, the desire to want to do something, and then you don’t have the knowledge to do it, at least to frustrate.

But if you had the knowledge to do everything. Then what’s good? So you want the knowledge and you want the zeal, the desire to want to do something with your life, to love the Lord, to serve the Lord, and to fight a good fight. Now I gave you these two poems because I wanted to read to you because the statement, this diner and the last one, that the missionary will be a flame in the wind, a flame in the So a few years ago, I wrote a couple of little poems.

One is called The Flame in the Wind to Dr. Curtis Hudson. Dr. Curtis Hudson, I had an opportunity to speak together, preach in these short conferences. And he got his doctor from Florida Bible College and the man was clear on the gospel and he took a stand and he suffered some persecution from a lot of independent fundamental Bible He was going to leave a missionary in mind to baptize too. And they really took him to task because he would come out in the sword of the Lord that salvation is very simple, very clear, just believe no turning from sin and explain repentance.

And he would take things right out of the personal evangelism handbook and put it in the sword of the Lord. It went all over the world. Well there’s a lot of preachers that preached that and they didn’t like that. he told about lordship salvation. You don’t make Christ the Lord and the master of your life in order to be saved. Well, they didn’t like that. And so Dr. Hudson took a strong stand and he was 60 years old and found out he had cancer.

I was preaching with him in March, not for God the year, but it was in San Antonio, Texas and he had just finished up speaking at night and Tuesday night. And he got a phone call that he had to leave and that his dad had just passed away with bone cancer. Three months before he had just buried his brother with bone cancer. And so he got in the car and params it was raining and it rained all the way on him.

He had to drive from San Antonio, Texas. He went through Murphy, Burke, Tennessee, picked up his wife and then headed on over there to Carolina, I think someplace. Anyway, he He got over there, did the funeral for his dad, and his wife, sweet woman, she says, Curtis, don’t you think you need to be checked? Honey, I’m fine. I’m healthy. And he was, he looked sharp. He was 60 years old, but he really looked good. And we played golf together, and he didn’t have a pain.

He didn’t look bad. He felt great. And she just wasn’t let up, and she just kept hammering him. So finally, whenFU came down here glared of the preacher, he went to see the doctor. And when he went to see the doctor, the doctor looked at him and says, do you realize you’ve only got about six months to live? WARN and he said in there, Looking at the doctor, it feels fine. He says, you’re eating up with cancer. And of course, you know what that does to the woman.

Well, it shocked the man too. So he went on… He went on this Christ diet. I mean, he started eating carrots. I mean, but he went by the same one time. He was sitting out on the back porch and he had some horses down there. That beautiful little ranch house up there in Murfreesboro. And he’s sitting out there and he has a bowl of oatmeal. This bowl of oatmeal was huge. So he’s eating all these oatmeal. Then we saw a basket full of carrots.

And I said, well, those are for the horses. He smiled and says, no, they’re for me. He was eating so many carrots, even his skin turned yellow. And he was doing everything he possibly could. To try to counteract the cancer, but he had waited too long. He bought a little time, but two years later, he passed away. And so I wrote this. I had a beautiful little plaque, had a little flame on it, you know, flame in the wind.

What went you out to see? A rejaken by the wind? Not this man from Tennessee to the spirit only would he bend? Oh, my friend, what went you out to hear? The gospel of God. make crystal clear. Salvation by grace, just the gift of God. Rewards are earned, but rebellion, the rod. The eyes of God ran to and fro to a man with a heart of fire, a burning passion to reach the lost and make this blaze the saints desire.

The flame has died down, but sparks shot up to descend, blown upon by the breath of God, to produce more flames in the wind. The sword of the Lord was the power of the pen, but Dr. Curtis Hudson was the flame in the wind. A living sacrifice on the altar was laid, hot coals from the altar and revivals were made. O Lord, this offering was burn up for thee. His reword shall be great, but his salvation was free. But anyway, Dr.

Hudson was a good friend. He loved the Lord. And you often wonder, you know, what they’re doing now that they’re in heaven. You know, like Hank, now he’s up in heaven. I’m not wondering what in the world they’re doing. Or can they really see and know what we’re doing down here? Or we lead somebody to Lord, are they still jumping and hollering and yelling and shouting all over heaven? I don’t know, but I believe it’s a joyous occasion. And, you see, whether or not in this life you are appreciated doesn’t really matter.

It’s whenever you leave this world and you get to heaven and your Father says, well done, thou good and faithful servant. When God puts his praise, honor and glory up on you for what you’ve done and all the sacrifices you made. Do you think it’s going to be worth it then? I think it’ll be worth it. On the back of this, I wrote a little poem about a guy named Ray Stanford. You ever heard of him? I had the opportunity at the time that I had wrote this poem.

It was just a couple years before this. Ray was 79 years old at the time and I had him come up to I said, I got a camera right here and I said, I’d like to just interview you. I just want to ask you some questions and you just answer them. And I said, just to put it all on tape. I said, because someday down the road, it might be worth having and to let people know because, you know, you’re not going to live forever.

He says, I’m only 79. Yes, sir. I’m only 79. Yes, sir. And I said, I want to do this. I said, would you mind if I did it? And he says, no, let’s go for it. So anyway, he came to the church and we had a little table set in there and we had the camera set. I don’t remember who run the camera. Did you do it? My wife did. And so I’m sitting there and I’m talking back and forth with Ray and by the time we got through, we had a couple hours of just going through everything.

And as I know of, well, I know it’s true. I’m the only one that has it that have all of this documented about race, Stanford, how ranch got started, about the Jim Tingen story, how the college got started, the church, and all these things, I got it all on tape. And I have spent quite a few hours getting it edited down to where I could present it. So it’s in four parts. The first part, I’m gonna show it tonight.

And I want you to hear the interview, what was said. And because you see, the reason it’s important is because whether you know it or not, it’s your heritage. Ray Stanford is the one that led Dr. Hank Lindstrom to the Lord. Dr. Stanford is the one who trained me, and everything we’ve done since then is because of what we learned from this man. But many people never met the man. They don’t even know what he’s like. And so every time I would come to Florida, I would always go buy and see Ray.

We’d take him out to eat and so forth. And we was just over there recently for Betty’s birthday. We rode over there and took him out and got something to eat. And he’s been here, I think, a couple of times. So y’all have got a chance to see him and meet him. But now this is when he was a little bit younger. His mind a little bit sharper and his response a little bit quicker. And I think you would enjoy.

Because this is what challenged and motivated guys like me and Dr. Lindstrom and thousands of other guys To me, he was the greatest soul winner I have ever met and I’ve been around for a while I’ve met dr. Hank Lindstrom But he’s no Ray Stanford Wally Marillo Lee Patton all these guys that I’ve gone to Florida Bible college with but we were no Ray Stanford. And after all these years, when I go sit with him and he starts talking and he’ll get on a rabbit trail and then he’ll chase a rabbit on that trail, but every one of his rabbit trails are great because it didn’t matter what trail he was on, it was always about the Lord and always about serving the Lord and getting something done.

But anyway, this is something that I wrote for Dr. Stanford on his 85th birthday. But this is talking about the flame in a wind. You see, it wasn’t long ago before when y’all heard about the fires out there in New Mexico and how it was coming into Texas and all the things that were burning, they tried to figure how to stop and then they had them hit in California and all. You see, a fire has to have something to burn up.

And if you don’t have something for it to burn, it dies. And so a flame in the wind. And so it’s like the Holy Spirit is the wind. And we’re the flame. And if we don’t cause something else to burn, then we die. And that’s what’s so important about Ben, a flame in the wind. I’ll tell somebody else, all I want to do is just be an arsonist. I just want to go around the world starting fires. But I’m talking about a different kind of fire, of course.

Don’t have the law come and get me yet. Dr. Clifton L. Fowler, when he was in Denver, Colorado, started the Rotmont Bible College. When I went out to Denver, Colorado, the man that I wound up working for was Archie Yetter, and he became the president of Rotmont Bible College. He served with Dr. Clifton L. Fowler. And I thought, instance is a strange world, that I can go all the way to Colorado with no plan, no design of mine at all.

And I wind up getting to be an assistant pastor to a man that’s straight and clear on the gospel. Now he didn’t have much zeal or fire, but he had truth. But you can have a car on the right road in the right lane, but no gas in the car. And some people just don’t have any motivation, but he had gotten up in years. Anyway, so there is connection there, but Clifton Elphahler, when he retired, he moved to Florida.

That’s when he met and led Dr. A. Ray Stanford to the Lord. It’s a while story. Look there, Clifton Elphahler presented the good news. To A. Ray Stanford, who could not refuse the free gift of salvation that he could not lose, then dedicated his life to Christ for God to use. The battle was fierce in the midnight sky. Planes were filled with men who were willing to die. With two engines gone from artillery fire, the will to live became their greatest desire.

See when Ray was in the Air Force, he was the pilot and he flew these bombers and he had all these men that was in there and they shot out both the engine and it was going down and he got concerned. A race Stanford knew the Lord real well. He’d go to heaven but his friends to hell. He prayed to the Lord to see them through and vowed to witness to his entire crew. When the war was over, Ray renewed his vow.

The time to serve the Lord wasn’t later but now. Ray and Sue by faith took a chance and began the ministry of Christian youth ranch. Now, will you hear all the stories about this on the videos? Very good. With youth in mind, he made the gospel clear to when souls to Christ year after year. Thousands upon thousands and perhaps a million more were reached by Ray Stanford, and he reached heaven and shore. When I first wrote this and I read it to Ray, he says, what do you mean?

I ain’t dead yet. Anyway, that was almost ten years ago. I don’t know if the guy’s going to live forever. I don’t know. He’s supposed to die somewhere along the line. I mean, because that’s my poem says he dies. You know what I’m going to do. But anyway, A. Ray Stanford went throughout the land with a Bible under his arm and a wallet in his hand. For the sake of the gospel, Ray always took the time to explain salvation from Ephesians 2, 8, and 9.

When he turned 85, he was very much alive in his quest for the souls of men. His one desire as a burning fire was to be God’s flame in the wind. No faults are listed against the heroes of faith that are mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11, though a man is God’s child and sends all the while all sins are forgiven in heaven. For the men of old, when dead and cold, is no greater than a lump of coal. But the second birth when it leaves this earth is greater than purest gold.

Now, there’s some spiritual teaching in there. I don’t know if you’ll catch it, but it is there. Ray touched my life as no other man. He taught me God’s Word in the gospel plan. His success and failures made my schooling complete, learning lessons of submission and lessons of defeat. Ray was my friend for almost 40 years. I witnessed the rise, the fall, and the tears. battle is over, his race is run, Jesus Christ will reward him for the work he has done.

And so when I read that last little thing to race says, I’m not dead yet. I’ll figure, but one of these days is going to die and then I got my poem already wrote. So when I wrote the Jim Tengen’s story and dedicated it to Ray when we had the 90th anniversary, and you’ll notice all that’s in the Jim Tingen story and this poem’s in there too. Anyway, he meant an awful lot to me. There’s certain people that will mean an awful lot to you and if you’re gonna thank them, thank them now.

I was at the hospital last night and I was talking to this one individual and I says if you really understand it you trust Christ is your Savior. I says make sure that you tell your loved ones. I says, one of the greatest joys that I have is I know that my wife has trusted Christ as Savior. She told me. I says, my kids, they know the Lord. My grandkids, they’ve trusted Christ as Savior. I said, it’s good to know.

And I made the statement to the individual. I said, let me ask you a question. I said, if you were to die, and Let’s just pretend that your wife was to ask me to do the funeral. I says, where do I tell people you went? I mean, let’s just pretend. Now here’s this funeral and your casket there. And I said, where am I supposed to tell people you went? He says, can you tell them I go, I’m going to heaven.

I says, okay. I says, you understand? He says, I understand. So anyway, I think it’s great to tell people and your loved ones that you trust in Christ as your Savior. There are some people who trust the Lord, but they never know if their husband has, or if the wife has, or if the kids have. Like it’s something, we don’t want to talk about that because it might cause an irritation. And we, you want them to die? And nobody knows.

And if they don’t, don’t you want to tell them or explain it? So I think the best thing to do is just, man, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. If you’re saved, say it. I’m saved. I have eternal life. I have trusted Christ as my Savior. And I know that I’m going to heaven whenever I die. And I think it’s the most important thing that we can never do. So anyway, look up here. I know this is something y’all have seen before, but you can see it one more time.

Let this hand represent you and me. And the wallet represent a whole of our sins. God says that He loves us. Now He hates our sin, but He loves us. And I’m so glad of that. God loves me. But He doesn’t like what I do wrong. Doesn’t like what you do wrong. And to pay for sin is eternal separation from God in a place called hell. I want people to know there is a place called hell, 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 God says nobody’s perfect. Nobody’s righteous. Because of sin, say we can’t get in. So God says you cannot earn eternal life. You can’t work your way to heaven. It’s not by your good deeds. You see, you don’t have to join a church to go to heaven. You don’t have to give money to go to heaven unless you gave it here. No, that’s not true. You don’t have to give money to go to heaven.

There’s nothing you can do by your good deeds that will get you into heaven. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord, God and the flesh. He came into the world because he loves us. cause he loves us. He hates our sin because it separates us from him. So Jesus Christ who had no sin didn’t have to die. But because he loved us and hates our sin, he took it, paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead and said that if you and I, if we would believe it, he did it for us.

He would put this payment to our account and we get to go to heaven on what Jesus Christ did for us. Now that’s the best news in all the world. If I offered you my wallet and you accepted you’d have an empty wallet. If I offered you my watch and you accepted, you know what time it is. If Christ walked in here right now and offered you eternal life and you accepted you would have eternal life and if it’s eternal life, it would last Forever and if it lasts forever and all you send your page, where would you go when you die to heaven?

So can you know you’re going to heaven before you die? Yeah, boy, that’s the best news in all the world. Let’s pray. Shall we? If you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior friend, I can’t think of a better time than right now You don’t have a guarantee you that tomorrow will ever come. But why not right now? In the quietness of this moment, just between you and the Lord, what, just talk to the Lord. And say something like this, Lord, I know I’m a sinner.

I’ve done things wrong, but I know you love me. And you sent your son, Jesus Christ, to die, to pay for all my sins. And I believe he did it for me. And I’m gonna trust him right now to take me to heaven whenever I die. And friend, God said, if you would believe that he did it for you, Hit put that payment to your account and you get to go to heaven on what Christ did for you Would you believe that if you’re making that decision?

I’d like to have prayer for you I’m not gonna ask you to stand up. I’m not gonna embarrass you. I’m not gonna ask you to come forward or anything like that I don’t want anything from you. I just want you to receive the free gift of eternal life And I like to know it because I like to have prayer for you And I do it with heads by so that you’re not put on the spot Is there any one of all this morning say yes preacher that made sense to me I want to be certain of the one to heaven when I die and I’d like you to pray for me in closing Would you just slip you hand it very quickly and put it right back down if you’ve never done before but you’ll do it right now Just slip it up real quick.

You want it all. Yes God bless you sir God bless you Anyone else you can slip you hand it very quickly put it right back down There’s no gimmicks to this no tricks to it. I Won’t probably know your name. I I just want to know that what I said made sense to you. Anyone else before we close? Our Father, we thank You so much for all You’ve done for us. We’re thankful for the free gift of eternal life.

We ask Your blessings upon the individual indicated by an uplifted hand that they would trust You as Savior. By doing so they become Your child and You’ll never cast them out, never lose them. The Father, because of all that You’ve done for us, we’re to let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Lord, we want to be used so that others can hear the gospel. Thank you so much for this ministry and all that it stands for is rich heritage.

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 toll-free. 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. 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 are 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 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, 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 believe in that the Lord is coming soon and just keep looking up

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 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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

All of you brought your fliers back from last week that I gave you, because I gave them out last week and so you don’t get a new one this week. But I do have something I want to share with you. So if you have those notes from last week on how to pray for missionaries, the reason that’s so important is because you are one. You are a missionary. You may be a home missionary, but you are a missionary. If you’re not a missionary, you’re a mess.

You’re supposed to either be a missionary or a mission field. You’re supposed to either be reaching somebody or somebody should be reaching you. Don’t that make sense? Cause if you’re not reaching somebody, somebody needs to reach you to convince you that you should. And so we’ve gone through some ABCs and got all the way down to even the open door. But I do want you to see here, Of course, in Scripture, don’t have time to cover everything, of course.

But why right here? Look there in the book of 1 Corinthians in chapter 16. 1 Corinthians chapter 16. In the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 16, you’ll notice the apostle Paul had a lot of things going on and he depended upon people. And he says here in verse six, And it may be that I will abide Yay and winter with you, that ye may bring me on my journey whether so ever I go. In other words, I might come and spend the winter with you.

How’d you like to have company call you up and tell you that? And then when I get ready to leave, you can help take and send me on my journey. Isn’t that bold? We see Paul had led these people to the Lord and he expected things from them. And he had no problem laying on them the responsibility that was theirs. And then notice what he says here, this is a tremendous verse in verse 9, for a great door and effectual is open unto me.

And there are many adversaries. In other words, there’s a great opportunity, but a lot of problems. Anytime you and I decide to serve a Lord, you might as well speak, you may have an open door, but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to be a free-sailing. You’re going to have problems. Any person who wants to serve a Lord must understand the devil is going to do everything in his power to keep you from doing what you’re supposed to do.

It’s not going to be a free ride. Elevation is a free ride all because Christ paid for but now that you have eternal life in your God’s child It is the will of God that you serve the Lord and if you’re gonna serve the Lord that there is a price to pay And the devil is gonna try to discourage you somehow. I do recommend that if you’re not here on Wednesday night To get a copy of the last three Wednesday nights on Depression you said well, I’m not depressed if you get discouraged You’re depressed.

If you think of quitting, serving the Lord, you’re depressed. If you were talking about being burned out, then you’re depressed. So you need those messages that would really help you, I believe. So you and I know that as a child of God, we are going to have open doors. God will open the doors for us, but that doesn’t mean there’s not going to be problems. And sometimes those problems convince us, well, we should have done that. done that. I shouldn’t have done that.

A lot of people who committed themselves to go to the mission field believe in this is the will of God for me and then problem after problem after problem and so they said well I guess it must not be the Lord’s will because of all the problems. Not necessarily. Be wise. Now take your Bible and turn to the hundredth Psalm, the hundredth Psalm. And you’ll notice down there where it has the word, thankful heart, thankful heart. This is one of the key ingredients of staying happy and serving the Lord.

Learn to have the joy of the Lord. Whenever you consider yourself, are you a joyful individual? or pretty much are you a down and outer. I mean, do you carry a smile on your face or you usually have a frown on your face? If somebody looked at you, what they think, you’re filled with the joy of the Lord, or you’ve got a real problem. How do they read you? Well, look here at the 100 Psalm. First time I ever heard the 100 Psalm was my wife quoted it.

And I couldn’t stand it. I forgot what we were, and somebody said something, and she just quoted the 100 Psalm. I think it was at a North Side Baptist Church, but it was back in about 1961 to something like that. And anyway, she just quoted the verse of the whole Psalm. But anyway, look there at this verse. In verse one, make a joyful noise unto the Lord when everything is going your way. You know what he says? No, make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands.

The Lord’s God wants everybody everywhere to praise the Lord. And then look what he says in verse 2. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before his presence would sing. You know, it’s hard to do that when you’re always down and discouraged and so forth. I think I’ve been beddy this morning. Every time I come into the church here, I either come in that door or I’ll come in this door, and I’ll sing. There’s just something about walking in this place.

I just wanna sing. And Lord, well, it’s always the best when nobody else is here. Because sometimes I forget about other people being here, but anyway, it’s just I love to sing. I used to go out kind of every year, and once in a while I’d take my son with me. And after about an hour or two, he said, Daddy, you’re not gonna get anything. I said, why? He said, because you gotta stop singing. I’m going through the woods.

I got my gun with short end. Just a singing till you could hear me a mile away. I get on top of those mountain peaks. See out there, we go hunting. We go looking for the animal. Here you wait and the animal comes looking for you. That is not my way to hunt. I like to go out there in the woods and trips you all over the place and looking, trying to find one, sneaking up on one. I don’t want one sneaking up on me.

I want to sneak up on it. But anyway, I loved to hunt and I had to figure out I got to be quiet. Maybe that’s why I’ve only got one elk in 18 years. But I got a lot of deer. They like my singing. But here in this verse, looking verse three, And know ye that the Lord, He is God. It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves. I’m a self-made man. Well, you quit too soon.

And he says, we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. And look at those two words, be thankful unto Him. bless his name. Why? For the Lord is good. It’s a good song. This is a tremendous song. We’re coming up on Thanksgiving and a lot of people are not thankful to the Lord. Remember, I made a statement not long ago that what if you only had tomorrow what you were thankful to the Lord for today?

You may not have much tomorrow, but since you have so much today, be thankful for it. Don’t whine about what you don’t have and how something didn’t work out. But think of how many things do work out. And how many things that you do have that you ought to be blessed in to thank the Lord for it. Verse 5, for the Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting and his truth endures to all generations. You see, if this is the way I’m supposed to be, this is why we pray for the missionaries that they will stay thankful on the foreign fields.

Because it’s so easy to get down and discouraged. And that’s why if we take on a missionary and we help them, we want to continue to do so. I would hate for our admissions given to go down to where they’re not getting enough and they’re counting on it. You know, they depend upon it. So I’m thankful that we’ve done what we’ve done and you all have been tremendous in that and I thank the Lord for you. But anyway, once you look at another statement here, the unsaid pray that the missionary will remember and you ought to underline this primary goal primary goal.

The primary goal, keep the main thing, the main thing. And it’s so easy to get so busy doing so many things that you never have time to share the gospel with anybody. I get thrilled every week just listening for the report to come in from Friday night, so winning. And they never know, sometimes they’ll have 15, sometimes they’ll have 20, sometimes they’ll have 25, one night they call it had 28. And then they blew me clean out of my lounge chair last night Friday night.

Peter calls up and he says they had 77. That’s the teenager and I said, how many went 100? He said they had about 11, something like that, that went so winning. And they had a tremendous time and they hit a hot spot. You ever go fishing and you just hit a hot spot. And then sometimes you go fishing and you get a couple of little bites and then you move to another in a couple of little bites or you finally pull one in, one little one in and then nothing else.

And then sometimes you just hit into a school of them and you just go wild. Well, they hit some teenagers at a park or something like that, at a carnival. So praise the Lord for that. And but those are the kind of things I’d love to hear about because see, when everything else is all over and all the problems that you have, when you get to heaven and those people are gonna be there because somebody went and told them how to have eternal life.

That’s a wonderful thing. Some of you don’t know that believe it or not. We did have a wedding here on Friday afternoon, 4.30. And I’d been talking to this couple for a good while, almost a year. So we made sure that they trusted the Lord. And I said, no, I don’t do a wedding unless I explain the gospel and that there’s no problem. And so, but at a wedding, I don’t use a raise of hand, but I try to make it clear.

But I had come in and there was a guy sitting right back there right exactly where Ishmael is sitting. And I walked in and I looked at him and he was there to run the sound so the girl was gonna sing, you know. And so I walked by him, I said, Hey, how you doing? And he said, I’m doing fine. I said, you’re here early. He says, I gotta run that sound thing for the girl that’s coming to sing.

I said, well, can let me ask you a question. I said, what kind of a church do you go to? He says, I don’t go to church. He says, I’m an agnostic. I says, an agnostic. So that means without knowledge. I says, that means you don’t have enough evidence to make a decision. You see, yeah, that’s it. That’s it. I says, well, let me run two things by you. So anyway, I haven’t you always heard all your life?

that Jesus Christ down on the cross and paid for all the sins of the world. It’s the eye I’ve heard that. I said, let me ask you another question. I said, if he paid for all of our sins, I said, why are you going to go to hell? Why would I go to hell if he paid for it? And he’s just like a blank stare. You know, most people, they never think this through. They don’t think about that. I says, it’s because you don’t believe he did it for you.

I talked a little bit more, and he just lit up. He trusted Christ’s Savior. He was thrilled. By the time he walked out of here, he’s both arms like this year, you know. We give him CDs. I gave him a hang, linsed him a little CD on, how permits your salvation. I think it’s great. So we gave him that one, gave him some tracks and the church flyer and all that. And you never know, he just loved it. Show up here sometimes, do you?

But it is important. We have been given a wonderful, wonderful message. And it’s the most powerful thing in all the world. But the primary goal is still always so winning. Look at the next statement. And that is the victory. Pray that the missionary will know victory in spiritual warfare because you see almost all of our problems are spiritual problems of how you handle it. And if you’re spiritually strong, you can face anything. It’s just that problems reveal how weak we are sometimes.

And missionaries on the foreign field, they got to go through the same thing. But sometimes they don’t have, you know, they can’t huddle around with all the people who know and understand what they’re going through because they’re on the foreign field. And sometimes they don’t have, you know, the friendship, so the fellowship with other people that are, you get a deep knowledge of God’s Word and can really be a blessing to them. So that’s why little notes and things like that can always help them and pray for them.

So it’s a very important thing. The other thing is weariness. Now we know nobody here gets weary. I mean these are not things we would apply ourselves, right? But weariness, they get bogged down doing petty things, little things. And this used to just irritate me to no end. Because I would rather, rather, just my wallet in my hand and preach the gospel all the time. But it’s, that’s not reality. You still got to do all these other things. Your car still breaks down.

You got to go get gas. I hate getting gas. I despise stopping and getting gas. I feel like it’s the biggest waste of my time. But then I realize if I don’t get gas in this car, this car’s not going to go. I don’t go. I don’t go. So I got to do that. I really now, I do enjoy eating, but I hate stopping and taking the time for eating, but I do it because I know I got to eat or I die.

and I don’t want to die yet. And I tell Betty, I says, honey, it’s a shame to have to take a bath. I’m just going to get dirty again. I hate shaving. I don’t like to shave. And I got to shave every, I said, honey, I don’t want to shave that she says you’re the preacher. Honey, but I don’t want to shave. She says it’s your image. Oh, this image. And I got to shave. And sometimes I just, I hate to shave.

And as much as possible, I don’t like coats and ties. But all these things are things that I have to do. But it doesn’t mean I have to enjoy doing them. The Bible says endure all things. It did not say enjoy all things. Well, it says say rejoice always, so I try to find a way to do that. But you and I, it’s so easy to get weary and well doing. Just keep on doing what’s right. And some things you just got to remember the priority, keep the main thing, the main thing.

The other thing that I wanted you to mention to you, and I want you to take your Bible and look at this, look in the 139th Psalm, the 139th Psalm. Because this is where you talk about your X-ray vision, X-ray vision. Now you and I may not have the X-ray vision, but I know somebody who does. He can see everything, everybody, everywhere. And body he really knows us. But look how he prayed here, David did in 139th Psalm, look in verse 23.

And you want to do this, and you want the missionaries to always keep examining themselves. See in verse 23, search me, oh God, and know my heart. Try me, means test me and see if I’m not real. But test me. Know my thoughts, my thoughts about God, about the mission field, everything that I’m doing, my motives. And then he says here in verse 24, and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the path of everlasting.

In other words, I wanna do what’s right, but I know I have a wicked heart, and I’m trusting in looking to you to reveal things to me that I may not be aware of so that I can make the right decision. And that’s something that all of us needs to do. The next thing is to be yielded to the Lord. And if you read the sixth chapter of the book of Romans, you’ll find the word yield, yield, yield, yield, all the way through it.

So you’re to submit yourself to the Lord, not fight the Lord. The word zeal down here, it talks about that in the book of John in chapter two, about the zeal of the Lord have eaten me up. And why Jesus got kind of, you would say, been out of shape because of sin, the money changers in the temple and all the things that they were doing and what’s going on. And he says, you’ve taken and made the house of prayer into a den of thieves.

Anyway, he got upset, but there’s a zeal, a zeal that you and I ought to have in serving the Lord. See, it’s one thing to have the zeal, the desire to want to do something and then you don’t have the knowledge to do it, at least a frustration. But if you had the knowledge to do everything but no zeal, then what’s good is the knowledge. So you want the knowledge and you want the zeal, the desire to want to do something with your life, to love the Lord, to serve the Lord and to fight a good fight.

Now I gave you these two poems because I wanted to read to you because the statement, the Steiner and the last one that the missionary will be a flame in the wind, a flame in the wind. So a few years ago I wrote a couple of little poems. One is called the Flame in the Wind to Dr. Curtis Hudson. Dr. Curtis Hudson had an opportunity to speak together preaching these sort conferences. And he got his doctor from Florida Bible College and the man was clear on the gospel and he He took a stand and he suffered some persecution from a lot of independent fundamental Bible even missionary minded Baptists too.

And they really took him to task because he would come out in the sword of the Lord that salvation. It’s very simple, very clear, just believe no turning from sin and explain repentance. And he would take things right out of the personal evangelism handbook and put it in the sword Lord. It went all over the world. Well, there’s a lot of preachers that preached that and they didn’t like that. And he told them about lordship salvation. You don’t make Christ the Lord and the master of your life in order to be saved.

Well, they didn’t like that. And so Dr. Hudson took a strong stand. And he was sixty years old and found out he had cancer. I was preaching with him in March, not for God the year, but it was in San Antonio, Texas. And he had just finished up speaking at night and Tuesday night. And he got a phone call that he had to leave that his dad had just passed away with bone cancer. Three months before he had just buried brother with bone cancer.

And so he got in the car and it was raining and it rained all the way on him. He had to drive from San Antonio, Texas. He went through Murphy, Berb, Tennessee, picked up his wife and then headed on over there to Carolina, I think, someplace. Anyway, he got over there, did the funeral for his dad and his wife, sweet woman, she says, Curtis, don’t you think you need to be checked? Honey, I’m fine. I’m healthy. and he was, he looked sharp.

He was 60 years old, but he really looked good. And we played golf together, and he didn’t have a pain, he didn’t look bad, he felt great. And she just wasn’t let up, and she just kept hammering him. And so finally, when he came down here to Florida to preach, he went to see the doctor. And when he went to see the doctor, the doctor looked at him and says, do you realize you’ve only got about six months to live?

And he’s sitting there looking at the doctor and he feels fine. He says, you’re eating up with cancer. And of course, you know what that does to the woman? Well, it shocked the man too. So he went on this crashed diet. I mean, he started eating carrots. Me and Betty went by the same one time. He was sitting out on the back porch and he had some horses down there. That beautiful little ranch house up there in Murfreesboro. And he’s sitting out there and he has a bowl of oatmeal.

This bowl of oatmeal was huge. So he’s eating all this oatmeal. Then we saw a basket full of carrots. And I said, well, those are for the horses. He smiled and says, no, they’re for me. He was eating so many carrots, even his skin turned yellow. And he was doing everything he possibly could to try to counteract the cancer, but he had waited too long. He bought a little time, but two years later he passed away. And so I wrote this.

I had a beautiful little plaque, had a little flame on it, you know, flame in the wind. What went you out to see? A reed shaken by the wind? Not this man from Tennessee to the spirit only would he bend. my friend what went ye out to hear? The gospel of grace made crystal clear. Salvation by grace is the gift of God. Rewards are earned, but rebellion the rod. The eyes of God ran to and fro through a man with a heart of fire, a burning passion to reach the lost and make this blaze the saints desire.

The flame has died down, but sparks shot up to descend, blown upon by the breath of God to produce more flames in the wind. The sword of the Lord was the power of the pen, but Dr. Curtis Hudson was the flame in the wind. A living sacrifice on the altar was laid, hot coals from the altar in revivals were made. Oh Lord, this offering was burn up for his reword shall be great, but his salvation was free. But anyway, Dr.

Hudson was a good friend. He loved the Lord. And you often wonder, you know, why do what they’re doing now that they’re in heaven, you know, like Hank, now he’s up in heaven. I wonder what know what they’re doing, or can they really see and know what we are doing down here. Or if we lead somebody to Lord, are they still jumping and hollering and yelling and shouting all over heaven? I don’t know, but I believe it’s a joyous occasion.

And, but see, whether or not in this life you are appreciated doesn’t really matter. It’s whenever you leave this world and you get to heaven. Your father says, well done, thou good and faithful servant. When God puts his praise, honor, and glory up on you for what you’ve done and all the sacrifices you made. Do you think it’s going to be worth it then? I think it’ll be worth it. On the back of this, I wrote a little poem about a guy named Ray Stanford.

Do you ever heard of him? I had the opportunity at the time that I had wrote this point. It was just a couple years before this. Ray was 79 years old at the time. I had him come up to Georgian because we had the TV ministry. I said, Ray, I said, I got a camera right here. And I said, I’d like to just interview you. I just want to ask you some questions and you just answer them. and I said, just to put it all on tape.

I said, because someday down the road it might be worth having and to let people know because you know, you’re not going to live forever. He says, I’m only 79. Yes, sir. And I said, I want to do this. I said, would you mind if I did it? He says, no, let’s go for it. So anyway, he came to the church and we had a little table set in there and and we had the camera set and I don’t remember who run the camera.

Did you do it? My wife did. And so I’m sitting there and I’m talking back and forth with Ray and by the time we got through, we had a couple hours of just going through everything. And as I know of, well, I know it’s true. I’m the only one that has it that have all of this documented about race, Stanford, how Ranch got started, about the Jim Tingen story, how the college got started, the church, and all these things.

I got it all on tape. And I have spent quite a few hours getting it edited down to where I could present it. So it’s in four parts. The first part, I’m I’m going to show it tonight. And I want you to hear the interview, what was said. And because you see, the reason it’s important is because whether you know it or not, it’s your heritage. Ray Stanford is the one that led Dr. Hank Lindstrom to the Lord. Dr.

Stanford is the one who trained me. And everything we’ve done since then because of what we learn from this man. 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. Part two of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. 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 toll-free 1-800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. 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 are 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 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline 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.

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 regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for a 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. How are you doing with the Lord leading you? Do you believe that you’re doing what God wants you to do with your life? Very, very important. Look at the next statement. Pray that the missionary will send someone to encourage the missionary. That’s why even among you, you may not think it’s that important, but just sometimes by the sweet, casual word that you say to somebody can so encourage them.

You know one of the encouraging things I think of our church here is that we do have a time and sometimes you have to watch it doesn’t just become, you know, this is what I’m supposed to do when we have greet one another. Hear those famous words, greet one another and what do you usually do? Huh? Stand right there. Don’t move. Or you can get out of your seat and go meet somebody who says, well I’ve already met everybody, do it again.

It breaks the monotony of your own self-centeredness. You’ve got to think about somebody else. And you shake somebody, you realize that I’ve had some people tell me, says, I can’t believe it. I walked into that church and 15 people shook my hand because of what we do. They like a warm, friendly church where you smile. Now, do you think, I’m glad to have you. We’re just thrilled. You’re so excited. Or can you, you know, put a little spring in your step and walk up to somebody and say, Hello, my name is, and what is your name?

I’m glad to have you here. Have you been here many times? Oh, about five years. On Sunday night, I had a guy and I talked to him and they come in on Sunday morning. He always come on Sunday night. He came on Sunday morning and nobody knew him. I said, How long have you been coming? He said eight years. But he just come on Sunday night and somebody else, they come on Sunday morning. they never and never the two show me.

But anyway, look in the next statement, pray that the missionary will guide their children in the way they ought to go. Did you know that a lot of times people judge you by how your children are doing? And sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not. But today it’s not just the family that’s raising their children. Everybody’s having a part raising their kids. Don’t you remember what Hillary Clinton said that you’ve got to have, it takes a village to raise a child.

But today, TV is raising our children and sometimes humanist educators are raising our children and teaching them things that we don’t want them to learn. And so mom and dad, they see them just a little bit in the morning when they ship them off the school. They come home at night and then everybody’s tired, weary and worn and they’re doing this and that. And so by the time, you know, what was your name again? Dad, I’m your son. Oh, and you don’t know each other.

You never spend time with each other. But anyway, you need to pray for the children’s mission, their kids, because it is such a difficult to see. If I was the devil, if I was the devil, no, I’m not. Some people think I am, but I’m not the devil. But if I was the devil, and if I couldn’t get the man of God, I’d try to do what I could to get to his wife, because you see, he’s not going to do too much if I I can discourage her because see, she will do everything in her power to discourage him.

And whenever I get her, I can get him. But if I can’t get her. I’m going to go after the kids. Because, see, it’s a system that always works. And so the devil is going to work on children. Goes after those young kids and then try to get those teenagers. Because he, that is something that the parents really love. And sometimes for the sake of their children, they begin to change or to alter things. And they’re steadfastness with the Lord.

And so they don’t want to offend their kids now. But wouldn’t it be great if the daddy loves the Lord, the mama loves the Lord, the children love the Lord, and everybody just served the Lord together? Wouldn’t it be me? Well the devil can’t get at that family. That would be the ideal. But in most cases it’s not. And a lot of missionaries struggle on the foreign fields. Their kids don’t have others strong kids that know the Lord loved the Lord a lot of the time they don’t have a youth ranch ministry, or they don’t have a Christian school, so they struggled.

Always pray concerning that and always keep in mind. Pray for your own kids too. Look at the next statement. Pray that the missionary will live each day to glorify the Lord each day every day to glorify the Lord. The next one, humility. Develop a sense of humility and reject pride. If there’s anything that God hates, it’s pride. It’s when you begin to develop the ability to see how great and wonderful you really are. And you begin to exalt your talent or your boldness, your ability, over your dependence upon the Lord.

In spite of everything, you and I should keep it in mind. If it wasn’t for the grace of God, we couldn’t do anything. If God didn’t protect us, we wouldn’t even be here. God has been good to us. Make sure that in your life you’re giving God the credit for whatever God does through your life. Because see God in heaven, he knows how you think and he knows how you feel. And just because a person may talk proudful and so forth doesn’t mean he is.

Humility is a position of the mind, not a position of the body. You can bow at the the altar, as some would say, or at home, but God’s more interested in do you bow your will to his will. Pride is when you seek your own way. Humility is when you humble yourself and do the will of God. So do what God wants you to do. And so if you’re humble, so you always want to pray that missionaries and everybody else humbles themselves before God and not to try to give God directions and leadership.

You see, the truth serving the Lord is always yielding to the leadership of the Lord, to do whatever God wants you to do with your life. That’s what God wants. Look at the next word, the insight. We’ll see people and things from God’s perspective. See, there’s always these two perspectives, the divine perspective and the human perspective. Where you see things from God’s viewpoint, and you see things from man’s viewpoint. Now, because you and I, we trust that Christ is our Savior, so we have a spiritual part of us that’s divine.

And we have a human spirit, and so we have a human perspective. So we see sometimes things from different perspectives. So what you have to do is a child of God, try to see everything from a divine perspective. So regardless of what goes on, and I’m going to cover a little bit about this tonight concerning the will of God because when something really goes wrong, bad, I mean you consider it really bad, at that point, at that moment you still have to ask what is the will of God for me at this point in my life.

When everything seems to be falling apart, am I then still supposed to yield my will, am I still supposed to seek the will of God? Regardless of what’s happening at every moment in my life. I believe it is true, but that’s another sermon or another time. Oh, look at the next statement. Joy, pray that the missionary will be full of the joy of the Lord in all situations, because even though a lot of things go wrong and you You may not walk around all the time with a big smiley face, you can have the joy of the Lord in your heart.

Because you know that regardless of your inability, you know about God’s ability. And that the one who has all the power and the authority gave me the right to do what I’m doing. He told me to do what I’m doing. Therefore I will do it and trust the Lord for the outcome. So I can’t see how everything’s going to develop down the road. So you learn to walk with the Lord and God is going to bless you. And doing that is what brings you to personal joy.

See God says, my joy I give, no man can take it away. And so if he can’t take it away, then the only one that can get rid of the joy of the Lord is yourself. So you can be as happy in the Lord as you choose to be. Happiness usually comes from happenings. And if it happens according to your likes, then you’re happy. And if that doesn’t happen according to your desires, then you’re not happy. So there’s a lot of people who are happy and unhappy, happy, unhappy, unhappy, unhappy.

But a Christian, regardless of what’s happening, can have joy because he knows I am doing the will of God for my life. And that satisfaction that you have between you and the Lord, no man can give it and no man can take it away. That’s what causes the Christian to be stable. So when you pray for missionaries, you want to pray that not only do they do that job that you’re supposed to do, the work of the Lord, but they can also have the joy of the Lord.

Look at the next statement. We’ll continue to be filled with the knowledge of God. You see, if your outflow supersedes your intake, then your outflow will be your downfall. If you’re always giving and never taking in, you’re going to come up dry. You see, you have to have water in the well, in the draw water out of the well. So that’s why you as a child of God must always be reading and studying the Word of God. always be talking to the Lord.

The joy of the Lord is my strength. So if you don’t have the strength in the Christian life to maintain a good Christian walk with the Lord, it’s because there’s something missing. You’re not going to the right well to get the right water, the strength that you need. And if you do, then you will have what you need to sustain you. So as the Bible talks about the knowledge and he talks about in 1 Peter talking about, growing in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

So God wants us to continually keep learning, keep learning, stay in the book. And you’ll be surprised as you get on down the road a few more years, that a lot of the things that you might not even thought about, scripture will come into your mind. It seemed like just the right time. And it says, the Holy Spirit shall quicken your mind so that you can know the things that are of God. And the Holy Spirit’s main responsibility is to teach you about Christ.

He said, he doesn’t talk about himself. He talks about the Lord. So you study the word so that you can continue to grow in the grace of our Lord. Look at the next word, love. The missionary will be a vessel through which God love flows. How do you know God loves you? Because, and you always say, well because of what Christ did on the cross for us. Alright, if you didn’t know what Christ did on the cross for you, you would not know that God loved you.

That’s how God proved His love. He sent His Son to die to pay for our sins so that we don’t have to pay for them. So how is the world out there going to know that God loves them? Well, that love has to flow from somebody to somebody. You are the channel, the vessel that God wants to use to flow that love through you to another person, to the lost man. And the lost people will never know about the love of God if you don’t tell them about the love of God.

So it’s the love that you and I have for Him that supposed to motivate us to tell Him about His love. And that’s why I made this statement, for the love of Christ constraineth or motivates us because we thus judge that if one died for all, then they were all dead, that they which live should not live unto themselves but unto Him who died for them and rose again. So the purpose of my life is the life of the one who died for me.

So it’s clear in the Word of God. Look there at the word motivation. Sometimes I feel like I’m motivated beyond my ability to perform. I want to do more and more than I’ve ever done in my life. I feel like with all 50 years experience I should know more. I should be wise. Shouldn’t I be wiser? I would think I’m supposed to be. When the body doesn’t want to go with a mind… Should make up for it. See, before I had a little wisdom, but boy, the old body was rare to go.

I had what you call an a reckless abandonment to faith. What it boils down to is I did a lot of stupid things. I would just do it and say the Lord is gonna blap. I didn’t worry about nothing. So I knew a little bit and I did a lot in a lot of mistakes and a few things right. But as you get older, the body can’t do so you try to make up for the lack of the ability in the body and the wisdom that you have.

So now I should make wiser decisions. I should be smarter than I’ve been. And then you make some decisions and you think, no, what did I do? I was talking to somebody just recently. I said, you know, I thought, you know, wouldn’t it be neat just to have a motor home and travel around the country and go where you want to go and do whatever you want to do? Just retired, just do that. Stop and think about, wouldn’t it be a nice way to live?

And lo and behold, here I am. I told my son, sell my motor home. I guess I’m going to stay here for a while. And we’re gonna try to start a Bible-lying institute. So we’re gonna try that. So I guess I’ll be here another year anyway. Well, however long it takes to do all this stuff. Because I see such great potential here. I saw that when I first came down here and I still see it. I mean, the way y’all respond and y’all are so teachable and you just love the Lord and you’re just willing to do whatever has to be done.

And you can’t get that anywhere. So I guess when you find a good fish and hold you might just keep fishing for a while. Anyway, motivation, motivation, trying to challenge and motivate people to do the thing that God wants them to do. Now, no, everybody in this room is motivated. Everybody’s motivated. You’re motivated to do what you want to do. Our problem is trying to get you motivated to do what we want you to do. you ever tried to have somebody do what you want them to do and you get frustrated when they want to do their own thing.

So what you try to do is since you, you know, you always heard you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink, but if you put a little salt in his oats, it’ll make him thirsty. So you tried to create an environment where people want to serve a Lord. And so you’re trying I’m trying to make him a little thirsty. Do you have a thirst to do something great for God? Can’t you see that we’re running out of time?

Look at the world today. Aren’t you glad you’re not going to have to stay here forever and never in this whole world? But why we’re here? Let’s see how much we can accomplish in a short period of time. And God bless us. But we need to be motive. Why do we want to do that? Because of who he is and what he has done and what he commanded. So we have his authority and we have the right to do it.

And so we have some results. It’s going to come one day when God’s going to reward us for all that and what we’ve done for him. Look at the word needs. Pray that the missionary will realize that in Christ all needs will be met. Not all of our wants, all of our needs. What do you really need? You said I need a million dollars. Oh come on, really? You really need a million dollars. Well I need this, I need that.

All you really need is to be faithful. Well I got cancer, all you need is to be faithful. Cancer is not the issue. I need a job that’s really not the issue. all you need to do is be faithful. You bolt it all down. Moreover, it is required in the steward that a man be found faithful. You see, when the apostle Paul was thrown in a prison, he might say, hey, I need my freedom. No, all he had to do is be faithful.

Him getting out was beyond him. Whenever he was going to have his head chopped off, now he could say, You know, I need my head. No, you just need to be faithful. Government’s high whether or not he needs his head or not. You see, whenever people join the military, it’s the government’s job to supply everything they need, everything. All they got to do is just report for duty. They don’t give orders. You and I, now, when we have certain needs that we call needs, we need to understand that our greatest need might be that we need a need.

It’s the needs that we can’t supply sometimes, that we go to the Lord and say, Lord help. I’m in trouble. Help me speedily. I was like the way David said that in Psalms. Help me speedily, like right away, like now. And you’ll find out that God will meet your need. And he says, come to the throne of grace that you may find help in time of need. So there are times that we need this we need that. But what you need in the midst of all of those things, make sure you stay faithful to the Lord that you do not dishonor God.

That regardless of what you’re going through, that your testimony is above reproach, that you do right. And God said He will bless you because of that. Let’s cover one more of these here. Pray that the missionary will seek opportunities to share the gospel called an open door. You see, there’s times when God will open doors And there’s time when God will shut doors. And if God opens a door, no man can shut it. And if God closes the door, no man can open it.

As a child of God, you and I are to seek the open doors that God opens. But when the door is closed, you and I are not supposed to get sledgehammers and try to break it down. But if God opens up the door, and sometimes you don’t see an open door, what do I do? Well, if I had somebody who’s going to learn how to clean the house, they might need to start off in a small room. I’ll get cleaned up the closet.

Well, what do I do after cleaning? Don’t worry about that. You just be faithfully clean the closet and close the door on them. Now when you get that clean, then I’ll see how you did. I’ll make you let you clean another room. And when you clean that room, I’ll make you let you clean another room. And you can’t see that in a bigger room, in a bigger room, in a bigger room. Start by faithfulness in little things. Because God says, if you’re not faithful in that which is little, you will not be faithful in that which is much.

If you can’t be faithful with a hundred dollars, you won’t be faithful if you had $5,000. If you can’t be faithful with $5,000, you won’t be faithful if you had a million dollars. You’re faithful if you’re faithful. It’s part of your character. It’s really who you are. So these are some things and we’ll cover the rest of this here another time. But keep your notes, okay? You will keep those and you’ll bring them back, right? I know you will.

And be praying for our missionaries and that God will richly bless them. And because we pray for them as we should. Take your Bible and turn to the book of 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Just want to mention a couple of things to you. Remember, once you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, that means you believe that He died on the cross paid for your sins and you are going to trust Him as your only hope of going to heaven, you are saved.

You have eternal life, your God’s child. As a child of God, God wants us to keep our lives clean. And so different people are on different levels in their understanding. There’s different stages of maturity. Not everybody is at the same place at the same time. It would be wonderful if they were, but they’re not. And so we need to be patient with those that don’t know as much and then expect more from those that do. And so whenever we have to sometime rebuke somebody, it’s because of what we think they are spiritually.

Some people don’t know, and so you have to be a little bit softer, but then there’s other people that are a little further along in the Lord, and so you might have to be a little bit more stern. And the Apostle Paul talks about that. He said, I wish I could change my attitude in the way it is right now. He says, less when I come, I have to be sharp with you. He doesn’t want to be that way.

So you need to be patient with people who are now where you once were, but to love each challenge and motivate each other to do the right thing by you doing the right thing. You see people often follow our examples of what we do more than by what we say. So therefore we are always being scrutinized. You’re watching me and I’m watching you. And what do you expect from me? Well what do I expect from you? I expect that I’m going to find fault in you and you’re probably going to find fault in me.

And so, therefore, we love each other in spite of those things, right? And we forgive one another, right? And because of that, God says, forgive one another even as God has for Christ’s sake forgiven us. So, we look back to what He did as our example. He is our example. And because of what He did for us, we should be willing to do for other. Now, Christ was willing to die for us, but for us, He asked us to live for Him.

So I know there’s people in the problem, oh, we willing to die for the Lord. Well, God didn’t maybe ask you to die, ask you to live for Him to sacrifice yourself and what you want, what you want to be, where you want to go, everything, but you’ll do it for Him, because He means more and more to you than anything else in the whole world. But here in 1 Corinthians in chapter 11, it makes a statement in verse 28, let a man examine himself.

He said, well, what is he looking for? Anything that might cause irritability between you and your heavenly Father. Anything that causes your Father maybe to look the other way. Some reason that God may not bless you because of something that you’re doing or saying or thinking. You know what it is. You know what it is. So you talk to the Lord and confess it. Lord, I’m a sinner. I’ve trusted you with my saving. I’m your child, but my thoughts have not been right.

My words have not been right or my actions have not been right and tell God about it. And you talk, he says, confess your sins to the Lord. And he is faithful and just to forgive you and to cleanse you from all and righteousness. So that’s the will of God for his children. Let’s pray, shall we? Our Father, we thank you so much for all that you’ve done for us, for giving us the free gift of eternal life. And Father, we ask your blessings upon each person here.

As we think about, yes, the missionaries, but also each other in our own selves about how to apply these things because we are missionaries and help us to do right and to honor you, to examine our lives and father to talk to you about those things that maybe a hindrance in our walk with you. With your head still bowed and your eyes closed, no one looking around. If you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, then friend right now with heads bowed and eyes closed, you can do that.

All you have to do is just be honest and say, Lord, I’m a sinner. And I believe Christ died and paid for my sins. And I’m going to trust him as my only hope of going to heaven. For in God’s it, if you would trust him, he would save you and give eternal life. And you’re that no Christ is your Savior. Don’t you take just a moment and talk to the Lord? And those things that we talked about this morning, is there anything that you need to talk to the Lord about?

You know, maybe he wants you to be a full-time missionary. Maybe he wants you to get some schooling. Maybe he wants you to go to some foreign fields. I don’t know. I’m not God. But I know that God will speak to his word and I want you to do and to be whatever God wants you to do. Our Father, we thank you now for this time together. Blessed is we remember what you get on the cross for us. In Christ and 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 are blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach by the line and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing tool free, 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bible and programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link.

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. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friends, 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.

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 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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

I wanted to talk to you about how to pray for a missionary, but as we read some of these, I want you to think of how can this apply to me? Remember, we always want to, even when you read scripture, how can I learn from this? What can help me to be a better Christian? And believe it or not, there may be some of you sitting here right now, And you’re thinking, I believe the Lord might want me to be a missionary.

I just might want to be a missionary. Well, I got news for you. You are a missionary, even if you didn’t know it. You’re either a missionary or a mess. You’re either going to the mission field or you should be part of the mission field. If you’re not reaching somebody, somebody needs to be reaching you. We used to have a sign on the back door back there as you walked out, entering the mission field.

Wouldn’t it be a good sign to have it back here over the door as you’re now entering the mission field? So every one of us needs to understand the importance of being a missionary. Now take your Bible and turn with me to the book of Matthew chapter 28, Matthew and chapter 28. These are scriptures that you and I have read many, many times. We know them well, but I wanted to just show you three things from these verses. One is our right, one is our responsibility, and one is our reason.

You see there in verse 18 in Matthew chapter 28 page 1044 in an old Schofield reference of Bible. It says in verse 18, And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. You realize that if it’s all been given him, he has it all. He is the authority. That’s where you and I receive the right to do what we do because he is the source of authority. And all other power is under his power.

When it talks about obey the powers that are over you, that means also government are supposed to obey God. supposed obey God. He made the world, he made people, he’s the one that has the right to set the laws. And so some of them he’s written in our hearts and some were written on stone. And we have now the word of God written. In verse 19 where he says, go ye therefore and teach all nations. Now why should I go?

Because of the authority, the authority of who he He is, and what He says to do. He’s in charge. He has the right, the power, the authority to tell us what to do. So He makes a statement here in verse 19, go ye therefore and teach all nations. Not some of them, all nations. And then He makes a statement in the book of Mark 16, talk about, preach the gospel to every creature. So it’s the will of God that we preach the gospel to every person and every nation on the earth.

who gave us the right to do that? God, there is no power greater than that. So he is the authority. Now you may have to suffer consequences seeking to get that done. There might be people in places that says, no, you can’t do that. But we still have a responsibility and we got to find a way to get it done and stay alive if possible. Now in verse 20, because see, That’s our responsibility. Go. And baptize, when it says baptizing them, this is something that we do, then this would always be water.

If it’s not what we do, then chances are it refers to the baptism of Holy Spirit. But here it makes a statement in verse 20, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And then when it says, and lo, I am with you always the reason that I should go, and the reason that I should do such a dynamic thing, such a challenging thing. The greatest thing in all the world is because the reason look who’s with me.

And he says, I’ll never leave you and never forsake you. So I know that over the years I’ve seen a lot of missionaries go to the fields and I’ve seen a lot of them come back home. And many times because people at home don’t keep supporting them and then they have to give up and come home because they have responsibilities and most of them cannot work on the foreign meals. Now what I want you to do is just take a look at the page that I gave to you, how to pray for a missionary from A to Z.

Now as you go down through here don’t you dare try to apply any of this to yourself. Don’t even look at this with the idea that you know that might be good for me too. You know always think it’s somebody else, it’s always somebody else. But number one there, as you go to ABCD all the way down through. There’s a nice little word that kind of helps us to apply to a missionary. But remember, in reality, you are a missionary.

It’s just what kind. Are you full time? Just part time. On the job, do you know a woman that just stays in harm and does her work, she’s a missionary because of the way she does her work. And she’s on a mission, even if it’s helping her husband accomplish what he does. Even if she just talks to the neighbors and wherever she is, and kind of a testimony she has when she goes to shop and all the things that she does, everybody is a testimony of what the Lord has done for them.

So keep that in mind. Unknowing, pray that the missionary will labor under the power of the Holy Spirit, because if it’s His work, we want His power. We wanna do what God wants us to do with our life. Isn’t that a wonderful statement? I think it’s a great statement. You know, the Bible even talks about the Apostle Paul. made the statement, pray that I may open my mouth with boldness. See that number two, pray that the missionary will speak the word of God with boldness.

We have missionaries that are on the foreign fields. They’re all of the world and they need to be bold. But sometimes we get intimidated. Don’t you get intimidated? Don’t you get a little afraid, a little scared? Even to hand out a track. I talked and challenged this one guy to pass out tracks and so he He would always put tracks in the bathroom behind the mirror. If you ever tear that building down, somebody’s gonna find the track. But at least he was doing something.

And you’d be surprised, I’ve gone into restaurants around here and I go into the restroom and lo and behold, there’s one of our tracks laying there on the sink. And in other places. Somebody’s been here, and Kilroy was here. No? A missionary been here. Chances are, when you see these little tracks that we have, somebody from Calvary Community church has been there. And because, see, y’all are sowing seeds all over. Everybody’s sowing seeds. Somebody even asked me about these Christmas cards.

You know, last year Gary made up a little Christmas card, but it was another way just to get the gospel out. And then he did it one on the people dying. It’s another way. Always trying to find a way to get it done, But to pray that God will help them to be bold. To know what you’re doing, who you are, the message you have, and to trust the gospel. Trust the gospel that when you give it, it will do something to people.

Believe in that message, it’s a powerful thing. The next statement, pray that the missionary will find comfort when discouraged. There’s no place like the foreign mission feels to get discouraged. you’re away from home and you don’t have relatives there with you, you don’t have mama or grandma there and sometimes when they have children it’s a very difficult thing. I just finished talking yesterday to Irene. Irene is the mama of Paula that’s down in Brazil and of course they’re trying to get rid of it because they want to go down there and see the kids and to see the other grandkids and so There’s always something that comes up and there’s always problems and there’s somebody that may pass away and it might throw a cog in the wheel.

But when you don’t get to see your grandkids for a while, that’s hurt. And I know, I used to see them every other day or week. Now it’s six months. That’s too long. But when you’re on the mission field, you get very down, you get very discouraged. And if you think and things are moving so slow and people are not responding, what it can do to you? So anyway, whenever you’re praying and you say, I don’t know what to pray for the missionary, don’t let bless our missionaries.

I know that that’s good, but be a little bit more specific and say, Lord, maybe they’re discouraged. And I pray that they can be confident because of somebody to go and visit with them or send them something special in the mail or write them a nice letter of encouragement. And a lot of time we just out of sight, out of mind. And so people don’t think about those things. The next statement, pray that the missionary will send God specific directions in his ministry.

Because you’re always seeking to find out what is it that God wants me to do, the right direction. You see, a lot of us are willing to go where God wants us to go. We just don’t know where it is sometimes or how to get it done. Now as I’m reading some of these things and make me a little comment here and there, there isn’t anything in here that you can gain some knowledge for yourself is there. I mean you wouldn’t ask the Lord to do that for you too would it.

I mean when you stop and think about the people in the church here do you think it’s a possibility? lo and behold they might be a little discouraged or you might need some direction or somebody else needs some direction and you say I just I need to pray for this person this person. So it’s not just for the missionary on the foreign field. It’s also for every person who’s trusty Christ’s Savior who needs some direction in their life. Do you know the reason we try to have ranch or camps and things like trying to help teenagers have some direction?

Because see they’re fixing to make some of the most important decisions of their life. Because when they’re young they have so many desires and desires are coming and going and they get just sometimes they can’t make up their mind. And they’re going to be choosing a guide that they’re going to be hooked up with for the rest of their life? Think of how critical that is. Or the education that they receive for the purpose of their life, do kids need help.

And that’s why us older adults are supposed to try to give them some directions. And the way you give sometimes directions is the direction you’re going. How are you doing with the Lord leading you? Do you believe that you’re doing what God wants you to do with your life. Very, very important. Look at the next statement. Pray that the missionary will send someone to encourage the missionary. That’s why even among you, you may not think it’s that important, but just sometimes by the sweet, casual word that you say to somebody can so encourage them.

You know one of the encouraging things I think of our church here is that we do have a time and sometimes you have to watch it doesn’t just become you know this is what I’m supposed to do when we have greet one another. Here are those famous words greet one another and what do you usually do huh? Stand right there don’t move or you can get out of your seat and go meet somebody who said Well, I’ve already met everybody.

Do it again. It breaks the monotony of your own self-centeredness. You got to think about somebody else. And you shake somebody, you realize that I’ve had some people tell me, says, I can’t believe it. I walked into that church and 15 people shook my hand because of what we do. They like a warm, friendly church where you smile. Do you think, oh, I’m glad to have you. We’re just thrilled. We’re so excited. Or can you, you know, put a little spring in your step and walk up to somebody and say, hello, my name is in.

What is your name? I’m glad to have you here. Have you been here many times? Oh, about five years. On Sunday night, I had a guy, and I talked to him in the coming on Sunday morning. He always come on Sunday night. He came on Sunday morning and nobody knew him. I said, how long have you been coming? He said eight years, but he just come on Sunday night and somebody else, they come on Sunday morning. So they never, and never the two show me.

But anyway, look in the next statement, pray that the missionary will guide their children in the way they ought to go. Did you know that a lot of times people judge you by how your children are doing? And sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not. But today it’s not just the family that’s raising their children. Everybody’s having a part raising their kids. But don’t you remember what Hillary Clinton said that you’ve got to have it takes a village to raise a child.

But… Today, TV’s raising our children, and sometimes humanist educators are raising our children, and teaching them things that we don’t want them to learn. And so, mom and dad, they see them just a little bit in the morning when they ship them off the school. They come home at night, and then everybody’s tired, weary and worn, and they doing this and that and that. And so, by the time, you know, what was your name again? Dad, I’m your son.

Oh, and you don’t know each other. You never spend time with each other. But anyway, you need to pray for the children’s mission, their kids, because it is such a difficult, see, if I was the devil, if I was the devil, no, I’m not. Some people think I am, but I’m not the devil. But if I was the devil, and if I couldn’t get the man of God, I’d try to do what I could to get to his wife.

Because you see, he’s not gonna do too much if I can discourage her, because see, she will do everything in her power to discourage him. And whenever I get her, I can get him. But if I can’t get her, I’m going to go after the kids. Because see, it’s a system that always works. And so the devil is going to work on children, goes after those young kids and then try to get those teenagers. Because he, that is something that the parents really love.

And sometimes for the sake of their children, they begin to change or to alter things and their steadfastness with the Lord. And so they don’t want to offend their kids now. But wouldn’t it be great if the daddy loves the Lord, the mama loves the Lord, the children love the Lord, and everybody just served the Lord together? Wouldn’t it be me? Where the devil can’t get at that family. That would be the ideal, but in most cases it’s not.

And a lot of missionaries struggle on the foreign fields. Their kids don’t have others strong kids that know the Lord, love the Lord’s a lot of times they don’t have a youth ranch ministry or they don’t have a Christian school and so they struggle. Always pray concerning that and always keep in mind. Pray for your own kids too. Look at the next statement. Pray that the missionary will live each day to glorify the Lord each day every day to glorify the Lord.

The next one, humility, develop a sense of humility and reject pride. If there’s anything that God hates, it’s pride. It’s when you begin to develop the ability to see how great and wonderful you really are. And you begin to exalt your talent or your boldness, your ability. Over your dependence upon the Lord. In spite of everything, you and I should keep it in mind. If it wasn’t for the grace of God, we couldn’t do anything. If God didn’t protect us, we wouldn’t even be here.

God has been good to us. Make sure that in your life you’re giving God the credit for whatever God does through your life. Because see God in heaven, he knows how you think and he knows how you feel. And just because a person may talk proudful and so forth doesn’t mean he is. humility is a position of the mind, not a position of the body. You can bow at the altar, as some would say, or at home, but God’s more interested in do you bow your will to His will.

Pride is when you seek your own way. Humility is when you humble and do the will of God. So do what God wants you to do. And so if you’re humble, so you always want to pray that missionaries and everybody else humbles themselves before God and not to try to give God directions and leadership. You see, the truth serving the Lord is always yielding to the leadership of the Lord, to do whatever God wants you to do with your life.

That’s what God wants. Look at the next word, the insight. We’ll see people and things from God’s perspective. See, there’s always these two perspectives, the divine perspective and the human perspective. Where you see things from God’s viewpoint, and you see things from man’s viewpoint. Now, because you and I, we trusted Christ as our Savior, so we have a spiritual part of us that’s divine. And we have a human spirit, and so we have a human perspective. So we see sometimes things from different perspectives.

So what you have to do as a child of God, try to see everything from a divine perspective. So the regardless of what goes on, and I’m going to cover a little bit about this tonight, concerning the will of God. Because when something really goes wrong, bad, I mean, you consider it as really bad. At that point, at that moment, you still have to ask, what is the will of God? . . 2 . . . . . .

For me at this point in my life, when everything seems to be falling apart, am I then still supposed to yield my will? Am I still supposed to seek the will of God? Regardless of what’s happening at every moment in my life. I believe it is true, but that’s another sermon for another time. Oh, look at the next statement. Joy, pray that the missionary will be full of the joy of the Lord in all situations. Because even though a lot of things go wrong, and you may not walk around all the time with a big smiley face, you can have the joy of the Lord in your heart.

Because you know that regardless of your inability, you know about God’s ability. And that the one who has all the power in the authority gave me the right to do what I’m doing. He told me to do what I’m doing. And therefore I will do it and trust the Lord for the outcome. So I can’t see how everything is going to develop down the road. So you learn to walk with the Lord and God is going to bless you.

And doing that is what brings you to personal joy. See God says, my joy I give, no man can take it away. And so if he can’t take it away, then the only one that can get rid of the joy of the Lord is yourself. So you can be as happy in the Lord as you choose to be. Happiness usually comes from happenings. And if it happens according to your likes, then you’re happy. And if that doesn’t happen according to your desires, then you’re not happy.

So there’s a lot of people who are happy and unhappy, happy, unhappy, unhappy, unhappy. But a Christian, regardless of what’s happening, can have joy because he knows I am doing the will of God for my life. And that satisfaction that you have between you and the Lord, no man can give it and no man can take it away. That’s what causes the Christian to be stable. So when you pray for missionaries, you want to pray that not only do they do that job that are supposed to do, the work of the Lord, but they can also have the joy of the Lord.

Look at the next statement. We’ll continue to be filled with the knowledge of God. You see, if your outflow supersedes your intake, then your outflow will be your downfall. If you’re always giving and never taking in, you’re going to come up dry. You see, you have to have water in the well in order to draw water out of the well. So that’s why you as a child of God must always be reading and studying the word of God. Always be talking to the Lord.

The joy of the Lord is my strength. So if you don’t have the strength in the Christian life to maintain a good Christian walk with the Lord, it’s because there’s something missing. You’re not going to the right well to get the right water, the strength that you need. And if you do, then you will have what you need to sustain you. So as the Bible talks about the knowledge, and he talks about in 1 Peter talking about growing in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

So God wants us to continually keep learning, keep learning, stay in the book. And you’ll be surprised as you get on down the road a few more years, that a lot of the things that you might not even thought about, scripture will come into your mind. It seemed like just the right time. And it says, the Holy Spirit shall quicken your mind so that you can know the things that are of God. And the Holy Spirit’s main responsibility is to teach you about Christ.

He said, he doesn’t talk about himself. He talks about the Lord. So you study the word so that you can continue to grow in the grace of our Lord. Look at the next word, love. The missionary will be a vessel through which God love flows. How do you know God loves you? Because, and you always say, well, because of what Christ did on the cross for us. All right, if you didn’t know what Christ did on the cross for you, you would not know that God loved you.

That’s how God proved his love. He sent his son to die to pay for our sins so that we don’t have to pay for them. So how is the world out there going to know that God loves them? Well, that love has to flow from somebody to somebody. You are the channel, the vessel that God wants to use to flow that love through you. To another person, to the lost man. And the lost people will never know about the love of God if you don’t tell them about the love of God.

So it’s the love that you and I have for him that’s supposed to motivate us to tell him about his love. And that’s why I made this statement for the love of Christ constraineth or motivate us because we thus judged that if one died for all, then we’re all dead. that they which live should not live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them and rose again. So the purpose of my life is the life of the one who died for me.

So it’s clear in the word of God. Look there at the word motivation. Sometimes I feel like I’m motivated beyond my ability to perform. I want to do more and more than I’ve ever done in my life. I feel like with all 50 years experience, I should know more. I should be wiser. Shouldn’t I be wiser? I would think I’m supposed to be, but when the body doesn’t want to go, well, the mind should make up for it. See before, I had a little wisdom, but boy, the old body was rare to go.

I had what you call an a reckless abandonment to faith. it boils down to is I did a lot of stupid things. I would just do it and say the Lord is going to bless. Phew, I didn’t worry about nothing. So I knew a little bit and I did a lot and a lot of mistakes and a few things right. But as you get older the body came to it so you try to make up for the lack of the ability in the body and the wisdom that you have.

So now I should make wiser I should be smarter than I’ve been. And then you make some decisions, you think, now, what did I do? I was talking to somebody just recently. I said, you know, I thought, you know, would it be neat just to have a motor home and travel around the country and go where you want to go and do whatever you want to do? You know, just retired, just do that. Stop and think about it. Wouldn’t it be a nice way to live?

And lo and behold, here I am. I told my son, sell my motor home. I guess I’m going to stay here for a while. And we’re going to try to start a Bibleline Institute. So we’re going to try that. So I guess I’ll be here another year anyway. Well, however long it takes to do all this stuff. Because I see such great potential here. I saw that when I first came down here and I still see it. I mean, the way y’all respond and y’all are so teachable and you just love the Lord and you’re just willing to do whatever has to be done.

And you can’t get that anywhere. So I guess when you found a good fish and you know, you might just keep fishing for a while. 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. Part two of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. 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 toll-free, one, 800-576-3771.

That’s one, 800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again, or to obtain a free download of any of our Bible and programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link. 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. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10-30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friends, 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.